Seawatching from dawn for about 4.5 hours was hard work in wet conditions in a Force 6 southerly. The highlight was a satellite-tracked Sandwich Tern that passed close enough past the seawall to clearly show a black box attached on its mantle, as it flew south at 08:05 and again at 10:00. Birds circuiting Lyme Bay during storms is well known, which can complicate counts. This bird may have been ringed in the Netherlands; investigations are underway.
Five Great Skua and at least one each of Pomarine Skua and Arctic Skua plus about three skua spp. moved around offshore irregularly and spent time on the sea, so counts were approximate. Also 455 Gannet, 129 auk spp. (roughly 70:30 in favour of Guillemot over Razorbill); 24 Common Scoter, three Great Northern Diver and the first Fulmar to return after their pelagic moult since late-August.
As for gulls, the seawatch produced most of today's 76 Kittiwake, c.50 Common Gull, four Lesser Black-backed Gull and two Mediterranean Gull, but 101 of today's c.110 Great Black-backed Gull were on Finger Point where joined by a 4cy Yellow-legged Gull.
Beside the wader island on the ebbing tide, two juv Little Stint and a juv Curlew Sandpiper joined hundreds of Oystercatcher, 358 Dunlin, 68 Grey Plover, four Sanderling plus another three on the beach, and a single Ringed Plover. Hundreds of Wigeon, Teal, Oystercatcher, Redshank and Curlew, also tens of Knot, Bar-tailed Godwit, Turnstone, Dark-bellied Brent Goose and other regular waterbirds roosted on site. Selected counts were 19 Pale-bellied Brent Goose (a single plus three family groups of 5, 6 & 7 birds); 19 Shelduck, two Red-breasted Merganser and the drake Eider. Six Cattle Egret were in fields just outside the Recording Area.
Blown out, four Goldcrest, two Bullfinch and a Song Thrush were the only interest found in the woods.
Saturday, 24 October 2020
Friday, 23 October 2020
Friday 23rd October
From dawn it was evident that birds were simultaneously on the move overhead, at sea and in the estuary, so with only two observers present, the site was under-resourced today. Nevertheless, an impressive 88 species were recorded and a nearly comprehensive set of representative or indicative counts of waterbirds and seabirds were achieved. At sea, a cloud of gulls contained c.630 Black-headed Gull, 52 Common Gull, five Kittiwake, two Sandwich Tern and only modest numbers of Herring Gull. A steady passage of 100+ auks flew SSW that involved more Guillemot than Razorbill based on the small sample close enough to identify; also 40+ Gannet, five Common Scoter, two Red-throated Diver, a Great Northern Diver and the winter's first Goldeneye (imm/♀); the earliest since 2010. Two very distant skua sp. were most likely Arctic Skua. Presumption that all late autumn small skua sp. are invariably Pomarine is incorrect since passage of both species extends into early-Nov. Also, although the balance of likelihood favours Pomarine from November onwards, this is not exclusively so, and exceptionally Arctic have occurred after the New Year; see chart.
Mudflats edges and The Bight were inundated quite a while before the late morning tide that was also higher than predicted, perhaps due to recent heavy rains on Exmoor and across the wider watershed. Counts were 1,458 Wigeon, "high hundreds" Oystercatcher, 477 Teal, 317 Redshank, 186 Canada Goose and 116 Dunlin. One with a yellow-flag 'CP5' (right tibia) and a plain orange (left tibia) was seen here on 1st Oct, just nine days after it was ringed as a juv at Ynyslas, Borth, Ceredigion. Structurally, this was a schinzii 'Western' Dunlin, so likely a migrant; and clearly smaller, shorter-billed and short-legged than the swelling number of alpina 'Scandinavian' Dunlin it was with that will winter here.
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| data analysis and chart - Ivan Lakin |
Mudflats edges and The Bight were inundated quite a while before the late morning tide that was also higher than predicted, perhaps due to recent heavy rains on Exmoor and across the wider watershed. Counts were 1,458 Wigeon, "high hundreds" Oystercatcher, 477 Teal, 317 Redshank, 186 Canada Goose and 116 Dunlin. One with a yellow-flag 'CP5' (right tibia) and a plain orange (left tibia) was seen here on 1st Oct, just nine days after it was ringed as a juv at Ynyslas, Borth, Ceredigion. Structurally, this was a schinzii 'Western' Dunlin, so likely a migrant; and clearly smaller, shorter-billed and short-legged than the swelling number of alpina 'Scandinavian' Dunlin it was with that will winter here.
A surprise influx of 33 Ringed Plover that included a metal-ringed German-ringed bird seen here before and a new, 1cy Norwegian-ringed bird that sported a yellow-flag 'XTX' on its left tibia and a small plain red ring on its right. A number of Ringed Plover seen here originate from southwest Norway coast.
Continuing with the counts, there were just 84 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 45+ Grey Plover, 23 Mute Swan, 22 Cormorant, 18 Great Black-backed Gull, 17 Shelduck, nine Greenshank, eight Pale-bellied Brent Goose that included a single family of seven birds; also three 'red-head' Red-breasted Merganser, three juv Little Stint - the latest autumn record since 2006, two Grey Heron, two Little Egret, two Common Snipe, two Great Crested Grebe plus another offshore, two Lesser Black-backed Gull, two Shag plus a few offshore, the drake Eider on Finger Point; a Kingfisher and the Slavonian Grebe.
A Cattle Egret dropped into the estuary corner. At the same time in a role reversal, a number of Little Egret moseyed around cattle grazing in Easton Fields. At least one of the six plus Rock Pipit in the Spartina and The Bight tideline had features that supported Scandinavian Rock Pipit, but did not call.
A large flock of corvids again assembled around The Bight and unusually with them two Rook and two Jackdaw; more typical were single figures of possibly passage birds. Early morning passerine passage was light with only single figures of Chaffinch, Siskin, Lesser Redpoll, Skylark and Pied Wagtail. A juv Yellow Wagtail that ditched at the feet of the ponies was the latest here since 1987. By its appearance and call, it was just an ordinary flavissima. A Short-eared Owl was high over the estuary mid-morning.
As usual, the drake Shoveler was on the Main Pond, as were 14 Mallard (pre-dawn only), six Moorhen and two Water Rail. [The last confirmed sighting of a Coot here was 6 years and 2 months ago].
Other notables were a Peregrine, two Sparrowhawk, a Kestrel and a Raven. As the breeze got up and moved to a southwesterly direction, smoke that billowed from the reserve demonstrably caused an evacuation of birds from the Greenland Lake area with 80+ Goldfinch, 20+ Greenfinch and single-figures of Stonechat and Cirl Bunting along Warren Neck, where at 750 metres away the air was still smoky but bearable.
Continuing with the counts, there were just 84 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 45+ Grey Plover, 23 Mute Swan, 22 Cormorant, 18 Great Black-backed Gull, 17 Shelduck, nine Greenshank, eight Pale-bellied Brent Goose that included a single family of seven birds; also three 'red-head' Red-breasted Merganser, three juv Little Stint - the latest autumn record since 2006, two Grey Heron, two Little Egret, two Common Snipe, two Great Crested Grebe plus another offshore, two Lesser Black-backed Gull, two Shag plus a few offshore, the drake Eider on Finger Point; a Kingfisher and the Slavonian Grebe.
A Cattle Egret dropped into the estuary corner. At the same time in a role reversal, a number of Little Egret moseyed around cattle grazing in Easton Fields. At least one of the six plus Rock Pipit in the Spartina and The Bight tideline had features that supported Scandinavian Rock Pipit, but did not call.
A large flock of corvids again assembled around The Bight and unusually with them two Rook and two Jackdaw; more typical were single figures of possibly passage birds. Early morning passerine passage was light with only single figures of Chaffinch, Siskin, Lesser Redpoll, Skylark and Pied Wagtail. A juv Yellow Wagtail that ditched at the feet of the ponies was the latest here since 1987. By its appearance and call, it was just an ordinary flavissima. A Short-eared Owl was high over the estuary mid-morning.
As usual, the drake Shoveler was on the Main Pond, as were 14 Mallard (pre-dawn only), six Moorhen and two Water Rail. [The last confirmed sighting of a Coot here was 6 years and 2 months ago].
Other notables were a Peregrine, two Sparrowhawk, a Kestrel and a Raven. As the breeze got up and moved to a southwesterly direction, smoke that billowed from the reserve demonstrably caused an evacuation of birds from the Greenland Lake area with 80+ Goldfinch, 20+ Greenfinch and single-figures of Stonechat and Cirl Bunting along Warren Neck, where at 750 metres away the air was still smoky but bearable.
Thursday, 22 October 2020
Thursday 22nd October
In the calmness of a col and under a weak occluded front that occasionally produced a few spots of light rain between long spells of balmy sunshine, a reasonable selection of 81 bird species were seen today.
Overhead passage was light and drawn out, and totals that include birds that paused to forage were 125+ Goldfinch (NE), 45+ Meadow Pipit (NE), 32 Greenfinch (NE), 23 Skylark (most W), 22 Woodpigeon (WSW), 20 Siskin (NE), 14 Linnet (NE), eight Pied Wagtail (WSW), seven Chaffinch (NE & N), four Rook, three Reed Bunting, two Swallow, two Lesser Redpoll (NE), a Grey Wagtail (NE), a Bullfinch (NE), a Song Thrush (SW), a Redwing and a Mistle Thrush NE). The highlight was seven Coal Tit, including four that flew NE and of two seen well enough these appeared to be 'intermediate' types.
On the Main Pond, 146 Starling flew out of their reed-bed roost; also present the drake Shoveler, a Kingfisher, a Mallard, a few Moorhen and a couple of Water Rail called.
Before yet again enveloped in a veil of smoke by TDC's questionable habitat management practices, wooded areas supported single figures of tits, five Chiffchaff, five Goldcrest, three Blackcap, another Bullfinch and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. Also noted, six Stonechat, six Cirl Bunting and single Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and a Raven. An orangey 'Greenland' Wheatear postured on Warren Point.
On the 11:00 high tide, counts in the estuary and The Bight were hundreds of Oystercatcher, 279 Curlew, 249 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 229 Redshank, 206 Dunlin, 138 Teal, 61 Grey Plover, 57 Turnstone, 52 Bar-tailed Godwit, c.40 Canada Goose, 37 Knot, 29 Great Black-backed Gull, 21 Mute Swan, 19 Shelduck, 17 Cormorant, ten Common Gull, six Pale-bellied Brent Goose, five Greenshank, four Ringed Plover, three Little Egret, two adult-winter Mediterranean Gull, two Sandwich Tern, two more Mallard, another Kingfisher and the drake Eider roosted again on Finger Point; the Slavonian Grebe and a single Grey Heron. A Whimbrel in the estuary corner may winter. Rarely up until the early-2000s, singles have since wintered in the Exe Estuary in most winters since 2005/06.
On the ebbing tide, six Cattle Egret flew in from the north and dropped into a creek in the estuary corner.
Offshore, just single-figures of Common Scoter, Gannet, Shag and a Great Crested Grebe plus another in the estuary. A single Sanderling was only wader at high tide on what remains of the beach.
Wildlife news: one or two Red Admiral, Small White and Migrant Hawker.
On the Main Pond, 146 Starling flew out of their reed-bed roost; also present the drake Shoveler, a Kingfisher, a Mallard, a few Moorhen and a couple of Water Rail called.
Before yet again enveloped in a veil of smoke by TDC's questionable habitat management practices, wooded areas supported single figures of tits, five Chiffchaff, five Goldcrest, three Blackcap, another Bullfinch and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. Also noted, six Stonechat, six Cirl Bunting and single Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and a Raven. An orangey 'Greenland' Wheatear postured on Warren Point.
On the 11:00 high tide, counts in the estuary and The Bight were hundreds of Oystercatcher, 279 Curlew, 249 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 229 Redshank, 206 Dunlin, 138 Teal, 61 Grey Plover, 57 Turnstone, 52 Bar-tailed Godwit, c.40 Canada Goose, 37 Knot, 29 Great Black-backed Gull, 21 Mute Swan, 19 Shelduck, 17 Cormorant, ten Common Gull, six Pale-bellied Brent Goose, five Greenshank, four Ringed Plover, three Little Egret, two adult-winter Mediterranean Gull, two Sandwich Tern, two more Mallard, another Kingfisher and the drake Eider roosted again on Finger Point; the Slavonian Grebe and a single Grey Heron. A Whimbrel in the estuary corner may winter. Rarely up until the early-2000s, singles have since wintered in the Exe Estuary in most winters since 2005/06.
On the ebbing tide, six Cattle Egret flew in from the north and dropped into a creek in the estuary corner.
Offshore, just single-figures of Common Scoter, Gannet, Shag and a Great Crested Grebe plus another in the estuary. A single Sanderling was only wader at high tide on what remains of the beach.
Wildlife news: one or two Red Admiral, Small White and Migrant Hawker.
Monday, 19 October 2020
Monday 19th October
The morning spring tide was watched but that in the evening was after dark and the damage it caused to the beach by an unexpected additional third-of-a-metre in height (Exmouth gauge max 4.43 m) was not seen until the following day. The geotube ('sand-sausage') was further undermined, the dune cliff receded a bit further and more sand disappeared from the beach.
At dawn, lots of gulls offshore; two Sandwich Tern and single Red-throated Diver and Great Northern Diver. The previous site record was exceeded again today with 42 Cattle Egret in the estuary corner perched on the old saltings bank. Other highlights were two late Little Stint and a Golden Plover stood on the wader island.
A few selected counts of waterbirds include approximately a thousand Wigeon, 320 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 311 Dunlin, 230 Teal, 56 Grey Plover, 53 Bar-tailed Godwit, 19 Mute Swan, 15 Great Black-backed Gull, 15 Pale-bellied Brent Goose, 11 Cormorant, five Little Egret, four Sanderling; and single Grey Heron, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Kingfisher; the usual drake Eider and the Slavonian Grebe. Other notables today were two Jackdaw and a Grey Wagtail. Six Rock Pipit, many in the saltmarsh was quite a large count and coincides with a typical period for max counts of this species.
At dawn, lots of gulls offshore; two Sandwich Tern and single Red-throated Diver and Great Northern Diver. The previous site record was exceeded again today with 42 Cattle Egret in the estuary corner perched on the old saltings bank. Other highlights were two late Little Stint and a Golden Plover stood on the wader island.
A few selected counts of waterbirds include approximately a thousand Wigeon, 320 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 311 Dunlin, 230 Teal, 56 Grey Plover, 53 Bar-tailed Godwit, 19 Mute Swan, 15 Great Black-backed Gull, 15 Pale-bellied Brent Goose, 11 Cormorant, five Little Egret, four Sanderling; and single Grey Heron, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Kingfisher; the usual drake Eider and the Slavonian Grebe. Other notables today were two Jackdaw and a Grey Wagtail. Six Rock Pipit, many in the saltmarsh was quite a large count and coincides with a typical period for max counts of this species.
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| Cattle Egret and Little Egret - Dave Jewell |
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| flock of Cattle Egrets - Lee Collins |
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| Cattle Egrets - Lee Collins |
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| Golden Plover - Dave Jewell |
Sunday, 18 October 2020
Sunday 18th October
Long before dawn, 28 Mallard and two Aylesbury Duck with a large flock of Teal were on the Main Pond. Later that morning, an unseasonal Reed Warbler there was checked carefully and heard to call. It is by coincidence that a vagrant Acrocephalus appeared in another part of the county today.
Overcast and dank, light faded for a time in the morning to become almost unbirdable, but even when the rain fell, the site produced quality as a flock of five Cattle Egret flew SSW and disappeared over Langstone Rock 08:40-08:45. At c.09:30, one observer saw a lone Great White Egret fly north low over the Main Pond and into the estuary, so with the few Little Egret present completed another three egret day.
Despite the conditions, visible migration was quite good, all flew northeast unless otherwise stated; 195 Goldfinch, 117 Siskin, 57 Meadow Pipit, 46 Chaffinch, 18 Greenfinch, 17 Lesser Redpoll, 16 Linnet, 13 alba wagtail (W), nine Skylark (W), three Grey Wagtail, two Swallow, two Song Thrush (left site) and a Redwing. A female Merlin rapidly flew low NE at 09:25. One or two Goldfinch of groups examined more closely were distinctly more robust and subtly different toned, suggestive that a few Continental carduelis were among the usual British britannica on the move. Significant influx of Continental birds to Britain is suspected (e.g. Wernham et al, 2002) but remains only hypothesised since too few ringing recoveries support this assumption and racial identification is especially challenging.
The Yellowhammer was still present in bushes around Greenland Lake, as well as two Reed Bunting and a few Cirl Bunting. In the woods and bushes, eight Chiffchaff, five Blackcap and four Goldcrest.
The only wader count achieved was 296 Dunlin and as the tide dropped the wildfowl drifted out and among the Wigeon and Teal flocks were 24 Shelduck, a pair of Gadwall, only the second record of the year,and a Pintail. Scavenging out on the exposed mudflats were 166 Carrion Crow, the highest count here since Nov 2010, and among them two Rook.
Gorping skyward, a distraction for the assembled birders from undertaking waterbird counts was the awesome sight of three separate Short-eared Owl that cruised around for some time over Warren Point and moved up and down the site at height, sometimes harried by crows.
Miscellaneous other notables were two Kestrel, two Sandwich Tern, the drake Eider and the Slavonian Grebe. A total of 103 species were recorded for Global Bird weekend.
Overcast and dank, light faded for a time in the morning to become almost unbirdable, but even when the rain fell, the site produced quality as a flock of five Cattle Egret flew SSW and disappeared over Langstone Rock 08:40-08:45. At c.09:30, one observer saw a lone Great White Egret fly north low over the Main Pond and into the estuary, so with the few Little Egret present completed another three egret day.
Despite the conditions, visible migration was quite good, all flew northeast unless otherwise stated; 195 Goldfinch, 117 Siskin, 57 Meadow Pipit, 46 Chaffinch, 18 Greenfinch, 17 Lesser Redpoll, 16 Linnet, 13 alba wagtail (W), nine Skylark (W), three Grey Wagtail, two Swallow, two Song Thrush (left site) and a Redwing. A female Merlin rapidly flew low NE at 09:25. One or two Goldfinch of groups examined more closely were distinctly more robust and subtly different toned, suggestive that a few Continental carduelis were among the usual British britannica on the move. Significant influx of Continental birds to Britain is suspected (e.g. Wernham et al, 2002) but remains only hypothesised since too few ringing recoveries support this assumption and racial identification is especially challenging.
The Yellowhammer was still present in bushes around Greenland Lake, as well as two Reed Bunting and a few Cirl Bunting. In the woods and bushes, eight Chiffchaff, five Blackcap and four Goldcrest.
The only wader count achieved was 296 Dunlin and as the tide dropped the wildfowl drifted out and among the Wigeon and Teal flocks were 24 Shelduck, a pair of Gadwall, only the second record of the year,and a Pintail. Scavenging out on the exposed mudflats were 166 Carrion Crow, the highest count here since Nov 2010, and among them two Rook.
Gorping skyward, a distraction for the assembled birders from undertaking waterbird counts was the awesome sight of three separate Short-eared Owl that cruised around for some time over Warren Point and moved up and down the site at height, sometimes harried by crows.
Miscellaneous other notables were two Kestrel, two Sandwich Tern, the drake Eider and the Slavonian Grebe. A total of 103 species were recorded for Global Bird weekend.
Saturday, 17 October 2020
Saturday 17th October
The benefits of birder saturation was in evidence today with all 'regulars' and a number of other local birders present from well before dawn and with constant coverage through to dusk. The site species list of 89 has only been equaled or exceeded before eight times since 2000.
In the twilight before dawn, a Tawny Owl drifted beside the Back Path into Dead Dolphin Wood; the first of the year. The 2nd new species for the year before dawn was a Fieldfare that flew N. Visible migration started about 15 mins later than yesterday (c.07:40), was more rushed and more-or-less ended after about 2.5 hours. Highlights were two Great White Egret that languidly cruised across the lower estuary, rose over Exmouth town and were lost from view over the wooded ridge four miles away to the east at 09:05. This raised the site year-list to 174. Ten Crossbill (5,4,1) flew NE at higher elevation than in previous days, across a sky with receding cloud cover and only a breath of wind from the NNW.
Other counts of birds on the move, c.175 Goldfinch (NE), 63 Meadow Pipit (NE), 53 Greenfinch (NE), 42 Siskin (NE), 38 Swallow (NE), 31 Skylark (35 W, three on W Pt.); 17 Lesser Redpoll (NE), 14 Linnet (NE), 25 alba wagtail (WSW & NE), 22 Chaffinch, 11 Shelduck (SSE), 11 Rook (SW & NE), five Great Spotted Woodpecker made sorties NE then headed back; three Coal Tit (NE, incl. one in the bushes); of two briefly seen both looked like britannicus or intermediate types. Also two Grey Wagtail, an adult winter Mediterranean Gull (N), a Buzzard (E), a Jackdaw, a Raven (E), a Mistle Thrush, and randomly a summer-plumage Great Northern Diver that circled high above a couple of times before heading back out to sea. In the middle of the day, a Short-eared Owl flew over across the site.
Presumably the same as yesterday's Yellowhammer loitered with finch flocks that dropped into the Greenland Lake area before moving on. Also six Cirl Bunting and two Reed Bunting.
The ebbing spring tide had dropped by the time most observers reached the far end of the reserve and a selected counts managed were "hundreds" of Teal, Oystercatcher, Redshank and Curlew; 257 Dunlin, 58 Knot, "tens" of Grey Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit and Turnstone; 21 Mute Swan, 19 Cormorant, 11 Greenshank, six Little Egret, five Sanderling, five Common Snipe rose from the saltmarsh; two Grey Heron, just one Ringed Plover, the drake Eider was on Finger Point and the Slavonian Grebe. At low tide, four Cattle Egret flew toward the estuary corner beside the railway line at c.15:00, completing a three egret day.
Of the 15 Pale-bellied Brent Goose, an adult of a family group of five was ringed with a yellow '9' (left leg) and a blue 'V' (right leg). This was ringed as a juvenile at Alftanes, Fotbaltavollur, SW Iceland on 11 May 2017 and was last seen at Dawlish Warren from 19 Oct to 20 Nov 2017.
This taxa is an autumn migrant here with a few individuals that remain to overwinter, and is most notable as a spring migrant with sometimes 3-figures present. These are from the NE Greenland hrota population that predominately winter in Ireland (chiefly at Strangford Lough) with smaller numbers in Britain, the Channel Islands and on the north coasts of France and Spain. The other discrete population of hrota that winter in NW Europe nest in Spitsbergen and Franz Josef Land and winter in NE England (Lindisfarne) and Denmark.
The drake Shoveler was still on the Main Pond, as were six Mallard before dawn and six Moorhen. Offshore, c.40 Common Scoter, 20 Gannet, seven Kittiwake and a few auk spp.
A flock of 13 Long-tailed Tit with some of the eight Chiffchaff and five Goldcrest roamed wooded areas. Also a Blackcap, a Song Thrush
A mixture of other sightings, seven Stonechat, three Rock Pipit, three Bullfinch, two Kingfisher, two Sparrowhawk, a Peregrine, a Kestrel and a Green Woodpecker made it across to the site from the mainland, where one has been heard calling periodically for some weeks.
Wildlife news: a few Migrant Hawker and Common Darter still on the wing. Two Water Vole swam across channels of the Main Pond.
In the twilight before dawn, a Tawny Owl drifted beside the Back Path into Dead Dolphin Wood; the first of the year. The 2nd new species for the year before dawn was a Fieldfare that flew N. Visible migration started about 15 mins later than yesterday (c.07:40), was more rushed and more-or-less ended after about 2.5 hours. Highlights were two Great White Egret that languidly cruised across the lower estuary, rose over Exmouth town and were lost from view over the wooded ridge four miles away to the east at 09:05. This raised the site year-list to 174. Ten Crossbill (5,4,1) flew NE at higher elevation than in previous days, across a sky with receding cloud cover and only a breath of wind from the NNW.
Other counts of birds on the move, c.175 Goldfinch (NE), 63 Meadow Pipit (NE), 53 Greenfinch (NE), 42 Siskin (NE), 38 Swallow (NE), 31 Skylark (35 W, three on W Pt.); 17 Lesser Redpoll (NE), 14 Linnet (NE), 25 alba wagtail (WSW & NE), 22 Chaffinch, 11 Shelduck (SSE), 11 Rook (SW & NE), five Great Spotted Woodpecker made sorties NE then headed back; three Coal Tit (NE, incl. one in the bushes); of two briefly seen both looked like britannicus or intermediate types. Also two Grey Wagtail, an adult winter Mediterranean Gull (N), a Buzzard (E), a Jackdaw, a Raven (E), a Mistle Thrush, and randomly a summer-plumage Great Northern Diver that circled high above a couple of times before heading back out to sea. In the middle of the day, a Short-eared Owl flew over across the site.
Presumably the same as yesterday's Yellowhammer loitered with finch flocks that dropped into the Greenland Lake area before moving on. Also six Cirl Bunting and two Reed Bunting.
The ebbing spring tide had dropped by the time most observers reached the far end of the reserve and a selected counts managed were "hundreds" of Teal, Oystercatcher, Redshank and Curlew; 257 Dunlin, 58 Knot, "tens" of Grey Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit and Turnstone; 21 Mute Swan, 19 Cormorant, 11 Greenshank, six Little Egret, five Sanderling, five Common Snipe rose from the saltmarsh; two Grey Heron, just one Ringed Plover, the drake Eider was on Finger Point and the Slavonian Grebe. At low tide, four Cattle Egret flew toward the estuary corner beside the railway line at c.15:00, completing a three egret day.
Of the 15 Pale-bellied Brent Goose, an adult of a family group of five was ringed with a yellow '9' (left leg) and a blue 'V' (right leg). This was ringed as a juvenile at Alftanes, Fotbaltavollur, SW Iceland on 11 May 2017 and was last seen at Dawlish Warren from 19 Oct to 20 Nov 2017.
This taxa is an autumn migrant here with a few individuals that remain to overwinter, and is most notable as a spring migrant with sometimes 3-figures present. These are from the NE Greenland hrota population that predominately winter in Ireland (chiefly at Strangford Lough) with smaller numbers in Britain, the Channel Islands and on the north coasts of France and Spain. The other discrete population of hrota that winter in NW Europe nest in Spitsbergen and Franz Josef Land and winter in NE England (Lindisfarne) and Denmark.
The drake Shoveler was still on the Main Pond, as were six Mallard before dawn and six Moorhen. Offshore, c.40 Common Scoter, 20 Gannet, seven Kittiwake and a few auk spp.
A flock of 13 Long-tailed Tit with some of the eight Chiffchaff and five Goldcrest roamed wooded areas. Also a Blackcap, a Song Thrush
A mixture of other sightings, seven Stonechat, three Rock Pipit, three Bullfinch, two Kingfisher, two Sparrowhawk, a Peregrine, a Kestrel and a Green Woodpecker made it across to the site from the mainland, where one has been heard calling periodically for some weeks.
Wildlife news: a few Migrant Hawker and Common Darter still on the wing. Two Water Vole swam across channels of the Main Pond.
Friday, 16 October 2020
Friday 16th October
A few different species but the same impressive list of 82 species recorded today. To achieve this, individual birders have each spent up to 17.5 hours on site over the past two days; it's been worthwhile.
Overhead movement commenced 07:25, a little before sunrise (07:40) and one of the first birds in was a Yellowhammer that remained around the Dune Pond area for a few hours. October is the peak month for this less than annual migrant and raises the site year-list to 171 species. In the company of up to three migrant Reed Bunting and some of the six Cirl Bunting was a notable mix of buntings here. Similar to yesterday, 20 Crossbill flew NE (1,1,9,6,2, 1) including some males. A slaty-bluer-mantled Coal Tit that moved NE was probably an 'ater'.
Also on the move, 79 Siskin (NE), 68 Meadow Pipit (NE), 23 Skylark (21 W, 2 NE), 15 Lesser Redpoll (9 NE, 6 SW), a large count here; 14 Chaffinch (NE), seven Swallow (most NE), five Pintail (in off), four Rook, four House Martin (NE), three Grey High high up in off the sea flew west; two Lesser Black-backed Gull (S), two Song Thrush (high W), two Mistle Thrush (briefly landed in The Spinney, then NE); the latest Sand Martin (NE) since 1997; and a Grey Wagtail (NE). A large finch flock assembled in Greenland Lake and added to those that leap-frogged to continue passage north-east were c.240 Goldfinch, 21 Greenfinch and eight Linnet.
When still dark, 20 Mallard lifted from roost on the Main Pond where later two Water Rail were heard and a Kingfisher perched up on the posts. Brief looks offshore revealed rafts of 34 Common Scoter, a few Gannet, the drake Eider and a Great Crested Grebe.
As yesterday, the morning tide was foregone to concentrate on visible migration. On the evening tide, masses of birds assembled on site with counts that included 1164 Oystercatcher, 1152 Wigeon, 887 Teal, 256 Dark-bellied Brent Goose (included the first juv); 111 Turnstone, 107+ Dunlin, 58 Knot, 55 Grey Plover, 18 Mute Swan, just ten Great Black-backed Gull, nine Pale-bellied Brent Goose (included a family group); eight Greenshank, two Shelduck, two more Mallard, another Pintail, another Kingfisher, a late Whimbrel, a Black-tailed Godwit; the long-staying juv Little Stint and the Slavonian Grebe. A Jackdaw out on the mudflats was an unusual sight here.
The bushes were a bit neglected; one or two Chiffchaff and Goldcrest were noted and the nomadic Long-tailed Tit dominated tit flock again passed through. Other expected sightings included single Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and Great Spotted Woodpecker.
Overhead movement commenced 07:25, a little before sunrise (07:40) and one of the first birds in was a Yellowhammer that remained around the Dune Pond area for a few hours. October is the peak month for this less than annual migrant and raises the site year-list to 171 species. In the company of up to three migrant Reed Bunting and some of the six Cirl Bunting was a notable mix of buntings here. Similar to yesterday, 20 Crossbill flew NE (1,1,9,6,2, 1) including some males. A slaty-bluer-mantled Coal Tit that moved NE was probably an 'ater'.
Also on the move, 79 Siskin (NE), 68 Meadow Pipit (NE), 23 Skylark (21 W, 2 NE), 15 Lesser Redpoll (9 NE, 6 SW), a large count here; 14 Chaffinch (NE), seven Swallow (most NE), five Pintail (in off), four Rook, four House Martin (NE), three Grey High high up in off the sea flew west; two Lesser Black-backed Gull (S), two Song Thrush (high W), two Mistle Thrush (briefly landed in The Spinney, then NE); the latest Sand Martin (NE) since 1997; and a Grey Wagtail (NE). A large finch flock assembled in Greenland Lake and added to those that leap-frogged to continue passage north-east were c.240 Goldfinch, 21 Greenfinch and eight Linnet.
When still dark, 20 Mallard lifted from roost on the Main Pond where later two Water Rail were heard and a Kingfisher perched up on the posts. Brief looks offshore revealed rafts of 34 Common Scoter, a few Gannet, the drake Eider and a Great Crested Grebe.
As yesterday, the morning tide was foregone to concentrate on visible migration. On the evening tide, masses of birds assembled on site with counts that included 1164 Oystercatcher, 1152 Wigeon, 887 Teal, 256 Dark-bellied Brent Goose (included the first juv); 111 Turnstone, 107+ Dunlin, 58 Knot, 55 Grey Plover, 18 Mute Swan, just ten Great Black-backed Gull, nine Pale-bellied Brent Goose (included a family group); eight Greenshank, two Shelduck, two more Mallard, another Pintail, another Kingfisher, a late Whimbrel, a Black-tailed Godwit; the long-staying juv Little Stint and the Slavonian Grebe. A Jackdaw out on the mudflats was an unusual sight here.
The bushes were a bit neglected; one or two Chiffchaff and Goldcrest were noted and the nomadic Long-tailed Tit dominated tit flock again passed through. Other expected sightings included single Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and Great Spotted Woodpecker.
Thursday, 15 October 2020
Thursday 15th October
Some years it happens just once and only a few times in others, the species list threshold for what constitutes a great day here is eighty. With 82 species recorded today, this was the highest total so far in 2020 and was a total infused with quality birds. Low elevation visible migration from pre-dawn continued until late morning with highlights of 19 Crossbill (four flocks) that flew NE, vocal and close enough that bright red males were visible without optics. Not annual, records exist in 12 of the past 20 years and this count was the second highest ever here. Continuing an exceptional influx this autumn, 11 Coal Tit with a flock of nine later followed by two progressed NE through the site, briefly alighting on tree-tops as they moved through. Again, views were insufficient to determine race.
Other totals were 205+ Goldfinch, 85+ Siskin, 81 Meadow Pipit (most NE), 24 Chaffinch; most of the 22 Skylark (W), 20+ Greenfinch, 14 Linnet, 13 Lesser Redpoll, ten Pied Wagtail (W), three Rook, two Swallow (NE), one of two Common Snipe (in off the sea), two Grey Wagtail (W), and one Lesser Black-backed Gull (S) and a Brambling, the first of the year and a species that was absent here last autumn.
The mixed flock of 12+ Long-tailed Tit, some tits and three Goldcrest contained some of the eight Chiffchaff on site; and also in woods and bushes, three Blackcap (mmf). Other migrants were six Reed Bunting (highest count for nearly two years) and two migrant Song Thrush.
The morning tide was foregone due to action overhead and the only species noted was a large flock of Cattle Egret. A return to cover the evening spring tide found a site record count of 31 Cattle Egret stood in the saltmarsh and estuary corner before most moved into fields as the tide rose.
Many hundreds of Teal and Wigeon assembled in the estuary corner and other counts made were c.1,050 Oystercatcher, 338 Curlew, 263 Redshank, 219 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, c.200 Dunlin, 74 Turnstone, 47 Knot, 38 Bar-tailed Godwit, 29 Canada Goose, 28 Grey Plover, 25 Mute Swan, 12 Great Black-backed Gull, ten Shelduck, nine Greenshank, eight Little Egret, four Grey Heron, two Mallard, two Sanderling, singles of Pintail, the same juv Little Stint, Black-tailed Godwit, Ringed Plover, Kingfisher and the Slavonian Grebe. The last recorded date this bird saw one of its own kind was on 9th March 2017, 1,315 days ago.
At least five Rock Pipit indicated new birds. Two Water Rail, another Mallard and Kingfisher, and the elusive drake Shoveler was still on the Main Pond. Scans of the sea mid-afternoon revealed a raft of c.30 Common Scoter and 29 Gannet.
Also noted today, six Stonechat, five Cirl Bunting, two Kestrel, single Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Great Spotted Woodpecker and a pale-looking Wheatear.
Other totals were 205+ Goldfinch, 85+ Siskin, 81 Meadow Pipit (most NE), 24 Chaffinch; most of the 22 Skylark (W), 20+ Greenfinch, 14 Linnet, 13 Lesser Redpoll, ten Pied Wagtail (W), three Rook, two Swallow (NE), one of two Common Snipe (in off the sea), two Grey Wagtail (W), and one Lesser Black-backed Gull (S) and a Brambling, the first of the year and a species that was absent here last autumn.
The mixed flock of 12+ Long-tailed Tit, some tits and three Goldcrest contained some of the eight Chiffchaff on site; and also in woods and bushes, three Blackcap (mmf). Other migrants were six Reed Bunting (highest count for nearly two years) and two migrant Song Thrush.
The morning tide was foregone due to action overhead and the only species noted was a large flock of Cattle Egret. A return to cover the evening spring tide found a site record count of 31 Cattle Egret stood in the saltmarsh and estuary corner before most moved into fields as the tide rose.
Many hundreds of Teal and Wigeon assembled in the estuary corner and other counts made were c.1,050 Oystercatcher, 338 Curlew, 263 Redshank, 219 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, c.200 Dunlin, 74 Turnstone, 47 Knot, 38 Bar-tailed Godwit, 29 Canada Goose, 28 Grey Plover, 25 Mute Swan, 12 Great Black-backed Gull, ten Shelduck, nine Greenshank, eight Little Egret, four Grey Heron, two Mallard, two Sanderling, singles of Pintail, the same juv Little Stint, Black-tailed Godwit, Ringed Plover, Kingfisher and the Slavonian Grebe. The last recorded date this bird saw one of its own kind was on 9th March 2017, 1,315 days ago.
At least five Rock Pipit indicated new birds. Two Water Rail, another Mallard and Kingfisher, and the elusive drake Shoveler was still on the Main Pond. Scans of the sea mid-afternoon revealed a raft of c.30 Common Scoter and 29 Gannet.
Also noted today, six Stonechat, five Cirl Bunting, two Kestrel, single Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Great Spotted Woodpecker and a pale-looking Wheatear.
Wildlife news: a late Clouded Yellow on Warren Point; two Red Admiral and single-figures of Large White, Small White, Speckled Wood and Small Copper. Sunny pockets attracted a few Common Darter and Migrant Hawker. Squash-bugs sunned themselves on bindweed leaves; a worn Carder-bee and lots of Common Wasp.
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| Small Copper - Alan Keatley |
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| Clouded Yellow - Alan Keatley |
Sunday, 11 October 2020
Sunday 11th October
Visible migration was more evident throughout the morning and totals that include grounded individuals (with main direction in brackets) were 56 Jackdaw (54 W, 2 NE), the first big flock of the autumn; 47 Meadow Pipit (mostly grounded), 43 Skylark (W), 26 Rook (most W), 26 Woodpigeon (WSW), 15 Swallow (NE), 13 Siskin (NE), ten 'alba' wagtail (WSW) three Grey Wagtail (SW), three Raven (ENE), two Chaffinch (NE), a Lesser Redpoll (NE), a Buzzard and a Lapwing flew in off. Three Coal Tit worked their way NE, again were too brief to race. Same as yesterday, finches arrived early from the SW and stopped to linger in the Greenland Lake area, where 88 Goldfinch, 21 Greenfinch and some of the 18 Linnet fed.
Migrants in the woods and bushes were three each of Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Goldcrest; a Reed Bunting was on Warren Point. Also in bushes an increase to 21 Robin suggests a small influx; numbers of other resident species were more typical with nine Stonechat, eight Long-tailed Tit, six Blue Tit, five Cirl Bunting, three Great Tit, two Great Spotted Woodpecker and single Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and Bullfinch.
The Main Pond had the dubious honour of supporting two Aylesbury Duck with five Mallard, all assumed to be visitors from Dawlish town; and the drake Shoveler still. Offshore, 15 Common Scoter and a few Gannet.
Dry neap lunchtime tides can be discouragingly poor and the presence of just a single Ringed Plover and Dunlin in The Bight were certainly that. The curious timings of WeBS counts that coincide with neap tides over recent years has stirred some constructive discussion to address this issue. A moment here is taken here to thank dedicated WeBS counters, some of whom have committed their time to this survey for 30 years, and thanks also for sharing and posting these records today, which have already been collated, sifted and combined with those from other observations on site, then fed by a nominated person into a joint account on BirdTrack to produce a set of comprehensive and accurate records. Since the Dawlish Warren to Starcross WeBS sector extends well beyond the Dawlish Warren Recording Area, best judgement is sometime needed to assume where the birds actually were. Parallel counts assist with this; WeBS counts and site counts have different purposes and applications, and in some respects have different criteria, so this is not duplication nor nugatory effort.
So, whilst the Dawlish Warren outer WeBS sector struggled for birds, by contrast the estuary corner and Railway Saltmarsh (part of the Dawlish Warren to Starcross WeBS sector) was packed with birds and there the day's highlight was 24 Cattle Egret that dropped in at high tide (the 24th bird joined the 23 as news was released about those). Up to 27 have been reported locally between Cockwood Marsh and Powderham since 2nd October. This record is reminiscent of 25 & 26 Cattle Egret that visited the site in Jan 2020 during a period when up to 41 were around the estuary and many remained into late-March.
Counts (believed to be within the recording area) were 776 Oystercatcher, 754 Teal, 376+ (all 548?) Curlew, 339 Redshank, 233+ Wigeon, 177 Black-headed Gull, three-fig count Canada Goose, 68 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 35 Bar-tailed Godwit, 29 Cormorant, 24 Mute Swan, 18 Shag (including those inshore), 17 Pale-bellied Brent Goose, 13 Knot, 11 Greenshank, ten Grey Plover, eight Common Gull, eight Sandwich Tern, five Little Egret, five Lesser Black-backed Gull, just four Great Black-backed Gull, three adult winter Mediterranean Gull, three Red-breasted Merganser (one in off), two Grey Heron, a late Whimbrel, a Shelduck, the usual drake Eider and 'Herbert' the Slavonian Grebe.
Migrants in the woods and bushes were three each of Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Goldcrest; a Reed Bunting was on Warren Point. Also in bushes an increase to 21 Robin suggests a small influx; numbers of other resident species were more typical with nine Stonechat, eight Long-tailed Tit, six Blue Tit, five Cirl Bunting, three Great Tit, two Great Spotted Woodpecker and single Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and Bullfinch.
The Main Pond had the dubious honour of supporting two Aylesbury Duck with five Mallard, all assumed to be visitors from Dawlish town; and the drake Shoveler still. Offshore, 15 Common Scoter and a few Gannet.
Dry neap lunchtime tides can be discouragingly poor and the presence of just a single Ringed Plover and Dunlin in The Bight were certainly that. The curious timings of WeBS counts that coincide with neap tides over recent years has stirred some constructive discussion to address this issue. A moment here is taken here to thank dedicated WeBS counters, some of whom have committed their time to this survey for 30 years, and thanks also for sharing and posting these records today, which have already been collated, sifted and combined with those from other observations on site, then fed by a nominated person into a joint account on BirdTrack to produce a set of comprehensive and accurate records. Since the Dawlish Warren to Starcross WeBS sector extends well beyond the Dawlish Warren Recording Area, best judgement is sometime needed to assume where the birds actually were. Parallel counts assist with this; WeBS counts and site counts have different purposes and applications, and in some respects have different criteria, so this is not duplication nor nugatory effort.
So, whilst the Dawlish Warren outer WeBS sector struggled for birds, by contrast the estuary corner and Railway Saltmarsh (part of the Dawlish Warren to Starcross WeBS sector) was packed with birds and there the day's highlight was 24 Cattle Egret that dropped in at high tide (the 24th bird joined the 23 as news was released about those). Up to 27 have been reported locally between Cockwood Marsh and Powderham since 2nd October. This record is reminiscent of 25 & 26 Cattle Egret that visited the site in Jan 2020 during a period when up to 41 were around the estuary and many remained into late-March.
Counts (believed to be within the recording area) were 776 Oystercatcher, 754 Teal, 376+ (all 548?) Curlew, 339 Redshank, 233+ Wigeon, 177 Black-headed Gull, three-fig count Canada Goose, 68 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 35 Bar-tailed Godwit, 29 Cormorant, 24 Mute Swan, 18 Shag (including those inshore), 17 Pale-bellied Brent Goose, 13 Knot, 11 Greenshank, ten Grey Plover, eight Common Gull, eight Sandwich Tern, five Little Egret, five Lesser Black-backed Gull, just four Great Black-backed Gull, three adult winter Mediterranean Gull, three Red-breasted Merganser (one in off), two Grey Heron, a late Whimbrel, a Shelduck, the usual drake Eider and 'Herbert' the Slavonian Grebe.
Saturday, 10 October 2020
Saturday 10th October
At least five birders made the conscious decision to not travel to Lundy today and, in birding parlance, instead 'worked the patch'. Only light passage overhead was noted early morning in a light north-westerly and little cloud cover. Combined with grounded individuals, counts of some species (with abbreviated direction in brackets) were 31 'alba' wagtail (W), 30 Woodpigeon (W), 22 Meadow Pipit (W), 14 Rook (most W), four Skylark (W), three Swallow (NE), two Grey Wagtail and a Buzzard. At least 85 Goldfinch, 61 Starling, 20 Greenfinch and a Reed Bunting dropped from the southwest into Greenland Lake and along Back Path to feed, where also some of the six Cirl Bunting were present.
The highlight was five Coal Tit, three as a flock that flew NE along the dune ridge and another two singles in the woods. None were seen well enough to determine race. Debate about the occurrence of the Continental race Periparus a. ater in Devon has stirred since at least the early-1990s and the overall picture continues to be confounded by intermediate-looking individuals, some noted here in the past. Late-Sep to mid-Oct is peak passage for Coal Tit here and today's sighting nicely fits the established pattern, and is the largest count here since the invasion of up to 16 in a day during late-Sep/ early-Oct 2015, which involved ater along the English south coast, preceded by reputedly up to thousands at sites on the Continent.
Before the wind strengthened and skies clouded over to produce showers, wooded areas had eight Chiffchaff, three Goldcrest, two Great Spotted Woodpecker, two Blackcap, two Bullfinch, a Lesser Redpoll and a mixed tit flock.
On Main Pond, the drake Shoveler still and a noisy Water Rail. The lunchtime neap tide pushed in some waterbirds and those that would have utilized Cockle Sands, Exmouth to roost were yet again displaced by up to 18 kite-surfers there. The incongruous mix of large and small counts here of some species led to speculation that sanctuary further up the estuary was in use. Selected counts were c.570 Teal (max count, by far, this year), c.390 Curlew, c.240 Wigeon, c.225 Redshank, 142 Canada Goose, 53 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 32 Knot, 26 Mute Swan, eight Greenshank, seven Shelduck, five Little Egret, three Red-breasted Merganser (first of the autumn) two Grey Heron, the drake Eider and the Slavonian Grebe. Two Kingfisher chased each other across the saltmarsh.
Offshore, a feeding flock of gulls was joined by nine Sandwich Tern, eight Gannet and a Common Scoter.
A flock of Cattle Egret were in Cockwood Marsh, seen from Warren Point.
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