Yellow Wagtails, Ospreys and a Yellow-legged Gull

I headed out to Exmouth for the day on Wednesday 20th August and kept my fingers crossed that the usual curse of Exmouth wouldn't strike again. I caught the 9:15am train with a return ticket costing just £9.75 with my railcard, any earlier train than this one would have cost an extortionate £28.20(!) but it did mean I didn't arrive in Exmouth until around 11:20am, later than I would have liked but never mind.

On arriving off the train I had a quick scan of the Exe from the nearby carpark but there was no sign of any Ospreys on the low tide and so I continued on my walk to Orcombe Point to look for Yellow Wagtails.

I checked out the fields containing herds of Cows along Gore Lane and eventually found 2 Yellow Wagtails but they were distant and often obscured by vegetation around the Cows feet. I did get some nice views through my scope though before they were spooked by something and took to the air along with the Linnets and Goldfinch also present, 2 Yellow Wagtails became 4 or possibly 5 in the melee and it was lovely to hear their flight calls as they flew overhead. They returned to the field for a short time before being spooked again and I watched 3 of them flying off high to the east, never to return, and I don't know where the other 1 or 2 went either.

There wasn't much else around at Orcombe Point with a Green Woodpecker, a Whitethroat, 3 Swift, Swallows and a Chiffchaff seen before I headed back to Exmouth for a look at The Exe on the incoming tide.

I had a scan of the river from the car park by the train station again and had a very distant view of an Osprey perched on a pole way upriver on the opposite side towards Topsham so I walked along the riverside path to get a little bit closer. I stopped off at a viewing area where 2 other birders were already present and rescanned the estuary, the Osprey had gone but shortly after I picked up 2 Ospreys circling high over Exminster Marshes before they drifed off towards Haldon. Eventually they reappeared and flew downriver towards Lympstone where 1 of them briefly perched up on a pole before they both flew upriver again and I lost track of them. 

A Little Tern was picked up by one of the other birders as it flew around over the water before heading upriver while small groups of Common Terns were also seen purposefully flying upriver on the incoming tide. Greenshank, Redshank, Whimbrel, Dunlin, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, a Common Sandpiper, a Bar-tailed Godwit and a Knot where seen out on the mudflats while 5 Wigeon amongst the feeding Mallard were an early taste of the winter to come. There were plenty of Little Egrets about too but a surprise was a Great White Egret flying high and west over Starcross, again picked up by one of the other birders.

I returned to Exmouth and had a quick look for the regular Yellow-legged Gull that is often present around the recycling centre and now in its 5th calendar year plumage. Initially there was no sign of it but eventually I found it and had some nice views but it was a swine to try and photograph.

Yellow-legged and Herring Gulls 

Yellow-legged Gull 

 

It had been a very productive (4 year ticks!) and interesting visit, Exmouth behaved itself again and I was pleased to catch up with the Yellow Wagtails and Ospreys, hopefully I'll see some more of them in the next few weeks and this time maybe a bit closer to home.

We had a walk around Stoke Point on Thursday 21st August, it was overcast to begin with but the skies eventually cleared and it became quite warm in the sunshine. It was quiet on the wildlife front but the highlight was a juvenile Dartford Warbler associating with some Stonechats, my first one here for quite a few years now (I think it was 10 years ago I saw my last one here). Other sightings of note were 2 Kestrel, 2 Wheatear, a Clouded Yellow, 2 Small Tortoiseshell, Autumn Squill and good numbers of both Small and Large Whites.

Autumn Squill

Large and Small White, Small Tortoiseshell

With the weather forecast set fair for Friday 22nd August I planned to catch the 6:30am bus again and revisit Wembury for the early morning high tide. Unfortunately I had forgotten about my opticians appointment that morning so didn't get out to Wembury until 11:45am on the low tide but never mind.

On arriving it was hot and sunny and there were butterflies everywhere, I eventually gave up counting the Clouded Yellows as they were flitting back and forth over the fields and I was probably double counting them, it's certainly been famine and then feast with them this year. Again there were Small and Large Whites everywhere too and 2 male Beautiful Demoiselles and a Golden-ringed Dragonfly were seen in the valley to the beach.

Clouded Yellow

Small White

Golden-ringed Dragonfly

I headed out to The Point to look for a Spotted Flycatcher reported yesterday, I passed local birder Graham who had just seen 2 of them there so I kept my fingers crossed. I eventually found them both and had some nice views along with a bonus sighting of a juvenile Firecrest.

Spotted Flycatcher

Along the beach I found 3 Dunlin and 3 Ringed Plover despite the low tide, the usual Oystercatchers and Mediterranean Gulls were present too but best of all was a very smart looking juvenile Common Gull, a plumage phase I rarely see.

Juvenile Common Gull

With a Little Stint having been found on The Plym the previous day and with it still being present that morning I decided to catch the bus home from Wembury, collect my telescope and tripod and head out to Blaxton Meadow for a look about on the incoming tide. 

On arriving at the viewing bench I had a scan around and eventually found the Little Stint feeding on its own, I had some nice scope views of what is only my second Plym sighting of one before it went to sleep as the water levels on the Meadow rose.

Also out on the Meadow were Curlews and Redshanks, 2 Whimbrels, a Common Sandpiper, 7 Dunlin, 8 Greenshank, 4 Ringed Plover, 3 Oystercatcher and a juvenile Black-tailed Godwit. A surprise find was a female Shoveler out on the water and the juvenile Great Crested Grebe was still present too.

Ringed Plover

I had been joined at the bench by local birders Sam and David and when everything suddenly took to the air eagle-eyed Sam quickly found the cause of all the commotion with an Osprey flying over the river picked out amongst the melee of birds. We watched it make an unsuccessful dive for a fish but second time around it caught one and headed off into Saltram Park to eat it's meal, a great end to the day. 

Berry Head, The Plym and Wembury

Having missed out on my ferry trip to Santander and it's potential sea bird and cetacean sightings off the south coast of Devon I was keen to head out on a pelagic trip and so I booked one up from Brixham on Sunday 17th August. With it being a Sunday and an 08:30am start there was no way I could get to Brixham in time on public transport so a stay in a hotel was arranged for the night before and I figured that if the trip didn't go ahead it would be a nice break away.

The long term weather forecast was looking good but as the day drew nearer it began to change as usual and strong easterly winds were forecasted. Needless to say the winds on the day were indeed strong and the trip was subsequently cancelled but never mind.

A weekend visit to Brixham in August would not be my first choice but we headed off on the train and bus anyway on Saturday 16th August, it was a windy and overcast but warm morning although the sun did eventually appear from behind the clouds.

On arriving in Brixham we walked up to Berry Head for some lunch in The Guardroom and then a look about around the fort complex. There were no Guillemots on the cliffs and a look for Autumn Lady's-Tresses drew a blank but it was good to see plenty of Autumn Squill in flower.

Autumn Squill

Autumn Squill

I had a few brief views of Common Dolphins on a look about offshore from the lighthouse, the sea was choppy and they were being very unobtrusive at the surface. A few Manx Shearwater were picked up too amongst the Gannets and Kittiwakes flying about and so I decided to head down into the quarry for a better look.

Berry Head Quarry

From the quarry I had better views of the Manx Shearwaters, I tried to find a Balearic/Mediterranean Shearwater amongst them but failed. I did however pick up an Arctic Skua, unfortunately distant and I had no scope with me but it flew up off the sea and above the skyline to harass 3 Kittiwakes flying past and flashing its pale underparts as it did so before it returned to rest on the sea. Shortly afterwards I picked up a Pomarine Skua closer in and moving west, another pale phase bird with a bulkier looking build and more languid flight than the Arctic Skua just seen. It suddenly changed gear and flew more swiftly towards a nearby adult Herring Gull, it was noticably a little smaller than the Herring Gull which it briefly harassed before carrying on its way and out of sight.

With the boat trip cancelled I returned to the quarry the following day for another look about, it was still very windy although it did start to ease a little as the morning wore on. There were Gannets and Kittiwakes again offshore but they were mostly distant with the Gannets busily diving away in feeding flocks. A few distant small Shearwaters were noted too while closer to shore Mediterranean and Black-headed Gulls and 2 Fulmar were seen. Another distant Arctic Skua was picked up again, a pale phased bird heading purposefully out towards the feeding flocks before being lost to view.

With offshore viewing difficult in the wind, sunshine and choppy seas I decided to spend some time looking around the quarry itself and was very pleased to find a Small Blue, 2 Clouded Yellow, a Wall Brown and some Autumn Lady's-Tresses.

Small Blue

Small Blue

Clouded Yellow

Wall Brown

Autumn Lady's-Tresses

I headed out to The Plym for a walk on Monday 18th August, it was still windy and overcast but it felt cooler and just as I caught the bus home at the end of my walk a thunder storm (with real rain!) blew in.

I caught the bus to Laira Bridge to begin my walk as news had come through that morning of a Sandwich Tern having been seen here. On arriving off the bus I quickly picked up the call of a juvenile bird and I just caught a view of it as it flew over Laira Bridge and downriver. From the bridge I watched it noisely flying around in the company of an adult bird before they both headed towards Radford Lake.

Along The Ride a flock of around 30 House Martins were feeding low over the trees out of the wind, a few Swallow were with them along with a Sand Martin which was quite tricky to keep track of amongst the swirling flock. A Sparrowhawk appeared and the flock all noisely flew up higher before returning to their low level feeding as the Sparrowhawk drifted away. Interestingly I watched 2 House Martins separately having a go at the Sand Martin while the Sparrowhawk was present and all the flock were on high alert.

It was coming up to high tide when I arrived at Blaxton Meadow, it was to be a low high tide and there was plenty of mud and plenty of birds on show here. Along with Redshanks there were 28 Curlew (1 with yellow leg flags), 2 Oystercatcher, a Whimbrel, 8 Greenshank, a summer plumaged Turnstone, 4 Dunlin and 8 Ringed Plover present but more interestingly there was a juvenile Great Crested Grebe fishing away in the small pool by the sluice gates. Also seen here was a 2nd winter Mediterranean Gull, a juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull and a high count of 25 Little Egrets.

Other highlights on my walk were a 5 Mute Swan, 2 Common Sandpiper and 3 Shag along the river, the female Red-crested Pochard on the duck pond with a Brown Rat skulking amongst the pondside rocks and a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Coal Tit, a male Stonechat, 2 Whitethroat and a Clouded Yellow around the Park. 

Mute Swans

Brown Rat

Clouded Yellow

With rain in the forecast (at last!) for Tuesday 19th August but not due to arrive until lunchtime I caught the early (6:30am) bus to Wembury for a walk. Unfortunately the rain arrived not long after I stepped off the bus at Wembury and by the time I caught the next bus home I was well and truly soaked through. I was pleased with the rain as we really need it but I wouldn't have gone out if the forecast had been correct in the first place, I don't mind crap weather but I do mind crap weather forecasting.

Anyway, I did see a few birds despite the rain and of note were a raft of around 300 Kittiwake on the sea just off The Mewstone, a few started to fly off east but most stayed around The Mewstone during my visit with some roosting on the western end. Also of note were at least 36 Ringed Plover along the beach, they were vocal and mobile and feeding with 2 Dunlin, 2 Sanderling, a Whimbrel and a Curlew. The usual mobile Mediterranean Gulls were also present out on the rocks while 2 Wheatear along the footpath were a good find and despite the weather I did see a single Meadow Brown.

Moths, Hairstreaks and Admirals

The heatwave arrived, the 4th of the year, and while it was hot here in Devon it was a lot hotter further east. The nights were warm and sultry again and so I put the moth box out in the back yard on Monday 11th August with fingers crossed for a good haul the next morning. The Herring Gulls woke me up as usual at around 5am but I went straight back to sleep and didn't wake up again until gone 7:30am having totally forgotten all about the trap!

I headed downstairs and luckily there were still some moths inside the trap but they were starting to escape in the warm sunshine.  2 Jersey Tigers, a Brimstone Moth and a female Four Spotted Footman flew off as I neared the box but despite my tardy start I did manage to pot up a Small Square Spot, a Square Spot Rustic, an Agapeta zoegana (Bright Straw), a Marbled Green, a Straw Dot, a Pearly Underwing and an Olive-Tree Pearl amongst others.

Square Spot Rustic and Small Square Spot

Agapeta zoegana (Bright Straw)

Olive-tree Pearl

A trip to Cawsands beach on Wednesday 13th August was very pleasant, the day started off overcast but the sun soon appeared and surprisingly it didn't feel too hot. Highlights were a summer plumaged Turnstone roosting out on the rocks, a winter plumaged Mediterranean Gull patrolling back and forth along the shoreline, a Clouded Yellow dashing across the beach and 3 Sandwich Terns fishing off Cremyll as we waited to catch the ferry back to Plymouth.

I had the moth box out in the back yard again that night, it was a warm and overcast and sultry night although I did awake in the early hours to the sound of a heavy rain shower before going straight back to sleep. I had set my alarm clock this time so I didn't oversleep but on checking out the box early in the morning it was very soggy indeed although there were a few moths in it.

Highlights were a Jersey Tiger Moth, 2 Marbled Green, 4 Mullein Wave, a Yellow-barred Brindle and 2 Rusty Dot Pearl. There were only 3 Large Yellow Underwing present, the usual August build up of numbers isn't happening this year as yet but there were a few Wasps in the trap that needed careful negotiating.

Marbled Green

After sorting out the box I headed off to the station to catch a train to Newton Abbot and then a bus to Chudleigh Knighton for a butterfly walk around the Heath. It was an overcast but very warm morning and I hoped that the weather forecast would be correct and the clouds would gradually clear.

I arrived at my first site and almost immediately found a Brown Hairstreak flitting past before it perched up in a Hawthorn bush. Unfortunately a rain shower arrived and it flitted off and out of sight but I was very pleased to have seen one.

Brown Hairstreak - my first in Devon

The shower soon passed but the Brown Hairstreak didn't reappear and with other Butterfliers arriving including Dave the Butterfly Guy from Plymouth we all walked over to another site nearby for a look about. Along the way I did catch a brief glimpse of a Brown Hairstreak flitting into a Sloe Bush before it just seemed to disappear but when we checked out the other site there was no sign of any Hairstreaks there.

We headed back to the original site and eventually found a Brown Hairstreak, it was happily basking in the sunshine that was just beginning to break through from behind the clouds and we all enjoyed some good views of it.

Brown Hairstreak

Brown Hairstreak

Brown Hairstreak

Brown Hairstreak

A big surprise though were 2 White Admirals found nearby, regularly skirmishing together before settling for brief periods amongst the leaves.

White Admiral

White Admiral

Common Blue, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Speckled Wood and Holly Blue were also seen along with a Peacock, a Comma, a Red Admiral and a Green-veined White in what was a mostly dry and scorched landscape.

Common Blue 

A few birds were noted too, the highlight was a skulky Garden Warbler in the bushes with Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Stonechat, Chiffchaff, Swallow and House Martin also seen and Nuthatch, Jay and Green Woodpecker heard.

The Return of the Squatter

After last weeks events it has been much quieter here in the mornings now that the Herring Gulls have left. My sleep may be less disturbed but bizarrely I do miss all the early morning kerfuffle. I was however very pleased to see The Squatter back on the flat roof on the morning of Wednesday 6th August, he was begging for food and making quite the din and an adult bird eventually came in and fed him so it looks like his adoption is complete. It also meant that the adults were back at 5:30am the next morning and giving their usual territorial calls but it was good to hear them again after all the recent sadness.

The Squatter - a regular sight again on the roof

Old Lady - rescued from the bedroom and released outside

I headed out to Wembury for a walk on Friday 8th August, it was overcast and cool as I stepped off the bus at around 9:45am but as the day wore on it became warm and humid in the increasing sunny spells. It didn't feel particularly birdy as I started my walk and neither did I after a few days of not feeling that great but I kept my fingers crossed for some interesting sightings.

The lack of any real proper rain for months now is beginning to show, it is dry and dusty everywhere with lots of brown and scorched vegetation to be seen and along my walk the smell of both horse and dog poo and pee was all pervasive. We have yet another heatwave in the offing as well and there is no rain in the forecast for the foreseeable future but at least the butterflies are enjoying it.

I finally found my first Wembury Clouded Yellow of the year as it dashed about along the flower belt in the wheatfield in the company of a Painted Lady, a male Common Blue, a Holly Blue, Small Whites, Gatekeepers and Meadow Browns while also seen elsewhere along my walk were a Large White, a Red Admiral, Speckled Woods, a Comma and a Green-veined White. There were 2 young Common Lizards basking on the wooden fencing and it was good to see 2 Hummingbird Hawkmoths feeding together on the Red Valerian.

Painted Lady

Common Lizards

The bird highlight was a Jay heard screeching away in the trees above the wheatfield which I eventually got a brief look at as it flew amongst the branches. It was low tide and a Whimbrel and a Common Sandpiper were out on the rocks with 2 Little Egret, 10 Mallard (9 males), Oystercatchers and Mediterranean, Herring and Black-headed Gulls. A few Great Black-backed Gulls were also about and 2 very smart looking adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew west along the shoreline towards Plymouth.

Offshore Gannets were moving east for a change, usually they are mostly seen moving west, and there were quite a few juvenile birds in with the adults. On land the usual Chiffchaff, Whitethroat, Blackcap, Cirl Bunting and Stonechat were noted with a Sparrowhawk and a single Swallow also seen overhead.

Pont Aven coming into Plymouth from Santander - we should have been onboard but I wasn't feeling well and had to miss the trip

I headed out to The Plym for a walk on Sunday 10th August, it was a lovely sunny day and became a very hot one as yet another heatwave begins. High tide was around 8am and when I finally arrived at Blaxton Meadow it was still flooded with 28 Curlew, a Whimbrel, 7 Greenshank, Redshanks, Little Egrets, Grey Herons, Herring Gulls and Black-headed Gulls all present and waiting for the tide to drop. 

Along the nearby river the 4 Mute Swans were still present and feeding together and also seen here were a Common Sandpiper and my first 4 Goosanders and Kingfisher of the autumn.

Goosanders

Highlights around the Park included yet another beautifully yellow juvenile Willow Warbler, a flyover Raven, a Great Spotted Woodpecker seen and a noisey Green Woodpecker heard. A Sparrowhawk circling overhead attracted a gathering of noisey Swallows and House Martins and I was pleased to see 3 Swifts amongst them, worryingly my first sighting for this month. The female Red-crested Pochard was still at the duck pond with the Mallards, Moorhens and Mandarins and hidden in plain sight amongst them was the female Wood Duck.

Wood Duck

Insect highlights included a very dingy Dingy Skipper and at least 4 Clouded Yellows dashing about along with Common Darters, Azure Damselflies and Blue-tailed Damselflies.

Dingy Skipper

Blue-tailed Damselfly 

Blaxton Meadow still held quite a bit of water on my return walk despite the Plym mudflats now being fully exposed, most of the birds had departed to the estuary but an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was seen feeding a noisey juvenile bird while a tatty looking adult Mediterranean Gull in winter plumage was seen hawking insects overhead.

Clouded Yellows (At Last!)

It's August again already, a month that can throw up some good birding and especially so on The Plym and at Wembury, here's hoping this year is no exception.

I headed out to Wembury on Friday 1st August to kick the month off, I had thought about catching the 6:35am bus but with high tide due around 11ish I stayed in bed and caught the 9:05am bus instead. It was an overcast and noticeably cooler morning although when the sun did occassionally appear from behind the clouds the humidity increased and the temperature rose.

A juvenile Yellow-legged Gull had been reported along the beach at Wembury the day before but I failed to find it. I also bumped into Jenny who had seen an adult bird that morning but again I drew a blank although it's good to know that they are around after seeing none here last year.

Along the beach the late summer build up of Mediterranean Gulls amongst the usual Herring Gulls and Black-headed Gulls continues and I did spot a ringed adult bird amongst them but when I got closer to get a better view it had flown off.

Mediterranean Gull

The usual Oystercatchers were present too and with them were 2 Curlew, 2 summer plumaged Turnstone, a Redshank, a Whimbrel, 2+Common Sandpiper, 4 Little Egret and 4 Mallard (3 males).

Curlew

Otherwise the usual wildlife was seen and included another very yellow looking juvenile Willow Warbler flitting about at The Point, a Cetti's Warbler calling in the valley to the beach and Gannets moving west offshore. A Grey Seal was seen poking its head out of the water, 2 Common Lizards were basking in the brief sunny spells and 10 Beautiful Demoiselles (8 males) were seen at the bridge and included a mating pair.

After all the P600 fishing boat debacle back in April and the subsequent appearance in the bay of a Fisheries Patrol Boat from the Devon and Severn Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Authority I noticed that the copious number of Crab and Lobster pot buoys that had been present offshore had all but disappeared. However on recent visits I have noticed that the buoys were beginning to reappear and slowly increase in numbers again and so I was pleased to see the Fisheries Patrol Boat out in the Bay on this visit and intercepting a boat pulling in pots within the Marine Conservation Zone. Obviously it's an issue that is going to need regular and continuing monitoring here by Authority.

Fisheries Patrol Boat

Pont Aven coming into Plymouth

I caught the bus home and on arriving back into Plymouth things took a dark turn. As I crossed over the road to my house I was stopped dead in my tracks by the sight of a juvenile Herring Gull squashed on the tarmac. I rushed into the house to check out the roof next door and hoped against hope that it wasn't Birdy that I had just seen but there was no sign of her and only The Squatter was present. Sadly David later confirmed that it was indeed Birdy in the road as he had seen her being hit and killed by a passing car and our mood was rather subdued that evening as we were both rather upset by it all.

It seems such a waste of life and so unfair but as my Dad always said when I was growing up, " Life's unfair, get used to it". To lose both chicks in road accidents this year is just awful, it's never happened before, and the only comfort is that hopefully Birdys parents will now officially adopt The Squatter and help him on his way into adulthood.

Anyway, I headed out to The Plym for a walk the next day (Saturday August 2nd), it was warm and humid despite the mostly cloudy skies and I started off at Laira Bridge and walked upriver to Marsh Mills. It was almost high tide when I arrived at around 11:45am, a little later than I had planned, and there was no mud (or birds) on show along the estuary but as I walked along The Ride a noisy juvenile Peregrine gave its position away high overhead in the company of an adult bird. I guess they are from nearby Plymbridge Woods but I didn't think they had bred successfully there this year.

I checked out Chelson Meadow while keeping my eyes open for any security patrols, I didn't find any but I was very pleased to come across at least 2 very yellow looking juvenile Willow Warblers flitting about in the hedgerow, I'm having a good autumn with them this year. Even better was a mating pair of Dingy Skippers but even better still were 2 Clouded Yellows, my first of the year, with 1 of them appearing to be egg-laying. It seems to have been a slow year in the UK for Clouded Yellows despite the good weather we've had and I've been patiently looking for them on my walks so I was very pleased with today's sightings.

Dingy Skippers

Dingy Skippers

Dingy Skippers

Clouded Yellows - rarely settling for more than a few seconds

The female Red-crested Pochard was still present around the duck pond with the usual Mallard, Moorhen and Mandarins and a few Swallows were seen flitting about overhead while a Nuthatch was heard calling in the nearby trees.

Mallard

Despite the high tide there was very little water on Blaxton Meadow and out on the mud were 24 Curlew, Redshanks, 2 juvenile Shelducks, single adult Lesser and Great Black-backed Gulls with the Herring and Black-headed Gulls, Canada Geese, Grey Herons and Little Egrets. Surprisingly there were no Greenshank or Oystercatcher present and I couldn't see any roosting along The Embankment either.