Butterflies and a Swallow

Lock down continues, the weather remains dry and sunny but windy and I am starting to get a bit of cabin fever after just 2 weeks but Saturday 4th April duly arrived and it was time to head out for my weekly, solo, local, socially distanced wildlife walk from home to Saltram, something I have been looking forward to immensely all week long.

It was cool and breezy but out of the wind it was very warm and I was abl9le to walk around with just my t-shirt on and I wished I had worn shorts and not my jeans.

The tide was heading in as I arrived at Laira Bridge and along the Plym there were the usual suspects - Little Egret, Redshank, Curlew, Oystercatcher. Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Cormorant, Mallard, Shelduck and GBB + H + BH Gulls with 1 adult LBBGull. A Greenshank and 22 Turnstone were also noted.

Little Egret

Little Egret

Little Egret

Turnstone

In the woods a Stock Dove was cooing and Ring Necked Parakeets briefly screeched while Chiffchaff and Blackcaps were singing away and 2 Green Woodpeckers yaffled away unseen.

Bluebells were flowering amongst the violets and primroses and it was lovely to see my first Orange Tip and Small Whites of the year along with a Brimstone and Peacocks.

Bluebells

Bluebells

Peacock

Peacock

Peacock

Orange Tip

Orange Tip

Small White

Small White

Small White

Small White

A herd of 14 Roe Deer were again seen resting together and a Grey Squirrel played peek-a-boo in a pine tree, making a lot of noise as it scrabbled up the rough bark of the tree.

Grey Squirrel

The highlight though was my first Swallow of the year which I picked up skimming low over the grass before it gained height and flew off north, a very welcome sight in these weird times and proof that life carries on during this lock down period.

Robin

Marsh and Moor and Coast

Despite Storm Hannah barrelling across the UK overnight on Friday 26th April I decided to head off to Exminster Marsh anyway on Saturday 27th in sunny skies but with continuing strong winds. I caught a later train than planned and being a Saturday it was exceptionally busy but I arrived off the bus at The Swans Nest at Exminster at around 11:20am without any mishaps or delays.

It was very windy and I wasn't sure if I would see my target birds (sedge warbler and reed warbler) but I could hear both species singing away deep in cover as soon as I began my walk along the road to the car park. I did eventually manage brief sightings of 2 sedge warblers and 2 reed warblers on my walk around the marsh with many more heard only and I also heard a whitethroat, a Cettis warbler, blackcap and chiffchaff.

A few sand martins were buzzing around with just 2 swallows and amongst the Canada geese and shelduck out on the marsh I picked out a few teal, 2 male and a female shoveler and a male wigeon. The highlight though was a cattle egret feeding close to the road with little egrets amongst some cows, looking quite smart as it develops into summer plumage and my first sighting of one on Exminster Marsh.

 Cattle Egret, Exminster Marsh

 Cattle Egret

Cattle Egret

I carried on to Powderham Marsh, seeing female orange tips and a green veiled white in more sheltered spots along the way, and from the viewing platform there were many Canada geese including a pair with 5 very yellow and fluffy goslings. Lapwings were noisily displaying and a few small chicks were also seen running around, and other waders noted were 2 oystercatcher, a flighty flock of around 80 black-tailed godwits in mixed summer and winter plumage and 4 little ringed plover.

Black-tailed Godwits, Powderham Marsh

 Orange Tip

Orange Tip

3 Egyptian geese were found amongst the Canada geese before 2 flew off towards Turf and the single bird left went to sleep amongst the grass and also seen were teal, 2 pairs of tufted ducks and 2 male and a female shoveler (possibly the birds seen earlier on Exminster Marsh).

A nice surprise though was a little gull feeding along the waters edge and occassionally flying around , a sub adult bird in summer plumage but with a white speckled black head. It had been reported on the bird sites a few days previously but reports had dried up and I assumed it had moved on so I was very pleased to see it although it was quite distant. It appeared a bit weak and wobbly on its feet as it fed along the waters edge but flew strongly and I guess its wobbly gait was due to the continuing strong winds.

 Little Gull

Duchess of Sutherland

Monday 29th April and it was time for my annual Dartmoor bird day with Mavis, a little earlier than usual but we still had a great day despite the grey skies and drizzly mizzle. We parked up at Bennets Cross and walked down to Golden Dagger in Soussons and as we began our walk we could hear skylarks singing away and a distant cuckoo calling. Willow warblers were very vocal and showy too and we eventually found the calling cuckoo perched in a tree being mobbed by a small bird (probably a pipit) but it remained very distant.

A pair of stonechat, a male reed bunting, 2 songflighting tree pipits, a kestrel, a buzzard, swallows overhead, 2 mistle thrush, 3 male whinchats and 3 redpolls continually flying around calling were also seen with a green woodpecker also heard yaffling despite the wet conditions but the undoubted highlight was a reeling grasshopper warbler. We picked it up giving brief and quiet reels at first before it reeled loudly and strongly and then appeared on top of a bramble bush allowing some close and good views for around 15 minutes before it went quiet and disappeared from view.

 Grasshopper Warbler , Soussons

 Grasshopper Warbler

Grasshopper Warbler 

I wasn't expecting to see any green tiger beetles in the cool and wet weather but we did manage to find one which allowed very close views as it enjoyed the warmth of my hand and showed off it's absolutely gruesome set of jaws.

 Green Tiger Beetle

 Green Tiger Beetle

Green Tiger Beetle

After some lunch at Warren House Inn we drove round to Challacombe Farm for the second part of our walk and fortunately the mizzle had stopped but the skies remained grey. 4 Tamworth piglets running around at the farm kept us company as we walked around and we managed to see swallows, a grey wagtail, 2 songflighting redpolls, a song thrush, more willow warblers and a singing male redstart which was very mobile and elusive.

Redstart, Challacombe Farm

We eventually heard a cuckoo calling and managed to find it perched in the top of a dead tree where we managed to get some very good views before it flew off into cover.

 Cuckoo

 Cuckoo

 Cuckoo

Cuckoo

We had a look in the fields by the roadside as we began our drive back home and we managed to eventually find a male whinchat along with a pair of linnets and 2 pairs of wheatears, a nice end to a very enjoyable day out.

 Wheatear

Whinchat

Tuesday April 30th and a dry morning with sunny spells saw me heading out to Wembury for a quick walk before yet another dreaded night shift. It was fairly quiet and not too busy and along the beach I found a lone winter plumaged bar-tailed godwit, a curlew and 7 noisy whimbrels with the oystercatchers. A cirl bunting was heard singing with blackcaps and chiffchaffs and there seemed to be whitethroats singing everywhere. I finally managed to see my first Wembury swallows of the year with a group of 8 coming in off the sea and heading off straight inland followed by a trickle of 1 or 2 birds in off the sea on the rest of my walk.

Stonechat, Wembury

The toilet block held a green carpet and a double-striped pug which I caught and released outside.

 Green Carpet

Double-striped Pug

A few orange tips and green-veined whites were seen along with a single speckled wood plus 2 common lizards and bloody-nose beetle larva before it was time to head back home.

Bee Sp.?

Bee Sp.

Springtime Continues

Wednesday 10th April and a sunny but chilly morning saw us heading up to Dartmoor for a walk around Burrator Reservoir. It is Easter Holiday Hell time but it was surprisingly quiet and we had an enjoyable walk and by the time we returned to the car at the end of the walk it had become quite warm.

Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff and Blackcap were seen and heard but there were no hirundines seen although I thought I briefly heard the chittering of a Swallow overhead. No Marsh Tits were seen either but there were Blue, Great and Coal Tits in the trees with Wren, Robin, Nuthatch, Siskin and Dunnock.

At least 3 Mistle Thrush were singing too, a pair of Goosanders were sleeping on a small island at the top end of the reservoir, a Raven mobbed a pair of Carrion Crows over the treetops, a Green Woodpecker was heard yaffling, Great Spotted Woodpeckers were heard chipping and I thought I heard a Redstart singing briefly but couldn't find it in the trees.

Also seen were 2 male Orange Tips flitting about and an Oil Beetle trundling along on the roadside verge.

Orange Tip, Burrator

Thursday 11th April and another cool and sunny morning saw us heading off to Slapton Ley for a walk, parking up near Slapton Bridge and walking to Torcross and back. Wildfowl numbers were much reduced out on the Ley but amongst the 30+ Tufted Ducks I finally caught up with the wintering adult male Scaup although the views were distant and heat hazy as it regularly dived near the opposite bank to the road. Also seen were a pair of gadwall, coots, mallards, mute swans, cormorant and great crested grebes but there was no sign of any of the recently reported Ring-necked Ducks.

Distant Scaup (left) with Tufted Duck (right)

After lunch at the Sea Breeze Cafe in Torcross we had a quick look at the Ley from the  nearby Stokeley Bay hide and I finally managed to get some distant views of the 2 male and 1 female Ring-necked Ducks busily diving for food. Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps were busily singing away along with Cetti's Warblers and I had a brief view of my first Swallow of the year as it flew over the roof tops at Torcross.

Walking back along the Ley to the Bridge and I managed to get some better but still distant views of the Ring-necked Ducks while Peacock Butterflys flitted about and basked in the sunshine. From the Bridge a Cetti's Warbler showed very well in the willows and as we walked up to the car a male Orange Tip flitted by.

Saturday 13th April and I decided to head out to Wembury for a walk. It was another sunny day but with a cold and brisk breeze and it made for some heavy going birding. Despite the wind I did find an Orange Tip hunkered down on a bluebell flower and the toilet block held an Early Grey and a Double-striped Pug.

Orange Tip, Wembury

Orange Tip

Orange Tip

Early Grey, Wembury

An adult Bloody-nosed Beetle and 2 larva, Ladybirds and Shield Bugs were also found lurking on the path side vegetation.

Shield Bugs, Wembury

Shield Bugs

Shield Bug

It was good to see 2 Whimbrel on the rocks at The Point with a Curlew, Oystercatchers and Mallards and offshore I picked up a Gannet heading slowly east into the wind. Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps were singing away and a Mistle Thrush feeding in the upper horse fields was a nice surprise. A very pale phase buzzard flying over being mobbed by a dark phase buzzard looked very osprey-like and a Kestrel hovered over the wheat field briefly before flying off.

Whimbrel, Wembury

Stonechats, Linnets, Goldfinch, 2 male Cirl Buntings, a Song Thrush and a female Pheasant were also seen before I decided to give up and head home, enjoying a Chunk pasty for lunch from the beach cafe before catching the bus back to Plymouth.

Cirl Bunting, Wembury

And so Spring is slowly marching on despite the recent chilly weather - and I can't wait for the Summer to arrive.