Yellow-legged Gull

A large adult yellow-legged gull on a brief look at the Otter this afternoon. Also 3 snipe and the drake teal x wigeon hybrid. I would have liked a better look at the wing tip on this bird but it was always distant, on the opposite side of the river, and I missed the opportunity to get a proper look at it when the flock was spooked. The large size, clean white head, dark grey upperparts and straw yellow legs are all good yellow-legged features and I see no reason to suspect it's a hybrid.

 

Trumpeters

Two Trumpeter Swans are causing a minor stir on the east coast of Britain at the moment. They've generated some discussion, with regard to their provenance as potential vagrants, on Birdforum. I thought I'd dig out my notes on the pair that turned up at Bowling Green Marsh back in 2005. I saw them on 16/2/2005. I don't think anyone believed they were wild birds but they were very smart and well worth seeing all the same.

Purple Sandpipers

Six purple sandpipers, c10+ turnstone, 1 curlew and 1 dark-bellied brent goose on Maer Rocks this evening. Didn't slip either!

 

Firecrest

Exmouth Quay shortly after dawn. Warren Point is visible on the right.

 

An uncomfortably cold and frosty dawn start this morning. A quick look off the Imperial with Nick produced 3 female goldeneye and we located the first-winter male black redstart on buildings around the sailing club. Additionally at least one kingfisher was around the sailing club area and 3 red-breasted mergansers were very close offshore there (I later had a flock of c40+ off Mudbank). I then had a quick look at the newly ploughed 'Top Fields' on Orcombe, and the Dung Field, finding c40+ skylark, c10+ meadow pipit, 2 stock dove, 1 grey wagtail and a reed bunting.

With a little time left I then had a look at Hayes Barton Pig Farm. This is my first trip up there this winter and it's looking pretty good, though I couldn't find any brambling or buntings on this morning's visit. There were good numbers of chaffinches feeding in the game cover strips and a decent gathering of gulls comprising c200+ herring gulls and c300+ black-headed gulls. I stopped under a large oak tree, just up the lane from the entrance to the farm, and scanned through a mixed flock of long-tailed tits and goldcrests. I 'pished' to try and bring them closer to me, and a male firecrest popped up in the hedge a few feet away and burst into song. Sadly it didn't stay still long enough for me to photograph it, and soon disappeared.



Meadow Pipit - Dung Field.

Grey Wagtail - Dung Field.

House Sparrow - one from the regular flock at Mudbank Lane. Photographed on a dog walk along the estuary late this afternoon.

View of the estuary this afternoon from the Cycle Path.

This week was ridiculously busy and I had no time for birding, but this watery winter sun scene was worth seeing just before dark on Thursday night.

Doh!

 

Penduline habitat and Powderham Sawmills.

 

This morning I fancied a change of scenery so, having noted that a couple penduline tits had turned up recently elsewhere in the country, I thought I'd go and check the reed mace at Powderham Sawmills. This is a spot I check every winter. It has masses of 'penduline tit food' and I never see other birders there, so I feel I stand a reasonable chance! I set my scope up in the lane and began systematically checking clumps of reed mace along a 200 yard stretch of reeds.  As I was stood scanning, my phone buzzed into life - a text from Mark Bailey - 3 penduline tits at Bowling Green! B*****KS!!! A short while earlier I'd driven past the turning to Bowling Green as drizzle started to set in. I considered stopping and doing some easy, comfortable birding in the dry but told myself it would be worth getting soaked for a penduline tit. Oh dear. Now I had a dilemma. Do I dash for the birds? Of course not. Not if I want to find my own, so I waited it out and eventually decided that three penduline tits would be nicer to see than pheasants, which was all I was seeing stood at the Sawmills. Needless to say I dipped the penduline tits on the way home so not the best of mornings.

 

Plenty of Pheasants this morning, 4+ Chiffchaff and a Stonechat.

 

'Collar-less' Pheasant.

Swallows!

Immature male Black Redstart - behind the Sailing Club.

 

 

As the Under 10s were about to kick off against the Pinhoe Spartans this morning, down at the cricket club, Paul Gosling yelled "Swallow"! Two birds were hawking backwards and forwards along the Maer - not a complete shock but a lovely surprise on a gorgeous morning. We went on to beat the Spartans and draw with the Pinhoe Gladiators. Earlier I'd had a look at the Top Fields and off Mudbank where 3 goldeneye, 42 teal and 4 gadwall were the highlights.

Another quick dash around this afternoon produced c60+ skylark up On Orcombe and the first-winter male black redstart again around the sailing club.

Sunset from the top of Gore Lane yesterday afternoon.

 

Sunrise - 'Top Fields' this morning.

Dung Field - looking across Dawlish Bay late this afternoon.

Same Black Brant?

Adult Black Brant - photographed by Dave Boult at Dart's Farm - 1/12/14.

 

 

Dave Boult's superb photos (and video footage) of the Black Brant on the 'Devon Birds' website prompted me to make a comparison with photos of the Black Brant that overwintered on the southern end of the Exe during the autumn/winter 2013/2014. I focused on Lee Collins' stunning portrait of the bird taken at Dawlish warren in March of this year. Of course I fully expected them to be one of the same (black brants are known to show annual site fidelity) but to my surprise they appear to be different birds. I contacted Mike Langman who agreed they seem to differ, pointing out that the extent of white on the upper shoulder area differs markedly, being brighter and more extensive on the Dart's bird. Closer inspection of the white neck 'web' reveals a fuller, crisper pattern on the Dart's Farm bird and the Dart's bird shows a clear intrusion of black that curls up from the belly region into the white mid-flank. The Dawlish bird pictured below doesn't seem to show this, though caution is required here because the shape and pattern of the white flank patch can vary somewhat with posture. Mike suggested the tertials look longer and looser on the Dawlish bird, but with the caveat that this may be age related. It goes without saying that I would appreciate any comments, especially from those people who have seen either bird and/or photographed them, or from anybody with a knowledge of the moult/ageing of brants.

A big thank you to Lee Collins and Dave Boult for allowing me to use their photographs and, of course, to Mike for his thoughts on the bird.

 

Adult Black Brant - photographed by Lee Collins at Dawlish Warren on 7/3/14.

Little Egret flying to roost at dusk tonight - Mudbank.

 

Herring Gulls flying to roost.