Wembury, Siblyback and The Plym

I caught the 9am bus out to Wembury on Monday 14th September, it was claggy as I left Plymouth but by the time I arrived at Wembury it was full on mist and mizzle and I couldn't even see The Mewstone out in the Bay. Undeterred I headed out to The Point on the dropping high tide to look for waders and was pleased to find 5 Ringed Plover, 4 Dunlin and 3 Sanderling feeding along the beach near the sewage pipe amongst the Turnstones and Oystercatchers.

The Mewstone in the Mist

There were Gulls roosting on the rocks and feeding in the surf along the beach but they were all spooked into the air by a passing Skua as it flew low along the beach heading west. I first picked it up flying away from me, it looked very dark and at first I thought it was a Carrion Crow until I caught sight of the white flashes on its underwings and realised it was a Skua. My first thought was that it was a Great Skua but I quickly realised it was either an Arctic or Pomarine, it was a dark phase bird with no tail feather extensions and looking almost black in the misty conditions. It had a slow, languid flight but it wasn't in hunting mode and seemed to be checking things out as it flew along the beach until it disappeared into the mist enveloping The Point and was gone. I didn't get any real plumage or structure detail on it and the flight style threw me as did the Gulls reaction to it but I'm sure it was an Arctic Skua and not a Pomarine.

The Gulls did resettle and amongst the Herring, Great Black-backed and Black-headed Gulls were at least 10 Mediterranean Gulls and a juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull. The Mediterranean Gulls were mobile as usual and included a juvenile bird and also the adult bird ringed EH54 which I first saw here along the beach back on the 15th August and ringed as an adult on the 20th May 2026 in Belgium.

Mediterranean Gull EH54

Mediterranean Gull EH54

There was a high count of 38 Mallard feeding in the stubble field, 28 males and 10 females, while offshore when the mist briefly lifted a few Gannets were picked out heading west. Along the shoreline 5 noisy Sandwich Terns were diving for fish while along the coastpath Stonechats, Cirl Buntings, 3 Whitethroat, a Willow Warbler and 3 Chiffchaff were seen in the gloom with a 4th Chiffchaff also heard singing away.

Whitethroat

A Red Admiral and a Painted Lady were seen despite the damp conditions and a few Ivy Bees were buzzing around the Ivy flowers in the warm and humid conditions but I was glad to return home to get out of my wet shoes.

Ivy Bee

We headed out to Siblyback Reservoir for a walk on Tuesday 15th September, it was a sunny and breezy day and warm in the sunshine when out of the wind. It's been nearly 5 years since our last visit here and it's changed a bit with a lot of the coniferous trees removed and the watersports centre dismantled and after the summer heatwaves and drought the water level was very low with lots of mud on show.

Siblyback Reservoir

There have been regular reports of rare Sandpiper sightings at the Reservoir (Baird's, Buff-breasted and Pectoral) but none were showing for me today although I really needed to have my scope with me for a proper look and it was primarily a walk and not a birding trip. I did see a Greenshank, a Common Sandpiper, 4 Dunlin and Ringed Plovers and out on the water were Coot, Little Grebe, a Great Crested Grebe, Teal, Mallard and Canada Geese. The highlight though were at least 5 Yellow Wagtails feeding around the feet of the Sheep in a field near the dam with Pied Wagtails and Starlings, a very delightful surprise.

Common Darter - a few buzzing around in sheltered spots 

We had a short walk from Marsh Mills to Saltram House and back on Thursday 17th September, it was overcast and breezy but feeling warm and humid and the tide was just starting to head out. There was still a little bit of water on Blaxton Meadow when we arrived and there were roosting Greenshank, Redshank and Curlew present amongst the Gulls while along the nearby river a Kingfisher was seen near the sewage outlet. The only other sighting of note was of the female Wood Duck still at the duck pond amongst the Mandarins.

Blaxton Meadow

Yellow Wagtails and a Plym Wryneck

Now that September is here Moth Box-ing in the back yard has been uneventful with a worn L-Album Wainscot and a melanistic form of Box Tree Moth the only real highlights.

Box Tree Moth - melanistic form

We had a walk along the coastpath from Thurlestone to Hope Cove and back on Wednesday 9th September, it was an overcast and breezy morning but as the day wore on the sun did appear and it became a pleasant September day. We stopped off at South Huish Marsh along the way where there was plenty of mud on show and a Black-tailed Godwit, a Dunlin, a Snipe and 3 Ringed Plover were present. Even better were at least 20 Yellow Wagtail feeding in the adjacent field amongst the cattle, they were fidgety and neurotic as usual and very flighty between all the Cows,  they also just disappeared into the long grass at times making trying to count them very difficult.

Yellow Wagtails and a Pied Wagtail

Yellow Wagtails

Yellow Wagtail

We had lunch in The Cottage Hotel at Hope Cove again, a lovely old-fashioned hotel that has sadly been bought up by a hotel chain that plans to renovate it into a boutique experience and will totally destroy all its current charm in the process which will be a big shame. After lunch we headed back towards Thurlestone and stopped off again at South Huish Marsh where I enjoyed more views of the Yellow Wagtails which unfortunately always stayed a little more distant this time but were very lovely to see.

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Inquisitive Cow

I headed out to Wembury for a walk on Thursday 10th September, it was cool, overcast and breezy as I left the house to catch the bus and remained so for the duration of my visit. Despite the lack of sunshine and warmth there were a few Clouded Yellow and Painted Lady kicked up from the grass along with a male Common Blue and I also found a Red Admiral feeding on Ivy flowers along with my first Ivy Bee of the year.

Spot the Clouded Yellow

Clouded Yellow

Clouded Yellow

It was quiet birdwise but I did find a very smart looking Firecrest which showed very well as it fed in a Sycamore tree while along the beach a smart White Wagtail was picked out amongst the Pied/Alba Wagtails. Overhead 4 mobile Peregrines were watched for some time, an adult pair and 2 juvenile females with the adult male noticeably smaller than the other 3. The juveniles were practising their hunting skills and were chasing down Woodpigeons, small Waders and even a very panicked Sparrowhawk while the adults looked on but I never saw them catch anything.

White Wagtail

Despite the attentions of the Peregrines I did find 5 Ringed Plovers, 4 Dunlin and 2 Sanderling in with the usual Turnstones and Oystercatchers along the beach and amongst the usual roosting Gulls out on the rocks were 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (2 adults and a 3rd winter bird) and at least 2 1st winter Mediterranean Gulls amongst the mobile adult/sub-adult birds.

We headed off to Perranporth on Friday 11th September for our annual end of summer visit having missed out last year due to poor weather and health issues. It was a mostly overcast but warm and breezy day and as we walked down from the caravan site car park and across the golf course the tide was heading out and the beach was looking stunning. I had hoped to see a Chough on the golf course but was out of luck and only saw Rooks and Carrion Crows although a very small looking Brown Argus and at least 4 Wheatear were a bonus.

Brown Argus, Perranporth

We had a cooked breakfast at The Watering Hole and sat outside on the beach with the sand between our toes, we were warned about Gulls stealing food and a Herring Gull did swoop in and snatch a paper pot full of mayonnaise which it swallowed whole but otherwise we ate our breakfast in peace - I only hope the Herring Gull is able to regurgitate the paper pot without too much problem.

As we left the beach to have a look around the town all the Gulls noisely took to the air followed by the Feral Pigeons and the Crows and eventually I found the cause as an Osprey flew north over the beach, a very nice surprise.

I was up and out early on Saturday 12th September for a look about around The Plym and on arriving at Blaxton Meadow at around 7:30am I was pleased to find both water and birds were present. After a scan about I eventually found the reported Curlew Sandpiper which showed very nicely in the company of 3 Dunlin and in amongst the roosting Redshanks, Greenshanks and Curlews the juvenile Knot and juvenile Black-tailed Godwit were still present too.

Kingfisher, Blaxton Meadow

I carried on towards Laira Bridge on the dropping tide to look for an Osprey but along the way news came through of a Wryneck on Chelson Meadow so I diverted there for a look. I have never had any luck with Wryneck on Chelson Meadow but I eventually managed to see it hidden in amongst the leaves and branches of a tree with the help of local birder Pete and his thermal imager. It then flew off into another tree where it showed a little better before flying off again and I then had one more flight view of it before it disappeared.

Wryneck (Record Shot)

Wryneck (Record Shot)

Clouded Yellow, Chelson Meadow