I finished yet another long day shift on Wednesday 23rd September but no moth boxing in the back yard this time on getting home at 9pm as it was a clear and chilly night with overnight temperatures predicted to drop into single figures.
However I am now on annual leave from work and with no holiday to go on this year due to the continuing COVID-19 restrictions I will hopefully be able to get the moth box out in the back yard again soon - my garden list for 2020 currently stands at 96, can I make it to 100?
Friday 25th September was sunny but cool with a strong NW wind and so we headed out to Thurlestone for a walk to Hope Cove and back, only the 2nd time this year we have done this walk. Birding was heavy going in the wind as we wandered along the coast path but it was an invigorating walk and the scenery was stunning.
A Black-tailed Godwit was feeding on South Huish Marsh on the walk to Hope Cove but on the return trip there were 3 present. Also on the Marsh were an adult and juvenile/1st Winter Mediterranean Gull, an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull and an adult Great Black-backed Gull amongst the Herring Gulls and Black-headed Gulls, 12 Teal, 2 Little Egret and 2 white farmyard type geese amongst the Canada Geese. A female Sparrowhawk was hunting along the hedgerow, a Ringed Plover flew over calling, 4 Swallow flew east and a Sand Martin flew west
A Clouded Yellow was a nice find sheltering from the wind at Hope Cove and a Peacock, a Small Tortoiseshell and a few Large White were also seen along the walk. Ivy Bees were flitting about the Ivy flowers, I haven't seen them before (or I hadn't noticed them before) and this is now the second time I've seen them in the last few days.
Saturday 26th September was another sunny and cool day but much less windy although as the day progressed it became as windy as the previous day. And after much dillying and dallying and procrastinating over the past few weeks I decided to finally visit Hayle again to look for the reported Bairds Sandpiper that has been present for a while now. As expected I didn't see it ( my second Bairds Sandpiper dip at Hayle) but I had an good day out anyway.
I annoyingly left my camera at home which was a shame as on arriving at the Carnsew Pool a Great White Egret was feeding very close to the footpath, giving some great views. I watched it for some time as it flew all around the Pool to hunt for fish and at times it followed a small group of 5 diving Cormorants in the hope of grabbing any fish disturbed by them.
Dunlin and Turnstone were roosting and feeding around the Pool edges, the Dunlin all being juveniles moulting into winter plumage, but there was no sign of the Bairds Sandpiper amongst them. Curlew, Redshank, 8 Greenshank, Oystercatcher, a Knot and around 10 Bar-tailed Godwit were also seen around the estuary along with Wigeon, Teal, a juvenile Shelduck, 3 Greylag Geese, Canada Geese, Little Egret and 3 Little Grebe. A Kingfisher was seen regularly, often hovering over the water for quite prolonged periods of time, and at least 2 Wheatear were feeding along the beach.
I broke my tripod too so now I have to source another one although I wasnt particularly keen on the one I have anyway and so not the most successful of days but an enjoyable one none the less.
Monday 28th September and the first proper day of my annual leave was grey and overcast with mizzley showers at times but I headed out to Wembury for a walk anyway.
On arriving at the main beach a feeding frenzy of Gulls offshore caught my eye and on scanning through them I picked up a few Gannet as well. I also noticed a few splashes beneath them and eventually picked up around 20 Common Dolphins, their fins briefly showing as they surfaced but with occasional leaps right out of the water.
Amongst the bird melee were at least 23 Shearwater Sp. flying low over the water and plunging in before moving off west in a long line low over the water. A small dark Skua Sp. was also picked out amongst the throng of birds which also eventually moved off west but unfortunately all were too distant to fully ID without my telescope.
There were still a few Waders hanging around Wembury Point on the incoming tide - 4 Grey Plover still, now 4 Bar-tailed Godwit, 3 Ringed Plover, 3 Turnstone, a Dunlin, 4 Curlew and the usual Oystercatchers. Also out on the rocks were 37 Mediterranean Gulls (14 1st Winters) before they all flew off east as the tide came in. Also seen were 2 Little Egrets, a Wheatear and 4 male and a female Mallard.
58 Canada Geese were resting in the stubble field and Stonechat and Cirl Buntings were very showy along the coast path along with a pair of Blackcap. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard calling in the pine trees at The Point while a Chiffchaff sang nearby and a Grey Wagtail and a Kestrel flew overhead. There was also a noticeable increase in Meadow Pipit numbers in the fields too.
Ivy Bees were again seen feeding on Ivy blossom along with 2 Common Wainscot moths.
Ivy Bee
A nice walk despite the weather and a nice start to my break from work.
(As a footnote, a sea-watching birder was present at nearby Stoke Point that morning and reported a pod of c.100 Common Dolphin offshore and a passage of c.100 Balearic Shearwaters west).
