Rock Pipit

I found this rock pipit late this afternoon whilst walking the dog along river. My initial reaction was that it was a fairly typical petrosus but the more I watched it the more I wasn't quite so sure, and I still can't make up my mind.  At times it seemed very grey about the crown, ear coverts and scapulars and quite buffy below, with tinges of orangey pink to the centre of the breast. It also has a reasonably prominent supercilium.The above photo shows an undeniable pinky tinge to the centre of the breast but I suppose, ideally, you'd want a more colourful one to be sure of littoralis. I've always found rock pipit races tricky and ever since the gold/white/black/blue dress debate I've lost confidence in the colours I'm seeing (I only ever saw gold and white by the way). As always I'd love to hear what other people think.

Note the fairly plane greyish mantle and scapulars on this pretty unremarkable individual.

Small Migrant Numbers

 

Stonechat.

 

An Orcombe dawn raid before football. A very small number of migrants, on a cold easterly, comprised 1+ stonechat, 2 wheatear, 1 chiffchaff and 2 goldcrest. Additionally 10+ robins probably included a few moving birds. Maer Rocks produced  236 dark-bellied brent geese, 1 dunlin, 20+ turnstone, 7+ purple sandpiper and a great crested grebe.

Late yesterday evening, on Maer Rocks, there were 10+ turnstone, 1 purple sandpiper, 2 great crested grebe, 1 female long-tailed duck, c10+ common scoter, 1 redshank and 38+ brent geese.

 

Stonechat with Dawlish Warren in the background.

Worthwhile Half Hour

Stonechats - Dung Field.

 

Got home, from a very busy day at work, to a text from Terry Smith about two wheatears on Orcombe Point. I had just a 45 minute window, before football training with Joel, but it was well worthwhile. Not only were there 3 wheatears in the field where Terry had his, there were 3 stonechats in the dung field and a black redstart in the Bristol Schools Camp. Additionally I got 1 chiffchaff and 6 meadow pipit - a little frustrating to have missed the best part of what had obviously been a good day.

Black Redstart on a fence.

Next to some hand soap.

On a roof.

 

On a barbie.

 

The wheatears just wouldn't play ball, and with the light fading I had to make do with awful distant record shots. Still it's always good to get the first wheatears of the year.

Best Purple Sand Shots

 

I adopted the 'sit and wait' strategy this afternoon and was rewarded with views of at least 7 purple sandpipers, down to less than 10 ft. I got them on Maer Rocks at low tide, despite the presence of lots of rock-pooling kids and dog walkers. This seems to be a well-established site now. Mark Bailey had 12 birds there 3 days ago, just 2 shy of my all-time highest count, and I've seen birds regularly there throughout the winter. Weird to think I only had my first there in November 2011. The novelty of seeing them still hasn't really worn off! Prior to that there had been a 20 year drought in purple sandpiper sightings in Exmouth, with the exception of a bird off Orcombe Point, seen by Terry Smith a few years back. They must be getting on rocks below Straight Point when Maer Rocks are covered. These are inaccessible and impossible to view unless you're on a boat.

There were a handful of turnstones on Maer Rocks this afternoon too, and a quick check of the cirl bunting site revealed at least 3 birds (including 2 males) along with c50+ chaffinch, c10+ reed bunting and 2+ yellowhammers.

Presumed adult.

Presumed juvenile on left - note fresh-looking white-fringed wing coverts.

Adult?

 

Presumed juvenile.

Female Cirl Bunting.

Bits and Bobs

 

Redwing - Sandy Bay.

A few bits and bobs today. Nick and I did Orcombe from first light but it was colder and cloudier than expected. A single chiffchaff moving rapidly along a hedgerow was probably a migrant but the hoped-for wheatear never materialised. Offshore, good numbers of auks went past with 5+ red-throated diver and a probable black-throat. Also a single common scoter and small numbers of gannet. A harbour porpoise was seen briefly, along with a pristine adult summer mediterranean gull, with a small group of east-bound black-headed gulls.
I managed to get out again a couple times later, getting my first brimstone butterfly of the year, at West Lodge, and first sandwich tern, sat on a sandbar off Mudbank.
Sandy Bay produced half a dozen redwing and a few robins, but there was no sign of the black redstart.
Finally, a late afternoon look at the local cirl site produced 2/3 cirl bunting, 3+ yellowhammer, c6+ reed bunting, c50+ chaffinch, 2 green woodpecker, nuthatch, treecreeper and c6+ redwing.

Male cirl bunting - nice to be able to watch these locally.

Lavender Muscovey?

Lavender Muscovey Duck?

 

Clearly exhausted after a gruelling transatlantic flight - this muscovey duck was sleeping on the pavement beside the Leisure Centre carpark. Exmouth has been so quiet and 'samey' recently that it was quite refreshing to see this bird - an Exmouth tick!

This morning, Nick and I paid a visit to a local spot where the farmer is planting a crop for cirl buntings and we had a male and female, in with good numbers of reed buntings, chaffinches and yellowhammers.

Otherwise it has been business as usual, with at least 7 purple sandpipers on Maer Rocks this morning along with 180+ dark-bellied brent geese, and the black redstart still below the access ramp to the beach at Sandy Bay.

 

 

I can think of better places to kip!

'Petrosus' Rock Pipit with a nice orangey throat - Sandy Bay.