An American Golden Plover in full breeding plumage was found at Exminster Marsh on Friday 28th May and surprisingly was still present on Tuesday 1st June and so with Wednesday 2nd June the first opportunity I had to go and look for it I decided to give it a go.
The weather had changed from hot sunshine to cloudy skies with heavy and thundery showers forecasted and I was expecting the change in weather to have expedited the Plovers departure but a birder I met at the beginning of my walk had just met another birder who had seen the Plover earlier that morning so at least it was still present.
The Plover has been mobile and flighty across the Marsh and mostly giving distant and heat hazy views and despite regular scanning with my scope from various viewpoints as I walked a complete circuit of the perimeter there was no sign of it.
As I scanned around on my walk I did find 4 summer plumaged Dunlin, 2 Oystercatcher, a winter plumaged Bar-tailed Godwit, Curlews, 2 Little Ringed Plover, Lapwings and at least 7 summer plumaged Black-tailed Godwit. Grey Heron, Little Egret, a male Shoveler, a pair of Gadwall, Shelduck, Mallard, a male Garganey, a pair of Gadwall, Coot, Mute Swan, a pair of Canada Geese with 7 goslings, a Greylag Goose, 2 white farmyard Geese and 2 escaped Cape Shelduck were also seen.
Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler and Cettis Warbler were heard singing but giving brief views only and Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Whitethroat were heard too. Swift, Swallow and House Martin hawked over the Marsh but there was no sign of any Hobby.
A few Variable Damselfly were flitting about low in the vegetation and I had a brief view of a Scarce Chaser but no butterflies were seen.
I completed my circuit and returned to the canal footpath near the car park to scan the Marsh from the elevated vantage point and eventually found the American Golden Plover preening amongst the sedges, distant and heat haze obscured and looking very dark under the cloudy skies.
A very stunning looking bird though and I had some decent views before it flew off out of sight. A short time later it flew nearer and gave much better views as the heat haze disappeared, busily feeding along the waters edge and occasionally disappearing amongst clumps of sedge.
And so my first "full fat" life tick of the year, I've never seen American Golden Plover before and bizzarely I have yet to see a European Golden Plover this year!
This blog is excellent .. Always enjoy reading. I bird in Cornwall myself :)
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