Three Casps?!

This gorgeous adult Caspian Gull was on Exmouth cricket pitch until 8am this morning. The driving rain and low light level meant photographing it was a problem. This is the first adult bird I've ever seen in Exmouth and comes hot on the heels of yesterday's ringed juvenile bird.

Exmouth cricket pitch first thing - adult Caspian Gull. Also 3 Ring-necked Parakeets there.

Nearby on the beach - 1 juvenile Caspian Gull and 4 Mediterranean Gulls.

Mudbank - a good count of 75 Little Egrets on the dropping tide. Otherwise hundreds of Common Terns on Cockle Sands but the distance coupled with the driving rain meant I couldn't properly count them. Not much else but 38 Wigeon, 15 Teal, 30 Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Greenshank, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Grey Plover, 1 Common Sandpiper, 9 Redshank, 17 Whimbrel and 1 first-winter Mediterranean Gull noted.

Orcombe - 1 Wheatear and a flock of c230 Linnets during a drier, warmer spell this afternoon. A number of Painted Ladies and Clouded Yellows in the top fields with good numbers of Rush Veneer kicked up along with c20/30+ Vestals. Never seen so many!

This evening - off the Imperial - 1 un-ringed juvenile Caspian Gull (pretty sure a different bird to this morning but not certain), c20+ Mediterranean Gulls (mostly first-winters), 1 Osprey and c50 Common Terns.

I was thrilled to get good views of this beautiful juvenile Caspian Gull this morning, after the frustratingly distant bird yesterday. Clearly a different, un-ringed bird and further evidence that there are numbers on the move. It was on the beach next to the lifeboat station.

One of four Mediterranean Gulls on the beach this morning.

Another first-winter Mediterranean Gull, this one yellow-ringed AUAN. Apparent metal ring on right tarsus.

Ringed Casp

This colour-ringed (small blue ring left leg/large yellow ring right) juvenile Caspian Gull was off Mudbank this afternoon. Way too distant to read the rings and, I'll be honest, a bit too far to be 100% certain of the ring colour!

No Balearics this morning but 2 massive first-winter Yellow-legged Gulls were in with a large group of Herring Gulls on the beach. A dog walker flushed them before I could get any photos. Also on the beach - 6 Ringed Plovers  but they were soon flushed too. A juvenile Common Gull at least hung around for a couple photos. A stroll round Orcombe was largely uneventful but the Cetti's Warbler was again singing from clifftop scrub. Also there - 2+ Yellow Wagtails, 1 Grey Wagtail and a fly-over, heard-only Ringed Plover.

Bystock - 1 Spotted Flycatcher and a flock of 9 Ravens over.

Another quick look off the Imperial rec as Cockle Sands was exposed revealed c200+ Common Terns still and 1 juvenile Little Tern.

Mudbank before high tide this afternoon produced 1 juvenile Caspian Gull, 40 Wigeon, 1 Pintail, 53+ Teal, 5 Dunlin, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 5 Black-tailed Godwit, 9 Redshank, 1 Common Sandpiper, 21 Whimbrel and c200+ Common Terns flying downriver.

An Arctic Skua off the seafront this evening.

 

With juvenile Herring Gull left.

Top of yellow ring on right leg just about visible here. Note the oft-quoted 'stilts for legs'. 

Juvenile Common Gull on Exmouth beach this morning. I've probably seen more Caspian Gulls than Commons in this plumage!

Keeping with the gull (and crap photos) theme - here's yesterday's Kittiwake off Mudbank.

Balearics, Little Gull

Juvenile Common Tern. About 275 Common Terns were off the Imperial on the dropping tide. Two juvenile Little Terns were also off there but I couldn't find any other tern species.

A little late getting out the front door this morning so I missed a fair few but between about 0630 and shortly after 7am I recorded c420 Balearic Shearwaters heading east out of the bay. I could only pick out 6 Manx Shearwaters heading the same way. A gorgeous juvenile Little Gull flew past just off the beach and I also logged 2 adult Mediterranean Gulls and 1 Whimbrel.

A look off the Imperial rec, just as Cockle Sands was becoming exposed, revealed 2 juvenile Little Terns in with c275+ Common Terns. Also 3+ Mediterranean Gulls, 3 Black-tailed Godwits and 5 Bar-tailed Godwits.

Off Mudbank - 10 Pintail, c15 Wigeon (couldn't count a briefly seen flock as it headed towards the Warren), 17 Black-tailed Godwits, 8+ Common Sandpipers, 16 Ringed Plovers, 8 Sanderling, 1 Kittiwake, 12 Whimbrel, 1 Osprey and 36 Little Egrets.

Only a short spell on Orcombe as it was soon evident the overnight rain hadn't dropped any migrants. Six Yellow Wagtails flew over and that was it. A single Red-legged Partridge put in one of its very infrequent appearances and 2 Sand Martins were in with c55 Swallows at Maer farm this afternoon.

This Yellow-legged Gull was on the cricket pitch this morning. Not the regular 6cy individual.

One of two Sand Martins on wires at Maer Farm. I very rarely see this species perched in Exmouth!

Hoary Footman - trapped yesterday.

Small Marbled.

Ni Moth. Also trapped on 26/8 - 9 Silver Y, 3 Vestal, 1 Dark Sword-grass, 4 Rusty Dot Pearl, 28 Rush Veneer, 9 Small Mottled Willow, 2 Turnip, 1 Small Marbled, 44 Portland Ribbon Wave, 4 Pale Mottled Willow, 1 Tree-mallow Tortrix Crocidosema plebejana, 2 Saltmarsh Knot-horn Ancylosis oblitella and 1 Hoary Footman amongst the more usual stuff.

Vestal. One of 3 trapped yesterday but there are masses in the weedy areas on Orcombe.

Saltmarsh Knot-horn Ancylosis oblitella.

Tree Pipit - Orcombe Point 26/8.

Casp Gull, Black Tern

A brief first-summer (2cy) Caspian Gull off Mudbank this afternoon.

Mudbank/Cockle Sands today - 1 Black Tern showed quite well off the Imperial recreation ground just before  7pm this evening. It was with masses of Common Terns before heading upriver. I had what was presumably the same bird with c340+ Common Terns early this morning (and late yesterday evening). Also today - 1 first-summer Caspian Gull, 2 Yellow-legged Gulls (first-summer and 6cy), 3 Wigeon, 2 Pintail, 9+ Ringed Plovers, 16 Teal, 24 Black-tailed Godwits, 1+ Greenshank, 13 Redshank, 2+ Bar-tailed Godwits, 24 Whimbrel, 1 Kingfisher, 4 fw Mediterranean Gulls, 200+ Curlew, 1 Turnstone and 1 adult Peregrine. I also heard two clear but distant 'chuit' calls from what was almost certainly a Spotted Redshank. Not quite enough to be certain sadly.

Shelly Beach - juvenile Osprey, 20+ Sandwich Terns, 13 Sanderling, 2 Mediterranean Gulls and 2 Grey Wagtails.

A quick look off the seafront this evening, whilst waiting for the tide to drop, produced c110 Mediterranean Shearwaters heading east. I only picked out 3 Manx Shearwaters. Plenty of terns off there too.

First-summer Yellow-legged Gull. The 6cy regular bird was present too.

Common Terns over Cockle Sands.

Juvenile Common Tern off the Imperial this evening. One of many.

The juvenile Osprey was again hunting the lower estuary early on. I photographed it from Shelly Beach.

Juvenile Bar-tailed Godwit.

Red-necked Phalarope - pm Edit

Juvenile Red-necked Phalarope - Black Hole Marsh, Seaton. Was almost tempted to go up to Roadford yesterday as it has been almost exactly 23 years since I last saw a Red-necked Phalarope! So glad I didn't as this bird turned up closer to home today and by all accounts showed much better. My first ever Red-necked Phalarope was oddly also at a place called Seaton but Seaton in southeast Cornwall - a juvenile on 18th September 1993. My second was a bird I found myself, also a juvenile, at South Huish on August 26th 2003. So this is only my third ever but, given the amount of time that's lapsed since the last, it felt like watching a new bird.

Orcombe - 7 Wheatears, 10+ Yellow Wagtails, 9+ Sand Martins, 2 House Martins, 2 Collared Doves and 1 Common Scoter - the first I've seen in a while. At least 90 Gannets were feeding in the bay and a couple Fulmars passed through.

Mudbank this afternoon - 3 Teal, 1 Pintail, 1 Wigeon, 10 Redshank, 2 Greenshank, c30 Whimbrel, 4 Black-tailed Godwits, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, c40+ Common Terns, 1 fw Mediterranean Gull, 1 fw Yellow-legged Gull and 10 Shelduck. A juvenile Osprey caught a fish off there at around 1.30pm. Later this afternoon - still at least 2 Spotted Flycatchers frequenting the bottom of Bystock Meadow.

Juvenile Osprey - Mudbank.

Pintail.

First-winter Yellow-legged Gull.

This Kingfisher showed well in the brook yesterday.

Yesterday - Orcombe Point - an increase in Yellow Wagtail numbers with at least 15 moving between cattle herds. Also up to 6 Tree Pipits, 1 Wheatear and 1 Grey Wagtail. Mudbank - a very quick look early afternoon produced 8 Black-tailed Godwits, 3 Bar-tailed Godwits, 10 Redshank and 4 Greenshank.

22/8 - an early look at Orcombe produced a surprise Cetti's Warbler. My first record for Orcombe! It was singing in cliff-top scrub towards Sandy Bay. My guess it was a juvenile bird as the song was some way off being perfect. Also - 1 or 2 Grey Wagtails, 6 Yellow Wagtails, 2 Tree Pipits, 1 Stonechat and at least 2 Wheatears.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth.

Tree Pipit. One of two lingering in the top fields yesterday.

Following a message from Mark this evening I nipped back down to Mudbank and just about managed to pick out the Black Tern amongst c250 Common Terns on Cockle Sands. Also a different first-winter Yellow-legged Gull (pictured above), 4 first-winter Mediterranean Gulls and 9 Black-tailed Godwits. Twelve Redshank was just 2 more birds than earlier.

Y Wags, Osprey

Wheatear - Orcombe Point.

Orcombe - 8+ Yellow Wagtails, 1 Wheatear, 2 Willow Warblers, c25 Swallows and 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls the only migrants noted. A flock of 45+ Gannets was out in the bay despite it being flat-calm.

Shelly Beach - an Osprey past towards the Warren at 0835. Also - 2 Ringed Plovers, 1 Turnstone, 10+ Sandwich Terns, 20+ Common Terns, 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 22 Great Black-backed Gulls, 3 Yellow Wagtails, 30 Starlings, 20+ Swallows, 1 Sand Martin, 3 Mediterranean Gulls and 1 Sparrowhawk. A flock of 12 or 13 Black-tailed Godwits held 2 or 3 wader sp which I'm pretty sure were Ruff.

Mudbank - 3 Redshank, 3 Greenshank, 1 Knot, 18 Black-tailed Godwits, 3 Dunlin, 4 Ringed Plovers, 11+ Sanderling, 450+ Oystercatchers, 27+ Whimbrel, 36 Little Egrets, c540 Mallard, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker (high west across river) and 1 Tree Pipit.

Yesterday - 50 Common Terns off Shelly Beach and on Orcombe - 3 Yellow Wagtails, 1 Tree Pipit and a flock of c100 Linnets.

One of two juvenile Yellow Wagtails on rooftops around Shelly Beach, Another bird flew north over.

This Osprey flew high past Shelly Beach being chased by 8 Common Terns, the calls of which first alerted me to its presence. A minute later it disturbed a large flock of Oystercatchers from somewhere over towards the Warren. At least 450 ended up off Mudbank.

Juvenile Knot - Mudbank.