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.

A Three Diver, Three Scoter Day Out in Devon

The good weather continued as did my tooth pain and general feeling of crapness but after 2 more visits to the dentists I felt so much better on waking up on Thursday 20th March and so I decided to head off to Paignton on the train to look for the Surf Scoter wintering in Tor bay. I had planned a visit to look for it last Friday but felt so awful I gave it a miss and annoyingly it was seen well that day. It was also seen well the previous day (Wednesday) and so I was quite hopeful and with the sun shining and only a £7.15 return rail fare I set off.

The trains ran to time and on arriving in Paignton I decided to ditch the bus and walk along the coast towards Broadsands instead as it was such a beautiful day. It felt very warm with blue skies and hazy sunshine on what was probably the warmest day of the year so far and there were plenty of people out and about enjoying it. There was a bit of a swell out on the water though and the visibility and light weren't great with all the haze but I arrived at the headland near Shell Cove and set up my scope for a scan offshore.

Tor Bay

I soon found a female Common Scoter just as it dived underwater and after a while I eventually refound it in the company of the male Surf Scoter. They were unfortunately distant and the Surf Scoters white nape patch wasn't always obvious depending on the light and angle of view but I was very glad to have found it.

A big surprise were 4 Velvet Scoter which then flew across the Bay further out before landing on the water and diving to feed. Occassional wing flaps revealed their white wing patches which had been obvious in flight but were unseen when at rest on the sea and eventually I lost track of them which was a shame although I was pleased to have had a 3 Scoter day in Devon. Later I thought I had refound them in the company of the Surf Scoter and the Common Scoter, all were still distant, but 2 of the 4 birds eventually wing-flapped and there was no white to be seen, presumably all 4 were in fact male Common Scoters (or at least 2 of them were).

Other birds of note out on the water were singles of Great Northern, Red-throated and Black-throated Diver, a rare opportunity to see all 3 together on a day out in Devon but all a little distant too. The Black-throated Diver was very active and constantly diving before I lost track of it but the Great Northern and Red-throated Divers were lingering at the surface with the Red-throated Diver flying off when 2 kayakers paddled towards them while the Great Northern Diver casually swam away. Also seen were 8+ Great Crested Grebe, all in summer plumage, 7+ Guillemots (1 still in winter plumage), Shag and Cormorant, while over the water Fulmars, a Gannet and my first 2 Sandwich Tern of the year were noted. I also thought I caught a glimpse of 1 of the 2 wintering Red-necked Grebes being reported in the area but it dived and I couldn't refind it.

A Chiffchaff was heard singing, a Buzzard mewed and 2 Ravens croaked overhead, a Brown Rat was eating the peanuts in a hanging bird feeder at a caravan park and at least 7 Peacock butterflies were flitting about along the clifftop path. Also of note were a Muscovy Duck, 2 Coot, 6 pairs of Tufted Duck, a Mute Swan and a Canada Goose on the lake in Goodrington Park.

Peacock

Tufted Duck

Muscovy Duck - ugly face, beautiful feathers

Muscovy Duck 

I felt like crap again the next day (Friday) and had to turn down an offer from my mate Mavis to go and look for a reported Great Grey Shrike on Dartmoor the next day. However on waking up on Saturday 22nd March I felt a little better again and so decided to make the most of this window of opportunity and head out to Wembury for a quick look about.

It was sunny and warm when out of the strong easterly breeze but as I stepped off the bus at Wembury it didn't feel very birdy (as I didn't either) and so it proved to be although it was good to be out in the sunshine and fresh air.

First Sloe Blossom of the Year

The highlight of my walk was my first Speckled Wood of the year flitting about under the pines by the radar station. Another good sighting was of 5 Black Oil Beetles together with the single female dwarfing the 4 males in attendance.

Speckled Wood

There were now at least 8 Chiffchaffs singing away along with a presumably newly arrived Blackcap while the Cetti's Warbler was also heard just once calling in the valley to the beach. A Goldcrest flitting about at the pines and 4 Stock Dove flying over heading east were also of note.

Stonechats

There was no sign of the Scandanavian Rock Pipit amongst the Rock Pipits along the beach and all the Alba Wagtails present were Pied. Also along the beach were 20 Turnstone, 22 Oystercatcher, a pair of Mallard and a Little Egret while offshore just 1 adult Gannet was seen flying east.

Turnstones

Unfortunately the bus back to Plymouth broke down at The Odd Wheel in Wembury and so I ended up having to walk to Staddon Heights to catch a bus from there instead, it was a bit of a trek but a silver lining was seeing my first Swallow of the year chittering away overhead at Hollacombe along the way. It was also good to get a closer look at the Cowslips coming into flower along the roadside verges as well.

I've also received my annual summary e-mail from Bird Track for 2024, a little bit later this year than usual. I can't believe only around 12000 birders use it as it's such a useful wildlife recording app and resource, it's free and it's also so much better than E-Bird with it's Americanisms which seems to appeal more to younger birders and world listers.

My 2024 Bird Track

My 2024 Bird Track Year

My 2023 Bird Track Year to compare

Wembury and The Plym

It was cool and calm with occassional sunny spells on Thursday 13th March as I headed out to Wembury for a walk. It is now light enough in the mornings to be able to catch the 7am bus to Wembury (or even the 6:30am bus) but after yet more dental drilling the previous day and a frosty start to the morning I was in no mood to get out of bed and so I caught the 9am bus instead.

It was quiet at Wembury as expected, it's that time of year when winter birds are still lingering but summer birds haven't yet arrived and it all feels a bit static but expectant.

There is still ongoing work to the cliff top footpath at Wembury, it's being widened and hard-cored and this will make it much easier to negotiate especially in the wetter winter months. This will also mean an increase in overall footfall and with plans to improve the path all the way to The Point there will probably be a lot more disturbance to the wildlife.

Wembury Footpath "Improvements" - not good news for the Digger Wasps that used to nest along this stretch

A Cetti's Warbler was heard in the valley to the beach but it only called once and never revealed itself. Also heard were 2 Chiffchaffs, presumably new arrivals, and a further 2 silent birds were also seen. A small flock of Chaffinch were also still present at the Sunflower field at The Point and with them were a few Cirl Buntings and a male and 3 female Reed Buntings along with an ever watchful Kestrel on telegraph wires nearby.

Reed Bunting

Reed Bunting

Kestrel

A Redshank, a Grey Wagtail, 2 Little Egret and a pair of Mallard were found along the beach but the highlight was a Scandinavian Rock Pipit (littoralis) feeding on the seaweed mass amongst the regular Rock Pipits (petrosus).

Scandinavian Rock Pipit (not the best photos!)

There was no sign of the Dartford Warblers on this visit as they revert to their usual stealth mode and it was too chilly and cloudy for any Adder or Butterfly sightings but I did find a Common Lizard, a pair of mating Bloody Nose Beetle and my first Black Oil Beetle of the year.

Common Lizard

Black Oil Beetle

With the mostly sunny, settled and cool weather continuing I had plans to get out and about to make the most of it but with painful dental treatment making me feel like crap I didn't feel up to doing much. However I felt a little better on Sunday 16th March and with it being another glorious day of sunshine I dragged myself out to The Plym for a walk. It took me a while to get going in the morning and I didn't arrive off the bus at Marsh Mills until around 11:45am but at least I managed to get out of the house. With it being a sunny Sunday it was very busy around the Park but I had an enjoyable walk all the same.

First Wood Anemone of the year

The tide was still heading out towards being low and there was plenty of mud out on the estuary, however Blaxton Meadow was still flooded and there were just 3 tardy male Wigeon feeding out on the water.

At the duck pond the pair of Red-crested Pochard were still present, the male continues his love lorn vigil with her and while she seemed a little bit more receptive towards him she would regularly swim away if he came too near. The usual Mandarins were also present and mostly paired up but there was still no sign of the female Wood Duck.

Red-crested Pochards

Red-crested Pochard

A look around Chelson Meadow was Wheatear-less but 3 Stonechat (2 males) were good to see. However the highlight here were 2 Woodcock, only my 3rd sighting for The Plym (previous sightings were singles in January 2017 and November 2021). I flushed 1 bird as I walked around the wet Willows, it clattered through the branches, did a big poo and flew off towards the wet wood. A Snipe flushed soon after, calling as it went and flying off towards Laira and then a second Woodcock flew up out of the long grass, also did a big poo and flew off over the tip. Finally another Snipe was flushed out of a nearby boggy area, again calling as it flew off towards the wet wood.

Other highlights on my walk were 3 Mute Swan (a female and 2 juveniles), a Little Grebe and a Common Sandpiper at the gas pipe, a briefly singing Chiffchaff, 2 displaying Stock Doves, a first-summer Mediterranean Gull preening amongst the Black-headed Gulls out on the mudflats and a Goldcrest feeding in a Pine tree.

Mute Swan

A Visit to Hayle

I usually plan a day trip to The Hayle Estuary in January or February but this year it never happened for one reason or another. I visited nearby Marazion back in January, usually I would tag on a quick stop at Hayle on the way home but instead I spent the whole day at Marazion not seeing the Booted Eagle or Pacific Diver! However I did visit Hayle at the end of February with my friend Sue to see the wintering Spoonbill on Copperhouse Creek but we didn't do any other birding in the area.

Anyway, with a trio of rare Gulls reported at Hayle on Sunday 9th March (Iceland, Ring-billed and Bonaparte's) and with dry and mild but overcast weather forecasted for Monday 10th March I decided to catch the train to Hayle for a visit. I took my repaired tripod with me to put it through its paces and on the train journey to Hayle I steeled myself for the usual "Where's Wally" Gull search to come

On arriving at St.Erth I walked down to the causeway bridge and had a quick scan through the mass of Gulls roosting out on the mudflats but there was no sign of anything rare amongst the large numbers of Herring, Common, Great Black-backed, Mediterranean, Lesser Black-backed and Black-headed Gulls present.

Gulls

More Gulls

Most of the Gulls were roosting further down the estuary and so I walked over to Lelant station for a closer look, finding a smart male Black Redstart around The Old Quay House gardens along the way. From Lelant station I soon picked up the wintering adult Ring-biled Gull roosting amongst the Common Gulls just as it tucked its head under its wing and went to sleep but with the water rising on the incoming tide it soon woke up and showed very well before flying off upriver.

I walked back to Lelant Saltings station as the Gulls continued to move upriver with the tide, I couldn't refind the Ring-billed Gull but I did pick out a smart looking adult Yellow-legged Gull hidden in amongst the mass of Gulls and also the wintering juvenile Spoonbill which was roosting out on the mud.

I walked back to the causeway bridge for a final scanning session but didn't find any more unusual Gulls as the tide steadily rose, there was no sign of the male Black Redstart from earlier either although the Spoonbill was still present and roosting much closer.

Sleepy Spoonbill - the ringed juvenile from Denmark

Other birds of note on my visit were Teal, Wigeon, Shelduck, a male Mallard. 3 Canada Geese, a Little Egret, 2 Greenshank, 16+ Bar-tailed Godwit, 20+ Dunlin, Curlew, Redshank, Oystercatcher, a Jay and my first singing Chiffchaff of the year.

The train journey back to Plymouth was delayed due to a medical emergency at Truro station, we were held at Redruth station for 50 minutes and arrived into Plymouth 59 minutes late, just 1 minute short of being able to claim back 50% of my ticket cost instead of 25% but never mind! My tripod performed perfectly though, in fact much better than before it broke, and I did get to see 1 of my target Gulls along with a bonus Yellow-legged Gull on an enjoyable day out.

Curlew Sandpiper and Red-crested Pochards on The Plym

It was grey and claggy on Friday 7th March, a bit of a surprise after all the lovely sunshine we've been enjoying recently, and despite rain being forecasted for later in the day we headed out anyway for a short morning walk around Saltram. It was fairly quiet around the Park, presumably because of the weather forecast and the grey skies, but the rain never did arrive although the air felt mild and moist.

It was coming up to a neap high tide so Blaxton Meadow wasn't too flooded and there was plenty of mud on show. The usual Gulls, Ducks and Waders were roosting out on the Meadow and there was also a spread out flock of around 150 constantly moving Dunlin busily feeding away on the exposed mud amongst the Redshanks. I only had my travel binoculars with me and no telescope but I carefully scanned through them as best I could and eventually found the wintering Curlew Sandpiper hidden in plain sight amongst them. It showed very well from the bird hide before the flock was spooked into the air and I lost sight of it.

Curlew Sandpiper (top) with Dunlin

Curlew Sandpiper 

At the duck pond the pair of Red-crested Pochard were also easily found, both were fast asleep before waking up and taking to the water to feed on grain being thrown out to the ducks by a visiting family.

Mallard and Red-crested Pochard (m)

Mallard and Red-Crested Pochard (f)

The male kept himself close to the female but she didn't appear to be very enamoured by his attentions, she often moved away and seemed to prefer the company of a male Mallard instead.

Red-crested Pochard 

Also of note on our short walk were 3 Mute Swans, 2 male Wigeon, 8 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 3 Greenshank, a Kingfisher and 5 Stock Doves. Sadly there was no sign of the female Wood Duck at the duck pond on this visit although it had been reported there the previous day.

Stock Dove