The weather since my return to the UK has been pretty good but unfortunately I haven't felt well enough to make the most of it as I continue to struggle through jetlag and a shitty virus. I did get out for a short walk at Saltram on Tuesday 3rd March where I was pleased to finally see 2 pairs of Mandarin Ducks and the female Red-crested Pochard back on the duckpond for the first time this year but I was also very glad to return home to the comforts of the sofa.
I also took a short walk down to the allotment on Wednesday 4th March which provided me with my first proper butterfly sighting of the year in the form of a Comma sunning itself on a fence before dashing off and out of sight.
I felt a little better on Thursday 5th March as I headed out to Wembury on the bus for a slow walk, it was overcast and cool after a few days of warm sunshine so there were no reptiles or butterflies to be found but it was good to be back out birding locally after my trip to Japan.
The coast at Wembury has taken quite a bashing while I've been away on my holidays with the seemingly constant wind and rain we have been experiencing so far this year continuing in my abscence. There has been more cliff slippage, the beach has been gouged out in places including the area where the Sea Kale grows (or used to) and I sadly found 2 dead Puffins washed up on the tideline, a trend reflected elsewhere in the UK and around Europe as seabirds have "wrecked" due to the ongoing difficult weather conditions.
There may not have been any reptiles or butterflies around on my walk but there was a feel of spring in the air with Daffodils in flower and a pair of Canada Geese prospecting for nest sites on The Mewstone although a Great Northern Diver feeding close inshore just off the beach was a reminder that winter is not yet done.
A pair of Bullfinch were feeding together at The Point where the National Trust have undertaken yet more "habitat management" and cleared tracts of Gorse and shrub right through the Dartford Warbler territory, they have also cleared most of the Gorse along the footpath where a colony of Green Hairstreak resides - oh dear.
The Water Pipit was still present along the beach but was showing no signs of moulting into summer plumage. The Siberian Chiffchaff was still present too and feeding amongst 4 collybita Chiffchaffs, its facial plumage was a bit of a mess though so presumably it has been feeding around blossom, probably Sloe blossom, which is beginning to flower in the nearby hedgerows.
I have also received my BirdTrack summary for 2025 from the BTO, always an interesting read and with Wembury and The Plym sharing first place as my most visited birding site for the year.
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