Stover Country Park

A single Brambling was seen high in the trees around the lakeside near the canopy walk late in the afternoon.

Dawlish Warren

20 Common scoter, 1 velvet scoter and the surf scoter although very distant. Also 3 slavonian grebes, 10 great crested grebes, 15 eider, 1 black throated diver, 12 sanderling (at Warren Point), 80+ knot, peregrine.

Across the Exe, the redhead Smew was still at Bowling Green Marsh.

Forgot to add last night - A faded Red Admiral butterfly on the wing at Exminster Marshes around lunchtime. Successfully overwintered.

Harpford Common, East Devon

The Great Grey Shrike showed well all afternoon. Its preferred area had been burned recently where it was catching lizards on the ground warmed by the sun. Sometimes it would sit on the nearby power line eating a lizard.

R.Taw off Pottington Ind Est and Bradiford Reserve

13:35 - 15:00

Bradiford Reserve.

5 Gadwall in the shallows of Bradiford Water and 1 Green Sandpiper in the ditch alongside Ashford sewage works.

Just off Pottington Ind Est.

10 Sanderling; 2 Redhead Smew; 1 Redhead Goosander; 2 Little Grebe; 2 Little Egret; 2 Black-tailed Godwit; 1 Bar-tailed Godwit and 2 Grey Plover.
Plus the usual.

Clennon Valley

Around the ponds today: 21 Tufted Ducks, 2 Pochard, 1 Little Egret, 10 Snipe, 4 Goldcrest, 2 Chiffchaffs one very olive collybita type and a new bird in which confused me... see the two pictures below of the same bird in dull light in cover and then in sunlight!


Unfortunately non calling, legs brownish (not blackish) and a fair amount of pale on lower mandible, strong supercilium lacking eye crescents, very white underside and grey nape. On the bad side for Siberian Chiffchaff (tristis) it lacked buffy tones - especially around cheeks, it showed extensive yellow on body feathers at bend of wing and yellowish top to rear flanks, perhaps a hint of yellow in supercilium, in sunlight it also showed alot of olive in plumage including scapulars and hints of olive streaks in the mantle- perhaps even crown. It was half interested in tristis song playback (hopping up the branch and looking at me) but did not react with wing quivering, and very soon lost interest. Perhaps a intergrade or eastern abietinus or just an odd collybita!

Otter Estuary

12.00-14.00

Water Pipit on east bank of Otter, below hide, just above water line.
Sea-watching - Red-throated Diver, 40+ Gannets feeding offshore, 20-30 Auks a minute for about 40 minutes, flying west and east in equal numbers. After a while realised they were probably going round in a big circle! Included Razorbills and Guillemots, but mostly not ID'd I'm afraid.
Also present - 6 Shelduck, 180+ Wigeon, 30+ Teal, Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwit, 30+ Curlew, 8+ Redshank.

[from Steve Oliver]

R. Taw - Pottington

Redhead Smew and female Goldeneye still present in the vicinity of the Taw Bridge at 13.45 this afternoon.

Seaton Bay

There were 12 Velvet Scoter off Seaton seafront this morning: other birds present included Red-throated Diver (one on sea, one flew east and three west), 3 Eider, 20 Common Scoter and 15 Great Crested Grebes.

Kingsbridge Estuary

Took a walk down to the hide on Charleton Marsh this morning on the high tide. Highlights were 4 Scaup ( male and 3 females ) and 5 Goosanders in the western side of Charleton Bay. Little Egrets seem to be a little down in numbers so maybe suffered a bit this winter ? Wrens also scarcer.

Martins or Swallows?

I received a call yesterday from Pete Dennis telling me he had seen at least 3 martins sp. over the road between Marldon and Totnes. Earlier in the day there was a report on Radio Devon about a group of House Martins and Swallows (seen by several people calling in!) in N Devon does anyone know anything about these?

Torbay

Paignton: 1 Long-tailed Duck, 2 Great Crested Grebes.

Goodrington: 6 Black-necked Grebes, 3 Great Crested Grebes.

Broadsands: 1 Red-breasted Merganser, 1 Black-necked Grebe, 5 Great Crested Grebes.
In the marsh: 1 Firecrest, 2 Goldcrest, 1 collybita Chiffchaff, 1 Water Rail.
On seed at back of 2nd car park: 13 Cirl Buntings, 7 Reed Buntings.

Odds and ends

Otter est - today - late pm - mediterranean gull 3ad, great skua 1 west (415pm), pied wag 18

Exmouth docks - 10/2/11- late pm - long-tailed duck 1 (fem type), 1 presumed ad

yellow-legged gull

Otter est - 2/2/11 - presumed fw scand herring gull, goosander 5 (fem type)

Also the above leucistic black-headed gull

Venn Ottery / Harpford Common

The Great Grey Shrike was present from 1600 - 1620hrs ar least near Venn Ottery this afternoon. Go down track to Woolcombs Farm from Aylesbeare Common (Joney's Cross), carry on past farm down track to stream. Cross over wooden bridge and follow steep right hand track up on to open common. On the left is a house with tall ornamental fir trees bordering it. The bird was in tree tops to the right of this house, showing very well.

Also the ringtail Hen Harrier was quartering the heath on Harpford Common mid afternoon.

Broadsands

After a disappointing WeBS count at Mansands, went to Broadsands late morning for something better! While watching a winter Med Gull through my telescope, a Red-throated Diver popped up behind it. Then another and another, then saw 14 altogether, all in a line. Also with them was a Black-throated Diver. Could only get some of them in the picture. After 15 minutes or so, they all flew off towards Brixham Harbour. There were also 2 Black-necked Grebes, 16 Great Crested Grebes and 6 female Common Scoters.

Other Early Breeders

Email from Charlie Fleming today...

hello Gavin,
In response to your post and Jon Turner's about singing and breeding etc. I also had a Blackbird singing at dawn yesterday (10th).   Also had Collared Doves nesting in my garden during the snow on Christmas day!

Venn Ottery

Great Grey Shrike on power lines. 4pm today 10 Feb

 

[from Andrew Hickson]

Early Breeders

I should quickly explain that I'm not talking about birds here, but the orgiastic behaviour of our local frogs. This morning I counted a staggering 67 in our (quite small) garden pond, and here is a photo of some of them, and their produce...

In the long, long wait for the first Wheatears this at least helps me to believe that spring is actually coming!

Singing

I was thinking yesterday that it would be a real treat to hear the first Blackbird singing, and lo and behold this morning there was one belting away at the back of my house. So that's joined the Great Tits, Song Thrushes and Dunnocks as heralds of spring.

I posted a note on Birdforum a couple of days ago about a juvenile Collared Dove, fresh out of the nest, that I found near the centre of Braunton on Tuesday. Unable to fly and most of it's flight feathers and tail feathers still in pin. I left it to the ministrations of the two adults I could hear calling nearby. Anyone else got any early breeders?

Broadsands

On Sea: 1 Red-necked Grebe, 1 Slavonian Grebe, 2 Black-necked Grebes, 15 Great Crested Grebes, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers, 5 Common Scoter.

In marsh: 1 Firecrest, 2 Goldcrest, 2 Collybita chiffchaffs & 1 Water Rail.

On Seed in 2nd car park: 7 Cirl Buntings, 3 Reed Buntings.

West Town Farm, Ide

A Hawfinch still remains around West Town Farm, Ide, although mobile. This distant shot was taken mid-morning.