Dawlish Warren

A few pics from the last couple of days - with thanks to Lee Collins, Stewart Beer and Brian Palmer...

 Juv Knot - Friday 5/8 (BP)

 Roseate Tern - Friday 5/8 (top BP, lower LC)

 Striking Oyc! - Friday 5/8 (BP)

 Little Ringed Plover - today (LC)

South Milton Ley

Ceremonial unveiling of the new plaque about South Milton Ley this morning- great effort by Nick Townsend to oversea this project and a special mention of the work Jim Bennett did to ensure its success also to Vic Tucker / Bob Burridge for their inspiration over the last 30 years to produce a site that offers so much to the birds we are now watching and ringing.

Only a report of the ringing team today - what a day total for the site a most suitable dedication to all those years of hard graft and work :-

2 Groppa, 18 Chiffchaff, 81 Willow , 48 Sedge, 15 Reed 4 Whitethroat, 1 Blackcap, 6 Garden Wblr ( site day record )

Just makes you wonder how many birds are moving through the site- with the no. of nets up these could represent only 50% - what a fantastic site

Black Hole Marsh

Adult Pectoral Sandpiper this afternoon - showing well from the Island Hide. Other waders included 3 Dunlin, plus 2 Ringed Plovers on the estuary.

Pec Sand - Seaton

This cracking adult Pec Sand has been showing on Black Hole Marsh this afternoon from the island hide. Just a pity the sun didn't come out whilst it was on view...

Wembury Point

At Wembury Point this morning; 1 Little Ringed Plover, 5 Ringed Plover, 2 Dunlin, 2 Redshank, 2 Whimbrel and a Grasshopper Warbler.

[Andy Trout]

Prawle Area

A trawl around Prawle this morning in calm conditions produced a moderate number and variety of passerine migrants:

85 Willow Warbler, 20 Chiff-Chaff, 35 Whitethroat (mostly residents), 7 Blackcap, 2 Sedge Warbler, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 2 Tree Pipit, 1 Wheatear and a few Sand Martins through

Horsey Island. Braunton Marshes

08:00

10 Greenshank and 2 Kingfishers

There were also 100s of adult and juvenile Swallows on the road surface of the Toll Road until the traffic started running.

High Land of Orcombe

Wheatear in field adjoining coastal footpath. 7 Scoter off Straight Point and flock (morning conference!) of 245+ Cormorants on the sea off Orcombe with at least another 60 on Straight Point.

Black Kite, Ashridge Farm

A couple of heavily cropped pics of the Black Kite taken on 4 August. On occasions it showed well but was also elusive

Thurlestone Marsh

Brief report - 1 Green Sandpiper , Bob B put up 1 net and in 1 hour had 33 Sedge Wblr including 1 jv british control.

Over Avtn Gifford a Hobby at 10.00

Bowling Green Marsh

A quick look in this evening produced:

Ruff (flew down river at 1950hrs), 2 Green Sandpipers, a lone Greenshank, 2 Shovelers, an eclipse drake Wigeon and one of the Fox family was stalking along the far shoreline. 2 juv Mediterranean Gulls flew over. Tide had not risen high enough to produce the usual numbers of waders.

Re; Ringed LBBGull. R.Avon

Try pete.rock@blueyonder@co.uk

Peter lives in Bristol and he is co-ordinator of large gull cr-projects.

South Milton Ley.

Must be a sign of age left out the ringing report!

Wed 3/8 - 57 Sedge , 33 Willow, 4 Chiffs, 12 Reed, 6 Blackcap, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Garden Wblr.

3 Swift over & a Spotted Fly in a South Milton garden

Eric Wotton had a ringed L B B Gull on the Avon on monday- Blue on right leg -letters e/r aae, any info would be welcome

Thurlestone Bay

No updates for a few days =-having server connection problems.

Tues 2/8-Swallow roost at Thurlestone marsh at 21.00- 15,ooo+. On SouthHuish marsh -singles of Greenshank, Green Sandpiper & Dunlin, in the bay 2 Sandwich Tern

Thurs 4/8 -On thebeach- 10 Ringed Plover, 3 Sanderling, 2 Turnstone, 1 Dunlin, 1jv Med Gull.
On S. Huish marsh- 1 Greenshank, 2 Green Sandpiper, 1 Dunlin, 1 Snipe (first returning bird) 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 jv Wheatear.

Dawlish Warren

A few birds from yesterday

03/08/11- English Channel 11nm off Start Point

Yesterday 03/08/11, from a fishing boat: Pomarine Skua (adult), 3 Great Skua, 3 Arctic Terns, 8 Common Terns, 80+ Manx Shearwater, 3 European Storm-petrels, 5+ Yellow-legged Gulls (juvs) in with numerous Lesser Black-backs and Herring Gulls and around 100 Fulmars (all double light phase bar one light phase).


Despite going out to sea on this fishing boat on regular basis for a year now, I have still failed to see any large shearwaters...... yet (a part from Sooties)!! But of interest a Cory's Shearwater was just off Portland harbour a few days ago, see the amazing photos at http://www.marine-life.org.uk/

Otter Estuary / Budleigh Beach

The Glaucous Gull makes it into August, present on the beach again today. On the nearby Otter on this evening's high tide:
25 Little Egret
3 juv Shelduck
160+ Mallard
1 Coot
1 Little Grebe

Dawlish Warren

juv Kentish Plover in The Bight on the evening rising tide. Flew towards beach with small wader flock, where people were walking tide-line.

Topsham BGM

Black-tailed Godwit + Greenshank

Black Hole Marsh / Colyford Common

Water levels up with the big spring tides. Could only find 6 Dunlin, 8 Black-tailed Godwits and a few Common Sandpipers this evening, plus a juv Med Gull.

Skern 2 Aug

First real signs of Autumn wader passage at this site today over high tide.

29 Dunlin, 19 Ringed Plover and singles of Little Ringed Plover (Juv), Turnstone, Sanderling, and Whimbrel.

Only 2 Med Gulls today, and disappointingly no Terns, but the Dark-bellied Brent was still present.

Prawle - (extras from 31/7)

A couple of extra sightings to add to the day's totals - single Hobby and Grasshopper Warbler.
(From John Lambert)

Islay Marsh - Saturday 30/7

On a walk from Instow around to the marsh at back while the tide was coming in we saw a juvenile Stonechat near the little pond. Not seen any there at all before.

Also large numbers of Curlew, OysterCatchers and Med Gulls. A young fledged Oystercatcher with it's parents and a couple of Black Tailed Godwit.

Back at the cricket pitch 3 Little Owls, one adult & two youngsters I think.

 

[from Karen Sims & John Towers]

Dawlish Warren etc - yesterday 31/7

1 Pomarine Skua off Dawlish Warren, plus the Slavonian Grebe still off Cockwood [from Stewart Beer]

photo by Brian Palmer

Thurlestone Marsh

Bob B had a female Marsh Harrier over at 08.00 also Garden Wblr. 1 Curlew over at 18.00

Ringing team at both S M Ley & Tstn Marsh - 1 Water Rail, 10 Willow, 6 Sedge, 3 Reed , 1 Blackcap. Interestingly one of the Reed Wblr controlled on Tstn Marsh ringed there on 23/5/2008.

This morning- waders in the Bay - 3 Ringed Plover, 1 Dunlin , 1 Whimbrel. 6 Sandwich Tern , 1 Common Tern, 1 jv Med Gull 3 Manx S'water

South H Marsh- 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Greenshank, 1 Wood sandpiper.

A few Sand Martion flew thru & Swift

.

Exminster marshes

During a brief visit this morning two green sandpipers calling and flying around. Probably looking for water as the only visible water is now the lagoon. On the lagoon the coot flock has increased to 50 birds. Also there 2 little grebes. A few blackcaps and whitethroats on the canal bank (all juvs).

Skern, Northam Burrows

07:10 - 09:00

1 Dark-bellied Brent Goose; 6 Med Gulls, incl 2 Polish ringed birds( that`s 3 different ones in 3 days); 4 Whimbrel; 9 Common Tern and 1 Wheatear.

A little bit of research(Devon Bird Report 2009) revealed that the same 2 ringed birds were observed at Instow by Rob Marshall in July 2009.
Both carried a red ring with white alpha/numerics on right leg.
PAJ7 Ringed 10/05/05 at Radyczyny, Turek, Poland.
PAH4 Ringed 06/05/06 at Mietrow, Wroclaw, Poland.

Prawle area

Another day of Warbler movement, with Whitethroats at the fore today. A total of 150 included c100 in and around a pea crop, the majority of which were, as to be expected, juveniles. Other warbler totals were 55 Willows, 20 Chiffchaff, 9 Blackcaps and 6 Sedge. 35+ Swifts were with a large gathering of Hirundines, including at least 7 Sand Martins, and there were 4 Wheatears in the area. Waders were limited to a Whimbrel, 4 Ringed Plovers, a Dunlin and 2 Common Sandpipers.


The first autumn picture this year of a Wheatear on a rock (!)

Thurlestone Bay

Waders in the bay -6 Sanderling, 2 Ringed Plover, 1 Dunlin, 1 Common Sandpiper

South Huish Marsh this am - 1 Greenshank, 2 Green Sandpiper 1 Dunlin, 1 Wood Sandpiper ( first returning bird ) On the coast path - 2 Garden Wblr .

Another fantatic morning by the ringing team - 52 Willow, 23 Sedge, 8 Reed , 3 Garden, 7 Whitethroat,11 Chichaff

Blackhole marsh and the Exe

Blackhole marsh,

there were 6 Little ringed plovers 2 ad and 4 juv. Also 2 Green sandpipers, 10+ common sandpipers and about 7-8 dunlin.

A single juv Yellow legged gull was on the estuary.

Also an ad Yellow wagtail on the way out of Axemouth.

Exemouth,

4 ad summer Med gulls with about 40-50 black headed gulls.

Exe estuary and at sea

Yesterday afternoon 4 Med gulls south of Turf in the estuary; one juvenile, 3 adults (1sp & 2 wp) and 4 sandwich terns. At the mouth of the estuary 6 gannets, 12 sandwich terns, a few comic terns and a couple of kittiwakes. Half way to Brixham 2 and then a further 7 manx shearwaters (all east) and 21 kittiwakes (all adults).