Plymouth Birding Day

Sunday 22nd January and I had planned to visit Dawlish Warren on the train but a lack of sleep after my night shift and a thick head from a night out with friends from work on the Saturday evening meant I ended up having a lie in and a days birding around Plymouth instead.

I headed off to the River Plym and Saltram on a bright and cold day but the tide was high and so the highlights along the river were 6 turnstone roosting on the water ski pontoon by the recycling centre and around 100 dunlin roosting on the foreshore below Blagdons boatyard.

I managed to find 4 snipe and a Jack snipe, the views of the Jack snipe were not as good as those before Christmas though - it flushed at the last minute and flew off silently and low over the ground before disappearing behind some small trees but its small size was instantly noticeable after having already seen the snipe to compare with it.

I had a look for treecreepers in the woodland but with no luck, my eyes were just too tired, but I did find a nuthatch and 2 goldcrest amongst the usual woodland birds, while out in the grassy fields I found 2 mistle thrush, redwings and Canada geese but there was no sign of the cattle egrets.

Best bird though was a woodcock which flew amongst the trees while I was searching for treecreepers, I think it had been flushed from the woodland floor by dogs - it flew over my head and through the trees before flying off along the woodland edge by the grassy field and out of sight. Very nice to see, my first sighting of one in Plymouth.

I headed off back home on the bus before walking over to Ford Park Cemetery for a look around. Two female blackcaps feeding on ivy berries with blackbirds were a nice find and I easily found 2 ring necked parakeets feeding on the bird feeders while a third bird called nearby, they were quite tame as they munched away on peanuts.

Ring Necked Parakeet

Ring Necked Parakeet

Ring Necked (or Rose Ringed) Parakeet

Ring Necked Parakeet

I wandered around amongst the tombstones and I eventually found a male black redstart which gave some great views, a very smart looking bird, and a nice end to a Plymouth birding day.

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

Yellow Browed Warbler and Ring Necked Parakeets

A quick walk at Wembury on Sunday 28th February was very quiet after the excitement of my visit last Thursday with 2 buzzards, a male stonechat and quite a few mating bloody nosed beetles being the highlights. The café was open but there was only one Chunk pasty left which I graciously let David have - unfortunately that night David was ill with copious vomiting, I don't know if it was the pasty but it was the only thing he ate that I didn't.

Heading home from Wembury and we had a quick stop off at the allotments in Central Park to have a look for the regularly reported ring necked parakeets - no sight of them but I did hear two birds calling. And so on Wednesday 2nd March and after a couple of shitty days at work I left early as I had some time owing and caught the bus home, stopping off on the way at Central Park for another look around - again I heard birds calling and eventually found 4 of them perched in trees right by the footpath - I have seen them at last! - but no binoculars or camera with me to get a really good look at them.

Thursday 3rd March and I had planned to head down to Penzance to have a look for the Hudsonian whimbrel near Marazion but it hadn't been reported for a few days and I wasn't in a great mood so I stayed local and went for a walk along the nature trail at The China Fleet Club near Saltash to look for a reported yellow browed warbler. I have only visited here once before, back in March 2012 when I saw my first lesser yellowlegs, and it was nice to visit here again despite the muddy and chilly conditions.

I checked out any small birds flitting about in the trees and bushes along the path to the bird hide and there was no sign of the yellow browed warbler but I did see a male bullfinch,  a goldfinch, greenfinch, chaffinch, goldcrest, blue tit, wren, robin, great tit, dunnock, blackbird and long tailed tit.

Primrose, China Fleet Club

Primrose

From the hide a lone avocet was roosting amongst some black headed gulls on the shoreline at the high tide along with 7 black tailed godwits, a snipe, 3 dunlin, redshank, grey heron, little egret and curlew, while on the water were 2 male and a female red breasted merganser, teal, wigeon and shelduck.

Heading back along the path and again I checked out all the small birds and eventually found a very smart firecrest  which showed very well amongst the brambles despite not staying still for a second. Some birders nearby then called the yellow browed warbler and I eventually got onto the bird and had some excellent views of it although it too didn't stay still for very long - it did at least move up into the bare branches of some small trees where it was easier to watch than the firecrest had been. While trying to keep tracks on the yellow browed warbler I also found a chiffchaff flitting about in the undergrowth along with a great spotted woodpecker flying over and I heard 2 water rails squealing in the reeds along the nearby foreshore.

Yellow Browed Warbler - record shot

Yellow Browed Warbler - another record shot

Walking back to Saltash and a flock of 25 redwings were seen flying into the tree tops from the nearby fields along with some starlings. I caught the bus back to Plymouth and stopped off at Central Park again and this time I found 2 ring necked parakeets in the same area as yesterday - this time some nice binocular views and a few poor record shots with my camera.

Black Headed Gull, Central Park

 Ring Necked Parakeet

 Ring Necked Parakeet

 Ring Necked Parakeet

Ring Necked Parakeet

I was pleased to finally connect with the ring necked parakeets after a few missed attempts recently - there have been 9 reported together now including a very blue looking bird. The Hudsonian whimbrel was reported that afternoon as well but I was actually pleased that I had stayed local as it had been an interesting and enjoyable day out and again on my doorstep.

Ring Necked Parakeet, Plymouth

With ring necked parakeet sightings appearing on the Devon Bird webpages recently I headed off to Ford Park Cemetery on Sunday 13th December to have a look around as up to 4 had been seen there and in nearby gardens.

A look around the Cemetery drew a blank but I did see at least 3 mistle thrush, 10+ redwing and a sparrowhawk soaring overhead. It was interesting to see and hear the coal tits feeding in the trees react to the sparrowhawk, giving a distinctive call note as they watched it fly over before returning to their foraging as it passed.

I decided to head off to the surrounding roads to have a look in the gardens and just as I was about to leave the Cemetery I heard the distinctive calling of a parakeet. Despite searching the trees I couldn't see it even though it continued to call but eventually I located it in the top of a bare tree, surprisingly well camoflagued against the sky despite its bright green plumage.

It eventually flew off but I relocated it nearby feeding on a bird feeder in a garden and I watched it for a while before I headed off home. A new bird for Devon for me and maybe the beginning of a feral population here in Plymouth, presumably they are birds which have dispersed from further east in the UK.

Spring Surprise at Wembury and a Trip to Heathrow Airport

A sunny morning on March 10th saw me heading off to Wembury for a walk. It was a beautiful day, calm and still and becoming quite warm in the sunshine.

The warm weather meant I saw my first 2 oil beetles of the year but there was no sign of any common lizards. A small tortoiseshell was on the wing but there were no moths in the toilet block.

Oil Beetle



I was pleased to finally see my first cirl buntings of the year, a brief view of a female and excellent views of a singing male throwing his head back and belting it out perched in the top of a tree. A second male was heard but not seen.

Male Cirl Bunting



The water pipit with a tail showed very well feeding on the seaweed mass on the beach with a meadow pipit and rock pipits.

Water Pipit



The usual birds were also seen but the biggest surprise were a pair of Dartford warblers at Wembury Point, the first I have seen at Wembury for a few years now but to be honest I don't particularly spend much time looking for them here. They were very active and mobile amongst the gorse bushes with the male very much in attendance of the female and occassionally bursting into songflight.

Dartford Warbler



The next day and it was cold and grey again on the drive up to Heathrow Airport. I saw 3 red kites, 2 along the M3 and 1 along the A303 in Somerset, my first sighting in Somerset and potentially a wild bird. Buzzards were everywhere and I also saw a few kestrels and sparrowhawks. I also saw what I think was a juvenile goshawk flying away over fields in Somerset - at first I thought it was a buzzard due to its size and colouring but as we drove nearer its flight manner and build was very goshawk like and then it was gone. 2 roe deer and 3 red legged partridges were also seen in the fields and along the roadside were the usual dead badgers, foxes and pheasents squashed on the road.

Staying the night at a hotel at Heathrow Airport and as dusk fell I watched the world go by from the bedroom window and managed to see at least 25 ring necked parakeets flying in to roost in the trees, heading in in small groups, and while watching them 2 Egyptian geese flew by too.

Plastic Year Ticking in London

A sunny but breezey walk at Bellever on Dartmoor on Sunday 9th November was relatively bird free with a flyover siskin, redpoll and great spotted woodpecker being the highlights. I thought I heard a crossbill flying over twice but couldn't be sure over the noise of the breeze and David yapping.

I did find some yellow stagshorn amongst the conifer tree plantation,  a very pretty fungus that grows on coniferous wood.

 Yellow Stagshorn

Yellow Stagshorn

On the way back to Plymouth we stopped off for a very tasty cream tea at the Two Bridges Hotel. In the car park were a few feral geese with one bird having angelwing. I had never heard of this condition until I began following an excellent blog about the birds of Kensington Gardens in London, written by Ralph Hancock. I have never knowingly seen it before but may have just not noticed it before, it occurs in young birds fed on a very rich diet and is common in wildfowl, especially those fed on bread in parks. The condition occurs at a certain point in their growth, causing the wing joint to turn outwards and rendering the bird flightless.

Feral Goose with Angelwing

With a trip to Suffolk to see family on November 12th I decided to stop off in London on the train journey to Ipswich to have a wander around Kensington Gardens, having been inspired by Ralphs blog.The journey up was very pleasent and I managed to see a kingfisher and 2 greenshank along the River Exe, 2 roe deer and around 20 red kites in the sunny conditions. Most of the kites were distant but a few were very close to the train as we sped by and were my first "plastic" birds of the day, having been reintoduced to England through a captive breeding programme. I also saw plenty of pheasents in the countryside, another introduced bird.

Arriving at The Serpentine in the Park I quickly found my first target birds - 4 male red crested pochards roosting under branches with pochards and only occasionally waking up to have a squabble with each other before going back to sleep.

Red Crested Pochard with Pochard on The Serpentine

Also seen were tufted duck, 2 pairs of shoveler, great crested grebe, common gull and grey heron, all giving amazing close views due to being quite used to the disturbance from people using the Park.

I could hear my second target bird squawking in a tree nearby and eventually found it hidden amongst the leaves - a smart ring necked parakeet looking a little out of place in London in November. I saw and heard quite a few more birds as I walked around the Park as they investigated holes in trees and chased each other around calling noisely.

 Ring Necked Parakeet

Ring Necked Parakeet

I saw a pair of birders intently watching the top of a tree and wandered over to find they were looking at target bird number 3, a male little owl, hidden amongst the leaves. I probably would have struggled to find it on my own so was very glad that I met them and they very kindly walked me to another nearby tree to show me a female tawny owl, target bird 4, roosting in the tree top. I have never seen tawny owl so well, I have only seen them flying amongst the leaves of trees and never perched. I have only heard them this year so it was nice to see one for my year list and again I probably would have struggled to find it without the help of the 2 birders.

 Little Owl

 Little Owl

 Tawny Owl

Tawny Owl

A quick walk around the Round Pond and I found target bird 5, a pair of Egyptian geese with 5 goslings. There had been 8 goslings but I only saw 5, I assumed the missing 3 had been predated but a few days later all 8 were seen together so I don't know where the missing 3 were hiding on my visit.

 Egyptian Goose

 Egyptian Goose with 3 Goslings

Egyptian Goose

And so within 1 hour I had seen 4 (or 4 and a half) year ticks, but the 4 year ticks were all "plastic" (introduced) birds ( little owl was introduced to the UK in the 1800's). However they gave some fantastic views in the bright sunshine and calm conditions and seemed quite at home and appeared to be thriving in the centre of London.