Rouzel-less Dartmoor (Again)

I had a walk around Saltram and The Plym on Monday 27th October and while it was an enjoyable and interesting walk it did feel a little Groundhog Day-like. The usual birds were seen with the highlights being 2 Siskin flying over, a Mistle Thrush in the orchard, 5 Goosander along the river including an immature male moulting into adult plumage and a Peregrine soaring high overhead being mobbed by Carrion Crows. The female Red-crested Pochard was also back from her travels around Dartmoor but the Mandarin Ducks have still yet to return.

Goosanders

Goosander (immature male)

I was invited out by my mate Mavis to go on a Dartmoor Ring Ouzel hunt on Tuesday 28th October, my recent visit to the Avon Dam had been unsuccessful but Mavis had enjoyed some good views of Ring Ouzels at Emsworthy Mire and so we planned to visit there for a look about. The weather forecast was as usual changeable leading up to the day and with it looking to be unsettled and misty we switched plans and decided to visit Bowling Green Marsh at Topsham for the high tide roost instead.

It was a beautiful morning as we drove up to Topsham with the weather forecast for the day having miraculously changed for the better overnight as it quite often does these days and so Mavis suggested a short visit to Bowling Green Marsh and then a drive to Emsworthy Mire which sounded like a very good plan!

The view from the Bowling Green Marsh hide

The hide at Bowling Green Marsh was busy but Mavis managed to get a seat while I stood at the back with my telescope and we enjoyed watching the throng of birds out on the marsh. All the usuals were present with the highlight being a Spotted Redshank roosting amongst the Redshank right in front of the hide although it remained asleep with its head under its wings most of the time we were there. The Swan Goose was in amongst the Canada Goose flock which also contained a white headed individual and we had some lovely views of Teal, Wigeon, Shoveler and Pintail looking very smart in the bright sunshine.

Swan Goose

Teal

With the tide on the estuary dropping the birds began to fly off from the marsh with the Avocets and Greenshanks the first to leave and so we headed onwards to Emsworthy Mire. The sun was still shining but the wind had picked up on arriving at the Mire and we headed down into the valley for a look about. It was all very quiet though with only a few birds seen, probably due to the strong wind, and unfortunately we failed to find any Ring Ouzels although they had been seen earlier in the day. However it was just fantastic to be up on Dartmoor, it was looking absolutely stunning and we enjoyed the views while eating lunch as a pair of Ravens croaked overhead. Also making it onto our bird list were a Mistle Thrush, 2 Robins, 5 Blackbirds, 3 Woodpigeon, 2 Magpie and 3 Carrion Crow and while I didn't see any Ring Ouzels I didn't mind as it had been a very lovely day out.

Emsworthy Mire - just beautiful!

I headed out to Wembury for a walk on Friday 31st October, it was a grey and very windy day but at least it was light when I stepped off the bus at 7:30am after the clocks went back last weekend. The sea was rough in the strong winds and as the tide headed in the beach was getting a pounding but the Gulls were enjoying feeding in the surf and amongst the Black-headed and Herring Gulls present were a few Great Black-backed Gulls and single adult, 1st winter and 2nd winter Mediterranean Gulls. 

Herring Gulls

There were also gulls resting along the beach and amongst them was a rather tardy juvenile Sandwich Tern which was probably wishing it had headed off to Africa a few weeks ago. A Curlew, 9 Turnstone, 3 Little Egret and the usual Oystercatchers were present along the beach too plus 2 male and a female Mallard with one of the males seen mating with the female out on the water.

Sandwich Tern with Black-headed Gulls

Offshore Gannets were heading east with an adult Mediterranean Gull also picked up heading in that direction too along with a Great Northern Diver high overhead and 8 Common Scoters low over the waves.

I had to see a man about a dog behind the pine trees at The Point which was very fortuitous as I inadvertently flushed a Woodcock from the ground, it clattered through the trees and was gone in a flash but only my second Wembury sighting of one.

And so October comes to an end, my least favourite month but at least it seems to have passed by very quickly this year and it has been quite eventful on the wildlife front. Hopefully the last 2 months of 2025 will prove just as interesting.