A Cold Snap

The weather has finally turned colder after what has been a very mild Autumn so far and typically it's arrived just as we are having our leaking gas boiler replaced. The boiler was eventually due to be replaced on Tuesday 18th November and with the day before being a beautiful and sunny day we headed out to Stover for a walk. It was noticably cooler but feeling quite pleasant and fresh and it was surprisingly fairly quiet around Stover considering the good weather.

Out on the Lake amongst the Tufted Duck, Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Mallard and Canada Geese were a pair of nervous looking Shoveler, a female Teal, 4 Pochard (3 male) and a Great Crested Grebe but I couldn't find any Mandarin Ducks.

Shovelers

Pochards

Mute Swan

The feeding station as viewed from the tree top walkway was very busy with birds and there were plenty of Coal, Blue and Great Tits dashing about along with a few Nuthatch. Eventually I found a Marsh Tit which dashed in to the feeder, grabbed a Sunflower seed and flew off to eat it in a nearby tree. Also present were Robin, Chaffinch, a female Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Stock Dove, Woodpigeon and a male Blackbird along with some very portly looking Grey Squirrels feeding on the ground underneath the feeders but everything scattered when a female Sparrowhawk dashed through in full hunting mode.

The air felt chilly but it was pleasant when in the sunshine and despite the late date there were Common Darters flitting about around the Lake edge including a few mating pairs.

Common Darter

Common Darter

I had earmarked the Tuesday and Wednesday as boiler installation days but with it all going smoothly on the Tuesday I had Wednesday 19th November unexpectedly free and so I headed off to Dawlish Warren to look for the 5 Velvet Scoter being seen there. It was a beautiful day with blue skies and sunshine but a cold northerly wind kept things very cool indeed.

I arrived off the train at around 10:30am and headed straight to Langstone Rock where the Scoters have been showing but I didn't venture up onto the Rock due to the strong wind and the lingering bad memories of my last visit up there in March 2022 when I nearly broke my telescope. 

On a quick scan offshore from Buddys Cafe I found a flock of 17 Common Scoter (2 males) quite close in and as I scanned through them the 5 Velvet Scoter flew in and landed on the sea nearby. I enjoyed some good views of them but they were very unsettled and flighty (unlike the Common Scoters) and with a distant view of a Red-throated Diver off the main beach towards The Point I walked back to the lifeguard hut for a closer look.

The View from The Lifeguard Hut

I refound the Red-throated Diver but it had moved further towards The Point and with it spending very little time at the surface between dives the views were brief and distant. A Great Northern Diver was even further away and just as active along with 4 Great Crested Grebes and with the wind chilling me down considerably I headed back to the relative shelter of Langstone Rock for another look at the Scoters.

The Velvet Scoters were still showing well along with the Common Scoters, they were bringing up Mussels to the surface to eat before continuing their diving. A Red-throated Diver then appeared amongst them and gave some great views as it had a good preen before continuing its diving and a second bird also flew in and instantly disappeared under the water as soon as it landed.

I decided to have a quick look around the main pond before heading home, it was relatively sheltered amongst the trees from the worst of the wind and out on the water were a Mute Swan, a Moorhen, a Little Grebe and 8 Teal (5 male). A Water Rail and a Snipe flushed from the waters edge and disappeared into the reeds and a second hidden Water Rail was heard squealing away. In the trees 2 Chiffchaff and 2 Long-tailed Tit were feeding while out on the nearby grassland a pair of Stonechat were seen but it was soon time to head back to the station to warm up on the train back to Plymouth.

The Main Pond

Mute Swan

Stonechat

It was frosty, clear and still on Friday 21st November as I headed out to Wembury on the 7am bus, it was a beautiful morning but it felt very cold with temperatures just above freezing and I had to tread carefully on arriving off the bus as there were icy patches on the pavements and roads.

The Rarest Thing seen all day - a Frost at Wembury

I had hoped the cold weather may have moved some birds in but in these days of global warming a few frosty nights doesn't illicit a bird movement response like it used to. However a Redshank along the beach and a Redwing in the Ivy bushes at The Point were probably cold weather arrivals and a surprise Red Kite flying across the fields behind the radar station towards Plymouth and a Black Redstart on the roof of the Church (although it had been reported a few days previously) may also have appeared due to the chilly conditions.

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

The usual birds were otherwise on view with a male Blackcap, a Chiffchaff, a Dartford Warbler, a Grey Wagtail, 2 Goldcrest and Cirl Buntings the highlights and after a good search I finally found a Water Pipit feeding on the seaweed mass along the beach, it was hidden in plain sight amongst the numerous Rock Pipits and Pied Wagtails also present but it was very flitty and flighty, hopefully it will stick around for a while yet.

Dartford Warbler

Pied Wagtail

Water Pipit

Water Pipit

Water Pipit

I'm always surprised to find Water Pipits along the beach at Wembury as they supposedly prefer freshwater environments but November is always a good month to find them at Wembury, maybe they make good use of the rich food source here on the beach as they migrate through to less saline habitats.

River Plym Yellow-legs and Yellow-brows

I had a quick walk along The Plym and around Saltram on Monday 10th Novembe, it was high tide but a pair of numptys were fishing off the sluice gates so there was very little roosting on Blaxton Meadow other than nervous looking Curlews, Gulls and Canada Geese. It was quiet around The Park too with the female Red-crested Pochard still on the duck pond of note, I didn't find any Redwings again but a Kingfisher at Longbridge brightened up my walk somewhat.

Robin, Saltram

FFS - the cause of a virtually birdless Blaxton Meadow

I headed out to Wembury for a walk on Thursday 13th November, it was a beautiful morning as I stepped off the bus and it became quite warm, so much so that I had to take my winter coat off and tie it around my waist! Considering the good weather it was very quiet with only a few walkers and dogs about and therefore there was very little disturbance along the beach on the high tide but I still failed to find Water Pipit or Purple Sandpiper despite a good look.

A Red Admiral flitting past in the sunshine and hundreds of By-the-Wind Sailors (Vellela vellela) sadly washed up along the beach were interesting non-avian sightings while a female Blackcap at the bus stop, 2 Kestrel overhead and a flock of around 30 Stock Dove flying around the fields above the sewage farm were the interesting avian ones.

Hundreds of Vellela vellela washed up along the beach

By-the-Wind Sailors (Vellela vellela)

By-the Wind Sailors - mostly "skeletons'" washed up along the beach but some still with remnants of their blue hydrozoan colony

FFS - the return of P600

On the way back to Plymouth I stepped off the bus at Laira Bridge and walked along The Plym to Marsh Mills before continuing my journey home. It was high tide and there were waders roosting on Blaxton Meadow this time with a noticeable increase in Dunlin numbers from the regular 1 to around 30. Also of note were 4 Little Grebes, a Common Sandpiper and 23 Wigeon out along the river and a Shag drying its wings on a buoy at Laira Bridge.

The highlight though was a 4th calendar year Yellow-legged Gull roosting on the roof of the recycling centre amongst the Herring Gulls, presumably the same bird seen by local birder Pete in the same place back in October. It's legs weren't yellow though, being a washed out, mucky greeny-yellow colour, but it was quite a distinctive looking bird.

Yellow-legged Gull - only my 3rd one on The Plym

Yellow-legged Gull with Herring Gulls

Yellow-legged Gull

A very unseasonal Dingy Footman in the Marsh Mills Underpass

With the morning of Saturday 15th November forecasted to be dry I headed over to Torpoint for a look about at St.Johns Lake on the incoming tide. I wanted a change of scenery from Wembury and The Plym and with a  Slavonian Grebe and an Arctic Tern having been reported there the previous day I set off with fingers crossed. 

Low tide was at around 8am but it was a neap tide so by the time I arrived at the lookout tower at around 9:30am there was very little mud on show and most of the birdlife was on the opposite side of the Lake. I set my scope up for a scan about and had distant views of Curlew, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Wigeon, Little Egret, Shelduck and Canada Goose with a single Teal and around 15 Dunlin seen in flight over the water. I then had a good scan around for the Slavonian Grebe and eventually found it but it was distant and constantly diving with little time spent at the surface, it also covered quite a large area while diving and was hard to keep track of but I was very glad to catch up with it.

I didn't find any Brent Geese, Little Grebes or Turnstones on this visit and the Arctic Tern was a no show as well but I did see 32 distant Cattle Egret feeding in amongst the Cows in a grassy field on the opposite bank. My initial count was 32 but repeat counts never went over 26 although they were very flighty around the field and were obscured behind the hedgerow at times.

Cows and Cattle Egrets

I headed home and then settled down for the afternoon but news of a Yellow-browed Warbler being found near Blagdons Meadow on The Plym had me heading out again for a look. It was in the same area as one seen back in 2015 and which I failed to see or hear on the 3 occassions I went to look for it but I kept my fingers crossed for todays search. 

There's a Yellow-browed Warbler in there somewhere

Viewing was tricky in an area of tangled vegetation by a busy and noisy road and along a footpath busy with walkers and cyclists and after many false alarms with Chiffchaffs, Goldcrests, a Firecrest, a Blue Tit, a Great Tit and a Wren all seen moving through the still leafy vegetation I eventually found it high up in a tree amongst the leaves before I lost track of it. It wasn't the best of views but I was very glad to actually catch up with it this time, a new bird at The Plym for me.

Against my better judgement I returned the next morning to see if I could get a better view of the Yellow-browed Warbler but it was a no show although the usual Chiffchaffs were flitting about in the bushes along with a Firecrest, a Goldcrest and a female Blackcap.

Greenshank

A walk over Laira Bridge and along The Ride to Saltram Beach and back was quiet too, it was high tide and there were no Gulls on the recycling centre roof and the only birds of note were 6 Stock Dove, a pair of Stonechat, a flock of 9 Greenfinch and 3 Shags.

Snow Bunting and Lesser Scaup

I had been thinking of taking a trip to Dawlish Warren for a change of scenery, I used to visit there regularly but with the demise of the bird hide and the eroding away of the dune ridge path it has fallen off my birding radar a bit, a shame really as it is an easy place to get to and produces some good birds. However with news of a Snow Bunting being found along the beach near Groyne 11 and with it seeming to be sticking around I headed off for a look about on Wednesday 5th November.

Before I left the house for the walk to the train station news came through that it was still present (it was first found on the Monday) and so I breathed a sigh of relief. However the news coming through wasn't quite so positive while I was on the train from Newton Abbot to Dawlish Warren as it had been spooked by a circling Coastguard helicopter and had flown off!

I arrived off the train and headed straight to the area of beach where it was mostly being seen but there were no birders present and I couldnt find the Snow Bunting either. I did eventually find it near Groyne 14 as it busily fed away in the dune edge along the beach and as usual for Snow Buntings it was ridicously tame and confiding and gave some great views although it did not stop moving for a second.

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

It then flew off back to the beach near Groyne 11 where it fed out on the sand but it was surprisingly easy to ovelook and again was mostly unconcerned by people walking past nearby.

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

My camera battery then died and so I replaced it with the spare that I always carry with me, however I had forgotten to charge up the spare and it was totally flat so photo opportunities came swiftly to an end which was a shame as the Snow Bunting was so close!

It was otherwise quite quiet around The Warren in claggy skies and a fresh breeze with a Chiffchaff and a Great Spotted Woodpecker seen in the woodland, 6 Common Scoter on the sea offshore, a juvenile Mute Swan on the main pond and a Rush Veneer kicked up from the grass the only sightings of note before I headed home.

Mute Swan

With a male Lesser Scaup being found at Helston Boating Lake on Tuesday and with it being joined by a female bird on the Wednesday I headed down there for a look about on Thursday 6th November. It was a grey and claggy morning but it did clear through by the time I arrived in Helston and it became bright and sunny day and the wind had dropped too.

I caught the 08:09am train to Redruth from Plymouth, it was too early to use my Devon and Cornwall Railcard and the fare was a whopping £28.20 return but I used Split Ticketing and brought the cost down to £14.05! I caught exactly the same train but bought a day return ticket from Plymouth to Saltash for £4.30 and then a day return ticket from Saltash to Redruth with my Devon and Cornwall Railcard for £9.75, I travelled on exactly the same trains with no need for a change along the way and it was less than half the price - ridiculous and what a rip off too.

Anyway, I arrived at Helston Boating Lake at around 10:30am and with a gaggle of Toggers at the far end poking huge lenses at some Ducks out on the water I headed down there for a look. The Lesser Scaup were easily picked out amongst the Tufted Ducks present, both were busily diving away and often coming quite close to the shore although they spent most of their time apart from each other.

Lesser Scaup

Lesser Scaup

Lesser Scaup

Lesser Scaup

Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Shoveler (4 males, 11 females) and a Common Sandpiper were also seen here but after a while I decided to walk over to the nearby sewage farm for a look about. Along the lane by the sewage plant I saw Chiffchaff, Firecrest, Goldcrest, Blue and Great Tit, Blackbird and Robin all flitting about in bushes still sporting a lot of leaves in the continuing mild weather while a Jay and a Great Spotted Woodpecker were heard and a Buzzard flew overhead.

Tufted Duck

Coot

I returned to the Boating Lake for another look and the 2 Lesser Scaup were still showing very well although they still did not stay still for a second and were constantly diving for food. The views were excellent though, the best I've ever had of this species and it was very enjoyable and very interesting to watch them so closely from the comfort of a strategically placed bench by the lake.

Lesser Scaup and Black-headed Gull

Lesser Scaup

Lesser Scaup

Lesser Scaup

The weather forecast for Saturday 8th November was looking grand and so I caught the 7am bus out to Wembury for a walk. It was thick mist in Plymouth when I got on the bus but it was all blue sky and sunshine when I arrived at Wembury and with very little breeze it became a pleasantly warm morning, so much so that I saw a Red Admiral, a Clouded Yellow and a Peacock flitting about.

Clouded Yellow

I started my walk with a scan about from the church but it was very quiet with just the odd Chaffinch over heading west. Woodpigeon flocks were flying over too but in a haphazard manner, no flock was larger than a 100 birds and they were flying all over the place as though they didn't know where they were and where they wanted to go. 

Wembury Church

The Waning Beaver Moon

It was a spring high tide and despite the lack of wind the surf was rough as it crashed onto the beach where 16 Little Egret and 14 Turnstone were roosting along with the usual Oystercatchers. There were Gannets diving for fish offshore while a Great Northern Diver flew high over the water heading east.

There had been a notable increase in Blackbird and Goldcrest numbers along the walk and also of note were a Firecrest, 2 Sparrowhawk, a pair of Blackcap, a Chiffchaff and 3 Dartford Warbler amongst the usual birds. A look for Water Pipit and Purple Sandpiper drew a blank again though.

Dartford Warbler

Stonechat

Rock Pipit

The footpath upgrade continues and the path has been rerouted slightly inland into the wheatfield edge which probably means I'm unlikely to be able to view the beach from the clifftop in the future which is a shame. More hedgerow has been cut down too which is even more of a shame as this is where the Cirl Buntings skulk when disturbed from feeding in the wheatfield. When the new path is completed it is certainly going to get a lot more footfall along it too which will mean yet more disturbance to the wildlife, looks like I'm going to have to catch the early bus more often.

Cirl Buntings