Monday 31st March

On a low tide visit a flock of 11 Pale-bellied Brent Geese on an offshore sandbar was the most notable sighting, with two Grey Plover in The Bight and two Great Crested Grebe off the seawall late morning.

 

Elsewhere Blackcap is on territory in Dead Dolphin Wood with a migrant Willow Warbler by the Main Pond.

Other Wildlife: More insects on the wing for the first time this year in the fine weather. Leading the way was a selection a ladybirds on the Alexanders including 10-spot, Pine and a variety of Harlequin.

10-spot Ladybird - Alan Keatley

Pine Ladybird - Alan Keatley

New bees for the year included Common Furrow Bee Lasioglossum calceatum and Common Mini-miner Andrena minutula nectaring on Dandelion. Hoverflies have also responded to the weather with good numbers of Grey-spotted Boxer Platycheirus albimanus, Common Eristalis tenax and Tapered Dronefly E. pertinax along with singles of Common Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus and Spring Epistrophe E. eligans.

Grey-spotted Boxer Platycheirus albimanus - Alan Keatley

Common Furrow Bee Lasioglossum calceatum - Alan Keatley

Butterflies were limited to six Speckled Wood and four Peacock, with the Grey Squirrel roaming around the Entrance Bushes.

Sunday 30th March

Highlights from a short morning visit included four Willow Warbler, five Chiffchaff and single Buzzard and Sparrowhawk in the bushes with three Sandwich Tern offshore.

Other Wildlife: A Peacock butterfly was on the wing and several dozen Sand Crocus were flowering in the Crocus Compound behind the Visitor Centre.

Sand Crocus - David Flack

Saturday 29th March

Early morning at least 18 Red-throated and four Great Northern Diver flew south offshore with 15 Sandwich Tern foraging, six Great Northern and five Red-throated Diver on the sea along with five Common Scoter and two Eider. 

Counts from the estuary over the high tide included 120 Curlew, 18 Bar-tailed Godwit, 15 Redshank, 12 Sanderling, nine Grey and three Ringed Plover, eight Dunlin, six Red-breasted Merganser and a Knot. 

Elsewhere migrants included two Willow Warbler and a Blackcap, with the pair of Tufted Duck still on the Main Pond. 

Other Wildlife: The first Speckled Wood of the year was found freshly emerged in the Entrance Bushes, with a male Sandpit Mining Bee Andrena barbilabris, single Honey Bee and Harlequin Ladybird also new for the year.

Speckled Wood - Alan Keatley

Sandpit Mining Bee Andrena barbilabris -  Alan Keatley

Friday 28th March

Counts from the estuary included 310 Oystercatcher, 110 Curlew, 15 Dunlin, nine Grey Plover, three Bar-tailed Godwit and a Knot, with 11 Sandwich Tern, 10 Great Crested Grebe, four Great Northern and two Red-throated Diver and an immature male Eider offshore.

Elsewhere the first Willow Warbler of the year joined yesterday's Blackcap in song.

Year list addition:
117. Willow Warbler

Thursday 27th March

A singing male Blackcap and a female Wheatear were new arrivals, with at least 60 Linnet on site also likely to include migrants. A Meadow Pipit displaying on Warren Point may have also been a migrant, but hopefully will be the first to hold territory since 2013. 

Wheatear - Dean Hall

Blackcap - Dean Hall

Counts over the evening high tide in addition to the Oystercatcher and Curlew, included 46 Dark and three Pale-bellied Brent Geese, 42 Turnstone, 16 Sanderling, 10 Teal, nine Grey and three Ringed Plover, eight Greenshank, three Dunlin, two Red-breasted Merganser and a Knot.

Offshore there were 14 Great Crested Grebe, 10 Sandwich Tern, six Eider (three female & three male (two ad)), six Great Northern and a Red-throated Diver. 

Other Wildlife: Warm but few insects in the cloudy conditions, although a Peacock was on the wing along with Hairy-footed Flower Bee Anthophora plumipes, Early Bumblebee, a few Tapered Dronefly, a Marmalade Hoverfly and a Grey-spotted Boxer. 

Hairy-footed Flower Bee Anthophora plumipes - Alan Keatley

Early Bumblebee - Kevin Rylands

Also recorded a Grey Squirrel around the Entrance Bushes, the strandline beetle Broscus cephalotes around The Bight, the first Striped Ommatoiulus sabulosus and White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger of the year and new for the Warren the white blister rust Albugo hohenheimia on Hairy Bittercress and the cellar spider Psilochorus simoni in a golf course shed. 

Striped Millipede Ommatoiulus sabulosus - Alan Keatley

Broscus cephalotes - Alan Keatley

Amara tibialis - Alan Keatley

Albugo hohenheimia - Kevin Rylands

Wednesday 26th March

The year's first Black-throated Diver was offshore early evening along with nine Great Northern and a Red-throated Diver. Also present 20 Great Crested Grebe, an increase to seven Eider, five males (three immature & two adult) and two females and three Sandwich Tern. 

Counts from the estuary over the evening tide included 351 Oystercatcher, 162 Curlew, 42 Dark and a Pale-bellied Brent Geese, 24 Redshank, 20 Turnstone, 16 Sanderling, eight Grey and four Ringed Plover, eight Dunlin, four Greenshank, four Red-breasted Merganser, two Teal and a Knot.

Year list addition:
116. Black-throated Diver

Tuesday 25th March

The four Eider remain offshore with 16 Great Crested Grebe, six Great Northern and a Red-throated Diver also off the sea wall.

Counts from the low high tide included 37 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 21 Teal, 17 Redshank, 15 Sanderling, eight Shelduck, seven Greenshank, three Sandwich Tern and a Dunlin.

Elsewhere few if any migrants on site although four Chiffchaff were around the Main Pond.

Stonechat - Dave Jewell. One of several males holding territory, with females likely already on eggs

Other Wildlife: At least a dozen Sand Crocus was in flower on a south facing bank on the Golf Course, a week later than last year but the same date as 2023. With cloudy conditions forecast until Saturday it may be a while before they are joined by larger numbers.

Sand (Warren) Crocus Romulea columnae - Dave Jewell

Also taking advantage of the sunny weather a basking Common Lizard and two Peacock, with the hoverflies Slender Melanostoma M. scalare and Grey-spotted Boxer Platycheirus albimanus on the wing for the first time.

Other active invertebrates included Copper Sunjumper Heliophanus cupreus, Black Marram Weevil Otiorhychus atroapterus, the leafhopper Agallia cf. ribauti and the planthopper Muirodelphax aubei.

Muirodelphax aubei (male) - Alan Keatley

Muirodelphax aubei (female) - Alan Keatley

Black Marram Weevil Otiorhychus atroapterus - Alan Keatley

Monday 24th March

A late afternoon visit on a dropping tide saw 62 Turnstone, 42 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 32 Teal, 22 Sanderling, 21 Redshank, six Greenshank, two Red-breasted Merganser and a Grey Plover in the estuary.

Elsewhere eight Great Crested Grebe, four Common Scoter, four Eider, two Great Northern Diver and two Sandwich Tern were offshore, the pair of  Tufted Duck were on the Main Pond, 55 Linnet and eight Chiffchaff were on site and a calling Grey Heron flew very high east.

Other Wildlife: The continuing good weather is increasing the variety of insects including nectaring Yarrow Blacklet Cheilosia vernalis, Furry Dronefly Eristalis intricaria and the picture-winged fly Tephritis vespertina.

Furry Dronefly Eristalis intricaria - Alan Keatley

Yarrow Blacklet Cheilosia vernalis - Alan Keatley

A male Trimmer's Mining Bee Andrena trimmerana was warming up on a fence with an Ichneumon stramentor on a wall near Langstone Rock.

Trimmer's Mining Bee Andrena trimmerana - Alan Keatley

Ichneumon stramentor - Alan Keatley

More terrestrial insects include a new species, Bembidion tetracolum, a common and widespread ground beetle. Other beetles included the rove beetle Ocypus brunnipes and ground beetle Harpalus affinis.

Bembidion tetracolum - Alan Keatley

Harpalus affinis - Alan Keatley

Sunday 23rd March

Some notable visible migration, including a site record 2,393 Chaffinch heading NE mostly before 10am. This the sixth 1000+ count here in spring since the first in 2008, although most spring counts are rarely even double figures

Also overhead, the first site Woodlark since 18th March 2018, 105 Wood Pigeon, 104 Jackdaw, 13 Lesser Black-backed and nine Black-headed Gull, eight Meadow Pipit and Starling, five Rook, four Linnet, three Siskin, the first three Sand Martin of the year and a Blue Tit in off the sea. 

A Water Pipit in The Bight was a new arrival with a second bird still in the saltmarsh, where 18 Snipe and a Jack Snipe were also still present. Other counts from the estuary included 111 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 26 Teal, 21 Redshank, 18 Sanderling, 13 Dunlin,10 Ringed and a Grey Plover, eight Greenshank and six Knot.

Elsewhere four Sandwich Tern were offshore with four Eider and a Great Northern Diver, with five Chiffchaff still on site including the singing bird on Warren Point.

Year list additions:
114. Woodlark
115. Sand Martin

Saturday 22nd March

Migrants included two Wheatear and half a dozen Chiffchaff, including a singing bird on Warren Point, with six Sandwich Tern offshore.

Also offshore four Eider and four Great Northern Diver with counts from the estuary including 53 Turnstone, 51 Dark and two Pale-bellied Brent Geese, 33 Teal, 25 Sanderling, 17 Redshank and four Greenshank.

Other Wildlife: An overcast day with the wind reducing the temperatures but two Sand Lizard were basking on Warren Point and the first Tree Bumblebee of the year was on the wing amongst numerous Buff-tailed Bumblebee and just a single Common Dronefly. 

Thursday 20th March

A couple of welcome migrants with an early Blackcap in the Entrance Bushes and the first two Wheatear of the year in Greenland Lake. At least four Chiffchaff were in song with a pair of Tufted Duck still on the Main Pond.

Elsewhere 195 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 18 Teal and 12 Sanderling were in the estuary with three Eider and two Sandwich Tern offshore.

Year list additions:
113. Blackcap
114. Wheatear

Other Wildlife: The spring equinox coincided with a warm and sunny day. Insects reacted to the rise in temperature with the emergence of several Yellow-legged Mining Bee Andrena flavipes near Langstone Rock along with the first Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris and Bibio johannis, a miniature St Mark's Fly, of the year. 

Yellow-legged Mining Bee Andrena flavipes - Alan Keatley

On the wing for just the second time this year were Comma, with four Peacock also seen; Early Bumblebee and Buffish Mining Bee Andrena nigroaenea, with one of the latter hosting the parasite Stylops melittae.

Also emerging for the first time this year were the tiny weevils Exapion ulicis on Gorse and Apion haematodes on Sheep's Sorrel, along with the larger Dorytomus taeniatus on willow.

Other beetles included on the beach, the dung beetle Calamosternus granarius, ground beetles including Trechus obtusus and Syntomus foveatus and the leaf beetle Prasocuris phellandrii. A new leaf beetle for the Recording Area, Phaedon armoraciae was found near Langstone Rock, a common and widespread species.

Phaedon armoraciae - Alan Keatley

Despite the conditions still no sign of any flowering Sand Crocus but the first Early Forget-me-not of the year are open and patches of Mossy Stonecrop are starting to brighten. 

Mossy Stonecrop - Kevin Rylands

Tuesday 18th March

Spring migration appears paused with little change, the five Tufted Duck, a pair of Teal and at least four Chiffchaff still around the Main Pond and usual waders around The Bight at high tide.

Tufted Duck - Dean Hall

Counts from the estuary included 145 Curlew, 142 Dunlin, 60 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 26 Turnstone, 17 Sanderling, 16 Grey Plover and a Bar-tailed Godwit, with three Eider and a Red-breasted Merganser offshore.

Other Wildlife: Single Common Lizard and Palmate Newt were still in their favoured sheltered locations. Some change with insects though with the first sawfly of spring, the bedstraw feeding Aglaostigma aucupariae in the sheltered Entrance Bushes. 

Aglaostigma aucupariae - Alan Keatley

In contrast the beach was sandblasted in the strong easterly with several beetles struggling in the wind and loose sand, including a Strawberry Root Weevil Otiorhynchus ovatus. In more vegetated areas the Ribwort Plantain feeding weevil Trichosirocalus troglodytes and new for the Warren, the groundbug Cymus glandicolor.

Strawberry Root Weevil Otiorhynchus ovatus - Alan Keatley

Cymus glandicolor - Alan Keatley

Sunday 16th March

‬A sunny day, but the easterlies kept a chill in the air. Summer migrants were limited to at least six Chiffchaff which were flycatching around the Main Pond, although five Tufted Duck were new arrivals and the largest number seen on the pond.

Tufted Duck - Alan Keatley

Chiffchaff - Alan Keatley

Elsewhere 120 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 120 Dunlin, 20 Grey Plover, 20 Sanderling, three Red-breasted Merganser, two Bar-tailed Godwit and a Knot were in the estuary and four Eider were still offshore.

Other Wildlife: Despite the chill the first solitary bee of the year, a Buffish Mining Bee Andrena nigroaenea, made an appearance, although other flying insects were confined to a few Buff-tailed Bumblebee.

Buffish Mining Bee Andrena nigroaenea - Alan Keatley

A couple of beetles made a first appearance of for the year on the beach, a red dung beetle Aphodius fimetarius and the tiny ground beetle Acupalpus dubius.

Aphodius fimetarius - Alan Keatley

Acupalpus dubius - Alan Keatley

Saturday 15th March

Counts from the morning tide included 214 Dunlin, 179 Curlew, 161 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 51 Cormorant, a good count and including at least two sinensis, 33 Bar-tailed Godwit, 24 Teal, 21 Sanderling, 20 Grey and four Ringed Plover, five Greenshank, three Knot, two Red-breasted Merganser and a Great Northern Diver that flew high south out of the estuary.

Elsewhere 12 Common Scoter and five Eider were offshore and at least eight Chiffchaff and a Firecrest were on site. 

Offsite an immature White-tailed Eagle (from the Isle of Wight reintroduction project) was watched heading high SW over Powderham, dwarfing the three Buzzard mobbing it before disappearing into the cloud base.

Friday 14th March

Counts from the evening tide included c350 Oystercatcher, 160 Curlew, c120 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, c115 Dunlin, 76 Turnstone, 48 Redshank, 45 Teal, six Greenshank and a Grey Plover. A male Peregrine took one of the Dunlin and the large resident female Sparrowhawk also spooked the waders.

Elsewhere 18 Great Crested Grebe,15 Common Scoter, 14 Great Northern and four Red-throated Diver and the four Eider were offshore.

Ringing News: Eleven Warren ringed Oystercatcher were still present, all adults they should be on the move soon with the vast majority already departed. 

Recent reports include a metal ringed bird recaptured on the Gower, south Wales on 1 Feb, KM below Clifton suspension bridge, Bristol on 20 Feb, M8 back in Bedfordshire on 23 Feb, 2C back on Tiree off west Scotland on 25 Feb, 6N in Zuid-Holland, Netherlands on 28 Feb and 1M back in Grantown-on-Spey, Highland on 3 Mar. 

These are most probably on or near breeding territories although a couple may have still been on migration.

Other Wildlife: A male Dotted Border roosting beneath a security light was the first site record for 43 years (1982!). 

Dotted Border - Kevin Rylands

Thursday 13th March

The first Sandwich Tern of the year was offshore early evening along with 49 Common Scoter, 28 Great Crested Grebe, the four Eider, three Great Northern and two Red-throated Diver.

Counts from the estuary included 296 Dark and a Pale-bellied Brent Geese, 181 Curlew, 137 Dunlin, 25 Grey Plover, 23 Knot, 22 Teal, 21 Sanderling, 18 Bar and the year's first Black-tailed Godwit, a smart breeding plumaged adult. The geese and Curlew counts were from roosting birds on the evening tide, there were fewer other waders than earlier in the day. 

Elsewhere 42 Jackdaw flew north and five Chiffchaff and a Firecrest were around the Main Pond.

Chiffchaff - Dave Jewell

Year list additions:
111. Black-tailed Godwit
112. Sandwich Tern

Wednesday 12th March

Flat calm conditions offshore mid afternoon with birds spread distantly across the bay including 24 Red-throated and 10 Great Northern Diver, 24 Great Crested Grebe, 11 Common Scoter and the four Eider. 

Counts from the evening tide included 147 Curlew, 146 Dark and a Pale-bellied Brent Geese, 37 Redshank, 36 Teal, 30+ Dunlin, 17 Grey and six Ringed Plover, 15+ Sanderling, six Greenshank, four Red-breasted Merganser, two Bar-tailed Godwit and another Great Northern Diver. 

Other Wildlife: The northerly wind kept a wide variety of insects trapped on the beach were it was also relatively warm and sheltered. 

No less than three new species for the Recording Area were found, the weevil Notaris scirpi, the common leaf beetle Chaetocnema concinna and the ground bug Drymus sylvaticus. Also present the wrack fly Orygma luctuosum, a first record since 1960. 

Notaris scirpi - Alan Keatley

Orygma luctuosum - Alan Keatley

Other notable finds included the saltmarsh ground beetle Pogonus chalceus on the edge of The Bight and back on the beach, the leaf beetle Prasocuris phellandrii and the false blister beetle Oedemera femoralis.

Prasocuris phellandrii - Alan Keatley

Pogonus chalceus - Alan Keatley

Oedemera femoralis - Alan Keatley

Drymus sylvaticus - Alan Keatley

Tuesday 11th March

The only news came from a look from the seawall early evening where 1,940+ Herring Gull roosted offshore along with 34 Great Crested Grebe, two Red-breasted Merganser, two Great Northern and two Red-throated Diver.

Monday 10th March

Counts from the evening tide included 350 Dunlin, 208 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 39 Redshank, 23 Grey and 10 Ringed Plover, 22 Sanderling, 14 Teal, seven Greenshank, seven Knot and two Red-breasted Merganser.

Offshore 93 Black-headed Gull, 28 Great Crested Grebe, the four Eider, three drake Tufted Duck and single Great Northern and Red-throated Diver.

Elsewhere five Chiffchaff and a Firecrest were on site.

Other Wildlife: The highlight was the discovery of the Nationally Scarce Sand-running Spider Rhysodromus fallax. A distinctive dune spider, not only the first for the Warren, but a first for south Devon and the first in the county for at least 45 years.

Sand-running Spider Rhysodromus fallax - Alan Keatley

Also on the beach or amongst the dunes, the rove beetle Anotylus rugosus, and the ground beetle Paradromius linearis, with the weevil Euophryum confine and a couple of the darkling beetle Nalassus laeviotostriatus under a log.

Anotylus rugosus - Alan Keatley

Euophryum confine - Alan Keatley

Nalassus laeviotostriatus - Alan Keatley

Paradromius linearis - Alan Keatley