Rouzel-less Dartmoor (Again)

I had a walk around Saltram and The Plym on Monday 27th October and while it was an enjoyable and interesting walk it did feel a little Groundhog Day-like. The usual birds were seen with the highlights being 2 Siskin flying over, a Mistle Thrush in the orchard, 5 Goosander along the river including an immature male moulting into adult plumage and a Peregrine soaring high overhead being mobbed by Carrion Crows. The female Red-crested Pochard was also back from her travels around Dartmoor but the Mandarin Ducks have still yet to return.

Goosanders

Goosander (immature male)

I was invited out by my mate Mavis to go on a Dartmoor Ring Ouzel hunt on Tuesday 28th October, my recent visit to the Avon Dam had been unsuccessful but Mavis had enjoyed some good views of Ring Ouzels at Emsworthy Mire and so we planned to visit there for a look about. The weather forecast was as usual changeable leading up to the day and with it looking to be unsettled and misty we switched plans and decided to visit Bowling Green Marsh at Topsham for the high tide roost instead.

It was a beautiful morning as we drove up to Topsham with the weather forecast for the day having miraculously changed for the better overnight as it quite often does these days and so Mavis suggested a short visit to Bowling Green Marsh and then a drive to Emsworthy Mire which sounded like a very good plan!

The view from the Bowling Green Marsh hide

The hide at Bowling Green Marsh was busy but Mavis managed to get a seat while I stood at the back with my telescope and we enjoyed watching the throng of birds out on the marsh. All the usuals were present with the highlight being a Spotted Redshank roosting amongst the Redshank right in front of the hide although it remained asleep with its head under its wings most of the time we were there. The Swan Goose was in amongst the Canada Goose flock which also contained a white headed individual and we had some lovely views of Teal, Wigeon, Shoveler and Pintail looking very smart in the bright sunshine.

Swan Goose

Teal

With the tide on the estuary dropping the birds began to fly off from the marsh with the Avocets and Greenshanks the first to leave and so we headed onwards to Emsworthy Mire. The sun was still shining but the wind had picked up on arriving at the Mire and we headed down into the valley for a look about. It was all very quiet though with only a few birds seen, probably due to the strong wind, and unfortunately we failed to find any Ring Ouzels although they had been seen earlier in the day. However it was just fantastic to be up on Dartmoor, it was looking absolutely stunning and we enjoyed the views while eating lunch as a pair of Ravens croaked overhead. Also making it onto our bird list were a Mistle Thrush, 2 Robins, 5 Blackbirds, 3 Woodpigeon, 2 Magpie and 3 Carrion Crow and while I didn't see any Ring Ouzels I didn't mind as it had been a very lovely day out.

Emsworthy Mire - just beautiful!

I headed out to Wembury for a walk on Friday 31st October, it was a grey and very windy day but at least it was light when I stepped off the bus at 7:30am after the clocks went back last weekend. The sea was rough in the strong winds and as the tide headed in the beach was getting a pounding but the Gulls were enjoying feeding in the surf and amongst the Black-headed and Herring Gulls present were a few Great Black-backed Gulls and single adult, 1st winter and 2nd winter Mediterranean Gulls. 

Herring Gulls

There were also gulls resting along the beach and amongst them was a rather tardy juvenile Sandwich Tern which was probably wishing it had headed off to Africa a few weeks ago. A Curlew, 9 Turnstone, 3 Little Egret and the usual Oystercatchers were present along the beach too plus 2 male and a female Mallard with one of the males seen mating with the female out on the water.

Sandwich Tern with Black-headed Gulls

Offshore Gannets were heading east with an adult Mediterranean Gull also picked up heading in that direction too along with a Great Northern Diver high overhead and 8 Common Scoters low over the waves.

I had to see a man about a dog behind the pine trees at The Point which was very fortuitous as I inadvertently flushed a Woodcock from the ground, it clattered through the trees and was gone in a flash but only my second Wembury sighting of one.

And so October comes to an end, my least favourite month but at least it seems to have passed by very quickly this year and it has been quite eventful on the wildlife front. Hopefully the last 2 months of 2025 will prove just as interesting.

A St.Ives Seawatch and a Wembury Walk

Due to various circumstances I haven't managed to do any proper seawatching so far this year but with Storm Benjamin exerting its influence across the UK I headed down to St.Ives in Cornwall on Thursday 23rd October for a look about on a day with squally showers blown in on strong north westerly winds.

I caught the 6:40am train from Plymouth and arrived at the coastguard lookout on St.Ives Island at around 9:15am, later than I would have liked but I really didn't fancy catching the 5:30am train from Plymouth (although the £28.20(!) ticket price was the same for either train).

When I arrived at the lookout there were a few birders already present, a friendly bunch with a couple of very experienced seawatchers amongst them (Liam and Steve) who did a sterling job of finding birds and calling them out although I did find it difficult at times to get onto the birds despite their excellent instructions.

The View from the Coastguard Lookout, St.Ives Island

As I was walking up to the lookout I could see birds streaming past in the lee of the island before heading out into the stormy north westerly wind and it pretty much continued for the 6 hours I was there, only beginning to peter out when I left to head home, and I had some great, close views of  Gannets, Kittiwakes, Razorbills and Guillemots as they flew past. It was very heartening to see so many juvenile Kittiwakes amongst the throng and good numbers of juvenile and immature Gannets too.

Juvenile Kittiwake, St.Ives

The occassional Manx Shearwater came past and often fairly close in too and I had some cracking views of Arctic Skuas as well with at least 10 variously aged and plumaged birds passing by at varying distances. Even better were 3 Great Skuas, a pleasure to see after their population crash following the avian flu epidemic a few years ago. Common Scoters flew past with singles and small groups seen but 4 Teal and 7 Tufted Duck were a surprise. A Sanderling, a Curlew, 2 Oystercatcher, 6 Sandwich Tern, Mediterranean Gulls, 3 Fulmar and 3 Great Northern Diver were also noted and it was good to see 4 Arctic Tern pass by, a bird I don't often see. I struggled to get onto a Little Gull flying by, I had a very brief view of what I think was it just as it disappeared out of sight behind the rocks so I can't really add that to my list but I had better luck with seeing a very smart Balearic Shearwater moving through along with 3 equally smart Sooty Shearwaters.

A juvenile Sabine's Gull was found and eventually I got onto to it, it was distant though and would regularly settle on the rough sea where it would just vanish amongst the swell but in flight it was a very smart and distinctive looking bird. It gradually moved west across the Bay and was lost from sight but later I had better and closer views of presumably the same bird which may have doubled back on itself to start its feeding flight into the wind again. Remarkably it was eventually joined by a second juvenile bird which sadly very quickly disappeared east across the Bay and was lost from sight.

Birds of the day however were 2 juvenile Long-tailed Skuas, picked up by Liam and Steve and a new bird for me. The first (at 10:08am) moved through fairly close in, an intermediate phase bird with a noticeable pale head/nape area and quite a distinctive looking bird. The second bird (at 11:55am) was a little further out, a darker looking intermediate phase type and less obvious (to me anyway) and at one point it very briefly harrassed the feeding Sabine's Gull as it flew past. Interestingly 2 juvenile Long-tailed Skuas were also seen that day at Pendeen further west along the coast and presumably the same 2 birds seen at St.Ives.

After 6 hours my back and legs eventually had had enough and it was time to leave for home but it had been a great day's birding on what is only my second ever St.Ives seawatch (the first was back in 2021!). I was very pleased to catch up with some sea birds at last and to get some great views of them too, I do enjoy seawatching despite the rain, wind and cold and difficult viewing conditions but I still have a lot to learn. Thank goodness Liam and Steve were there to help out as I would undoubtedly have missed out on seeing some of the birds that ended up on my day list and hopefully it won't be another 4 years before I seawatch at St.Ives again.

With the weather having calmed down by Saturday 25th October I caught the 7:00am bus out to Wembury for a walk. It was cool in a continuing north westerly breeze with occassional drizzle showers in mostly sunny skies and I hoped for a bit of birding movement going on overhead.

It was only just getting light when I arrived off the bus but a Cetti's Warbler was heard calling in the valley to the beach as I walked up to the church. There wasn't much going on from here so I headed out along the footpath to The Point where I could see Egrets roosting along the beach on the high tide. I hoped a Cattle Egret might be in amongst them, it wasn't but a count of 20 Little Egret was probably my highest ever here. The usual Oystercatchers were present too along with 17 Turnstone but I couldn't find anything more unusual.

Egrets and a Rainbow, Wembury

I continued my walk up to the radar station for a look about, it was around 9:30am when I got there and so far I hadn't noted any movement overhead, however this soon changed with a silent Siskin over heading west followed by a few calling Chaffinch. Over the next hour there was a steady trickle of Chaffinch and Siskin heading west, the Chaffinch were vocal, slow moving and more numerous, the Siskin totalled around 50 birds and were mostly silent and flew over very quickly in small flocks.

Another Rainbow, Wembury

Woodpigeon flocks were on the move too, no larger than around 100 birds at a time and all half heartedly moving west with some flocks doubling back or heading inland and I did find at least 2 Stock Doves in amongst them too. Skylarks were moving west also but again appeared to be doing so without much enthusiasm and often doubling back and heading inland or settling in the fields.

After an hour things dried up and as I walked back to the bus stop in the village the usual birds were seen with Cirl Bunting, Stonechat, 2 Goldcrest, a Kestrel, a Raven,  2 Sparrowhawk, Gannets, a Coal Tit and 2 Buzzards all noted. There were plenty of Pheasants around too, released from the pens up in the fields above the wheatfield and waiting to be blasted out of the sky on the next shoot. A Small White and 3 Red Admiral were also seen flitting about as the sun warmed things up a bit but with the clocks due to go back that night it certainly felt very autumnal with winter not far away.

Lesser Yellowlegs and White-rumped Sandpiper

I had considered a day trip to the Isles of Scilly again on Saturday 18th October but I still didn't feel that great for such a long and full on day even though the train ticket would be considerably cheaper than on a weekday. Also the mild, dry, settled weather we have enjoyed since our return from Sicily was due to break down in the afternoon and I didn't fancy a wet and windy Scillonian crossing on the return journey and so I decided to go birding at Truro and Hayle instead before the rain arrived.

It was a grey and claggy day and I had planned to visit Hayle first and then Truro but changed my plans on the train journey down into Cornwall, alighting at Truro at just before 9am. I walked down to Tesco and scanned the mudflats of the river from the car park there and quickly found the reported Lesser Yellowlegs feeding out on the mud. It showed ridiculously well although it did not stay still for a second but I had some great close views of it searching for food out on the mud. It was finding plenty of food and would run down to the water with its catch to give it a wash before swallowing it - obviously Truro mud isn't that tasty.

Lesser Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

A Common Sandpiper, 2 Redshank and 2 Curlew were also seen here and with the Lesser Yellowlegs in the bag I headed back to the train station to continue my journey to Hayle.

On alighting off the train at Hayle I walked down to the Carnsew Pool and along the way I saw a Black-tailed Godwit and the Danish ringed V463 Spoonbill back again for the winter feeding in the harbour. The Spoonbill then flew over to The Pool where it gave much better views, constantly feeding but occassionally walking up onto the mud for a poop before returning to the water - I guess the old adage of you don't defecate where you eat holds true for Spoonbills too.

Spoonbill V463

At Ryan's Field there were another 2 Spoonbills feeding away, both juveniles and unringed, but there was little else there and all the action seemed to be out on the estuary and so I continued to the causeway bridge with my scope at the ready.

Spoonbill

There were birds galore from the bridge with many roosting and feeding very close, there were Teal, Wigeon, Lapwing, Redshank, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Bar-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Grey Plover, 2 Greenshank, Canada Goose and the usual Herring, Black-headed, Great Black-backed, Mediterranean and Lesser Black-backed Gulls all present and there were a few goodies hidden amongst them.

The view from the Causeway Bridge

Curlew OA, a female bird released on Dartmoor in August 2024

Herring Gull with fish which it eventually managed to swallow whole

A Spotted Redshank was manically feeding away in the water, running around with its head under water and sometimes almost totally submerging. Amongst the Canada Geese were 2 Barnacle Geese and amongst the Wigeon there were 5 Pintail. A Curlew Sandpier was feeding amongst the Dunlin, a Dark-bellied Brent Goose was also feeding amongst the Wigeon and a Peregrine soared high overhead. However there was no sign of the reported White-rumped Sandpiper although it had been seen earlier that morning.

Barnacle Goose with Canada Geese

Pintail

Dark-bellied Brent Goose

The rain arrived as forecasted at around 2pm, more mizzle drizzle than proper rain, and despite the tide starting to head in and pushing the birds upriver towards the bridge it was time for me to leave and head home - or so I thought.

I walked back to Hayle and bought a Philps pasty for my lunch which I ate in the shelter at the train station.  However on checking my phone while waiting for the train to arrive I saw a report from 15 minutes previously that the White-rumped Sandpiper had been reseen from the causeway bridge so I finished my pasty and headed back there as fast as my little legs and pasty filled belly would allow.

There were quite a few birders on the bridge now and all staring intently at the nearby shoreline, I scanned in the general direction of their scopes and could see small waders feeding in the saltmarsh but then they all took to the air and flew further upriver. I did notice a white square rump on one of the birds as it flew off, it was Dunlin sized and appeared quite dark on the back but with the Curlew Sandpiper being present I couldn't be totally sure if it was the White-rumped Sandpiper or not.

I walked round to the car park at Birdys Cafe for a closer scan, eventually the White-rumped Sandpier was refound feeding in the saltmarsh and I had some good views of it despite the distance, poor light and rain. It eventually flew further up the Creek and out of sight and so I headed back to Hayle train station for the second time to catch the train back to Plymouth, stopping briefly to watch a Kingfisher diving for fish in the harbour along the way.

Kingfisher

And so it had been quite the day out and a shame the rain had arrived on time to curtail my birding somewhat but never mind. I was pleased to get my best ever views of what is now my 6th ever Lesser Yellowlegs, I was also pleased to see only my second ever White-rumped Sandpiper after my first one at Minsmere back in 1984!

Wembury and a Rouzel-less Avon Dam

I was awake very early on Thursday 16th October and so decided to head out to Wembury for a walk. I was thinking of catching the 6:30am bus but ended up catching the 7:00am bus instead which was just as well as it was only just getting light when I arrived at Wembury at 7:30am.

I headed up to the church on what was an overcast morning with a fresh easterly breeze and I had hoped to see a bit of vis-mig going on but it was very quiet with just a few Skylark, Meadow Pipit and Chaffinch flying overhead which seemed to be local birds flying around rather than birds passing through. I'd hoped for some Siskins too but it wasn't meant to be, however I did much better than that with a Grey Heron flying up the valley to the beach which was shortly followed by a Cattle Egret, my first Wembury sighting of one. At first I thought it was a Little Egret until I got a look at its black feet and yellow bill and it was a good start to my mornings walk as it flew over the village and headed inland. A Cattle Egret had been reported at Wembury a few days ago so maybe this is the same bird and it had possibly roosted with the Grey Heron somewhere nearby.

I headed off along the cliff path towards Noss Mayo and checked out the ponds by the farm where I saw 2 Moorhen and heard a third one. Even better though was a Merlin dashing low over the ground and chasing after a charm of Goldfinch, unfortunately a brief but good view and my first at Wembury for some time now. A Kestrel was also hovering away over the nearby fields and it was another 3 Falcon species day for me with 3 Peregrines also seen, an adult bird powering through across the fields and 2 juveniles soaring together overhead and engaging in the occassional tussle with each other.

Back at the church a pair of Firecrest came extremely close to me as they checked out my phishing before dashing back into cover and it was odd to see Sloes in flower here too, presumably due to the recent warm weather we've had. 

Sloe Blossom in October 

Fuligo septica (Dog Vomit Slime Mould or Scrambled Egg Slime)

Gymnopilus junonius (Spectacular Rustgill or Laughing Gym)

Out on the rocks on the low tide at The Point a nice find was a Grey Plover which was hunkered down and easily overlooked, it eventually woke up and showed well amongst the Oystercatchers also present. A Curlew, a Turnstone and a Bar-tailed Godwit were also seen along with 2 Little Egret and a Kingfisher which was getting constantly harrassed by a very persistent Rock Pipit.

Grey Plover and Oystercatcher

Grey Plover

Kingfisher

A ringed 2nd winter Great Black-backed Gull was also seen out on the rocks but it flew off before I could get closer for a better photo. I have had a very prompt reply regarding its history though, it was ringed on 1st July 2024 on Guernsey and has since been reported from Calvados in France and now the UK.

Great Black-backed Gull 0D8

Otherwise the usual birds were seen including a Sparrowhawk and 2 Buzzards, Linnets, Stonechats, Cirl Buntings and Chiffchaffs, 2 Swallows heading east, plenty of Pheasants ready for the upcoming shooting parties, a Goldcrest, a Song Thrush and 3 Ravens. The workmen are back too as the footpath from the main beach towards The Point continues to be upgraded.

Footpath Upgrade - all the wooden fencing where I would see Beetles, Moths, Crickets, Coneheads and Lizards has been removed

I decided to check out the Plymouth Pear again as I could find no further information about them being present at Wembury Point other than in the leaflet produced by National Trust. Like the Sloes the tree was in flower in places and they certainly didn't look like Plymouth Pear flowers which are small, they also didn't smell like Plymouth Pear flowers which are supposed to smell like rotten Scampi - nice!. Another Pear tree nearby was bearing large, normal looking Pears and again unlike Plymouth Pear fruit so I think they are Pear Trees near Plymouth rather than Plymouth Pear Trees. Never mind, at least I have seen a genuine Plymouth Pear before at Derriford Hospital.

(Not a Plymouth) Pear Blossom in October

We headed out to Shipley Bridge on Friday 17th October for a walk up to the Avon Dam and back in the hope of catching up with some Ring Ouzels. Reports of them have been sparse so far this autumn but one was seen here on Wednesday so I kept my fingers crossed. It was a grey and claggy day but the sun started to appear from behind the clouds just as we were leaving to head to Ashburton for lunch.

It was very quiet along the walk, the river was quite low so it was much less noisy than usual and there were surprisingly few birds around. The Hawthorn bushes were overloaded with Haws but the Rowan trees were totally bare of berries and as a result no Ring Ouzels were seen, in fact the only thrushes seen on the walk were a Mistle Thrush and 4 Blackbird.

Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Robin, Stonechat, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Coal Tit, a Great Tit, Carrion Crow, a Kestrel, 2 Dunnock and 2 Buzzard were the only other birds seen and there was no water coming over the reservoir dam after a very dry summer and autumn (so far).

The Avon Dam

Plymouth Specialities

It was grey, mild and still as I headed out to Wembury on Friday 10th October and as I left the house to catch the 9:05am bus I saw The Squatter flying around, I'd seem him earlier in the week on the flat roof out the back and he has managed to injure his right foot (as Birdy 2023 did to his left foot) but he's obviously managing OK at the moment.

Despite the grey skies it really was a beautiful day and things started off very well with a Hobby flying over the main beach and heading straight out to sea and I watched its progress until I lost sight of it on the horizon - a late bird and presumably a juvenile although I didn't get any real plumage detail on it.

It then became a 3 Falcon day for me with sightings of a Kestrel hovering away around The Point and a Peregrine powering through over the fields above the sewage farm which scattered the Woodpigeons and around 50 Stock Doves that were feeding hidden amongst the stubble.

A Cetti's Warbler was calling in the valley to the beach, my first here for a few months now, and there had been a noticeable influx of Chiffchaffs with birds flitting about all along my walk. There was also a noticeable movement of Swallows moving east in small groups with around 60 birds seen in total.

The high tide was dropping and along the beach the 2 Bar-tailed Godwit were still present with 5 Ringed Plover, 7 Turnstone, 2 Curlew and Oystercatchers while Mediterranean Gull numbers were down to just 6 (3 adults, 2 2nd winters and a 1st winter). It was quiet offshore but a distant pair of Common Scoters were picked up flying west and around 6 even more distant Common Dolphins were moving west as well.

Bar-tailed Godwits 

Bar-tailed Godwit

Ringed Plovers

Ivy Bees were again showy around the Ivy blooms and a Large White and 3 Red Admiral were seen flitting about despite the lack of sunshine. I was also pleased to finally find a Plymouth Pear at The Point, I knew they were present here and I've been regularly walking past one for years without realising!

Ivy Bees

Plymouth Pear

Plymouth Pear

I headed out to The Plym again on Sunday 12th October, it was a warm and sunny morning and I arrived at Blaxton Meadow about an hour before the high tide which was due at around 11am. The usual birds were present here with the highlights being a Kingfisher, 29 Curlew (including J7),  a Dunlin, 3 Turnstone, 17 Oystercatcher, 2 Common Sandpiper, 4 Shelduck and 2 Black-tailed Godwit. I checked out all the Redshank present but still no sign of the recent Spotted, it must have moved on by now, and I didn't find either of the recent Curlew Sandpipers either.

It was quiet around The Park too with a Snipe, 3+ Stonechat, 6+ Meadow Pipit, 2 Jay, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood and a Grey Squirrel of note while along the River Plym a Little Grebe, a Grey Wagtail, 2 Wigeon, 12 Greenshank, 4 Mute Swan and 7 Cormorant were seen.

Speckled Wood 

Wigeon 

I saw a post on Bluesky about Plymouth Thistle being in flower on Plymouth Hoe, I'd heard about it before but never seen one and so we headed out for a walk on Monday 13th October to go for a look about. Using the photos in the Bluesky post we easily found the Plymouth Thistles with 4 plants in flower along the footpath edges, we've probably seen them before but never noticed them. 

Plymouth Thistle

Plymouth Thistle

Turnstones - 10 of 12 back to winter on The Hoe, No Purple Sandpipers present though (as yet!)

I had planned a visit to The Scillies for a day trip on Wednesday 15th October but didn't feel up to it so we headed out to Burrator Reservoir for a walk instead. It was a grey and claggy day and notably cooler than of late and the water level of the reservoir was surprisingly low, according to the notice board outside the information centre it is only just over 50%  full. It was all very quiet along our walk too with the highlights being 8 Cormorant, a Sparrowhawk overhead being mobbed by 2 Pied Wagtails, the 2 resident white farmyard Geese keeping themselves apart as usual and 2 Chiffchaff heard calling.

There were quite a range of fungi on show and after a tip off from my mate Mavis we found some Devils Fingers in the same area we saw them in 5 years ago.

Devils Fingers - weird and smelly

Badger Face Welsh Mountain Sheep

Badger Face Welsh Mountain Sheep