My Annual Leave continues and local wildlife watching remains the order of the day. At least the weather is settled with dry and mostly cloudy skies and cool nights. And keeping local is actually quite interesting as I continue to explore sites and habitats close to home that I would ordinarily overlook.
Friday 19th March and we drove out to Endsleigh Nursery at Milton Abbot to collect a Greengage tree for the allotment, hopefully this one will take as the previous 2 trees we have bought have both died. On the way home we stopped off at the Dartmoor Bakery at Yelverton for a take away coffee and a Jaffa Dartmoor Swirl before having a walk at Cadover Bridge. It was grey and cold in a strong North Easterly breeze and there was no sign of the Sand Martin or Fieldfare reported from earlier that morning with the highlight of the walk being a pair of Goosander on the river.
Saturday 20th March and I headed off for my usual River Plym and Saltram walk. It was another grey day but there was very little breeze for a change and I had a very enjoyable walk.
As I arrived at the lookout the Blaxton Meadow roost on the low high tide was disturbed by 2 female runners along the sea wall (despite the No Entry signage) and I watched 15 Curlew, 6 Oystercatcher, Shelduck, Canada Geese and Gulls all disappear off down river.
Winter met summer with 2 Redwing seen and 2 Chiffchaff heard singing, both my first on my Plym walk for this year. A flyover Snipe, 2 male Bullfinch, a male Kestrel, a pair of Stonechat, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Green Woodpecker (1 seen, 1 heard) and 2 Mistle Thrush were all seen in the Park with 2 Treecreeper (eventually) showing well in the flooded wood the highlight.
Along the River a Greenshank, 3 Dunlin and a female Goosander were seen along with 5 Little Egret and 25 Redshank.
Sunday 21st March and a look inside the back yard moth box on my first trapping session of the year revealed just one moth, a Common Quaker.
Later while on a walk around Plymouth Hoe dodging the crowds we found the Long-tailed Duck still present in The Cattewater, busily and distantly diving away amongst the buoys, but there was no sign of the Purple Sandpiper on the rocks.
Monday 22nd March and I headed out to Wembury for a walk in occasionally sunny skies. It was mild and still and very pleasant when the sun did shine from between the clouds and I had a very interesting walk.
The highlight were 2 smart looking male Wheatear flitting about at The Point. 4 Chiffchaff singing and 2 Peacock butterflies engaged in an aerial battle added to the spring feeling along with a male and 3 female Black Oil Beetles rescued off the main footpath and placed in nearby vegetation.
A female Kestrel and 5 Buzzards overhead, Fulmars around The Mewstone, the usual Stonechats and Goldfinches and around 5 male Cirl Buntings singing were also noted.
2 Coal Tit in the village gardens and a 1st summer Common Gull roosting on the rocks with Herring Gulls were Wembury firsts for the year.
The Bar-tailed Godwit was still present, roosting on the rocks with the Oystercatchers, and a Meadow Pipit was feeding on the seaweed mass along the beach with Rock Pipits and Pied Wagtails.
The Sloe Blossom was looking absolutely stunning along the footpath and a Ruby Tiger caterpillar was sunning itself in the grass.
Tuesday 23rd March and the last day of my annual leave was meant to be a cloudy day and so I planned to visit The Hoe before catching up on chores. It was indeed cloudy when I left the house but by the time I arrived at Rusty Anchor the sky cleared and the sun shone and as I hadn't brought out a hat with me I ended up with a bit of a sun kissed head by the time I arrived back home.
At Rusty Anchor I was very pleased to find 2 Purple Sandpipers for a change, 1 busily feeding and 1 tucked up asleep.
7 Turnstones and a Rock Pipit were also found on the rocks and a Raven flew overhead but the highlight was a Grey Seal, presumably a female based on size and face shape and which bobbed around in the water close to the sea wall, frequently diving for short periods and always returning to the surface at the same spot.
A quick look off Fisherman's Nose and the female Long-tailed Duck was found still busily diving away amongst the buoys in The Cattewater, distant as always but I had brought my scope with me this time and so I had some nice views of it for a change.
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