Saturday 12th December

Better coverage today with up to four birders on site and apart from an hour or so at lunchtime, birding extended from pre-dawn until after sundown. For this effort, it was an especially ordinary day with no stand-out highlights; the total of 73 species was reasonable, aided by prolonged sunshine punctuated by only a few brief showers. Offshore early morning, 12 Great Crested Grebe, eight Gannet, six Red-throated Diver, three Common Scoter, two Great Northern Diver, two auk sp., a Kittiwake, the ♂ Eider and a Red-breasted Merganser flew south.

On Main Pond, seven Shoveler (4 adult ♂, imm ♂, 2 ♀); four Moorhen, three Water Rail plus another squealing from Entrance Pond; the ♂ domestic Mallard thing, a ♀ Mallard, a trilling Little Grebe and at dusk a mumuration of c.220 Starling.

The well stocked bird feeders attracted many of the tits and finches out of the bushes and woods where totals were 18+ Goldfinch, 12+ Greenfinch, nine Long-tailed Tit, eight Blue Tit, five Chiffchaff, four Great Tit, three Goldcrest, two Chaffinch, ♂ Bullfinch, a Sparrowhawk and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

On the rising tide, c.1,320 Dunlin, 850+ Oystercatcher, 283 Wigeon, 227 Teal, 140 Grey Plover, 137 Knot, 109 Shelduck, 105 Dark-bellied Brent Goose with two (one obvious, one not) Pale-bellied Brent Goose with them in The Bight; 72 Bar-tailed Godwit, 58 Redshank, 51 Turnstone, 36 Curlew, 26 Ringed Plover, 17 Sanderling, a dozen Common Snipe, another eight Red-breasted Merganser, seven Greenshank, just three Great Black-backed Gull, two suspect captive-bred Mallard; two Mute Swan, two Little Egret, two Grey Heron, a ♀/imm Pintail, a ♀/imm Goldeneye and 'Herbert' the Slavonian Grebe. Also 197 Black-headed Gull and 14 Common Gull alighted on calm waters in the estuary corner at dusk to roost.

Other notable sightings, four Cirl Bunting, three Raven flew SW, three Stonechat, two Meadow Pipit, two single Kingfisher, one again fished rock pools below Langstone Rock and another beside the saltmarsh; two (♂♀) Kestrel, a Green Woodpecker and a Song Thrush near the hide.

Friday 11th December

Only a few casual records of 15 Great Crested Grebe and at least three Red-throated Diver close offshore; seven Shoveler and a Little Grebe still on Main Pond. Single-figures of Chiffchaff, including probably the Siberian Chiffchaff and six Goldcrest were in the woods, also single Coal Tit Bullfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Green Woodpecker. The usual drake Eider was seen and large numbers of waders congregated at high tide with more than 200 Knot noted. 

male Green Woodpecker - Alan Keatley

Red-breasted Mergansers - Alan Keatley

Sunday 6th December

The strange meteorological event of a blocking cyclone weakened to allow patchy frost and thin ice overnight that soon melted to give rise to a lovely sunny and calm day. At dawn, before the sun rose above low clouds to dazzle searches out to sea, there was 31 Great Crested Grebe, six Gannet, six Guillemot, two Razorbill, two Red-throated Diver, one Common Scoter, one Kittiwake and a distant Grey Heron flew southwest.

Birding the woods was timed to coincide with the first warmer rays of sunshine and in near perfect conditions produced about a dozen Long-tailed Tit, nine Blue Tit, eight Siskin, four Goldcrest, two Great Tit, presumably the usual two Firecrest in their favourite spots, two each also of Great Spotted Woodpecker, Bullfinch and Chaffinch, a Coal Tit on the feeders and a ♀ Pheasant. The majority of these birds and the mixed selection of nine chiffchaffs ssp. on site were considered to be long-stayers. The Siberian Chiffchaff briefly showed well and called from the same tamarisk it was originally found in on 22nd November, assuming it's the same bird, which is also when a 'fulvescens' or 'riphaeus'-type chiffchaff appeared.  Today this (?) bird was in bushes next to the entrance kissing-gate; again it didn't call.

More generally around site on scattered bushes and in open habitats were seven Stonechat, six Cirl Bunting, six Skylark on Warren Point where also there was a Song Thrush. Small numbers of Goldfinch, Greenfinch and single-figures of Linnet and Meadow Pipit were also noted.

Main Pond supported five Water Rail, four Moorhen, a pair of trilling Little Grebe, and the ♂ domestic Mallard thing that repeatedly bobbed it head to display interest in the resident ♀ Mallard. 

No birds of prey and only three single passerines noted overhead in the clear skies, another Skylark, a Mistle Thrush and the highlight, a Yellowhammer calling as it flew NE through the middle of the site; the third record of the year.

Best intentions to time birding of each habitats during its anticipated peak activity were thrown out of sync as counts started on waterbirds and sighting of a 'peep'-like calidris sp., in The Bight.  This was distinguishable in flight with Dunlin by its shorter wings and buzzier flight action. Reflections of observers was this resembled but probably was not another 2009 nightmare (link), and instead the bird was perhaps an unseasonal arctica Dunlin or an incredibly small schinzii Dunlin; not a Little Stint. Worth looking out for.  

Representative counts managed were 216 Wigeon, 204 Teal, 128 Knot, 120 Redshank, 106 Shelduck, 60+ Dark-bellied Brent Goose plus two Pale-bellied Brent Goose, 53 Turnstone, 50 Black-tailed Godwit, 33 Black-headed Gull, 32 Ringed Plover, 20+ Cormorant, 13 Shag (including four offshore), 11 Common Snipe, six Curlew, five Red-breasted Merganser, four Greenshank, just three Common Gull, just two Great Black-backed Gull, two more Shoveler in The Bight, two (presumed) captive bred Mallard, two more Grey Heron, two Little Egret, one Mute Swan, another Great crested Grebe, the ♂ Eider and 'Herbert' the Slavonian Grebe. 

As the dead glasswort ssp became exposed on the ebbing tide in The Bight, a Rock Pipit and a Water Pipit dropped in, which obligingly perching up and was  remarked on as a particularly odd looking individual, probably a first-winter, which then called to assist its identity. 

 

first-winter(?) Water Pipit - David Flack

  

A mile or so outside of the site, in a cattle-grazed field on Easter Hill, Cockwood, were at least nine Cattle Egret.

Saturday 5th December

Offshore at dawn, in a bracing showery north-northwesterly, there were 32 Great Crested Grebe, 20+ auk spp., seven Red-throated Diver, five Common Scoter, four Gannet, three Great Northern Diver, and three Kittiwake.

Due to distractions, explained below, only some waterbirds were counted today and these were c.1,240 Dunlin, c.825 Oystercatcher, 162 Grey Plover, 128 Bar-tailed Godwit, 108 Shelduck, 103 Knot, 27 Ringed Plover, 21 Sanderling, just six Curlew, just four Great Black-backed Gull, two Greenshank and a Slavonian Grebe. A Golden Plover stood on the island was anticipated given the blast of cold weather. A Peregrine and the usual murder of Carrion Crow (the collective noun) on Finger Point, and a Magpie on the wader island, made roosting wader flocks rather jumpy over the high tide period.

In the woods, the usual tits plus a Coal Tit, also three Chiffchaff, two Goldcrest, two Bullfinch, a Song Thrush, a Chaffinch and a Firecrest.  Other notable sightings were 40 Linnet near the site entrance and five Cirl Bunting.

Other news: This was an eventful day; after wader flocks had naturally dispersed away from in front of the hide on the dropping tide, a number of birders helped to affix boards across all of the hide windows frames that had remained broken and open to the elements since vandalised seven months ago. Admittedly a bit of a 'botched job', but better than nothing. 

The purpose of noting this action here and on other social media platforms today is not in any way meant to be self-congratulatory, but instead is meant as a coordinated plan to draw attention to a wide audience the neglect shown by Teignbridge District Council Rangers toward the much loved bird hide and to other management practices on site. DWRG, comprised of local birders, believes that it has acted reasonably and proportionately to this issue. Following a formal complaint, the Head of Operational Services (TDC) replied to a DWRG member on 18th November.  An extract from this stated, "There is no timetable for the renovation works but I have requested that boarding the windows takes place in the meantime, this will be carried out in due course subject to being able to gain vehicle access via the golf course." Staff have had plenty of access opportunities during the 3 weeks since being instructed to take this action.  

Also, TDC was given fair and clear warning on 3rd November that we will use social media to shame TDC if it failed to respond responsibly.  Evidently, TDC, or at least its Rangers, have again misjudged the situation and local feeling about this issue. 

The work accomplished today is temporary and only hopes to try to preserve the bird hide through the winter. What it really needs is extensive repairs and renovation.  

Big thank you to everyone who helped, including to the local business that supplied materials and other assistance free of charge; we won't forget that.  And also to everyone who has expressed their support.   

Here's a reminder of this bird hide's uses and functions, which have a positive influence on thousands of people every year - 

•    regular monitoring of bird sightings and counts at this internationally important nature reserve, which are collated and shared with various organisations for conservation outcomes and used, for instance, to share up-to-date news;

•    regular research including professional scientific research that study the origins, movements and population dynamics of waterbirds; much of this relates to field reads of bird rings and also, on occasion, as a base for bird ringing sessions;

•    the public can experience nature and marvel at the spectacle of hundreds and thousands of birds at close quarters, enduring memories that help maintain wildlife interests and conservation at the forefront of peoples' priorities;
•     where staff and local birders share knowledge about wildlife and, for instance, improve awareness to the sensitives of interactions between people and wildlife;
•     shelter from the weather out in a remote and exposed part of the site.

boarding to protect bird hide from adverse winter weather, whilst it remains temporarily closed under COVID-19 related restrictions - Ivan Lakin

Friday 4th December

Not much news today, notables were a Pintail was in the estuary and a Goosander flew by the seawall in the early afternoon.

Wildlife news: a really late Common Darter sunned itself in Skipper Meadow.

Common Darter - Dean Hall

Thursday 3rd December

Dawn awoke to spits and spots of rain in a light southwesterly. A short seawatch from the seawall produced 24 Great Crested Grebe, 12 Gannet, eight Red-throated Diver, three Great Northern Diver and two each of Common Scoter, Razorbill and Kittiwake.

The assemblage of waterbirds that attended the morning spring high tide comprised of the usual species and of these a few counts were undertaken, 64 Bar-tailed Godwit, 56 Black-tailed Godwit and noticeable by how scarce they have become in recent years, just two Great Black-backed Gull.

Most charts produced to present waterbird numbers plot max counts that effectively draws attention to just a single number from an entire season's or year's worth of data, which may, or sometimes may not, be representative of what that chart has attempted to present.  Where counts are undertaken frequently and representatively enough throughout each period, anomalous counts can be smoothed out to reveal the 'real' trend by an alternative method. This can be done by plotting 'average bird-days', which is the same as an average of every days' max count within each season or year. This was done for Great Black-backed Gull counts 1983 - 2019 and from the chart below evidence of a serious problem clearly emerges at Dawlish Warren, which appears to have persisted since about 2009; the cause is not yet known.

data capture, analysis and presentation - Ivan Lakin

The day brightened up and in the bushes and woodlands there was a dozen Long-tailed Tit, eight Chiffchaff, six Great Tit, six Goldcrest, four Blue Tit, three Bullfinch and two Firecrest were together in Skipper Meadow.  This is the small enclosed meadow beside the now burnt-out tractor compound.  At least three Shoveler remained on Main Pond.

In the afternoon at low tide, a flock of Dark-bellied Brent Goose foraged on the rocky shore below Langstone Rock where there was also seven Turnstone, two Rock Pipit and a Kingfisher. At least six Purple Sandpiper were still on Maer Rocks, Exmouth yesterday so a repeat visit to this side of the bay is anticipated.

Wildlife news: despite only peaking at just above 8°C, a few Buff-tailed Bumblebee were on the wing. A Water Vole was on Main Pond and two Grey Seal were in The Bight.

Tuesday 1st December

The highlight was a Whooper Swan that flew in off the sea over the site and straight up the estuary early morning. This is the 13th site record (26 birds) since 1954 and is the second record of the year after two that flew over on 5th January.  This is a tough species to see here with only three of these records having involved birds seen more than briefly.

On the morning high tide, a few selected counts included c.450 Black-tailed Godwit, 219 Redshank, 170 Curlew, 161 Bar-tailed Godwit, 133 Knot, 101 Shelduck, 31 Ringed Plover, two Lapwing, and 'Herbert' the Slavonian Grebe.

A scan offshore over calm waters in the morning produced 39 Great Crested Grebe, 13 Red-throated Diver and single-figures of Gannet, Guillemot and Razorbill.  Swimming about on Main Pond were five Shoveler, a ♀ Mallard and the usual ♂ domestic Mallard. 

A short walk through the woods noted single-figures of tits, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest and a Firecrest foraging actively in the sunshine.

Sunday 29th November

A bit milky first thing with reduced visibility, inshore were 21 Great Crested Grebe, c.20 Gannet, 15 Common Scoter, six Red-throated Diver, a few Guillemot and two Great Northern Diver.  No sign of yesterday's Purple Sandpiper on the exposed rocks below Langstone Rock, just seven Turnstone and a Kingfisher again there today.  The yellow-colour ringed '632' Scandinavian Rock Pipit was again on the seawall and a Grey Wagtail was in this area.

Similar selection of bird on Main Pond over recent weeks with two Shoveler, two Water Rail, some Moorhen, a Mallard and a trilling Little Grebe.

In the estuary and along the seafront during the daytime mid to low tides, 400+ Teal, 391 Wigeon, 214 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 129 Redshank, 88 Shelduck, 75+ Black-headed Gull, an extra 63 Turnstone, 54 Knot, 25+ Common Gull, 18 Cormorant, five Great Black-backed Gull, four Grey Heron, three Little Egret, three Mute Swan, 15+ Common Snipe in the saltmarsh, three Red-breasted Merganser, two suspected captive bred Mallard, an imm Pintail, the drake Eider and the usual Slavonian Grebe.  

In the lovely calm conditions and bright sunshine, staff were kept very busy advising folks about responsible use of the site and understandably receive questions about why dog access is not permitted beyond groyne 9 during low tide, whilst people can continue past groyne 9.  Aside from that fact an enforceable bylaw is in place, today presented a good example of why this is the case with the presence of 158 Brent Goose that chose to rest near the beach waterline beyond groyne 9 at low tide.  A relatively confiding species, they were content to be there with the passage of people slowly walking by, but they would not be safe there from unleased dogs.   The bylaw reflects that the presence of important bird flocks can be at any state of tide and at any time of year, so in addition and certain times, people are also asked to avoid this particular area when large numbers of more disturbance sensitive species are presence.   A dog-friendly link to the various zone is click here.

Back to bird news, in the woods and bushes, with some taking advantage of the feeders, were c.35 Goldfinch, 27 Greenfinch, 19 Long-tailed Tit, nine Goldcrest, seven colybita Chiffchaff, four Siskin, three Song Thrush, two Bullfinch, two Chaffinch, a Coal Tit and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.  Highlights were a Firecrest and a vocal showy Siberian Chiffchaff behind the Main Pond.   

Also today, seven Skylark on Warren Point; seven Stonechat, seven Meadow Pipit, five Cirl Bunting and single Green Woodpecker, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel.  No 'visible migration' noted, just two Raven and single Rook, Jackdaw and Skylark passed overhead.

Other news: in what appears to be a targeted arson attack, the Tractor Compound suffered severe damage last night with the fire brigade attending a large fire in the early hours.  The entire shed and its contents, including important interpretation boards were incinerated and the tractor looks irreparably damaged. To carefully avoid prejudicing the ongoing police investigation, this has apparently gone very well.  Motive, if known at all yet, has not been shared. The rest of the site, including the Visitor Centre, seem OK. 

Saturday 28th November

Overnight rain associated with a warm front passed through before dawn to leave a mild and overcast day that drew a number of local birders to the seawall and at sea were found 25 Great Crested Grebe, rafts of c.30 Guillemot with many more down the coast in Dawlish Bay; 18 Common Scoter, plus 15 further south; seven Red-throated Diver, five Razorbill (plus one dead); three Red-breasted Merganser flew south, two Great Northern Diver with another off Dawlish; and the drake Eider.  The highlight was a Velvet Scoter that flew in and landed on the sea off Langstone Rock at c.08:00 but wasn't later relocated; a new species of the year.

The exposed rocky shore of Langstone Rock and its breakwater hosted a Purple Sandpiper all morning, accompanied by a few Turnstone.  This was another new species to bring the site year-list to 182, which surpasses the end-year total of 180 in 2019.  A Grey Heron and a Kingfisher also perched on the rocky shore, and two Raven and a Grey Wagtail flew over there.

Purple Sandpiper - Alan Keatley

A mixed feeding flock that roamed wooded areas moped up most of the smaller passerines with totals present of 14 Blue Tit, seven Long-tailed Tit, seven Goldcrest, four Great Tit and one Coal Tit. Of the eight Chiffchaff, one had characteristics of abietinus, another was noticeably greyer but couldn't be ascribed to race (see photo); the remainder looked and sounded like regular colybita.  Three Song Thrush, two each of Bullfinch and Chaffinch and a Great Spotted Woodpecker were also found in the woods.  As a warning, in the same place behind Crocus Compound where a year or two ago a Robin used to utter a good impression of a Hawfinch, an individual today there was unhelpfully calling rather like a Penduline Tit.

Chiffchaff type - Alan Keatley

Main Pond, as usual, had three Shoveler, the trilling Little Grebe, squealing Water Rail and the domestic Mallard. 

The yellow-ringed '632' Scandinavian Rock Pipit was again on the seawall rip-rap and four more littoralis foraged at close quarters in the dead glasswort spp. of The Bight; unusually no regular petrosus.  Unexpectedly, green-ringed 'AVP' was not among them which was later explained by it being seen on Exton marsh this morning, four miles to the north, providing interesting information about their homing range.

Scandinavian Rock Pipit '632' - Lee Collins

The tide was too low for proper counts of many species, numbers of regular waders and wildfowl were out on the mudflats and along Shutterton Creek where among the 265 Teal and Wigeon were five more Shoveler, three Pintail and two non wild bred looking Mallard. The number of Mallard released annually in the UK for recreational shooting was previously estimated at half a million (Harradine, 1985) and a recent estimate has puts the figure between 1 and 4.9 million Mallard (Madden, 2020).  For individuals that look and behave a bit odd, the 'Domestic Mallard' option on BirdTrack can be used to separate genuine wild birds from captive bred ones.

Of the few waders counts managed, highly notable ones were 116 Turnstone on the rising late afternoon tide and including a few on Langstone Rock earlier, which was third highest count here over the past 30 years.  Also 47 Common Snipe rose from the saltmarsh and 12 Greenshank assembled along the edge.  A Belgian or Dutch ringed first-winter Mediterranean Gull was joined by three adults in a roosting flock of 220 Black-headed Gull and 22 Common Gull in the estuary corner. Other gull counts were 11 Great Black-backed Gull and two Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Thursday 26th November

Offshore, a distant frenzied feeding flock of c.150 Gannet, also 12 Great Crested Grebe and five Red-throated Diver.

The woods continued its good run with 13 Long-tailed Tit and mixed tits that included four Coal Tit and also present four Great Spotted Woodpecker, both counts were the highest ever here at this time of the year.  Some individuals made use of the bird-feeders.  There were also 11 Goldcrest, eight Chiffchaff, but none reported as anything other that colybita, four Bullfinch, two Chaffinch and the presumably one of the long-staying Firecrest again showed well in brambles near Dead Dolphin Wood.  Mobile around the woods and wider site, 25+ Goldfinch were joined by six Siskin.  A Mistle Thrush flew NE; not unexpected in late-November, and counts of resident species included six Cirl Bunting and two Stonechat.

female Cirl Bunting - Dave Jewell

As usual on Main Pond, three Shoveler, a few Water Rail, some Moorhen, a Mute Swan and the domestic Mallard.

There was enough water in the channels between the mid-range high tides in the early hours of the morning and mid-afternoon to allow counts of some wildfowl which included 592 Wigeon, 270 Teal, 83 Shelduck and a Red-breasted Merganser.  Tide states were not high enough to push in waders in representative numbers and the only count was nine Common Snipe that rose from the saltmarsh.

Wildlife news: a Harbour Porpoise was again seen offshore from the seawall.  From a chilly start temperatures managed to climb to 9°C and in the bright sunshine, sheltered spots got just warm enough attract out a Red Admiral and a late Marmalade Hoverfly.

Red Admiral - Alan Keatley