Sunday 5th October

Numbers of birds continue to build in the estuary with counts of 2052 Wigeon, 1725 Oystercatcher, 363 Dunlin, 150+ Teal, 146 Brent Geese, including the first two juveniles, 45 Ringed Plover, 17 Knot, 10 Black-tailed Godwit, four Shelduck and single Grey Plover, Greenshank and Slavonian Grebe. Elsewhere single Wheatear and Kingfisher were in front of the hide, 113 Shag were offshore and 115 Linnet were feeding in the Bight.

Saturday 4th October

Three hours sea-watching in the rain from the seawall produced a w.p. Black-necked Grebe briefly offshore, three Great Northern Diver, a drake Eider with a few Common Scoter, three Red-breasted Merganser, a Mediterranean Gull, 259 Gannet and 26 Sandwich Tern flew south and just two Razorbill and a Kittiwake.  No fall in the bushes, which held a Wheatear, three Goldcrest, eight Chiffchaff, ten Blackcap and 26 Goldfinch.  A Grey Wagtail foraged along the Main Pond margins. Only four Swallow, single-figures of Meadow Pipit and Skylark, 18 Pied Wagtail and a Jackdaw passed overhead, but wildfowl were on the move - small flocks arrived all day, but the largest movements were sadly the sight of hundreds of wildfowl fleeing the mass of kite-surfers within the estuary, flushed to the relatively quieter waters of the reserve where 17 Pintail, 495 Teal, 850 Wigeon and 98 Brent Goose took refuge.  At high tide, counts included 17 Little Egret, c1750 Oystercatcher, 71 Ringed Plover, 418 Curlew, 7+ Black-tailed Godwit, c12 Bar-tailed Godwit,  3 Knot, 22 Sanderling, 280 Dunlin, 396 Redshank and 1 Greenshank.

A Ringed Plover sporting a yellow flag and red colour-ring is thought to be Norwegian, details to follow!

Wildlife news: two Harbour Porpoise loitered offshore.  A Clouded Yellow, a Wall, Red Admirals and a few other butterflies ventured out when the sun appeared later on.

Wednesday 1st October

In the estuary and at the high tide roost were 9 Little Egret, 570 Wigeon, 84 Teal, 61 Ringed Plover, 320 Curlew, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 7 Knot, 27 Sanderling, 310 Dunlin and 140 Redshank.  At sea a Great Crested Grebe, 30 Gannet, 10 Common Scoter and 5 Sandwich Tern.  Light passage overhead totalled 25 Skylark, 8 Swallow, 3 House Martin, 5 Grey Wagtail, a trickle of Meadow Pipit and 3 Chaffinch.  The bushes and open areas were also quiet with 10 Chiffchaff, 12 Blackcap, a Wheatear, the Redstart still in trees behind the VC, the resident seven Stonechat and 8 Goldfinch.

Monday 29th September

At sea, a Red-necked Grebe was viewed from the seawall, also a Great Crested Grebe, a Great Northern Diver and the four Eider remained.  In the estuary, the resident Slavonian Grebe, some Little Egret, 460 Wigeon, some Teal, 45 Brent Goose and the Bar-headed Goose remained in with the Canada Goose flock.  High tide roost counts in The Bight included a Grey Plover, 49 Ringed Plover, two Turnstone, 5 Knot, 348 Dunlin and two Little Stint.  Standard fayre in the bushes - ten Chiffchaff, 8 Blackcap, a Goldcrest and a Whitethroat and two Reed Bunting, with the exception of the first Lesser Whitethroat.  Overhead, just 25 Meadow Pipit and 3 Swallow.   The impressive run continues with two Whinchat; two Wheatear also present today.

Sunday 28th September

The tide produced 3 Little Stint, 340+ Dunlin, 30 Sanderling, 3 Knot, 14 Bar-tailed Godwit, 6 Sandwich Tern. Four Raven passed overhead; couple of Goldcrest and a few Chiffchaff and Blackcap in the bushes.  Birding was almost as challenging as the Dawlish Triathlon, which the site hosted today. 

Friday 26th September

Counts over the morning tide included 265 Dunlin, 180 Wigeon, 36 Ringed Plover, 34 Sanderling, 20 Teal, 10 Bar and six Black-tailed Godwit, five Knot, two Sandwich Tern and two Mediterranean Gull. Elsewhere four Eider and a Great-crested Grebe were offshore with  12 Chiffchaff, three Blackcap and two Kingfisher.

Thursday 25th September

Two juvenile Little Stint were present in the Bight over the evening tide with 182 Dunlin and 72 Ringed Plover. Also in the estuary 532 Curlew, 58 Brent Geese, 41 Bar and a Black-tailed Godwit, eight Knot, two Tufted Duck, a Mediterranean Gull and the Slavonian Grebe. Elsewhere the Redstart remained vocal around the Entrance Bushes.

Wednesday 24th September

The Rose-coloured Starling remains on Warren Point and the Redstart was still behind the Crocus compound but other migrants were limited to a dozen Chiffchaff and eight Blackcap. Elsewhere the Slavonian Grebe was off Cockwood, 72 Brent Geese were in the Bight and four Eider were new in offshore.

Tuesday 23rd September

The juvenile Rose-coloured Starling remained on Warren Point but a mobile Wryneck was a new discovery today around the Dune Pond, other new migrants included a Whinchat on Warren Point with a Redstart and a Coal Tit in the Entrance Bushes amongst continuing good numbers of Chiffchaff. Elsewhere the Slavonian Grebe and 26 Brent Geese were in the estuary with 41 Sanderling on the beach.

Monday 22nd September

The Rose-coloured Starling was on Warren Point early morning and evening, but seems to be spending the day offsite. Migrants continue to move through with another good site count of 34 Chiffchaff but no sign of any Wheatear, also on site at least 10 Blackcap, three Whitethroat and two Reed Warbler whilst three Grey and a Yellow Wagtail flew over. Elsewhere three Curlew Sandpiper remained with 350+ Dunlin, a Golden Plover flew over early morning with it or another in the Bight late evening, 20 Brent Geese were in Shutterton Creek and the Slavonian Grebe was off Cockwood.