Wednesday 22nd October

The Firecrest showed well behind the Main Pond.

Firecrest - Ian Livsey

Tuesday 21st October

A good sized roving tit flock was mobile around the various areas of woodland, with 20 Blue, 14 Long-tailed and six Great Tit joined by at least twelve Chiffchaff, four Goldcrest and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. A Firecrest remained separate, favouring the Back Meadow side of the Main Pond, where the elusive Cetti's Warbler gave a brief burst of subsong. 

Elsewhere eight Eider remained offshore, four Golden Plover were new arrivals in The Bight and 140 Dunlin, 40 Ringed Plover and two Pintail were amongst the other waders and wildfowl in the estuary.

Other Wildlife: The warm and sunny weather re-energised the insects with numerous Common Wasp on the remaining Ivy flowers with a couple of Ivy Bee, Yellow Dung Fly Scaphophaga stercoraria and the hoverflies Pale-knobbed Lucent Didea fasciata and Humming Syrphus S. ribesii.

Yellow Dung Fly Scaphophaga stercoraria - Alan Keatley

Also on the wing four Speckled Wood, two Red Admiral migrating through and at the Main Pond, a few hawking Migrant Hawker and Common Darter. 

Speckled Wood - Alan Keatley

Turtle Shieldbug Podops inuncta - Alan Keatley

Rhombic Leatherbug Syromastus rhombeus - Alan Keatley

Monday 20th October

A 1cy Caspian Gull was with 50+ Great Black-backed Gull and a Spoonbill were again on Finger Point over the morning high tide, with the Spoonbill at least returning for the evening tide. 

Caspian Gull - Lee Collins

Also in the estuary 123 Black-tailed Godwit in the Railway Saltmarsh, 61 Shelduck, 33 Ringed Plover and two Pintail. 

Elsewhere at least eight Eider were offshore along with two Sandwich Tern, a Pintail and a Red-throated Diver. 

Ringing News: Wintering Dunlin are starting to arrive with three returning Exe-ringed birds recorded today. 

Sunday 19th October

A visit for the evening tide after the rain saw a new Devon record count of six Caspian Gull, all 1cy & photographed, on Finger Point, with at least 87 Great Black-backed and eight Mediterranean Gull and the adult Spoonbill earlier seen at Bowling Green. 

Caspian Gulls - all Lee Collins

Prior to 2025 there had been 17 Caspian Gull at the Warren, with the first in April 2014; assuming duplication with the birds reported yesterday, there have been 14 birds so far this year. 

Also in the estuary single Common Tern and Spotted Redshank, c300 Curlew, 206 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, with 10 juveniles, 160+ Dunlin, 95 Turnstone, 31 Bar-tailed Godwit, 26 Knot, 15 Sanderling, 14 Greenshank, 13 Grey Plover, three Pintail with the Wigeon and Teal, a Kingfisher and a Whimbrel. 

The 10 Eider remain offshore with 850 Kittiwake, 210 Gannet and a Manx Shearwater south. 

Ringing News: Two of the Caspian Gull were ringed, one from Germany and one from Holland, with them were Great Black-backed Gull from France, Cornwall and Portland and a Herring Gull also from Portland.

In The Bight were two Dutch ringed Dark-bellied Brent Geese, one wearing a satellite collar. 

Saturday 18th October

The first Cattle Egret of the year arrived on cue, with five from the local wintering flock briefly joining 15 Little Egret in the Railway Saltmarsh early morning. 

Dawn - Kevin Rylands

Also in the estuary counts of 1250 Wigeon, 122 Dunlin, 68 Turnstone, 27 Knot, 19 Bar-tailed Godwit, 14 Greenshank, eight Sanderling, four Caspian Gull (two 2cy, two 1cy), a Devon record if accepted, two Grey Plover, two Spotted Redshank, an immature Common Tern and single Kingfisher, Pintail, Whimbrel and 1cy Yellow-legged Gull. 

Offshore flocks of 25 Common Scoter and 10 Eider were repeatedly disturbed but at least 20 kitesurfers, a Manx Shearwater flew along the beach and single Pomarine Skua and Sooty Shearwater were reported.

Elsewhere a Firecrest was by the Main Pond, with eight Chiffchaff, three Goldcrest and two Grey Wagtail and a Glossy Ibis was reported.

Grey Wagtail - Jim Summers

Greenfinch - Jim Summers

Year list additions: 
178. Cattle Egret
177. Sooty Shearwater
176. Pomarine Skua (3 Jun)

Other Wildlife: Flying insects consisted of single Hornet, Common Carder Bee, Marmalade Hoverfly, Ectophasia crassipennis, Mydaea corni and Migrant Hawker, despite the overcast conditions the season seems to be over.

Mydaea corni - Alan Keatley

Elsewhere the large rove beetle Tasgius ater found under driftwood around The Bight and a Common Case-bearer Colephora serratella on birch near the Main Pond. 

Common Case-bearer Colephora serratella - Alan Keatley

Tasgius ater - Alan Keatley

Friday 17th October

An adult Spoonbill around The Bight on the evening high tide was a new arrival, just the fourth record this year. Also in the estuary 212 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 74 Dunlin, 71 Ringed Plover, 30 Bar-tailed Godwit, 15 Sanderling, 14 Greenshank, three Grey Plover, two Great Crested Grebe and a Whimbrel. 

Spoonbill - Kevin Rylands

Elsewhere a Wheatear was on the Golf Course and offshore there were 25 Common Scoter, 10 Eider and a Great Crested Grebe.

Thursday 16th October

Benign conditions were favorable for some visible migration albeit in lower numbers today, with 44 Siskin overhead, also moving 37 Skylark, with others grounded on Warren Point, 35 Goldfinch, 30 Meadow Pipit, six Swallow and two Redpoll.

Grounded migrants consisted of 14 Chiffchaff, four Goldcrest, two Blackcap and a Firecrest in the Entrance Bushes and a Wheatear on the sea wall.

A low tide visit meant the waders were scattered, 81 Turnstone were however notable, large counts here are limited as local birds roost at Starcross at high tide. Other counts included 310 Teal, 130 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 29 Knot and 19 Greenshank.

Rock Pipit - Dave Jewell

Elsewhere 24 Common Scoter and the ten Eider remain offshore.

Other Wildlife: Fewer flying insects with just one Migrant Hawker on the wing, a few Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax on Ivy and on fungi on near the Main Pond was the fungus fly Suillia notata. New for the Recording Area, a male with distinctive dense black hairs on mid femur, a distinguishing feature of this species.

Suillia notata - Alan Keatley

Elsewhere a Strawberry Blossom Weevil Anthonomus rubi was nectaring on Dandelion in the Buffer Zone, a Devil's Coach-horse Ocypus olens on the Golf Course, a Woodlouse Spider Dysdera crocata under driftwood in The Bight.

Strawberry Blossom Weevil Anthonomus rubi  - Alan Keatley

Devil's Coach-horse Ocypus olens - Dave Jewell

Woodlouse Spider Dysdera crocata - Alan Keatley

Wednesday 15th October

The first Short-eared Owl of the year was on Warren Point this morning, before flying SW along the ridge. Other migrants included eight Chiffchaff, two Swallow and a Blackcap.

Counts from the estuary included 675 Wigeon, 195 Redshank, 83 Dunlin, 53 Ringed and five Grey Plover, 32 Turnstone, 30 Knot, 24 Greenshank, 19 Bar-tailed Godwit, 19 Shelduck, 15 Little Egret, five Sanderling, a Whimbrel and a Spotted Redshank.

Elsewhere the 10 Eider were offshore. 

Year list addition: 
175. Short-eared Owl

Tuesday 14th October

Low cloud saw an increase in visible migration overhead with many birds dropping in briefly before continuing east. Siskin was the main mover, with over 250 passing in small groups of up to 40 during the morning, also through c40 Goldfinch, 15 Swallow and smaller numbers of Meadow Pipit, Skylark and Chaffinch, with a Great Spotted Woodpecker turning back west high over The Bight.

On site a roving tit flock held single Coal Tit and Firecrest, at least eight Chiffchaff and two Goldcrest with a Kingfisher at the Main Pond.   

A low high tide saw reduced counts in the estuary with 61 Dark and two Pale-bellied Brent Goose, 60 Dunlin, 53 Ringed and 12 Grey Plover, 17 Knot, three Bar-tailed Godwit, three Sandwich Tern, a Kingfisher and a Whimbrel present, with 11 Greenshank, a Great Crested Grebe and a 1cy Yellow-legged Gull at low tide.

Elsewhere the 10 Eider remain offshore. 

Other Wildlife: A Vagrant Emperor was reported from Warren Point, continuing the biennial pattern of records since 2019. 

Dune Scarab - Dean Hall

Arctosa perita - Dean Hall

Monday 13th October

With just four Chiffchaff the bushes were relatively quiet, although a showy Snipe was on the Main Pond. The bird surprise was a single flock of 65 Siskin calling and heading NE over the ridge and Bight, with a single Swallow also heading NE along the spit.

Snipe - Alan Keatley

Counts from the high tide included 305 Curlew, 54 Dunlin, 31 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 24 Knot, 19 Bar-tailed Godwit, 16 Ringed and 10 Grey Plover, 15 Shelduck, two Sanderling, a Sandwich Tern and a Whimbrel. 

Elsewhere the flock of 10 Eider were offshore with six Common Scoter.

Other Wildlife: A gorse weevil Andrion regensteinense was found on the Golf Course, a common species that has up to now eluded the Warren list. Also noted today a Common Lizard at Langstone Rock, a minute scavenger beetle Cartodere bifasciatus around the Bight and on the beach, the ground bug Scolopostethus affinis. 

Andrion regensteinense - Alan Keatley

Cartodere bifasciatus - Alan Keatley

Scolopostethus affinis - Alan Keatley