Tuesday 2nd September

The highlight was an immature Glossy Ibis in The Bight at 11.45 although there was no sign an hour later, it again appeared in The Bight at 12.55 with second bird soon, both flew N but returned and were still present till c14.00, the fifth site record of eight birds. 

Glossy Ibis - Lee Collins

Also in the estuary 180 Ringed Plover, 180 Common, 80 Sandwich and a Little Tern with five Balearic Shearwater, three Common Scoter and at least two Arctic Skua. 

Year list addition: 
164. Glossy Ibis

Other Wildlife: A pod of Common Dolphin were offshore. 

Monday 1st September

The low high tide saw the roosting waders again dispersed by a hunting Sparrowhawk so counts were therefore down, although at least 140 Ringed Plover and 48 Dunlin were in The Bight with 17 Sanderling and a Turnstone on the beach.

Elsewhere single Blackcap and Whitethroat were in the bushes. 

Other Wildlife: The highlight was a Hornet Robberfly Asilus crabroniformis near the Entrance Bushes, an unexpected first for the  Recording Area. This declining species has been recorded at Exminster Marshes and on the East Devon Commons. The larvae are typically associated with cattle dung but eggs will also be laid in Rabbit middens so it may be an overlooked resident. A distinctive species and seen well but, in typical robberfly fashion, it flew off on spotting the camera.

Hornet Robberfly Asilus crabroniformis - Alan Keatley

A good selection of hoverflies included Green Glimmer Riponnensia splendens, Yellow-girdled Dasyrsyrphus tricinctus and Stripe-backed Fleckwing D. albostriatus.

Green Glimmer Riponnensia splendens - Alan Keatley

Yellow-girdled Fleckwing Dasyrsyrphus tricinctus - Alan Keatley

Butterflies were dominated by good numbers of Large White with at least 85 around the flower meadows with 25+ Small White. Also, notable a worn second-generation Wall Brown and a migrant Painted Lady. Speckled Wood, Small Copper and Common Blue were still numerous, but the season seems to be over for Gatekeeper.

Common Blue - Alan Keatley

Migrant moths included Rush Veneer everywhere and a couple of Silver Y. Also, on the wing a few Migrant Hawker, a Vestal Cuckoo Bee nectaring on Heather and, on Michaelmas Daisy, a Shiny-vented Sharp-tail Coelioxys inermis.

Shiny-vented Sharp-tail Coelioxys inermis - Alan Keatley

Sunday 31st August

A reduction in tern and wader numbers with counts on the dropping tide including 283 Redshank (staying the same!), 146 Dunlin, c100 Ringed Plover, 42 Sandwich and four Common Tern, 24 Turnstone, nine Greenshank, eight Mediterranean Gull, four Whimbrel and single Bar-tailed Godwit, Common Sandpiper, Knot and Curlew Sandpiper.

Earlier c460 Common Tern whirled between Cockle Sands and Bull Hill and new arrivals included a flock of 22 Pale-bellied Brent Geese, that flew in off the sea before settling off site on Cockle Sands. Following on from last year's early arrival, this is just the fourth August they have been seen at the Warren after 2024, 2013 & 2008. 

Elsewhere the rain saw small groups of waders feeding on the fairways along side single Rock Pipit, Wheatear and Yellow Wagtail, with a juvenile Moorhen foraging in the flooded carpark.

Saturday 30th August

Seawatching early morning saw an impressive movement of c700 Kittiwake S in just 15 minutes, mixed amongst them at least 240 Common and two Little Tern, four Arctic Skua and four Balearic Shearwater. Another watch mid afternoon again saw four Arctic Skua, a minimum of six during the day with some birds lingering, a single Little Tern and at least 11 Balearic and eight Manx Shearwater with 25+ distant shearwaters either of these species.

Another c400 Common Tern remained in the estuary over high tide along with 22 Sandwich Tern, eight Mediterranean and a 3cy Yellow-legged Gull, two Teal, a Kingfisher, an Osprey, which caught a fish in The Bight, and the regular Sparrowhawk.

Sparrowhawk - Dave Jewell

Waders included single juvenile Curlew Sandpiper and Ruff, with 283 Redshank, 280 Ringed Plover, 210 Dunlin, 34 Turnstone, 11 Greenshank, six Whimbrel, two Bar-tailed Godwit and two Knot.

Elsewhere migrants included eight Chiffchaff, two Wheatear and single Sand Martin and Yellow Wagtail.

Pied Wagtail - Dave Jewell

Wheatear - Dave Jewell

Ringing News: A total of six juvenile Common Tern recoveries today with birds from Holland (three), Poland (two) and Leicestershire. Two of the juveniles, one each from Holland and Poland have now been here over a week. Also present a metal ringed juvenile with a GPS tag. 

Other reads included a new adult Sandwich Tern from Hampshire and the long-staying Ringed Plover from the same county. 

Friday 29th August

Several hundred mixed Dunlin and Ringed Plover were still present but remained mobile, with a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper picked out in The Bight on the dropping tide. 

Also in the estuary 51 Common and 16 Sandwich Tern and seven Black and six Bar-tailed Godwit.

Thursday 28th August

An Osprey circling The Bight at high tide disturbed the waders from their Finger Point roost and they didn't start to settle until the tide started to go out, numbers of terns and small waders continue to reduce, but some may have left when flushed.

A Little Stint was the pick of the waders with counts including 189 Redshank, 173 Ringed Plover, 109 Dunlin, eight Sanderling, three Bar-tailed Godwit, three Greenshank, two Grey Plover and two Knot.

Grey Plover - Dave Jewell

Also in the estuary 60 Sandwich and 14 Common Tern with five Mediterranean Gull. Elsewhere three Willow Warbler were on site and a Buzzard was by the Main Pond. 

Other Wildlife: The highlight was the discovery of the rarely recorded barkfly Propsocus pulchripennis, possibly the first Devon record of this saltmarsh and tideline specialist. Also, on the tideline a few of the scarce rove beetle Bledius spectabilis. 

Propsocus pulchripennis - Alan Keatley

Bledius spectabilis - Alan Keatley

Apart from a strong passage of 50+ Large White, there was few butterflies on the wing, a Brimstone Moth was in the tunnel with a Rough Strawberry Root Weevil Otiorhychus rugosustriatus.

Rough Strawberry Root Weevil Otiorhychus rugosustriatus - Alan Keatley

Brimstone Moth - Alan Keatley

Wednesday 27th August

A 90 minute seawatch from first light saw small numbers of Balearic Shearwater offshore, with a Black Tern south amongst over 1,250 Common Tern, with 180+ still in the estuary later. This the highest count since 1,807 on 28th August 2015. 

Also in the estuary the juvenile Sparrowhawk again unsuccessfully hunted the waders on the incoming evening tide, with an estimated 300 Ringed Plover and 160 Dunlin present along with 18 Whimbrel, eight Greenshank, six Bar-tailed Godwit, three Knot, three Teal, two Grey Plover and a Common Sandpiper. 

Other Wildlife: A Grey Seal was on Bull Hill and a dozen Rush Veneer were disturbed from the grassland. 

Tuesday 26th August

An Osprey was again in the estuary early morning with a Little Tern amongst 35 Sandwich Tern. The evening tide saw at least 100 Common and 88 Sandwich Tern with wader counts hampered by a juvenile Sparrowhawk although 300+ Ringed Plover and 150+ Dunlin were present. 

Also in the estuary 18 Whimbrel, 11 Greenshank, 10 Knot, four Mediterranean Gull, four Turnstone, three Bar-tailed Godwit, three Common Sandpiper, three Grey Plover and a Great Crested Grebe.

Elsewhere four Balearic Shearwater were offshore and two White and a Yellow Wagtail were on the Golf Course. 

Monday 25th August

Still plenty of activity around the estuary with a Ruff in The Bight on the morning tide and a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper over the evening tide joining minimum counts of 730 Ringed Plover and 411 Dunlin. Other waders present included 15 Whimbrel, 13 Greenshank, five Knot, four Bar-tailed Godwit, three Common Sandpiper, three Grey Plover and two Turnstone.

Also in the estuary a 1cy Yellow-legged Gull in the saltmarsh, 120+ Common Tern high into estuary late evening after just 10 on the morning tide, 52 Sandwich Tern and a juvenile Yellow Wagtail. 

Yellow-legged Gull - Lee Collins

Other Wildlife: The hot dry weather has resulted in  bramble and many meadow flowers already going over, particularly the Common Fleabane, leaving fewer nectaring opportunities for insects. Numbers and range of bees and hoverflies have started to drop accordingly.  Autumn Ladies Tresses can be found just emerging in damper areas, having gone to seed elsewhere.

Autumn Ladies Tresses - Alan Keatley

Still active on Water Mint were Common Yellow-faced Bee Hylaeus communis, Hornet Volucella zonaria and Pied Plumehorn Volucella pellucens. Also noted Small-notched Mason Wasp Ancistrocerus gazella, Common Darter and Southern Hawker, and the migrants Painted Lady, Dark Sword-grass and Rush Veneer.

Common Darter - Alan Keatley

Small-notched Mason Wasp Ancistrocerus gazella - Alan Keatley

Sunday 24th August

The third Green Sandpiper of the autumn was on the Railway Wall early morning, but there were few other signs of new arrivals in the estuary. Waders numbers remained settled through the day, with peak counts over the two tides including 579+ Ringed Plover, 200+ Dunlin, 12 Whimbrel, 10 Greenshank, four Bar-tailed Godwit, four Knot, three Grey Plover and a Common Sandpiper. 

The leucistic Ringed Plover - Kevin Rylands

Sandwich Tern numbers were also largely static with c60 over both tides, in contrast Common Tern numbers dropped, with 200+ in the morning and 50 in the evening.

Also in the estuary two adult Osprey, a Kingfisher and the first juvenile Common Gull, with two Arctic Skua offshore and a Yellow Wagtail on the Golf Course. 

Ringing News: New recoveries are a daily feature at the moment with a Polish ringed Sandwich Tern, another Dutch Common Tern and an Irish Ringed Plover.