Birding around Topsham, January 17th 2017

A grey and claggy day but I needed to get out birding as I am tired, stressed and over emotional with the ongoing crap currently happening in my life. I checked the times and prices of the trains on the internet the night before and saw that I could get a single to Topsham on the 07:48 train for £11 but when I bought the ticket at Plymouth railway station the next morning it cost me £17.60! Apparently the cheaper ticket was only for bookings made in advance - not impressed but I've learnt a lesson for next time.

I arrived at Topsham at around 09:30 and headed off to the recreation ground for a look around. A flyover snipe was a surprise and it was nice to see reed buntings feeding on the seed heads of the phragmite reeds with goldfinches and blue tits. The tide was high and there was nothing on show but I quickly and easily found the yellow browed warbler feeding in the trees by the children's playground, picked up at first by its calls and showing well in the lower branches of the trees unlike the Beaumont Park birds in Plymouth. At times it leapt up in the air to catch small flies and was very active and mobile but the views were pretty good, the best I have probably had.

 Yellow Browed Warbler

  Yellow Browed Warbler

Yellow Browed Warbler

 Yellow Browed Warbler

Yellow Browed Warbler - zoomed in

I carried on to the hide at Bowling Green Marsh, seeing a grey wagtail, a great spotted woodpecker, 2 mistle thrush and 10 song thrush and redwings in a grassy field and a female bullfinch along the way.

From the hide a large flock of avocets were roosting on the marsh on the high tide, around 300 birds, along with a large mixed flock of black tailed godwits, bar tailed godwits and redshanks. Greylag geese and Canada geese were feeding on the grass and skeins of brent geese flew over towards Darts Farm and included a group of 14 barnacle geese (feral or wild birds? - to tick or not to tick?) which veered off and flew back towards Exminster Marsh. 2 male tufted duck were busily diving and I had some nice views of pintail and shoveler with the wigeon and teal.

I headed over to Darts Farm after news of waxwings being seen there were reported by Dave (of Daves Diary fame who was present in the hide) but a quick look around Darts Farm drew a blank and so I headed back to Bowling Green Marsh via Goosemoor where I had some distant and drizzly views of a nice spotted redshank with 3 greenshank, a common gull and a dunlin.

From the viewing platform I added grey plover to the year list and had some nice views of the avocets and godwits feeding on the mudflats as the tide receded, the avocets being very much appreciated by a family visiting from Northern Ireland who had never seen them before.

 Avocet from The Goatwalk, Topsham

Male Teal, Topsham

Male Teal, Topsham - blue looking speculum

Male Teal, Topsham - usual green looking speculum

I met David for lunch at The Lighter Inn but there was a cock up with the order and our food didn't arrive and so we left empty stomached and headed back to the recreation ground for another look around on the now low tide. A male goldeneye showed very well with 2 females showing a little more distantly and I eventually found the female long tailed duck which gave some very nice views along with a pair of red breasted mergansers and an adult winter plumaged Mediterranean gull.

Male Goldeneye

 Female Long Tailed Duck

Female Long Tailed Duck

We drove over to Darts Farm where we finally had something to eat but there was still no sign of any waxwings and as the light faded we headed off back to Plymouth, having had a very enjoyable day out (and I've decided to tick the barnacle geese!).

First Dip of 2017

Two waxwings had been reported feeding in an apple tree in a Plymstock garden on January 5th, I had considered going to have a look for them on the 6th but it was our Christmas dinner day (finally) and so I gave it a miss. One was reported in the morning of the 7th and so I headed out on the bus for a look but on arriving at the tree there was no sign of it and after 90 minutes David arrived in the car to pick me up for the drive to Plymbridge Woods for a walk and all I had to show for a cold, grey and drizzley watch was a female blackcap. I had a second look after our walk but there was still no sign and indeed they were not reported again after that sighting on the morning of the 7th. First dip of 2017 in the bag!

The walk at Plymbridge Woods was muddy but not too busy with people. The feeders at Cann Quarry were empty so there was no sign of any marsh tits and I couldn't find any dippers along the river. A flock of siskins were noisely preening in the top of some alder trees and a noisey great spotted woodpecker was being hassled in a tree top by a magpie before it flew off. A female goosander flying high north towards Dartmoor as the light began to fail was the highlight of the walk and as we drove home over the road bridge at Marsh Mills I saw a male and female goosander feeding on the river.

Sunday 8th January and we had a walk around Burrator Reservoir on another cold and grey
day but again it wasn't too busy with people. The water levels were very low after what has been a dry and mild winter, it looked more like September after a hot and dry summer. A male goosander, a little grebe, 4 male tufted duck, 3 male and 2 female teal, mallards, a Muscovy duck, 3 white farmyard geese, 2 juvenile and 2 adult cormorant (1 in full summer plumage) and a grey heron were seen on and around the water while in the woods a very pale buzzard, a few siskins and a marsh tit with blue, coal, great and long tailed tits around the car park were also seen.

 Summer Plumaged Cormorant, Burrator Reservoir

Pale Buzzard, Burrator

Before driving off to Burrator I found my first moth of the year, a male winter moth resting on the window of a house by our parked car.

Male Winter Moth, Plymouth

Wednesday 11th January and we drove out to Thurlestone for a walk and some lunch on a sunny but cold and blustery day. We parked in the village and walked down to the beach where I immediately found the long staying desert wheatear feeding along the sandy beach and undercliff and chasing off nearby rock pipits and pied wagtails. It was sporting a metal ring on its right leg (was it really necessary or appropriate to catch and ring it?) and was more wary than on my visit in November (possibly due to being caught and ringed?) but still gave some great views, a very lovely bird to watch.

 Desert Wheatear, Thurlestone, with metal leg ring

 Desert Wheatear

 Desert Wheatear - showing buffy rump

 Desert Wheatear

Desert Wheatear

A few turnstones were feeding along the beach while a large group of black headed gulls were feeding in the surf but there was nothing on show offshore in the windy and choppy conditions. South Milton Ley was empty too with low water levels but South Huish Marsh was alive with birds - a dunlin, a black tailed godwit, wigeon, mallard, teal, lapwing, 2 mute swans, 3 oystercatchers and gulls. Viewing though was difficult in the wind and so we headed back to Thurlestone for lunch in the pub via another look at the desert wheatear on the beach before heading home to Plymouth.

Desert Wheatear