Sunday 12th July

Another weekend day with blazing hot sunshine again attracted out visitors in vast numbers to engage in activities that were not always compatible with the internationally important wildlife interests of this site, nor of each other, with both offshore swimming and jet-skiing close inshore going on. Local birders and Habitat Mitigation Officers were kept busy with offers of friendly and helpful advice to the public.

Some birding was also possible today and on the neap noon tide there was c.450 Black-headed Gull, 299 Curlew, 254 Oystercatcher and 70 Sandwich Tern (including 17 juveniles) with yellow-ringed 'K0D' as a pullus at Lady's  Island, Co. Wexford, Ireland in 2018.  Also 68 Redshank, 50 Mediterranean Gull, 13 Sanderling, 11 Mute Swan, 11 Whimbrel, nine Dunlin, eight Cormorant, eight Bar-tailed Godwit; five Little Egret, four Great Black-backed Gull, four Ringed Plover, three Common Sandpiper, the pair of Canada Goose with their three goslings.  Two Goosander continued to fish in the shallows.  The two unringed Roseate Tern were the same birds present here yesterday.  Also present were singles of Teal, Grey Heron, Lesser Black-backed Gull and the resident Slavonian Grebe, which given its legendary status was respectfully tolerated as it swam within the regal flotilla of swans down the estuary.

Offshore was quiet with single figures of Gannet and a Great Crested Grebe. Over the past few weeks, the skyline has been dominated by two huge and towering cruise ships - Carnival Magic (305 metres long) and Carnival Valor (292 metres long). Both have now left our waters, bound for Zeebrugge and Weymouth Bay, respectively with skeleton crews aboard.

Overhead, the autumn's first Sand Martin and a particularly early adult male Yellow Wagtail.

Wildlife news: a Golden-ringed dragonfly delighted a number of visitors behind the hide.  Butterflies seen today included lots of Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Common Blue, Small Skipper; a few Small White, Speckled Wood, two Holly Blue high in the canopy of Entrance Bushes and a Peacock. 

Golden-ringed Dragonfly behind hide - Dave Jewell

Saturday 11th July

Shimmer during long periods of blazing sunshine limited the range of observations and the less than usual representative counts of waders today were 238 Oystercatcher, four Ringed Plover, four Dunlin, an adult Black-tailed Godwit and a dull immature Knot. Of the new Oystercatcher  arrivals, '7U' has presumably spent the summer on breeding grounds on Islay, Inner Hebrides, where it was also seen in spring 2019.  Scotland is a common origin of Oystercatcher that winter in the Exe Estuary; see project summaries.

Also in front of the dilapidated remains of bird hide were up to 72 Sandwich Tern (14 juvs of 59 birds) and among them red colour-ringed 'KDB' was back for its fifth successive July. This regular visitor was ringed on 13th Sep 2015 at Ynyslas, mid coast of Wales.  In July & August 2019 it was recorded at Dawlish Warren over a 38-day period. 

The tern roost flock also contained 13 Common Tern and two unringed Roseate Tern, suspected to be 3cy birds; and an Arctic Tern flew out to sea.  Large numbers of gulls were 'anting' over The Bight where later they descended to roost and present were at least 21 Mediterranean Gull and 'TM1E' a Polish ringed Black-headed Gull that has returned for its third successive autumn.  An adult Common Gull was the first sighting of this species in seven weeks here.




Chiffchaff and Blackcap remained numerous in the woodlands; a few juv Stonechat were scattered about on dune bushes, two juv Rock Pipit were again along the dune ridge and in The Bight; two Bullfinch called from Entrance Bushes and where a Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard.  As noted in previous years by other individuals, a Blue Tit regularly uttered a shrill subservient contact type call that sounds rather like Treecreeper, so a pitfall for the unwary.

Wildlife News: masses of Gatekeeper, many Small Skipper, some Common Blue, Meadow Brown, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White; two generations of Small Copper; four Comma and two Large Skipper.  A few Emperor, Blue-tailed Damselfly and the year's first  teneral Migrant Hawker.

 
Great Pied Hoverfly Volucella pellucens (left) and Silvery Leafcutter Bee (right) - Alan Keatley

Wednesday 10th July

When the timing is right, these long summer days allow both high tides to be covered and observations were made today over a 15 hour period of daylight.  Three 'red-head' Goosander fished in the shallows and were present all day from The Bight to Railway Saltmarsh. This the three summer sighting here this year fits a pattern of post-breeding dispersal that has emerged since July 2010 and may relate to breeding success on the River Exe.

Selected waterbird counts within the recording area's part of the estuary include 283 Oystercatcher, a count boosted by returning birds, 171 Curlew, 61 Redshank, eight Great Black-backed Gull, six Bar-tailed Godwit, six Whimbrel, six Mute Swan, four Dunlin, four Common Tern (also offshore), four Little Egret, three Sandwich Tern, and the pair of Canada Goose still with their three goslings; also two Greenshank, two Lesser Black-backed Gull, an adult Black-tailed Godwit, a Grey Heron, a Common Sandpiper, and the resident Slavonian Grebe.

Among the 400 Black-headed Gull (one German-ringed) were 80+ Mediterranean Gull (of the 72 aged, these were 3 juv, 5 fs, 25 ss and 39 adult) and a number of these were ringed (colour-ringed and some only metal-ringed) which were from Belgium (two-four birds), Germany and a green-ringed Dutch bird ringed in 2010.  A brief Little Tern in The Bight sported a  green colour-ring from the colony at Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow where it was ringed in 2014, the first year of that scheme.

Brief spells of sea-watching revealed 59 Common Scoter; a distant Pomarine Skua chased gulls around, and the immature Great Northern Diver floating off Warren Point.

Three juvenile Rock Pipit foraged along Warren Neck and a male Reed Bunting returned to sing at Golf Course Pond.  Just single figures of Swallow and Swift passed overhead.

Thursday 9th July

A significant upswing in Mediterranean Gull sightings since 2000 has been generated by passage birds from about mid-June to early-November with a peak in July and August.  Notably heavy since 2017, the forecast for the site to support a three-figure count was achieved in style today with 123+ Mediterranean Gull present, 52 offshore flew south or foraged offshore early morning and another 71 were in the estuary.

Two Arctic Tern offshore included a first-summer bird and another immature (2cy or 3cy) was in the estuary.

Immature Arctic Tern (2cy or 3cy) on 'Woodhenge' - Lee Collins

The west-southwesterly breeze and light overnight rain drew observers to the sea where also seen were still large numbers of gulls foraging offshore which included lots of Kittiwake; also 70 Gannet, seven Manx Shearwater, five Common Scoter, four Arctic Skua, few Sandwich Tern, two Yellow-legged Gull, single Great Skua, Fulmar,  Common Tern and the immature Great Northern Diver again.  

The only other report today was of the three 'red-head' Goosander still fishing the estuary shallows.

Monday 6th July

High pressure building, sunshine and an easing west-northwesterly breeze returned the site to more standard fare but some of the recent highlights were still present with a Roseate Tern briefly on the beach, plus a couple of Common Tern. Two Pomarine Skua and a juv Yellow-legged Gull passed by, which brings the site year-list to 149 or 150, approximately ten species below the long-term average for this time of the year. There were reportedly huge numbers of gulls foraging offshore today.

Wildlife news: two new species for the site were four Adonis Ladybird and a Scarce 7-spot Ladybird found along the seawall with good numbers of 7-spot Ladybird and some 11-spot Ladybird. 

 
Scarce 7-spot Ladybird (left) and Adonis Ladybird (right) - Guy Freeman

Stranded on the ebbing shoreline were the usual Compass Jellyfish, Barrel Jellyfish and over recent few days, an overdue new species for the site, a number of Moon Jellyfish Aurelia aurita. Invertebrates were active in the warm and humid conditions with sightings of Golden-ringed Dragonfly; also lots of Gatekeeper, some Meadow Brown, several Small Copper, Small Skipper, Common Blue, Small White, Large White, two Holly Blue and single figures also of Brown Argus, Peacock and a Red Admiral.

Moon Jellyfish Aurelia aurita - Alan Keatley

a spider-hunting wasp Pompilidae sp - Alan Keatley

Sunday 5th July

Although enthused by yesterday's event to stir sea-watchers to start from 05:10, expectations were tempered by a persistent and strengthening WSW to WNW, and apart from brief mizzly spell first thing, it was also dry, not great conditions for this site.  Not a single shearwater passed in the morning and it was only in the evening that ten Manx Shearwater and three Balearic Shearwater were seen very distantly.  At least six, possibly eight Pomarine Skua were present most of the day and a raft of four present early morning suggested last night's flock had roosted overnight in the bay. Also offshore, lots of Kittiwake and other gulls; 80 Gannet, three Arctic Skua, two Great Skua, and single Common Scoter, Fulmar and an immature Great Northern Diver was on the sea. 

During the morning tide, an educational line-up of four tern species perched on the posts of 'Woodhenge' in front of the hide included some of today's eleven Common Tern with one first-summer (2cy), seven Sandwich Tern, four Roseate Tern (three metal-ringed), the first of the autumn, and three Arctic Tern, including the mobile first-summer (2cy) bird present since Friday.

In the estuary and along the shoreline, 435 Black-headed Gull, 30+ Mediterranean Gull (2 juv, 3 fs, 5 ss, 20 adult), 24 Great Black-backed Gull and five Lesser Black-backed Gull. In addition to the Oystercatcher flock, best wader and other waterbird counts on this and the evening tides were 219 Curlew, 55 Redshank, six Whimbrel, six Mute Swan, five Bar-tailed Godwit, four Little Egret, three Dunlin, two Grey Heron, the usual two Greenshank, one Common Sandpiper again outside Eales Dock and the resident Slavonian Grebe.

Also reported were the male Kestrel, a Swift, a Raven and a Great Spotted Woodpecker, but since attention was more watery habitats and also given the strong winds, bushes, dunes and woods were largely neglected today.

Two Mediterranean Gull (adult and ss), the adult was colour-ringed in Hampshire; and 'part of' a Roseate Tern - Dave Jewell. Footnote: the 25th June post was just update with summary details of another Mediterranean Gull from the same scheme.

   

Saturday 4th July

Undoubtedly the best day of birding that Dawlish Warren has produced so far this year. 

Seawatching commenced from 05:15 in the Force 5 southwesterly and overcast skies created good visibility.  A steady passage of 132 Balearic Shearwater headed south, often in loose small groups at various distances, mixed up with some that loafed and foraged around the bay, perhaps attracted in by the shoals of whitebait.  This huge count has only been bettered here by the famous passage of Sep 2011.  These included the full range of dark to pale morphs.  At 06:45 a flock of three shearwaters flew in north watched by three site regulars: Ivan Lakin, Lee Collins and Dave Jewell.  An initial call of two Balearic and one Manx was quickly retracted as the third smaller bird was clearly not a Manx and after a few moments to run through the features, was re-identified as a Yelkouan Shearwater or, it was stressed, perhaps a 'Menorcan Shearwater'.  The group flew in as close as any shearwater seen today to land on the sea c.400 metres offshore for a couple of minutes, then took off to head south, which altogether provided some good views.

Presumably the same bird (tweeted field sketch plumage details, at least, seem to match) was seen by at least five other observers sea-watching from Berry Head about an hour and a half later, where it was described by some in words to the effect of a type of shearwater not seen before, and although was immediately obvious as something different, some opinions and hesitation were perhaps influenced by the bird being alone and it flew straight through.  

A contemporaneous description was written and a submission to BBRC will be made shortly to describe the presumed Yelkouan Shearwater or 'Menorcan Shearwater'.  

The shearwater was just the icing on the cake; it was also a 'four skua day' with at least 17 Arctic Skua around the bay chasing Kittiwakes and terns; four Pomarine Skua rafted close offshore in the evening, and a dinky Long-tailed Skua was with an Arctic Skua flock and was occasionally chased and although remained quite far out, enough was discerned to suggest this was either an adult or an older immature.  To and fro flocks of at least 105 Common Scoter (excluding duplicates) passed for hours and flocks sometimes contained, presumably, the same flock of three Teal, equaling the same earliest return date.  Far more unseasonal was a female/ immature Long-tailed Duck that flew south at 08:50 and a short time later flew back north towards Orcombe Point.  This is the site's only fourth July record and follows the record of one of similar appearance seen here on 10th June - the same? 

A run down of other seabird counts, c.175 Gannet, c.100 Kittiwake were mostly foraging; a dozen Common Tern, plus three Arctic Tern including the first-summer 'portlandica' type again; just three Fulmar and only three Manx Shearwater (cf. Berry Head count).  All over the place were at least 36 Mediterranean Gull (4 juv, 4 fs, 10 ss, 18 adult). A flock of 19 Shelduck flew in off the sea.

The evening tide was quite high (3.8 metres Exmouth Dock gauge) and pushed in 248 Curlew, 212 Oystercatcher, 56 Redshank, 22 Great Black-backed Gull, 17 Whimbrel, 11 Sandwich Tern, six Little Egret, four Bar-tailed Godwit, four Dunlin, two Greenshank, a Ringed Plover and a Grey Heron.  A Kingfisher guarded the entrance to Eales Dock and the autumn's first Common Sandpiper was on the railway embankment, a typical date.  'Herbert' the Slavonian Grebe was also in the estuary. 

Overhead drifted two Buzzard; 21 Swift headed south whilst a dozen Swallow and three House Martin were likely local feeding birds. Other site notables were two Stock Dove and a Raven.

 

Sunday 28th June

Expectations were low in a cool brisk west-southwesterly and with a neap tide in late-June, so when patience soon waned after only c.20 Gannet, two Common Scoter and a Fulmar offshore, there was some speculation that an Aylesbury Duck on the Main Pond was going to be 'bird-of-the-day'. However, as regular birders here know, Dawlish Warren can never be written off when it rains. A single Teal, which  bizarrely alighted briefly on the diminutive Dune Pond, was only the four record ever here in June, all since 2010.

Flushed away from roosting on Cockle Sands by kite-surfers, the Railway Saltmarsh and estuary corner provided safe refuge for 210 Curlew, 21 Redshank, most of today's seven Mediterranean Gull, six Whimbrel, four Bar-tailed Godwit, four Little Egret and a Grey Heron.  Only about 130 Oystercatcher arrived in The Bight. Also noted were 13 Great Black-backed Gull and nine Sandwich Tern. 

With two second broods of Stonechat present plus others, their were at least a dozen on site. In sharp contrast, tits had largely abandoned the site today with only singles of Blue Tit and Great Tit seen.

Wildlife news: admirers have taken to social media to express their sense of wonder at the profusion of Marsh Helleborine.  With these and many other scarce plants species in the 'dune slacks', great care is needed when searching through this sensitive habitat, which is nearly unique in south Devon. 

Marsh Helleborine - Ivan Lakin

Saturday 27th June

A depression brought intermittent light rain overnight and into dawn on a breezy SE swinging to SW, but a 3h:45m seawatch was remarkably poor by comparison to results from Berry Head, 13.5 miles to the south, likely due to the weather not being unsettled enough.  Efforts produced 83 Gannet, a flock of ten Shelduck; only only seven Fulmar, six auk spp, five Common Scoter and three Manx Shearwater.  Also flying south were some of the 30 Mediterranean Gull seen around the site today (20 adults, 6 ss, 3 fs and 1 juv) and most of the 19 Great Black-backed Gull, the highest count here since early-March. 

The late morning high tide provided 200+ Curlew, 187 Oystercatcher, 160 Black-headed Gull, 14 Sandwich Tern, including the first juv of the year being fed presumably by a parent bird; also ten Redshank, eight Whimbrel, seven Bar-tailed Godwit, two Greenshank and a Dunlin.  Also in the estuary, a mixed feeding flock contained c.320 Herring Gull and two Common Tern. The Slavonian Grebe was still in its summer finery. 

Small pulses of 27 Swift and 15 Swallow moved through.  Nothing of particular note was seen on terrestrial habitats.

Thursday 25th June

Billed as the hottest day of the year so far and with a UV Index predicted to reach an unprecedented level 9, it was indeed uncomfortable even from relatively early in the morning.  On the rising tide in the estuary there was the usual Oystercatcher flock, 174 Curlew, 15 Whimbrel, 15 Redshank, a dozen Sandwich Tern, nine Bar-tailed Godwit, five Little Egret, four Great Black-backed Gull; also two each of Greenshank, Shelduck, Mute Swan and Canada Goose still with three goslings, and a single Grey Heron.   

A flock of 17 Mediterranean Gull (of mixed ages) had among them two colour-ringed adults, yellow '2L50' was ringed as a chick at Langstone Harbour, Hampshire on 25th Jun 2018, since spending a lot of time around Weymouth, Dorset, also Scolt Head, Norfolk on 6th July 2019 and Portscatho, Cornwall on 17th Dec 2019.  The other, green 'RV2K', is from Polder de Sebastopol, Vendée, France, from where this is about the 15th ringed Mediterranean Gull to be recovered here.  This particular bird was ringed on 1st July 2018 and since seen in various locations in France, Portugal, Spain and in Kent. Also noted were the first juvenile Black-headed Gull and Sandwich Tern of the year here.

Wildlife news: butterflies were active in the hot sunshine with lots of Meadow Brown, several Red Admiral, Small Skipper, Gatekeeper and Ringlet. Two fresh Small Copper and a scarce sighting these days of a Small Tortoiseshell.  The highlight was an Orange-spot Piercer Pammene aurana, a showy tortrix moth of which its larva feeds on Hogweed; it was a new species for the site.

Orange-spot Piercer Pammene aurana - Alan Keatley

 

Gatekeeper and Small Copper - Alan Keatley

Small Tortoiseshell - Alan Keatley

Emperor Dragonfly - Dean Hall