SEO

Sadly way too high for a good photo but it's always good to see a Short-eared Owl in Exmouth - this one almost  stratospheric over Orcombe Point this afternoon.

After work on Orcombe, late this afternoon - Short-eared Owl, 3 Jays, 16+ Chiffchaffs, 1 Golden Plover, 6 Stonechats, 1 Goldcrest, 12 Starlings, c20+ Meadow Pipits, 2 Blackcaps and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. Small groups of Woodpigeon were moving north-west and with them a total of 12 Stock Doves. Below the point a gathering of c1000 Herring Gulls held a few Black-headed Gulls and a single adult Mediterranean Gull. A Clouded Yellow moved quickly through the top fields.

Off Mudbank - 70 Black-tailed Godwits and 6 Pale-bellied Brent Geese noted.

Ivy flowers.

 I still haven't managed a good photo of a Jay in Exmouth, or anywhere else for that matter.

Woodlarks

One of a pair of Kestrels regularly seen hunting Orcombe Point.

Thoroughly enjoyable and busy birding on Orcombe this morning, with overhead totals that included 274+ Pied Wagtails, 160+ Linnets, 150+ Woodpigeons, 100+ Goldfinches, c100+ Meadow Pipits, 60+ Chaffinches, 1 Snipe, 1 Redpoll, 5 Reed Buntings, 14 Jackdaws, 33 Starlings, 3 Grey Wagtails, 2 Sparrowhawks, 2 Stock Doves, 3 Greenfinches, 6 Swallows, 10+ Siskins, 3 Little Egrets and mixed finch flocks totaling c70+ birds. It's tricky to be sure of numbers as stuff was moving both east and west. Additionally - 14+ Chiffchaffs, 13 Stonechats, 2 Goldcrests, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker and at least 7 Blackbirds. Also a Painted Lady nectaring on Ivy flowers with Red Admirals.
Only a short look off Mudbank over the high tide - 96 Shelduck, 6 Redshank, 12 Great Crested Grebes, c1000+ Wigeon, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Sandwich Terns and at least six Pale-bellied Brent Geese amongst c400+ Dark-bellied Brent Geese. Best of all though were 2 Woodlarks that flew low north, calling all the way, at 1055. One Siskin, 1 Grey Wagtail and a Skylark noted too.

 Pale-bellied Brent Goose off Mudbank.

Overhead Stuff

Straight Point from Orcombe at dawn.

A bit of movement overhead on Orcombe this morning with 'alba wagtails featuring most strongly - 74 tallied in the notebook, along with 7 Stonechats, 8+ Chiffchaffs, c60 Goldfinches, 2 Reed Buntings, at least 15 Siskins, 16+ Chaffinches, 1 Snipe, 3 Song Thrushes, 5 Swallows, 25 Jackdaws, 18+ Woodpigeons, 1 Stock Dove, 1 Grey Wagtail and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. A trickle of Meadow Pipits and the odd Linnet and Greenfinch weren't specifically counted. Two Kestrels, 2 Ravens, a couple Sparrowhawks and the three Red-legged Partridges were also noted.

Off Mudbank this evening - 410+ Dark-bellied Brent Geese with at least 6 Pale-bellied Brent Geese amongst them, though the whole flock was very distant.

On the 7th an influx of Stonechats included at least 12 birds in the turnip field along with a single Whinchat. A single Jay was also noted and a flock of 20 Common Scoters passed off shore.

4th-6th

 Pintail x Wigeon hybrid - Mudbank. This bird was present last year too.

Disappointingly samey at the moment. Off Mudbank this evening - 12 Pale-bellied Brent Geese, 200+ Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 5 Black-tailed Godwits, 15 Bar-tailed Godwits, 3 Redshank, 1 Spotted Redshank, 1 Turnstone and 1 Kingfisher. Just after dawn 12 Cattle Egrets were scoped across the river, in with cattle behind Starcross. A quick look at the top fields on Orcombe produced 25+ Swallow, a flock of c80 Linnet, 2 Stonechats, 2 Kestrels and a fly-over Little Egret. A Clouded Yellow also of note.

Yesterday off Mudbank - 10 Black-tailed Godwits, 1 Spotted Redshank, 3 Redshank, 1 Turnstone and a Grey Plover. A Mediterranean Gull and 3 Stock Doves in a ploughed field off Maer Lane.

On the 4th - 26 Bar-tailed Godwits, 1 Spotted Redshank, 2 Redshank, 3 Greenshank, 1 Turnstone, 1 Mediterranean Gull and 2 Pale-bellied Brent Geese.

Nice to be Dry

Third calendar year Yellow-legged Gull at the lifeboat station. A second-summer moving into third-winter.

A light passage of migrants on Orcombe this morning. Counts included 4 Grey Wagtails, 9+ alba wagtails, 4 Chaffinches, 13 Swallows, 1 Jay, c40 Linnets, 3 Goldfinches, 8 Skylarks and small numbers of Meadow Pipits. Additionally - 11+ Chiffchaffs, 3 Stonechats, 1 Blackcap and a Whitethroat.
I missed the high tide at Mudbank, due to football, but managed to record 150+ Pintail, 1 Spotted Redshank, 1 Whimbrel, 1 Greenshank, 9 Black-tailed Godwits, 5+ Bar-tailed Godwits and 1 Turnstone out on the mud. Two Pale-bellied Brent Geese were in with numbers of Dark-bellied Brent Geese and Wigeon, and 5 House Martins, 2 Swallows and a number of distant hirundine sp crossed west over the river, ahead of leaden skies and rain.

Whitethroat - enjoying blackberries and the sunshine in the Bristol Schools camp.

Ravens - Orcombe Point.

Tiny LBbG

Not much bigger than a Common Gull, this first-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull was not only tiny but beautifully plumaged too. I'll never understand why some birders 'don't do gulls'!

A fair bit of effort looking at the sea this morning wasn't really rewarded, with just 3+ Sandwich Terns, 2 Turnstones, 1+ first-winter Mediterranean Gull, 1 first-winter Yellow-legged Gull, 3 auk sp and 1 skua sp logged. It's very difficult to get out of the wind and rain when the weather's like it was today.
A couple looks off Mudbank revealed 13+ Bar-tailed Godwits, 5 Pale-bellied Brent Geese, c300+ Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 5 Greenshank, 1 Spotted Redshank, 5 Redshank, 1 Grey Plover, 1 Teal, 56 Mute Swans, loads of Wigeon, 8 Dunlin, 9 Black-tailed Godwits and a Whimbrel.

As usual I fluffed the flight shot but the underwing looks dark like typical 'graellsi'.

Tiny and long-winged of course got me thinking 'fuscus' but I don't think there's much to be done in the absence of a ring.

This Greenshank looks like it was enjoying the torrential rain about as much as I was. There were five off Mudbank today which is the most I've had in ages.

Another quite dark Lesser Black-back.

The seemingly resident first-winter Yellow-legged Gull was loafing around the Imperial rugby ground and adjacent recycling centre. Perhaps the skips full of rubbish are encouraging it to hang around. Another bird was off the seafront.

It's always good to get an October Whinchat - this one accompanying a Stonechat in the top fields this afternoon. I scooted round between rain deluges. Also - c10/20+ Swallows, c50/100+ Meadow Pipits and a Chiffchaff. Offshore - 2 Dark-bellied Brent Geese and 3 Common Scoters.

Litter and Little Egret - Mudbank.

YLGs

 There were two first-winter Yellow-legged Gulls on the Imperial rugby ground this evening. This new bird and the long-staying bird that I normally see off Mudbank.

A short look off Mudbank this evening, following work, produced 33+ Black-tailed Godwits, 7 Redshank, 1 Spotted Redshank, 1 Teal, 1 Whimbrel, 1 Ringed Plover, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits and 1 Turnstone. I didn't count the Wigeon or Brent Geese as the light was dreadful.

This second first-winter Yellow-legged Gull is the bird that has been around for weeks, often getting off Mudbank.

First-winter Great Black-backed Gull.