Whitethroat
I did Orcombe from 0545 until about 0730, and again this afternoon. This morning it was extremely quiet but on my return, this afternoon, the dung field was full of birds. There must have been a bit of a late arrival. I had my first whinchat of the spring and at least 8 wheatear, though there could well have been more. The wheatear were again all quite large though perhaps not especially orangey underneath. They may be Greenland-bound or possibly Iceland-bound and should perhaps best be described as north-western types.
Other records from Orcombe today included 10+ chiffchaff, 23+ sandwich tern, 1 common tern, 5 black-headed gull, 4 lesser black-backed gull, 1 whimbrel, 8 whitethroat, 1 fulmar, 9+ swallow, 11+ blackcap, 1+ meadow pipit and 3+ willow warbler.
On the estuary there was c50+ whimbrel, 13 pale-bellied brent goose, 1 dark-bellied brent goose, 1 bar-tailed godwit and, remarkably, my first Exmouth sand martins this spring - 4 heading upriver.
Female Whinchat - very flighty and difficult to photograph but staying mostly within the dung field and occasionally perching on the dung heap with the wheatears.
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