Review of the Year 2024

Well, 2024 has certainly been a strange year with health issues again dominating proceedings. Wildlife watching though has been enjoyable and eventful but the noticeable dearth of insects and especially butterflies this summer, the rapidity of Ash trees now dieing in the landscape and the continuing fall in overall bird numbers are cause for concern.

A good range of birds have been seen this year and my year total finished on 195, not too bad considering I mostly stay local these days and make far fewer trips further afield than I used to although I have had a few more foreign trips this year than normal. A Purple Heron at Exminster was the only UK lifer of the year, a bit of an anti-climax as I have seen quite a few of them on my foreign travels but a nice sighting none the less.

Other bird highlights for 2024 not mentioned in the Top Ten below included Bonaparte's Gull, Waxwing, Little Bunting, Brambling, Ring-necked Duck, Grey Phalarope, Semi-palmated Sandpiper and Long-billed Dowitcher. Beyond these headliner birds there have been far more enjoyable day to day sightings such as Tree Pipit at Saltram, Spotted Flycatchers at Wembury and Purple Sandpipers on Plymouth Hoe to name but a few and seeing the first local Swallow of the Spring always takes some beating.

So here's to 2025 being both healthier and wildlife filled with great sightings to be had, I'm already making plans for some trips, and here is my 2024 Top Ten :-

1.Wembury

I've always loved visiting Wembury and it continues to grow in my affections despite the increasing number of visitors and especially the increasing numbers of dogs causing so much disturbance to the wildlife. Catching the 6:30am or 7:00am buses helps to mitigate some of this disturbance but on a good day of weather in the summer time I'm frequently beaten to it by the dog walkers.

It's been another good year for sightings though with Pomarine Skua, Black-necked Grebe and Goosander added to my Wembury list. Other sightings of note have been Cory's, Balearic and Sooty Shearwaters, Arctic Skua, Wigeon, Brent Goose, Water Pipit, Yellow Wagtail and Teal.

Stonechat, Cirl Buntings, Black-necked Grebe and Brent Goose, Wembury

Clouded Yellow, Grey Seal, Ivy Bee, Roe Deer, Harbour Porpoise, Bee Wolf, Adder and Common Dolphin have been non-avian highlights too.

Not as good a year for sightings as last year but with a final total of 108 species seen.

2.Golden Oriole

A bizarre report on the Internet of a Golden Oriole in Cornwall in January piqued my interest but when fully confirmed and with the bird sticking around it would have been rude not to go and have a look for it. And what a bird it was with some excellent views had of what is usually a secretive and fleeting species. Only my second ever sighting of one in the UK and a strange sight on a cold and claggy January day in Cornwall.

Golden Oriole

3. Madeira

Our 4th trip to Madeira was a good one with some great wildlife sightings had despite it not being a nature holiday. A Dolphin watching boat trip out of Funchal was excellent with some great views of 2 new cetacean species for me - Rough-toothed and Atlantic Spotted Dolphins - and the ferry trip to nearby Porto Santo gave some great views of Deserta/Zino's Petrels.

Perez Frog, Trocaz Pigeon, Madeiran Speckled Wood and Common Tern, Madeira

Rough-toothed Dolphins, Madeira

4. A Ferry to Spain

We took another trip to Santander in Spain on the ferry from Plymouth, a there and back journey but one with some good sightings. There were Cory's and Great Shearwaters everywhere and while cetacean sightings were mostly brief and distant it was good to see Pilot Whale, Cuviers Beaked Whale, Fin Whale, Striped Dolphin and Common Dolphin.

I never got to The Isles of Scilly this year so missed out on seabird sightings in UK waters but there is always next year. A warmer climate and warmer seas seem to be encouraging more seabirds into UK waters in late summer and keeping them here for longer, even into November, and presumably next year will see this interesting but unsettling trend continuing.

5. Local Wildlife

Always in my Top 10 but again I'm always surprised (and delighted) by the variety of wildlife not that far from my doorstep. Wembury aside I've seen some amazing local wildlife with highlights including Yellow-browed Warbler, Goshawk, High Brown Fritillary, Snow Bunting, Common Lizard, Grass Vetchling, Red-necked Grebe, Cuckoo, White-letter Hairstreak, Bee Orchid, Velvet Scoter, Dark Green Fritillary and Common Dolphin. A flock of c.70 White Storks flying over my house was a bit of a surprise too, a migrating group from a reintroduction scheme in Sussex.

Adder, Grey Seal, Common Lizard and Bee Wolf

Walks along The Plym and around Saltram have been interesting and enjoyable althought I've spent more time visiting Wembury this year. A total of 106 species were seen around The Plym in 2024, 2 less than at Wembury but still pretty good with Pink-footed Goose, Dark-bellied Brent Goose, Guillemot, Wood Duck and Black Redstart all Plym firsts and Red-backed Shrike, Curlew Sandpiper, Pintail, Whinchat, Tree Pipit, Knot and Yellow Wagtail other highlights.

White-letter Hairstreak, Pink-footed Goose, White Storks and Ivy Bee

A jammy shot of a Dark Green and a High Brown Fritillary side by side

6. Suffolk

A stay in Suffolk to look after my Mum after her operation was longer than expected but it did mean I got to spend more time with family and friends that I don't see very often. I also got to do some birding at my old teenage haunts and had an opportunity to see some species that are not that common down here in Devon, namely Nightingale, Red-legged Partridge, Lesser Whitethroat, Red Kite and Little Ringed Plover. I also got to see Chinese Water Deer, Brown Hare and Grass Snake too.

Little Ringed Plover, Grass Snake, Marsh Harrier and Greylag Goose in Suffolk

The "feel" of Suffolk is very different to Devon, being drier, warmer and lacking a strong marine influence, and the landscape and wildlife are subtly different too, certainly insects were much more prevalent during the 4 weeks I was there over April and May but maybe that was just this year's experience.

One thing I did decide while staying in Suffolk was that I would not be renewing my nursing registration later in the year, that ship has now well and truly sailed out of my life. If nothing else it saves me £120 a year and it feels even more like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

7. Greece

My trip to Greece very nearly didn't happen due to health issues but I eventually got to go and I had an enjoyable time despite not feeling that great and worrying about things. I wasn't expecting much wildlife but was pleasantly surprised with Scopoli's Shearwaters, Blue Rock Thrush, Sardinian Warblers and Crested Larks the avian highlights and a Scarce Swallowtail a surprise find on the butterfly front.

Yellow-legged Gull, Lang's Short-tailed Blue,  Blue Rock Thrush and Scarce Swallowtail

The highlight though was a Monk Seal, I saw it at distance poking its head out of the water while watching some Bottle Nose Dolphins nearby, I see Seals doing this back in Devon all the time and didn't think anything of it but later when checking out the ID I realised what it was. A shame it wasn't closer and didn't spend longer at the surface and I never saw it again despite looking the next day but a very nice find indeed.

8.Dartmoor

I managed to get up onto Dartmoor a few times this year and had some great visits there.

A highlight was a trip to Emsworthy Mire courtesy of Mavis and Kaye, a place I've never visited before, and where we had some amazing views of Cuckoos and Redstarts. We also ended up attracting a veritable swarm of male Emperor Moths to my pheromone lure which was "interesting"!

Redstart, Cuckoo and Emperor Moth on a fab day out to Emsworthy Mire

Roborough Down, Shipley Bridge, Grenofen, Plymbridge, Warren House, Postbridge and Shaugh Prior were also enjoyable visits and a quick stop at Challacombe Farm on the way home from Emsworthy Mire gave me my only sighting of a Pied Flycatcher for the year.

9.Butterflies and Moths

It was not a good year for butterflies, probably a combination of a cool and wet spring and a cool summer or indicative of a wider problem in the countryside although I did manage to see 34 species for the year. I've had to work hard for these butterfly sightings though including for some of the more common species like Holly Blue and Clouded Yellow and my first visit to Chudleigh Knighton Heath to look for Brown Hairstreak did draw a blank.

Green Hairstreak, Silver-studded Blue, Grayling and Painted Lady

Despite this I did find my first Silver-washed Fritillary at Saltram this year and also a small colony of White-letter Hairstreak there too. I also saw my first Devon Dingy Skippers close to home and the Green Hairstreaks at Wembury were their usual beautiful joy. Here's hoping 2025 will be a better year for butterflies.

Small Pearl-bordered, Dark Green, High Brown and Silver-washed Fritillaries

I also didn't have the moth box out in the back yard very often this year, cool and wet nights on top of a lack of motivation meant it stayed inside. However when I did put it out I did get some nice moths although Large Ranunculus failed to make an appearance yet again this year. I also saw a few moths when out and about including Hummingbird Hawkmoth, Thrift Clearwing and Least Black Arches. Again, here's hoping that next year will be a better year.

Back Yard Moths - Marbled Green, Scarce Bordered Straw, Ruby Tiger and Dioryctria Sp.

Moths - Alabonia geoffrella or "Geoff" (Exminster Marsh), Thrift Clearwing (Wembury), Six Spot Burnet (Dawlish Warren), Oak Eggar (Saltram)

10. Azorean Gull

An Azorean Gull was found in Newlyn Harbour at the end of the year and with my love/hate relationship with Gulls my interest was piqued. It seemed to be sticking around and was showing well as unusual Gulls often do in Newlyn Harbour and so I went to have a look.

I easily found it preening and roosting on the fish quay roof amongst all the other Gulls present and I enjoyed some good views of it despite the very grey and claggy light. A UK first for me although at present only considered a race of Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis atlantis) but a joy to see none the less and maybe it will become a full species in the future.

Azorean Gull

I may have seen them in Madeira earlier in the year or on my previous visits, there were always Yellow-legged Gulls present around Funchal Harbour, but with Azorean Gull apparently only breeding in The Azores the birds I saw were more likely Yellow-legged Gulls (Larus michahellis) or possibly hybrids. Gull taxonomy and the evolution of species in Macronesia absolutely fascinates me!

Aside from the Azorean Gull my day out was a good one with additional sightings of  a Snow Bunting at Long Rock near Penzance and Kingfisher, Avocet, Pink-footed Goose, Spoonbill and Slavonian Grebe at Hayle making for a very enjoyable trip, I do love this area of Cornwall for birding.

And so that was 2024, not a bad wildlife year at all. Health issues have had an impact at times but hopefully next year will see an improvement in things and there will be some more interesting wildlife sightings to be had.

Merry Christmas!

River Exe Day Out

Birding is pretty much done for the year now due to the imminent arrival of Christmas, Twixtmas and New Years but I'm looking forward to starting up again properly when 2025 begins. My usual pre-Christmas visit to Slimbridge has been postponed until January and I've no other real birding plans in the pipeline but I wanted one last birdy day out somewhere further afield before 2024 comes to an end and so I headed off to Bowling Green Marsh on Saturday 21st December for a look about.

The Saturday before Christmas Day is either a good day to travel by train or a bad day and while I hoped it would be the former I suspected it would be the latter. The weather forecast wasn't great either but I figured I could sit in the bird hide at Bowling Green Marsh and be protected from the worst of the rain.

It was dry when I left home to walk to the train station at just after 7am and the train left for Exeter on time and wasn't too busy although it was still pitch black as we left Plymouth on what is the "shortest day" of the year. On arriving at Topsham at around 9:30am it was grey and claggy with spots of rain in the wind but the forecasted rain never did materialise.

I headed off to the hide at Bowling Green Marsh to find just one birder already there, a surprise as the tide was coming up to being high and plenty of birds were roosting out on the Marsh. I quickly found the immature male Scaup that's been present here for a while now busily diving away out on the water but even better was a female Pochard diving away with it, both rare birds in Devon these days.

I set up my scope and scanned about, eventually picking up a Ruff, a Snipe, a Curlew, 2 Greenshank, 16 Avocet and a few Dunlin amongst the numerous Redshank, Lapwing and Black-tailed Godwit present. Psycho the Lesser Black-backed Gull duly arrived and spooked all the waders into the air before they resettled, another scan through the waders revealed a Spotted Redshank and eventually the Long-billed Dowitcher which showed very well. It was busily feeding away amongst the roosting Redshank and constantly pecked at them to get out of its way before it had a quick preen and then flew off towards The Clyst.

Spot the Spotted Redshank, Bowling Green Marsh

Spot the Long-billed Dowitcher, Bowling Green Marsh 

Brent Geese, a Greylag Goose, 2 Egyptian Geese and an adult and immature Mute Swan flew over the Marsh while just 2 Canada Geese were seen out on the water. Teal, Shoveler, Mallard, Wigeon and Pintail also showed very nicely with the Teal busily calling and displaying together.

Shoveler, Bowling Green Marsh

Shoveler, Bowling Green Marsh

A Chiffchaff, a female Bullfinch, a Grey Heron, a Mistle Thrush, a Little Egret, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 4 Stock Dove, a male Stonechat, a Buzzard and a Raven were also of note before I headed back to Topsham station to catch the train to Dawlish Warren,  this train was much busier and crowded and at only 2 coaches long not the best of planning for passengers on the last Saturday before Christmas Day. 

The train was a few minutes delayed leaving Exeter St.Davids but as we hurtled along the side of The Exe towards Dawlish Warren I saw flocks of Brent Geese at Turf, 4 Greenshank at Powderham and a Great Northern Diver at Starcross.

It was cool, grey and breezy at Dawlish Warren so I just had a quick wander around before heading back to the station to catch the train home to Plymouth. There wasn't much to see anyway with 6 Great Crested Grebe and a distant adult Gannet offshore, 2 male and 3 female Shoveler and a Mute Swan on the Main Pond and a Song Thrush feeding with a Blackbird out on the grass the only birds of note - certainly a contrast to all the earlier excitement at Bowling Green Marsh.

Mute Swan, Dawlish Warren

Herring Gull, Dawlish Warren

The train from Dawlish Warren to Newton Abbot was on time as was the train from Newton Abbot to Plymouth and neither were particularly busy. All in all it had been a good day out, the Scaup sighting brings my 2024 year list up to 195 and the rain finally arrived as I stepped off the train on my return to Plymouth!

A Wembury Walk and a Plymouth Yellow-browed Warbler

It's been nearly 4 weeks since I last visited Wembury and with a dry but cloudy day forecasted for Monday 16th December I decided to head out there on the bus for a walk. I caught the 9:05am bus as the earlier buses at this time of year would see me arrive at Wembury in darkness and with my recent bone graft and tooth implant placement I'm still feeling a bit sore, tired and not firing on all cylinders so I had a bit of a lie in instead.

It was very quiet at Wembury as is usual pre-Christmas and there were only a few walkers, dog walkers and runners along the coast path despite the dry and occassionally sunny conditions. It also wasn't too muddy along the coast path either so my new walking shoes had a gentle baptism before the full quagmire horror of a winter Wembury path arrives.

Wembury Church View

Moody and Gloomy Wembury

As the bus headed down into Wembury village the skies above the nearby fields were full of Woodpigeons, easily 1000+ birds were present, but on the return journey not a single Woodpigeon was seen. 

It was good to be out birding at Wembury again after a bit of a break, the usual birds were seen but again it was no less enjoyable for it. A look around the village gardens on the walk down to the main beach was productive with a female Blackcap, a male Pheasant and a Grey Squirrel noted while on the walk back a Chiffchaff, 7 Long-tailed Tits, a female Bullfinch and a Coal Tit were seen with 2 Jays and a Great Spotted Woodpecker also heard.

Ongoing clearance at Wembury

It was quiet offshore with 4 adult Gannets seen but it was good to see around 20 Fulmars back on the nesting ledges on The Mewstone after their autumnal feather moult.

Along the beach on the ebbing tide were 2 Turnstone and a Curlew feeding with the Oystercatchers, Mallards including 2 male farmyard types, a Little Egret and 3 adult Mediterranean Gulls but a surprise sighting was a single Dark-bellied Brent Goose out on the rocks looking a little lost and forlorn (presumably the same bird as reported on Birdtrack on the 14th December).

Along the footpath the usual Cirl Buntings and Stonechats were seen while overhead 3 Buzzards noisily displayed and a Sparrowhawk was mobbed by a very vocal Black-headed Gull.

Stonechat

I walked back along the beach from The Point as the tide was low, I carefully checked all the Pipits feeding on the washed up seaweed but failed to find a Water Pipit amongst the Rock and Meadow Pipits present. A Song Thrush feeding on the seaweed mass with the Blackbirds was an unusual sighting.

Rock Pipit

It was a very pleasant walk indeed and probably my last visit to Wembury this year as Christmas stuff takes over and Wembury becomes overrun with Christmas visitors. I've finished my year list for Wembury on 108 species, 6 less than last year but still a pretty good showing and I'm looking forward to what next year will bring.

With news of a Yellow-browed Warbler at Efford Marsh Local Nature Reserve in Plymouth reported on Sunday 15th December I decided to head out there for a look on Tuesday 17th December. It's been a while since I last visited the site so I had to do some research regarding buses and access points but I managed to get there easily enough. It was a grey and claggy day with a few brief sunny spells and with rain forecasted from 1pm I arrived at the reserve at just before 10am with fingers crossed.

Efford Marsh

As I walked back and forth along the footpath through the reserve I kept my eyes and ears open for any feeding flocks of small birds in the trees and bushes. The light was poor and there was a constant noisy hum of traffic from the nearby A38 but I regularly encountered groups of birds although they were very active and mobile amongst the branches. Amongst the Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tits present were a few Coal Tit, at least 3 Chiffchaff, a Firecrest, at least 3 Goldcrest, a Nuthatch and 2 female Bullfinch but there was no sign of the Yellow-browed Warbler. I thought I did hear it call once but I put it down to wishful thinking as I carried on my search.

There's a Yellow-browed Warbler in there somewhere

Along the stream I saw a male Teal, a Little Egret, a Kingfisher, a Grey Wagtail and a Moorhen while a Water Rail was heard squealing away. A Jay, Blackbirds, Robins, Wrens and Magpies were also seen around the woods along with quite a few Grey Squirrels.

The skies were beginning to darken and spots of rain were beginning to fall so I decided to concede a dip and began my walk back to the bus stop but just as I started off I found the Yellow-browed Warbler feeding in the Willows just a few metres away from me where it gave some great views despite not keeping still for a second. It was very bright and smart looking (and silent) but after a few minutes it headed off deeper into the Willows and was gone and I just managed to get to the bus shelter as the rain properly arrived, very jammy indeed.

Christmas Lights at Saltram and Plymouth Scoters

The Christmas madness is now in full swing but as per last year it is all pretty much just happening around me as I impatiently wait for it to all be over and the New Year to begin. That's not to say that we aren't indulging in Christmassy things and so it was that we headed off to Saltram on Wednesday 11th December for a walk around the estate, some refreshments in the cafe and a look at the Christmas lights display in Saltram House.

It's been a few weeks now since I've done any proper birding so it was nice to be out and about with my binoculars around my neck again. Bird wise it was all much the same but no less enjoyable for it with the highlight being a Great Northern Diver busily diving away out on the river off the Amphitheatre before seeming to just disappear. Later it (or another) was seen downriver near Laira Bridge. Also seen along the river were 3 Common Sandpiper, a Kingfisher, a female Goosander and a Shag with a male and 2 female Goosander also present on Blagdons Meadow, busily diving away in the small pool by the sluices despite the tide not yet being high enough to enter through the gates. A Turnstone was also seen on Blagdons Meadow amongst the usual waders and there had been a noticeable increase in Dunlin numbers since my last visit.

Mandarin, Saltram

Around the Park 5 skittish Redwings were seen along with a Kestrel, 2 Song Thrush, 4 Stock Dove, around 50 Meadow Pipits feeding almost hidden in the long grass near the Wet Wood, Mandarin Ducks, 2 male Pheasant and the usual noisy Ring-necked Parakeets. Sadly there were quite a few trees down or damaged around the Park following Storm Darragh last weekend.

Robin, Saltram - looking for snack crumbs

A Casualty of Storm Darragh, Saltram

After a cup of tea and a slice of cake in the very busy cafe we headed into Saltram House where the Christmas lights were very good, much better than last years display, and it all looked very festive in a very beautiful setting.

Saltram Orangery

Saltram Dining Room

There had been news of a Velvet Scoter at Warleigh Point in Plymouth while we were away on holiday in Germany, an interesting record of a bird I've not seen in the Plymouth area before and a bird I also don't see very often. It was found on the 3rd December and was still present the next day and then there was the usual radio silence until 10th December when it was reported again and my interest was repiqued. Further reports came through but it wasn't until Saturday 14th December that I finally had some free time to go and look for it.

It was a sunny day for a change as I headed out on the bus to Tamerton Foliot, it felt cold especially when rain showers rattled through on the strong breeze but it was pleasant when out of the wind. As I walked out to Warleigh Point from the bus stop in Tamerton Foliot village there were small birds feeding in the sheltered hedges with 2 Goldcrest, a Chiffchaff, a Coal Tit, a Song Thrush and a female Bullfinch seen amongst the Blue Tit, Robin, Long-tailed Tit, Blackbird, and Great Tit also present. A Buzzard was heard mewing overhead and a Grey Wagtail was seen feeding around a large puddle in the road before flying off.

It was breezey at the exposed Point and my eyes kept watering in the cold wind but I quickly found the female type Velvet Scoter feeding out in the main river channel of The Tamar, it was distant but scope views were very good as it regularly dived away and brought up Crabs to the surface to eat. A surprise sight was a female Common Scoter loosely associating with it too and making it a 2 Scoter day, a very rare event in Plymouth.

The Scoter View at Warleigh Point, Plymouth

Avocets, Great Crested Grebes and Black-tailed Gowits were also of note amongst the usual ducks and waders but there was no sign of yesterday's reported Barnacle Geese amongst the Canada Goose flock in the nearby fields.

Munich and Prague

Back at the beginning of 2020 we booked up a Christmas trip to Munich and Prague little knowing what was yet to come. The trip was ultimately cancelled and monies returned due to the dreaded COVID pandemic but we have wanted to rebook the trip ever since and so it was that we finally headed off to Heathrow Airport on Saturday 30th November with fingers crossed to enjoy the holiday we were originally meant to have 4 years ago.

We flew out to Munich on Sunday 1st December, there was no snow but it was frosty and misty and very bracing. Munich was very interesting as usual, we have been here twice before, and the Christmas markets were much improved since our last visit here back in 2012.

Munich Glyptothek

The Aegina Marbles, Munich Glyptothek - I assume Greece is also requesting these to be returned to them

The Aegina Marbles from the Temple of Aphaia on Aegina (which we visited back in September this year)

The Temple of Aphaia, Aegina

Horus, Egyptian Museum, Munich

Ibis, Egyptian Museum, Munich

I didn't take my binoculars or camera with me as it was very much going to be a city break holiday but I did have a few interesting sightings. Roe Deer, Carrion Crows, Kestrels and Buzzards were seen on the train journey from the airport to the city centre and Blackbird, Feral Pigeon, Great Tit and Carrion Crow were seen around the city centre itself. A day trip on the (very expensive!) train to nearby Ulm on Monday 2nd December also gave sightings of a Grey Heron, distant Swans (presumably Mute) and more interestingly 4 Great White Egrets.

Ulm Church with the highest church steeple in the world

Inside the steeple - unfortunately these last set of steps to the top were closed for repairs

Goat Gargoyle

Ulm Christmas Market

Wednesday 4th December saw us leaving Munich and travelling by train to Prague for the second part of our Christmas holiday. The journey was very pleasant and I added Mallards and a male Goosander to my trip list on the 5+hour journey along with more sightings of Grey Heron, Buzzard, Kestrel, Blackbird, Carrion Crow and yet more Great White Egrets. 

We first visited Prague back in 2004 on a trip to see the Christmas markets, unfortunately we hadn't done our homework and flew home on the day they opened! We didn't make this mistake again and the Christmas markets were open this time, they were very good and looked amazing but mostly consisted of food and drink stalls with a few Christmassy ones dotted about here and there. 

Prague Christmas Market 

Prague is a very beautiful and interesting city with some stunning buildings and architecture but it was also incredibly busy with people, much more so than on our visit back in 2004.

Prague

Prague

Thursday 5th December was our first full day in Prague and it was cold, sunny, still and beautiful as we wandered around admiring the sights. We crossed over the River Vltava and walked up to the castle through Petrin Park, unfortunately the funicular railway was closed for repairs so it was a slow walk. I also wished I had my binoculars and camera with me as there was wildlife to be seen with Coot, Cormorant, Little Grebe, Tufted Duck, Moorhen, Black-headed Gull, Magpie, Nuthatch, Treecreeper Sp.(presumably Short-toed), Green Woodpecker, Long-tailed Tit, Rook, Jackdaw, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay and 2 Coypu and a Red Squirrel all added to my trip list with more sightings of Carrion Crow, Great Tit, Blackbird and Feral Pigeon too.

Prague from the top of Petrin Hill

Sadly the following day was wet and claggy but we made the most of it and I managed to add 8 Collared Doves in a park in the Jewish Quarter to my trip list.

All too soon it was Saturday 7th December and time to head home but unfortunately Storm Darragh had arrived in the UK and the flight home was delayed by an hour and a half which wasn't too bad considering the much longer delays others were experiencing. The drive back to Plymouth from Heathrow was rough but we arrived home safely having had a very enjoyable time away before all the Christmas nonsense begins in earnest.