Monday 7th August was cool and overcast and so we headed out to Lopwell Dam for a walk. The high tide was beginning to recede as we arrived and along the river 4 Common Sandpiper and a Grey Wagtail were seen along with 2 Mute Swans and the usual Canada Geese, Herring Gulls and Black-headed Gulls. An Osprey was seen flying over by a lucky birder but it eluded our eyes although we did see 5 Ravens, 2 Stock Doves, Swallows and House Martins overhead.
A Slow-worm, a Brimstone and a Jersey Tiger Moth were the other highlights of our visit before we headed home, having had a very enjoyable walk.
Tuesday 8th August was breezy and mizzley and with a high tide on the River Plym and a forecast of better conditions by lunchtime I headed out on the bus to Marsh Mills to have a look at the high tide roost on Blaxton Meadow. The mizzle did eventually lift although it remained dull and damp and the high tide roost wasn't very exciting but I did see 10 Greenshank, 3 Common Sandpiper, 15 Shelduck (1 adult), 2 Oystercatcher and 13 Little Egret amongst the usual Curlew, Redshank, Canada Geese and Gulls.
There were good numbers of juvenile Gulls present especially Lesser Black-backed Gulls but despite scanning around I didn't find either of the recently reported juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls.
It was quiet around Saltram too but a bright yellow juvenile Willow Warbler was a delightful splash of colour in the gloom and thanks to local birder Martin I was able to find my first Spotted Flycatcher of the year with an adult seen feeding a fledgling although they were very mobile and more may have been present amongst the foliage.
There were 53 Mandarin Duck around the pond and the female Red-crested Pochard was present too, hidden in plain sight as it slept amongst the eclipsed plumaged Mallards.
Wednesday 9th August was overcast and misty again but it felt warm and humid and was forecasted to clear later in the day and so I headed out to Wembury for a walk. I caught the 10:05hrs bus and on arriving at Wembury Beach I couldnt even see The Mewstone!
I wandered along the coast path to The Point and had a quick scan offshore and was very surprised and very pleased to find a Storm Petrel feeding close in to the beach. Despite the mist I had very good views of it as it flew back and forth, dipping at the water surface and occassionally landing on the sea, and I watched it for a good 20 minutes before the mist cleared and it headed out to sea.
Later I picked up 5 Petrels feeding in the slick being made by a fishing boat gutting fish on its way in to Plymouth, too distant views to get much on them but interesting to watch as they flew back and forth and avoided the Gulls also following the boat.
Also noted offshore and all heading west were 3 Common Scoter, 2 Sandwich Tern, a Manx Shearwater and a few Gannet and Fulmar.
At the high tide roost at The Point the usual Oystercatchers were joined by 2 Curlew, 2 Whimbrel and 4 Little Egrets and as the tide receded an adult winter plumaged Mediterranean Gull, 6 Ringed Plover, a Dunlin and a surprise Knot appeared.
The warm and eventually sunny conditions meant plenty of insect activity with the highlights being Bee-wolfs, Ornate Tailed Digger Wasps, Wall Browns, a Hornet Robberfly and a Furrow Bee species. The warmth also brought out 4 Common Lizards, 2 small juveniles and 2 adults, one of which had a damaged tail.
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