More Local Stuff

Monday 18th January was grey and breezy and with rain forecasted for later in the day I headed out in the morning to TR2 by the River Plym where a Black Redstart was reported the previous day.

The tide was ebbing and along the rocky and weed covered shore a Common Sandpiper showed very well as it fed along the waters edge. A Grey Heron was roosting on a buoy out in the river and the occasional Redshank and Oystercatcher flew past.

Common Sandpiper

Grey Heron

2 Buzzards were resting on the roof of a building behind TR2 and the Common Sandpiper was briefly spooked by a male Sparrowhawk cruising low over the rocks in full hunting mode but the best bird of prey was a female Peregrine which took out one of the many Feral Pigeons flitting about before flying across the river being mobbed by Gulls and disappearing from view.

There was no sign of the reported Black Redstart and with rain clouds gathering I headed home, luckily arriving there just before it began to rain. 

Wednesday 20th January was a foul day with strong winds and heavy rain but I decided to head out anyway for a quick exercise walk around Plymouth Hoe. It really was a grotty day but I did see a few Gannet flying around  Plymouth Sound along with a Great Northern Diver bobbing around in the swell off Drakes Island before I gave up and headed home to dry off.

Thursday 21st January was in contrast mild and calm and dry and after a morning of household chores I was rewarded with the sighting of a female type Black Redstart flitting about in the back yard and on nearby rooftops, my first ever garden sighting of one in the 33+years I have lived here.

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

Black Redstart

We then took our usual lock down Plymouth Hoe walk, stopping off first at the allotment to pick some sprouts for tea. As we carried on towards The Hoe we walked over the Sutton Harbour lock gates where various gulls were flying around and making quite a noise. I had a quick scan around and saw what at first I thought was a seal swimming across the water but as it dived it showed a long tail  - an Otter no less, my first ever sighting of one in Plymouth!

Otter

Otter

It had a large crab in its jaws and eventually hauled out onto the marina pontoons where it was hidden by crates but the gulls were very insistent and so it returned to the water and hauled out unseen amongst the nearby rocks to eat its catch before swimming off and out of sight. Amazing to see, I've only ever seen Otters in Shetland before so to see one in broad daylight in Plymouth with people passing close by was quite special.

Onwards to The Hoe and a look at the rocks below the Pier One cafe revealed a Purple Sandpiper feeding with 9 Turnstone. A Kingfisher was perched nearby before it flew off towards Devils Point and a few Gannets were still flying around The Sound with 3 Great Northern Divers seen loafing around on the water close to the shore of Drakes Island. 

Purple Sandpiper

Purple Sandpiper

Purple Sandpiper

Kingfisher

A very enjoyable walk and amazing at what wildlife can be found so close to my home here in Central Plymouth. 

Pre-Christmas Dipping

Friday 11th December was the last day of my annual leave time from work and so I decided to revisit the Penzance area again for a final day of holiday birding.

I started off at Hayle and walked around Copperhouse Creek on the low tide. A Ruff and a Curlew Sandpiper had been seen there the previous day but there was no sign of them on my walk but I did see a Kingfisher, a Greenshank, a Grey Plover and a Bar-tailed Godwit amongst the usual birds.

Onwards to the Carnsew Pool and a Great Northern Diver and 4 Little Grebe showed well along with 24 Grey Plover, 14 Dunlin and 2 Greenshank. A walk along the estuary towards St.Erth revealed another Kingfisher flying over the mudflats along with another Greenshank feeding in a small creek and there were 2 male Goosander fishing together in the river channel. The usual Redshank, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Wigeon, Teal and assorted Gulls were also seen. 

I carried on to Penzance to stake out the sea off the Jubilee Pool to look for the Pacific Diver reported the previous day and again it was a big fat dip. 4 Great Northern Diver showed well though and further offshore Kittiwake and Gannet were flying around. 

On the rocks the small waders were gathering to roost on the incoming tide and I had some nice views of Dunlin, Sanderling, Ringed Plover, Turnstone and 2 Purple Sandpiper.

Sanderling

Sanderling

Turnstone and Sanderling

Sanderling and Purple Sandpiper

Another Kingfisher perched briefly on the rocks before flying off out of sight and on the nearby roofs a pair of Black Redstart were flitting around but were very elusive, disappearing for long periods of time before reappearing elsewhere. 

Kingfisher

A Chiffchaff gave itself away by calling in trees near the railway station in Penzance as I returned to St.Erth for another look at the Hayle Estuary. The tide was quite high by this time and so I walked over towards Lelant Station to scan through the Gulls amassing to roost in the saltings. 

Amongst the mostly Herring, Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls were a few Common, Great Black-backed and Mediterranean Gulls and at least 2 very smart looking adult Yellow-legged Gulls with Daz white heads glowing in the shaded sunlight. 

Yellow-legged Gull with Lesser Black-backed Gulls

A Knot was roosting in the saltings too along with 3 Bar-tailed Godwit and Redshanks and out on the water there were 3 redhead Goosander roosting amongst the Gulls. I also thought I had a brief view of the reported adult Ring-billed Gull amongst the throng of Gulls on the saltings but couldn't be sure, quickly loosing sight of it as the Gulls moved around and despite searching I couldn't refind it. I also failed to find the reported adult Iceland Gull and the 2 1st Winter Caspian Gulls before I had to head home but an enjoyable day out was had despite it being a very dippy day.

Monday 14th December was wet and windy on awakening but as the skies cleared I decided to visit Exwick in Exeter where a Dusky Warbler had been found. The bird was frequenting a stand of trees alongside the River Exe but had to be viewed from the opposite side of the River due to a lack of public access. 

A few Birders were already present but the news wasn't positive and after 3 hours of watching, waiting and listening it wasn't positive for me either! A few times I thought I heard the "tac" call of a Dusky Warbler but it was faint and difficult to hear with all the ambient traffic noise and I think it may only have been a case of wishful thinking. 

It was nice to be out though with COVID Christmas meltdown building and chatting to the Birders present was interesting and informative. 

A few birds were seen as well - 3 Little Grebe, a Kingfisher, a Grey Wagtail, Mallard and Cormorant along the River, a Chiffchaff with Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tits in the trees and a Sparrowhawk and a few Redwing flying over. 

Very dippy days out indeed, I hope it doesn't continue! 

Wind and Rain!

Our Holiday-less Holiday continues and the weather has been pretty vile to say the least with what seems to be constant grey skies, strong winds and heavy rain. No chance of any moth boxing in the back yard either with chilly and wet nights and while the east coast of England enjoys a fantastic autumn of bird migration the South West remains very quiet. Never mind but I had hoped for something more interesting as we are usually on foreign travels at this time of year and I always miss out on UK birding at this time. 

Undettered we headed down to Looe by train on Saturday 3rd October with friends Julie and Matt for an overnight stay but the weather was horrid and we actually returned earlier than planned on the Sunday as it really was quite foul. Nothing too exciting was seen on the bird front but there were 3 Eider just off the main beach, a male, a female and an juvenile/eclipse male, and I also had a very brief view of a Great Northern Diver further out just as it dived but I couldn't relocate it. 

Eider, Looe

Looe Signage

Tuesday 6th October was very windy with heavy showers but there was something unusual in the skies too - the sun! - and so we drove up to Stover Park for a walk before heading to The Brookside Cafe at Bovey Tracy for a late lunch. 

It has been a while since we last visited Stover Park and there have been some interesting changes. The footpath around the lake has been improved and is now wider and gravel covered so much less muddy and easier to walk along. Also dogs now have to be kept on a lead at all times around the Lake - I love dogs but am not so keen on dog owners who often ignore the needs of wildlife and the enjoyment of other users of the countryside so this is quite an interesting and welcome development. The construction of the reed bed to help filter the polluted water entering the lake is also now completed and the water quality does look a little better which will hopefully improve and increase the biodiversity of the lake which has notably declined over recent years. 

There were good numbers of wildfowl out on the lake, the most I have seen here before, and amongst the Mallard and Moorhen and Canada Geese were a male Pochard, 2 Mute Swan with 2 grown Cygnets, Coot including 5 juveniles, Black-headed Gulls, 2 Great-crested Grebe (an adult attending to a juvenile), at least 24 active and mobile Tufted Duck (11 females), a Cormorant and a very tame small duck that appeared to be a Mallard x Teal hybrid. 

Teal, Stover Park

Teal x Mallard?

Teal - green speculum but with a hint of blue

Crossbills and Siskins were seen and heard overhead and a Great Spotted Woodpecker chipped away in the pine trees. Nuthatch, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Blue Tit and Great Tit were seen on the bird feeders with 3 Grey Squirrels scavenging the scraps beneath them. 

Bees and Flys were buzzing around the Ivy blossom and included 2 massive Hornets. Common Darters were flying around too in sheltered spots when the sun appeared and included mating pairs.

Hornet

Hornet

Hornet

Common Darter

Common Darter

Thursday 7th October was bright and sunny and calm but with rain and wind forecasted for late afternoon I headed off in the morning for a walk along the River Plym and around Saltram Park.

It was a very high tide and Blaxton Meadow was again almost totally water covered but roosting out on the Meadow were 8 Greenshank, 38 Curlew, 6 Oystercatcher, 3 Redshank, 2 Shelduck, 1 Grey Heron and 11 Little Egret along with Canada Geese, Herring Gull and Black-headed Gull.

A roosting flock of around 140 Redshank were along the river embankment by the A374 with 12 Grey Heron while out on the water were a few Cormorant and Mallard. A Kingfisher dashed past over the water calling noisily but was never to be seen again.

In the Park both Green- and Great-spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatch were heard but not seen while Ring-necked Parakeets noisily flew around overhead. Stock Dove, 2 Goldcrest, Coal Tit, Buzzard and Jay were also seen. A worn Speckled Wood, a Large White and a Small White were also noted.

Speckled wood, Saltram

The grass on Chelson Meadow had been cut, I'm not sure why but maybe it gets cut every year at this time and I have never noticed, but mobile and flighty Meadow Pipits were very much enjoying feeding amongst the grass cuttings.

I spent a bit of time looking for Firecrests but with no luck so I headed home via the Plymouth University Campus where 2 Firecrest have been reported and eventually I found them busily feeding in a holly tree along with a Chiffchaff. 2 Speckled Wood flitted about in the nearby tree tops and a Siskin was heard flying over. A Brown Rat rooting around in a nearby hedgerow was a bit of a surprise.

I also had a look around Drakes Reservoir where a Kingfisher has been reported and I easily found it resting on the stone wall of the reservoir. It occassionally flew over the water calling noisily, hovering at times over the water and diving in to catch small fish.

Kingfisher, Drakes Reservoir

A Grey Wagtail was also feeding along the waters edge while a large and stunning Golden Carp swam around in the water amongst its black relatives.

Grey Wagtail

Golden Carp

Golden Carp

Golden Carp

Welcome to 2017

My first bird of 2017 was a robin busily singing away at 4 O'clock in the morning as I lay in bed trying to get back to sleep but with my working a long day on New Years Day where I left for work in the dark and arrived back home in the dark my year listing opportunities for the day were going to be limited. I did glance out of the windows at work during the course of the morning but saw nothing on a grey, wet and miserable day. I chatted to (or bored) a patient about birds and year listing and 10 minutes after leaving her room her call bell rang and I went to answer it, expecting it to be something that needed to be done, but I was delighted as I was ushered in to see a female sparrowhawk perched on the roof railings just outside her window, looking bedraggled in the rain but still gorgeous. She had seen it fly across the roof and land on the railings and had at first thought it was a pigeon but then realised it was something unusual and had very thoughtfully rung her bell for me to see my first bird of the year.

I added feral pigeon to my year list from the staff room window as I ate my lunch but that was the sum total of the days birds but the following day I worked an early shift and on the journey home I added a few more birds to the year list - herring and black headed gull, magpie, carrion crow, blackbird, woodpigeon, house sparrow and pied wagtail.

Tuesday 3rd January and the start of a few days off and it was bright but freezing cold, a beautiful winters day with frost on the ground. I headed off to Beaumont Park to have a look for the yellow browed warblers but there was no sight or sound of them after an hours wandering around. I did see a nuthatch, a coal tit and a goldcrest along with the usual birds. I was about to head home when I thought I would check out the trees near the lodge and I quickly found a yellow browed warbler high in the tree tops, it was very mobile and active and was obviously coping with the freezing overnight temperatures.

Wednesday 4th and I headed off to Marsh Mills for a walk along the River Plym and around Saltram Park. It was grey and cold and breezey but dry and I had a really good time just wandering around. A common sandpiper and a grey wagtail were seen at Marsh Mills at the start of the walk but there was no sign of any goosanders. Only 2 little grebes were along the river by the A38 flyover, usually there are more along here, maybe numbers are lower due to the mild winter? Interestingly though the snowdrops in the woods near here have not yet appeared unlike this time last year.

Blaxton Meadow was well flooded on a very high tide and for once covered in birds roosting, feeding and bathing - 2 male and 3 female wigeon, 40+ dunlin, 3 greenshank, 4 adult common gull, an adult lesser black backed gull, a kingfisher and a common sandpiper being the highlights with a pair of stock doves cooing and displaying in the nearby trees.

Kingfisher

I headed up through the woods and eventually found a firecrest in the bushes near to where I saw the 2 birds last week, very active and mobile but some lovely views as it hovered at times underneath the branches. A nuthatch was also seen along with goldcrest, wren and robin.

Robin

There were 6 little egrets feeding in the cattle field along with starlings, song thrush, blackbird, pied wagtail and good numbers of redwings, higher numbers than last week due to the freezing weather. There was no sign of the cattle egrets but eventually I found one perched high in a large dead tree before it flew down to the ground to feed where it gave some very good views.

 Cattle Egret

 Cattle Egret

 Cattle Egret

 Cattle Egret

 Cattle Egret

 Little- and Cattle Egret

Little Egret

Rooks, jackdaws, Canada geese, goldfinch and a male pheasent were also seen in the fields before I headed off towards Laira Bridge and the bus home, seeing a very confiding greenshank catching small fish along a creek near the beach and a lone little grebe by the bridge.

 Greenshank

 Greenshank

 Greenshank

 Greenshank

Black-headed Gull in almost full Summer Plumage

I had a quick look in Beaumont Park on the way home and quickly found the yellow browed warbler in the treetops at the south end of the park again. I had a look around the north end of the park too where I have usually seen one but there was no sign - maybe the bird from the north end has moved down to the south end or maybe the bird at the south end is the second bird that was present and the north end bird has moved on?

And so a nice start to my birding year, I hope it is a good year for wildlife again as I think it is going to be another rocky year for family health issues.

Franklin's Gull, Hayle Estuary

Another gloomy and dull day on Sunday 30th October saw me heading off on the train to the Hayle Estuary in Cornwall to look for a Franklin's gull that had been seen somewhat erratically for the past few days. I was feeling tired and wasn't in the mood to spend 4 hours on a train (2 hours there, 2 hours back), but armed with food and drink, my MP3 player and the Sunday paper crossword supplement the journey wasn't too bad and allowed me time to contemplate my lot in life as the gorgeous Cornish scenery passed by.

I arrived at Hayle at around 11am and walked off towards the Carnsew Pool, seeing a kingfisher and a little egret along the quay by Asda. On the Pool were at least 6 mobile little grebes all constantly diving along with 2 female red breasted mergansers. Another (or the same) kingfisher was perched on seaweed covered rocks by the waters edge before being disturbed by walkers.

Kingfisher

 A few waders were feeding on the exposed mud - dunlin, redshank, grey plover, oystercatcher, curlew and bar tailed godwit - but my attention was quickly grabbed by a very close immature spoonbill busily feeding in the shallow water, presumably the long staying bird that has been around on and off for the past year. It had a small amount of black feathering in its primary tips, noticeable only when it flapped its wings, but its bill was still a pinky, yellowy colour with some darkening to black noticeable.

 Spoonbill

Spoonbill

I was a bit distracted by the spoonbill and finally remembered why I had made the trip to Hayle when I saw the large group of birders on the causeway bridge busily pointing their telescopes and cameras at the mass of gulls, ducks and waders roosting and feeding on the mudflats. I hurried down to the bridge as quickly as I could and on arriving a birder very kindly put me onto the Franklin's gull sleeping amongst the gulls quite close to the road - result, a British/life tick for me! A smart looking bird, black headed gull sized, with dark legs, dark grey upperparts with distinct black and white wing tips and a hint of a partial black hood as its head was tucked under its wings.

Franklin's Gull (Centre)

It eventually awoke and walked down to the waters edge where it stood around and sipped water for a while before yakking up a pellet and flying off south over Ryans Field and out of sight but I was very pleased to have seen it so well.

 Franklin's Gull

 Franklin's Gull

 Franklin's Gull

 Franklin's Gull

Franklin's Gull

Franklin's Gull with Teal, Redshank, Little Egret, Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull and Wigeon

With the gull disappearing from sight I headed back to the Carnsew Pool to enjoy more close views of the spoonbill, probably the best views I have ever had, and it was nice to watch a spoonbill actually doing something! It was also very nice to point it out to a lady birder walking by who had never seen one before, she was very pleased and excited to see it.

 Spoonbill and Little Egret

Spoonbill and Little Egret

 Spoonbill

Spoonbill

Bar Tailed Godwit

At least 4 adult winter plumaged Mediterranean gulls were mobile around the Pool, feeding, preening and looking quite ghostly in flight in the sunshine which had begun to appear from behind the clouds.

Mediterranean Gull with Herring Gull

I wandered back along the estuary to the causeway bridge to admire the birdlife in what was now lovely light - a common sandpiper, 2 greenshank, teal, wigeon, ringed plover, 3 black tailed godwit, a grey plover, dunlin, lapwing, grey heron, cormorant, little egret, golden plover, Canada goose, lesser and greater black backed gull, herring gull, a 1st winter common gull, greylag goose, black headed gull, rock pipit, starling, redshank, curlew, oystercatcher, carrion crow and Mediterranean gull were all seen.

 Common Sandpiper

 Male Wigeon

 Lapwing and Teal

Lapwing and Golden Plover

Golden Plover, Teal and Black Tailed Godwit

The spoonbill appeared on the mudflats down river as the tide came in and the Franklin's gull was refound on the sand banks off Lelant railway station, distant views only through my telescope but still a striking and obvious bird amongst the black headed gulls and Mediterranean gulls.

It was time to head off home and I walked up to the railway station at St.Erth to catch the train home, having had a very enjoyable time and all for the princely sum of £10.10 for the train ticket.