The UK has been under the influence of a "Dirty High" weather system for a while now and it looks set to be so for a little bit longer yet. It is keeping things dry and mild and mostly calm but is so called due to the grey and claggy skies it is also producing with very little sunshine on offer.
Despite the gloom I headed out to Wembury on Thursday 7th November for a walk, it was mild and overcast but there were a few chinks of blue sky to be seen now and then and it was quite breezy for a change. The weather may be a little bit static but so is the birding with very little change in the bird sightings from my recent visits to Wembury although at least the footpaths aren't very muddy in the dry conditions.
I was pleased to see the Mistle Thrush again, assuming it is the same one from Saturdays visit, and I watched it a couple of times flying around at The Point. It will need to be careful though as a Sparrowhawk was hunting in full stealth mode in the area while a Kestrel was hovering in the wind too.
Along the beach on the dropping tide were the usual Oystercatchers with 9 Turnstone, 1+ Curlew, 6 Little Egret, a 1st winter Mediterranean Gull and Mallards while offshore 7 adult Gannet were seen moving east (4 singles and a group of 3).
The sunflower field at The Point still held a flock of around 100 Linnet and the fields above the sewage farm held at least 20 Stock Doves which showed themselves amongst the Woodpigeon flock when they were regularly spooked up into the air.
Cirl Bunting, Stonechat, 2 Chiffchaff and a Grey Wagtail were also of note and 2 Red Admiral and a Speckled Wood were still on the wing in the mild conditions.
The "Dirty High" was still in place on Sunday 10th November as I headed out to The Plym and Saltram for a walk, it was grey and claggy but surprisingly mild and later a bit of blue sky and some sunshine did occassionally appear from behind the murk.
The birding was again as static as the weather with the usual birds seen but I did enjoy my walk despite it being very busy again with people and dogs, not surprising on a dry Sunday.
Along the river a female Goosander, a Common Sandpiper, a Little Grebe and the family party of Mute Swans were seen, the Swans were chased off by a dog but they didn't appear to be too fazed by it as they calmly swam away leaving the dog splashing around in their wake.
A Kestrel, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Jay, a Nuthatch, at least 5 Song Thrush and a Redwing were the highlights around the Park and a surprise sighting were 2 male Roe Deer feeding together out in the open in a field near the car park despite all the people and cars milling about. A Red Admiral was also seen dashing past and a single Wasp was still active around the nest in the mild conditions.
Blaxton Meadow was filling up on the incoming tide and the usual waders, gulls and ducks were present - 40 Curlew including the yellow flagged bird, 11 Dunlin, 14 Oystercatcher, 11 Greenshank, 28 Shelduck, 5 Wigeon and a Common Gull were the highlights here.
A surprise find was a female Wood Duck on the duck pond, hidden in plain sight amongst the female Mandarin Ducks present out on the water and I think my first sighting of one here.
I had a look around the lights in the underpass near Sainsbury's on the walk back to the bus stop and found 2 Rusty Dot Pearl's, a Herald and a Cypress Carpet - maybe one day I'll find myself a December Moth here.
I met up with my ex-work friend Monica for a morning coffee and a catch up on Monday 11th November, it was another gloomy day but by the time I headed home the skies were finally beginning to clear. On arriving home I settled down to some lunch and started to casually check the bird news pages and saw a report of 5 Dark-bellied Brent Geese on Blaxton Meadow, I thought about heading out to look for them but the news was an hour old and I never have any luck with Brent Geese on The Plym so I decided to give it a miss as I expected them to have already departed. However another report of a Black Redstart on the roof of Saltram House changed my mind and I finished my lunch and headed out to Marsh Mills on the bus.
Along the river on the walk to Blaxton Meadow there were 8 female Goosanders roosting on the mud, 3 Little Grebe diving away, a Common Sandpiper and the family party of 4 Mute Swans.
The high tide was ebbing but Blaxton Meadow was still full of roosting birds with 11 Dunlin, 10 Greenshank, 8 Wigeon, a Kingfisher and 10+ Common Gull the highlights. I scanned around for the Brent Geese but there was no sign of them, however they eventually appeared from behind one of the islands and showed very nicely, finally my first sighting of Brent Geese for The Plym. They were constantly on the move, feeding here and there and swimming around the Meadow and seeming a little unsettled although they were noticeably more wary if they saw any dogs (although humans didn't seem to bother them so much).
I watched a showy Firecrest in the bushes by the hide for a while before heading up to Saltram House to look for the Black Redstart. Unfortunately in my haste on leaving the house I had very stupidly forgotten my wallet containing my National Trust membership card so I couldn't get into the house grounds without paying and so had to view the house roof from the perimeter fence. I watched Pied Wagtails, Goldfinches, a Chaffinch and a Grey Wagtail flitting about around the chimney pots but after half an hour there was no sign of the Black Redstart. It was beginning to cool down, the light was starting to fade and I was thinking of heading home when I suddenly caught sight of it as it fluttered around chasing insects and quivered it's red tail before disappearing from view again, a distant and brief view but very pleasing none the less and my first for The Plym.
