Tundra Bean Goose, Braunton Marsh

Saturday 17th February and a sunny and surprisingly mild day saw me heading off to Braunton Marsh in North Devon to look for a tundra bean goose that has been seen there for a few days now. I needed to get out for the day to clear my head and think about all the things going on in life and the trip seemed like it would be a good distraction. I caught the train to Exeter and then the branch line train to Barnstaple, the last branch line in Devon and Cornwall that I have not travelled on before, and then the bus to Braunton.

The journey went smoothly and along the way I managed some good sightings - fulmars at Teignmouth, pintails on the River Exe and a fox near Totnes on the train to Exeter, and a dipper, goosanders and stock doves on the scenic train journey to Barnstaple.

Arriving off the bus at Braunton high street I walked out to the nearby marshes and the fields were very waterlogged with some of the roads flooded too and very busy with lots of cars and cyclists on the tiny country lanes. There were plenty of birds around in the fields and hedgerows - good numbers of linnets, chaffinches, stock doves, jackdaws and skylarks along with greenfinch, goldfinch, blue tit, great tit, starling, carrion crow and woodpigeon.

I eventually arrived at the Sandy Lane car park and quickly found the tundra bean goose feeding in the fields with 10 mute swans, unfortunately distant and with heat hazy views into the sunlight but good to see none the less, only my third tundra bean goose after 2 distant sightings of one at Slimbridge in 2008 and 2013.

It spent short periods feeding on the grass with the swans before settling down for longer periods on the ground to rest and preen when it was often obscured by grassy tussocks - its dark head and neck, dark bill with orange nail and orange legs were all seen well despite the less than ideal viewing conditions.

 Tundra Bean Goose with Mute Swans - my "zoomed in" effort

Tundra Bean Goose - courtesy of DBWPS Website

While watching the goose I managed a few other good sightings - 3 chiffchaffs were flitting about in the hedgerow feeding on insects with a goldcrest, long tailed tits and a brief view of a firecrest; a Cettis warbler and a water rail were heard calling in the reeds along a ditch; a male kestrel regularly hovered overhead despite the attentions of mobbing jackdaws; 2 pairs of stonechats fed from the tops of sedges, seeming to tolerate each others close proximity; 20+ teal were spooked from a ditch and flew off across the fields; and a weasel dashed across the path, looking quite small and lacking a black tip to the tail.

 Chiffchaff

Kestrel

Heading back to Plymouth and the train journey was again productive - more goosanders and stock doves from Barnstaple to Exeter, red breasted mergansers, brent geese, bar tailed godwits, teal, wigeon and greenshank along the River Exe, 6 avocets and a kingfisher along the River Teign and goosanders near Totnes - a nice day out and very restorative.

A Trickle of Migrants

A strange Spring again this year - cool with a chilly northerly wind seeming to slow things down somewhat. The Victoria plum tree in the backyard is only just flowering, some 3 weeks later than has been usual and I have seen very few moths or butterflies so far.

April 7th and with rain forecasted for the afternoon I headed off on the first bus of the day to Wembury for a quick walk. Chiffchaffs were very much in evidence, flitting around in the undergrowth and singing, and a blackcap was heard singing too. The only other migrant was a whimbrel which flew along the beach, briefly resting on the rocks before flying off - unfortunately it was resolutely silent. Yet more bonking bloody nosed beetles were seen along with a few common lizards and I did get a brief view of a dark butterfly flying past, probably a peacock.

Whimbrel

Chiffchaff

Common Lizard

A trip to Bristol on April 10th to spend a few days at my sisters to celebrate my mums 70th birthday and I had hopes for some bird and butterfly sightings but it was still cool and still quiet. A green woodpecker, 2 tawny owls and chiffchaffs were heard in the woods by my sisters house and I saw a male kestrel, jays, bluebells and wood anenomes on a walk with the dog.

A trip to the SS Great Britain on April 11th and a pair of grey wagtails gave some nice views as they held territory along the quayside. It was good to see lesser black backed gulls close up as well, they are as tame in Bristol as herring gulls are in Plymouth.

Grey Wagtail

Lesser Black Backed Gull

Mums birthday on April 12th and we visited Bath for the day, spending time in the Roman baths before having afternoon tea in The Pump Rooms which was very nice. Lesser black backed gulls were again very confiding and gave some good views as they watched out for any food scraps dropped by tourists.

Heading home on April 13th and I saw 2 swallows flying over at the Haynes motor museum at Sparkford and other than a roe deer in fields near Exeter Airport and a white butterfly by the roadside somewhere in Somerset I didn't see anything else of note.

April 17th and I headed off to Wembury again, hoping for some signs of spring. 2 swallows around the horse stables started things nicely and then I heard a willow warbler quietly singing in the nearby sloe bushes but I couldn't catch a sight of it. Chiffchaffs were again noticeable and vocal and a blackcap was again heard singing. At Wembury Point 2 male whitethroats were songflighting and having a sing off together which was good to see and hear and 2 Sandwich terns flew along the shoreline heading west but there was no sign of any whimbrels.

No butterflies, no moths but more common lizards and bonking bloody nosed beetles were seen along with a raven, a pair of cirl buntings, 2 song thrush, 2 shelduck and 4 little egrets.

 Spring seems to be running a little late this year.

Red Crested Pochard at Slapton Ley

With 3 days off together I had big plans to make the most of it including a birdwatching boat trip on the River Exe with my mates Mavis and Mike - however the boat trip has had to be rescheduled to March as Mike is unwell and I have had a stinking cold which has scuppered my energy levels and original plans.

Thursday 21st and I needed some fresh air and so I had a quick bus trip out to Laira Bridge over the River Plym to have a look for the black necked grebe I saw last week. The tide was high and it was a grey and gloomy day but I found the grebe quickly enough although it was further out from the bridge than last week and the views were not so good in the poor light. A grey wagtail and a curlew also flew over the bridge and I found a pair of blackcaps feeding in the ivy bushes on the wasteground at Friary Mill on the walk home.

Friday 22nd was bright and sunny but windy and despite the heavy overnight rain and recent wet weather we decided to head off to Stoke Point for a walk, a bit of a mistake as the path was a complete quagmire and we spent most of the time looking downwards to keep ourselves upright and as mud free as possible. Despite feeling shitty I managed the whole walk which I was pleased about and we had a nice lunch at The Ship Inn at Noss Mayo.

New for the year was a raven flying over looking very tatty with worn tail and wing feathering but a kestrel, a female sparrowhawk and a buzzard flying over looked much smarter. I checked out all the stonechats feeding in the gorse bushes but couldn't find any Dartford warblers. A flock of around 50 linnets feeding in a stubble field were the first for the year along with meadow pipits feeding on the grassy cliff tops and I also saw a goldcrest, chaffinches and bullfinches in the woods near the caravan park.

Despite the recent freezing weather a bumble bee, a bloody nose beetle and dung flies on the cow pats were also seen in the mild but blustery conditions.

Saturday 23rd and with rain forecast for the afternoon we headed off to Slapton Ley in the morning for a quick walk. As we arrived at Torcross I could see a male and female goldeneye and 2 male red crested pochard from the car quite close to the road and I managed to get some nice views of them amongst the tufted duck and coot. Scanning through the duck flock and I found 2 pairs of pochard along with the strange looking male tufted duck x red crested pochard hybrid that has been around for a few years now.

2 Male Red Crested Pochard with Mallard

Male Tufted Duck x Red Crested Pochard Hybrid (top left)

Tufted Duck/Red Crested Pochard Hybrid

Tufted Duck/Red Crested Pochard Hybrid

Walking along the Ley towards the bridge and a flock of 4 female and 3 male goldeneye were displaying together before dispersing across the Ley (the goldeneye were very mobile and flighty around the Ley and this was the highest number of birds I saw together).

Pair of Goldeneye

Pair of Goldeneye

From the bridge a chiffchaff with a silver leg ring showed well while 2 Cettis warblers and a water rail were heard calling. 2 guys with massive camera lenses made me chuckle as they were getting excited about a bird feeding in the reeds, thinking it was a kingfisher, but it turned out to be a blue tit, neither of them having any binoculars with them.

Heading back to Torcross and a scan of a large flock of ducks at the back of Ireland Bay and I found 2 black necked grebes amongst the tufted duck, coot and gadwall along with 3 little grebes - distant views as the grebes constantly dived in the increasingly gloomy conditions.

Black Headed Gull in almost Summer Plumage

Lunch at the Seabreeze café was delicious and just as we left the café it started to rain and so we headed off home but my year list is now on a very respectable 112.