My mate Mavis had a fantastic time at Black Hole Marsh at the Seaton Wetlands in Devon on Saturday 5th September and very kindly invited me out on a repeat visit on Monday 7th September. After my pickup at 8:30am at our usual meeting point in Plympton we headed off for the day, it was overcast but warm and humid and especially so out of the breeze and we arrived at the Seaton Wetlands at around 10am to begin our visit.
I've never visited the Seaton Wetlands before but it regularly features in the birding news and pulls in some great birds. It's a bit of a drive from Plymouth and also difficult to reach on public transport (but not impossible) and I have never managed to get there until today but what a fantastic place it is, certainly worth the effort.
We firstly walked out to the Island Hide at Black Hole Marsh and along the way we watched an Osprey flying high overhead and being mobbed by a Carrion Crow. When we arrived at the hide it was packed out due to the prescence of a very close and confiding Pectoral Sandpiper out on the mud, it was a bit of a rugby scrum in the hide but we did get some great views of the bird, my first in Devon and my sixth in the UK with the other 5 all being seen in Cornwall. There were a lot of Toggers in the hide (without binoculars) who were poking cameras with lenses bigger than the Hubble Telescope out of the viewing slots and who couldn't tell the Pectoral Sandpiper from the other waders present but even with my little camera I managed to get some decent shots although taking photos over their shoulders and the low light levels weren't my cameras friend.
There was also an excellent supporting cast of Waders present out on the mud and we had some great views of a Ruff, a Wood Sandpiper, 2 Curlew Sandpipers, 2 Spotted Redshank, a Snipe, 3 Ringed Plover, a Curlew, 2 Greenshank, 4 Common Sandpipers, Lapwing, Dunlin, Redshank and Black-tailed Godwit.
Another Osprey was sighted flying over and being mobbed by Carrion Crows and also seen from the hide were Teal, 2 Shelduck, Mallard, Moorhen, Black-headed Gull, Little Egret and a Grey Heron.
We then moved on to the Tower Hide overlooking the River Axe and the Seaton Tramway and settled down as the tide began to head in. A Water Rail was heard calling in the reeds and a distant Peregrine was noted circling high overhead while out on the estuary 2 Oystercatchers were seen bringing the wader total for the day to 15 species.
Mute Swan, Canada Geese, Mallard, 4 Curlew (1 with a yellow leg flag marked OL), Cormorant and Little Egret were also noted and in amongst the ducks feeding out on the water were a male Gadwall and 5 Wigeon. The hide was busy again with Birders and Toggers all hoping for an Osprey to appear and eventually Mavis picked one up high overhead and flying towards us. It then started to fish right in front of the hide and we had great views of it, at one point it took a dive into the water but we never got to see it as a Tram passed by just at that moment and blocked our view, the passengers on the Tram would have had an amazing view of it though.
It disappeared downriver with all the Gulls scattering along the way and the Carrion Crows mobbing it before it returned and flew past the hide with a fish in its talons. It eventually landed in a tree upriver where with my scope I could just see its head amongst the leaves as it ate its meal but what amazing and close views of what is a surprisingly large and long-winged bird we had had.
It was soon time to head home but it had been a brilliant day's birding - if only Blaxton Meadow on the River Plym was as good! (and with big thanks to Mavis as always for driving me there).
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