Summer Ending

A day on Cawsands beach on Thursday 18th July was a hot affair, we ended up sitting in the shade of the overhanging trees at the top of the beach and watching the world go by while keeping a little cooler but it was an enjoyable day out none the less. Not much was seen on the wildlife front in the sunshine and heat but a summer plumaged Mediterranean Gull patrolled back and forth along the beach (with 2 more adults later seen at Cremyll), 5 Swifts dashed about overhead, a brief Silver-washed Fritillary flitted by and a few Chiffchaff were heard calling in the undergrowth, presumably juvenile birds.

Friday 19th July was hot and sunny again so I headed out to Wembury for a walk, primarily to look for butterflies but also to look for any birds on the move. It was quiet on the bird front as expected but a juvenile Wheatear and a Curlew (maybe last years wintering bird?) seen along the beach and an adult and juvenile Mediterranean Gull flying past offshore heading east hinted that summer is beginning to end. A brief male Dartford Warbler at The Point was the only other bird of note.

There were a few butterflies on the wing, still seemingly in lower numbers than usual but I managed to find 2 Small Copper, 4 Small Skipper, a very fresh looking Peacock, a Marbled White, 3 Common Blue, around 6 Red Admiral, a Large White, a Small White and my first Wall Brown of the year along with Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper and Speckled Wood.

Small Copper

Wall Brown

A female Beautiful Demoiselle along the stream and a very inquisitive and active Southern Hawker at The Point were of note. I also saw Mavis and Mike up on the top path at The Point while I was walking back to the cafe along the bottom path to meet up with David for some lunch, unexpected and a bit surreal waving at each other while chatting on the phone!

Southern Hawker

We had a walk around Burrator Resevoir on Monday 22nd July, it was dry but overcast and surprisingly quiet on the people and wildlife front too. The highlight were 2 Crossbill flying high overhead, giving themselves away by calling as they went. A Silver-washed Fritillary dashing around was an all too brief sight and a few Sundew were seen in flower in their usual spot.

Sundew

I decided to head off to Dawlish Warren on the train for a visit on Tuesday 23rd July, the return ticket was going to cost £18 (!) before 9am so I caught the 9:30 train which only cost me £6.75 with my railcard. I used to visit Dawlish Warren quite regularly, it's an easy day out on the train (and can be relatively inexpensive) but after all the winter gales (and the spring, summer and autumn gales) having all but destroyed the dune ridge path and the bird hide being closed down I haven't really bothered, a shame as it is still a great place for wildlife.

I arrived off the train at around 10:30 and headed off straight away to the dune ridge overlooking The Bight to catch the ebbing tide. With Roseate, Arctic, Common and Little Terns being seen erratically amongst the Sandwich Terns over the past few days I set my scope up in anticipation but I was out of luck. However seeing and hearing the Sandwich Terns flying overhead as they moved between the estuary and sea was wonderful and it was good to see a fair few juvenile birds amongst them after the recent ravages of bird flu decimating breeding colonies.

Waders were on the move too with Whimbrel, Greenshank, Dunlin, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover and Redshank all seen feeding in the estuary on the dropping tide. The 6 long staying Eider (a female and 5 immature male) were roosting on Finger Point and 3 Little Egret were feeding in the salt marsh. Offshore a distant male Common Scoter was picked up and along the beach at least 3 adult Mediterranean Gulls moulting into winter plumage were feeding amongst the Black-headed Gulls.

A Kestrel, at least 10 Swift, a House Martin and Swallows were noted overhead and a male Whitethroat, a pair of Cirl Buntings and a male and 6+ juvenile Stonechats were noted in the dunes.

Stonechat

Butterflies were on the wing with a Peacock, a Red Admiral, 2 Small Copper, Gatekeeper, 4 male Common Blue, Small Skipper, Meadow Brown, Green-veined White and a Small White all seen along with a few Silver Y and 6-Spot Burnet.

6-Spot Burnet

A Weasel and a Sand Lizard only gave brief views but a male Emperor Dragonfly patrolling the main pond while a female was oviposting showed very well along with a Common Darter and a Blue-tailed Damselfly. Also present were probable Black-tailed Skimmers and Small Red-eyed Damselfly but they were too quick and too distant to fully confirm. Plenty of Marsh Helleborine were in flower too and amongst all the Bees buzzing around I managed to ID Silvery Leafcutter Bees amongst them.

Marsh Helleborine

Silvery Leafcutter Bee

Silvery Leafcutter Bee

A very enjoyable day out indeed, I really should consider visiting Dawlish Warren more often although I do like to stay more local to Plymouth these days. I certainly have the spare time now having finished work a year ago to the day, I can't believe how quickly that year has gone, it has just flown by, and despite a few doom mongers at the time I certainly haven't been bored. Note to self - consider a visit to Dawlish Warren, you never know what you may find!

Birdy 2024

The Herring Gulls have nested again this year on our chimney stack and their single chick, Birdy 2024, duly arrived down the chimney and into our living room fire grate on Monday 1st July after starting his descent the day before. It's the first Herring Gull chick we have had down the chimney for 3 years after the nest failed in 2022 and the chick got himself down to the nearby flat roof without using our chimney in 2023 and it was a bit of a surprise to be temporary Herring Gull parents again. Fortunately Birdy 2024 arrived before we went away to Madeira otherwise there would have been all kinds of dead Herring Gull in our grate on our return home.

He was very docile and quiet when we fished him out of the grate but his little heartbeat was racing away at 19 to the dozen. We placed him on the flat roof next door and fed him a tin of sardines which he just nibbled at but it wasn't long before the adults arrived to resume their parental duties, one of the adults ate the sardines and then regurgitated them to the chick which he quickly swallowed so we breathed a sigh of relief. He seemed a bit weak and wobbly but unharmed by his experience and was soon making lots of noise as normal (and lots of poop).

Birdy 2024 - 2nd July and 14th July

I had a quick walk out to Wembury on Tuesday 2nd July, I usually spend the day before going away on holiday sorting out stuff but I was very organised for a change and had a bit of spare time on my hands. It was quiet as expected but I did find a few Gatekeepers on the wing, a mating pair of Azure Damselfly, a Golden Ringed Dragonfly, the usual Bee Wolf's hunting Bees, 2 Swift overhead and a Common Sandpiper along the beach. 

Azure Damselfly

Bee Wolf with Bee

Bee Wolf with Bee

On our return from Madeira on Friday 12th July Birdy 2024 was still present on the flat roof with the noisy parents still in attendance who divebombed us whenever we stepped out into the yard although they very quickly stopped once they had gotten used to our prescence again. Birdy 2024 is certainly growing well and is now even noisier, especially around dawn (around 5am!), so we have to sleep with the bedroom windows closed. Hopefully he will be fledging soon.

Ever-watchful Herring Gull parent

It was warmish and sunnyish on Sunday 14th July so I headed out to Roborough Down for a walk. There were noticeably more butterflies around - Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, 2 very worn Large Skipper, 3+ Red Admiral and Whites - but I failed to find any Grayling, Silver-washed Fritillary or Purple Hairstreak. There were lots of people about too and the birding was slow but a Swift, a Green Woodpecker, a lovely yellow juvenile Willow Warbler flitting about, singing Yellowhammers and noisy juvenile Bullfinches were of note.

Gatekeeper

I headed out to The Plym for a walk on Tuesday 16th July, my first visit this month. It was warm and humid with sunny spells and I caught the bus out to Marsh Mills at around Midday to have a look at the 2pm high tide roost. As I got off the bus at Longbridge I heard a Dipper calling along the river but I failed to catch a sight of it and so I headed off to Blaxton Meadow. It was a low high tide so the water wasn't coming through the sluice gates but out on the Meadow were 23 Curlew, an Oystercatcher, 2 Mediterranean Gulls (adult and 2nd summer birds still in breeding plumage), 2 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 3 juvenile Black-headed Gulls amongst the adults and 10 Little Egrets.

A Silver-washed Fritillary had been reported on the 14th July in front of the bird hide, I really didn't expect to see it today but sure enough it (or another) was present feeding on the Buddleia flowers, my first Plym sighting of one and my first for the year.

Silver-washed Fritillary

Silver-washed Fritillary 

The female Red-crested Pochard and 2 female Mandarin Ducks were present on the duck pond with the usual Mallard and Moorhen while Swallows buzzed overhead. A Jay, a Nuthatch, 2 Chiffchaff, a Ring-necked Parakeet and 2 Blackcap were heard around the Park and along the river 2 adult Shelduck with 6 well grown ducklings, a Common Sandpiper and a further 3 female Mandarin Ducks were seen.

Red-crested Pochard

Red-crested Pochard

Mandarin

A Comma, a Red Admiral, a Large White, Gatekeepers, Meadow Browns, 2 Common Darter, Azure Damselfly, an Emperor Dragonfly and a mating pair of 6-spot Burnet moths were also seen.

Mating 6-Spot Burnet - the female has barely gotten out of her pupal case!

Not so nice was getting stung twice on the ankle by a Wasp, it was surprisingly painful but at least my ankle hasn't swollen up too much!

Madeira

Wednesday 3rd July saw us heading off to Heathrow for an overnight stay before flying out to Madeira the following morning for an 8 night holiday based in the main town of Funchal. We have visited Madeira 3 times before and this time our friends Julie and Matt were joining us, they have never been before so the plan was to do new things for us and the main sights for them and with a little bit of wildlife watching thrown in for me.

We stayed at the Quinta de Penha da Franca Hotel in Funchal again, our base for the whole 8 nights of our stay and an oasis of old fashioned calm. On arrival at the hotel there were Monarch butterflies flitting about and Blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla heineken) singing away while Yellow-legged Gulls flew around offshore and Plain Swifts buzzed around overhead.

Monarch

Friday 5th July saw us heading up to the Jardim Botanico via 2 cable car journeys and somewhere that was new for us. I thought I saw a Trocaz Pigeon from the cable car but wasn't totally sure but I did have good views in the gardens of Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus canariensis), Maderian Wall Lizard, Clouded Yellow, Long-tailed Blue, Small White, Speckled Wood, Perez Frog, a Madeiran Grayling and a Blue Emperor along with Madeiran Chaffinch, a Madeira endemic only recently made a full species and common everywhere.

The view of Funchal from Jardim Botanico

Jardim Botanico

Kestrel hunting Madeiran Wall Lizards, Jardim Botanico

Kestrel

Maderian Wall Lizards

Clouded Yellow

Small White

Long-tailed Blue

Long-tailed Blue

Speckled Wood

Perez's Frog

Madeiran Chaffinch

Espada, Mercado dos Lavradores, Funchal

Espada - looks awful (like the film character Venom), tastes lovely

Espada, a.k.a "Venom Fish'

Saturday 6th July was spent around Funchal and the Hotel with Common Tern and Sally Light foot Crabs seen along the shoreline and Canary around the town and Hotel gardens. A Grey Wagtail was seen around the pond in a Funchal park along with Muscovy Ducks and Feral Mallards while another nearby park had 3 Mute Swans on its pond.

Sally Lightfoot Crab

Grey Wagtail (Moctacilla cinerea schmitzi)

We picked up our hire car on Sunday 7th July and headed off to the Christo Rei and Garajau Cable Car, somewhere new for us. The cable car ride was short but fun and the geology of the cliffs along the journey was very interesting. The view from the Christo Rei out to sea was wonderful and a walk down to the promontory below the statue was hot and sticky with a family party of Spectacled Warblers (Sylvia conspicillata orbitalis) at the bottom some consolation  for the even hotter walk back up. 

Prickly Pear, Christo Rei

Garajau Beach

Garajau Beach bar

Garajau Beach

Garajau Beach

We carried on our journey to the Palheiro Gardens where it was cooler and misty, a beautiful garden created by the Blandy family in the 1800's and very reminiscent of an English country house garden. We had a very enjoyable lunch in the cafe while admiring Madeiran Chaffinch at close quarters and many Perez's Frogs in the ponds while Robins (Erithacus rubecula rubecula) were surprisingly skulky in the bushes. Even better were at least 4 Trocaz Pigeons (another Madeiran endemic) which gave amazing views as they fed on the very well manicured lawns and allowing a very close approach. I had seen them on my previous visits to Madeira but the views were usually brief, distant and in flight so to see them so well made for quite a change.

Trocaz Pigeons

Trocaz Pigeon 

Trocaz Pigeon

Trocaz Pigeon 

Trocaz Pigeon 

Trocaz Pigeon 

Perez's Frog

"Interesting" Topiary, Palheiro Gardens

Someone must be having a laugh - it certainly made us all chuckle!

Agapanthus, Palheiro Gardens

Before heading back to the hotel we drove to Cabo Girao, the highest sea cliff in Europe and now home to a glass floored sky walk which wasn't present on our visit back in 1993. The views were stunning as the cloud swirled just above our heads.

Cabo Girao

Cabo Girao

We headed off in the car to Porto Moniz on Monday 8th July via the old road to Sao Vincente, stopping regularly to admire the views and finding Madeiran Speckled Wood and lots of flowering Agapanthus along the way.

Madeiran Speckled Wood 

Madeiran Speckled Wood 

Porto Moniz was very busy with people and devoid of any offshore seabird or cetacean activity in the hot and calm conditions and after some lunch we headed over the mountains back to Funchal via a stop at Fanal, another new place for us and which was very reminiscent of Dartmoor back home. There was lots of Bracken around and large patches of open grassland, cows and lichen- and moss covered  trees with Blackbird (Turdus merula cabrerae), Clouded Yellow, Speckled Wood, a Blue Emperor, Perez's Frogs, brief views of 2 presumed Red Admiral and the usual Madeiran Chaffinches all seen. A Buzzard was also seen on the steep drive back down to Funchal.

Seabirds seen from Porto Moniz - but not today except for Yellow-legged Gulls

Porto Moniz

Fanal

Fanal

Tuesday 9th July didn't start out too well with a flat tyre on the car needing to be sorted out before we headed up to the Pico de Arieiro. I love it when we leave the heat, humidity and chaos of Funchal behind as we drive up into the woods and mountains of Madeira, it's much cooler and fresher and stunningly beautiful there and a lot less busy, a totally different world. It was a wonderfully surreal experience to drive up through the clouds into clear blue skies and to look down on a sea of white fluffiness. 

Pico de Arieiro

It was very busy at the peak as expected and due to delays caused by the flat tyre our time there was shorter than planned but it was as stunning as always. Madeiran Grayling, a songflighting Berthelots Pipit (Anthus bertheloti madeirensis) a Red-legged Partridge with at least 2 young, Plain Swifts with a very white throated individual amongst them, a Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis parva), a brief flight view of a Spectacled Warbler and flowering Pride of Madeira were all highlights here before we headed on to Riberio Frio for lunch and a levada walk.

Madeiran Grayling

Madeiran Grayling

It was surprisingly clear on our walk along the Levada do Furado and the views for once weren't clouded in mist. As usual I had a brief flight view of a Trocaz Pigeon over the treetops but did get much better views of a Madeiran Firecrest (another endemic bird of Madeira) along with brief views of a male and female Madeiran Brimstone and lots of flowering Maderian Orchids.

View from Levada do Furado

Levado do Furado

Madeiran Orchid

Wednesday 10th July was an early start to catch the ferry to Porto Santo for the day. It was all clear blue skies as we left Funchal but we headed into cloud and showers and our time on the island was beset with occassional cloudy and showery spells although by the time we caught the ferry back to Madeira it was hot and sunny again.

Porto Santo Ferry

Leaving Funchal

Arriving in Porto Santo - the view from the First Class Lounge deck above The Bridge

Common Terns were buzzing around the harbour as we left for Porto Santo but I couldn't find any Roseate Tern amongst them this time. Not long after leaving the harbour I saw a distant pod of around 6 Dolphins, easily seen in a perfectly flat calm sea, I think they were Bottle Nose but I'm not totally sure. Another distant pod of Dolphins were seen later in more choppier seas as the cloud and showers arrived, they were smaller and leaping out of the water and attracting a few Cory's Shearwaters, they were probably Atlantic Spotted Dolphins but again I'm not totally sure.

The Desertas Islands from the Ferry

More and more Cory's Shearwaters were seen, giving great views, and eventually they were joined by Bulwer's Petrels. Even better were 11+ Desertas/Zinos Petrels, some of which passed very close to the ferry.

Bulwer's Petrel

Desertas/Zino's Petrel

Desertas/Zino's Petrel

Desertas/ Zino's Petrel

We had an enjoyable time on Porto Santo and a swim in the sea off the sandy beach was wonderfully refreshing. Spanish Sparrows were a new bird for the trip and Collared Doves were seen too, common on Porto Santo and appearing to have now colonised Madeira as I had a few sightings there too during our stay.

Common Tern, Porto Santo

Common Tern

Common Tern

Common Tern

Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis atlantis)

The return ferry crossing to Madeira was enjoyable too, no Desertas/Zinos Petrels or cetaceans but lovely views again of Bulwer's Petrels and Cory's Shearwaters and a surprise sighting of a Manx Shearwater. An enjoyable sight was watching a Cory's Shearwater unsuccessfully chasing down a Flying Fish low over the waves and very close to the boat.

Cory's Shearwater

Heading back to Madeira

Thursday 11th July was our last day and Julie and I had an early start for a RIB ride out into Funchal Bay for a Dolphin and Whale watching trip. It was a lovely sunny morning and the sea was flat calm although a gentle swell had picked by the time we returned to harbour. Within 10 minutes of leaving the harbour we had found a pod of Atlantic Spotted Dolphins although they were distant and already being watched by other boats and so we continued on our way. We soon found another pod and had some wonderful views of them very close to the boat, a new species of cetacean for me.

Atlantic Spotted Dolphin - a swine to photograph!

Atlantic Spotted Dolphins - fast and mobile

Atlantic Spotted Dolphin with photo bombing Cory's Shearwater 

Cory's Shearwater 

Cory's Shearwaters and Bulwer's Petrels were flying around along with one, possibly two Manx Shearwater and eventually we found a pod of Rough-toothed Dolphins, an uncommon sight around Madeira in summer and another new cetacean species for me. Again they gave some great views and were strange looking things with quite dinosaur looking faces and pinky-white markings on their lips.

Rough-toothed Dolphins 

Rough-toothed Dolphin

Rough-toothed Dolphins 

Rough-toothed Dolphins  - slow and synchronised surfacing

Rough-toothed Dolphins

Manx Shearwater

Manx Shearwater

On returning to the harbour we watched various fish swimming around while waiting for David to meet up with us and they included Hound Shark and Ornate Wrasse and more we couldn't identify.

Hound Shark

Ornate Wrasse

It was time to fly back home on Friday 12th July but a quick look at the sea from our hotel balcony just before we left for the airport revealed a pod of Dolphins just offshore, their presence being given away by the Dolphin watching boats nearby.

All in all it had been another fantastic trip again to a fantastic place with interesting wildlife seen and fairly straight forwardly despite it not being a wildlife holiday, I can't wait to return.