Saturday 24th December

The Spoonbill and Sandwich Tern roosted on Finger Point over high tide with, 53 Common and two adult Mediterranean Gull in the saltmarsh, 450 Dunlin feeding in the Bight still at mid tide, 169 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 67 Shelduck and three Greenshank on the mudflats and three Red-breasted Merganser, six Great Crested and a Little Grebe in the channel.

Spoonbill - Alan Keatley

Elsewhere a female Shoveler was on the Main Pond, 16 Skylark were in the Bight, 10 Great Crested Grebe were offshore and two Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Chiffchaff and the resident Kestrel were on site.

Kestrel - Alan Keatley

Tuesday 21st December

Two Avocet were favouring this end of the estuary, with counts over high tide including 155 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 129 Snipe, 112 Wigeon, 93 Shelduck, 33 Ringed Plover, 23 Teal, 23 Sanderling, 12 Turnstone, six Red-breasted Merganser and two Greenshank.

Elsewhere the immature male Eider, a Great Northern Diver and 14 Great Crested Grebe were offshore, a Yellowhammer flew over and a mobile flock of 11 Long-tailed Tit, two Goldcrest and a Chiffchaff were in the bushes.

Ringing News: A recently dead BTO ringed Oystercatcher was found on the Golf Course, presumably a victim of the recent cold spell. It had been ringed, as an adult, at the Warren in 2004 so was at least 19 years old, although possibly much older with the longevity record for the species being 36 years.  

Wildlife News: A female Grey Seal was hauled out on the favoured barge in the estuary.

Tuesday 20th December

A low tide visit saw 137 Dark-bellied Brent Goose on the mudflats with three Greenshank and three Lapwing, six Red-breasted Merganser remained in the channel. 

Lapwing (with Oystercatcher & Red-breasted Merganser - Alan Keatley

Once a regular wintering and even a breeding species, this was only the sixth Lapwing record of the year; Red-breasted Merganser may have declined to the same status in a few years.

Elsewhere six Great Northern Diver were together offshore late afternoon and around the site 25 Meadow Pipit, 16 Skylark, 12 Redwing in Dead Dolphin Wood and single Chiffchaff and Cetti's Warbler at the Main Pond. 

Monday 19th December

The wet and windy weather continued through the day, an early afternoon visit saw big seas but nothing passing offshore. The high tide arrived early due to the amount of flood water in the river but conditions once again hampered counts.

A near adult Spoonbill was a surprise in the estuary, presumably the bird that flew south on Friday, also present, three Avocet, a pair of Gadwall and a late winter high of just 10 Red-breasted Merganser. Interestingly these were all feeding in the channel from Eels Dock, presumably a clearer area of water than the flood water coming down the river.

Other counts from the estuary included 264 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 134 Wigeon, 92 Knot, 87 Shelduck, 65 Great Black-backed Gull, 53 Teal, 10 Turnstone, two Greenshank and two Kingfisher.

Elsewhere two Golden Plover were on Golf Course, six Shoveler were on the Main Pond, with three Redwing and a Chiffchaff in the bushes. Other passerines were in short supply, with 15 Cirl Bunting pushing Blackbird as the most numerous species recorded. 

Sunday 18th December

A thoroughly wet and miserable day although observers braved the conditions for WeBS, but the weather considerably hampered counts, not helped by a couple of low helicopter passes. The neap tide also lowered numbers. 

The single Avocet remained in the estuary, a year high count of 102 Shelduck, along with 643 Oystercatcher, 348 Dunlin, 122 Bar-tailed Godwit, 71 Wigeon, 32 Teal, 26 Redshank, 22 Brent Geese, 19 Grey Plover, 15 Knot, seven Sanderling, just five Curlew, three Turnstone, two Greenshank, a Red-breasted Merganser and a Kingfisher.

Elsewhere 37 Gannet were offshore with 11 Razorbill, three Great Crested Grebe, two Red-throated Diver, just two Kittiwake and a Common Scoter; the bushes held six Redwing, four Bullfinch, a Mistle Thrush and a Chiffchaff, three Shoveler on the Main Pond and despite, or perhaps because of, the conditions a site record 17 Cirl Bunting on the Golf Course.

Saturday 17th December

Counts were once again not possible over high tide due to the presence of two kayakers going along the saltmarsh flushing all the birds, an increasing problem on site. The usual waders were present but in reduced numbers due to the neap tide. Three Gadwall, only the third record of the year, were amongst the Wigeon and Teal along with three Shoveler, a Lapwing flew over, and an Avocet was in the Bight.

Offshore the first two returning Fulmar, along with 23 Kittiwake, 18 Gannet, 16 Great Crested Grebe, six Red-throated Diver, three Common Scoter and a Red-breasted Merganser.

Elsewhere at least seven Snipe were scattered around site, a Jackdaw flew over, in the bushes seven Redwing, four Song Thrush, three Bullfinch, two Goldcrest and two Chiffchaff, including a bird along the Dune Ridge, and the two Cetti's Warbler were at the Main Pond with five Water Rail, a pair of Shoveler and the singing Little Grebe.

Friday 16th December

An adult Spoonbill flew south, presumably the bird seen yesterday off Starcross. 

A brilliant day out in Devon, the Olive-backed Pipit in Exmouth was my 280th British bird. 11 Cirl Buntings and a Spoonbill were other highlights at Dawlish Warren. pic.twitter.com/sOlDHNnGEv

— Conor Boakes (@BoakesConor) December 16, 2022

Thursday 15th December

The site remains frozen with the day long winter sunshine having little affect, although enough ice has melted on the Main Pond for two pairs of Shoveler to return. The weather saw 12 Lapwing and a Golden Plover high west in the first hour, an Avocet and a Golden Plover in off at the seawall, and a Mistle Thrush and 24 Redwing also moving through. 

There had been a clear out of passerines in the woods and Greenland Lake, with just one Goldcrest, a few tits, three Skylark, two Meadow Pipit and low numbers of finches. 

Elsewhere the immature male Eider and just two Great Crested Grebe were offshore with counts from the estuary including 800 Dunlin, 176 Curlew, 116 Bar-tailed Godwit, 81 Grey Plover, 44 Turnstone, 22 Knot, two Sanderling and two Greenshank. 

Snipe - Alan Keatley

Wednesday 14th December

Another cold day but the local dusting of snow didn't reach sea level, single Lapwing and Redwing overhead showed some movement.

In Greenland Lake, a Green Woodpecker and nine Oystercatcher, five of which were ringed; JE, JN, JP, M3 & 4A. Interestingly, the same ringed birds feeding there as last week. Also there four Meadow Pipit with a Great-spotted Woodpecker and five Long-tailed Tit in the bushes.

Green Woodpecker - Dean Hall

Offshore, an immature male Eider and three Great Crested Grebe with nine Teal flew in offshore and landed in the estuary. 

Tuesday 13th December

An afternoon visit, but the Main Pond remained frozen, although a singing Little Grebe had presumably managed to find open patches of water out of sight. The ice had driven Water Rail out into the open, with birds feeding on the frozen surface and often glimpsed running between areas of  reedbed, a minimum of eight were estimated but numbers could easily be higher. The two Cetti's Warbler had survived the freeze as had a Chiffchaff, and on the Golf Course, the Dartford Warbler. 

Also on the course (no public access) a Jack Snipe and a Mistle Thrush with a Cattle Egret over south before heading along the coast. The tide was well out but 77 Shelduck and a Greenshank were present amongst small numbers of Dunlin and Curlew.