As much fun as galavanting around Europe on a train has been I was glad to get back to the UK, I had a great time away but I enjoy foreign travels less and less as I get older, and on my return home I was very happy to be out birding The Plym and Saltram on Sunday 6th October.
A Spotted Redshank had been found along The Plym while I was away on holiday and it seemed to be sticking around so I kept my fingers crossed that I would catch up with it on todays walk but it wasn't meant to be with no sign of it anywhere. However I did find a very smart juvenile Curlew Sandpiper instead which I was very pleased about, my first one of the autumn here. It was roosting out on the estuary along the waters edge on the opposite bank to Blaxton Meadow, it was amongst a group of Redshank and eventually woke up to feed although it looked quite unsettled. Also asleep nearby were 2 Wigeon, my first of the season here too.
Otherwise the usual birds were seen with a 1st winter Common Gull and 4 female type Goosanders adding a bit of variety to the proceedings and for a change I had some good views of the head-started Curlew sporting yellow leg flag J7.
I headed out to Wembury on Monday 6th October to meet up with Mavis and Kay for a walk. It was all blue skies and sunshine with a cool breeze but very pleasant and I was very happy to be out birding again somewhere close to home. The sunshine meant there were butterflies on the wing and I was pleased to see a Clouded Yellow, a Wall Brown and a male Common Blue along with Red Admiral, Small White, Speckled Wood and Large White. I was also pleased to see my first Ivy Bees of the year too as they buzzed around the Ivy flowers.
The tide was heading out and already quite low but we managed to find 2 Ringed Plovers and 2 Bar-tailed Godwits feeding along the beach and there were around 18 Mediterranean Gulls roosting out on the rocks. Meadow Pipits and Skylarks were moving about overhead and Stonechats and Cirl Buntings were showy along the footpath. A Dartford Warbler was flitting about at The Point and showed well but briefly and it fortunately avoided the attentions of a Sparrowhawk and a Kestrel overhead. The usual Rock Pipits and Pied Wagtails were feeding on the washed up seaweed along the beach with 2 Grey Wagtails and while I waited for the bus to take me home a Grey Heron was seen flying overhead and heading inland.
We had a walk along the coast path at Wembury the following day and enjoyed a pasty and a coffee for lunch while sitting on the beach, it was warm and sunny and the wind had eased considerably and it felt very pleasant indeed. Much the same wildlife was seen as per the previous days visit with 6 Turnstone, a Raven and a Chiffchaff additional highlights and I had some more good views of the Ivy Bees around the Ivy flowers.
I headed back out to The Plym on Wednesday 8th October, I arrived at Blaxton Meadow at around 9am, 2 hours after high tide, and the usual Gulls, Ducks and Waders were roosting out on the water and mud as they waited for the tide to drop.
I had a good scan through all the Redshank present but couldn't find a Spotted one amongst them (it was last reported here on Saturday) but I did find another Curlew Sandpiper, this one was a winter plumaged bird and possibly the returning bird from the past 2 winters. It was keeping company with a Dunlin and was surprisingly much larger in comparison, eventually they both flew off to the estuary as the water receeded.
There were now 3 Wigeon and 4 Shelduck present on The Meadow and also of note were a Kingfisher, 12 Greenshank, 2 Oystercatcher, 34 Curlew (with J7 present again amongst them), 3 Common Sandpiper, a Turnstone and a 3rd winter Lesser Black-backed Gull.
Around The Park a Green Woodpecker and a Nuthatch were heard with 2 Firecrest, a Goldcrest and Ring-necked Parakeets seen. At the duck pond an eclipse male Teal was asleep on the pondside while 2 Mistle Thrush and a Song Thrush were seen eating Yew berries in the nearby trees.
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