Wednesday 6th August

On a low tide visit 52 Sandwich and three Common Tern were on Bull Hill with 13 Common Scoter and a Great Crested Grebe offshore and a Willow Warbler by the Main Pond. 

Other Wildlife: Another new ant for the Recording Area, the widespread Yellow Meadow Ant Lasius flavus was discovered along the railway wall, a winged queen taken by a scavenging Formica cunicularia.

Yellow Meadow Ant Lasius flavus & Formica cunicularia - Alan Keatley

Also on the wing two Painted Lady, a Small-notched Mason-wasp Ancistrocerus gazella, several Common Furrow Bee Lasioglossum calceatum on Water Mint, Sandpit Blood Bee Sphecodes pellucidus on Common Fleabane and a Black Mining Bee Andrena nigripes near Langstone Rock.

Common Furrow Bee Lasioglossum calceatum - Alan Keatley

Painted Lady - Alan Keatley

Small-notched Mason-wasp Ancistrocerus gazella - Alan Keatley

Monday 4th August

The long tail of Storm Floris saw a few seabirds pushed into the bay, including the first Storm Petrel of the year south during a 3.5 hrs seawatch at 8am, with a second at 11.20. Also passing south 15 Balearic Shearwater, c20 Common Tern, three Fulmar, three Common Scoter and a Great Northern Diver. 

Year list addition: 
159. Storm Petrel

Other Wildlife: Despite the blustery conditions there were a good selection of insects to be found in sheltered spots, including two more firsts for the Recording Area. These were the tachinid Striped-backed Phasia P. obesa found near the Dune Pond and the ant Temnothorax nylanderi on fencing by the Station path.

Striped-backed Phasia P. obesa - Alan Keatley

Also of note, Pale-footed Black Wasp Psenulus palipes and the moths Common Purple and Gold Pyrausta purpuralis and several Rush Veneer. 

Pale-footed Black Wasp Psenulus palipes - Alan Keatley

Rush Veneer - Alan Keatley

Common Purple and Gold Pyrausta purpuralis - Alan Keatley

Elsewhere the hoverflies Variable Spearhorn Chrysotoxum elegans and Parsley Blacklet Cheilosia pagana in Greenland Lake and offshore three Common Dolphin and a Harbour Porpoise. 

Variable Spearhorn Chrysotoxum elegans - Alan Keatley

Saturday 2nd August

On a low high tide the majority of terns remained distant on the uncovered Bull Hill, with at least 100 Sandwich and two Common Tern present. Also in the estuary 70+ Ringed Plover, 25 Dunlin, nine Bar and two Black-tailed Godwit, four Teal and two Knot, with a Wheatear along the dune ridge. 

Friday 1st August

Counts from The Bight over the low high tide included 73 Ringed Plover, 61 Dunlin (20 juveniles), 53 Sandwich Tern, five Sanderling and five Turnstone. Also present the first Wheatear of the autumn. 

Ringing News: By the end of July a total of 58 Exe colour-ringed Oystercatcher were back for another winter on the estuary, a third of the 175 birds recorded last winter. 

Other Wildlife:

Wasp Spider - Lee Collins

Dingy Footman - Lee Collins

Superb Ant-hill Hoverfly Xanthogramma pedissequum - Lee Collins

Thursday 31st July

No sign of the Little Stint in The Bight over the high tide amongst 62 Ringed Plover and 35 Dunlin. Also in the estuary 78 Sandwich and two Common Tern, with 35 Sanderling on the beach.

Other Wildlife: Before the afternoon showers there was a good selection of hoverflies on the wing including, In the flower meadows, a showy Wasp Plumehorn Volucella inanis, and, new for the year, a Two-banded Wasp Hoverfly Chrysotoxum bicinctum. Numerous Batman Hoverfly Myathropa florea were favouring Rock Samphire at Langstone Rock.  

Wasp Plumehorn Volucella inanis - Alan Keatley

Two-banded Wasp Hoverfly Chrysotoxum bicinctum - Alan Keatley

Batman Hoverfly Myathropa florea - Alan Keatley

Other species included Stripe-backed Fleckwing Dasysyrphus albostriatus, many Common Twist-tail Sphaerophoria scripta, several Compost Hoverfly Syritta pipiens, Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax and a Stripe-faced Dronefly E. nemorum.

Stripe-backed Fleckwing Dasysyrphus albostriatus - Alan Keatley

More unexpected a Bloody-nosed Beetle was along the railway wall and a Water Shrew ran onto The Bight and meandered through the glasswort, presumably looking for food, maybe that's what they sometimes do, but not in broad daylight!

Water Shrew - Alan Keatley

Bloody-nosed Beetle - Alan Keatley

Wednesday 30th July

The adult Little Stint remained for a third day with counts from the estuary including c120 Sandwich and a Common Tern, 65 Ringed and a Grey Plover, 53 Whimbrel, c40 Dunlin, 11 Greenshank, 11 Sanderling and five Bar-tailed Godwit.

Little Stint - Lee Collins

Elsewhere seven Common Scoter and two Great Northern Diver were offshore. 

Tuesday 29th July

The Little Stint was still present in The Bight over the morning tide along with 156 Sandwich and seven Common Tern, 47 Dunlin, 37 Ringed Plover, c30 Sanderling, 10 Greenshank and two Turnstone.

Little Stint - Jim Summers

Sanderling - Dave Jewell

Elsewhere two Swift were overhead and two Common Scoter, a Great Crested Grebe and a Great Northern Diver were offshore. 

Ringing News: A distinctly Dutch feel to proceedings with new ringed juvenile Mediterranean Gull and Sandwich Tern arriving from Holland, with the ringed juvenile Ringed Plover still present. Part of an increasing pattern of birds from the continent starting to appear. 

As well as these migrants wintering birds also continue to arrive, mostly Oystercatcher, but also an Exe-ringed Dunlin and a German ringed Ringed Plover, first recorded here in August 2019, back for at least it's seventh winter. 

Other Wildlife: New species keep being discovered on coming, this time a new springtail Allacma fusca. A  widespread, rather large (by springtail standards) globular springtail, usually found in summer months.

Allacma fusca - Alan Keatley

Insects included several nectaring bee species including Geoffroy's Sphecodes geoffrellus and Sandpit Blood Bee S. pellucidus, Sandpit Mining Bee Andrena barbilabris, Heather C. succinctus and Hairy-saddled Colletes C. fodiens, White-zoned Furrow Bee Lasioglossum leucozonium and Common Yellow-faced Bee Hylaeus communis. 

Also taking advantage of the available nectar, Ornate-tailed Digger Wasp Cerceris rybyensis, Common Ectemnius E. continuus and a Four-banded Bee-grabber Conops quadrimaculatus. 

 Four-banded Bee-grabber Conops quadrimaculatus - Alan Keatley

 Ornate-tailed Digger Wasp Cerceris rybyensis - Alan Keatley

A male Sand Lizard was on the Dune Ridge and a Water Vole swam across the Main Pond. The Wasp Spider remains on its web in Heather near the Visitor Centre and a Jersey Tiger was resting up near the Main Pond.

Jersey Tiger - Alan Keatley

Monday 28th July

An adult Little Stint in The Bight on both tides was the first record of the year and just the second record for July since 2005. other new arrivals included three summer plumaged Knot with other counts from the estuary including 202 Redshank, 98 Whimbrel, 82 Dunlin, c80 Sandwich and a Common Tern, 35 Sanderling, 29 Ringed and a Grey Plover, 24 Mediterranean Gull, 10 Greenshank and four Bar-tailed Godwit. 

Little Stint - Lee Collins

Year list addition: 
158. Little Stint

Ringing News: Colour-ringed Ringed Plover from Holland and Hampshire were new arrivals with the Bardsey ringed Whimbrel first seen on 14th July making a reappearance.  

Ringed Plover - Lee Collins

Other Wildlife: A mainly overcast the warm muggy morning with little wind meant insects were mostly found settled on flower heads. These included the first Locust Blowfly Stomorhina lunata of the year, a sporadic but increasing summer visitor, Waisted Bee-grabber Physocephala rufipes, Hook-banded Wasp Hoverfly Chrysotoxum festivum, Sand-tailed Digger Wasp Cerceris arenaria and Common Yellow-faced Bee Hylaeus communis.

Sand-tailed Digger Wasp Cerceris arenaria - Alan Keatley

Locust Blowfly Stomorhina lunata - Alan Keatley

Deeper in vegetation, a Beautiful Plume, several Straw Dot and the hoverflies Common Paragus P. haemorrhous, Grey-spotted Boxer Platycheirus albimanus and Many-tufted Boxer P. scutatus. 

Common Paragus P. haemorrhous - Alan Keatley

Beautiful Plume - Alan Keatley

The first Hornet of the year was moving through the flowers, several Rush Veneer underfoot and a Wasp Spider with a web in Heather trapped an unfortunate Heather Colletes C. succinctus.

Rush Veneer - Dave Jewell

Heather Colletes C. succinctus - Alan Keatley

Elsewhere seven Common Dolphin and two Grey Seal were offshore and in the tunnel, a Small Dusty Wave and a Knapweed Conch Agapeta zoegana.

Knapweed Conch Agapeta zoegana - Alan Keatley

Sunday 27th July

The outstanding discovery of a Chough was the clear highlight, an unexpected second site record after a bird around Langstone Rock on 13-14 October 1984. With 55 breeding pairs in Cornwall in 2024, today's bird is likely a non-breeding wanderer from further west, the origin of the first record is unclear with the species extinct in the south west between 1973-2001. 

Chough - Lee Collins

The bird was found foraging in The Bight moving to the golf course and then dunes for around half an hour before being heard and seen flying west over the Entrance Bushes. 

Its arrival overshadowed the presence of the year's second Roseate Tern, which joined 160+ Sandwich and seven Common Tern on Finger Point over both high tides. Wader counts included 150+ Redshank, 72 Whimbrel, 55 Dunlin, 29 Ringed and a Grey Plover, eight Black and five Bar-tailed Godwit, five Greenshank, a Common Sandpiper and a Turnstone. 

Elsewhere two Stock Dove were in the Railway Saltmarsh, two juvenile Kestrel sparring over Greenland Lake and a lone Swift overhead. 

Year list addition: 
157. Chough

Saturday 26th July

An increase in terns and waders over today's high tides with at least 200 Sandwich and 10 Common Tern, 195 Redshank, 82 Whimbrel, 60 Dunlin, 55 Sanderling, 43 Mediterranean Gull, 20 Ringed and a Grey Plover, 10 Greenshank, two Bar-tailed Godwit, two Common Sandpiper and a Turnstone. 

Other records included two juvenile Yellow-legged Gull on Bull Hill early morning, with singles offshore and in The Bight, a third bird, in the evening, and the first returning Teal and a male Tufted Duck offshore. 

Ringing News: Juveniles are appearing in increasing numbers with new arrivals today including Sandwich Tern from Holland and Hampshire, Mediterranean Gull from Hampshire and a Ringed Plover also from Hampshire. 

Ringed Plover - Lee Collins