Friday 22nd May

A complete list of 48 species was about as poor as this site can get and negligible passage was evident at the high tide roost when only single figures of Whimbrel, Ringed Plover, Dunlin and Turnstone were noted, with the exception of 58 Sanderling along the beach.  A dozen Swallow and only a single Sandwich Tern was seen offshore today.   

Thursday 21 May

High pressure still dominated and it was a little warmer today. Again both tides were covered with counts of 180 Oystercatcher, 80 Sanderling, 20 Ringed Plover, 12 Whimbrel, eight Dunlin, four Curlew, single figures of other waterbirds, plus the resident Slavonian Grebe.

Before 10:00, six Red Kite had flown over the site with another five passed outside the recording area. 

An 'Aylesbury Duck' joined a Mallard on the Main Pond. 

Wednesday 20th May

A fortnight has passed since it last rained and high pressure still dominates, thought it was less warm today.  A complete species list of 53 species today was about on par in the context of recent years for this time of the year.  Both tides were covered, 208 Oystercatcher, 105 Sanderling, 25 Ringed Plover, 18 Dunlin, seven Whimbrel, a few Curlew, six Great Black-backed Gull, two Little Egret, a Common Gull and the Slavonian Grebe.

Offshore, rafts of foraging flocks of 520 Herring Gull and two distant Sandwich Tern.  Apart from a Green Woodpecker, the bushes and dunes held only usual species. 

Tuesday 19th May

Low tide and calm, warm, sunny weather were conditions not expected to produce much, so another Cuckoo on Warren Point was a bonus.  Offshore, two Great Northern Diver (one summer plumage) was the highlight; also seen was a raft of 25 Shag, six Gannet and a Fulmar. Apart from a Whimbrel, all other recorded species were of established territories, breeders and lingering non-breeders.  

Monday 18th May

A count of 130 Sanderling feeding along the beach exceeded yesterday's max and was the highest count on site since May 2016.  Other waterbird counts in the estuary were more modest with 17 Whimbrel, 13 Dunlin, ten Shelduck, eight Great Black-backed Gull, seven Ringed Plover, five Cormorant, three Curlew, two Little Egret, and a pair of Mute Swan present.  Also, perhaps an indication of passage, was the first Redshank since 13 April.

Just four Sandwich Tern and two Gannet noted offshore. The other pair of Mute Swan, the two pairs of Little Grebe and a Grey Heron were all on the Main Pond. 

Sunday 17th May

Pleasant conditions aided birding but the low neap tide not so much the afternoon's WeBS count.  That and other counts during the day totalled105 Sanderling (highest count so far this year), 38 Dunlin, just 22 Oystercatcher, 15 Whimbrel, ten Curlew, six Mute Swan (including the pair on the Main Pond), six Great Black-backed Gull, three each of Canada Goose, Little Egret and Ringed Plover, and the resident Slavonian Grebe.  At low tide, 68 Carrion Crow foraged on the estuary mudflats and offshore sandflats.

Overhead passage was light with 27 Swallow north-east; 15 Black-headed Gull and a single Lesser Black-backed Gull flew north, five House Martin, a few high flying single Cormorant and today's highlight, a Hobby flew high west. 

Little seen offshore with 15 Gannet, 13 Shag, six Sandwich Tern, two Common Scoter and two Kittiwake noted. 

Friday 15th May

The biting cold northerly that produced frosts locally and the coldest May temperature since 1982 in Northern Ireland yesterday relented today and the afternoon was pleasantly  very warm and sunny.  

The unusually neap high tide (only 2.5 metres at Exmouth Docks) and the dry weather conditions, predictably, didn't produce much with only 24 Whimbrel, eight Ringed Plover, six Dunlin, four Sanderling, three Little Egret and two Bar-tailed Godwit noted.  At sea, 13 Sandwich Tern foraged; and overhead a trickle of c.25 Swallow headed northeast, but no other migrants were reported. 

The site is abound with recently fledged young birds and nestlings.  In response to the Government's subtle changes to easing restrictions, there has been a rapid upsurge in visitors to the site since Wednesday, so keep vigilant of parent birds trying to feed their young whilst exploring and enjoying the wildlife.   

Wildlife News: at least ten butterfly species were on the wing with Brown Argus in the meadows, and passing through two Red Admiral and a Painted Lady.

Thursday 14th May

Exceptionally cold last night, coastal temperatures in Devon dipped <5C and the coldest May in 40 years was experienced in N Ireland where overnight temperatures dropped < -6C!  In a light chilly north-easterly, the lunchtime high tide was about as underwhelming as a neap tide can be here (2.6 m at Exmouth Docks), but a mix of waterbirds still arrived with counts of 177 Oystercatcher, 41 Sanderling, 36 Whimbrel, 15 Dunlin, including yesterday's assumed 'arctica' race individual; also ten Shelduck, four Bar-tailed Godwit, three Curlew, just three Great Black-backed Gull, two Ringed Plover, two Little Egret and a Knot.

A Cuckoo, a new species for the year, ate caterpillars on Warren Point. This raised the site year-list to 142, the lowest tally by this date in all but one of the past 21 years.  Offshore, 13 Sandwich Tern, ten Gannet, a late flock of four Common Gull flew by,  and just three Shag. A trickle of 21 Swallow passed plus a Sand Martin.  

Of the two pairs of Long-tailed Tit on site, the pair nesting in the Entrance Bushes fledged seven young today.  Another species present on site included a male Sparrowhawk, one of the regular Raven, one of the breeding pair of Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Collared Dove and a pair of Bullfinch. 

The first Moorhen chick was spotted on the Main Pond, where two pairs of Little Grebe remain, but with only one surviving chick between them. 

Wednesday 13th May

Daily updates return as Government lock-down regulations ease a little from today. All reported sightings continue to follow guidance in respect of the Covid-19 crisis. The site remains open but the VC and hide are still closed.

Despite only a neap high tide (2.9 m at Exmouth Docks), this was moderately productive with 175 Oystercatcher, 87 Sanderling, 16 Dunlin, 13 Shelduck, a dozen Ringed Plover, eight Whimbrel, two Bar-tailed Godwit, two Turnstone and a Knot.  

A 'Sanderbling' with a white flag indicated that it was ringed in Mauritania, but in missing two colour-rings its identify remains uncertain.

A presumed 'Greenland Dunlin' (Calidris alpina arctica) accompanied a small group of 'Southern Dunlin' (Calidris alpina schinzii) in The Bight, where at close quarters this individual was a particularly obvious candidate for this taxa in being peep-sized, overall greyer-toned, especially the head. Its black belly patch was more restricted and incomplete. And its buffier scapulars had much less chestnut than shown in those of its southern cousins. The total World population of this race is in the low ten of thousands, and only ones and twos are noted here on passage less than annually. The nominate race 'Scandinavian Dunlin' (Calidris a. alpina) appears in here and on other estuaries in Britain in vast numbers to over-winter and also on passage in smaller numbers with the other two regular races. The vernacular names used here are in limited use.

Offshore, 13 Sandwich Tern, nine Common Scoter, single figures of Gannet and Kittiwake, and a Great Northern Diver flew E. Three chunky, long-winged, more pronounced upright stance and with plumage details all characteristic of Greenland Wheatear strutted around Greenland Lake.

On the move overhead, 11 Swallow, three Sand Martin, two Swift, a House Martin and a Buzzard drifted over in the face of the light, but icy cold north-northeasterly.

April 2020 summary

Daily updates will continue to be replaced with summaries during the Covid-19 crisis, which has meant that levels of observations are lower than usual. The bird hide remains closed. All of the reported sightings below were made following Government regulations and guidance. Stay safe and hope to see you all soon.

Up to six Dark-bellied Brent Goose were present until 13th with a dozen on 9th and five on 26th indicating passage, with Pale-bellied Brent Goose on six coinciding dates, including counts of 11 (4th) and 13 (5th) and a flock of c.60 flew in off the sea on 26th.

Pale- bellied Brent Goose 04/05/2016 - Dave Jewell

The male of a pair of Mute Swan nesting on the Main Pond was ringed (yellow ‘DDN’) at Abbotsbury, Dorset as a first-summer in July 2015 and has been periodically seen at the Warren since April 2018.

A drake Shoveler on Main Pond, no longer with a female, persisted until 2nd.  The last Teal in the estuary departed on 7th, but a drake that befriended Mallard located on the flooded areas around the Entrance Bushes, where it became quite confiding, remained until 21st. Two pairs of Little Grebe on the Main Pond each produced two noisy chicks.

Little Grebe 15/05/2013 Andy Stuthridge

A pair of Eider remained offshore until 25th; the max count of 15+ Common Scoter on 2nd. The last three Red-breasted Merganser in the estuary on 6th were followed only by a single offshore on 11th; and the last three Great-crested Grebe offshore were on 9th.

The high tide roosts supported dwindling numbers of over-wintering wader with some passage suggested by flocks of 21 (19th) and c.30 (28th) Ringed Plover. More obvious wader migration appeared in the form of regular two-figure counts of Whimbrel from 6th with a max of c.70 (26th); one individual with yellow and green-coloured ring combinations was likely to be ‘D63’, a Welsh ringed bird present at Dawlish Warren for its fourth spring visit.  A flock of 154 Dunlin on 28th were new in.  A Black-tailed Godwit flew by on 8th, a Common Sandpiper was on rocks below the seawall on 24th and the highlight was a pair of vocal Avocet that flew past The Bight and continued NE on 10th; the first April record here since 2006.

Whimbrel 12/05/2017 - Dean Hall

Small parties of Black-headed Gull (max 36 on 11th) and Lesser Black-backed Gull (max 21 on 5th) flew N through the month, the latter max the best since 2013. Sandwich Tern passage was very light with a max of 36 (19th); by contrast, good numbers of Common Tern were seen including 31 on 30th. Other tern spp. numbers were not impressive, with two Roseate Tern on 30th, just two Little Tern on 18th and a single on 30th; and two Arctic Tern on 30th.

Unsettled conditions on 29th produced a pale-phase ‘spooned’ Pomarine Skua and three Great Skua. Other records included a single Arctic Skua on 19th and three single Great Skua on 22nd, 24th & 25th. Red-throated Diver was the only diver species seen in April with relatively heavy passage, including 11 on 4th and nine on 12th. This is the first blank April since 1995 for Great Northern Diver, no doubt influenced by the reduction of hours in the field.  The first three Manx Shearwater on 13th were followed by one 24th and 16+ on 29th.

A Grey Heron frequented the Main Pond 10-26th; three-four Little Egret were present all month with individuals adventurously stalking along ditches and flooded areas where not previously seen, presumably due to the reduction of people about.  An unseasonal Kingfisher perched up outside Eales Dock on 11th was the first in April since 2003.

An Osprey briefly fished in The Bight early morning on 7th. A Red Kite drifted NE on 11th; the resident male Kestrel was briefly joined by another, a presumed migrant on 10th.  Up to four Raven, unusual for this site, regularly foraged on the Golf Course. The first Swift on 19th was followed by three on 26th. Hirundine passage was lighter than average with single-figures of Sand and House Martin, and a max of 41 Swallow on 19th. 

Osprey 06/04/2019 - Lee Collins

Warbler passage too was comparatively light, a reflection of coverage but also mirroring low numbers of migrants elsewhere. There was a max of 11 Chiffchaff, five Whitethroat, four Blackcap and two Willow Warbler. Six Yellow Wagtail included four on 19th, with a Tree Pipit overhead on 8th and only single figures of Meadow Pipit on eight dates during the month. 

A Mistle Thrush foraged on Golf Course fairways (2nd & 6th) was the first of the year. Male Ring Ouzel on 4th was sub-singing then ventured onto the empty fairways to forage where it was chased around by the resident Blackbirds.  This was the 20th individual (18 records) for the Recording Area, the earliest ever and first since 2015.

Wheatear 12/04/2016 - Dave Boult

A total of just 18 Wheatear was the worst bird-days total since 1994; although a male Redstart, present on 23rd is a species not seen every Spring. Two of the four territories of Stonechat have so far fledged young. Peaking at 84 (3rd) Linnet numbers gradually dropped to about half that by the close of the month. Goldfinch passage peaked at 15-22 birds on some days during the period 5th-11th, dropping to a resident six or so birds by the end of the month. 

A lone unpaired roaming male Reed Bunting was seen twice but Cirl Bunting were paired up and seem to be doing well.