The Year 2025

Bird of the Year - Wryneck at Turf

As 2025 draws to a close it's time to look back on the years wildlife sightings and choose my Top 10 highlights. It's been an interesting year with some great wildlife experiences but one dogged again by health issues which have impacted on my activities, hopefully 2026 will be a little more healthier.

I had foolishly decided to do a big 200+ species in a year this year, it's been 2 years since I last did one and it obviously takes me 2 years to forget how stressed and miserable it ultimately makes me! Things always go swimmingly well to begin with but as the year begins to fade birding becomes all about the ticks and not about the birds themselves and therefore ultimately much less enjoyable. I don't think I will do a 200+ species in a year challenge again.

I reached my 200 species in a year target on the 1st September with a Rose-coloured Starling at Wembury although I had only heard and not seen Nightjar and Tawny Owl at that point. I foolishly decided to carry on to see how many more birds I could add to the year list before the year end and I finished the year on 216 species including the heard only Nightjar. It's the highest number of bird species I've ever seen in a year in the UK but I did miss and dip quite a few birds along the way which was frustrating.

Anyway, here is my Top 10 of 2025 in no particular order......

1. Wryneck at Turf

Turf on the River Exe has been a little hotspot for birding this year and has provided me with a trio of top bird sightings - a Long-billed Dowitcher in February and a Lesser Crested Tern in December but best of all a Wryneck in August.

The Long-billed Dowitcher overwintered on The Exe but was very mobile and favouring various sites along the river, I'd seen it at Bowling Green Marsh in Topsham but the views of it at Turf were certainly the best I had.

The Lesser Crested Tern was certainly the rarest bird of the year, being only the 10th individual found in the UK, it also gave me the runaround along the Exe during its stay until I finally had some amazing views of it at Turf.

Long-billed Dowitcher and Lesser Crested Tern, Turf

However, with most of my Wryneck sightings having been brief or distant and with constant news reports and amazing photos coming through on the internet channels of a very confiding and long staying bird at Turf I had to go and have a look for it  - and what a bird it was! It's undoubtedly my bird of the year, giving the most incredible views down to just a few feet as it fed unconcernably on the grass around the Turf lock gate, a beautiful and charismatic bird with views I'm unlikely to ever get again.

Wryneck

2. Local Wildlife

Always on my Top 10 and even now after all these years I am still always amazed at what I can see so close to home.

Bird highlights have included Spoonbill, Goshawk, Arctic Skua, Merlin, Yellow-browed Warbler, Dartford Warbler, Cuckoo, Barn Owl, Nightjar, Little Stint, Yellow Wagtail, Spotted Flycatcher, Curlew Sandpiper, Osprey and Spotted Redshank with Common Dolphin, Dingy Skipper, Devils Fingers, Plymouth Thistle and Adder some of the non-avian highlights.

Dingy Skipper, Golden-ringed Dragonfly, Curlew Sandpiper and Devils Fingers

Wembury and The Plym have provided plenty of interest but I spent less time visiting them this year as I ventured further afield more often. The year lists ended on 113 and 106 respectively as a result but I'm still very pleased with the birds and wildlife I have encountered at these sites.

Wembury highlights have included Merlin, Curlew Sandpiper, Yellow Wagtail, Whinchat, Kingfisher, Tawny Owl, Dartford Warbler and Hobby but the best sightings were my first Short-eared Owl, Red-throated Diver and Cattle Egret, my second Rose-coloured Starling and Woodcock and my second and third Red Kite for Wembury.

Dartford Warbler, Reed Bunting, Red-legged Partridge, Black Redstart, Starling and Rose-coloured Starling at Wembury 

The Plym highlights have included Osprey, a male Red-crested Pochard briefly joining the semi-resident female bird, Red Kite, Jack Snipe, Shoveler, Curlew Sandpiper and Woodcock but the best sightings were my first Spoonbill and Yellow-browed Warbler and my second Little Stint and Yellow-legged Gull for The Plym. However I also missed out on seeing quite a few birds for here including Arctic and Little Tern, Glossy Ibis, Pied Flycatcher, Corncrake, Wryneck and Grasshopper Warbler but sometimes you just can't have it all.

Plym Ducks - Red-crested Pochard, Mandarin Duck, Goosander and Shoveler

It is so very easy for me to forget how much there is to see so close to home, I am so lucky to live in a place with such varied habitats right on my doorstep and looking back at my year is always a good way to remind myself of this.

3. A Trip to Ham Wall

A trip further afield to Ham Wall in Somerset back in May with Mavis and Kay was a great day out, it had been a while since my last visit and I had forgotten what a magical place it is for wildlife. It was a chilly day in the breeze but it remained dry and as the day went on the sun did emerge to warm things up a little.

The Dragonflies and Damselflies were amazing, they were everywhere and showed very well, I've never seen so many together perched up on the pathside vegetation when the sun disappeared behind the clouds. The high numbers meant plenty of food for Hobbys and we had some fantastic views of them as they hunted the Dragonflies over the reedbeds, it was amazing to watch the Dragonflys wings spiralling down to the ground as the Hobby caught and devoured them in mid-air.

We also had great views of Bittern, Marsh Harrier and Great White Egret but the star of the show was an unringed White Stork seen feeding with Cattle Egrets in the nearby fields as we left the car park to head home. 

Four-spotted Chaser, Great White Egret, Cattle Egret and White Stork

It was just a brilliant day out and in great company too, just perfect.

4. A Trip to Slimbridge

Another trip further afield to Slimbridge in Gloustershire back in early February was another excellent day out, I usually visit Slimbridge at the year end in December but decided to mix things up a bit and I'm glad I did as it was much more interesting and less busy than my usual pre-Christmas trip. 

I had a fantastic day, the travel arrangements worked out perfectly with no delays, the weather was claggy but remained dry and the birds showed beautifully. 

Little Stint, Glossy Ibis, Red Kite, Great White Egret, White-fronted Goose, Water Rail, Bewick's Swan, Crane, Marsh Harrier and Spoonbill were all highlights but the stars of the show for me were 2 Whooper Swans which included the ringed bird ASS who was anything but.

Water Rail, Tufted Duck, Spoonbill and Robin

Whooper and Bewick's Swans

5. Butterflies and Moths

With a hot and dry summer it was a much better year for butterflies in 2025 with 36 species being seen and the highlight was finally getting some excellent views of my first ever Devon Brown Hairstreaks at Chudleigh Knighton Heath with bonus White Admirals thrown in as well.

Devon Hairstreaks - Green, White-letter, Purple and Brown

It was a good year for High Brown Fritillary sightings too, my favourite UK butterfly species (although a highly contested one), and I also had good views of Silver Washed, Small Pearl-bordered, Dark Green and Pearl-bordered varieties too.

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

Finding a colony of Dingy Skippers at Saltram was another highlight and I also had good views of them at the nearby Billacombe site. Green Hairstreaks showed beautifully at Wembury, the White-letter and Purple Hairstreaks at Oreston put on their usual good showing while Small Blue showed well at Berry Head. Wall Brown also had a good year and after what seemed to be an age of waiting Clouded Yellows eventually arrived in good numbers.

Devon Butterflies - Small Blue, Wall Brown, White Admiral and Clouded Yellow

I didn't get to do as much back yard moth boxing as I would have liked but I managed to catch a few of my favourite garden moths and it was good to see quite a few Hummingbird Hawk Moths while out and about on my walks.

Back Yard Moths - Coronet, Marbled Green, Bright Straw and Old Lady

6. Marazion

I only visit Marazion occassionally now as part of my birding day out in West Cornwall but this year I've been there a few times looking for birds and I have been mostly successful.

A Booted Eagle and Pacific Diver double dip on a January visit didn't start things off well but excellent views of a Hoopoe in March made up for it. Savi's Warbler was another dip on a visit in April but a repeat visit later in that month proved fruitful with my first life tick of the year obtained. Garganey and Wood Sandpiper sightings here in May and July respectively were my only ones of the year.

I visited Marazion 6 times in 2025 and saw a total of 73 species there, in a normal year I would only usually visit maybe once. Alongside the birds mentioned above I also had sightings of Marsh Harrier, Green Sandpiper and Jack Snipe plus the more usual and expected birds and Marazion has proved itself to be a little hotspot for birding, just like Turf on the River Exe has been.

Hoopoe and Garganey, Marazion 

7. Torbay Divers and Scoters

A trip to Torbay at the end of March on what was a glorious early spring day was very productive despite my not feeling that great. Regular reports of an immature male Surf Scoter being present was the reason for my visit and I easily caught up with it out in the Bay. Common Scoter were present too but a surprise were 4 Velvet Scoter flying across the bay before splashing down on the sea and making it a 3 Scoter day for me in Devon, quite a feat although all the sightings were a little distant.

Also seen albeit distantly were a Great Northern Diver along with single Red-throated and Black-throated varieties too and making it a 3 Diver day for me, another difficult feat to achieve in Devon.

The warm sunshine of the day was very restorative too and I was very pleased to see my first Peacock butterflies of the year flitting about along the clifftop, spring had certainly arrived and there was a lovely feeling of optimism for the rest of the year in the air.

My First Peacock of 2025

I also had another 3 Diver Day in Devon in December on a visit to Broadsands in Torbay when I had some good views of both Red-throated and Great Northern Divers out in the Bay but only a brief view of a Black-throated Diver.

Interestingly I also had a 3 Diver Day in Cornwall a few days later on a visit to Roskilly near Penzance where I saw a Pacific Diver, 5+ Great Northern Diver and 3+ Red-throated Diver. Sadly it was not to be a 4 Diver Day as I failed to find any Black-throated Divers that were also present in the area that day but never mind.

Pacific Diver, Roskilly

8. St.Ives

It was a poor year for seabirds for me due to various circumstances but I finally managed a sea watch at St.Ives in October thanks to Storm Benjamin and what a seawatch it was.

The conditions weren't too bad in the shelter of the coastguard lookout and it was mostly dry but it wasn't easy getting on to the birds being called out by the other birders present. However I had some lovely views of Arctic and Great Skua, Manx, Sooty and Balearic Shearwater, Arctic Tern, Sabine's Gull and best of all Long-tailed Skua along with the usual Gannet, Guillemot, Kittiwake, Razorbill and Fulmar. It was a long and tiring day out but I had a brilliant time and I can't wait to do it again, I still have a lot to learn when it comes to seabird ID but seawatching is something I sadly don't do very often.

9. A Four Shank Day Out

Following on from my 3 Diver, 3 Scoter day trip to Torbay I enjoyed a 4 Shank day out in Cornwall in October despite the grotty weather conditions. With a Lesser Yellowlegs showing well in Truro I headed there first where I had some great views of it before I headed down to the Hayle Estuary where a Spotted Redshank was seen alongside the more usual Redshank and Greenshank - a 4 Shank day!

Lesser Yellowlegs, Truro

A supporting cast of Pintail, Spoonbill, Dark-bellied Brent Goose and Curlew Sandpiper amongst all the usuals out on the Hayle Estuary made for a great day out again but a White-rumped Sandpiper was the cherry on the cake despite the distant, rainy views I had of it.

10.  Penzance Boat Trip

I had a great day out to Penzance in July starting with a Wood Sandpiper at Marazion Marsh swiftly followed by a Laughing Gull dip at Eastern Green before I boarded a catamaran for a trip out to sea with Marine Discovery. 

We headed quite a way offshore and while the sea bird sightings were sparse with a brief view of a probable Storm Petrel species being the highlight the cetacean sightings more than made up for it. We had some fabulous views of Common Dolphins and even better some Risso's Dolphins too and as much as I usually dislike being on sailing boats I really enjoyed being under sail out on the water on what was a beautiful summers day.

Risso's Dolphins

Grey Seals, Gannet and Common Dolphins

Bird sightings of note that didn't make the Top Ten include Bonaparte's Gull, Roseate Tern, Chough, Great Grey Shrike, Wood Warbler, Purple Heron, Yellow-browed Warbler, Lesser Scaup and Snow Bunting. Add in 3 Lifers - Lesser Crested Tern, Savi's Warbler and Long-tailed Skua - and all in all it has been a very good wildlife year. 

Christmas is here and the end of 2025 looms ever nearer, let's hope that 2026 is as good a wildlife year as this one has been (with no 200+ bird year listing this time!) and also hopefully a healthier one.

Merry Christmas!

Pre-Christmas Wembury and Plym Visits

I headed out to Wembury for a walk on Tuesday 23rd December, it was grey and claggy (and dark) as I stepped off the bus at 7:30am and as I walked up to the church I could hear Robins and Song Thrushes singing away in the darkness. I whistled (very badly) my Tawny Owl impression as I went, I didn't expect any response but low and behold a Tawny Owl silently flew in and landed on a branch above my head, checked me out and then silently flew off into cover! It was only a silhouette view in the dark but I've never seen a Tawny Owl at Wembury before, I've only heard one calling during the daytime back in 2010 and it's also the first Tawny Owl I've seen this year.

From the church I walked out to The Point as it began to get lighter, it was high tide and busily feeding away on a large mass of seaweed by the sewage pipe were 8 Little Egret, Oystercatchers and Gulls. A closer look revealed around 10 Turnstone also present, they were very well camouflaged against the seaweed in the dim light but suddenly took to the air and around 10 Turnstones became around 40. They flew around offshore and split into 2 flocks, 1 flock returned to the beach but the other flock headed off west and disappeared from sight. Unfortunately this disappearing flock had at least 2 Purple Sandpipers in amongst it, they sadly didn't return to the beach but were my second Wembury year first of the day.

Wembury Mewstone

Wembury Mewstone and Sewage Pipe

More Cliff Collapse at Wembury

All the usual birds were seen along my walk too but as I walked back towards the bus stop along the newly laid coast path a trio of Dark-bellied Brent Geese flew west into the Bay and circled around. They almost landed on the beach but changed their minds due to the dogs and walkers present before they disappeared back east, yet another Wembury year first.

Brent Geese Flyby

I would have liked to have stayed longer at Wembury despite the cloud and mizzle but I had arranged to meet my friend Jan at Turnchapel for lunch where we had a good catch up, a few Christmas tipples and generally put the world to rights, a nice end to an enjoyable pre-Christmas birding day out.

It was mostly overcast but dry and cold the following day (Christmas Eve) and so I headed out for a quick walk around Saltram and The Plym before I disappear down the black hole that is Christmas. I started at Laira Bridge and began my walk by looking for the recently reported Great Northern Diver but there was no sign of it out on the water although 2 adult Shags were resting on buoys upriver of the Bridge.

There were quite a few Gulls on the roof of the recycling centre again and I thought the recent near adult Yellow-legged Gull was present amongst them but it was too far away to fully confirm.

Yellow-legged Gull?, River Plym Recycling Centre

I had brought my Wellies out with me to have a look for Jack Snipe, only my first attempt to try and see one this year at Saltram but I was in luck with a single bird seen along with a single Common Snipe for comparison. Ring-necked Parakeets were their usual noisey selfs as I continued my walk through the Park and a pair of Mistle Thrush were seen flying overhead.

The female Red-crested Pochard was back on the duck pond with a few Mallard and Moorhen and at one point seemed to be displaying to one of the male Mallards but I wasn't sure if it was territorial or romantic.

Red-crested Pochard

The usual birds were roosting on Blaxton Meadow on the high tide but I didn't see any Greenshank here and there were only 3 Dunlin present with 1 bird showing the black belly of summer plumage. I had a scan through the Gulls present and was surprised to find the near adult Yellow-legged Gull now roosting out on the mud amongst them just before it flew over to the river, luckily it soon returned and showed very well. Presumably it is the same bird that I saw back in November as it continues to gain full adult plumage, quite a smart looking bird now although still with wishy-washy yellow-looking legs but a very nice end to my walk.

Yellow-legged Gull, Blaxton Meadow

Yellow-legged Gull

Yellow-legged Gull

Yellow-legged Gull

Year End Birding

With Christmas, Twixtmas and New Years looming large on the horizon I wanted to get some further afield birding in before all the chaos begins. The weather has been thwarting my plans somewhat with some heavy and prolonged periods of rain, however with Tuesday 16th December forecasted to be a dry and bright day I decided to take a trip to Broadsands for a look about.

Hookhills Viaduct on the walk down to Broadsands

I arrived on site at around 10:30am and checked out the bushes around the car parks where a Yellow-browed Warbler has been seen recently but I was out of luck. However I did have some great views of 3+ Firecrests, 4+ Goldcrests, a Chiffchaff, a pair of Blackcap and a male Sparrowhawk while a Cettis Warbler was heard calling.

A look offshore was more productive, there was no sign of the reported Red-necked Grebe out in the Bay but there were good numbers of Auks seen, many too far off to ID but those closer in were all Guillemots except for at least 2 Razorbills. Gannets, Common Gulls, an adult Kittiwake, an Oystercatcher, 8 Great Crested Grebe, Shag and Cormorant where also of note along with 2 Grey Seals poking their noses out of the water and a pod of around 10 Common Dolphins alternating between stealth mode and leaping out of the water as they moved around the Bay.

It was all about the Divers though and I had some great views of both Red-throated and Great Northern Divers, some quite close inshore but most futher out and dotted around the Bay. At least 10 Red-throated Divers were seen including 3 swimming together and 2 flying out of the Bay towards Berry Head and at least 5 Great Northern Divers were counted including a bird still wearing some of its summer plumage or already moulting out of winter plumage - interestingly some of the Guillemots were already in summer plumage too.

Great Northern Diver

Mute Swans

It was another 3 Diver Day in Devon for me as well with a brief and distant view of a Black-throated Diver offshore, its white, rear flank patches were very noticeable and very unlike the white flank lines some of the Red-throated Divers were sporting. I had binocular views of it before it dived, I quickly got my scope set up but despite scanning around I unfortunately never refound it.

We had more heavy rain the next day and Thursday 18th December was the same but it had cleared through by early afternoon and so I had a walk around Plymouth Hoe to look for the 3 Purple Sandpipers reported here a few days ago. It was almost high tide and I found a lone Turnstone down on the rocks off the Pier One cafe but a look off Rusty Anchor revealed 5 Purple Sandpipers roosting together, the most I've seen here for many a year now - and I had foolishly left my camera at home!

Friday 19th December was forecasted to be sunny but breezy and so I decided to head down to Penzance on the train for the day. I caught an early train costing a whooping £28.20 but I wanted to get the most out of my day on what will probably be my last big birding trip of the year.

Up to 2 Pacific Divers had been seen at nearby Mousehole and so on arriving off the train at Penzance I caught the bus out to Penlee Point to begin my big birding day out. The Pacific Divers hadn't been reported for 2 days which wasn't surprising considering the weather conditions we'd just had but I kept my fingers crossed they would still be present. I have only seen Pacific Diver just the once before way back in 2009 with a bird seen briefly on the Carnsew Pool at Hayle, all my subsequent attempts to see another one have failed so I was very keen to end this run of dips.

Mounts Bay from the old Penlee Lifeboat Station - and sadly the 44th Anniversary to the day of the Penlee Lifeboat disaster

I stepped off the bus at the old Penlee Lifeboat station where 3 birders were present looking through their scopes, they put me on to a Pacific Diver but it was very distant out in the Bay and soon dived and I lost track of it. I kept scanning across the water and found at least 5 Great Northern Divers, at least 3 Red-throated Divers, numerous Guillemots, a Razorbill and Shags and eventually I refound the Pacific Diver which came in quite close off the Lifeboat Station and showed off its chin strap beautifully which a birder present captured with his camera.

Pacific Diver - photos courtesy of Cornwall Birdwatching Tours on Facebook

I had also hoped to see Black-throated Divers which have also been present in the Bay but I failed to find any and with time marching on I headed back to Penzance to catch the train to St.Erth for a look around the Hayle Estuary.

It was low tide as I scanned the estuary from the causeway bridge, the usual birds were present including large flocks of roosting Gulls out on the mudflats so I walked around to Lelant station for a closer look. A good scan through the Gulls from there failed to find the recent Ring-billed Gull but I had some good views of Common and Mediterranean Gulls amongst the Herring, Great Black-backed, Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls present. 

From Lelant Station a Great White Egret dwarfed the Little Egrets it was feeding alongside, 2 Dark-bellied Brent Geese (an adult and a juvenile) were preening out on the sandbanks, a Great Northern Diver was living up to its name out on the river, a Kingfisher was a lovely splash of colour and a Whimbrel was unseasonal but with the tide starting to head in I walked back to the causeway bridge for another look about.

Great White Egret

With the tide heading in quickly by now a flock of Goosanders were out on the water and moving towards the bridge, I had seen 4 (2 males) earlier from Lelant Station but now there were 13 - 2 males and 11 females - and they were catching small silver fish in a bit of a feeding frenzy. The Gulls began to depart as the mud disappeared underwater and a nearby birder called out an adult Yellow-legged Gull which I got onto just as it flew off towards St.Erth. I kept scanning through the Gulls but there was still no sign of the Ring-billed Gull although I had a possible adult Caspian Gull , a distant view before it flew off downriver.

Teal, Lapwing, Wigeon, Black-headed Gull, Bar-tailed Godwit and Dunlin were roosting and feeding along the waters edge below the bridge and out on the mud nearby I picked up an also unseasonal 1st winter Curlew Sandpiper feeding on its own along a small creek before it flew off with the Dunlin as the water level rose higher. To finish off my day I saw the wintering Spoonbill feeding on Ryan's Field as I passed by on the train on my journey back to Plymouth, a nice end to a great day out.

Teal

Teal

Lapwing

Dunlin and Teal

I had planned to have a quiet weekend after all my recent birding excitements but with a Yellow-browed Warbler being reported at Efford Marsh in Plymouth I decided to go and have a look for it on the morning of Saturday 20th December before yet more rain was forecasted to arrive. It is just over a year ago that I saw a Yellow-browed Warbler at Efford Marsh and on that visit it had taken me a few hours to finally catch a sight of it so I was hoping that it wouldn't take quite as long on this visit.

I was well prepared this time with my Wellies packed in my rucksack but the paths, while muddy, weren't that bad and I didn't need to wear them as I began my walk along the path through the nature reserve. I started checking out every small bird flitting about in the tangled mass of vegetation as I went, I found Firecrest, Goldcrest, Chiffchaff, a Coal Tit, Wren, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Robin, Long-tailed Tit and a Dunnock and after half an hour of searching I found the Yellow-browed Warbler - result!

The Yellow-browed Warblers favoured spot at Efford Marsh

Yellow-browed Warbler - record shots

It didn't stay still for a second and would regularly disappear into the branches but it would always return to the same spot and show very well before disappearing again. It was quite a bright looking bird and I also heard it call a few times despite the constant noise of traffic on the nearby A38 - such a beautiful, feisty bird so far away from home, an absolute joy to watch and I enjoyed it all to myself.

Also of note along my walk before I headed home were a Grey Wagtail, a Buzzard, singing Song Thrushes, a flyby Kingfisher and a pair of Mallards with a Jay, Teal and Moorhen heard only.

Wembury and The Plym

I arranged to meet up with my mate Mavis for a walk at Wembury on Thursday 11th December, I arrived early to have a walk along the cliff path to the farm ponds before rendezvousing with Mavis at 9am and it was surprisingly windy with the waves crashing into the shore.

I only heard a hidden Moorhen at one of the ponds but on the other pond there were 2 Moorhen out on the water before they scuttled into cover and a Chiffchaff was flitting about in the pondside Willows. Overhead an unkindness of 11 Ravens flew east, presumably having roosted together somewhere nearby, and a flock of around 10 Redwing flew west over the valley to the beach.

I met up with Mavis but the wind was still blowing strongly so we ditched our Wembury plans and headed over to Saltram instead, figuring it would be more sheltered from the wind there and indeed it was. 

Highland Cow, Wembury

There was no sign of the Red-crested Pochard or any Mandarins on the duck pond at Saltram and there were also far fewer Mallards present, probably because the National Trust have realised there is a bit of a Brown Rat problem around the pond and feeding of the ducks has temporarily ceased.

It was high tide and from the viewing platform we enjoyed scanning through the roosting birds out on Blaxton Meadow where the mobile female Red-crested Pochard was found swimming about on the water. The usual birds were seen too - Curlew. Dunlin,  Oystercatcher, Redshank, Wigeon, Shelduck, Greenshank, Canada Geese and Gulls - while out on the river a male Red-breasted Merganser was pointed out to us by local birders Pete and Martin who were already at the platform when we arrived there.

We then had a walk along the river to the sewage farm, we hoped to find a Firecrest but were out of luck although there were quite a few Goldcrest seen along with Chiffchaffs, a Coal Tit, Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tits and a Blackcap. Along the river a Kingfisher, 2 Mute Swan, a Little Grebe and a male Goosander showed very well and later along the river on my walk back to Marsh Mills to catch my bus home I saw a female Goosander and a Grey Wagtail. 

Goosanders

I returned to Wembury on Saturday 13th December, it was really cold when I stepped off the bus at around 7:30am and it was only just getting light but the sky was clear and there was a gentle breeze blowing. As the sun got going over the course of the morning it did warm up a little, so much so that I even saw a Butterfly flit past which I think was a Painted Lady.

A Purple Sandpiper had been seen the previous day near the sewage pipe but despite a good search I only found a Curlew, around 21 Turnstone and the usual Oystercatchers present along with 4 Little Egret. I also had a look for the Water Pipit along the beach and was very pleased to refind it in the same spot as before, it's quite a subtle looking bird and also less aggressive than previous birds I've seen here as it was regularly chased off by nearby Rock Pipits. It was still very flitty and mobile though, not helped by regular disturbance from walkers and dogs along the beach, but I managed to get some good views of it and its white outer tail feathers when it took to the air.

Water Pipit

Water Pipit

A big surprise were 4 Snipe flushed out of the seaweed mass on the beach and flying off east, only my fourth ever sighting of Snipe at Wembury.

A Chiffchaff and a pair of Blackcap were also seen along the beach while at The Point a male Dartford Warbler showed very nicely in the sunshine. I had a look for a reported Yellow-browed Warbler at the Heybrook Bay tennis court but with the sighting being over 3 weeks ago I unsurprisingly didn't find it but a male and at least 2 female Blackcaps were present.

The footpath upgrade has been completed and a new fence installed along the wheatfield edge, its a horrible looking metal fence but at least the cliff edge hasn't been fenced off too so I can still view the birds along the beach from the path. I only hope they are going to replant some kind of hedgerow along the metal fence but I don't think I'll be seeing any Common Lizards here again.

New Path and Fencing, Wembury

There were Pheasants everywhere again but a shooting party arrived on the hillside above the wheatfield and began blasting away so I guess there will be a few less on my next visit.

Otherwise the usual sightings were had with the highlights being a Raven and 3 Buzzards and a Kestrel overhead, Cirl Buntings and Skylarks in the wheatfield, Fulmars back on The Mewstone, a Green Woodpecker and a Great Spotted Woodpecker heard in the valley to the beach and a Goldcrest and a Coal Tit in a village garden. A surprise sighting were 2 Fox seen up on the hillside above the wheatfield before the shooting party arrived, at one point they were sat together grooming each other so maybe a pair or a female and her cub.

Cirl Bunting

A Testing Tern

Whenever I go away something rare always turns up locally and this time it was a Lesser Crested Tern that pitched up on the River Exe while I was on holiday in Denmark.

On my return to Plymouth I headed out to look for it on Saturday 6th December, it was a blustery and showery day and with the Tern having spent most of the previous day around Dawlish Warren I decided to begin my day there and see how it panned out.

There was a mass of twitchers at Warren Point when I arrived on site at around 9:45am but after an early morning sighting the Tern hadn't been seen again and the general mood was low. However news came through that the Tern had been seen upriver at Turf resulting in a mass exodus of the twitchers present but I decided to stay put in the hope it would move downriver as the tide receeded.

I eventually had a brief and very distant sighting of the Tern resting on Cockle Sands off Exmouth before it flew off back upriver and was lost to sight. It later reappeared off Cockwood Steps and I had some more distant views of it resting and preening on the mud in amongst the Gulls also present but by the time I had walked to the Steps from Warren Point it had flown off again and as the light began to fade it never reappeared. At least I had seen it though, they weren't the views I had wanted but it was more than some of the birders present had had. 

I also had some interesting bird sightings during the day while waiting around for the Tern to appear and these included 2 Great Northern Diver offshore, Red-breasted Merganser, Pintail and Sanderling in the estuary and an Egyptian Goose flying downriver over Starcross.

Exmouth from Warren Point on the dropping tide - breezy and showery

Lesser Crested Tern at Cockwood Steps, 6/12/25 - photo courtesy of @belvidebirding on Bluesky

The weather the next day was foul but the Tern was still around The Exe and favouring the upper reaches around Turf again and with the weather a little better on Monday 8th December I decided to give it another go in the hope of getting some better views. It was still showing well at Turf that morning but by the time I had arrived off the train at Starcross and walked to Turf it had flown off. I searched for it on the dropping tide as I walked back downriver from Turf to Cockwood Steps but I never refound it and I had to head home in the fading light without any sighting of it at all.

Lesser Crested Tern-less Turf

Again I had some interesting bird sightings along the way though and including more Red-breasted Mergansers and Pintail out on the estuary along with Avocets and Golden Plovers, a large flock of Brent Geese feeding out on Powderham Marshes, a Green Woodpecker in Powderham Park and best of all 2 Slavonian Grebes off Cockwood Steps.

Storm Bram arrived that night with some heavy rain and gales but the Tern was again present at Turf the next morning despite the lousy conditions. I stayed local though and had a walk around Plymouth Hoe where I was pleased to find a 1st winter Little Gull feeding with a Black-headed Gull over a mass of floating seaweed just off The Wet Wok before it flew off and disappeared from sight.

Wednesday 10th December was the calm after the storm with a sunny and dry day forecasted and so I decided to try one last time for better views of the Tern. I was better prepared this time and caught an early, more expensive train (£19.60) and I arrived at Starcross at around 8am just as it was starting to get light. 

I had a brief pause at the flooded field just outside the village where 7 Cattle Egret were feeding together before they flew off inland.

Cattle Egret and Canada Goose

I walked along the road by the railway line between Starcross and Powderham Church but my way was thwarted by flood water from yesterday's Storm which was covering around 30 metres of the road. With no other feasible route available to me there was nothing for it but to take off my socks and shoes, roll up my jeans and wade through it. The water was cold, muddy and smelly and reached up to my knees resulting in wet jeans but I was soon through it and back on track towards Turf.

The Flooded Road at Powderham

Fallow Deer, Powderham Park

Fallow Deer

Reports started coming through that the Tern was present at Turf and on arriving there I finally had some wonderful views of it perched on a buoy just off the Turf Hotel and in the lovely sunshine - third time's the charm I guess!

Lesser Crested Tern

Lesser Crested Tern

After watching the Tern for a while I wandered along the canal to the viewing platform for a scan of Exminster Marsh, the Lapwing, Teal and Starling present were very unsettled and flighty and eventually I found the reason why as a female type Marsh Harrier drifted by. I had a scan of the wildfowl present out on the lagoon too and amongst the Coot and Wigeon present were a few Shoveler, Gadwall, Pintail and Tufted Duck along with an immature male Scaup which was a bit of a surprise.

The Tern was still showing very well on the buoy off Turf when I returned from the viewing platform and I enjoyed more excellent views of it but it was soon time to head back to Starcross for the train journey home. The road from Turf to Exminster was also flooded so I had no choice but to go back the way I had came, the flood water was now covering a longer stretch of road than earlier in the morning and it was also deeper too but I managed to wade through it again without getting my jeans too wet (although it would probably have been better to have taken them off!).

Lesser Crested Tern

Lesser Crested Tern, 10/12/25 - photo courtesy of @exebirder on Bluesky

Brent Geese

The journey home had the usual delays with my connecting train from Newton Abbot being cancelled but I was very pleased to have finally gotten some good views of the Lesser Crested Tern after it had given me a bit of a run around along The Exe. I'm very lucky to live so close to the Exe and to have had the opportunity to keep trying to see it as quite a few birders who had travelled from much further afield than me had ended up dipping it.

While I loved finally seeing the Tern so well (and it is a cracking bird to see) I really don't enjoy twitches with their large crowds of birders and toggers. I always keep myself on the periphery of the crowds at twitches but I did meet and chat to some very nice people on my 3 visits to The Exe although I also had to endure the usual Knobbers as well. I really hate the stress and frustration of twitching too and all its potential disappointments but I suppose the joy and relief you feel on seeing the bird you've come to twitch is the flip side. 

However wading bare-legged through cold and smelly flood water in December to see a bird is a new one for me but I have to say it was worth it although I really have to question my sanity at times, birding can be such a strange hobby.