The high pressure system eventually moved away and the wet weather duly arrived followed by the colder temperatures and it was dry and bright and crisp as I headed out to Wembury for a walk on Wednesday 20th November. It was wet underfoot though and the coastal footpath at Wembury was again becoming its usual quagmire, it was also finally cold enough for me to wear my big winter coat for the first time this season.
It was all very much the same on the bird front with the usual Wembury species seen, the highlights being 15 Turnstone, a Curlew, 3 Little Egrets and a Grey Wagtail along the beach, a single Gannet offshore and 2 Firecrest (1 in a village garden and 1 or possibly 2 along the riding school lane).
There was some clearance work going on at the back of the wheatfield, I'm not sure if it is the National Trust doing it but the trees are being thinned out and cut back and the branches are then being piled up along the ground. It may make for some more interesting habitat but I think the Sparrowhawks are going to love hurtling through there after a meal.
We actually had some of the white stuff here in Plymouth on Thursday 21st November, it was very cold and wet and for a brief time in the morning we had some sleety snow before it reverted back to rain. Dartmoor had some proper snow though and my mate Mavis sent me some lovely photos after it had cleared through and the sun had appeared.
It was bright and cold when I headed out to The Plym for a walk on Friday 22nd November, I had planned to be up and out early but the house was cold and my bed was just too warm so I didn't arrive at Marsh Mills until around 8:45am. It was frozen underfoot and very slippery in places but I managed not to fall over before the sun gradually lifted the temperatures a little and the ice melted. It was lovely to be out and about though in such fresh conditions for a change, it's rare that we get such frosty cold weather these days in Plymouth.
A Dipper showed very well at Long Bridge as I stepped off the bus and also seen along the walk down to Blaxton Meadow were a Grey Wagtail, 2 Common Sandpiper, 3 Little Grebe and a male Goosander.
The sluice gates at Blaxton Meadow were clear and water was flowing in on the rising tide and out feeding/roosting on the gradually diminishing mud of the Meadow were Oystercatcher, Curlew, Redshank, Dunlin, 9 Greenshank. 2 Snipe and a Knot. I had hoped that the cold snap may have moved something in to The Plym but the Knot seems to have been the only bird likely to have arrived due to the weather. Also present were 52 Wigeon, a pair of Teal, Shelduck, Mallard, a lone Canada Goose and a female Goosander and amongst the Herring and Black-headed Gulls were 2 Common, 3 Great Black-backed and a Lesser Black-backed.
Around the Park the highlights were a male Stonechat, 2 Green Woodpecker, a Raven, a Kestrel, a Stock Dove, 2 Chiffchaff, skittish Redwings, a Sparrowhawk and 5 Ring-necked Parakeets. A Grey Squirrel in the trees at the main car park and 7 Roe Deer out in the fields nearby were also seen.
The cold spell came to an end on Saturday 23rd November as Storm Bert arrived and exerted his influence. It was wet and windy although we didn't get the full brunt of the storm here in Plymouth but the temperatures certainly lifted and it was back up to 14°c!
The rain had eased mid-morning so I headed up to The Hoe for a look about, it was still blowing a hoolie though and the sea was rough and I hoped for Leach's Petrels, Grey Phalaropes, Little Auks and Pomarine Skuas - of course I was very disappointed but amongst the Herring, Black-headed and Great Black-backed Gulls and Cormorants whizzing around in the strong winds I was pleased to pick up a single adult Kittiwake and I also saw a lone Brent Goose flying past Drakes Island and heading towards the River Tamar.
The gales and heavy rain continued overnight but by first light on Sunday 24th November the wind was beginning to ease and so I headed up to Plymouth Hoe again for another birding- slash-torture session. It was still wet and windy and the sea was rough but again there was very little to see with the highlights being an adult Mediterranean Gull out in The Sound and a Great Northern Diver in The Cattewater.
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