Wembury, Siblyback and The Plym

I caught the 9am bus out to Wembury on Monday 14th September, it was claggy as I left Plymouth but by the time I arrived at Wembury it was full on mist and mizzle and I couldn't even see The Mewstone out in the Bay. Undeterred I headed out to The Point on the dropping high tide to look for waders and was pleased to find 5 Ringed Plover, 4 Dunlin and 3 Sanderling feeding along the beach near the sewage pipe amongst the Turnstones and Oystercatchers.

The Mewstone in the Mist

There were Gulls roosting on the rocks and feeding in the surf along the beach but they were all spooked into the air by a passing Skua as it flew low along the beach heading west. I first picked it up flying away from me, it looked very dark and at first I thought it was a Carrion Crow until I caught sight of the white flashes on its underwings and realised it was a Skua. My first thought was that it was a Great Skua but I quickly realised it was either an Arctic or Pomarine, it was a dark phase bird with no tail feather extensions and looking almost black in the misty conditions. It had a slow, languid flight but it wasn't in hunting mode and seemed to be checking things out as it flew along the beach until it disappeared into the mist enveloping The Point and was gone. I didn't get any real plumage or structure detail on it and the flight style threw me as did the Gulls reaction to it but I'm sure it was an Arctic Skua and not a Pomarine.

The Gulls did resettle and amongst the Herring, Great Black-backed and Black-headed Gulls were at least 10 Mediterranean Gulls and a juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull. The Mediterranean Gulls were mobile as usual and included a juvenile bird and also the adult bird ringed EH54 which I first saw here along the beach back on the 15th August and ringed as an adult on the 20th May 2026 in Belgium.

Mediterranean Gull EH54

Mediterranean Gull EH54

There was a high count of 38 Mallard feeding in the stubble field, 28 males and 10 females, while offshore when the mist briefly lifted a few Gannets were picked out heading west. Along the shoreline 5 noisy Sandwich Terns were diving for fish while along the coastpath Stonechats, Cirl Buntings, 3 Whitethroat, a Willow Warbler and 3 Chiffchaff were seen in the gloom with a 4th Chiffchaff also heard singing away.

Whitethroat

A Red Admiral and a Painted Lady were seen despite the damp conditions and a few Ivy Bees were buzzing around the Ivy flowers in the warm and humid conditions but I was glad to return home to get out of my wet shoes.

Ivy Bee

We headed out to Siblyback Reservoir for a walk on Tuesday 15th September, it was a sunny and breezy day and warm in the sunshine when out of the wind. It's been nearly 5 years since our last visit here and it's changed a bit with a lot of the coniferous trees removed and the watersports centre dismantled and after the summer heatwaves and drought the water level was very low with lots of mud on show.

Siblyback Reservoir

There have been regular reports of rare Sandpiper sightings at the Reservoir (Baird's, Buff-breasted and Pectoral) but none were showing for me today although I really needed to have my scope with me for a proper look and it was primarily a walk and not a birding trip. I did see a Greenshank, a Common Sandpiper, 4 Dunlin and Ringed Plovers and out on the water were Coot, Little Grebe, a Great Crested Grebe, Teal, Mallard and Canada Geese. The highlight though were at least 5 Yellow Wagtails feeding around the feet of the Sheep in a field near the dam with Pied Wagtails and Starlings, a very delightful surprise.

Common Darter - a few buzzing around in sheltered spots 

We had a short walk from Marsh Mills to Saltram House and back on Thursday 17th September, it was overcast and breezy but feeling warm and humid and the tide was just starting to head out. There was still a little bit of water on Blaxton Meadow when we arrived and there were roosting Greenshank, Redshank and Curlew present amongst the Gulls while along the nearby river a Kingfisher was seen near the sewage outlet. The only other sighting of note was of the female Wood Duck still at the duck pond amongst the Mandarins.

Blaxton Meadow