Friday 30th April and it was with great excitement as I headed up to Warren House on Dartmoor with my mate Mavis for our annual Dartmoor Birdy Day after missing out last year due to the COVID lockdown. It is hard to believe that it was 2 years and a day ago when we last did this walk together!
It was sunny but cool when I left home and by the time we reached the car park at Bennets Cross to start our walk the clouds were beginning to bubble up in the sky and there was a distinct chill in the air. The clouds continued to build and while it was pleasant when the sun shone for brief periods from behind them it continued to get cooler and cooler until eventually the heavens opened and we had a full on hail storm which blanketed the Moor with white patches.
Despite the weather we did manage to see some excellent birds with at least 2 vocal Cuckoos being the highlight, mostly distant and very mobile but we had some good scope views of them. At one point they had a bit of an aerial tussle and a bit of a scrap in a tree top before heading off in opposite directions, something I haven't witnessed before.
Whinchat, Wheatear, Stonechat, Tree Pipit and Willow Warbler showed well and occassionally sang too and we also saw Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch, a Raven flying over, Wren, Robin and a male Reed Bunting.
We stopped for coffee at the ruins in Soussons Plantation and I put my Emperor Moth lure out but with no success. We could hear Crossbills calling in the pine trees and we had some good scope views of a female feeding on cones in the top of a tree while the others kept out of sight. Eventually 5 birds exploded out of the trees calling noisely before heading off down the valley. A Tree Pipit showed very well feeding on the ground and a single Chiffchaff was seen busily singing away. A small but steady trickle of Swallows passed overhead heading North despite the cool conditions.
We walked back to Bennets Cross and stopped for a short time to try the Emperor Moth lure again, it was very cold at this point stood out on the heather clad hillside but an Emperor Moth did appear before dashing off and out of sight.
We drove around to nearby Challacombe Farm for the second part of our walk and it was still pretty cold but again the birding was good with the highlight being a singing male Redstart which showed very well around the farm buildings.
A male Reed Bunting, Willow Warblers, a pair of Stonechat, a male Whinchat, a Marsh Tit, a Nuthatch, 2 Stock Dove and a pair of Wheatear were also seen with a Great Spotted Woidpecker heard drumming. Eventually though it was time to call it a day and head home to warm up but we had had a very enjoyable and bird filled if chilly day out indeed.
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