Stilt Dip but a Gull Bonus

Tuesday May 1st and it was off to the River Exe for the day on the train, starting at Bowling Green Marsh at Topsham. I caught the 07:25 train from Plymouth, paying an eye-watering £20.80 for the privilege (it costs £9.70 after 9am!), and I arrived at the hide at Bowling Green Marsh at around 09:15 where local birder Dave Boult had found an adult summer plumaged Bonaparte's gull roosting amongst the black headed gulls right in front of the hide, presumably the regular wintering bird that has been around the Exe for a few years now. Quite a start to the day although viewing was difficult looking into the sun but I still had some nice views and got a few rubbish record shots too - smaller, black headed and darker grey upperparts than the nearby black headed gulls with a shorter, all dark bill and bubble gum pink legs but surprisingly easy to overlook and variable depending on the light and angle of view.

 Bonaparte's Gull with Black Headed Gull, Bowling Green Marsh

 Bonaparte's Gull

Bonaparte's Gull with Black Headed Gull

Also amongst the small group of roosting gulls were a 1st summer Mediterranean gull and 3+ 1st summer common gulls until 2 adult lesser black backed gulls flew in which proved too much for the Bonaparte's and it flew off towards the estuary never to be seen again.

Also seen were 4 ruff, 7 knot and 3 whimbrel amongst the black tailed godwits and redshanks along with 2 pairs of tufted duck and a few teal, shoveler and wigeon. A Cetti's warbler was heard calling along with singing chiffchaff and blackcap and a single sand martin flew overhead, surprisingly my first of the year.

 Black Tailed Godwit, Bowling Green Marsh

Black Tailed Godwit

I had planned to catch the ferry across the Exe from Topsham to Exminster Marsh but it isn't running yet (although it doesn't run on Tuesdays anyway, a fact I wasn't aware of) and so a quick dash to the train station ensued and I caught the train to Starcross and then the bus to The Swans Nest instead.

With a black winged stilt having been found on Exminster Marsh the previous day I was hopeful it might still be around but there was no sign of it today - black winged stilt is a bit of a bogey bird for me, I've seen plenty on my foreign travels but never in the UK and have dipped a few along the way including birds at Exminster Marsh back in 2012.

I did however see some good birds despite the clouding over skies, showers and strengthening winds with reed and sedge warblers being very vocal but very skulking along the walk. I did manage to get a few brief views of both species as they sang in cover or flitted between bushes but not the usual good views I normally get. A whitethroat and a chiffchaff were seen with blackcaps, chiffchaffs, Cetti's warbler and a lesser whitethroat also heard while over the marsh 2 swifts, a house martin, swallows and sand martins were hawking insects. Whimbrel, 2 oystercatcher, lapwing, a dunlin and a common sandpiper were also out on the marsh with little egrets, Canada geese, mute swans, mallards, coot, moorhen and teal but the best find was a female whinchat feeding from a barbed wire fence, distant views but nice to find at this time of year away from Dartmoor.

Nesting Mute Swan, Exminster Marsh

Onwards to Powderham Marsh where 2 barnacle geese, 2 greylag geese and a snow goose were amongst the Canada geese while 2 little ringed plovers were feeding out on the muddy scrapes although they were a little distant.

Orange tip and peacock were on the wing along with lots of St.Marks flies and a single large red damselfly and it was nice to see plenty of cuckoo flower dotted around, perfect food for orange tip larva.

 Orange Tip

St.Marks Flies making more St.Marks Flies

It was soon time to head back to Starcross on the bus to catch the train back to Plymouth but I had had a great day out despite yet another black winged stilt dip.

Bonaparte's Gull, River Exe

A visit from Mum and Sister Vik, work and continuing family health issues have meant little recent opportunities for birding.

Monday 6th February and a grey and drizzly day meant just a quick look at Burrator reservoir with Mum and Vik but it did provide a sighting of a jay, my first of the year. The water levels were higher than on our last visit but still not high enough for water to flow over the dam.

A walk around Plymouth Hoe with them on Tuesday 7th was bright and sunny and I found 2 great northern divers close in off Tinside Pool, my first for the winter.

Wednesday 8th and with a few free hours to ourselves after Mum and Vik had returned home we took a walk around Burrator reservoir on a sunny and still day. A muscovy duck, mallards, 2 white geese, Canada geese, a male teal, a little grebe and cormorants were seen on the water while the woods held siskins, coal tits, goldcrests, blue tits and great tits with marsh tits and nuthatches seen coming to peanuts put out by photographers at the car park.

 Feral Geese, Burrator Reservoir

Feral Geese, Burrator Reservoir

Wednesday 15th February and finally a day to myself and so I headed off to Dawlish Warren on the train despite the rain.The rain began to ease as I stepped off the train at the Warren and eventually the sun appeared and it became a pleasently mild day.

Offshore it was quiet with a male common scoter close in off Langstone Rock and a great northern diver close in off Warren Point busily munching away on crabs being the highlights. At least 15 variously plumaged great crested grebes were dotted around the Bay and there were 3 distant common scoters resting offshore and an adult Mediterranean gull developing a black hood was seen flying along the seawall.

From the hide at high tide there were hundreds of dunlin with 6 ringed plovers, a sanderling, grey plover, knot, redshank, oystercatcher, turnstone, curlew and bar tailed godwit. A male reed bunting, 2 skylark, linnets and rock pipits were feeding in the salt marsh and another Mediterranean gull flew past, this one with a much more extensive black hood than the bird seen from the seawall.

As usual there were bark bellied brent geese dotted around The Bight and in the estuary along with a small flock feeding on the golf course.

 Brent Geese, Dawlish Warren Golf Course

Brent Geese

On the main pond were a summer plumaged little grebe and a pair of shoveler along with a snipe sleeping amongst the waterside vegetation.

Shoveler and Little Grebe, Dawlish Warren

I then walked over to the nearby Cockwood Steps, somewhere I haven't visited before, and on the outgoing tide I soon found a Slavonian grebe, presumably Herbert the resident bird and looking a bit scruffy as it moults into summer plumage, but later I saw a second bird looking much smarter with a bright white neck. 2 Harbour seals were hauled out on the sand bank, some distance apart from each other and both a very pale colour. A female goldeneye, red breasted mergansers, 2 little grebes and a greenshank were also seen but there was no sign of the regular wintering Bonaparte's gull which has been most regularly reported from here this winter.

Harbour Seal from Cockwood Steps

I kept scanning the gulls resting on the mudflats and flying around but there was no sign of it although there were quite a few common gulls noted. A local birding couple then arrived and within a few minutes one of them found the adult winter Bonaparte's gull resting on the mud towards Shutterton Creek, a little distant but its bubble gum pink legs, black bill, black blob behind the eye and smaller size compared to nearby black headed gulls were all noticeable.

It flew down to the waters edge and then flew off down river when disturbed by a bait digger when its white underwings lacking any dark markings under the wing tips were noted but unfortunately it landed out of sight and I never refound it. I was very pleased to see it though and all thanks to the local birder finding it - apparently it is best looked for in the afternoon downriver from the steps on a outgoing low tide - and it helps to have a better telescope than mine!