Rain!

Yet another Storm arrived on Monday 26th January, this one was named Chandra and it brought yet more very wet and very windy weather with it.

We had a walk along The Plym the next day (Tuesday 27th January), it was still blowing a hoolie but the rain was now in the form of very heavy showers which we managed to dodge or shelter from along the way.

I kept a look out for Little Gulls amongst the numerous Black-headed Gulls feeding out over the water of The Plym on the high tide but I was out of luck. However I did find an adult Gannet sat out on the water and looking a little moribund although it did fly a short distance at one point and regularly flapped its wings in between sleeping. It was close in to The Embankment so the views from Saltram were a little distant but it is only the second time I've seen a Gannet on The Plym following an adult and juvenile bird in September 2022 and again after stormy weather.

Distant Gannet, River Plym

Blaxton Meadow was well flooded again and birds were roosting there on the high tide with all the usuals seen including Curlew, Redshank, Dunlin, Oystercatcher, Shelduck, 2 Grey Heron, a Little Egret, 8 Greenshank and 23 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls although I failed to find the reported Bar-tailed Godwit.

With possibly up to 4 juvenile Caspian Gulls being seen in Brixham Harbour recently I've been keen to go and have a look for them but with all the recent bad weather there have been big problems on the local rail network with cancellations and delays to services. The bad weather conditions haven't been very condusive for birding either and along with yet more dentistry problems I haven't made the trek out to Brixham to go look for them but with Saturday 31st January looking to be a decentish day of weather and the trains now running to schedule I set off with my fingers crossed.

Things didn't start off very well as I realised after I'd bought my train ticket at the self-service machine at Plymouth Station that I had picked up our Two Together Railcard and not my Devon and Cornwall Railcard so I had to pay an excess fare to upgrade to a full price ticket. Luckily I found out before I set off otherwise I could have potentially been fined but as it was I never had my ticket checked once on any of the 4 trains I travelled on!

I eventually arrived at Brixham Harbour at around 10am, news had come through on the sightings pages while I was on my train journey that a Caspian Gull was present but by the time I arrived in Brixham it had flown off and after nearly 5 hours of searching it never reappeared before I had to head home - drat! Caspian Gull may have been a no show but the star bird of the day was a very showy Black-throated Diver, certainly the best views of one I've ever had before as I watched it diving in the Harbour and later off the Breakwater.

Brixham Trawler from The Breakwater

Black-throated Diver - good views but a little too distant for my camera

Black-throated Diver

Black-throated Diver

Black-throated Diver

Great Northern Divers were literally littered across the Bay, they were everywhere you looked and amongst them were Shag, Guillemot (some im summer plumage), Cormorant, Razorbill and a single Red-throated Diver. There were also Gannets and Kittiwakes flying around over the water with the Gannets regularly seen diving for fish and the Kittiwakes occassionally calling.

Guillemot taking a break on The Breakwater

Guillemot

There were Grey Seals everywhere too - hauled out on pontoons or swimming about around The Breakwater and one was even hauled out on the nearby beach where volunteers were keeping a delighted public from getting too close to it.

Grey Seal

Grey Seal

Grey Seal

Grey Seal

An adult Mediterranean Gull was regularly seen patrolling along The Breakwater and 3 Purple Sandpiper were seen on the ruined pier while in The Harbour a pair of Mallard  were noted along with Mute Swans and Turnstones. 

Purple Sandpiper

A sorry sight was a Kittiwake that had taken the bait on a fishermans line and had gotten caught on the hook and tangled up, fortunately he was able to free it and it flew away but who knows what state its mouth and throat are in.

Ensnared Kittiwake

I enjoyed my time at Brixham but it was a shame a Caspian Gull didn't make an appearance for me today after the birds having been so showy over the past week but never mind. I've only ever seen Caspian Gull once before, a 1st winter bird in Suffolk in 2015 and a distant view only, I've also seen a few probables at Minsmere and Cromer too but it would have been nice to have gotten a better view of one and here in Devon where it is still quite uncommon. It certainly seems to be appearing more and more in the South West though, whether an increase in numbers, expansion of range or better observer coverage but hopefully I'll catch up with another one sometime soon.

And so January comes to a close with 2 dips already under my belt (Tundra Bean Goose and Caspian Gull) but my year list stands at 122 which is my highest January total ever so I can't complain in what has been a varied and interesting month of birding.

More Wild Goose Chasing, More Chiffchaff and Another Storm

An Egyptian Goose was reported on Blaxton Meadow on Tuesday 20th January but I already had plans for the day and wasn't able to go and look for it. In the nearly 40 years I've lived in Plymouth I've seen an Egyptian Goose on The Plym just once before back in May 1989 and my only other Plymouth Area records are singles at Millbrook in February 2011 and March 2019 and a pair near Tamerton in February 2024 and so, to me at least, they are a bit of a Plymouth rarity despite being Plastic Fantastic and a Category C1 species on the British List. Hopefully the Plym bird will stick around but they do tend to be a very mobile species so I'm not holding my breath.

Anyway, The Tundra Bean Geese seen around The Exe a few weeks ago seem to have departed Devon air space but the Russian White-fronted Geese are still about in the area although sightings are erratic and widespread. However both species are still being seen at Slimbridge although the Tundra Bean Geese seem to be quite elusive there at times and at the moment I'm really not in the mood for a long day trip to try and see them but a flock of 7 Russian White-fronted Geese at Modbury have been on my radar for a while and so I decided to take a trip out to look for them on Tuesday 20th January.

The weather was foul with strong winds and heavy rain but I quickly found them feeding in a field to the west of Modbury amongst a large flock of Canada Geese which also contained 3 Barnacle Geese, 3 Egyptian Geese and a white farmyard type Greylag Goose. The views were distant and misty in the rain but the white bill blazes and black belly barring of the adult birds really stood out.

Distant Goose Flock before the rain really got going

Zoomed in Goose Flock in the rain

Also seen in the area were a Lapwing, a pair of Mallard and flighty Redwings along with 2 Green Sandpipers feeding together out in the open along the edge of a flooded field but as the weather conditions continued to deteriorate we headed back to the Otter Nursery at Brixton for lunch and a dry off.

I had thought of heading out to The Plym on Thursday 22nd January to look for the Egyptian Goose but with no further reports of it being present since the initial sighting I headed out to Wembury instead. The weather had improved somewhat from the Tuesday and the wind had dropped but there were still some heavy showers at times. I was pleased to see that the Grey Plover from last week was still around along the beach but it was eventually flushed by walkers and disappeared. A Curlew, around 40 Turnstone, Oystercatchers and 11 Little Egret were also present along the beach and in amongst the Gulls were single adult, 1st Winter and 2nd Winter Mediterranean Gulls.

Oystercatchers

Little Egret and 1st Winter Mediterranean Gull

I couldn't find the Water Pipit on this visit although I didn't spend much time looking for it but I did see the tristis type Siberian Chiffchaff again and feeding in amongst at least 4 collybita types, looking less pale in the dull light of today compared to the bright sunshine of last week but still very striking and obvious.

Siberian Chiffchaff

Egg Cases of Small Spotted Catshark (top) and Small-eyed Ray (bottom) (I think!)

Orange Slime Flux

Despite there still being no further news on the Plym Egyptian Goose I decided to have a look for it anyway on Friday 23rd January, needless to say it was a no show but I was pleased to see the pair of Red-breasted Merganser were still present out on the river along with a pair of Goosander, 2 Shag, 2 Little Grebe and 2 Cormorant.

Blaxton Meadow was full of water on this visit, I'm still not sure what the National Trust are up to regarding the Meadow but they are going to have to change the signage in the bird hide as their plans appear to be keen to reverse all the hard work and effort undertaken since 1995.

Blaxton Meadow Bird Hide Signs

Bird Hide Signage

Bird Hide Signage

Anyway, with Blaxton Meadow becoming Blaxton Lake again on this visit due to the very high tide and strong winds activating the sluice gates there were lots of Black-headed Gulls feeding over the water and Redshank and Dunlins were roosting along the back wall. There were also quite a few Mallards dabbling away along the waters edge and in amongst them was the mobile white farmyard type Mallard which I saw at nearby Efford Marsh a few weeks ago.

Blaxton Meadow, now Blaxton Lake

Farmyard type Mallard

Soon after arriving back home from my walk Storm Ingrid rattled in with gales and heavy rain which continued well into the night and resulting in my Tamar Birdwatching Boat Trip being cancelled the next morning. However with reports of 15 Little Gulls at Teignmouth the previous day as Storm Ingrid arrived and with my morning now free I decided to head up to Plymouth Hoe for a look about in the hope that something interesting may have been blown in. It was still very windy and the rain had been replaced by regular heavy showers but I togged up in my wet weather gear and set off with fingers crossed.

Even more storm damage to the West Hoe Pier

I started at Rusty Anchor on the dropping tide and was delighted to find 8 Purple Sandpipers on the rocks, the most I've ever seen on The Hoe before.

Purple Sandpipers

Purple Sandpipers

Purple Sandpiper

I scanned across the water of The Sound from Rusty Anchor, it seemed very quiet offshore but I picked up a small Gull feeding off Mountbatten Pier that I was 99% sure was an adult Little Gull even with such a distant view and so I hurried off to Fisherman's Nose for a closer look as fast as a man of my age post-Christmas can manage. I eventually arrived at The Nose but there was no sign of the Gull and after catching my breath I carefully went through all the Gulls milling around in The Cattewater, eventually refinding it and confirming my initial ID.

Little Gull is my favourite Gull and 1 of my Top 10 favourite birds and despite being mostly distant it was a joy to watch as it delicately flew over the water picking off food from the surface. Its small size, pale looking upperparts and lovely black underwings were very obvious amongst the Black-headed Gulls also flying around and at one point it came much closer and fed along Mountbatten Pier when I had some excellent views of it and could even pick out its red legs.

Also in The Cattewater were 4 Common Gulls and 5 adult Kittiwakes with the usual Herring Gulls and Great Black-backed Gulls and also seen were Cormorants and Shags plus a flock of 12 Dunlin flying down The Plym and over towards The Tamar. Surprisingly though I didn't see any Great Northern Divers sheltering in The Cattewater and indeed I didn't see any along my whole walk.

Kittiwake

Common Gull

I headed back to Rusty Anchor and unsurprisingly found that the Purple Sandpipers had gone now that the tide had dropped further but I did find the male Black Redstart nearby feeding on the waste ground near Marine Village at West Hoe along with 8 Meadow Pipits. A Chiffchaff was also seen here flitting about in the surrounding bushes.

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

I returned to Fisherman's Nose but with the wind now having dropped a little I failed to refind the Little Gull and with more rain looming on the horizon it was time to head home after having enjoyed a very interesting morning and feeling quite glad my boat trip had been cancelled!