Sunday, 27 October 2024

Whooper Swan

With a smattering of Whooper Swans being reported in Devon and Cornwall over the past few weeks I have been hopeful of catching up with them at some point. Birds have been reported from Hayle, Bude, Coleton Fishacre and Exminster Marsh and as usual have been short-staying but with a single bird being found at Broadsands on 18th October and appearing to be settled I decided to go and have a look for it.

It was reported as still being present on the 24th October while we were watching the Snow Buntings at Budleigh Salterton but there was no news of it the next day. This didn't particularly perturb me as this is what usually happens with rare and scarce birds, there is an absolute social media frenzy of news and photos to begin with followed by almost total radio silence even though the bird is still present. 

There was still no news of it being present as I headed off on the train and bus to Broadsands on the morning of Saturday 26th October but I figured that if it wasn't still present I'd have a nice day out anyway on what was a beautifully sunny, warm and calm day.

I arrived at Broadsands at around 9:45am and there was no sign of any Swans out on the water or in the stubble field behind the beach so I walked along the coast path towards Elberry Cove with fingers crossed. I picked up 2 Swans out in the Bay and heading towards Broadsands from the direction of Brixham but on closer inspection they turned out to be Mutes. Eventually they arrived at Broadsands and began to feed on the weed along the shoreline but the Whooper Swan was still nowhere to be seen.

A Little Egret and a Grey Heron flew over and offshore a few Gannets were seen along with Cormorant, Shag and Great Black-backed, Herring and Black-headed Gull. A Grey Seal occassionally surfaced quite close to shore too, a large and dark looking individual, and 4 Oystercatchers were roosting on the rocks.

I had a good look around the stubble field, checking out all the quiet corners and obscured areas with no luck but a pair of Cirl Buntings, 4+ Chiffchaff, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, flyover Peregrine, Kestrel and 3 Buzzards, a Grey Wagtail and calling Green Woodpecker and Cettis Warbler kept me entertained. A Speckled Wood, 2 Red Admirals and a mating pair of Wasps were also noted.

I headed back to the beach where the 2 Swans had now become 3 and on checking them out I was very pleased and relieved to see one of them was the elusive Whooper Swan, I have no idea where it came from though. It was busily preening in between taking short naps and would occassionally call quietly to itself while the 2 Mute Swans nearby ignored it.

Whooper Swan

Whooper Swan with Mute Swans

Whooper Swan with Mute Swans

Whooper Swan

Whooper Swan

Whooper Swan

Whooper Swan 

Whooper Swan

Whooper Swan

Eventually it moved further offshore before taking off and flying over the beach and into the stubble field to feed where it showed very nicely and I watched it for a while before it was time for me to head back home. Only my second ever Devon Whooper Swan after a brief view of one on Exminster Marsh in 2012 as we whizzed past on the train, at least the views of this one were so much better!

Whooper Swan

Whooper Swan

Friday, 25 October 2024

Rivers Plym, Avon, Exe and Otter

I arranged to meet my friend Sue at Saltram House for a walk on Monday 21st October, we were meeting up at 11am but I headed out a little earlier to have a quick birding session along The Plym before our rendezvous.

It was high tide and Blaxton Meadow was the usual lake but out on the water amongst a decent sized feeding flock of Mallard were 29 Wigeon, 7 Shelduck and a male Teal. The usual waders were present too and amongst the Redshank and Curlew were 10 Greenshank and 5 Oystercatcher, also present amongst the roosting Gulls were a Common Gull and a Mediterranean Gull.

There were only 4 Mandarin Ducks (3 males) at the duck pond along with the usual assorted Mallards but there was still no sign of the female Red-crested Pochard which is presumably off on its travels again. The Moorhens at the pond were being very argumentative and regularly fighting with each other, a more usual sight in the spring.

Moorhen

Mallard

Mallard

I met Sue at the car park and it was nice to catch up on things as we put the world to rights on our walk before having a cup of tea and a scone in the cafe and on the walk back to Sainsbury's to catch the bus home I found a smart Herald Moth in the underpass.

Herald Moth

With a good day of weather forecasted after a misty start on Wednesday 23rd October we decided to head out to the Avon Dam for a walk followed by a bite of lunch in Ashburton. It was all blue skies and sunshine as we left Plymouth but by the time we arrived at the car park at Shipley Bridge it was grey and claggy. We had also forgotten that you now have to pay to park at Shipley Bridge, neither of us had any coins on us and the machine no longer accepts card payments so the only option left was to pay on the app. The only problem with this was the lack of phone signal to connect to the app so we had to park on the nearby roadside instead but at least it was free.

We headed up the valley along the River Avon towards the Dam but after only 10 minutes of walking the heavens opened and we had to shelter underneath some trees, fortunately it soon cleared over and eventually the sun did appear from behind the clouds.

The Avon Dam - no water coming over the top despite the recent rain  

Most noticeable on our walk were the large amount of Rowan berries present on the trees and the large number of Redwings busily gorging themselves on them, I've never seen so many of either here before. The Redwings were very skittish and mobile and regularly took to the skies but amongst them I found a few Blackbird, a Song Thrush and 2 Mistle Thrush and best of all at least 4 Ring Ouzels.

Ring Ouzel

Ring Ouzel

The Ring Ouzels were equally as skittish and mobile as the Redwings, the most I saw together were 4 birds but more were undoubtedly present. However I did get some very nice views of them at times and they were a joy to watch as always and especially after last years Ouzel-less visit here.

Ring Ouzel

Ring Ouzel

Ring Ouzel

Ring Ouzel 

Ring Ouzel

It was off to the River Exe and Bowling Green Marsh on Thursday 24th October with my mate Mavis for a birdy day out. We arrived at the hide at around 9:30am to find it totally empty and so we set ourselves up in prime positions to view the assorted birdlife out on the Marsh in front of us.

We scanned around and quickly found the reported Long-billed Dowitcher feeding in amongst the roosting Redshank quite close to the hide. It was quite a feisty thing, regularly pecking at the Redshanks if they came too close and also having a go at nearby Wigeon, Pintail and Black-tailed Godwit. Also amongst the Redshank were 3 Spotted Redshank, a Dunlin and a Curlew while elsewhere a large flock of Black-tailed Godwit contained a Ruff.

Long-billed Dowitcher 

Long-billed Dowitcher 
 
Spotted Redshank

Spotted Redshank 

A hunting Sparrowhawk, Peregrine and Marsh Harrier caused some consternation and upset amongst the roosting birds and they regularly took to the air but the Long-billed Dowitcher always returned to the same spot.

With the reported Snow Buntings still being present at nearby Budleigh Salterton we decided to move on and go and look for them. On arriving at the Lime Kiln car park we could see some birders watching them out on the shingle beach where the River Otter flows out into the sea but by the time we got to them the birds had flown off! A fruitless search ensued but after around 20 minutes I caught sight of them in flight along the beach and we enjoyed some amazingly close views of them feeding amongst the pebbles just a few feet away - absolutely gorgeous birds and a great end to a great day out.

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

Snow Buntings

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

Monday, 21 October 2024

Wembury Visits

It was grey, claggy and warm on Tuesday 15th October as I headed out to Wembury on the 9am bus for a walk. The coastal footpath is beginning to become its usual winter mudfest after all the recent rain but it wasn't too bad and I had a pleasant walk.

Seaweed covered beach at The Sewage Pipe

Low tide was around 11am and Gulls were roosting out on the rocks, mostly Herring Gulls but amongst them were a few Great Black-backed Gulls, a Black-headed Gull and 3 Mediterranean Gulls (an adult, a 1st winter and a 2nd winter). I was pleased to see the Bar-tailed Godwit was still present and feeding in the rock pools along with 3 Turnstones and Oystercatchers, also present were 3 Little Egret and around 40 Mallards.

Elsewhere it was quiet with a Firecrest in the village gardens, a Green Woodpecker and a Great Spotted Woodpecker at The Point and 4 Chiffchaffs, a female Blackcap, a Kestrel, a Coal Tit and 2 Ravens the highlights.

A Grey Seal was again poking its snout out of the water just off shore, 2 Speckled Wood and 3 Large White were flitting about and a Square-headed Wasp was seen resting on a fence post.

Square-headed Wasp (Ectemnius continuus?)

With Saturday 19th October forecasted to be the best day of weather for the week I had considered having a birding day out somewhere further afield but with very little about at the moment I decided to stay local. I also had this wretched tooth of mine finally removed on Thursday 17th October and I wasn't feeling too great although better than I have been feeling over the past few months and so I ended up heading out to Wembury again for a walk.

The Sewage Pipe Beach without seaweed - showing just how dynamic the tide action can be within just 4 days

It was a beautiful day, warm and still with sunny skies and I enjoyed a gentle stroll along the muddy footpath to The Point before returning along the beach on the low tide. It was very quiet with the usual birds seen but the highlight was an Arctic Skua casually flying low over the beach heading west and getting hassled by the occassional Carrion Crow along the way, a dark phased juvenile bird looking stunning in the bright sunshine and totally unexpected.

Otherwise the highlights were a Curlew, 7 Turnstone, 9 Little Egret and an adult and 1st winter Mediterranean Gull along the beach, a Chiffchaff, a Goldcrest and a Great Spotted Woodpecker at The Point and 2 Kestrel, a Sparrowhawk and a Buzzard overhead. There were regular sightings of  Woodpigeons, Skylarks and Meadow Pipits passing overhead in small numbers too and generally moving west but they appeared to be local birds rather than birds migrating through.

Tuesday, 15 October 2024

The Plym, Wembury and a Trip to France

I had a gentle stroll around Saltram and The Plym on Wednesday 9th October, it was a mostly sunny and mild day and the wind had eased down considerably but it was still very quiet on the bird front with just the usual culprits seen.

I took a walk up The Dell to look for Mistle Thrush but unfortunately I didn't find any this time. I rarely walk along this path but with Chelson Meadow likely to be disappearing in the next year it may become a more regular walk to help compensate for the Meadows loss. A bonus sighting was a Treecreeper, my first here, and a Raven was heard calling overhead.

Blaxton Meadow was well flooded again on the high tide and there were now 7 Wigeon present here along with a Shelduck, 13 Greenshank, a Dunlin, 19 Oystercatcher, 2 Snipe, 35 Curlew and Redshanks. Out on the nearby river the family party of 4 Mute Swans were still present along with 2 Kingfisher, 3 female Goosander, a Grey Wagtail and a Common Sandpiper.

Mute Swans

Elsewhere around the Park the highlights were a Firecrest, 4 Goldcrest, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 3 Chiffchaff, 4 male and a female Blackcap, 2+ Nuthatch, 2 Coal Tit, a  Song Thrush and 3 noisey Buzzards soaring together overhead.

I caught the 7am bus out to Wembury on Thursday 10th October, it felt quite chilly at such an early hour but soon became a warm and pleasant morning. There wasn't much breeze but the swell was creating some good waves which the surfers were making full use of and the noise of the waves crashing onto the beach could be heard all the way up the valley at the bus stop.

Wembury Beach 

Wembury Rollers

I had considered visiting Wembury the previous day but chose The Plym instead, a big mistake as local birder Jenny had found a Yellow-browed Warbler at The Point and so we arranged to meet up to have a look for it today. As expected there was no sign of it but never mind, it was nice to be out on such a beautiful day.

It was all much the same though with a Firecrest near the church the highlight. I had brief flight views of a Dartford Warbler at The Point, it appeared to be a male bird, and a Cetti's Warbler was heard in the valley to the beach. A Green Woodpecker, 4 Chiffchaff, a female Blackcap, 7 Pheasant, 2 Buzzard and 2 Song Thrush were also of note and an interesting sighting was of 200+ noisey Linnet perched up on the telegraph wires over a Sunflower field before dropping down into cover.

There was a large flock of feeding birds offshore, a good 500+ birds but mostly distant and consisting of Gannets, Herring Gulls, Kittiwakes, Black-headed Gulls and Mediterranean Gulls. Unfortunately I hadn't brought my telescope with me and I couldn't find any Skuas or Cetaceans present.

A Grey Seal was poking its snout out of the water just off the beach and 2 Roe Deer were feeding in the stubble field while 3 Comma, a Painted Lady, a Wall Brown, Large White, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, a Small Copper, Small White, a Dark Bush Cricket, a Common Darter, a Long-winged Conehead and 2 Common Lizards were also seen making the most of the warm sunshine.

Common Lizard

Long-winged Conehead 

Dark Bush Cricket

Wall Brown
Roe Deer

It was off to France on Friday 11th October, our annual weekend away travelling with Brittany Ferries to Roscoff on a crossing from Plymouth on the Friday night, a stay in a hotel in Roscoff on the Saturday night and a crossing back to Plymouth on the Sunday morning.

Both crossings were very smooth but the weather in Roscoff was warm and wet although the rain had cleared through by lunchtime and we enjoyed our usual picnic at the benches by the beach. The usual wildlife was seen - Turnstone, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Greylag Goose, Cormorant, Grey Wagtail and Mallard to name a few - but the weather precluded sightings of any Common Darters or Hummingbird Hawkmoths this time.

The crossing back to Plymouth was eventful, not to the high standard of last years amazing crossing but pretty good none the less. The first hour out of Roscoff was as usual the best part with the expected Gannets regularly seen flying by but more unusual were Manx Shearwaters passing by too and also resting on the sea with 100+ birds seen. Best of all though were 11 Balearic Shearwaters hidden in amongst them. 

There were also 2 pods of Common Dolphins seen heading in to bow ride at the front of the boat, leaping out of the water as they raced to the ferry before being lost to view. Also seen were 2 Guillemot, Herring Gulls, Shags and Great Black-backed Gulls with 3 Meadow Pipits also flying around the ferry calling before I headed down to the cafe for lunch and a warm up. 

The Amorique coming into Roscoff as we left on the Pont Aven

Pont Aven Information Board

The middle part of the crossing was quiet with just the odd Gannet seen flying by from the cafe windows but as the Devon coast appeared on the horizon I headed up back on deck for the last leg of the trip. More Common Dolphins were seen along with Blue Fin Tuna and both were attracting in seabirds with a winter plumaged adult Mediterranean Gull, Gannets, Kittiwakes, a Guillemot, 2 Common Gulls and Herring Gulls seen but amongst them were a Manx Shearwater, a Sooty Shearwater and 2 Cory's Shearwaters, a nice end to our trip.

Kittiwakes

Plymouth Breakwater and The Mewstone