A Broad-bodied Chaser was crashing around in the vegetation, presumably recently emerged and testing out its wings and there were a few Early Purple Orchids still in flower too. It was quiet bird wise but a Green Woodpecker was yaffling away, 2 Swallows were chittering away overhead and a noisy Ring-necked Parakeet regularly flew over.
Small Copper
Early Purple Orchid
Dingy Skipper
Dingy Skipper
Dingy Skipper
Dingy Skipper
Sunday 12th May was hot and sunny again but with heavy rain forecasted for the following day I headed out to The Plym to make the most of the good weather before it broke.
It was high tide and out roosting on Blaxton Meadow were 6 Oystercatchers and 4 Curlew, one of which was sporting a yellow flag J7 on its right leg.
Curlew J7 - from a Dartmoor Headstarting Scheme
The female Red-crested Pochard was back on the Duck Pond and 5 male Mandarin were loafing about too. Another male was present on Blaxton Meadow and out on the river near the railway bridge a female was busily keeping an eye on 14 small ducklings.
Red-crested Pochard
Mandarin with 6 of 14 Ducklings
I had a look in the Wet Wood and was very pleased to find a "singing" male Spotted Flycatcher checking out nesting sites whilst on Chelson Meadow a Whitethroat was found skulking in the brambles. A Raven was seen mobbing a Buzzard overhead and 2 distant Swift were also noted.
Spotted Flycatcher
There were lots of Silver Y flushed from the grass on Chelson Meadow along with my first Small Heath of the year with a very smart Peacock also seen. A female Beautiful Demoiselle at Long Bridge on the walk back to the bus stop was a surprise, I think my first for The Plym.
Small Heath
Peacock
Beautiful Demoiselle
Monday 13th May was wet and windy but Tuesday 14th May was showery and breezy and so I headed off to Wembury for a look about. I caught the 7am bus and despite the grotty weather conditions I didn't beat the dog walkers this time but never mind. I had hoped that they may have been some small waders along the beach on the incoming tide but it wasn't to be with just 2 Whimbrel, the Bar-tailed Godwit and the usual Oystercatchers (44) present.
Whimbrel
Bar-tailed Godwit
I had also hoped for a bit of sea bird action offshore but regular scanning with my binoculars as I walked to The Point only revealed passing Gannets. At The Point I stood by the 5-bar gate opposite The Mewstone and started scanning again with my binoculars but again I could only find passing Gannets until I picked up a pale morph Pomarine Skua high up in the sky before it dropped down low against the water. It was moving east into the wind and as I frantically assembled my telescope and tripod it headed out of sight behind The Mewstone, I then scanned the other side of The Mewstone in the hope that it would reappear but I never caught another sight of it.
Also offshore were the usual Fulmars, I also picked up a few Kittiwakes, distant Auks and a total of 11 Manx Shearwater, all singles bar a group of 3 and all heading east bar one. Even better were 2 single summer plumaged Great Northern Divers flying west and 2 Swifts together heading east.
The usual land birds were seen including Stonechats, Whitethroats, Cirl Buntings and Linnets with a Cetti's Warbler heard singing in the valley to the beach and a Swallow flying overhead.
Cirl Bunting
Thursday 16th May was warm, dry and mostly sunny so we headed out to Soussons on Dartmoor for a walk and some lunch in the Warren House Inn. On arrival it seemed fairly quiet but eventually the birds revealed themselves although Willow Warblers were vocal and showy from the off. A Garden Warbler, a Whitethroat and 3 Blackcap were heard only but 2 Redpoll were seen flying over, giving themselves away by their calls.
Soussons - looking gorgeous
Soussons
A distant Tree Pipit was songflighting from a tree top with Meadow Pipits also seen and heard. A Reed Bunting was also heard with another male and then a pair also seen.
I kept a look out for Whinchat with no luck but just as we started the walk back to the Inn I saw a pair together close to the path before they flew off over the Heather. A male was then heard and after a bit of a search about I found it perched up in a Holly tree, a bonus was catching sight of a Hobby hawking insects in the distance while trying to find it. To finish things off I found another pair of Whinchat close to the path, the male soon disappeared from view but the female showed well before also flying off.
Whinchat
Whinchat
There was also no sight or sound of Cuckoo on our walk but on the drive home I saw one flying over the road just ahead of us as we came off the Moors near Dousland, a nice end to a nice day out.
Yellow-barred Brindle - first garden moth of the year
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