More Wild Goose Chasing, More Chiffchaff and Another Storm

An Egyptian Goose was reported on Blaxton Meadow on Tuesday 20th January but I already had plans for the day and wasn't able to go and look for it. In the nearly 40 years I've lived in Plymouth I've seen an Egyptian Goose on The Plym just once before back in May 1989 and my only other Plymouth Area records are singles at Millbrook in February 2011 and March 2019 and a pair near Tamerton in February 2024 and so, to me at least, they are a bit of a Plymouth rarity despite being Plastic Fantastic and a Category C1 species on the British List. Hopefully the Plym bird will stick around but they do tend to be a very mobile species so I'm not holding my breath.

Anyway, The Tundra Bean Geese seen around The Exe a few weeks ago seem to have departed Devon air space but the Russian White-fronted Geese are still about in the area although sightings are erratic and widespread. However both species are still being seen at Slimbridge although the Tundra Bean Geese seem to be quite elusive there at times and at the moment I'm really not in the mood for a long day trip to try and see them but a flock of 7 Russian White-fronted Geese at Modbury have been on my radar for a while and so I decided to take a trip out to look for them on Tuesday 20th January.

The weather was foul with strong winds and heavy rain but I quickly found them feeding in a field to the west of Modbury amongst a large flock of Canada Geese which also contained 3 Barnacle Geese, 3 Egyptian Geese and a white farmyard type Greylag Goose. The views were distant and misty in the rain but the white bill blazes and black belly barring of the adult birds really stood out.

Distant Goose Flock before the rain really got going

Zoomed in Goose Flock in the rain

Also seen in the area were a Lapwing, a pair of Mallard and flighty Redwings along with 2 Green Sandpipers feeding together out in the open along the edge of a flooded field but as the weather conditions continued to deteriorate we headed back to the Otter Nursery at Brixton for lunch and a dry off.

I had thought of heading out to The Plym on Thursday 22nd January to look for the Egyptian Goose but with no further reports of it being present since the initial sighting I headed out to Wembury instead. The weather had improved somewhat from the Tuesday and the wind had dropped but there were still some heavy showers at times. I was pleased to see that the Grey Plover from last week was still around along the beach but it was eventually flushed by walkers and disappeared. A Curlew, around 40 Turnstone, Oystercatchers and 11 Little Egret were also present along the beach and in amongst the Gulls were single adult, 1st Winter and 2nd Winter Mediterranean Gulls.

Oystercatchers

Little Egret and 1st Winter Mediterranean Gull

I couldn't find the Water Pipit on this visit although I didn't spend much time looking for it but I did see the tristis type Siberian Chiffchaff again and feeding in amongst at least 4 collybita types, looking less pale in the dull light of today compared to the bright sunshine of last week but still very striking and obvious.

Siberian Chiffchaff

Egg Cases of Small Spotted Catshark (top) and Small-eyed Ray (bottom) (I think!)

Orange Slime Flux

Despite there still being no further news on the Plym Egyptian Goose I decided to have a look for it anyway on Friday 23rd January, needless to say it was a no show but I was pleased to see the pair of Red-breasted Merganser were still present out on the river along with a pair of Goosander, 2 Shag, 2 Little Grebe and 2 Cormorant.

Blaxton Meadow was full of water on this visit, I'm still not sure what the National Trust are up to regarding the Meadow but they are going to have to change the signage in the bird hide as their plans appear to be keen to reverse all the hard work and effort undertaken since 1995.

Blaxton Meadow Bird Hide Signs

Bird Hide Signage

Bird Hide Signage

Anyway, with Blaxton Meadow becoming Blaxton Lake again on this visit due to the very high tide and strong winds activating the sluice gates there were lots of Black-headed Gulls feeding over the water and Redshank and Dunlins were roosting along the back wall. There were also quite a few Mallards dabbling away along the waters edge and in amongst them was the mobile white farmyard type Mallard which I saw at nearby Efford Marsh a few weeks ago.

Blaxton Meadow, now Blaxton Lake

Farmyard type Mallard

Soon after arriving back home from my walk Storm Ingrid rattled in with gales and heavy rain which continued well into the night and resulting in my Tamar Birdwatching Boat Trip being cancelled the next morning. However with reports of 15 Little Gulls at Teignmouth the previous day as Storm Ingrid arrived and with my morning now free I decided to head up to Plymouth Hoe for a look about in the hope that something interesting may have been blown in. It was still very windy and the rain had been replaced by regular heavy showers but I togged up in my wet weather gear and set off with fingers crossed.

Even more storm damage to the West Hoe Pier

I started at Rusty Anchor on the dropping tide and was delighted to find 8 Purple Sandpipers on the rocks, the most I've ever seen on The Hoe before.

Purple Sandpipers

Purple Sandpipers

Purple Sandpiper

I scanned across the water of The Sound from Rusty Anchor, it seemed very quiet offshore but I picked up a small Gull feeding off Mountbatten Pier that I was 99% sure was an adult Little Gull even with such a distant view and so I hurried off to Fisherman's Nose for a closer look as fast as a man of my age post-Christmas can manage. I eventually arrived at The Nose but there was no sign of the Gull and after catching my breath I carefully went through all the Gulls milling around in The Cattewater, eventually refinding it and confirming my initial ID.

Little Gull is my favourite Gull and 1 of my Top 10 favourite birds and despite being mostly distant it was a joy to watch as it delicately flew over the water picking off food from the surface. Its small size, pale looking upperparts and lovely black underwings were very obvious amongst the Black-headed Gulls also flying around and at one point it came much closer and fed along Mountbatten Pier when I had some excellent views of it and could even pick out its red legs.

Also in The Cattewater were 4 Common Gulls and 5 adult Kittiwakes with the usual Herring Gulls and Great Black-backed Gulls and also seen were Cormorants and Shags plus a flock of 12 Dunlin flying down The Plym and over towards The Tamar. Surprisingly though I didn't see any Great Northern Divers sheltering in The Cattewater and indeed I didn't see any along my whole walk.

Kittiwake

Common Gull

I headed back to Rusty Anchor and unsurprisingly found that the Purple Sandpipers had gone now that the tide had dropped further but I did find the male Black Redstart nearby feeding on the waste ground near Marine Village at West Hoe along with 8 Meadow Pipits. A Chiffchaff was also seen here flitting about in the surrounding bushes.

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

I returned to Fisherman's Nose but with the wind now having dropped a little I failed to refind the Little Gull and with more rain looming on the horizon it was time to head home after having enjoyed a very interesting morning and feeling quite glad my boat trip had been cancelled!

Local Birding

I headed out on Monday 12th January to The Plym for a look about, catching the bus to Laira Bridge and walking up to the sewage farm near Marsh Mills before returning back to the Bridge. It was an overcast and mild morning with mizzle at times and there were relatively few people around after all the Christmas crowds.

It was coming up to high tide as I started my walk and I was pleased to find the very smart looking drake Goldeneye still present on the river off the Rowing Club. A pair of Red-breasted Mergansers nearby were looking equally as smart but a Great Northern Diver was very mobile and elusive and only gave brief and distant views between dives.

Blaxton Meadow actually had a bit more water on it than of late, I had assumed that the sluice gates were blocked again but the National Trust has plans to revert the Meadow back to saltmarsh and has closed the sluice gates to prevent water flooding in. The vegetation along the retaining wall has been removed too, the wall is in a bad state of repair and the vegetation has been cleared for surveying work to be undertaken. Whatever the plans are for the Meadow it is having a detrimental effect on the birdlife currently using it which is a massive shame and a little bit irresponsible on the part of the National Trust.

Anyway, at least today with the slightly higher water levels on the Meadow there were good numbers of Dunlin and Redshank roosting on the high tide along with Curlew and Oystercatcher and a good sized flock of Gulls which included quite a few Common Gulls, mostly adults, and an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Dunlin and Redshank, Blaxton Meadow

At the Wet Wood a Treecreeper was a good sighting although I quickly lost track of it spiralling up the trees while another good sighting was of a Mistle Thrush which noisely flew into a treetop. Redwings were vocal but skulky here too and I had a brief view of a Grey Wagtail before it flew off.

We had a walk around Plymouth Hoe on Tuesday 13th January and again it was quieter now that the Christmas crowds have dissipated. A single Purple Sandpiper was playing hide-and-seek on the rocks at Rusty Anchor where 2 Dunlin were much more obliging although the Black Redstart nearby was a no show for me.

Purple Sandpiper

Dunlin

We had our post-Christmas walk around Burrator Reservoir on Wednesday 14th January, a little bit late but better late than never, and we very luckily completed our circuit before yet more mizzle arrived. It wasn't too busy with people and cars but there wasn't much in the way of birds either as seems to be the norm in the winter for here these days. The highlights were 2 Raven soaring high overhead, a hovering female Kestrel, an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull amongst the Herring Gulls roosting on the buoys, a pair of skulky Bullfinch and 4 Mistle Thrush (1 heard, 3 seen). The 2 white farmyard Geese were also still present amongst the Mallards and keeping themselves apart as usual.

Burrator Reservoir Dam

Thursday 15th January was forecasted to be a wet day so plans were made for a quiet day at home, however it wasn't that bad in the morning so we headed out to Wembury for a quick walk. It was a bit mizzley at times and apart from the very muddy path at The Point it was a pleasant walk and mostly dog and people free.

Mizzley Wembury

The highlights were a Grey Plover and a Kingfisher out on the rocks on the incoming tide, both are uncommon visitors to Wembury so I was pleased to find them. Also along the beach were 2 Redshank, around 40 Turnstone, 2 Little Egret, a Curlew, 3 Mallard (2 male), Oystercatchers and a Grey Wagtail along with the usual Pied Wagtails, Rock Pipits and Meadow Pipits.

Grey Plover

I met up with Mavis for a low tide lookabout off Torpoint on Friday 16th January, it was a neap tide so there wasn't much mud on show and the sunshine and keen breeze meant for difficult viewing conditions but we did find 4 distant Black-necked Grebes out on the water. Great Crested Grebes and at least 2 Little Grebes were also present along with the usual estuary birds but it soon started to feel cold and so we called it a day and headed home. 

A Kentish Plover - in Somerset

With Russian White-fronted Geese and Tundra Bean Geese being reported at Slimbridge I started to plan a visit there for Saturday 10th January, however with the arrival of Storm Goretti on Thursday 8th January causing chaos with train services across the country along with the arrival of a nasty COVID-like cold making me feel quite crappy my plans were unfortunately shelved.

I'm not sure what my cold was all about, I had one at Twixtmas although it never really got going and quickly fizzled out but this one was a different beast. It started at 5am on the Thursday morning with constant sneezing which felt like hay-fever or some other kind of allergic reaction and just like my first experience with COVID back in 2022. As the day wore on it got worse and I felt achey and shivery, I did a COVID test using the last one from my NHS working days and it was negative although the test was 2 years out of date and probably not sensitive to current COVID strains in what is now a very mutated virus. I still felt crap the next day (Friday 9th) yet by the evening I felt OK, just tired and foggy headed, and the snotty nose and sneezing had stopped. By the Saturday I felt fine and the trains post Storm Goretti were also running pretty much to schedule too so a trip to Slimbridge would have been do-able but never mind.

I still had a hankering for a further-afield birding day out though and with a Kentish Plover overwintering again at Burnham-on-sea in Somerset for its 7th winter I decided to finally go and have a look for it although it can be a very tricky bird to catch up with. Being a Saturday I could use my Railcard at any time and so I paid just £29.75 for a return ticket using the Split Ticketing website instead of paying the full £49.30 ticket price while catching exactly the same trains - ridiculous!

I have visited Burnham-on-sea just once before way back in December 2020 to see, of all things, a Russian White-fronted Goose and a Tundra Bean Goose which were associating with a flock of Greylag Geese at Apex Park, both juvenile birds of unknown provenance and ridiculously tame. The Kentish Plover had also been present on the nearby beach that day too but instead of going to look for it I decided to head back to Exeter to try and see a Dusky Warbler there and which I failed miserably to do.

Tundra Bean Goose and Russian White-fronted Goose, December 2020

Tundra Bean Goose and Russian White-fronted Goose at Apex Park, Burnham-on-sea, December 2020

Anyway, back to January 2026 and it was a cold and icy morning as I caught the 6:27am train from Plymouth but as the sun rose it became a beautiful and sunny, wintery day. The trains all ran smoothly and I arrived at Highbridge & Burnham train station at around 8:15am to start my walk along the River Brue towards the sea wall at Burnham-on-sea where the Kentish Plover is frequently seen along the beach.

The River Brue heading towards the beach at Burnham-on-sea - mobile phone shot

The Beach at Burnham-on-sea

On arriving at the seafront a report came through on Birdguides that the Kentish Plover was present and after a good lookabout I eventually found it roosting along the shoreline with Ringed Plovers where it gave some wonderful views (and what Doughnut had forgotten his camera today?!). It's a female bird sporting assorted leg bling after being ringed in Germany in 2021 and only my second ever sighting of one in the UK after a distant, heat-hazy view of a male at Minsmere in May 1981!

Kentish Plover with Ringed Plovers, 10/1/26 - photo courtesy of @paganbirder on Bluesky

Kentish Plover, 10/1/26 - photo courtesy of @paganbirder on Bluesky

As the tide headed in the Plovers moved closer up the beach towards the sea wall and the Kentish Plover showed beautifully, it was a nervous looking, crouchy bird but it did stay on the beach when most of the Ringed Plovers had flown off until it eventually left too.

Other sightings of note on my visit were 2 Sanderling, Lapwing, Golden Plover, 6 Avocet, Wigeon, Teal, Dunlin, Redshank, Curlew, Oystercatcher, a female Reed Bunting, Linnet and Collared Dove and with the Kentish Plover in the bag and it being such a glorious and calm day I decided to head home and stop off along the way at Dawlish Warren for a walkabout and a look for Divers offshore.

On arriving at Dawlish Warren the sea looked flat calm but there was a little swell which was especially noticeable further out as birds on the sea bobbed up and down and disappeared and then reappeared. I scanned about from the Lifeguard Hut and there were good numbers of Great Crested Grebe scattered across the Bay, most were further out with just a few closer in. Eventually I found some Divers with at least 2 Great Northern Divers and 3 Red-throated Divers seen but they were very mobile and spent little time at the surface. A Guillemot and 3 Common Scoter were also picked up along with a Grey Seal moving west close inshore and at least 2 Common Dolphin moving east distantly offshore.

The View from the Lifeguard Hut towards Exmouth

Dawlish Warren Pronenade towards Exmouth

The water levels were high at the Main Pond but there was a Snipe feeding on the mud amongst the reeds and a female and 2 male Shovelers feeding out on the water. A look at the Estuary from the Dune Ridge revealed the usual birds with a single Grey Plover out on the mudflats bringing my tally of Plover species for the day up to 5. The best though was a Slavonian Grebe in the main river channel, busily diving away and moving upstream, distant but very distinctive in the strong sunshine.

The Main Pond, Dawlish Warren

It was soon time to head back to Plymouth but it had been a very good birding day out and I was very lucky to have seen the Kentish Plover so well and on my first visit too, many birders have had to visit multiple times to eventually catch an often distant sight of it - the Birding Gods certainly smiled on me today.

Tristis Chiffchaffs and a Wild Goose Chase

It was cold, clear, calm, icy and dark when I stepped off the bus at Wembury on Monday 5th January, the footpath and road were quite treacherous on the walk up to the church but I managed to get there in one piece as the sky gradually lightened. I tried my poor Tawny Owl impression again along the way but was unsuccessful this time - I guess it's a case of fool a Tawny Owl once, shame on you, fool a Tawny Owl twice, shame on the Owl.

The Waning Wolf Moon

I carried onwards from the church towards The Point to check out the high tide roost on the ebbing tide but my attention was diverted along the way as I again saw 2 Fox up on the hillside by the Pheasant field being watched by 2 Roe Deer and nervous looking Pheasants. The 2 Fox were keeping together and at one point had a bit of a spat with each other, rearing up on their hind legs and sparring together before continuing on their way. The Pheasants all flocked together and followed them from a safe distance, like Gazelles do with Cheetahs on the African savannah, and the 2 Roe Deer were equally as nervous with one of them eventually rushing towards the Foxes and chasing them away.

At The Point there were around 40 Turnstones feeding on the seaweed mass by the sewage pipe along with a Redshank and the usual Gulls while a Curlew, 5 Little Egret and Oystercatchers were roosting nearby but there was no sign of any Purple Sandpipers. A Grey Seal was seen offshore with 2 adult Gannets flying east and 3 Fulmars flying around The Mewstone. 

Great Black-backed, Herring and Black-headed Gulls

Amongst the Blackbirds and Song Thrushes feeding on Ivy berries nearby were a few skulky and skittish Redwings and 2 male Blackcaps while a Green Woodpecker and a Mistle Thrush were seen flying away over the trees. A Dartford Warbler flitting about in the Gorse showed very well but did not stay still for a second.

Dartford Warbler

Kestrel

I spent some time looking for the Water Pipit along the beach and eventually found it after a bit of a search although it remained distant, it really is a subtle looking bird and it has now found its feet as it gave chase to any Rock Pipits that came too close. The Rock Pipit with the white head feathering was also seen again amongst the feeding Rock Pipits, Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails and along the cliffs a Firecrest, a pair of Stonechats and around 10 Chiffchaff were noted.

Water Pipit

Rock Pipit - a distinctive looking bird with white face feathering, first seen on 8/11/25

Amongst the obvious collybita Chiffchaffs was a Siberian tristis type, its silvery grey undeparts were especially noticeable along with its washed out brown upperparts with a hint of greeny- yellow in the wing feathers.

Siberian Chiffchaff - tristis

Chiffchaffs - collybita (l) versus tristis (r)

Chiffchaff - tristis

As I headed back towards the bus stop for the journey home I was pleased to see a straggly flock of around 60 Golden Plover flying over heading west and 2 Lapwing feeding together in the upper horse field. At the bus stop a further flock of around 70 Lapwing were seen flying over heading west followed by a another flock of around 20 birds that headed west before returning east.

Lapwing

The White-fronted and Bean Geese obviously reappeared at Bowling Green Marsh the day after my visit (!) but disappeared again the next day before reappearing at Exminster Marsh the day after and so I decided to try again to see them on Tuesday 6th January.

I wasn't very hopeful that the Geese would show so I caught the earliest train I could using my Railcard which was at 09:27am and costing just £7.65 return but I did decide to treat myself and caught the bus to Exminster from Starcross for a change, arriving at the Marsh at just after 11am. It was another beautiful day, all cold and clear and crisp and I set off with my fingers crossed but as expected it didn't work as I failed to find any White-fronted or Bean Geese. I did see 2 Greylag Geese though amongst the Canada and Brent Geese present along with the Swan/Mucky Geese seen last week at Bowling Green Marsh and showing how mobile the Geese are around The Exe.

It was an enjoyable walk around the Marsh anyway despite dipping the Geese and the highlights were a male and female-type Marsh Harrier quartering over the Marsh, a pair of Pochard and a female Goldeneye on the lagoon where a Red Fox was spooking the ducks as it trotted around the lagoon edge and a Chiffchaff (collybita) flitting about along the railway line.

Marsh Harrier

Ice Skating Mute Swan, Turf Canal

While waiting for the train back to Plymouth I had a scan about from Starcross railway station where the highlights were 6 Red-breasted Mergansers (4 males) diving away and 2 Greenshank and a Bar-tailed Godwit feeding out on the mud.

The River Exe from Starcross Train Station

With the Yellow-browed Warbler at Efford Marsh in Plymouth still showing well and obviously surviving these freezing temperatures I decided to have a quick look for it on Wednesday 7th January. It was still feeling cold but warmer than of late and I quickly found the Yellow-browed Warbler busily feeding away in the same area I saw it in back in December. It was very feisty and regularly chased off any Chiffchaffs that came too close and despite it being constantly on the move I had some excellent views of it, certainly the best I've ever had of a Yellow-browed Warbler, and again I was surprised at how smart and bright it looked.

Yellow-browed Warbler Habitat

Yellow-browed Warbler 

Yellow-browed Warbler 

Yellow-browed Warbler 

Yellow-browed Warbler 

There were at least 2 Firecrest amongst the numerous Goldcrests also present along with at least 1 tristis type Chiffchaff amongst the numerous collybita types flitting about.

Siberian Chiffchaff (tristis)

Chiffchaff (tristis)

A Grey Wagtail, 2 Little Egret, a Nuthatch, 4 Redwing, a female Blackcap, 11 Teal (8 males) and a white farmyard type Mallard with the Mallards (probably the one seen on The Plym recently) were also of note along with some decent-ish views of a skulky Water Rail.

Water Rail