Whinchats, Yellow Wagtail and a Wryneck

I caught the 7am bus out to Wembury on Friday 29th August, it had rained heavily overnight although I had slept right through it but I hoped it might have mixed things up a bit on the birding front. It must have been quite an overnight deluge though as the stream by the road leading down to the beach had burst its banks and was flowing over the tarmac and the road surface was quite damaged in places. The footpath down the valley to the beach was quite seriously eroded away too and along my walk the steeper sections of footpath were equally the worse for wear.

Valley to the beach footpath - all eroded away down to a membrane after just one night of very heavy rain

I started off my walk by heading up to the church and I set up my scope for a look offshore, I nearly didn't bring my scope out with me but I'm glad I did as a flock of around 100 Kittiwake were resting on the water just to the east of The Mewstone before they took to the air and headed west. Later at The Point there were around 50 Kittiwake roosting on the western end of The Mewstone before they too headed west and while watching them another flock of around 100 Kittiwake flew through low over the waves heading west as well. This flock contained quite a few juveniles amongst it and as I scanned the trailing end with my scope I picked up the menacing prescence of a pale phase Arctic Skua following behind. It soon caught up with the flock of Kittiwakes which then flew up higher above the skyline with the Arctic Skua joining them before it passed the front of the flock and returned close to the water as it continued west.

Along the beach the usual Oystercatchers were roosting with a Curlew, 2 Whimbrel and 4 Little Egrets and I finally found a ringed juvenile Mediterranean Gull amongst the roosting Gulls, my first of this autumn following a total blank last year.

Whimbrel

Mediterranean Gull 3JJ5 - ringed in Belgium on 26/6/25

A Sparrowhawk buzzed low over the Bracken by The Pines, later presumably the same bird had a dash through the pines at the Radar Station in an attempt to catch any of the Wren, Long-tailed Tit, Chiffchaff, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Robin or Great Tit feeding amongst the foliage although I didn't see if it was successful or not. A Grey Heron also flew overhead and was given short shrift by some Carrion Crows, it foolishly flew over to The Mewstone where it was given even shorter shrift by the Herring Gulls before appearing to land out of sight.

Just 1 Clouded Yellow was seen today but there were still good numbers of Common Blue, Meadow Brown, Small and Large Whites and Small Copper about. A Common Darter and a Southern Hawker were also seen.

Small Copper - a lovely and underrated butterfly and still around in good numbers

Southern Hawker

Other birds of note on my walk were a Jay flying over the hillside above the wheatfield, 2 Kestrels and 5 Buzzards overhead, Gannets offshore, 2 Fulmars on The Mewstone, 2 Grey Wagtails over heading west before 1 returned east and a noisy Green Woodpecker flying into The Pines.

On my previous visit to Wembury last Tuesday I had walked along the cliff path towards Noss Mayo but only as far as the farm ponds, I should have walked further as a report appeared on the Devon Birds website that afternoon of Osprey and Whinchat being seen near Clitter Woods. I've never walked that far along the path before so I decided to go and take a look about, I guess it's pushing the boundaries of my Wembury patch but it's still technically Wembury so I'm going to allow it. 

I eventually found the ploughed field mentioned in the report although it was a longer walk to it than I expected, there was no sighting of an Osprey along The Yealm for me but I did find at least 4 mobile Whinchat feeding amongst the furrowed soil along with 3 Wheatears, Stonechats and "Alba" Wagtails. The surrounding hedgerow contained Whitethroats, Cirl Buntings and Chiffchaffs and I thought the loveliest yellow thing I would see all day was a beautiful juvenile Willow Warbler that was feeding with them but then I found a Yellow Wagtail out in the field which gave some great scope views, an absolutely gorgeous bird and nowhere near as neurotic as Yellow Wagtails usually are.

Whinchat

Yellow Wagtail and White Wagtail

With a Wryneck being found at Turf on The Exe I thought it would be a one day wonder but 5 days later it was still present and often showing exceptionally well so I decided to go take a look on Sunday 31st August. I had planned to catch the 8:30am train but after imbibing a little too much fermented liquid the night before at our nephew Paul's 40th birthday party I didn't wake up in time and caught the 10:30am train instead!

It was a cool and breezy day with sunny spells and some heavy rain showers that rattled in on the wind and I did get a bit of a soaking on my walk from Starcross to Turf Locks. I had also been woken up in the night a few times by crippling leg cramps, something I don't usually suffer from, and my calfs were extremely sore the next morning and not ideal for a long walk but I took things slowly. I was surprised though to find out it's a 3 mile walk from Starcross to Turf, I knew it was a good way but hadn't realised it was quite that far.

Anyway, I quickly found the Wryneck on arriving at the lock gates when a helpful birder present pointed it out preening away in a bush right by the path. It then gave us a 5 minute fly around as it flitted from bush to bush and grassy area to grassy area until it finally settled on the stone work of the lock and began to feed in earnest on insects in the cracks. It gave amazingly close views and I could see it's tongue flicking in and out as it fed, I also got some good views of its fantastic looking feet and claws.

Wryneck

Wryneck

Wryneck

Wryneck showing off its tongue

This is now my 10th UK Wryneck with 9 having being seen here in Devon (6 at Wembury (3 self found there), 1 at Dawlish Warren, 1 at Ford Park Cemetery in Plymouth and todays bird) and 1 on The Isles of Scilly but it's by far and away the best views I've ever had of one, quite ridiculous at times as it fed unconcerned just a few feet away.

Wryneck

Wryneck

Wryneck

Wryneck

I walked on to the viewing platform overlooking the lagoon, I didn't have my scope with me and a quick scan around didn't reveal the reported Glossy Ibis but birds of note from here were 3 Lapwing, a Black-tailed Godwit, Sand Martins and Gadwalls.

I returned to the lock gates where the Wryneck was still showing very well but eventually I had to tear myself away and start the walk back to Starcross.

Wryneck

Wryneck

Wryneck

Wryneck

A very confiding Wryneck!

Along the way I had some good views of waders out on the mudflats as the tide receded and including a Whimbrel, Ringed Plovers, Dunlin, 3 Grey Plovers and 3 Black-tailed Godwits. A Kingfisher flew along the sea wall while in the nearby fields at least 15 Cattle Egrets were feeding amongst the cattle and long grass. An adult and noisy juvenile Sandwich Tern were feeding over the water and a poorly looking Golden Plover was seen on the mud near the lock gates.

Golden Plover

All in all a good day out and a nice end to the month of August!

Osprey and Whinchats

The August Bank Holiday weekend duly arrived and the weather was dry and sunny, perfect for our nephew Camerons wedding to Nieve on Saturday 23rd August at Rumleigh Farm in the Tamar Valley near Bere Alston. An overnight stay at the Wetherspoons in Tavistock and taxis to and from the Farm were all booked and off we headed to enjoy the celebrations. Being a very rural location and right by the River Tamar I hoped there would be some wildlife to enjoy amongst the festivities and indeed I had an interesting time.

I felt a little sorry for a nest of Swallows, it was just inside the entrance to the toilets with the bright lights and the noise from the live band keeping them awake until gone Midnight. They were a few days off fledging with adult feathering but still sporting yellow lined gapes.

Small Bats were flying around the farm buildings, probably Pipistrelles, and down by the river Bats were seen feeding over the water at dusk, presumably Daubenton's. I could hear Teal, Mallard and Common Sandpipers down by the river too as dusk turned to night along with the hootings of at least 4 Tawny Owls in the trees nearby and I also had to rescue a young Goat that had gotten its head stuck through a wire fence, a good grasp on its horns and some gentle manoeuvring soon had it freed and returning to the flock.

I had the moth box out in the back yard on Sunday 24th August and the next morning found 5 Box Tree Moths in the trap, 4 light forms and 1 dark. I'm not sure if I'll catch any next year as the topiary Box Trees in the nearby park have been totally decimated by their caterpillars. 

Box Tree Moth - white and melanic forms

Box Topiary in the nearby Park - or rather what's left of it

Box Topiary - totally defoliated

There were only 2 Large Yellow Underwing in the trap (where are they all this year?) along with a single Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing and also of note were a Marbled Green, 2 Mullein Wave, a very worn Maidens Blush and a Eudonia pallida plus quite a few Wasps.

Oak Eggar (male) - caught by David on the allotment

After sorting out the trap I caught the bus out to Marsh Mills for an early morning walk around Saltram, high tide was around 8am and with it being Bank Holiday Monday and a sunny day I was keen to get out and back before the hordes arrived. Blaxton Meadow was back to being a lake with water still streaming in through the sluice gates when I arrived there and the only small waders I found were 2 Common Sandpipers and a Dunlin. The usual Redshanks were roosting along the back wall and also present were 30 Curlew, 3 Oystercatcher, a Whimbrel, 8 Greenshank and a Black-tailed Godwit. The juvenile Great Crested Grebe was still present too and looking much more at home on the large expanse of water and a Kingfisher and 2 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls were also seen.

Blaxton Meadow becoming Blaxton Lake

I headed onwards to Chelson Meadow to look for Whinchats, noting a very active Spotted Flycatcher around the dipping pond along the way. The Meadow seemed very quiet at first with a Skylark and a Whitethroat the only birds of note until I picked up an Osprey flying over carrying a fish and very likely the same bird I saw last Friday. It was heading in the direction of Stag Lodge and I watched it in the hope it would land in a tree where I could get a good look at it but it kept going and I lost sight of it.

Chelson Meadow - not for much longer as solar farm construction very likely to be starting soon

With more scanning of the Meadow I eventually found 2 Whinchats out in the long grass along with at least 4 Stonechat (1 male), they were all very mobile and difficult to track as they seemed to just disappear before reappearing elsewhere but I was pleased to finally see my first Whinchat of 2025. I also found my first Plym Small Copper of the year and again there were quite a few Clouded Yellows flitting about which I gave up counting in the end. A Roe Deer and a Hummingbird Hawkmoth were also seen here before it was time to return home to escape the heat and the building crowds.

I headed out to Wembury on the 7am bus the next morning (Tuesday 26th August), it was cooler and breezy following a little overnight rain and I wished I had put on a jumper before leaving the house. The sun soon got going though and it became warm and humid and a jumper was no longer required.

Wembury

It was coming up to high tide and the breeze was whipping up the waves which were surging up the beach, the Gulls were loving it as they fed in the surf but the Oystercatchers and Little Egrets trying to roost along the beach weren't so keen. A Curlew, a Whimbrel and 6 Turnstone were also present along with the usual Mediterranean Gulls, none of which were sporting any leg rings. 

Whimbrel and Black-headed Gull

Mediterranean Gull

Little Egret

With The Plym throwing up some good birding in the past week I was hoping for Wembury to do the same but it was fairly quiet on my walk with the highlights being 3 Wheatear on the rocks below the horse field, 5 Swallows over heading west, a Moorhen heard at the farm ponds, Whitethroats flitting about in the bushes and a Sandwich Tern flying west offshore.

There were good numbers of Small Copper flitting about, they seem to have suddenly had a good emergence, and also seen were Common Blue, Meadow Brown, Large White, Speckled Wood, Small White, Red Admiral, a Peacock, a Painted Lady and a Hummingbird Hawkmoth. A male Beautiful Demoiselle was resting by the stream in the valley to the beach  and 3 Rabbit were feeding in the horse field.

Peacock

Small Copper

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 interesting and productive visit (4 year ticks!), 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.