The wader on the Plym has been reidentified as a Little Stint on the basis of some excellent photos which Alan Doidge has just sent me and which include clear shots of the feet (see my post of Monday expressing doubts about the ID).
Many thanks to Alan for these pics without which the ID would not be nailed. If nothing else a very instructive (and tricky) bird.
On the Exe with a group of students today from Exmouth to Topsham (tide still flowing out strongly 45 mins after low tide due to the weather!). 1+ Spotshank (Topsham), 3 Golden Plover, 20+ Common Gull, 500+ Brent Goose, 500+ Blackwit. Notable absence of Shelduck with only three seen. Also a duck that I was aleterted to flying away with a pale head, Muscovy came to mind on poor views - are there any around?
6 ruff, 2+ spotted redshank , 4+ knot, 20+ dunlin, 350+ redshank, 17+ bar tailed godwits, 15+ greenshanks, 120+ wigeon, 70+ teal, good numbers of curlew and black tailed godwits, 1 buzzard, 1 common gull, 5+ jay, 40+ pied wagtails.
Grey Phalarope still on the Otter Estuary feeding and showing extremely well on the mud flat off the lower path towards the river mouth by Lime Kilns Carpark.
19 Pintail feeding on the Ridge this morning.
7 Black tailed Godwits feeding at Pottington.
Everything a bit all over the place thanks to the high winds. At Instow several Curlew on cricket field, not a common behaviour. Also 2 adult and 2 juv Mediterranean Gull, plus several Common Gull and Blackheaded Gull. Meadow Pipits flattened to the ground anywhere they could find - the public car park, the footpaths etc. Egrets and herons in the farmers fields, some close views of flushed Stonechat (~5 on one hedge) and Skylark, and a Stock Dove I felt rather sorry to flush from a cowshed.
At Manteo Way nature reserve most action was taking place in a very small cluttered drainage ditch seldom used by birds, with 4 Little Egret, a Green Sandpiper and a Kingfisher.
Drove down 5 mile lane at back of Slapton on Sunday afternoon 5th October around 3pm had 60 + Swallows.Monday 6th quite rainy and blowy but 70 Swallows left roost at Torcoss end of Slapton Ley also a Bittern left at 7.45am high to west, same afternoon 2 Pale -bellied Brent Geese circling bay at South Milton.
Tuesday 7th 120 Swallows Slapton Ley and single Bonxie and Arctic Skua south.
Wednesday 8th Merlin at end of Prawle Point 19 Clouded Yellows in field below NT car park, 100 Swallows south, too windy for much else!
Thursday 9th 200 Swallows south Torcross.
Friday 10th 9 Clouded Yellows Slapton Sands, + 12Stonechat and same number of Cettis Warbler. Afternoon 1 Clouded Yellow Start Point car park, 600 Swallows south, as soon as some rain showers came up the Channell the Swallows stopped leaving and started feeding!
Saturday 11th 200 Swallows to roost Slapton Ley.
Sunday morning 5 mile lane Slapton saw last Swallows (20) on start of 300 mile drive north, seen none since.
Although the bulk of the features support Semipalmated, there are just a couple of features which are still niggling me - nb bill shape (I couldn,t see a blob at tip in field nor in my pics) and lower scaps pattern is not typical anchors and rather diffuse.
Only other option appears to be a very grey Little Stint and heavily worn, but even then scaps and terts patterns don't seem to fit.
Views and better pics welcome!
This lovely first-winter Caspian Gull was down by the tram sheds (bottom end of the Estuary) 15:25-15:50 today. Classic in all respects but for a touch more mottling on flanks, but I guess that's down to the date and the fact it is not long out of juvenile plumage.
Earlier today not bad vis mig over Beer Head, mostly Linnet, Goldfinch, Skylark, alba Wagtails and Meadow Pipits, but also 3 Reed Buntings, 2 Mistle Thrush and a Siskin. Ian M also had 2 Ring Ouzel and a Firecrest here.
A mid-morning visit turned up a late whinchat, 2 wheatear, swallow, grey wagtail & 33 alba wagtail.
Phalarope. Feeding on the mud inside the pebble ridge at low tide.
While we were out with the RSPB Exeter local group this morning, we were surprised to see this Grey Phalarope in the mud just behind the pebbles ridge at the bottom end of the estuary.
Hi Tony. Location is Blagdon Marsh car park off Embankment Rd. Not Richmond Walk. Birdguides removed those details since. Walk along footpath by road South and as go under rail bridge bear left along cycle path until over looking estuary with obvious spit of rubble/land. Sitting on that with two Ringed Plover up to dark.
As neither John L. and I were able to go to Prawle yesterday (missing out on good conditions again this autumn !) we were only expecting the ‘leftovers’ on our seawatch in SW force 5 going west from 7.30 till 11am, when sunshine on the water stopped play.
Common Crane reported late afternoon still there at 5.45pm on South Huish Marsh by Robin Shute . Viewable from NT Car Park in company with Canada Goose flock.
I saw what I think was a Phalarope on the Otter Estuary by the Limekiln car park at Budleigh this afternoon.
It was swmming and wading in the shallow water of a creek at high-tide. It flew with a swooping flight.
A couple of pics - with apologies for quality!
SEE CORRECTION ABOVE. A juv Semipalmated Sandpiper roosting at high tide just south of Blagdon's Boat Yard, viewed from the cycle track. The first spot I looked at on this afternoon's visit to the Plym - I didn't get any further!
All observers happy with the ID after a thorough discussion and initial news put out as "probable" so as not to delay things.
Also 2 juv Ringed Plovers and 18 Turnstones there.
Unfourtuantly it was high tide, but good show. There was 19 Lapwing, a large fock of Dunlin, 3 Greenshank, 3 Golden Plover, 14 Grey Plover, Oystercatcher, Curlew and pair of Brent geese followed by a flock of ten.
A WeBS count mid afternoon on such a sunny Sunday was almost certainly going to be compromised by lots of people and activities. That was certainly the case today, and a jet ski roaring around near the Turf disturbed most of the waterfowl. However a first for me was that it was being ridden by a young man and a large dog.
However there were a few birds about; c35 brent geese, a dozen or so black-tailed godwits and a few bar-tails. On the sea wall there were a few meadow pipits and one wheatear. Near the Turf a single adult Med gull was hawking for insects with a few black-headed gulls. The black swan had drifted down from Topsham.
On the walk home across the marshes I saw c30 lapwings, 17 little egrets in two groups, one peregrine and two chiffchaffs.
The new foot/bike bridge over the railway north of Powderham Church is in place but not yet open as the track from Turf is still very much under construction.
Skylark 17, Ring Ouzel 3 (2 at Scabbacombe and one above Ivy Cove), Goldcrest 5, Chiffchaff 3, Wheatear, Stonechat 8, Swallow, House Martin 2, Cirl Bunting 4, Raven 2, Yellowhammer, Chaffinch, Goldfinch 5 & Meadow Pips 30+. Also Clouded Yellow & Painted Lady.
Grey Phalarope still off south side of Mountbatten Pier between 1100-1130, two adult Sandwich Terns and two adult Mediterrenean Gulls as well.
Cloudy, grey morning. Fresh-strong SW wind veering more westerly after a while.
Found a spot below the car park out of the wind and was surprised how much passed through, all heading south - southwest. Passage starting dying down after 90 minutes.
120 Meadow Pipit, 60 alba Wagtails, 13 Swallows, House Martin, 3 Starlings, 560 Linnets, 1180 Goldfinch, 240 Chaffinches, 50 Greenfinches, 3 Bullfinches and 2 Reed Buntings. A male Merlin shot across the car park as i was leaving. No Brambling or Siskin.
Bob Burridge rang and asked me to post there are 5 Whooper Swans ( 2 adult and 3 Juvs ) in a stubble field by Alston Farm Caravan Park ( NE of Malborough approx Grid Ref SX722408 ).
Along the Taw River there were plenty of Oystercatcher, Curlew, Dunlin and Redshank but no Godwits. Near Pottington there were a few Teal and before Chivoner a massive flock of 300-400 Canda Geese which included the possible Ross's x Barnacle Goose. Wrafton pond had 2 female Shoveler, a Tufted Duck and a Pochard. Out on Sherpa I saw for the fist time the 2 Marsh Harriers, no sign of cattle egret.
Whilst waiting for the helicopter to Lundy (which never arrived due to fog at Castle Air's Liskeard base...) we had good flight views and brief on-the-ground views of a Richard's Pipit. The bird flew off towards the SW at about 10.00 (Tom Bedford, Richard Campey, Tim Davis, James Diamond, Tim Jones).
A couple of pics in the swell off Mount Batten Pier this morning. Still there at 13:00.
Another migration check early this morning with a moderate wind from the South. No movement of migrants at all. Not 1 Chaffinch or Meadow Pipit! Yesterday morning at the same time the wind was from the ESE direction.Just shows the importance of wind direction for migration.
31 Cormorants > SE from roost.
Correction yesterday mormings post - The Auks (mainly Razorbills) were flying South not E (typo).
Seawatching between 0730-1230 after a night of heavy downpours and gusts, wind slowly veering to SW and cloud lifting. A good morning for skuas with at least 53 Arctics ,most I have seen here recently. Also 9 Great, 7 Pomarine, Skuas, 3 Sooty and 17 BalearIc Shearwaters, 16 Common Scoter, 1 Arctic Tern.
DMN, Andy Plumb, Clive Harris, REB.
Grey Phalarope 10:30 am found by Vic Tucker.
The viewing platform at bowling green marsh was next with 12+ grey plover, 1 water rail behind in the reeds calling, 4+ jays , 2 chiffchaffs.
from the hide 3 avocet, 3 spotted redshanks, 2 ruff, 40+ dunlin, among good numbers of redshank, black tailed godwits, curlew , 8+ bar tailed godwits, 10+ greenshanks, 40+ skylark over and steady passage of meadow pipits, the pair of stonechats still showing well, 3 reed buntings, 2 Cetti's warblers, 5+ jay.
A quick look in goosemoor produced a kestrel, 1 kingfisher and a common sandpiper on the clyst, a group of 38 meadow pipit were put up by the kestrel, 10+ skylarks over, 2 raven.
08:30-16:15. Grey morning with a fresh W-SW, cleared a little until midday when the wind started strengthening a little and backing southerly.
Nice to meet a few birders in Starehole looking for the ouzels. Between us we recorded Merlin, Grey Wagtail, 2 Wheatear, 9 Ring Ouzels ( 4 in the valley, Fay and her Mum had 4 the same time by the ponds, one on Sharp Tor by the sun dial ), 3 Yellow-browed Warblers ( Simon heard one East Soar willows, Francis and i heard one halfway down Starehole and Eric W saw one in sycamores on the east side of Starehole, timings all coincided so no duplication ), 6 Chiffchaffs and 8 Goldcrests. Strange to get 3 Yellow-broweds when such a relativly low count of chiffs and crests. Great to meet Mr. Lawrence enjoying the ouzels at the bottom of the valley, always nice to know you can rely on a 90 year old gentlemen to take a scope and tripod down the hill for you to take a look through, thanks Henry !!
Today at Berry Head, seawatch 12:00-16:30 building southerly ahead of the next front. Large feeding frenzy of mixed gulls and Gannets building in Lyme Bay, attracting skuas and shearwaters some then heading south included: 15 Arctic Skuas, 9 Pomarine Skuas, 10 Bonxies, 14 Sooty Shearwaters, 5 Balearic Shearwaters and a Manx Shearwater. Also 2 Greylag Geese earlier and a Wheatear. MD,AR,ST.
A few belated shots (I have been away since) of the very obliging young Hobby which frequented the back of Berry Head on 30 Sept-1 Oct, hunting Craneflies over the copse and aircraft beacon. The first shot shows a Cranefly about to be taken.
Some visible migration this morning, principally Starlings with a count of 980 in just under an hour. The first Fieldfare of the autumn with 36 west and 20 Redwings also west. Single Wheatear and 3 Stonechats on the airfield with increasing numbers of Meadow Pipit with around 70 this morning. Skylarks remain in low numbers without any arable field at around 30-40 although they did appear to be arriving this morning.
07.30 - 09.20 - Steady flow of migrants for the first 1hr. 30 min of daylight this morning mainly Chaffinches.
4 Pied Wagtail, 21 Cormorant flying from roost >SE, 10 Gannet, 4 Manx Shearwaters > S.
Juvenile Thresher Sharks prefer shallow sheltered Bays & the tail can be as long as the total length of the body.After consulting my Marine Expert prey items iinclude Herring as well as several other species & the timing is right for Herring.
Not a place that I would consider for bird watching but during a visit with my grand daughter recorded the following species, Rock Pipit, Pied wagtail (several) Cormorant,Shag, feral Pigeons, Gulls ~ Herring / Black Head / Greater Black Back, single Raven overhead, Carrion Crow, Buzzard, Heron on the rocks off the coast in front of the Living Coast centre, the Heron was roosting with numerous Cormorants, I took a distant photo and on looking at it there is a large brown bird with a distinctive white throat and I have no idea as to its identity.
Bideford & Barnstaple Bay Loch Ness Monster!
I have spoken to a Marine Life expert this morning & although it is rare, there is a possibility it was a Thresher Shark which is listed as vulnerable - IUCM Red List of threatened species.
I have examined video footage on google & I am now almost certain that it was a Thresher Shark. The length of the tail equals approx half the length of the total body.Thresher Sharks stun their prey with tail slaps. They prefer cool pelagic waters but will wander into coastal areas in pursuit of fish.They are very strong swimmers & can leap out of the water.What I think I have seen is the very long tail of a Thresher Shark in shallow water slapping it's tail. I have never seen one before.
I am familiar with the behaviour of Harbour Porpoise, Bottle nose Dolphin & Common Dolphin & have done a Cetacean watch from a coastal headland for several years & I am certain it was none of these species.
Unfortunately, was not able to obtain a photo through the scope.
Two Firecrests (1 male and 1 female) again in Holly tree in garden on edge of Scadson Woods at 08.15 today.
Yellow-Browed Warbler in Copse down from Soar Farm.
Barnstaple's Loch Ness Monster - suggestion?!
Thanks for the post about the 'nessie', gave us a good giggle and then a fun discussion about what it could actually have been!
4 spotted redshanks, and still 3 ruff, 70+ dunlin , 1 knot, 42+ greenshanks, 5 avocet with good numbers of redshanks , black tailed godwits, curlew, 15+ bar tailed godwits, 1 kingfisher, 1 peregrine, 1 sparrowhawk, 2 buzzards, 1 kestrel they have been scarce here over last year so a good record, 1 reed bunting and 1 stonechat male, still good numbers of teal with 300+, 170+ wigeon, 6+ jay, 1 stock dove, 10+ swallow, 2 house martins in with a large group of skylarks.
Cycled down to the Marshes around 17.00 & at first no sign of the Cattle Egret.
Looked through a small flock of Gulls with the scope feeding in the field with the Black Welsh cattle - 56 BH Gulls & 1 Med Gull. The Cattle Egret then flew in & landed on a post by the galvanised gate adjacent to the private road.
I digiscoped the bird from a gate entrance to the Great Field on the other side of the main Marsh road not the private road.The bird was over 100 metres away & it remained on the post preening until a flock of Crows swooped in & spooked it.
Seawatch 09:00-15:00. Wind SE moving around to SSW, wet then a clearance. All south: Little Gull (ad), 11 Mediterranean Gulls (3 ad, 4 2w, 4 1w), 38 Common Gull, 4 Arctic Skuas (2 ads, juv & 1s), 3 Pomarine Skuas (1 ad, 2 juvs), Great Skua, 2 Balearic Shearwaters, 5 Sandwich Terns, 13 Common Scoter, 345 Kittiwakes, Red-throated Diver and several Harbour Porpoise.
Best bird was a Merlin than came in off the sea and made two passes over my head (also saw one yesterday near Buckfastleigh), these small falcons amaze me as they often are flying in awful conditions. A Ring Ouzel was calling in one of the bushes while walking back.
First Redwing of the autumn for me flying over here this morning.
8+ Redwing in flight briefly, heading south east over Brixham College rear car park.
Out before the rain, vismig included: my first (approx) 76 Redwing on site this Autumn in several flocks >W, also first Brambling and Redpoll sp. of autumn. Other birds all >E, 220 Swallows, 26 House Martin, 2 Sand Martin, 3 'alba' Wagtails, 60+ Meadow Pipits, 2 Song Thrush, 33 Goldfinch, 6 Chaffinch, 4 Greenfinch, 3 Siskin, 4 Linnet, 1 Skylark.
Around Headland: of note just 2 Chiffchaff, 3 Blackcap, 5 Stonechat and 7 Goldcrest.
11 Brent Geese, a Wheatear, lots of Meadow Pipit and Linnet, 2 Bullfinch over and a Bar-tailed Godwit were highlights along from Instow towards the power station this morning.