Marsh Harriers

Tuesday 7th September was sunny and hot (25°c+) but very breezy and it felt like being under a hot hair dryer in the strong wind as we headed down to Perranporth in Cornwall for our annual September trip. 

We expected it to be busy again as it was on last years trip but it was ridiculously so in the good weather, and the strong breeze meant a gritty and hazy walk along the beach as it blew fine sand out of the dunes. The Watering Hole kitchen was closed so no cooked breakfast on the beach again and The Dolphin Cafe where we had a cooked breakfast last year was closed too and by the time we had wandered around looking for somewhere to get a breakfast we had missed the cut off times. We did however eventually get a cooked breakfast at The Cove, a cafe on the main street in Perranporth, and very good it was too. 

It was an enjoyable but strange day out again though, just as it had been last year, and again we had to drink our cider on the beach in plastic cups and we didnt have an ice cream but such is life in these COVID times. 

The usual Gannets were flying around offshore and the usual Trout were dashing about in the stream while in the dunes Wheatears were flitting about and Autumn Ladies Tresses were looking wilted in the dry soil while Sand Martins and Swallows were hawking about overhead. 

Wheatear

Along the beach a small flock of waders were being moved around by walkers but I managed some nice views of Sanderlings feeding in the surf with distant flight views of Dunlin and Ringed Plover. 

Sanderling

The highlight though was a juvenile Marsh Harrier picked up flying in off the sea towards the dunes, battling against the very strong wind and being mobbed by the occasional Gull. 

In total contrast the morning of Wednesday 8th September was wet with thunder and lightning and so we headed to IKEA in Exeter for some retail therapy (a rare event these days). By the time we had completed our respects to the God's of shopping it was dry and sunny and so we headed off for a quick walk at the nearby Exminster Marshes. 

I only had a short time but things started off well with 2 Spoonbill found roosting out on the marsh while a Marsh Harrier quartered overhead. 

Marsh Harrier

A Hobby briefly flew over, hawking for dragonflies as it went, and 2 Cattle Egret were chasing insects amongst the cattle. 

Cattle Egret

5 Ruff, a Lapwing and 4 Black-tailed Godwit were feeding around a muddy pool close to the road with viewing difficult into the light but a Comma showed very well as it basked in the sunshine. 

Comma

Comma

With the hot weather I had the moth box out in the back yard, adding a few species to my year list in the process and bringing the back yard list to 115 for 2021.

Marbled Green, Mullein Wave and Four-spotted Footman all put in an appearance along with Treble Bar, Small Square Spot, Common Marbled Carpet, Snout and Mecyna acinalis. 

Treble Bar

Small Square Spot - hidden in plain sight amongst the square Spot Rustics

Common Marbled Carpet

Mecyna acinalis

Thursday 9th September was grey and claggy and wet again but I headed off on the early train to Hayle anyway for the high tide wader roost. By the time I arrived at Hayle the rain had stopped but it remained overcast and the tide was just beginning to drop. 

Small flocks of little waders were flitting about around the Estuary and on scanning the saltmarsh by the road opposite the car wash I found 4 Little Stints feeding together amongst Dunlin and Ringed Plover before they all took off and headed over to the exposed mud on the opposite side of the river. 

I then spent an enjoyable couple of hours scanning through the constantly flighty and mobile waders out on the estuary, finding a grand total of 12 Little Stints amongst the Dunlin and Ringed Plover along with 3 Curlew Sandpipers, 2 Knot, 4 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Greenshank, 4 Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Common Sandpiper and the usual Curlews, Oystercatchers and Redshanks. 

Black-tailed Godwits

Black-tailed Godwit

Bar-tailed Godwit

Dunlin

Teal, Wigeon, Mallard, Shelduck, Canada Geese, Little Egrets and a Grey Heron were also seen along with a noisey Sandwich Tern and around 50 variously aged and plumaged Mediterranean Gulls amongst the Herring, Black-headed, Lesser Black-backed and Great Black-backed Gulls. 

A Wheatear was found amongst the rocks of the Carnsew Pool and a juvenile Peregrine dashing low over the estuary in hunting mode was presumably the cause of the continuous movement of the small waders. 

Wheatear

While waiting for the train back to Plymouth I watched a Painted Lady sunning itself on the concrete sleepers at the station along with a Red Admiral, both looking very pristine and presumably getting ready to migrate southwards for the winter.

Painted Lady

Moths and Birds

Back yard moth boxing continues at a slow pace with the cool and unsettled weather keeping numbers low but I did have my first Mullein Wave of the year, one of my favourite back yard moths, along with a Beautiful Plume and a Rusty Dot Pearl.

Mullein Wave

Friday 13th August was grey but dry and so I headed out to Wembury for a walk. It was breezy but warm and humid and the sun did eventually make an appearance as the clouds slowly cleared.

The tide was high and along the beach a large congregation of Gulls were feeding in the surf gently breaking onto the beach and on the seaweed mass washed ashore. 

Gulls at Wembury

I scanned through the assorted Herring and Black-headed Gulls but couldn't find anything more unusual than 14 Mediterranean Gulls (8 juveniles).

With the high tide waders were roosting at The Point - 59 Oystercatcher, 3 Curlew, 2 Whimbrel, a Common Sandpiper and a Turnstone were seen along with 3 Little Egret.

I picked up a steady movement of adult, juvenile and sub-adult Gannets offshore heading west and also a distant Shearwater species, too far out and in hazy light conditions to call but it looked good for Balearic. A few Fulmar were flying about around The Mewstone with some sat on the sea and getting aggro from nearby juvenile Herring Gulls and the fat and fluffy chick was still sat on its nesting ledge.

A Cirl Bunting was singing with another male seen along with a female and a juvenile, Stonechats and Linnets were showy, a Chiffchaff and 3 Whitethroat in contrast were skulky.

Common Lizards were basking in the occasional sunny spells including a few small and dark looking young. I was also pleased to finally see my first Long-winged Coneheads at Wembury since autumn 2017, the year before the Beast from the East hit Devon and which seemed to have totally wiped them out here, presumably these are new migrants arriving to recolonise. Also seen were 2 male Oak Eggar moths dashing back and forth along the footpath, presumably trying to home in on a female hidden in the brambles nearby. 

Common Lizard

Common Lizard

Tuesday 17th August was grey and cool in the breeze and I headed out to Wembury again for a walk. There were occasional sunny spells and out of the breeze it felt quite pleasent.

The tide was heading in and there were clearly waders on the move with a nice selection on show on the rocks - 78 Oystercatcher, 5 Ringed Plover, 4 Curlew, 3 Whimbrel, 2 Dunlin, 2 Common Sandpiper and a Sanderling. 4 Little Egret and 7 female Mallard were also seen and amongst the usual assorted gulls were 15 Mediterranean Gulls including a ringed juvenile.

Sanderling

Sanderling

Dunlin and Sanderling

Sanderling

Dunlin, Sanderling and Ringed Plover

Mediterranean Gull

Mediterranean Gull - ringed 1st July 2021 at Langstone Harbour, Hampshire

Mediterranean Gull

The usual Stonechat, Linnet, Cirl Bunting, Whitethroat, Chiffchaff and Rock Pipit were seen with a juvenile Willow Warbler at The Point and a Coal Tit in a village garden also noted.

Cirl Bunting

More Common Lizards were seen sunning themselves on various fences, walls and posts along with more Long-winged Coneheads and a Dark Bush-cricket but the star find of the day was a Convolvulus Hawkmoth found resting on a post, a huge beast of a moth with massive eyes and an absolute delight to see. 

Common Lizard

Long-winged Conehead

Long-winged Conehead

Dark Bush-cricket

Convolvulus Hawkmoth

Convolvulus Hawkmoth 

Convolvulus Hawkmoth 

Convolvulus Hawkmoth 

Convolvulus Hawkmoth 

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! 

Autumn Waders

Sunday 1st September and I decided to stay local and headed off to the River Plym for the high tide roost at Blaxton Meadow, spurred on by a report of a flyover wood sandpiper over the Plym that morning. Unfortunately there was no sign of the wood sandpiper on the meadow but there were 8 greenshank, 34 curlew, a dunlin, 3 common sandpipers and redshanks on show with little egrets, Canada geese and gulls plus a flypast kingfisher and flyover raven, ring necked parakeet and stock dove.

 Curlew, Blaxton Meadow

Curlew

I walked downriver to Laira Bridge through Saltram Park and noted a comma, a speckled wood, a red admiral, small whites, meadow browns and a clouded yellow flitting about while swallow and house martins hawked overhead. A toad sheltering under a large piece of plastic was a surprise.

 Toad

Toad

At Laira Bridge 4 turnstone were feeding on the seaweed covered rocks as the tide receded and on nearby Blagdon Meadow a few common blues were flying around and there was a good showing of Autumn Lady's Tresses.

 Autumn Lady's Tresses, Blagdon Meadow

 Autumn Lady's Tresses 

 Autumn Lady's Tresses 

Autumn Lady's Tresses 

Tuesday 3rd September and I headed off on the train to the River Exe for the day but faced the usual dilemma - Bowling Green Marsh or Dawlish Warren for the high tide wader roost? I plumped for Dawlish Warren which turned out to be the right choice for a change and the day started well with 40+ Ring-necked parakeets noisily leaving their roost at Plymouth railway station as I waited for my train.

The train journey was hassle free and I arrived at Dawlish Warren on time at around 9am, heading straight to The Bight as the high tide approached. On arriving at The Bight there were small waders roosting along the edge and so I gave the hide a miss and stayed by the waters edge to scan around. Dunlin, ringed plover, turnstone and sanderling were all noted but viewing was difficult as the birds were active and mobile and flighty or hunkered down amongst the rocks and vegetation or obscured by fencing.

 Dunlin, The Bight

Sanderling, The Bight

Eventually I picked up my target bird, a very smart curlew sandpiper which flew along the waters edge flashing its white square rump before landing amongst the assembled waders and beginning to feed in the soft sand. It gave some nice views at times but was very flighty and often disappeared from view but it was great to see it after a blank year last year.

Other waders seen were curlew, bar-tailed godwit and redshank roosting distantly on the salt marsh by the railway line, a grey plover in front of the hide and 4 Knot with the oystercatchers on The Spit.

A wheatear was also feeding along the beach in The Bight along with 2 very noisy ravens and a very scruffy looking pair of carrion crows while offshore a few Gannets were seen with 2 distant common scoter flying towards Berry Head also noted. Sandwich Terns were fishing in the estuary and offshore too and regularly flew over the dunes between the 2 areas calling noisily.

A small copper was seen in Greenland Lake with common blues, meadow browns and small whites and a speckled wood along the dune ridge was a surprise. Painted lady and a red admiral were also seen along with a few large dragonfly whizzing by and a long winged cone head. Autumn Lady's Tresses were showing well too.

 Small Copper, Greenland Lake

Autumn Lady's Tresses, Greenland Lake

Buzzard, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk were all seen overhead but there was no sign of any ospreys although one was reported mid river around midday which I failed to see. And on the train journey home along the River Teign the gulls and waders were all up in the air on the low tide and on checking the Internet sightings that evening an osprey was reported here at the time I was passing by - never mind.

Wednesday 4th September and it was time for our annual autumn trip to Perranporth. It was mostly sunny but with a strong and cold onshore wind which covered my glasses with sand and sea spray although it didn't spoil the enjoyment of the day.

Gannets were very obvious offshore with a few diving for fish quite close to the beach and a few fulmars and distant Manx shearwaters were noted too while a juvenile peregrine dashed across the beach and made a few unsuccessful stoops at an adult Mediterranean gull before moving off. There was no sign of the recently reported brown booby though.

The stream held the usual brown trout and a red admiral was seen feeding on an ornamental buddleia in the formal gardens. I did keep an eye out for choughs without any luck but you can't have it all.

Chough Poster, Perranporth

And so summer is coming to a close and autumn is definently on its way- who knows what it will bring?