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Saturday 4 September 2010

Dawlish Warren today

Within 550+ Dunlin & 360 Ringed Plover were 7 juvenile Curlew Sandpipers & 2 Little Stints, finding them not always easy at it would appear. Offshore 1 juvenile Arctic Tern showed well if beliefly this afternoon. Lee

SOAR, SOAR MILL

walk about today produced a few bits and bobs but nothing of note (for me anyway) a few of the Plymouth lads were out as well so may have done better?
Redstart 2 Whinchat 2, Spot Fly 3 Yellow wag 10+ White wag 12 N Wheatear 5 Chiffchaff 10+ willow warb 4+ (6+ Clouded Yellow)

Slapton Ley

Walked from Slapton Bridge down the line to Torcross and back this afternoon. Very quiet, saw the usual female Marsh Harrier but apart from that just 5 Sandwich Terns and 2 Wheatears.

Beer Cemetery Fields

Today - 14.00 - 14.30- 2 Spotted Flycatchers, 1 Redstart (m)

Yesterday -3rd sept - 12.00-12.30- 3 Spotted Flycatchers, 4 Whitethroats, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Blackcaps, 1 Whinchat.

Also a Hobby on sept 1st.

Clyst Estuary


Four juvenile Curlew Sandpipers on the Clyst this afternoon, along with 13 Avocets and the Osprey, which caught a fish very quickly after leaving the derrick and was soon back devouring it.


Bowling Green Marsh held 35 Little Egrets, 15 Greenshank and about 10 Pintail, but very few waders on a neap high tide.


The cliffs near Otterton were quiet, just a couple of Wheatears and 4 Yellow Wagtails.

Kingsbridge Estuary

Charleton Marsh / Bay, 07:00-09:00, low tide.

2 Egyptian Geese, 6 Teal, 50 Ringed Plover, 28 Dunlin, Turnstone, Greenshank, Med Gull, 2 Common Tern, Kingfisher.

Dawlish Warren 3 Sept

Over high tide in afternoon, 1 Little Stint & 3 Curlew Sandpipers

Friday 3 September 2010

Nightjar in Plymouth


I received a phone call earlier in the week and when I called at the house I discovered the bird that had died hitting their patio doors the night before was a male Nightjar. The house concerned was the last house on the Woolwell Estate and actually backing onto Cann Wood.

Yelverton - Wryneck on 31 August




Tony John received a message to say a couple had found a Wryneck trapped in their porch. Fortunately they thought to take these photos before releasing the bird which appeared unharmed.


Black Hole Marsh & Colyford Common

3 Curlew Sandpipers and 1 Little Stint still present, with a few Dunlin and Ringed Plovers, plus 1 Greenshank.

2 Lesser Whitethroats on Coly Common, one carrying 2 unsightly ticks (photo)

Kingsbridge Estuary

4 Med Gulls ( 3 adults, second winter ) off Embankment Road Pumping Station, Kingsbridge this evening.

Taw Estuary


Great Black-backed Gull

Fremington Quay at 14:00 hrs,high water - No sign of the Great White Egret. Only note worthies were 6 Common Tern and a Great Black-backed Gull tucking into a flounder.

Isley Marsh -  30 Knot and 100 Oystercatcher at the outfall high tide roost. Also a single Cormorant in the outfall pond ( not seen many in there
 
Knot

Common Tern

Berry Head


10:30-13:00: steady passage of Gannets (165), Great Skua, 2 Arctic Skuas, 2 Manx Shearwaters, Balearic Shearwater (photo). Highlight was 10+ Common Dolphins heading south fairly close in (fairly rare sighting here!).

Thurlestone

O7.30 Thurlestone Marsh - 5 Chiffchaffs, 3 Willow Wblr, 3 Blackcap, 1 Cettis Wblr, 1 Garden Wblr, 10 Teal, 2 L Grebe, 3 Black T Godwit.
9.15 - 12.45 Thurlestone Bay - 3 Turnstone, 1 Whimbrel, 29 Ringed Plover, 14 Sanderling, 1 Knot, 5 Dunlin , 1 Redshank ,1 Wheatear, 5 Yellow Wags

[from Mike Passman]

Taw News (GW Egret still)

Great White Egret still at Fremington Quay this morning + 21 Little Egrets

1 Ruff and 3 Black-tailed Godwits beneath Taw Bridge @ 07:45

Also c.100 Redshanks + 1 Greenshank at Fremington Pill

[from Maurice Clements]

Thursday 2 September 2010

Plaster Down, Tavistock

Three juv Ringed Plover feeding on edge of Dartmoor. Present since at least Sunday evening. Still there this afternoon happily feeding despite a family playing cricket very close by. Viewable from the road.
(Tony John)

Fremington Quay - Great White Egret

Malcolm Shakespeare found this bird this afternoon. Present at 16.00 (still there when I left at 17:30). Pictures are hugh crops taken with stacked converters from afar so poor quality.




Axe Estuary And Beer Head

Beer Head was very quiet this morning; 46+ Yellow Wagtails, with singles of Ringed Plover and Grey Wagtail over.

Black Hole Marsh then produced three Curlew Sandpipers and a Little Stint amongst the Dunlin and Ringed Plovers.

On the Axe Estuary a juvenile Goosander, eight Black-tailed and one Bar-tailed Godwit.

Wednesday 1 September 2010

Black Hole Marsh

2 Curlew sand at Blackhole marsh tonight also juv Little Stint 31 Dunlin ,12 Ringed plover and 2 Barn owls

[From Phil Abbott]

Kingsbridge Estuary

Charleton Marsh / Bay, 17:30-19:30, rising tide.

Osprey ( in bay briefly at 18:10 then flew into Frogmore Creek ), Great Crested Grebe, 24 Ringed Plovers, 44 Dunlins, 2 Sanderlings, 2 Sandwich Terns and a Kingfisher.

Instow Oil Jetty Beach

10:00am - 11:30am . 2 Juvenile Curlew Sandpiper, 16 Ringed Plover, 5 Turnestone 6 Dunlin and a single Wheatear.


Haldon Ridge - A Honey at Last!

A Raptor watch in company with Mark Darlaston in great conditions was rewarded with a Juvenile Honey Buzzard at 1055hrs. The bird came up from the forest and circled before heading west and out of sight.
Also a scan of the Exe from a viewpoint a little later 3 Osprey were located soaring high. One bird was seen hunting further down the river a little later.

31/08/10 - Western Channel - 15-30nm SE Start Point


During fishing trip: 4 Black Terns, 15 Common Terns, 3 Arctic Terns, 20+ Great Skuas, 50+Storm Petrels (but still no Wilson's!) , Sooty Shearwater and Balearic Shearwater


Tuesday 31 August 2010

Black Hole Marsh

Still 2 Curlew Sandpipers late evening and a Hobby flew south.
Beer Head this morning produced 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Whinchat , 7 Yellow Wagtails and 4 Tree Pipit over.
Kingsbridge Est mid-day session today bagged:
fem Marsh harrier
over 1215hrs
2 Med Gulls adW, 1W
a few Whimbrel

Bowling Green Marsh

2 Ospreys this morning - an adult and a juv

[from Martin Wolinski]

Topsham Recreation Ground


An adult Yellow-legged Gull on the Exe off here this morning showed well . Seen here a couple of weeks ago so may be semi-resident...
Nearby the Osprey still on the Clyst barge, and a couple of Yellow Wagtails on Tremlett's field.

Sharkham Point

From yesterday evening.
6 Willow Warbler, 14 Whitethroat, 1 Spotted Flycatcher (near to car park), 1 Garden Warbler, 3 Wheatear, 7 Chiffchaff.

Monday 30 August 2010

Exe Est / Exmouth

The 2 Black Terns which have roosted in the Exe the last two nights were off Exmouth beach from 0730-0830 at least.
Upriver shortly after an Osprey caught a fish and flew into Powderham Park, another was perched on the Clyst derrick and yet another was fishing the Exe. 3 must be a record [?] but beaten by Poole harbour today which had 5+!

Berry Head

probable Pilot Whale one mile out from boat approx 18:00

Isley Marsh & Instow

One little Tern flew past Isley towards the sea accompanied by half a dozen Common Tern. No sign of the recently reported Osprey and Spoonbill.
At the High tide roost by the outfall there were several hundred Oystercatchers, a dozen Little Egrets and among them three of four Knot.
Between the outfall and the oil jetty there were close-up views of Turnstone, Dunlin and a couple of Juvenile Curlew Sandpiper all feeding in the high tide mark seaweed.

Curlew Sandpiper 


Dunlin


Black Hole Marsh

3 Curlew Sandpipers still, and the juv Marsh Harrier headed off W around 17:15

Colyford Marsh

Marsh Harrier this afternoon 16.00 - 17.10 also Little Ringed Plover

Kingsbridge Estuary

Charleton Marsh / Bay, 17:00-19:00, rising tide.

Osprey ( flew through bay and into Frogmore Creek 18:10 ), 2 Greenshank, 17 Ringed Plover, 36 Dunlin, 2 Knot, Kingfisher.

Lyme Bay - c15 miles off Seaton

3 Great Skua, 1 Arctic Skua. From a boat - pretty quiet

Dawlish Warren 30th Aug

Curlew Sandpiper 4, Arctic Tern 1, Common Tern 7

Sunny conditions made seawatching difficult today

Start Point

06:30-10:00. Lighthouse / Mattiscombe Valley / Farm.
Clear skies, mod NW wind, most birds around the relativly sheltered farm.

3 Stock Doves, 200 Swallows, Tree Pipit, Redstart, 40 Yellow Wagtails, 8 Wheatears, 8 Whitethroats, 6 Blackcaps, 20 Chiffchaffs, 10 Willow Warblers, 3 Spotted Flycatchers.

Beer Head

06:15 - 09:30

67 Wheatears, 15 Yellow Wagtails, 10 Blackcaps, 2 Spotted Flycatchers, 23 Chiffchaffs, 10 Willow Warblers, 1 Tree pipit, 1 Sedge Warbler, 3 Whitethroats, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Skylark, 2+ Ringed Plover.

This morning's big rarity was a Treecreeper!

Sunday 29 August 2010

Beer Head This Morning

Cold and windy on Beer Head this morning where there was a single Wheatear, a single Spotted Flycatcher and a couple of Willow Warblers.

Here's a photo of yesterday's Cattle Egret (Seaton Marshes) No sign of it today though.

New today on Black Hole Marsh, three juvenile Curlew Sandpipers.

EXMINSTER MARSH

Osprey on pylon and tree nr Turf 0730.
Yellow Wagtail 7 amongst cattle nr Lion's Rest
Peregrine chasing a Black-tailed Godwit

Curlew Sandpiper at Black Hole Marsh


One of 3 Curlew Sands at Black Hole Marsh this evening. Digiscoped.

Favourable winds!

Looking at the forecast http://www.xcweather.co.uk/GB/forecast we have high pressure and easterlies from mid-week. Might be good for some raptor drift - eyes peeled!

West Charleton Marsh

2 Teal, Green Sandpiper, 3 Greenshank and a Kingfisher this morning.