Some April Stunners

 

Redstart - that's two years on the trot that Nick has discovered Exmouth's 'first' Redstart. It's a gift!

The first good day for migrants in Exmouth. I've been off work, on the doctor's advice, the last two days following my first (and hopefully last) ever bout of vertigo. This means I've had the chance to look at the river from the back garden (doctor's advice was to try and stay upright and active). Every cloud.....

Today I got my first 4 Little Tern of the spring, c40+ Sandwich Tern, c10+ Common Tern, 2 Pale-bellied Brent Goose, 3 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 38 Dunlin, 10+ Turnstone and a trickle of Swallows heading north upriver.

Yesterday I recorded 3 Pale-bellied Brent Goose, c60+ Sandwich Tern, a flock of 40 Black-headed Gull upriver, 1 First-summer Little Gull upriver, 2 Red-breasted Merganser, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Whimbrel, 3 Dunlin, 15 Turnstone and 5 Rook east.

Nick found a male Redstart on Orcombe this afternoon, so once Lu got back with the car I nipped up there and found the bird along with a nice little selection of other migrants concentrated around the dung field - 6+ Wheatear, 2 Whitethroat, 2 Meadow Pipit, 1 Yellow Wagtail and 2 Grey Wagtail. Great to see Derek and Terry up there too.

Yellow Wagtail - my first this year.

 

Grey  Wagtail - unusual to see on Orcombe at this time of year. One of a pair.

 

Raven over the back garden yesterday.

 

Siskin - one of a pair feeding in sallows on Woodbury Common earlier in the week - photographed whilst on a dog walk.

 

It has been a good week for sunsets. This was taken from Joel's bedroom window, looking across to Haldon Belvedere.