Wembury, The Plym, Beesands, The Plym, Wembury

With the good weather continuing I've made the most of it and have been out and about as much as possible before it all comes to an end.

The sun was shining and the wind had eased a little on Monday 7th April as I headed out to Wembury for another walk. I had meant to catch the early bus but that didn't happen, I really must start getting my arse in gear in the mornings, and I arrived at Wembury at the later than planned time of 09:45hrs.

As the bus headed into the village there were 3 House Martins flitting about over the houses and on alighting off the bus I heard a Willow Warbler quietly singing away in a village garden but unfortunately I couldn't get a sighting of it. Later another one was heard quietly singing away near the horse stables too but again it kept itself out of sight. I also heard the Cetti's Warbler in the valley to the beach, Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps were heard singing away too and not to be outdone the Dartford Warbler was briefly heard (and seen) at The Point.

There was no sign of the Black Redstart but the 2 Red-legged Partridge showed very well, this time they were feeding in the horsefield. A Kestrel, a Buzzard, a Sparrowhawk and 2 Swallow were seen overhead and 2 Sandwich Tern and a 1st summer Common Gull flew east offshore. Also of note were 3 Turnstone and 2 Shelduck.

Red-legged Partridge 

I had a look for Adders with no luck but then nearly stood on one along the footpath which scared the bejesus out of me as it quickly slithered away.

Adder

Butterflies were on the wing in the sunshine with a Large White, Speckled Woods, Peacocks, 2 Comma, Small Whites and 3 male Orange-tips all seen.

Orange-tip

The wind had eased down some more the following day (Tuesday 8th April) as I headed out to The Plym for a walk on the low but incoming tide. I caught the bus to Laira Bridge and walked up to Marsh Mills and considering it was Easter school holiday hell time and the weather was good it was surprisingly not that busy with people.

It was a warm and sunny day again and as I was scanning the clear skies from above The Amphitheatre I picked up 2 Red Kites soaring high over Marsh Mills and heading east, closely followed by another one. This is only the second time I have seen Red Kites here at The Plym although they are occassionally reported flying over and especially in the spring.

The male Wigeon was still present out on the river along with the 3 Mute Swans, 4 Swallows were seen overhead, a Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard drumming and a Kestrel hovered over Chelson Meadow, also a male Orange-tip was seen flitting about along with Peacocks, Speckled Woods and Small Whites.

Speckled Wood

It was sunny but breezier again on Wednesday 9th April as we headed out for the day to Slapton and Beesands. With a Night Heron having being reported at Slapton Ley that morning we stopped off  briefly at the bridge between the lower and upper Ley for a look but as expected there was no sign of it.

Slapton Ley from Torcross - looking gorgeous!

We carried on to Torcross where we parked the car and then we walked over to Beesands via the beach on the low tide. I had a quick look at Beesands Ley and quickly found the male Ring-necked Duck present amongst the Tufted Ducks, it was busily diving away and was sporting a muddy face and stained white plumage when it surfaced from dabbling around in the bottom mud. There were  also 4 male Gadwall out on the water along with a single Great Crested Grebe while a skulking Reed Warbler was heard quietly singing down in the reeds along the Ley side.

Ring-necked Duck

After some lunch at The Britannia we headed back to Torcross via the cliffpath as the incoming tide had now cut off the route along the beach. A male Wheatear was a nice find along the walk and at one point was heard quietly singing to itself. A few Early Purple Orchids were also seen in the hedgerow just coming into flower.

Wheatear

Early Purple Orchid

Back at Torcross a quick look across Slapton Ley revealed more Tufted Ducks, Coot, Moorhen and Great Crested Grebes along with 3 Gadwall (2 males) but the highlight was a Great White Egret flying down the back of the Ley towards the bridge. 

Tufted Duck

It was another day of sunshine on Thursday 10th April as I headed back out to The Plym for a walk. It was low tide when I arrived at Marsh Mills at around 11am and along the river the highlights were a Common Sandpiper, a Greenshank, 3 Mute Swan, 2 Oystercatcher and the lingering male Wigeon while on Blaxton Meadow 18 Redshank were feeding along with a Ringed Plover, an uncommon bird here.

Ringed Plover with Redshanks

After not seeing a Mistle Thrush last year at Saltram I was pleased to hear and eventually see a male bird singing away at the top of a tree, also of note were a male Bullfinch and a male Stonechat on Chelson Meadow.

Non-avian highlights on my walk were 4 Roe Deer (2 male, 2 female), my first Green-veined White of the year, a Small Tortoiseshell, a Comma and a male Brimstone.

Peacock

Small Tortoiseshell 

Green-veined White 

Brimstone 

I decided to head out to Wembury again on Friday 11th April, I planned to catch the 7am bus but managed to get my shit together for a change and caught the earlier bus at 6:30am instead! There wasn't a cloud in the sky and no breeze as I left the house but it was really chilly, however it soon warmed up as the day wore on and it felt like the hottest day of the year so far and as a result Wembury was swarming with people by the time I caught the 12:45pm bus back to Plymouth.

It really was a case of the early birder catching the bird with an amazing sighting of a Short-eared Owl flying around the pine trees by the radar station at The Point, it settled in the pines twice but was hassled by Magpies and eventually flew off over the fields and out of sight - if I hadn't have caught the earlier bus I would have missed out on my first ever sighting of a Short-eared Owl at Wembury!

Short-eared Owl

It was also a joy to see and hear my first Whitethroats of the year with at least 5 seen and heard and I was also pleased to find my first Wembury Wheatears of the year too (4 males, 1 female), a species that is usually easier to see in the autumn than in the spring. A Great Northern Diver sat on the sea and still in winter plumage was an interesting sighting and I managed to get a brief and distant view of a quietly singing Willow Warbler flitting about in a hedgerow.

Wheatear

There were still 8 Turnstone along the beach on the ebbing high tide along with 33 Oystercatcher, 9 Little Egret, 3 Canada Geese, 2 Shelduck and a pair of Mallard. Offshore Gannets, Fulmar, Shag and Cormorant were seen while a male Kestrel and 2 Swallow were seen overhead. There were 2 Red-legged Partridge in the wheatfield and I suspect there are actually 4 birds present in the area, likewise I heard the Cetti's Warbler in the valley to the beach but suspect there are actually 2 males present.

Red-legged Partridge

A Stoat along the beach was a surprise although it was seen in the same area as last years sighting of one. A female Black Oil Beetle, a male Brimstone and 3 male Orange-tip were also non-avian highlights.

Black Oil Beetle

April!

With April arriving a quarter of the year has now gone, it really has passed by so very quickly. The settled weather is continuing into April too, we haven't had any proper rain now for a couple of weeks and while it is mostly sunny it has also been quite breezy and this has kept the temperatures down somewhat.

I caught up with my first Brimstone of the year on a flying visit to Exminster Marsh on Monday 31st March, a brief sighting only as it flitted about along the roadside before flying off when a car passed by. I had a very quick look across the Marsh from the railway bridge too but it was very hazy and all I could pick out were a few Canada Geese.

I saw a few Peacocks and a Speckled Wood on a rearranged walk from Mount Batten to Bovisands with my friend Jan the following day but more interesting were 2 Cetti's Warblers heard calling along our route, 1 from the cliffpath near Fort Bovisand and 1 at the Cliffedge Cafe where we stopped for lunch - maybe the Wembury population expanding in range or new migrants?

Thursday 3rd April was another sunny and breezy day and so I headed out to The Plym for a look about. High tide was around 9:30am but with it being a spring tide Blaxton Meadow was still a lake by the time I arrived at around 11:30am. A surprise sighting here though were a pair of Shoveler roosting amongst the Shelducks out on the water, they didn't seem very settled and were eventually spooked by some of the Shelducks having a spat nearby and flew over to the river and out of sight. Another surprise was a single male Wigeon which also flew out to the river, a little late now to still be here.

Shoveler

Shoveler and Shelduck

Around 70 Redshank were roosting at the back of the Meadow with 5 Dunlin, 2 of which were in summer plumage, and 7 Greenshank and 6 Oystercatcher were present too. A Raven caused a bit of a kerfuffle amongst the Gulls, Shelducks and Carrion Crows when it flew down onto one of the islands on Blaxton Meadow to grab a beakful of mud before flying off with Carrion Crows in pursuit.

The pair of Red-crested Pochard were still at the duck pond, the female seems a little bit more tolerant of the male now, and the female Wood Duck was still present too amongst the Mandarin Ducks. A Swallow occassionally dashing about overhead was nice to see, presumably a returning breeding bird from the nearby old stables.

Red-crested Pochard

Mandarin

Sleepy Wood Duck

Stock Dove

I had a look at Chelson Meadow, no clearance work has started yet for the planned solar farm so presumably the wildlife here will be able to reproduce in peace this summer for one last time. A male Stonechat, 3 Bullfinch (2 males), a male Kestrel and a Song Thrush were seen here but the highlight was a Wheatear, my first of the year.

Wheatear

There were a few butterflies flitting about but views were difficult in the strong breeze with 2 Speckled Wood, a Small White, a Comma, 2 Peacock and a male Brimstone all noted.

Friday 4th April and news came through of an immature Kittiwake being found on Blaxton Meadow and so I decided to go and have a look for it as I've never seen a Kittiwake on The Plym before. I'm always wary with news of unusual birds being found on The Plym as invariably they don't stick around for very long and I end up dipping them and today was no exception! On the walk from Marsh Mills down to Blaxton Meadow I met local birder Martin who had found the Kittiwake but the news was negative - a twat of a fisherman had walked out along the river wall which is supposedly no access and had flushed everything off the Meadow and downriver including the Kittiwake! Never mind.

Birds were beginning to return to the Meadow when I arrived at the viewing platform but despite sticking around for a bit in the forlorn hope the Kittiwake might return it wasn't meant to be. However I did manage to see a few birds including a male Wigeon, 4 winter plumaged Dunlin, 13 Oystercatcher, 8 Greenshank, 6 Little Egret and around 70 Redshank.

Saturday 5th April was yet again sunny but windy as I headed out to Wembury for a walk. The easterly wind was very brisk and became increasingly so as the morning wore on making birding more and more challenging but I had an interesting visit.

The highlight was a male Black Redstart along the beach, a smart looking bird but mobile and wary and my first at Wembury for some time now.

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

At least 9 Sand Martin and 5 Swallow were seen along my walk as they came in off the sea and headed inland, I don't often see Sand Martins at Wembury in the spring so today's count was notable. Chiffchaffs were singing away but only one Blackcap was heard and the Cetti's Warbler kept its usual silence. A Mistle Thrush at the radar station,  2 Red-legged Partridge in the sewage farm field, 4 Shelduck (2 pairs) in the wheatfield and 18 Turnstone feeding along the beach were also of note.

A male Orange-tip and a Large White were year firsts and a Speckled Wood, a Small White and 2 Peacock were also seen despite the strong wind.

Large White

Wembury and Exminster Marsh

It was mostly sunny but cool in a northerly wind as I headed out to Wembury for a walk on Friday 28th March. Again it didn't feel very birdy and again it proved to be so but it was a very pleasant walk anyway.

I did manage to find my first Wembury Peacock of the year and there were also 2 Comma flitting about too. A total of 4 Black Oil Beetles were seen by the footpath along with Bloody-Nosed Beetles and it was good to see plenty of Sea Kale emerging out of the sand along the beach as well, with far fewer spells of stormy weather this winter season the beach hasn't had its usual bashing although this has meant far less seaweed has been washed up for the birds to feed on.

Peacock

Comma

Black Oil Beetle

Black Oil Beetle

Tawny Mining Bee

The usual birds were seen but it was a bit of a Warbler day - A Cetti's Warbler called a few times in the valley to the beach, a Blackcap and Chiffchaffs were heard too while a Dartford Warbler was heard and briefly seen songflighting but mostly proved to be very elusive amongst the Gorse bushes.

Cirl Bunting

I headed off to Exminster Marshes on Saturday 29th March, I ended up catching a later train than originally planned due to oversleeping but I arrived at Starcross around 10:30am to begin my walk. I decided to give the bus a miss again and walk to the Marsh on what was a sunny and warm morning although the road and paths were busy with cars, cyclists and walkers.

A look at Powderham Park along the way revealed at least 8 Stock Dove flying around and a pair of Egyptian Geese amongst the Shelduck, Canada Geese and Fallow Deer. I also managed to find 2 Cattle Egret too, distant and heat hazy views of them hunkered down in the sedges before they took to the air and the 2 were joined by a further 16 which had been hidden out of sight!

From the viewing platform at Exminster Marsh I found a pair of Pochard and 3 Little Grebe with the Tufted Ducks out on the lagoon while out on the Marsh there were a few Teal, Shoveler, Wigeon and Pintail still around along with 2 Black-tailed Godwit and a male Reed Bunting. There were 3 Willow Warblers quietly singing away in the nearby hedgerows with 2 seen along with a Chiffchaff, 2 Blackcap and a Cetti's Warbler. A brief view of a Weasel running along the road was a surprise.

I walked over to Powderham Marsh and set up my scope, the highlights here were 2 Green Sandpiper, 2 Egyptian Geese (presumably the pair I saw earlier in Powderham Park), a Kestrel, a Willow Warbler and a Peacock Butterfly.

Powderham Marsh Viewing Platform View

I was planning to catch the bus back to Starcross but decided to walk instead so saving myself a few pennies and shifting some belly lard. A look at the Discovery Area along the way revealed a lone Sand Martin flying over and I had some good scope views of a Little Ringed Plover here with a second bird seen briefly in flight.

As I walked past Powderham Park again there were now 29 Cattle Egret in view, probably the most I have ever seen together at any one time here in the UK. I then had to speed walk a bit to reach the station at Starcross in time to catch my train, I'm not as spry as I used to be (not helped by carrying my scope and tripod on my back) and I arrived with 2 minutes to spare only to find the train was delayed by 8 minutes! Never mind, at least it gave me some time to cool down a bit!

Hoopoe and Great Grey Shrike

Hoopoe

I felt rough again on the evening of Saturday 22nd March, I really am getting fed up with all this up and down-ness, but news of an influx of Hoopoes in Devon and Cornwall (and Ireland) had piqued my interest and so I made plans for the next day to go look for one, health issues permitting.

I felt OK-ish on waking up on Sunday 23rd March and eventually decided against my better judgement to head down to Marazion on the train to look for the reported Hoopoe there. Being a Sunday the train times weren't great but the ticket would only cost me £9.75 with my rail card and it was the easiest of the reported Hoopoe sites to get to.

I arrived in Penzance at around 11:10am and it was grey and cold in the strong northerly wind. I caught the bus over to Marazion and on alighting I wished I had brought my gloves with me and also worn my winter coat as the wind was bitter but despite this there were around 30 Sand Martins buzzing around over Long Rock Pool and in amongst them were at least 2 House Martin and 3 Swallow.

A Jack Snipe had already been reported as present earlier that morning but I failed to find it on a quick scan about so I headed off to the field where the Hoopoe was being seen. Unfortunately there was no sign of it either although it had also been reported as present that morning and so I decided to have a wander about to look for it and to try and keep warm.

There was no sign of the Hoopoe in any of the surrounding fields but back at the Marsh I did find a Green Sandpiper along with 3 Little Egret, a Snipe, Teal, Moorhen, Grey Heron and Canada Geese. I hadn't brought my telescope out with me but a friendly birder let me look at the Green Sandpiper through his scope which was very decent of him.

I headed back to the Hoopoe field, there was still no sign of it but while chatting to another friendly birder there he suddenly spotted it feeding on the grass right out in the open where it gave some great views before being spooked by some nearby Canada Geese and flying off and out of sight. 

Hoopoe

Hoopoe

Hoopoe

I headed back to the Marsh but there was still no sign of the Jack Snipe although I did find a female Eider offshore as I sat and ate my lunch before I returned to the Hoopoe field for another look. The Hoopoe was immediately refound and much closer this time but was difficult to view through the hedgerow and regularly disappeared from sight. It was a lovely bird to watch though and was managing to find plenty of food, it was constantly on the move but occassionally rested for brief periods before resuming its feeding.

Hoopoe

Hoopoe

Hoopoe

Hoopoe

Time was marching on, I was getting colder and colder and my bus back to Penzance station was due. I headed back to the bus stop by the Marsh where the birder who had let me look through his telescope earlier was still present and he had found the Jack Snipe, I could just make it out with my binoculars bobbing away as it moved through the vegetation but I had better although obscured views through his scope.

My return journey was uneventful and I arrived home tired but very happy to have seen the Hoopoe, only my second one in the UK, with my first one having been seen briefly and distantly in flight at Dawlish Warren in November 2014. It hadn't been a very twitchy day either, there was a steady stream of birders coming and going rather than a large crowd and all of them were very friendly and very pleasant company to be birding with for a change.

The following day was warm, sunny and calm and we had planned to visit Endsleigh Nursery at Milton Abbot to look for a Greengage tree for the allotment but for some reason I Googled it before we left the house and was surprised to find it had closed down a year ago! A quick change of plans ensued and we headed up to Bellever instead to look for the reported Great Grey Shrike there, parking up near the pottery and then walking towards Bellever Tor. We got a bit lost and ended up in a dense patch of trees with no proper pathway but eventually reached our destination, there were a gaggle of birders and toggers present so we knew we were in the right place.

Bellever Forest Art

The Great Grey Shrike was quickly found perched up in a tree but it was distant and the light was poor and there was quite a heat haze too, it was also very flighty and moved around a large area but I managed to get some decent views of it despite not having my scope with me.

Great Grey Shrike - my first since 2017

Great Grey Shrike

David's patience was short lived so it was soon time to head back to the car, the walk back was much easier and along the way we heard and saw Siskins, 5 Crossbills (3 males) and 2 Redpoll up in the pine trees and found a tiny Common Lizard basking in the warm sunshine by the footpath.

With reports of Whimbrel, Shoveler, Black-tailed Godwit and Willow Warbler at The Plym indicating that birds are on the move at last I decided to head out there for a walk on Tuesday 25th March. It was warm and calm again but a little overcast at times although I did manage to find at least 3 Peacock butterflies.

I caught the bus out to Laira Bridge and walked up to Marsh Mills, it was a neap tide and due to be high at around 2:30pm but on arriving off the bus at around 11am there was very little mud on show.

It was very quiet on a quick look around Chelson Meadow with a pair of Stonechat and a pair of Roe Deer of note but at the duck pond I finally caught up with the wandering female Wood Duck. The pair of Red-crested Pochard were also present here along with the usual Moorhen, Mallard and Mandarin.

Wood Duck

Wood Duck

Red-crested Pochard

Around the Park there were at least 9 Chiffchaffs singing away and I also saw a silent male Blackcap feeding amongst the Sloe Blossom. At least 4 Stock Dove and 4 Ring-necked Parakeet were also noted and more Wood Anemone had come into flower.

On arriving at Blaxton Meadow at around 1:30pm there was very little water present and no water was entering through the sluice gates on the low high tide. A lone Redshank was seen here before it flew off to join the 70+ Redshank, 7 Greenshank and single Common Sandpiper roosting along The Embankment. There were also 2 Curlew present, one was sporting yellow leg flags but I didn't manage to read the code before they both flew off downriver and out of sight. No Dunlin were present and neither was the Curlew Sandpiper which had been reported the previous day but the usual Gulls were roosting out on the mud and included 6 very smart looking adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls and amongst them were Shelduck and 16 Oystercatcher.

Little Egret

Out on the river I found a late male Wigeon, a female Goosander and 3 Mute Swan before I headed up to the bus stop near Sainsbury's to catch the bus home.