Garden Moths and a Plymouth Mini-Pelagic Trip

I finally managed to get the moth box out in the back yard on Friday 13th July but overnight the temperatures and humidity had dropped and it was quite breezy, good for sleeping but not so good for mothing, and in the morning there was only a modest haul of moths again. The highlights were a male Ringed China Mark, 3 Crassa unitella, 3 Knot Grass, 1 Lychnis and 1 Dark Fruit Tree Tortrix. I also had my first Light Brown Apple Moth of the year, presumably badly hit by the Beast from the East earlier in the year, and a scarce silver lines unfortunately caught in a spiders web in the window frame and very dessicated so presumably caught a few days ago.

 Ringed China Mark

 Ringed China Mark

 Crassa Unitella

 Knot Grass

Lychnis

Birdy and Burdy watched me intently as usual and were joined by one of the adult herring gulls which made me a little nervous but suddenly all hell let loose and an adult herring gull came bombing in and chased it away while another adult bird flew around overhead making a hell of a noise - as I had suspected we have had a pair of interlopers present, maybe adults that have lost their own chicks nearby as we have quite a few nesting on the roofs around the area, and maybe explaining why this year the birds are so much more vocal and noisy.

Saturday 14th July was bright, sunny and still but cool as I walked down to Sutton Harbour for a mini-pelagic trip organised by the Plymouth branch of Devon Birds. I met my mate Mavis there and we were soon heading off out to sea off Rame Head to see what we could see. I wasn't expecting much as the weather has been so settled for such a long time now and there was hardly any breeze but we did get to see a few gannets and Manx shearwaters including a feeding raft of 38 birds which we managed to get quite close to. 2 adult guillemots with a juvenile gave some close views too and we also later saw a more distant adult bird

 Manx Shearwaters

 Manx Shearwater

 Guillemots

Rame Head

Heading back to Plymouth and we motored close to shore from Rame Head to Cawsands and then to Sutton Harbour and along the way while enjoying the glorious scenery we found 5 adult, a second summer and 3 juvenile Mediterranean gulls along the rocks amongst herring gulls and black headed gulls.

We had signed up for both trips and so after a brief stop in Sutton Harbour to change passengers we headed out again, seeing a nice adult Mediterranean gull on a post in Sutton Harbour as we waited to pass through the lock gates.

Mediterranean Gull

Heading out to sea again and it was noticeably breezy and the sea was quite lumpy after a flat calm morning and this time we headed out to The Mewstone at Wembury first, seeing fulmars on the cliff face and a few fledgling great black backed gulls with adults on the grassy slopes. Heading out to sea and we picked up a few gannets and Manx shearwaters but viewing was difficult in the swell and harsh light. Rubby-Dubby (chum) was chucked overboard off Rame Head and did attract a few Manx shearwaters close to the boat and we had distant views of a very dark looking shearwater which may have been a sooty but was too far away to call.

Heading back to Plymouth and the scenery was again stunning and to cap off a great couple of trips as we moored up in Sutton Harbour a grey seal came close to the boat and enjoyed the last of our mackerel, an old individual which looked to be blind in its left eye but a regular animal often fed by the fisher men using the harbour.

 Grey Seal

Grey Seal

Grey Seal 

 Grey Seal

Grey Seal

Heaven in Hayle

Saturday 16th January and a very cold but sunny day saw me heading off to Hayle on the train for a bit of serious birding. Arriving in Hayle at around 10am and I headed off straight away to the Carnsew Pool. A few minutes of scanning and I found the recently reported red necked grebe, only my 6th ever sighting of one and a beautiful bird that gave some great views although it spent very little time at the surface.

Red Necked Grebe, Hayle

Red Necked Grebe

Scanning around and I also found a very smart and confiding razorbill along with 4 little grebes while a kingfisher flew low over the water and a grey wagtail fed around a nearby puddle.

Razorbill, Hayle

Walking around the Pool towards the estuary and a smart and confiding guillemot was feeding on the river along with a great northern diver which dived just as I got onto it and despite watching and looking I couldn't refind it. An adult winter plumaged Mediterranean gull flew over looking quite ghostly in the bright sunshine and a greenshank noisily flew off from a roost of oystercatchers by the riverside.

Guillemot, Hayle

At Ryans Field a few lapwing and 20 golden plover were roosting but most of the waders were now feeding on the estuary as the tide began to ebb away - dunlin, ringed plover, curlew, grey plover, oystercatcher, redshank, turnstone and a bar tailed godwit were all seen.  Shelduck, teal and wigeon were also showing well along with a pair of goosander and a female red breasted merganser which was associating with them and allowing some nice comparisons with the female goosander.

 Male Goosander, Hayle

Female Goosander, Male Goosander and Female Red Breasted Merganser, Hayle

Scanning through the large roost of gulls and I found a nice adult kittiwake preening amongst the herring, lesser black backed, greater black backed and black headed gulls, which was a bit of a surprise. I would have liked to have spent more time going through the gulls but time was against me and so I scanned around and eventually found the long staying juvenile spoonbill roosting with little egrets on the saltings. It was fast asleep but had a quite distinctive profile compared with the egrets and just as I got my scope on it it flew off downriver but at least I saw its pinky spoon shaped bill, black wing tips and outstretched neck in flight before it landed on the estuary wall and went back to sleep!

I had hoped to have a look for the yellow browed warbler being seen behind the hide at Ryans Field but decided to have another look at the red necked grebe instead as my time at Hayle was running out. I had some lovely views of the grebe again as it preened on the water, being joined by the razorbill for a while, and it was nice to get some good views of a great northern diver regularly diving nearby.

Razorbill and Red Necked Grebe

Razorbill and Red Necked Grebe

Unfortunately it was time to catch the train down to Penzance, I had thought of just staying at Hayle as the birding was so good (quite heavenly in fact) but I stuck to my plan and arrived at Penzance at around 1pm, seeing the long staying and resident male eider amongst the gull flock close to the sea wall as the train pulled in to the station.

I headed off to the sea wall by the bus station for a quick scan around and found the male eider busily displaying to adult great black backed gulls, much to their amusement and/or fascination, and while watching the eider a large and milky coffee coloured juvenile glaucous gull flew up from the water before settling again further out where I had some nice scope views, a very nice find. A Slavonian grebe was just offshore from the Long Rock carpark, distant views only and my fifth grebe species in 3 days, but 2 great northern divers were much closer in and a male common scoter flew over towards Mousehole.

I headed off to the Jubille Pool where 20+ purple sandpipers gave some nice views with turnstone and ringed plovers while offshore a grey seal popped its head up out of the water and a pair of razorbill were busily diving.

Purple Sandpiper, Penzance

Turnstone, Newlyn

I carried on along the coast path towards Newlyn and on to Sandy Cove (misnamed as not very sandy!) where the regular wintering Pacific diver has mostly been seen but there was no sign of it (it was reported off Marazion that day, the usual place I would normally have visited!). I did see a female type black redstart on the rocky shore and a few great northern divers on the flat calm sea but amongst a large feeding flock of gulls around a trawler I found another juvenile glaucous gull - this one was paler and with worn tail feathers compared to the Penzance bird - but it quickly flew off towards Mousehole and out of sight. I later found another bird resting on the water but it drifted off towards Mousehole and out of sight again, another pale bird compared to the Penzance bird but possibly the bird I had seen in flight earlier?

Another look at the purple sandpipers on the walk back to Penzance was a delight as usual, such characterful and handsome birds, and another look off the sea wall by the bus station and the milky coffee coloured glaucous gull was still loafing around along with the horny but confused male eider. A female blackcap skulking in the nearby bushes finished off an amazing days birding as I headed off to catch the train home - no Pacific diver again (as usual) but some fantastic birds anyway.

Razorbill and Guillemot

Christmas 2015 was enjoyable with time spent with family including my sister and brother-in-law for the first Christmas in 12 years and my first ever Christmas with my 12 year old nephew - also the first Christmas with my mum for 10 years.

Boxing day and a walk along the River Plym from Chelson Meadow to The Beefeater at Marsh Mills and back was grey and windy but mild and dry if a little muddy underfoot. I forgot my binoculars but managed to see 3 greenshanks roosting on Blaxton Meadow at high tide with curlew, oystercatcher, redshank and shelduck. A jay was heard squawking and a noisy mistle thrush flew over. A nice surprise was a kingfisher calling in a tree overhanging the River between the A38 flyover and the Plympton Bridge before it flew off downstream.

A walk around Plymouth Hoe on the 27th and this time I remembered my binoculars. 11 turnstone were feeding on the gravel beach in Sutton Harbour near The China House and there were 12 mute swans including 3 juveniles. A kingfisher was on the rocks near the lock gates before noisely flying off and a smart winter plumaged adult Mediterranean gull flew across The Cattewater to Mountbatten. 3 ravens flying over The Citadel spooked all the roosting gulls and pigeons and were mobbed by carrion crows before flying off towards Devils Point.

The highlight was a guillemot resting on the sea in The Cattewater before flying off in to The Sound and thereby removing "auk species" from my year list.

December 28th and another walk around Sutton Harbour could only find 6 turnstones and there was no sign of the kingfisher today. A guillemot was resting on the sea near the lock gates but the best bird was a razorbill which gave amazingly close views as it regularly dived for fish close to the quayside and giving some fantastic underwater views. Wish I had taken my camera!

And despite my thinking I wouldn't see either guillemot or razorbill before the years end I ended up seeing both on my doorstep and taking my year list total to a pleasing 186 species.

And so to 2016 - what will it bring? Happy New Year everybody!