The last 20 years...

On 1st July 2004, the Recording Group posted its first daily sightings blog, since then, 280 bird species have been seen, 33 of which were new for the Warren, including the 1^st Long-billed Murrelet and 2^nd Short-toed Eagle for the UK. 

Long-billed Murrelet November 2006 - John Lee

In the last twenty years the Warren has also been blessed by the following rarities: 

• 17 Kentish Plover
• seven Surf Scoter
• six Rose-coloured Starling
• five Pectoral Sandpiper and Red-rumped Swallow
• four Bonaparte’s Gull
• three Black Brant, Buff-breasted and Semi-palmated Sandpiper and Richard’s Pipit
• two American Wigeon, American Golden Plover, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Woodchat Shrike, Short-toed Lark and Aquatic Warbler 
• single Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, White-rumped and Western Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, Lesser Yellowlegs, Laughing Gull, Caspian and White-winged Black Tern, Black Stork, Black Kite, Red-footed Falcon, Pallas’s and Eastern Subalpine Warbler, Penduline Tit, Citrine Wagtail and Tawny Pipit

And now the scarcities (deep breath!): 

• 100+ Great Shearwater, Cattle Egret and Red Kite
• 50 Cory’s Shearwater
• 34 Green Sandpiper
• 30 Grey Phalarope and Wryneck
• 28 Waxwing
• 26 Nuthatch
• 23 Long-tailed Skua
• 22 Great White Egret
• 21 Pied Flycatcher
• 20 Leach’s Petrel and Turtle Dove
• 19 Glaucous Gull, Little Auk and Yellow-browed Warbler
• 18 Ring Ouzel and Hawfinch
• 17 Mandarin
• 15 Garganey, Wood Sandpiper, Caspian Gull and Nightjar
• 14 Iceland Gull
• 13 Snow Bunting
• 12 Whooper Swan
• 11 Cetti’s Warbler
• 10 Woodlark
• nine Spotted Redshank
• eight Sabine’s Gull and Black Guillemot
• seven Lapland Bunting
• five Glossy Ibis and Barred Warbler
• four Hen Harrier, Hoopoe and Marsh Tit
• three Stone-curlew, White Stork, Long-eared Owl, Willow and Bearded Tit
• two Pink-footed Goose, Red-crested Pochard, Smew, Purple Heron, Red-backed Shrike, Wood Warbler and Nightingale
• single Bittern, Spotted Crake, Montagu’s Harrier, Barn Owl, Quail, Crane, Dotterel, Temminck’s Stint, Kumlien’s Gull, Great Grey Shrike, Golden Oriole, Melodious Warbler and Serin.

Some of this second group highlight the significant change in birdlife over the last two decades, the much increased numbers of shearwaters reflect the warming seas, with the surge in southern herons also climate related. For some species, especially Little Auk, Turtle Dove, and amongst the rarities, Kentish Plover, the numbers are heavily skewed to the start of the period.

The Warren is however much more than its rare and scarce birds, these are welcome reward for the Recording Group's monitoring efforts. 

Breeding species

A total of 49 species have bred or attempted to breed in the Recording Area since 2004, with 27 of those breeding every year. Species that have been lost include Ringed Plover and Coot, with Chaffinch, Bullfinch and Reed Bunting now less than annual. On the plus side three new species now breed annually, including up to six pairs of Cirl Bunting. 

Coot 18/05/2013 - Lee Collins

Great Spotted Woodpecker is the only species to have been and gone during the period, with Sparrowhawk recently returning. Oystercatcher, Water Rail and Tufted Duck have surprised, Herring and Great Black-backed Gull have attempted, with Meadow Pipit and Sedge Warbler, previous breeders, limited to birds holding territory just the once. 

Tufted Duck 09/06/2024 - David Flack

Wintering species

The Exe Estuary, including Dawlish Warren, is designated as a Special Protection Area (SPA) because the area supports internationally important populations of birds with more than 20,000 wintering wildfowl and waders, including Black-tailed Godwit, Lapwing, Avocet, Cormorant, and more relevant to the Warren; Dunlin, Grey Plover, Oystercatcher, Red-breasted Merganser, Wigeon and Dark-bellied Brent Goose. The designation also highlights the nationally important population of Slavonian Grebe, with the Warren hosting at least 5% of the UK wintering population in the UK.

Oystercatcher - Colin Scott

With the exception of Wigeon, and at the upper end of the estuary, Avocet and Black-tailed Godwit, all these species have declined in number and continue to do so. The decline of Oystercatcher has been linked to conditions in the estuary as they have been steeper on the Exe than elsewhere. Red-breasted Merganser also fits this pattern although the 90% decline is not reflected as such from WeBS counts. 

Slavonian Grebe has however seen the greatest loss with the last wintering bird, aside from Herbert, an injured bird that became a long term resident, coming in 2018.

Slavonian Grebe June 2009 - James Packer

Ringing recoveries

Despite all recording coming from field observation, between July 2004 and December 2023 there were 13,138 recoveries of 988 different individuals of 39 species. As well as the UK and Channel Islands recoveries have come from 24 countries and three continents.

Amongst many highlights are a Canadian breeding Ringed Plover, the 3rd UK record, and a regularly seen South African ringed Sandwich Tern, one of only five recorded in Britain. Ringed as an adult, it is at least 17 years old and has probably flown over a quarter of a million miles in its lifetime!

Canadian Ringed Plover 19/08/2016 - Lee Collins

In addition to the above birds the establishment of an Exe Estuary study by the Devon and Cornwall Wader Ringing Group in 2018 has lead to a large number of locally ringed birds using the Warren. Oystercatcher is the main focus with over 10,861 recoveries of 798 individuals since 2018 along with 3021 recoveries of 465 individuals of four other species.

Oystercatcher A8 04/02/2018 - Lee Collins

Record counts

Using a minimum count of three a total of 92 species have recorded new peak counts. Notably few wintering species saw any new records, although cold weather movements lead to six new maxima, including Woodcock, Lapwing and Pochard. 

Lapwing 02/02/2019 - Alan Keatley

Visible migration at other times of year, mostly autumn, has seen over 20 species reach new highs, including Woodpigeon, Chaffinch, Siskin, Swift and Jay.

The increased monitoring has also given a better idea of the common breeding species on site with new peak counts for species such as Moorhen, House Sparrow and Wren.

Several species feature despite not being recorded on site before 2004, most are southern herons but Red Kite is another. Other species increasing in line with the national picture include Blackcap, Raven, Mediterranean Gull, Black-tailed Godwit, Nightjar and Cirl Bunting. 

A final grouping is seabirds, with peaks for all five shearwaters, Common and Roseate Tern, Great black-backed Gull, Kittiwake, Fulmar and Gannet amongst others. Some of these species have however declined notably since their record counts even before avian flu took its toll. 

Roseate Tern 27/07/2019 - Lee Collins

Early & late dates

Fifteen species have made their earliest ever arrival since 2004, including four species of tern, Hobby, Sand Martin, Swallow, Redstart and Whitethroat.

Sixteen species have seen a new late departure date including six of the above species. Grasshopper Warbler, Nightjar, Ring Ouzel, Lesser Whitethroat and Spotted Flycatcher are also on both lists. The reduction on numbers of migrants have lead to fewer 'opportunities' for declining species dates to alter.