Sunday 24th March

Due to the significant erosion at Dawlish Warren, Teignbridge District Council is advising extreme caution when visiting. The dune path between groyne 10 – 18 is unsafe and a section of this path is completely closed with no access. Access to Warren Point and the bird hide is only possible via the beach with the risk of being cut off for a period either side of each high tide. The only access, up and back down, to these areas is along the beach at lower states of tide.

A few migrants arrived overnight but it was a quiet day overall with nine Chiffchaff, seven Wheatear and two Blackcap on site with 30+ Lesser Black-backed Gull, a dozen Chaffinch, five Rook and a Siskin overhead and a Kestrel in off the sea. Elsewhere the Cetti's Warbler was at the Main Pond, three Great Northern Diver were offshore and 308 Oystercatcher, 163 Curlew, 40 Redshank, 26 Dark-bellied and two Pale-bellied Brent Geese, the latter arriving from the south, three Eider, two Greenshank  and a Sandwich Tern were in the estuary.

Wildlife News: The sunshine brought out the Sand Crocus for only the second time this year, it appeared in record numbers with over 1,200 in flower in the Crocus Compound and Greenland Lake; amongst these was a rare eight petalled variant.

 Sand Crocus

 over 100 in this photo

The same weather saw the first Speckled Wood of the year along with a Peacock and a Brimstone, a scarce but increasing visitor.