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
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!
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