Black Redstart

We had a walk around Plymouth Hoe on Thursday 29th February, it was grey and still with a flat calm sea and the rain held off until we returned home. With 70 (!) Purple Sandpipers having recently been counted roosting on The Breakwater I kept an eye out for any along The Hoe foreshore but with it being low tide there were none to be found. It does beg the question though of where do they all go when it's not high tide?

A distant Auk was seen diving away out in The Sound, probably a Guillemot, and the usual Shags and assorted Gulls were present too. There were 6 Turnstones feeding on the rocks below Rusty Anchor and 2 Canada Geese flew over heading towards The Cattewater.

The male Black Redstart was still present at Rusty Anchor, I managed to get a few record shots of it but it was never still for very long and it never came too close.

Black Redstart 

Black Redstart 

Friday 1st March was cool and breezy with sunny spells and heavy showers including some hail at times as I headed out to Marsh Mills for a River Plym walk. Yet more heavy rain overnight meant even more muddy footpaths but it was relatively quiet on the walker and dog front.

It was a very high tide and Blaxton Meadow was well flooded with nearly all the Redshank and Dunlin roosting out on the Embankment wall instead of the Meadow until a passing paddle boarder flushed them all, eventually most of them returned to the wall but some did fly over to the Meadow to roost. Also on the Meadow were 6 Snipe, 10 Greenshank, 13 Oystercatcher, 15 Curlew, 3 Grey Heron and 3 Little Egret along with Shelduck, Mallard and Canada Geese plus 8 Common Gull and a Mediterranean Gull amongst the usual assorted Gulls.

Curlew

Mediterranean Gull

A look around the Wet Wood was productive, still no sign of a Water Rail but a Kingfisher, a male Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Grey Wagtail, a Goldcrest, a Treecreeper and skittish Redwings showed very well.

Treecreeper

Along the river there were 2 Little Grebe, 2 pairs of Goosander, 2 Common Sandpipers, another Grey Wagtail and 2 Mute Swans.

Common Sandpiper

Mute Swan

There was an interesting looking immature Gull found amongst the roosting flock, slightly paler than the nearby Lesser Black-backed Gulls but too dark for a Yellow Legged Gull although this varied depending on the light and angle of view, it was also larger sized and longer legged than the nearby Lesser Black-backs. Probably just a large Lesser Black-backed Gull or maybe a hybrid bird? Gulls just fascinate and frustrate me in equal measure!

Gull

Gull (left bird)

Gull (right bird)

Gull