With the wet and windy weather continuing sea watching has remained interesting but I have been unable to get out for a look! However the weather on Saturday 26th November was foul and with some free time at last I headed up to Plymouth Hoe for a walk. Along the way I found a Little Grebe and a Kingfisher at Sutton Harbour and off The Hoe a Great Northern Diver was sheltering in the lee of Drakes Island and 3 adult Kittiwakes were feeding close to the shore off Tinside Pool.
I got absolutely soaked through so headed home to warm up and dry off after only a short time but it was nice to get out in the wind and rain and see a few interesting birds.
Sunday 27th November saw us heading up to London on the train for a 2 night stay at The Clermont Hotel Charing Cross courtesy of Thistle Hotels. I had entered a competition back at the beginning of the year which I then totally forgot about so it was a bit of a surprise to find out I had won.
The train journey to London was uneventful and along the way I saw a Fox, Fallow Deer and Roe Deer and Cattle Egret. Brent Geese and Red-breasted Merganser along the River Exe but surprisingly not a single Red Kite.
London was OK, busy and hectic and exhausting but we had an enjoyable time and the hotel was lovely, all in all it was a great prize to win. I didn't have any wildlife watching opportunities though with the only thing of note being noisy Ring-necked Parakeets flying around.
After our 2 night stay in London we headed off on Tuesday 29th November to Brugge in Belgium on The Eurostar for a Christmas Market break. Unfortunately the train journey was beset with delays and we finally arrived in Brugge at around 9pm, some 3 hours later than planned but Brugge soon made up for it, such a beautiful city with amazing architecture and very, very Christmassy.
Again there were no wildlide watching opportunities but the highlight was a rather tardy White Stork seen briefly flying over the train on the journey from Brugge to Brussels. Fortunately the journey back to Plymouth on Friday 2nd December was delay free.
Saturday 3rd December was cold and sunny as I caught the bus to Laira Bridge for a Plym walk, however within a few minutes of arriving it had clouded over and remained dull, gloomy and cold in a biting North Easterly wind until I headed back home on the bus from Marsh Mills when the sky cleared and the sun reappeared.
Despite the weather it was an enjoyable walk with some nice sightings. Along The Plym the highlights were 2 male Red-breasted Merganser, 9 Goosander (3 male), a Great Crested Grebe, 5 Mute Swan (2 juveniles), a Shag, a Common Sandpiper, a Snipe on the estuary side of Blaxton Meadow and 10 Wigeon. Highlights on The Meadow itself were 6 Greenshank, 9 Turnstone, 16 Oystercatcher, 26 Curlew, 6 adult Common Gull, a Grey Plover, Redshank and Dunlin.
Around Saltram 2 Nuthatch, 3 Stock Dove, 2 Green Woodpecker, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Mistle Thrush, a Bullfinch and Redwing were the highlights with 7 Roe Deer and a Grey Squirrel adding some mammalian interest.
A nice break but the Christmas juggernaut continues apace, I already can't wait for the New Year.
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