A Brilliant Day Trip to Slimbridge

Whooper Swan, Slimbridge

It was an early start on Saturday 1st February as I headed off to Slimbridge for the day, a trip postponed from December last year. As I made myself a cup of tea in the kitchen at the back of the house I was delighted to finally hear my first garden Robin of this winter  quietly singing away in the darkness outside despite it being the ungodly hour of 5:30am. Even better was a Robin singing away on the next door neighbours roof as I left the house to walk to the train station, it was brighter at the front of the house with the streetlamps and pub lights blazing away and the Robin was absolutely belting it out in the darkness, a joy to see and hear at last.

Robin (seen at Slimbridge)

I caught the train from Plymouth to Cam & Dursley as usual and with the return fare costing £95.50 I used Split Ticketing again and got the price down to £47.45! I caught exactly the same trains at exactly the same times but it was cheaper because I purchased 4 separate return tickets instead of the one, ie, Plymouth to Tiverton, Tiverton to Taunton, Taunton to Yate and Yate to Cam & Dursley returns - a totally ridiculous situation!

The journey went smoothly and to time and instead of booking (expensive) taxis to and from the station to WWT Slimbridge I registered for The Robin service with Gloucester County Council and arranged for a community minibus to transport me instead. It only cost me the grand sum of £6.00 return so saving me a good £35.00, a fantastic bargain!

The Robin ran to time too and I arrived at Slimbridge at around 9:45am to find it packed with people. It's quite busy on a Saturday in December when I usually visit but this was much more so and with it being a cold and grey but dry and calm day there were lots of families present with lots of kids running around everywhere, all hopefully the birders of the future. However they mostly kept to the collection areas so there wasn't too much disturbance in the birding areas but there were a lot of birders present too and the space in the hides was a bit tight at times.

Ring-necked Duck from the collection

Despite all this I ended up having a brilliant visit and managed to see all of my target birds bar one (Green-winged Teal) with the highlights being as follows:- 

Estuary Tower - a Little Stint and a Ringed Plover showed very well feeding on one of the small islands out on The Dumbles scrape before flying off. A Ross's Goose was feeding amongst the Feral flock of Barnacle Geese but I didn't pay much attention to it although I did find a distant Barnacle Goose sporting a white neck ring with black characters that unfortunately I couldn't read. A distant Peregrine was perched up on a fence and a Kestrel hovered overhead. 

South Lake Discovery Hide - a Spoonbill was asleep here before being seen later very much awake on The Tack Piece. The Green-winged Teal was reported from here but I failed to find it although 11 Avocet and a Great Crested Grebe showed very nicely.

Spoonbill - feeding on The Tack Piece

Kingfisher Hide - a Treecreeper, a Coal Tit and a pair of Siskins were seen around the bird feeders along with Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tits. There were 2 Little Grebe on the pool in front of the Kingfisher nesting bank with a few Gadwalls, Mallards and Shovelers. Around 30 European White-fronted Geese flew into the fields having been seen earlier as part of a larger flock on The Tack Piece.

Siskin

Willow Hide - a Water Rail showed very well beneath the bird feeders and a Grey Squirrel was trying to chew into the containers to steal the food.

Water Rail

The Tack Piece - it was quite the spectacle here with birds everywhere but the highlight for me were 2 Whooper Swans in amongst the Bewick's Swans, my first at Slimbridge. One had recently been captured and ringed with the unfortunate letters ASS and had then been joined by another unringed bird.

Whooper Swan ASS

Sleepy ASS

Whooper Swans

There were quite a few ringed Bewick's Swans present too but sadly there are no cygnets present this year and the number of wintering adults is down too.

Bewick's Swans with assorted leg bling

Whoopers and a Bewick's Swan

A Whooper and Bewick's Swans

Whooper (l) and Bewick's (r)

Whoopers and a Bewick's Swan 

A Whooper and Bewick's Swans 

A Buzzard was sat up in a bare tree at the back of The Tack Piece much to the consternation of the Golden Plover, Lapwing and Dunlin flock present which regularly took to the air in spectacular fashion. The Redshank, 4 Curlew, 5 Snipe and 20+ Ruff present weren't so fussed and stayed put as did the 6 Common Cranes, 2 of which were ringed.

Ruff, Redshank, Shelduck and Lapwing

A Red Kite flying over also caused mayhem but a more distant Marsh Harrier hunting over the fields to the north went unnoticed. A Little Egret flew over too but looked tiny in comparison to the 3 Great White Egrets which flew over together, one bird flew low and slowly in an almost territorial style flight as the 2 higher birds powered through above it.

Pochard, Shoveler and Pintail were all year ticks here too and 3 Roe Deer were seen feeding along the hedgerow amongst the European White-fronted Goose flock.

Pintail

Tufted Duck

Wigeon

All too soon it was time to catch The Robin minibus back to Cam & Dursley station to start the journey home to Plymouth but before being picked up I had a look for a reported Glossy Ibis in the fields outside of the main entrance and I very luckily caught a sight of it before it flew off into the reserve.

Glossy Ibis - a record shot before it flew off!

The journey home ran just as smoothly as the mornings did and I arrived home tired but very happy after a great day's birding. Slimbridge is probably the furthest I travel on public transport for a days birding, it's a shame it isn't closer to Plymouth as I would love to visit it more often despite it always having a whiff of plastic-ness about it.

Double Dipping!

With a Pacific Diver being reported off Marazion and the Booted Eagle still being present in the surrounding area I bit the bullet and headed down to Penzance on the train for a look about on Saturday 25th January. I decided to concentrate on just birding the Marazion area and to see how things panned out, I wasn't expecting too much but as ever I was realistically optimistic.

I arrived in Penzance at around 9:30am on what was a cold and fresh and mostly sunny day and I started off by having a quick look offshore from the bus station but there was very little to see out on the water. I also failed to find any Black Redstart here but there were 2 Purple Sandpipers feeding amongst a small flock of Turnstones down on the rocks, the first time I think I've seem them here before. 

I caught the 10am bus to Marazion and had a look around the Marsh from the roadside viewing area, there were good numbers of Teal, Snipe, Mallard, Canada Goose, Moorhen and Grey Heron present along with 3 male Wigeon, a pair of Stonechat, a Chiffchaff and 2 Little Egret. A loose group of 5 Raven showed very well close to the path as they fed on something unseen in the long grass but there was no sign of the Booted Eagle.

Raven

Raven

Marazion Marsh - the Booted Eagle was being seen over the Pine trees in the distance

News came through of the Pacific Diver being seen nearby on the east side of St.Michaels Mount so I headed over there for a look. Viewing into the harsh and hazy light proved difficult and there was quite a swell still after Storm Eowyn moved through the previous day, I had a brief sighting of possibly the Pacific Diver and also a brief sighting of a probable Black-throated Diver amongst the 20+Great Northern Divers present but I couldn't confirm either of them.

A large flock of Gulls were feeding in the swell close to the beach, mostly Herring and Black-headed Gulls with a few Common and Mediterranean amongst them. The tide was heading in and roosting out on the rocks were 8 Redshank, Turnstones, Sanderlings and 7 Purple Sandpiper while a female type Black Redstart was catching flies along the beach and 4 Chiffchaffs were feeding in a village garden.

A consolation for dipping the Pacific Diver was having a Philps pasty for lunch from the shop in Marazion, I bought a standard sized one but it was massive and with it being hotter than a nuclear reactor it took me a little while to eat it - it was a tough job but I managed it!

While I was not seeing the Pacific Diver at St.Michaels Mount the Booted Eagle was putting in appearances at Marazion Marsh and so I headed back there for another look about, the same birds were seen again along with a Sparrowhawk overhead but there was no Booted Eagle. A Marsh Harrier hunting over the reed beds was a surprise find though, my first one ever at this site but it unfortunately disappeared as quickly as it arrived.

Marsh Harrier

Despite further sightings of the Booted Eagle coming through on the bird news channels I failed to see it (and further sightings of the Pacific Diver had been reported too!) but with time marching on and the light fading I had to pack up and catch the bus back to Penzance.

Before catching the train back to Plymouth I had a quick look around Penzance, again there was very little offshore but there were Turnstones, 24 Purple Sandpiper and 23 Sanderling roosting at the Jubilee Pool, a nice sighting to end a double dip day. The Booted Eagle was also reported again after I had left Marazion, some days the birding God's do not smile down on me, but despite the double dipping it had been a very enjoyable day out.

Turnstone

Purple Sandpiper

Sanderling

It was grey and windy on Tuesday 28th January but I headed out anyway for a walk along The Plym despite the ominous looking clouds. There had been an accident along The Embankment and the road was closed off so I caught the bus to Laira Bridge and walked up to Blaxton Meadow and back, getting increasingly wet as the grey clouds started to produce heavy showers which then eventually turned into rain. 

Blaxton Meadow

The tide was low but heading in and as I scanned across the water I found a Great Northern Diver, a Shag, 2 Little Grebe, 5 Goosander (2 males, 3 females), 2 immature Mute Swans and a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers. The usual birds were feeding and roosting out on the mudflats too - Curlew, Oystercatcher, Shelduck, Redshank and Gulls but just 4 Dunlin - while Blaxton Meadow was full of water despite the low tide and only contained a small flock of hunkered down Wigeon.

It was cold and sunny on Thursday 30th January which made for a nice change after all the wind and rain we've had recently due to Storms Eowyn, Herminia and Ivo having rattled through in quick succession. I decided to make the most of the change in the weather and caught the train down to Newquay for the day, a trip I've only ever made once before back in 2014, and I had forgotten how scenic the journey is from Par to Newquay but also how slow the journey is. I also hadn't realised how tight the connection was in Par, only 7 minutes, and with the Plymouth to Par train getting progressively later and later I only just made it otherwise I would have had to have waited another 2 hours for the next train!

On arriving in Newquay I headed down to the boating lake to look for the long-staying Long-tailed Duck which I quickly found busily diving away, my first sighting of one since 2021. At times it came very close to the path and gave some great views but it was never at the surface for more than a few seconds before diving again.

Long-tailed Duck

Long-tailed Duck

Long-tailed Duck

Long-tailed Duck

I then headed up to the golf course near Fistral Beach, Choughs are often seen here but I was out of luck today. A good day of weather for birding is also a good day for golf and the small course was very busy with golfers but there were plenty of Jackdaw about along with a few Carrion Crow, 2 Magpies, House Sparrows, Starlings, a Kestrel and a male Stonechat as I walked around the perimeter footpath.

I walked over to the nearby Headland Hotel where there were good numbers of Gannets diving away quite close to shore and also present were Shags, Kittiwakes and Guillemots but there was no sign of the recently reported Humpback Whales. A female Stonechat, 2 Raven, a Rock Pipit and a Greenfinch were seen along the cliff path and on the rocks 2 Turnstone and 4 Oystercatcher were also noted.

And so it had been an interesting day out, Newquay is a lot bigger than I remembered but the town is not a pretty place despite its stunning location. I was pleased to get some nice views of the Long-tailed Duck but not so pleased to experience another double dip day with no sightings of Chough or Humpback Whale to be had, some days you really just can't have it all.

Slapton Ley Egrets

With the cold and settled weather continuing I decided to head off to Slapton Ley for a visit on Tuesday 14th January. Visiting Slapton Ley by public transport is my least favourite birding trip, it involves a frustratingly slow and fraught bus ride down narrow country lanes from Plymouth to Kingsbridge and then another frustratingly slow and fraught bus ride down narrow country lanes from Kingsbridge to Slapton, no fun at all, and it all has to be repeated on the journey back to Plymouth. As a result I don't tend to visit Slapton very often these days which is a shame as it's a great place for birding with this visit being no exception.

I caught the 7:30am bus from Plymouth and finally arrived at Slapton at around 9:30am, it was a double decker bus which was fortuitous as from my seat on the top deck I was able to see 8 Cattle Egret feeding in fields just outside Frogmore as we drove by. Later as we travelled along The Ley towards my bus stop a Great White Egret flew up from the reeds so I had 2 good bird sightings before I'd even stepped off the bus. 

I got off the bus at the Slapton Turn and began by having a look offshore, the sea was flat calm but there was very little to be seen with just 2 distant Gannets flying south, 2 Razorbills with a few Shag resting on the sea and a few distant Auks flying by.

From the bridge a Cetti's Warbler was heard half-heartedly singing but a pair of Cirl Buntings showed very well and another Great White Egret flew over heading down The Ley. Also seen were 2 Little Egret making it a Three Egret day in Devon in January, unthinkable not that very long ago.

Great White Egret

I then walked along the Ley side to Ireland Bay and began looking for the reported Red-necked Grebe but there was no sign of it, indeed there was very little out on the water with wildfowl numbers very low. However there were Coots present complete with their attendant Gadwalls stealing the vegetation they were bringing up to the surface along with 3 Mute Swans, Cormorants, Tufted Ducks and Gulls (including good numbers of Common Gulls). A Water Rail showed very well amongst the reeds and a male Bullfinch looked stunning in the sunshine perched up in the brambles.

Robin 

At the quarry I finally found a Firecrest and a Chiffchaff flitting about and a Cettis Warbler showed very well in the nearby waterside vegetation. I decided to head back to the bridge and on the way eventually found the Red-necked Grebe asleep out on the water near a large flock of bathing Gulls, occassionally it would wake up very briefly, flashing off its yellow based black bill before going back to sleep. The views were distant and looking into the sun but I was pleased to catch up with it.

Coot

I began the walk down the Ley towards Torcross and found another 5 Chiffchaff along the way and also noted were 2 Water Rails (heard), 2 Cetti's Warblers (1 seen, 1 heard), 5 Stonechats (2 males), 2 Meadow Pipits, 4 Mediterranean Gulls (2 adults (1 ringed), a 1st winter and a second winter), 3 Greenfinch and 2 Goldfinch. Out on the water at least 7 Great Crested Grebes were present along with a male and 3 female Goldeneye, such very smart looking ducks and always a very welcome sighting.

Mediterranean Gull - 3PEO - Ringed in The Netherlands as a chick in 2020

I met David at Torcross and we had some lunch in The Start Bay Inn followed by a short wander about before we headed home in the car, a great day out and I didn't have to endure the bus ride home!

Mute Swan

Mallards (male with a damaged right eye)

With a Booted Eagle being reported at Marazion in Cornwall I had considered taking the train down to Penzance for a look about on Saturday 18th January but I didn't relish a 4 hour return train journey and I wasn't in the mood to deal with weekend twitchers so I decided to visit Wembury instead. As I was leaving the house to catch the bus news came through of the Curlew Sandpiper being seen on the River Plym again and I nearly switched my plans but then decided to carry on with my visit to Wembury anyway.

It was cold, overcast and still when I arrived at Wembury and the sea was flat calm but a scan about offshore revealed little of note except for Gulls, Fulmars, Cormorants and Shags. The high tide was just beginning to ebb and still present along the beach with the roosting Oystercatchers was the Redshank (maybe last January's bird returning?) along with 12 Turnstone, 15 Mallard (10 males), 8 adult Mediterranean Gulls and 2 Little Egrets.

I had a look about around the sunflower field at The Point where the large flock of Linnet (100+) was still present and very flighty. An even larger flock of Chaffinch (200+) was present too and even more flighty and amongst them were a few Goldfinch and Greenfinch, Cirl Buntings, Meadow Pipits, Skylarks and 3 Yellowhammers, my first at Wembury for many years now.

Also of note on my walk about were a male Kestrel, a Grey Wagtail, a pair of Blackcap, 3 Pheasant, a Collared Dove and 2 Song Thrush. A Primrose, a Winter Heliotrope and Violets were in flower too, a sign that Spring is getting closer.

Primrose

Winter Heliotrope

Chasing Grebes

With a birdwatching boat trip on the River Tamar booked for Sunday 12th January I decided to visit St.Johns Lake at Torpoint the day before for a bit of a pre-trip recce. It was a cold and overcast day as I headed over to Marine Drive in Torpoint on the bus and ferry, the neap tide was incoming so on arriving at around 10am there was not a lot of mud on show but there was plenty of birdlife about.

The view from Marine Drive, Torpoint

On a scan about with my binoculars I immediately found a Black-necked Grebe out on the water fairly close to the shore with a Great Northern Diver a little further out. I then had some lovely views of the Grebe through my scope and at times I heard it calling but the Diver quickly moved off upriver towards HMS Raleigh where it was joined by a second bird.

I then scanned about with my scope and found another 3 Black-necked Grebes together out near the opposite shore, distant views but it was  interesting to watch them performing brief bouts of courtship display with each other. Also out on the water were 3 Little Grebes and around 10 mobile Great Crested Grebes but there was sadly no sign of the recently reported Red-necked and Slavonian Grebes. However there was a female Common Scoter present, busily diving away and munching on crabs brought up to the surface and presumably the same bird I saw last month at nearby Warleigh Point.

A feeding flock of 24 Avocet was a nice find although they were distant, mobile and flighty and also present were a Greenshank and 22 Grey Plover amongst the usual Redshank, Bar-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Turnstone and Black-tailed Godwit. Also noted were Wigeon, Shelduck and a pair of Teal along with a single Mute Swan but there were no Brent Geese present although I had seen a distant group of 6 birds out on the mud just upriver from Torpoint as I travelled across The Tamar on the Torpoint Ferry.

Turnstone

High tide was due at around 3:30 pm but the tide came in very quickly and by 12:30pm there was very little mud left exposed and very few birds present so I headed back home to warm up after an interesting visit.

Sunday 12th January was a slightly warmer day although it still felt chilly and I wrapped myself up in layers and headed down to The Barbican for the boat departure time of 10:15am. It was a beautiful morning with blue skies and a gentle but cold breeze and 2 Great Northern Divers showed very well close to the boat as we set sail from the pontoon with another one seen later as we passed by Drakes Island.

Great Northern Diver

Plymouth Hoe

We headed up The Tamar and then sailed a little way up the channel by Marine Drive at St.Johns Lake, something we haven't done on this trip before. We had good views of 2 Great Northern Divers, 2 Black-necked Grebes and a female Common Scoter here along with Great Crested Grebes, Dunlin, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Turnstone and Bar-tailed Godwit.

We carried on up The Tamar and a surprise sighting was a Red-necked Grebe diving away right by the ferry slipway at Torpoint, a brief view only as it spent very little time at the surface as we passed by. The Brent Geese were again feeding out on the mudflats just upriver from the ferry slipway too but I had better views than yesterday and there were 2 Pale-bellied types present amongst 12 Dark-bellied types.

Usually we then head up river to Cargreen, sailing under the Saltash Bridge and past Kingsmill Lake and the mouth of the River Tavy, however this time we headed straight up The Lynher instead which was a shame because I was hoping to see if the Velvet Scoter was still around at Warleigh Point.

Anyway, a Raven was seen flying overhead as we headed up The Lynher and eventually we came across 3 Spoonbills, a bird asleep on the mudflats and 2 birds feeding along the shoreline. They were all spooked into flight before settlling together on the mudflats and going to sleep, one was a juvenile bird with black primary wing tips and one of the adult birds was sporting a yellow leg ring (apparently ringed as a chick in 2006 in The Netherlands).

Spoonbills

Spoonbills

An interesting sighting were 2 Black-necked Grebes, having seen 4 yesterday at Marine Drive but only 2 there today these were presumably the other 2 birds and showing how mobile they can be around the Tamar/Lynher/Tavy/Plym river complex.

A Great Northern Diver, 14 Avocets, a Greenshank, a Peregrine, a Kestrel and a brief and distant Spotted Redshank were also of note as we headed up towards St.Germans, however we soon started to become grounded on the mud and had to reverse back before turning around and starting the journey home to Plymouth.

As we retraced our route back to Plymouth I enjoyed a pasty for lunch which was included in the ticket price and all too soon we were disembarking the boat at The Barbican. This trip isn't as slick or as organised as The Exe boat trips are but it is local and there are always some good birds to be seen and I had a really enjoyable time, hopefully the trips will run again next year.

King Billy, Mutton Cove

I hadn't anything planned for Monday 13th January despite it being a dry, cold and sunny day but with news of a Red-necked Grebe on The Plym I grabbed my stuff and headed out for a look. I wasn't going to take my scope with me but then changed my mind and packed it in my ruck sack but on arriving at Laira Bridge I discovered I had left my binoculars at home! What a Doughnut!

Anyway, at least I had my scope with me and I set it up for a scan about. Needless to say there was no sign of the Red-necked Grebe in a very deja vu moment as per last January here on The Plym but I did see 2 Great Northern Divers, 2 Common Sandpipers, 2 Little Grebes and 8 Turnstones along with all the usuals on the dropping tide. There were even patches of snow still present up on the distant Dartmoor hills on what was another chilly day.

I guess today's sighting again shows how mobile Grebes can be in the Plymouth area, presumably it's the same bird as the one being seen in Torpoint and the same as the one I saw there yesterday - hopefully it will return to The Plym again soon.

Wembury and The Plym

It was off to Wembury for my first visit of the year on Tuesday 7th January on what was a cold but sunny morning with occassional light showers. On arriving off the bus it was nice to find very few people and dogs out and about despite the decentish weather and the paths while very muddy were not as bad as I expected them to be after all the recent rain we have had.

It was a high spring tide and along the beach amongst the roosting Oystercatchers were a Curlew, 31 Turnstone, 7 Little Egret and 14 Mallard (9 males) along with a lone Redshank which was a bit of a surprise. A single Canada Goose flew past towards The Yealm and offshore just 1 Fulmar was seen flying around with none present on The Mewstone.

Curlew

Oystercatchers

Redshank and Mallards

Spot the Turnstones

A very smart looking male Bullfinch and an equally smart looking Firecrest at The Point were nice finds while Skylarks were heard half-heartedly singing overhead. Later another Firecrest was found in the wood near the riding stables in the company of a Goldcrest which it regularly chased off and a female Bullfinch was also found in a village garden in the company of a Chiffchaff and a male Blackcap.

There was no sight nor sound of any Cirl Buntings, not unusual at this time of year, but 3 pairs of Stonechats, 2 Grey Wagtails and 4 Song Thrush were of note. A good check through all the Pipits feeding along the beach revealed only Rock and Meadow varieties with no sign of any Water Pipit amongst them.

Stonechat

A brief flyby Red Admiral was an early year first and a surprise in the chilly conditions although it was seen in a sunny and sheltered spot and 2 Rabbits were found in the horse fields nibbling away on the grass.

It was a cold, frosty and sunny day on Thursday 9th January as I headed out to Saltram and The Plym for a look about on the incoming tide. On stepping off the bus at Marsh Mills at around 10:30am I was pleased to find 2 Dippers at Longbridge in either courtship or territorial display as they called and chased after each other before disappearing off downriver.  Also seen along the river on the walk down to Blaxton Meadow were a Kingfisher, 2 Common Sandpiper, 4 Little Grebe and a juvenile Mute Swan, presumably one of last years fledglings. A Firecrest, 2 Coal Tit and 3 Goldcrest were also seen in the riverside vegetation.

Mute Swan

I met up with my mate Mavis at the bird hide overlooking Blaxton Meadow, the tide was coming in and amongst all the usual birds present were 2 adult Common Gull, an adult Mediterranean Gull, a male Teal, a Kingfisher, an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull and a female Goosander. A Curlew with a yellow leg ring was also seen, I couldn't read it but assume it is the usual Dartmoor bird.

There was a large flock of Dunlin feeding out on the mud right in front of the hide, I set up my scope to have a good look through them in the hope of finding the recently reported Curlew Sandpiper amongst them but with no luck, they were very nervous and flighty and eventually flew over towards the viewing platform to feed on the mud there. I carried on scanning through them as they continued to feed and fly around and eventually I found the Curlew Sandpiper amongst them. I kept losing it in amongst the Dunlin but eventually it flew nearer and fed alone along the waters edge where we had some good views of it before it merged back in with the flock.

Curlew Sandpiper

Curlew Sandpiper - photo courtesy of Mavis

We then wandered down towards the Amphitheatre where we had some good views of a Great Northern Diver diving away and bringing up crabs to eat at the surface. We carried on downriver and found 2 female Goosanders also diving away along with a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers before we returned to the Amphitheatre for coffee and a (very delicious) home made cheese scone (courtesy of Mavis). While sitting there admiring the snow covered hills of Dartmoor in the distance we had some great views of 3 Great Northern Divers along with the pair of Red-breasted Mergansers which had now moved upriver.

Great Northern Divers

Red-breasted Mergansers

The light was starting to fade and it was beginning to get noticeably colder so it was time to head off home but it had been a very enjoyable catch up and birding session on what was a lovely and sunny but cold day.