Garden Warblers

One of two Garden Warblers feeding quietly together at the top end of Bystock reserve this morning.

Orcombe Point first thing - fog and a cold northerly breeze - 1 singing Lesser Whitethroat, 5 singing Whitethroats, 7 singing Blackcaps and 9 singing Chiffchaffs. The two Red-legged Partridges are still there but no young in tow yet. Two Whimbrel were on the beach by the lifeboat station. Off Mudbank this afternoon - 67+ Whimbrel (an increase), 9 Bar-tailed Godwits, 7 Dunlin (plus more small waders on Cockle Sands) and a flock of 11 Swifts east just before 4pm. A Reed Warbler is singing in West Lodge reedbed for its third day at least.

Bystock - 8 Tufted Ducks (5 drakes, 3 females), 3 singing Firecrests, 2 singing Willow Warblers and 2 Garden Warblers. I'm sure I'd have seen more stuff if I'd covered the whole reserve.

Yesterday - very little but 1 Wheatear and a singing Sedge Warbler on Orcombe Point were noteworthy. Five Black-headed Gulls flew past the point and headed towards the river. Mudbank - 8 Bar-tailed Godwits, 2 Black-tailed Godwits, c25 Whimbrel, 18 Dunlin and 3 Sandwich Terns.

Whimbrel - numbers up on yesterday.

Bar-tailed Godwit.

Avocet

Bar-tailed Godwit and Whimbrel - Mudbank.

An Avocet was on Cockle Sands this afternoon as the tide dropped. Also off there - c25 Whimbrel, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 16+ Common Gulls, 4 Dunlin and 6 Great Crested Grebes.

Sea

A 'Pebbled Heath' Little Ringed Plover.

The wind has switched round to a brisk south-westerly so I had a look off Maer Rocks - three looks in fact. Two hour-long watches early on and just 20 minutes late pm. Totals included 2 Arctic Skuas (a dark bird east and a lingering pale phase, seen several times. Also - reasonable numbers of Gannet, Kittiwake and auk sp, along with 5 Great Northern Divers, 6 Red-throated Divers, 4 diver sp, 7 Fulmars, 9 Common Scoters, 67+ Manx Shearwaters, 3 Whimbrel and 10 Pale-bellied Brent Geese. At least 24 Whimbrel were off Mudbank on the dropping tide but very little else.

I saw my first Swift of the year from the back garden yesterday, and off Mudbank - 6 Eider (two fine drakes and four females) and 5 Cattle Egrets (in flight over Starcross). An early morning scoot round Orcombe was disappointing with a lingering (and singing) Garden Warbler, 1 Wheatear and a fly-over Whimbrel the only notable records.

Nuthatch - Bystock. Five Tufted Ducks (including two pairs) still on the pool plus 1 singing Firecrest and 4 Swallows on a very brief visit today. Yesterday - 2 singing Firecrests and a Yellowhammer of note.

More Migrants

Male Whinchat - Orcombe Point.

With rain and a north-easterly breeze it was a no-brainer to bird Orcombe first thing. Bit cold though! Not quite the numbers I was hoping for but some nice variety. Two visits (dawn and early pm) produced 1 Whinchat, at least 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Hobby, 4 Willow Warblers, 3+ Wheatears, c10 Swallows, 1 House Martin, 2+ Sand Martins (my first this year in Exmouth), 7 Blackcaps, 6 Whitethroats and c40 Linnets. Also - 1 Fulmar, 4 Shelduck and 2 Sandwich Terns. In Sandy Bay - a singing Reed Warbler, 4 Swallows and 2 Willow Warblers.
Off Mudbank - 1 first-summer Mediterranean Gull and 6 Great Crested Grebes. Nearby the male Reed Bunting still singing from West Lodge reedbed. 
Bystock - 3 Tufted Ducks, 2 Firecrests, singing, 1 Jay and a Grasshopper Warbler (meadow). This afternoon - a Cuckoo - audible from Withycombe Raleigh Common but singing on East Budleigh Common. Many thanks to both Chris and Paul for the texts. 

First-summer Mediterranean Gull. My first for a few weeks.

Green-veined White. Lots of Orange-tips on the wing today too.

Finally the Whitethroat numbers are building! Six singing on Orcombe this morning. More to come...

Common Tern, Canary

Whimbrel - one of c40 off Mudbank today. Would normally expect to see more than double that number at this time of year.

Mudbank today - 8 Knot, 30 Bar-tailed Godwits, 1 Greenshank, c40 Whimbrel and 4 Great Crested Grebes. Nearby, on Bull Hill as the tide dropped - 53+ Sandwich Terns and 1 Common Tern.

Bystock reserve - 5 Tufted Ducks (3 males, 2 females), 1 Moorhen, 1 Crossbill (over the meadow), 15 drake Mallards and 1 Wheatear (meadow). Good to hear a Tree Pipit in full flow in exactly the same spot as last year - just outside the meadow (and therefore outside Exmouth), on East Budleigh Common.

Yesterday - Orcombe Point, late afternoon - 10 Swallows, 7 Wheatears, 1 Willow Warbler and the 2 Red-legged Partridges. Off Mudbank - c45 Pale-bellied Brent Geese, 1 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 9 Bar-tailed Godwits and c10+ Sandwich Terns.

23/4 - Mudbank - 20+ Sandwich Terns, 48 Whimbrel, 3 Mute Swans and an escaped Canary!

Initially picked by its annoyingly Serin-like trill, this Canary was feeding by the viewing screen on Tuesday afternoon.

Orcombe Migrants

The first of today's Whinchats, taken in dull, early morning light.

Good by Orcombe standards today - cool and overcast with less wind than yesterday - 1 Reed Bunting, 1 Snipe, 2 Whinchats, 1 Grasshopper Warbler (a reeling bird that actually showed itself briefly), 2 Wheatears, at least 1 Redstart, just 1 Whitethroat, 13+ Chiffchaffs (but no Willow Warblers), 4+ Blackcaps, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 10+ Swallows and 1 Sedge Warbler. Also - a singing male Cirl Bunting still on territory, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Kestrel, 1 Peregrine and 2 Shelduck.

Mudbank on the incoming tide this afternoon - 58 Whimbrel, 20 Bar-tailed Godwits, 3 Red-breasted Mergansers, c20 Sandwich Terns, 5 Black-headed Gulls and 1 Common Gull.

This fine male Redstart was on the far side of the massive cattle field. A laughable record shot but at least you can see what it is - my first this year captured for posterity!

Even today's Wheatears refused to come any closer.

An afternoon stroll around Bystock, in the rain - 5 Tufted Ducks, 4 Canada Geese, 1 Moorhen, 2 Willow Warblers, 6 Nuthatches, 3+ Siskins and a pair of Firecrests.

Lesser Whitethroats, Red Kite

Two Lesser Whitethroats today - both singing males - the first along the cycle track between West Lodge and Courtlands, the second on Orcombe Point. Additional Orcombe records - 3 Willow Warblers, 3+ Wheatears, 8 House Martins, 9+ Swallows, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Little Egret, 5+ Blackcaps, 2 Shelduck, 1 Kestrel and 8+ Chiffchaffs.

A Red Kite flew east over Halsdon Farm (viewed from the back garden) at 1225pm. Also - a single House Martin and a couple Swallows.