It was a warm and sunny day as I headed out to The Plym and Saltram for a walk on Thursday 22nd May although the wind did pick up a bit as the afternoon wore on.
Recent reports of Spotted Flycatchers had me checking out the usual spots and I eventually found 2 birds although they were a little distant. I watched 1 flycatching amongst the trees before a second bird appeared and chased after it so possibly 2 males or hopefully a pair.
The tide was heading in and the only wader present on Blaxton Meadow was an Oystercatcher roosting amongst the Gulls. The Canada Geese families with goslings had decamped to the nearby river, 1 family still had 5 goslings from the original 6 but the other family is now down to 3 from 4. The 4 Mute Swans were all together on the river too as they rested and preened on the mud near the gas pipe.
I had a look for butterflies with at least 3 Large Skipper seen and I was pleased to find another Dingy Skipper in a different area to my previous sighting of one although I wasn't able to fully check the site on this visit.
Large Skipper
Dingy Skipper
An Emperor Dragonfly was a nice find as it buzzed over the grassy area near Blaxton Meadow, later it or another one was seen catching flies over the river near Long Bridge. At the dipping pond Azure Damselflys were buzzing about with a few mating pairs seen and amongst them was a single Large Red Damselfly.
Large Red Damselfly
Azure Damselfly
The Mandarin Duck numbers are building back up around the duck pond with at least 19 males present along with a single female. There was no sign of the Red-crested Pochards or Wood Duck and the pond weed here is really growing out of control in the water. The Brown Rats are also back with 2 seen scurrying about to feed on the spilt duck food around the pond side.
Brown Rat
I found 2 moths in the Marsh Mills underpass, a Common Marbled Carpet and a male White Ermine, it really is turning out to be quite a little hot spot for moths here at the moment.
Common Marbled Carpet and White Ermine
With half-term school holiday hell looming large on the horizon alongside yet another long Bank Holiday weekend (the 3rd one in 6 weeks!) I decided to make the most of the good weather on Friday 23rd May and headed off to Berry Head for a walk and a look about before it all gets rather busy.
There has been a recent flurry of reports of Small Blue at Berry Head on the Internet pages and social media sites followed by the usual silence but I hoped they would still be showing and assumed access to the quarry was now possible following its closure last year due to ongoing anti-social behaviour.
I caught the 9:15am train, the first train of the day that I could use my railcard on, and after a celebratory meal out with drinks the night before I was in no mood for an earlier start anyway. I eventually arrived at Berry Head at around 11:30am and found the gate across the quarry access road open so off I headed with fingers crossed.
I needn't have worried though as within just a few steps past the gate I found a Small Blue flitting about amongst the roadside vegetation and further along the road I found at least another 6. I'm not very familiar with Small Blue having only seen them 3 times before but they were certainly small and not particularly blue although bizarrely they appeared bluer when in flight. They were also very flitty and surprisingly difficult to keep track off as they flew low over the ground but they certainly kept me on my toes and entertained although I did find them a little underwhelming.
Small Blue
Some were very smart and pristine looking but others were looking tired and worn, needless to say the smart ones rarely stopped for long and often kept their wings closed when resting while the worn ones were very much more showy and approachable.
Small Blue
Small Blue
Small Blues
Small Blue
Also seen were at least 3 Wall Brown and they were totally chaotic and hyped up and never stopped for more than a few seconds. A faded Painted Lady was as equally neurotic but Common Blues and a Large Skipper were easier to view and I also had a brief view of a Meadow Brown at rest before it flew off down the cliffside and out of sight.
Wall Brown - actually settled for a seconds
A few Pyramidal Orchids were coming into flower but with the recent lack of rain most were small and floppy and weedy looking. A noisy pair of Stonechat weren't very happy with my butterflying prescence and a Song Thrush was singing away while a second bird flew past with a beakful of worms.
Pyramidal Orchid
Stonechat
Broomrape
After having my fill of the Small Blues I headed back up the quarry road and then had a wander around the old fort area at the top of Berry Head, somewhere I've only visited twice before. A Cirl Bunting was singing away from the top of the Gorse but Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Whitethroat kept themselves hidden as they sang. I had a look at the colony of Guillemots on the cliffs, there must have been over a thousand birds present, and I enjoyed watching their comings and goings and listening to their noise. Kittiwakes were also present and added their distinctive calls to the cacophony while down on the water I eventually picked out 2 Razorbills hidden amongst the large raft of Guillemots present.
Berry Head Guillemot Colony Cliffs from the Fort
It was soon time to walk back to Brixham to catch the bus back to Paignton train station, along the way I found some Early Purple Orchids flowering on a grassy cliff top while Swallows and House Martins were seen flying around overhead. The journey home was uneventful and surprisingly to time although the trains were very busy with all the Bank Holiday holiday makers heading down to Devon and Cornwall.
Early Purple Orchids
Having missed out on seeing Garganey at Ham Wall earlier in the week and with sightings in Devon being very sparse this spring I decided to head down to Marazion on Sunday 25th May for a look about as up to 6 birds have been reported here for well over 2 weeks now - but would the "curse" of Marazion strike again?
Again it probably wasn't very sensible to journey on the train on a Bank Holiday Sunday but the 08:45am train to Penzance was surprisingly not too busy and ran to time and I eventually arrived at Marazion Marsh at around 11:20hrs. A quick scan over the water revealed no Garganey but on a cursory glance at the shoreline in front of me I picked up a male hidden in the vegetation and busily dabbling away. Unfortunately for him but fortunately for me a low flying Carrion Crow spooked him and he took to the air along with a second male, they flew over the water and landed out in the open, had a quick preen and then swam off into the vegetation, never to be seen again - a very jammy sighting indeed!
Garganey Peek-a-Boo
Garganey
Garganey
Garganey
Also seen were a very smart looking male Reed Bunting, a very vocal and showy Sedge Warbler, a flyover Swift, a Moorhen with 3 small chicks which easily chased off a nearby Grey Heron, 2 Little Grebes, a pair of Stonechat and an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull with Reed Warbler and a Cetti's Warbler both heard.
Having seen the Garganey so easily and well and with them unlikely to show again anytime soon I decided to head back to Penzance on an earlier bus than originally planned to catch the train to St.Erth for a look about along the Hayle Estuary.
It was low tide and out on the mudflats were the usual Gulls (Herring and both Great and Lesser Black-backed), Shelduck, Carrion Crows, Canada Geese, a Whimbrel and 3 Oystercatchers while 4 House Martins hawked about overhead.
On a look at Ryan's Field another Whimbrel was seen along with a nesting pair of Oystercatchers and hidden in amongst a flock of 7 Black-headed Gulls was the reported first summer Bonaparte's Gull. It showed very well through my scope but always stayed distant in the middle area of the Field until it eventually flew off, leaving the Black-headed Gulls to themselves.
Bonaparte's Gull
Also of note here were a male Reed Bunting and a Reed Warbler which were unsurprisingly in the reeds along the river and there were lots of Pyramidal and Southern Marsh Orchids coming into flower. Some of the Southerm Marsh Orchids had spotted leaves and very tall flower spikes so were presumably Leopard Marsh Orchid, a known hybrid type.
Southern Marsh Orchid - Leopard types?
Southern Marsh Orchids
The train back to Plymouth wasn't too busy either but as we neared Keyham station in Plymouth trespassers on the railway line meant our train ground to a halt for around 20 minutes. However this meant I got to see the Tornado steam train which came into Plymouth just behind my train, a nice end to an easy birding day out and with Marazions target bird success rate for this year now rising to 60%!
The Tornado
