Grenofen Bliss and Waders in the Rain at Wembury

Easter 2019 has been a hot and sunny affair, very unusual for Easter but more likely when Easter is late in the month of April as it has been this year.

Good Friday April 19th was spent in bed between 2 dreaded night shifts and so I missed a hoopoe found just across the River Tamar in Saltash and which was never seen again.

I had Easter Monday April 21st off and with the good weather continuing I headed off to Grenofen Woods on Dartmoor for a walk, figuring that this was probably the best place to go to avoid the crowds. I wasn't sure what to expect as this has been the earliest date I have visited the Woods in the Spring but I wasn't disappointed.

The first bus of the day saw me arriving at the Woods just before 10am and bird song was filling the air along with the sounds of children and dogs but once I had walked across the car park and up the hillside to the open rough grassland above the Woods there were very few people to be seen and I had a lovely wander around in peace.

Willow Warblers and Blackcaps were singing away and I quickly heard a Garden Warbler singing in the usual area which eventually gave some lovely views as it fed in the tree tops for brief spells before disappearing back into cover. Onwards and I heard a Redstart singing away but it proved to be very mobile and elusive in the tree tops and I only caught a few brief views and mostly in flight.

A male Yellowhammer, a male stonechat and 2 songflighting Tree Pipits showed well on the usual hillside but the highlight was a high and distant red kite which drifted off east and easily overlooked, I just happened to be looking in the right place at the right time.

Yellowhammer, Grenofen

 Tree Pipit, Grenofen

Red Kite, Grenofen

A Cuckoo was heard distantly on West Down with a green woodpecker also heard yaffling and other birds of note were 2 jay, 2 great spotted woodpeckers, a Raven flying over being mobbed by 2 carrion crows, a grey Wagtail along the river, 3 buzzards soaring over the trees together and 5 swallows chittering and chasing each other overhead.

Great-spotted Woodpecker, Grenofen

A holly blue, a green-veined white, speckled woods and peacocks were flitting about but the most noticeable butterflys were brimstones which seemed to be everywhere including many females busily laying eggs.

 Brimstone, Grenofen

Brimstone, Grenofen

The sunshine became increasingly hazy and by the time I caught the bus home it had clouded over but it had been a great walk as usual with some good birds and stunning views and without too many people around.

Wednesday April 24th and with another dreaded night shift looming I headed out to Wembury for a quick mornings walk but the weather had turned and it was cool and breezy and mizzly. I wasn't expecting much but things started nicely with a foxglove pug and a water carpet found in the toilet block and caught and released outside.

 Foxglove Pug, Wembury

Water Carpet, Wembury

Lackey Caterpillars, Wembury

The tide was high and along the beach at The Point there were 26 oystercatchers on the rocks with 7 mallards and 5 flighty and mobile shelducks but the best birds were a curlew, a winter plumaged and vocal grey plover, 3 bar-tailed godwits including a summer plumaged bird and 9 vocal whimbrels. The waders were all flighty due to the usual dog walkers along the beach but I managed to get some good views of them in the wet conditions.

 Bar-tailed Godwit, Wembury

 Bar-tailed Godwit, Wembury 

 Bar-tailed Godwit, Wembury

 Bar-tailed Godwit, Wembury

 Bar-tailed Godwits, Wembury

 Grey Plover and Bar-tailed Godwit, Wembury

 Grey Plover, Wembury

 Whimbrel, Wembury

Sea Kale, Wembury

Whitethroats. chiffchaffs and blackcaps were singing away despite the rain along with 2 cirl buntings and I also saw stonechats, a song thrush, a flyover kestrel and a fulmar flying low over the coastal footpath before I gave up and caught the bus back to Plymouth (although it stopped raining not long after I arrived home!).

Moor and Coast (Or Burrator and Rame Head)

Despite the grey skies and continuing strong and bitter easterly wind I met up with Mavis on Monday 15th April for an afternoons walk around Burrator Reservoir on Dartmoor. Conditions for birding were challenging but we managed a few good sightings anyway, the highlight being around 30 Sand Martins flying low over the water hawking for insects with the odd Swallow and House Martin amongst them. I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for them in the very chilly conditions but they appeared to be robust enough to cope with the less than ideal weather.

Out on the water a pair of summer plumaged Great Crested Grebes were a nice find and also seen were 2 Canada Geese, the now lone white farmyard goose, Mallard, 2 Cormorant and 2 adult GBBGulls and 1 adult LBBGull with variously aged Herring Gulls.

The woods held Blue, Great, Coal and Long-tailed Tits with Nuthatch calling and Siskins flying over. Despite the weather Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Willow Warbler were singing and a Grey Wagtail was found feeding along a stream near Cuckoo Rock.

We luckily arrived back at the car just as it started to rain and as we drove back to Yelverton a Mistle Thrush was seen feeding by the roadside, a nice end to an enjoyable but windy afternoon.

The next day was a total contrast with a gentle breeze and sunny skies and by the afternoon it was pleasantly warm. We had a quick walk around Plymouth Hoe and I finally saw my first Sandwich Tern of the year being hassled by a 1st Summer Herring Gull before it headed off out towards The Breakwater and was lost from sight.

Wednesday 17th April and with the improving weather I decided to catch the bus out to Rame Head for a walk. It was cold and grey and breezy as I stepped off the bus at Polhawn Fort at around 9:15am but the skies did eventually brighten and it became a pleasantly warm day again.

The first birds I saw after getting off the bus were 2 Sand Martins which flew in off the sea and headed straight inland and were quickly followed by another 2 birds. I then picked up 3 Swallows which also headed off straight inland and over the course of the morning there was a constant trickle of birds arriving, mostly Swallows but with a few Sand Martins and just 1 House Martin.

Walking along the cliff path and a Jay was a surprise skulking in the bushes down on the cliffs but more usual birds included a pair of Stonechats, singing Blackcaps, 2 singing Willow Warblers, a singing Chiffchaff and 2 singing Whitethroats. A fulmar flew along the cliffs along with a male Kestrel, 2 Buzzards and a pair of Peregrines while down on the rocks Shag and Cormorant were resting and 4 Oystercatcher were making an almighty racket.

Offshore a few Gannets were diving for fish and I picked up a distant Sandwich Tern slowly flying East into the breeze.

Fallow Deer were seen on the cliffs including a skittish group of 15 animals that were running back and forth along the paths before disappearing into the undergrowth and a Minotaur Beetle was a nice surprise as it trundled along the footpath.

 Fallow Deer, Rame

 Fallow Deer, Rame

 Minotaur Beetle, Rame

 Minotaur Beetle,  Rame

Minotaur Beetle,  Rame 

A few butterflies were seen flitting about with at least 3 Wall basking on the rocks below the Chapel along with 2 flyby Holly Blue, Peacocks and 2 Green Veined Whites.

 Wall, Rame

 Wall, Rame

 Wall, Rame

 Green-veined White, Rame

Green-veined White, Rame

I walked along the road to Rame Church and along the roadside hedge I found a beautifully bright looking male Yellowhammer, a female Blackcap, a male Cirl Bunting and a silent Chiffchaff while Skylarks were singing high overhead.

It was soon time to meet up with David and Mum-in-law back at Polhawn Fort and we headed off to the nearby Clifftop Cafe for lunch where we admired the stunning views in the warm sunshine as we ate our sandwiches, a nice end to a very enjoyable morning of wildlife.