Stuart's Wildlife Diary

Friday, 17 August 2018

Yellow Legged Gull at Wembury

Tuesday 14th August and I overslept, something I rarely do, and I didn't wake up until 9:45, so plans for a bus trip to Wembury went out of the window - it was also a good job I hadn't put the moth box out the night before as I had originally intended!

I decided instead to have a quick look at the high tide roost at Blaxton Meadow on the River Plym, seeing a noisy juvenile peregrine flying over the house with an adult as I left, but by the time I arrived at the viewing platform I was too late and the only birds seen were a curlew, Canada geese and 2 grey herons. It was however good to see that the National Trust are finally blocking access around the Meadow to decrease disturbance but it does mean that viewing the estuary is now more difficult especially with the trees in leaf.

Grey Mullet spawning at Marsh Mills, River Plym

Out on the estuary I managed to find a greenshank and a common sandpiper along with curlew, redshank, oystercatcher, little egret, mallard, great black backed gull, herring gull, black headed gull and an adult lesser black backed gull while in Saltram Park swallows were skimming low over the grass amongst the cattle, house martins were flitting over the tree tops and a kestrel was hovering over Chelson Meadow.

Wednesday 15th August and I headed off to Bowling Green Marsh at Topsham on the train and with high tide being around 10:30ish I caught the first train after 9am in order to save some money, spending £10.70 for a return instead of £20.80. I arrived at the hide at around 11:15 and was met with the grand sight of a large roost of birds - curlews, black tailed godwits and redshanks along with a single bar-tailed godwit, a few whimbrel, lapwings, around 20 greenshanks, a winter plumaged spotted redshank, a green sandpiper, a common sandpiper and dunlins. Also seen were a 1st winter and adult winter Mediterranean gull, a strange looking leucistic gull which has been ranging around the Exe and nearby Torbay and may be a black headed gull/Mediterranean gull hybrid, the psycho adult lesser black backed gull chasing after dunlins, the 4 young tufted ducks and a shoveler with the teal and mallard.

Bowling Green Marsh

Common Sandpiper

Spotted Redshank

Green Sandpiper

Stock doves and a raven were seen flying overhead with a marsh harrier quartering over the reeds and a sleeping spoonbill amongst the roosting little egrets and grey herons adding to a very enjoyable birding time.

Marsh Harrier

Spoonbill

Onwards to the River Clyst Viewing Platform and on the ebbing tide the waders began to fly over to the mudflats from the Marsh and I added oystercatcher to the days wader species. Also seen were 2 black swans, a juvenile and 2 1st winter Mediterranean gulls, a harbour seal hauled out on the mudflats, a flyover peregrine and a distant osprey circling over the river before heading down to Mudbank off Exmouth where it made a few unsuccessful dives before eventually catching a fish and flying off high towards Haldon and out of sight.

Friday 17th August and I finally made it to Wembury on the bus, finding a twenty plume mouth and a bloodvein in the toilet block on arrival along with an oak bush cricket tangled up in a spiders web, all of which I caught and released outside.

Bloodvein

Oak Bush Cricket

The tide was high and along the beach a mass of gulls were feeding in the surf line, mostly black headed gulls including a good number of juveniles along with herring gulls, a few great black backed gulls and at least 10 Mediterranean gulls - 2 adult winter, 2 2nd summer and 6 juvenile/1st winters in varying degrees of intermediate plumage, it was difficult to count exact numbers as they were very mobile along the beach and not helped by regular disturbance from walkers.

Gull Melee

Juv/1st Winter Mediterranean Gull

Adult Winter Mediterranean Gull

Amongst the gulls were 2 common sandpipers, 3 dunlin, a turnstone and a sanderling feeding on the seaweed mass but the best bird was a juvenile yellow legged gull, quite a subtle looking individual not helped by looking into the sunlight but first noted as it flew along the beach showing a very white rump with a neat black tail band. I watched it for a while and it was very variable looking depending on the angle and light but it eventually flew away when disturbed by yet more walkers.

Juvenile Yellow Legged Gull

Cirl buntings, swallows, a willow warbler, chiffchaffs, whitethroats, stonechats and linnets were noted along the path and at Wembury Point 2 whimbrel were roosting with 6 curlew, 4 little egrets and 47+ oystercatchers. Gannets were diving for fish offshore and 3 raven flew over to The Mewstone while common blue, small white, meadow brown, a holly blue, speckled wood and gatekeeper were flitting about along with a common carpet. Just 1 common lizard was seen basking on the fence and a few bloody nose beetles were noted including a mating pair.

Common Carpet

Holly Blue

Bloody-Nosed Beetle

A great few days birding and wildlife watching now that autumn is finally underway.

Saturday, 11 August 2018

Wood Sandpiper at Bude

A quick walk along the coast path at Wembury on Wednesday 1st August in the continuing hot weather and there were more signs of autumn in the air with 7 curlew, 3 whimbrel, 53+ oystercatchers and 5 little egrets roosting at Wembury Point on the high tide. An adult winter plumaged Mediterranean gull was picked up offshore flying east and along the path there were the usual stonechats and whitethroats, 4+ skittish and skulky cirl buntings in the sewage farm hedge, 3 fledgling carrion crows with an adult hunting for scraps of food left by holiday makers on the main beach and a flyover sparrowhawk.

Butterflies were flitting about as usual with a painted lady, a red admiral and a speckled wood seen along with large white, common blue, wall, meadow brown, gatekeeper and small white. The toilet block held a magpie moth, a dark bush cricket and 2 oak bush crickets and along the footpath I found a carnation tortrix, a new moth for me and ID'd with help from @MothIDUK on Twitter.

Painted Lady

Red Admiral

Wall

Carnation Tortrix

Dark Bush Cricket

Oak Bush Cricket

With Mum and nephew Jack visiting for a few days we took a drive up to Bude for the day on Wednesday 8th August but the hot weather had broken and on arrival it was raining. It did clear up eventually and I did manage a quick look at Maer Lake where 2 dunlin, a curlew, 3 lapwing, 14 black tailed godwits and a wood sandpiper were seen in the drizzly gloom - the wood sandpiper was unfortunately a little distant (as the birds always are at Maer Lake) and the poor light and drizzle didn't help viewing but it was a delight to watch as always.

Wood Sandpiper - Honest!

Wood Sandpiper (with Mallard and 2 Dunlin)

A brief trip to Wembury on Thursday 9th August before Mum and Jack headed back home and in the rock pools we found shanny and cushion starfish and in the toilet block another magpie moth and a garden pebble.

Cushion Starfish

Garden Pebble

Pebble Prominent - found by David at work on a night shift at Derriford, Plymouth