Rame Head Seawatch and a Trip to Newlyn

With a day off to myself on Saturday 8th May I had plans for a day out birding but the weather put paid to that with the forecasted gales and heavy rain arriving with a vengeance. However, silver linings and all that meant a trip over to Rame Head for a seawatch was the order of the day instead.

It was very windy and misty when I arrived at Whitsand Bay but the walk along the cliff path wasn't too bad as it was quite sheltered from the wind. Chiffchaffs were heard singing along with quite a few Whitethroats and Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Goldfinch and Blackbird were all seen. 

Arriving at the chapel and the full force of the wind hit me with a vengeance and so I hunkered down against the chapel wall to at least get some protection from the wind. I had brought my telescope with me but didn't bother getting it out of my rucksack as it was very misty offshore and visibility was quite poor. There seemed to be nothing moving but after a few minutes of scanning through my binoculars I picked up the odd Gannet, mostly quite close in and moving west with a few further out moving east. Further scanning over the next 2 hours revealed more Gannets, 3 Fulmar moving west and 11 Manx Shearwater - 3 west, 3 east and then 5 west - along with 2 summer plumaged Great Northern Diver moving west.

Great Northern Diver

A Shag, a Cormorant, an almost adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gulls and Great Black-backed Gulls were also noted with a few Swallows appearing to come in off the sea and a trickle of Swallows and House Martins overhead heading west.

A pair of Yellowhammers on the cliffs below the chapel provided a distraction and added a note of colour with the male singing briefly.

Yellowhammer

The weather took a turn for the worst and heavy rain arrived with visibility offshore becoming almost non-existent and so it was time to call it a day and head home to dry off and warm up but I had had quite an enjoyable time despite the conditions.

Monday 10th May was a day of annual leave for me and so I decided to head down to Newlyn to have a look for the 1st winter American Herring Gull being reported from there since March. It was dry and mostly sunny but with a strong wind and the walk along the sea front from Penzance to Newlyn was quite invigorating to say the least.

I settled down against the cliffs on the beach at Newlyn where it was quite pleasantly sheltered from the worst of the wind. Various Gulls were loafing about on the exposed sand on the low tide - adult and 1st winter Great Black-backed Gulls, an adult and 3rd summer Lesser Black-backed Gulls and assorted Herring Gulls - and I quickly found the American Herring Gull amongst the 1st winter Herring Gulls which flew over to where I was sitting expecting to be fed.

American Herring Gull 

 

American Herring Gull 

American Herring Gull 

The American Herring Gull was quite distinctive looking with a lovely black tipped pink bill although its plumage was very worn and faded in the strong sunshine and it did not look as dark as I had expected. It came very close to me but was very submissive to the 1st winter Herring Gulls present, often being chased off by them and flying off for a short distance so allowing me to check out its upperwing and tail patterning.

American Herring Gull 

An interesting bird to watch but in all honesty if I had found it myself I would have dismissed it as an "odd" looking Herring Gull. I've seen 1st winter American Herring Gulls before in New York but all were much darker and more distinctive looking than this one and so it has been quite an instructional bird to observe.

American Herring Gull 

American Herring Gull 

American Herring Gull

A summer plumaged Dunlin, 4 Turnstone and 2 Common Sandpiper were also seen feeding along the shoreline, Swallows and a Raven were seen overhead and a few Gannet and a Fulmar were noted offshore.

It was soon time to head back out into the wind for the walk back to Penzance and along the way 2 Sanderling were seen feeding along Tolcarne Beach. A quick look at the rocks by the Jubilee Pool on the incoming tide also revealed a good total of 41 Purple Sandpiper with 4 Turnstone.

Purple Sandpiper and Turnstone

Purple Sandpiper

A very good day out indeed, some gentle and easy birding and my third UK life tick of the year in the bag.

More Holiday-less Holiday

My Annual Leave continues and local wildlife watching remains the order of the day. At least the weather is settled with dry and mostly cloudy skies and cool nights. And keeping local is actually quite interesting as I continue to explore sites and habitats close to home that I would ordinarily overlook.

Friday 19th March and we drove out to Endsleigh Nursery at Milton Abbot to collect a Greengage tree for the allotment, hopefully this one will take as the previous 2 trees we have bought have both died. On the way home we stopped off at the Dartmoor Bakery at Yelverton for a take away coffee and a Jaffa Dartmoor Swirl before having a walk at Cadover Bridge. It was grey and cold in a strong North Easterly breeze and there was no sign of the Sand Martin or Fieldfare reported from earlier that morning with the highlight of the walk being a pair of Goosander on the river. 

Blackaton Cross, Cadover Bridge

Saturday 20th March and I headed off for my usual River Plym and Saltram walk. It was another grey day but there was very little breeze for a change and I had a very enjoyable walk.

As I arrived at the lookout the Blaxton Meadow roost on the low high tide was disturbed by 2 female runners along the sea wall (despite the No Entry signage) and I watched 15 Curlew, 6 Oystercatcher, Shelduck, Canada Geese and Gulls all disappear off down river.

No Entry

Read The Sign - No Entry! 

Winter met summer with 2 Redwing seen and 2 Chiffchaff heard singing, both my first on my Plym walk for this year. A flyover Snipe, 2 male Bullfinch, a male Kestrel, a pair of Stonechat, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Green Woodpecker (1 seen, 1 heard) and 2 Mistle Thrush were all seen in the Park with 2 Treecreeper (eventually) showing well in the flooded wood the highlight.

Treecreeper

Along the River a Greenshank, 3 Dunlin and a female Goosander were seen along with 5 Little Egret and 25 Redshank.

Greenshank

Goosander

Cherry Plum Blossom - sepals reflexed, not spreading

Sunday 21st March and a look inside the back yard moth box on my first trapping session of the year revealed just one moth, a Common Quaker. 

Common Quaker

Later while on a walk around Plymouth Hoe dodging the crowds we found the Long-tailed Duck still present in The Cattewater, busily and distantly diving away amongst the buoys, but there was no sign of the Purple Sandpiper on the rocks.

Monday 22nd March and I headed out to Wembury for a walk in occasionally sunny skies. It was mild and still and very pleasant when the sun did shine from between the clouds and I had a very interesting walk.

The highlight were 2 smart looking male Wheatear flitting about at The Point. 4 Chiffchaff singing and 2 Peacock butterflies engaged in an aerial battle added to the spring feeling along with a male and 3 female Black Oil Beetles rescued off the main footpath and placed in nearby vegetation.

Wheatear

Peacock

Black Oil Beetle - male

Black Oil Beetle - female

A female Kestrel and 5 Buzzards overhead, Fulmars around The Mewstone, the usual Stonechats and Goldfinches and around 5 male Cirl Buntings singing were also noted.

Cirl Bunting

2 Coal Tit in the village gardens and a 1st summer Common Gull roosting on the rocks with Herring Gulls were Wembury firsts for the year.

Common Gull with Herring Gull

The Bar-tailed Godwit was still present, roosting on the rocks with the Oystercatchers, and a Meadow Pipit was feeding on the seaweed mass along the beach with Rock Pipits and Pied Wagtails. 

The Sloe Blossom was looking absolutely stunning along the footpath and a Ruby Tiger caterpillar was sunning itself in the grass. 

Sloe Blossom

Sloe Blossom - sepals spreading, not reflexed

Ruby Tiger caterpillar

Tuesday 23rd March and the last day of my annual leave was meant to be a cloudy day and so I planned to visit The Hoe before catching up on chores. It was indeed cloudy when I left the house but by the time I arrived at Rusty Anchor the sky cleared and the sun shone and as I hadn't brought out a hat with me I ended up with a bit of a sun kissed head by the time I arrived back home. 

At Rusty Anchor I was very pleased to find 2 Purple Sandpipers for a change, 1 busily feeding and 1 tucked up asleep. 

Purple Sandpiper

Purple Sandpiper

7 Turnstones and a Rock Pipit were also found on the rocks and a Raven flew overhead but the highlight was a Grey Seal, presumably a female based on size and face shape and which bobbed around in the water close to the sea wall, frequently diving for short periods and always returning to the surface at the same spot. 

Grey Seal

Grey Seal

 Grey Seal

Grey Seal

A quick look off Fisherman's Nose and the female Long-tailed Duck was found still busily diving away amongst the buoys in The Cattewater, distant as always but I had brought my scope with me this time and so I had some nice views of it for a change. 

March Doldrums

Mid-march is here and it's that weird time when winter birds depart and summer birds are yet to arrive and things are expectantly stagnant. 

Sunday 7th March and a morning walk around Plmouth Hoe before the crowds arrived was Purple Sandpiper-less but the female Long-tailed Duck was still present in The Cattewater, distant and active as usual.

Thursday 11th March and another Plymouth Hoe walk was Long-tailed Duck-less in choppy seas but the Purple Sandpiper showed well along with 6 Turnstones at Rusty Anchor.

Purple Sandpiper

Friday 12th March was showery and breezy but despite the low tide I headed out to Saltram and the River Plym for a walk. It was a very low tide but out on the water and mudflats of the Plym I found an unringed adult winter plumaged Mediterranean Gull amongst the Herring, Black-headed and Great Black-backed Gulls present along with a notable increase in Common and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. A Greenshank, a redhead Goosander, a Curlew and a few Redshank were also seen.

The female Red-crested Pochard was back on the duck pond along with 22 Mandarin Duck (12 males, 10 females) and assorted Feral Ducks and Moorhens.

Red-crested Pochard

Mandarin Duck

The usual birds were seen in Saltram Park  - Stock Dove, Goldcrest, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Mistle Thrush, Greenfinch, Nuthatch, Kestrel, Peregrine, Ring-necked Parakeet and Pheasant the best - but the highlight was a Reed Bunting found and pointed out to me by local birders Pete and Ian and only my second Plymouth sighting of one. 

It was good to see the pair of Stonechat again and showing very well by the main footpath heading down from the house to the beach. The female was absent during the very cold spell we had recently so it was good to see her back with the male, presuming it is indeed the same female. 

Stonechat - male

Stonechat - female

Sunday 14th March was Mothers Day and with it being a dry and mostly sunny day I decided to avoid the crowds and potter about the house doing chores with just a short trip out to Sainsburys to break the day up.  However on returning home from shopping I checked out the sightings pages to see a report of a Sandwich Tern in The Cattewater and so after quickly eating my lunch I headed down to Duttons Cafe on The Hoe for a look. Needless to say there was no sign of it but the female Long-tailed Duck was still present, distant and mobile and rarely at the surface for very long as usual.

Spring is beginning to arrive! 

Glaucous Gull Catch Up

Saturday 20th February was yet again a wet and windy day but I had to get out of the house for a walk and so I headed off to Plymouth Hoe again. It wasn't as wet as the previous days walk but was windier which made viewing difficult at times.

The Purple Sandpiper was again showing very well on the rocks below Rusty Anchor at West Hoe, easily overlooked as it fed on the rocks in the breaking waves of the high tide. 

Purple Sandpiper

Purple Sandpiper

There were 5 Turnstones feeding together on the rocks below the Pier One Cafe and off Duttons Cafe there were 2 Great Northern Divers bobbing around in the rough water with one bird very close in.

Great Northern Diver 

Great Northern Diver 

The Long-tailed Duck was again feeding in The Cattewater and was closer to shore this time but it soon flew off upriver before landing again and remaining distant and mobile, spending little time at the surface.

That evening I noticed a report on the sightings pages of a Glaucous Gull having been seen in The Sound that afternoon, I had been scanning through the Gulls present on my walk in the hope of finding a white-winger but with no luck and so I hoped it would be refound again in the following days. 

Tuesday 23rd February and I decided to visit Wembury for a walk on a grey and windy day with yet more strong winds but at least it was dry. The footpath was even more of a mud bath than usual and I ended up getting filthy but it was worth it as I found myself a 2nd winter(?) Glaucous Gull! Presumably it is the bird seen on Saturday in Plymouth Sound and possibly the bird seen at Stoke Point back in December, a very nice find and my first at Wembury, hopefully I will catch up with it in Plymouth sometime soon.

Glaucous Gull

Glaucous Gull

Glaucous Gull

I noticed it first as it flew down onto the rocks where it casually observed the world around it, a lovely pale and large looking bird that appeared to almost glow in the dull light. It was stood on its own and I had some great views looking down on it from the clifftop footpath but it was eventually flushed by a dog walker, flying off towards Plymouth and showing missing primary feathers on both wings as it went.

Glaucous Gull in full camouflage flight mode

A Bar-tailed Godwit was seen feeding out on the rocks nearby with Oystercatchers and at least 3 Curlews, and 2 Little Egrets and 2 male and a female Mallard were also noted. A single Meadow Pipit was found feeding on the rotting seaweed mass along the beach with Rock Pipits and Pied Wagtails.

Bar-tailed Godwit

Cirl Buntings were skittish and skulky in the stubble field and surrounding hedgerows and Skylarks were singing overhead. A Buzzard and a male Kestrel flew overhead and it was nice to see 4 Greenfinch singing and songflighting around the gardens of the village on the walk down to the beach.

Wembury

Heading back to Plymouth and I decided to walk around the River Plym, starting off at Laira Bridge and walking up to Marsh Mills along The Ride before returning downriver along The Embankment.

The tide was high and a single Little Grebe was seen busily diving on the river just upstream from Laira Bridge. At Blaxton Meadow the water was flowing in through the sluice but the water level was very low and there were lots of gulls roosting out on the mud including 2 unringed adult Mediterranean Gulls with one in full summer plumage. 

Mediterranean Gull with Black Headed-gulls

Mediterranean Gulls with Black-headed Gulls 

Redshank, Curlew and a few Dunlin were roosting out on the mud too with Shelduck and a lone Canada Goose. An increase in adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls amongst the roosting Gulls was noticeable too. 

A pair of Goosander were resting on the water of the Plym near the sewage outlet and the only other birds of note were a small flock of roosting Turnstone with a single Dunlin at Blagdons Meadow.

Dunlin with Turnstones

Another wet and windy day on Wednesday 24th February and another Plymouth Hoe walk but there was no sign of any Purple Sandpipers this time. A Great Northern Diver was catching crabs close to shore and diving regularly to avoid the attentions of Herring Gulls and Great Black-backed Gulls as it tried to eat them at the surface. The Long-tailed Duck was again found out in The Cattewater but as usual was distant and mobile.

Thursday 25th February was for a change a dry and mostly sunny day with a light breeze and so I decided to visit a site on the outskirts of Plymouth for a walk. The footpath was a complete quagmire in places and I ended up with very wet and very muddy walking boots and trousers but it was worth it.

At the start of my walk I found 9 Cattle Egrets feeding in a field amongst a herd of cows along with a few Little Egrets. Lots of Pheasents were also seen in the fields along with a few Red-legged Partridges and on a flooded field by the river a lone male Teal was seen with Mallards and Shelduck. 

The main interest was overhead though with Ravens and Buzzards seen soaring on the thermals and calling. A Red Kite amongst them was a complete surprise and I watched it for some time as it continually circled around the same area until it drifted off out of sight.

I disturbed a female Sparrowhawk from a hedgerow and watched it flying off and a few minutes later I watched a female Goshawk briefly flying over, a much larger and robust looking bird than the Sparrowhawk. It flew over showing fluffed out white undertail coverts and giving a few gentle flaps of its wings and then gliding before it disappeared into the trees. A few minutes later a flock of  around 20 Woodpigeon scattered out of the trees and I watched the Goshawk flying off over the river and disappearing again into the woodland. Later I had another brief view of a female in the same area causing complete panic amongst the Jackdaws and Carrion Crows feeding in the fields as it buzzed through.

Sparrowhawks were also seen soaring high overhead with 4 together at one point, 2 males with 2 noticeably larger females, but I also saw 2 Goshawks distantly through my telescope, a male and a female displaying with Nightjar-like wing flapping before they drifted off. A Goshawk with fluffed out white undertail coverts was also seen flying over the treetops before briefly perching in a tree, again very distant and unfortunately against the skyline so difficult to pick out any detail. 

An interesting walk and one I shall hopefully be repeating again soon if weather conditions are right as I would love to get some better views of the Goshawks.