Sawbills on the River Plym

A few days off after our trip to North America to get over the jet lag before going back to work were much appreciated (jet lag is an absolute bitch!) and so a walk around Saltram Park on Monday 8th February in dry but very, very windy conditions helped to blow a few cobwebs away. As it was so windy there were very few people around and we had the cafe to ourselves for lunch which was most bizarre but at least we didn't have to get out of the way of the yummy mummies who usually power walk around the park with their massive baby buggies.

A male goosander with a little grebe gave some great views floating on the water - the little grebe was very skittish and frequently dived but the goosander was very unconcerned by our prescence on the nearby footpath - shame I had left my camera at home!

Further downriver off The Folly were 2 male and three female red breasted mergansers diving in the main river channel in very choppy conditions, more distant views than those of the goosander and possibly the same 5 birds I saw on the river on January 27th before my trip to New York.

A treecreeper feeding on the trees around the pond as we ate our lunch was a nice find and there were lots of mandarin ducks on the pond with the mallards and moorhens although most were tucked away in the pondside vegetation. It was interesting to see a male mandarin with a female giving short shrift to any male mallards that came too close despite being smaller and slighter than the mallards.

Tuesday 9th and a walk around Plymouth Hoe in much calmer conditions gave me some great views of a juvenile great northern diver eating crabs just off the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club. It had the most amazing red coloured eyes in the bright sunlight but again I had left my camera at home! Another missed photographic opportunity was a large grey seal by the Sutton Harbour lock gates which was attracting the attentions of black headed gulls - the lock gates were being opened slowly to let a yacht out and maybe the fast flow of water contained fish for it to catch.

Sunday 14th and a day off to myself and so with dry and sunny but cold conditions I decided to have a proper birding walk along the River Plym after 4 busy but pleasent days back at work.

I caught the bus to Marsh Mills and began walking to Plym Bridge. It was very muddy underfoot from all the continuing heavy rain we keep receiving this winter and there were lots of people around emptying their dogs but I managed some good sightings.

Siskins were feeding unobtrusively in the alder tree tops with a few males also seen songflighting while amongst the coal, blue, great and long tailed tits I found at least 2 marsh tits. A kingfisher flew downstream calling but I didn't find any dippers although the river was swollen and murky from all the recent rain. A mistle thrush singing from a tree, a circling and mewing buzzard and drumming and calling great spotted woodpeckers were signs of spring along with a pair of ravens flying over busily cronking and tumbling with 1 bird flipping over onto its back at times.

Best birds were 2 male goosanders fishing together, 1 bird snorkelling behind the other as they paddled upstream near the Plympton road bridge. Again some good views, they seemed very unconcerned by my close prescence and it was interesting to watch all hell break loose between them when 1 bird caught a fish before it was eventually swallowed!

 Male Goosander - number1

Male Goosander - number 2

Heading downstream from Marsh Mills to Laira Bridge and the little grebe at Marsh Mills was still as skittish as it was on the 8th. A chiffchaff and a goldcrest gave some nice views feeding in the undergrowth near the sewage treatment works and a lone female wigeon feeding on Blaxton Meadow was a surprise. A greenshank and 4 little grebes were near the outlet by Sainsburys, the greenshank eventually flying over to the shoreline by Blaxton Meadow. A common sandpiper was a nice find feeding along the waterline as the tide receded.

 Greenshank and Black Headed Gull

Greenshank

 Common Sandpiper

Common Sandpiper

Walking up the steps through the woods near The Folly and I found a very nice firecrest in the same spot I have seen one for the past 2 years - this one was especially active though and the views were difficult as it hovered under leaves and ducked and dived around before disappearing from sight.

Snowdrops

From The Ride I found 2 great crested grebes fishing together in the river channel on the outgoing tide - at first I thought there was just one bird as they were diving seperately but eventually I saw both birds together at the surface. There were also 4 pairs of red breasted mergansers, 3 pairs together and a pair further downriver - the 3 males together were busily displaying to the females who seemed intrigued if not that really interested. From Laira Bridge I saw 4 little grebes giving a days total of 9 altogether but unfortunately there was no sign of the recent  black necked grebe - however it had been a great days birding and even better it had been right on my doorstep.

Distant shot of Red Breasted Mergansers with Carrion Crow

Heaven in Hayle

Saturday 16th January and a very cold but sunny day saw me heading off to Hayle on the train for a bit of serious birding. Arriving in Hayle at around 10am and I headed off straight away to the Carnsew Pool. A few minutes of scanning and I found the recently reported red necked grebe, only my 6th ever sighting of one and a beautiful bird that gave some great views although it spent very little time at the surface.

Red Necked Grebe, Hayle

Red Necked Grebe

Scanning around and I also found a very smart and confiding razorbill along with 4 little grebes while a kingfisher flew low over the water and a grey wagtail fed around a nearby puddle.

Razorbill, Hayle

Walking around the Pool towards the estuary and a smart and confiding guillemot was feeding on the river along with a great northern diver which dived just as I got onto it and despite watching and looking I couldn't refind it. An adult winter plumaged Mediterranean gull flew over looking quite ghostly in the bright sunshine and a greenshank noisily flew off from a roost of oystercatchers by the riverside.

Guillemot, Hayle

At Ryans Field a few lapwing and 20 golden plover were roosting but most of the waders were now feeding on the estuary as the tide began to ebb away - dunlin, ringed plover, curlew, grey plover, oystercatcher, redshank, turnstone and a bar tailed godwit were all seen.  Shelduck, teal and wigeon were also showing well along with a pair of goosander and a female red breasted merganser which was associating with them and allowing some nice comparisons with the female goosander.

 Male Goosander, Hayle

Female Goosander, Male Goosander and Female Red Breasted Merganser, Hayle

Scanning through the large roost of gulls and I found a nice adult kittiwake preening amongst the herring, lesser black backed, greater black backed and black headed gulls, which was a bit of a surprise. I would have liked to have spent more time going through the gulls but time was against me and so I scanned around and eventually found the long staying juvenile spoonbill roosting with little egrets on the saltings. It was fast asleep but had a quite distinctive profile compared with the egrets and just as I got my scope on it it flew off downriver but at least I saw its pinky spoon shaped bill, black wing tips and outstretched neck in flight before it landed on the estuary wall and went back to sleep!

I had hoped to have a look for the yellow browed warbler being seen behind the hide at Ryans Field but decided to have another look at the red necked grebe instead as my time at Hayle was running out. I had some lovely views of the grebe again as it preened on the water, being joined by the razorbill for a while, and it was nice to get some good views of a great northern diver regularly diving nearby.

Razorbill and Red Necked Grebe

Razorbill and Red Necked Grebe

Unfortunately it was time to catch the train down to Penzance, I had thought of just staying at Hayle as the birding was so good (quite heavenly in fact) but I stuck to my plan and arrived at Penzance at around 1pm, seeing the long staying and resident male eider amongst the gull flock close to the sea wall as the train pulled in to the station.

I headed off to the sea wall by the bus station for a quick scan around and found the male eider busily displaying to adult great black backed gulls, much to their amusement and/or fascination, and while watching the eider a large and milky coffee coloured juvenile glaucous gull flew up from the water before settling again further out where I had some nice scope views, a very nice find. A Slavonian grebe was just offshore from the Long Rock carpark, distant views only and my fifth grebe species in 3 days, but 2 great northern divers were much closer in and a male common scoter flew over towards Mousehole.

I headed off to the Jubille Pool where 20+ purple sandpipers gave some nice views with turnstone and ringed plovers while offshore a grey seal popped its head up out of the water and a pair of razorbill were busily diving.

Purple Sandpiper, Penzance

Turnstone, Newlyn

I carried on along the coast path towards Newlyn and on to Sandy Cove (misnamed as not very sandy!) where the regular wintering Pacific diver has mostly been seen but there was no sign of it (it was reported off Marazion that day, the usual place I would normally have visited!). I did see a female type black redstart on the rocky shore and a few great northern divers on the flat calm sea but amongst a large feeding flock of gulls around a trawler I found another juvenile glaucous gull - this one was paler and with worn tail feathers compared to the Penzance bird - but it quickly flew off towards Mousehole and out of sight. I later found another bird resting on the water but it drifted off towards Mousehole and out of sight again, another pale bird compared to the Penzance bird but possibly the bird I had seen in flight earlier?

Another look at the purple sandpipers on the walk back to Penzance was a delight as usual, such characterful and handsome birds, and another look off the sea wall by the bus station and the milky coffee coloured glaucous gull was still loafing around along with the horny but confused male eider. A female blackcap skulking in the nearby bushes finished off an amazing days birding as I headed off to catch the train home - no Pacific diver again (as usual) but some fantastic birds anyway.

Colour Ringed Wood Warblers at Yarner Woods - 2015

May 9th and a day of sunny spells with a strong breeze and the bribe of cake at Bovey Tracey had David driving me out to Yarner Wood for a couple of hours while he shopped for garden stuff at Mole Valley and Trago Mills.

I heard a pied flycatcher singing as soon as I got out of the car but I couldn't find it in the trees and so I headed off up the footpath towards the bridge. Almost immediately a wood warbler was heard singing in the young birch trees on the right of the path and I managed a few distant views as it constantly moved around the branches - it had an orange ring on its left leg and 2 on its right leg, a yellow ring and a dark blue or black ring. By the bridge a second bird was singing and I had much better views - this bird had an orange ring on its left leg and an orange ring and a red ring on its right leg. It sang constantly as it moved through the canopy but I had some lovely views of what is one of my favourite birds - I always worry that it will be the last time I see one as their numbers are plummeting here in the UK. Another bird was heard briefly singing nearby and later I had views of an unringed bird feeding high up in the canopy in the same area.

 Wood Warbler

 

 Wood Warbler singing away

 

Wood Warbler - close up of leg rings

 



Pied flycatchers were busily singing away throughout the woods and I had some good views of male birds flitting about the trees.

Pied Flycatcher

  



Also seen were a pair of bullfinch, a pair of siskin with the male looking quite stunning as it fed on the woodland floor, 2 treecreepers, a female great spotted woodpecker, marsh tits and nuthatches. A green woodpecker and a redstart were heard only and a raven croaked noisely as it flew over the trees. 6 male mandarin and a pair of mallards were around the pond while a grey wagtail was heard calling nearby.

Nuthatch
 

Mandarin Duck - 3 of the 6 males around the pond
 



On the heath a male yellowhammer was half heartedly singing while a male whitethroat was much more energetic. A redpoll flew over in display flight, cha-cha-cha-ing away, and swallows and house martins passed overhead.

A holly blue, male and female brimstones and a longhorn moth, Nematopogon swammerdamella, were also seen in the woods and common milkwort was in flower on the heath.

 Longhorn Moth - Nematopogon swammerdamella

 

Common Milkwort

 



May 10th and it was grey and overcast but at least the breeze had dropped. I headed off to Wembury for a walk and despite being a Sunday it was relatively people free. Along the beach at high tide were 5 whimbrel and a little egret roosting with 42 oystercatcher, a shelduck and a pair of mallard. 9 Canada geese were resting in the wheatfield and another 2 birds were out on The Mewstone.

 Whimbrel

 

Whimbrel

 



After a bit of searching I eventually found a female Dartford Warbler at Wembury Point - as usual it was constantly on the move and this time I avoided the urge to try and take some more distant and blurry shots of it. It was nice to see the female again but there was no sign of the male (or males).

Whitethroats, chiffchaffs and blackcaps were as vocal as usual and swallows were noticeable flitting around overhead. 2 cirl buntings were briefly heard singing and a male kestrel hovered over the fields above the horse stables.

Strangest sight was a female type red breasted merganser close to shore at Wembury Point, it was busily snorkelling and occasionally diving as it drifted off  towards the main beach and is my second ever sighting at Wembury.

Red Breasted Merganser

 



Also seen were 3 common lizards, bloody nosed beetle larva, a bedraggled looking water carpet moth in the toilet block, a lackey moth larva nest and 2 common carpet but no butterflies were on the wing. Ragged Robin and yellow flag iris were flowering in the valley to the beach and a pasty for lunch from the café rounded off a pleasant mornings walk.

 Lackey Moth Larva

 

Bee Sp.