Monday 21st April

A welcome arrival of migrants was seemingly limited to a Grasshopper and the first three Sedge Warbler of the year, three Wheatear and a second Reed Warbler singing at the Main Pond, with numbers of Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Whitethroat similar to recent days. Overhead, 20 Swallow, a Buzzard and a Yellow Wagtail. 

The lone arrival offshore was a single Little Tern with just a single Sandwich Tern for company. Also present eight Eider, two Great Northern and a Red-throated Diver, two Mediterranean Gull and single Common Scoter and Great Crested Grebe.

In the estuary, the highlight was the year's first Great White Egret feeding off Cockwood on the rising tide, although now anticipated each year this is only the 22nd record for the Warren. Other records included 304 Oystercatcher, 37 Whimbrel, 29 Dunlin, 20 Bar-tailed Godwit, 10 Turnstone, seven Ringed Plover, two Dark-bellied Brent Geese and single Greenshank, Red-breasted Merganser and Sanderling.

Year list additions:
136. Great White Egret
135. Sedge Warbler 

Other Wildlife: The first Green-veined White of the year was on the wing with half a dozen Orange-tip and a couple of Small Copper. A couple of St Mark's Fly Bibio marci and a Gossamer Hoverfly Baccha elongata were also flying for the first time. 

Sunday 20th April

An Arctic Tern was offshore with just four Sandwich Tern along with 40 Gannet, eight Eider (five female, two adult and an immature male), four Manx Shearwater, two Common Scoter and two Great Northern Diver.

Counts from the estuary included 44 Whimbrel, 17 Bar-tailed Godwit, 13 Dunlin, two Dark-bellied Brent Geese, two Redshank, single Great Crested Grebe, Knot and Red-breasted Merganser and a lost Common Scoter that flew low over The Bight. 

The first Lesser Whitethroat of the year was the pick of the migrants with other counts including 11 Chiffchaff, five Blackcap, four Whitethroat, two Reed and a Willow Warbler and a Wheatear with six Swallow, a Sand Martin and a Siskin overhead. 

Year list addition:
134. Lesser Whitethroat

Green-winged Orchid - Kevin Rylands

Saturday 19th April

A noticeable arrival of birds in the estuary after yesterday's wet weather, the highlight of which was a very smart summer plumaged Spotted Redshank, just the third April record after birds on 19th April 1971 and 23rd April 1983. It was also the first black adult since a moulting bird on 20th July 2011. It associated with a flock of godwits, before the flock left on the dropping tide, although the godwits later returned.

Spotted Redshank - Lee Collins

Other counts over high tide included 91 Dunlin, 73 Whimbrel, 63 Bar and a Black-tailed Godwit, 22 Ringed and eight Grey Plover, 13 Sanderling, eight Turnstone, two Dark-bellied Brent Geese, two Redshank and single Greenshank, Knot and Avocet, the latter just the seventh April record.

Also in the estuary, but outside the Recording Area, c85 Pale-bellied Brent Geese and five Little Tern were on Cockle Sands, Exmouth. 

Earlier at least two Little Tern had been feeding offshore with at least 51 Sandwich Tern, eight Mediterranean Gull (seven 2cy & a 3cy) and an albino Herring Gull. Single Arctic and Great Skua flew south along with 27 Common Scoter, four Fulmar, three Great Northern Diver and a pair of Tufted Duck. A summer plumaged Great Northern Diver, eight Eider and a Red-breasted Merganser were on the sea. 

At least 60 Swallow and nine Sand Martin flew through with five Blackcap, two Whitethroat, two Reed and a Willow Warbler not suggesting any arrivals in the bushes. 

Year list additions:
133. Spotted Redshank
132. Little Tern
131. Great Skua
130. Arctic Skua

Friday 18th April

Little reward for those braving the rain this morning with a 2h 45 min seawatch recording just 61 Gannet, 47 auk sp., 20 Kittiwake, 18 Common Scoter, nine Fulmar, two Red-throated and a diver sp. south. 

Counts from the estuary included 262 Oystercatcher, 31 Whimbrel, 30 Bar-tailed Godwit, six Sandwich Tern, five Grey Plover, a Knot and a Dark-bellied Brent Goose.

Migrants were limited to three Sand Martin and two Swallow with nine Chiffchaff, two Blackcap and single Reed and Willow Warbler still present.

Thursday 17th April

Highlights from an early morning visit included four Sandwich Tern, three Common Scoter, two female Eider and two Red-throated Diver offshore with two Little Egret heading south.

Overhead two Chaffinch, two Jackdaw and a Swallow with nine Chiffchaff, four Blackcap, three Whitethroat and single Reed and Willow Warbler in the bushes. 

Early afternoon 17 Dunlin, eight Whimbrel and seven Ringed Plover were in The Bight at low tide with at least 40 Sandwich Tern offshore and a flock of 11 Mute Swan flew east.

Other Wildlife: An increase in invertebrate activity with several species appearing for the first time this year including Coastal Silver-stiletto Acrosathe annulata, Batman Hoverfly Myathropa florea and the picture-winged fly Euleia heraclei, although the latter's leafmining larvae are recorded through the winter. 

Coastal Silver-stiletto Acrosathe annulata - Alan Keatley

Mining bees were well represented with Black Andrena pilipes, Sandpit A. barbilabris, Buffish A. nigroaenea, Orange-tailed A. haemorrhoa, Chocolate A. scotica and Yellow-legged A. flavipes on the wing.

In the sand dunes the nationally scarce ground spider Zelotes electus was active with the woodlouse spider Dysdera crocata and the red ant Myrmica ruginodis also enjoying the warming sands.

Zelotes electus - Alan Keatley

Myrmica ruginodis - Alan Keatley

Dysdera crocata - Alan Keatley

Wednesday 16th April

Three Arctic and 20 Sandwich Tern were offshore early morning along with three Eider and singles of Common Scoter, Great Crested Grebe, Manx Shearwater, Great Northern and Red-throated Diver. 

Counts from the estuary included 31 Bar-tailed Godwit, 15 Dunlin, 14 Whimbrel, nine Ringed and a Grey Plover, five Turnstone, a Knot and a Sanderling.

Elsewhere a Common Sandpiper was on the Main Pond and other migrants included four Wheatear, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Willow Warbler with two Swallow and the year's first Yellow Wagtail overhead.

Year list additions:
129. Common Sandpiper
128. Yellow Wagtail

Tuesday 15th April

After overnight rain a reeling Grasshopper Warbler near the Visitor Centre early morning was a good start but other new migrants were limited to two Wheatear and a Swallow with two Reed Warbler and Whitethroat holding territory. 

Further arrivals in the estuary included the first two Arctic Tern of the year, a flock of 21 Pale-bellied Brent Geese that flew north mid-morning were off Exmouth on Cockle Sands in the evening and a flock of 11 Dark-bellied Brent Geese included a family party of five, something not seen on the Exe this winter.

Other counts from the estuary included 30 Bar and a migrant flock of 15 Black-tailed Godwit, 17 Ringed and six Grey Plover, 16 Dunlin, 16 Whimbrel, four Sanderling and a Greenshank.

Offshore 17 Sandwich Tern, three Eider, two Manx Shearwater and a Great Northern Diver.

Year list additions:
127. Arctic Tern
126. Grasshopper Warbler

Other Wildlife: The Grey Squirrel was by the First Pond. Late news of the ground beetle Pteriostichus anthracinus found in the Entrance Bushes on 29th March. A first for the Recording Area and the first Devon record since 2004 for this nationally scarce species. 

Pterostichus anthracinus - Alan Keatley

Pterostichus anthracinus - Alan Keatley

Monday 14th April

Counts from the estuary on the receding morning tide included 330 Oystercatcher, 32 Pale and eight Dark -bellied Brent Geese, 27 Bar-tailed Godwit, 15 Whimbrel, eight Dunlin, seven Sanderling and four Grey Plover. Looking the other way 26 Sandwich Tern, two Eider and a Great Northern Diver were offshore.

Migrants included a Wheatear, three Whitethroat, single Reed and Willow Warbler by the Main Pond with Blackcap and Chiffchaff proclaiming territories in the wooded areas. 

Other Wildlife: Due to a chilly morning ,there wasn't much in the way of flying insects, although the hoverfly Common Twist-tail Sphaerophoria scripta on Cuckoo-flower was the first of the year, with several species of beetle found in the woods and the sand dunes.

Common Twist-tail Sphaerophoria scripta - Alan Keatley

In the woodland habitat were the ground beetles Dromius meridionalis, Great Blackclock Pterostichus niger and the willow beetle Crepidodera fulvicornis.

Great Blackclock Pterostichus niger - Alan Keatley

Dromius meridionalis - Alan Keatley

In the dunes were the rove beetle Philonthus cognatus, the ground beetles Calathus mollis and Harpalus anxius and a shining flower beetle Olibrus affinis.

Harpalus anxius - Alan Keatley

Philonthus cognatus - Alan Keatley Note yellow on the underside of the first antennae segment

Flowering Green-winged Orchid were on Warren Point and near the north end of Dead Dolphin Wood.

Green -winged Orchid - Alan Keatley

Sunday 13th April

A continuing trickle of migrants was headlined by a male Redstart around the Main Pond this afternoon with nine Chiffchaff, four Blackcap, three Willow Warbler, two Whitethroat and single Reed Warbler and Wheatear also on site. Overhead there were 25 Sand Martin, seven Swallow, four Jackdaw, two Rook and a Chaffinch.  

Counts from the estuary included 36 Whimbrel on the evening tide after just 12 in the morning, 24 Bar-tailed Godwit, nine Dunlin, eight Sanderling and Turnstone, seven Dark and two Pale-bellied Brent Geese, five Ringed Plover, a Greenshank and a Knot.

Offshore 35 Manx Shearwater, 11 Red-throated and four Great Northern Diver, eight Sandwich Tern, the three Eider, three Fulmar and a Red-breasted Merganser.

Saturday 12th April

The first three Whitethroat of the year arrived with other migrants including two Reed and a Willow Warbler on site and nine Swallow and a Sand Martin flew through.  

Counts from the estuary included 417 Oystercatcher, 37 Curlew, 24 Bar-tailed Godwit, 12 Redshank, 11 Whimbrel, 10 Sanderling, nine Dunlin, six Turnstone, four Grey and a Ringed Plover, a Greenshank and a Knot. Peak counts were mostly on the morning tide with a Pale-bellied Brent Goose in the evening. 

Offshore two Manx Shearwater flew south late evening, with 103 Black-headed Gull, eight Sandwich Tern, four Great Crested Grebe, four Great Northern and three Red-throated Diver, three Eider and two Common Scoter.

Year list addition:
125. Whitethroat