Soar

I spent the day down at Soar with my brother. It was fantastic to spend time with him, as it always is, but the weather wasn't particularly kind to us. We spent the first hour of daylight sheltering in the car as the rain lashed down, and consequently, with the radio and heaters on, ran the car battery flat. The rain continued the whole day although there were periods when it eased off enough to see a few birds. I suspect there was some really good stuff waiting to be found (Perry had Pallas's Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat at Start) but we managed to see 3 Black Redstarts, 3 Firecrests, 2 Blackcaps, 4 Snipe, 1 Redwing, c10/15+ Song Thrushes, c50+ Robins, 5+ Chiffchaffs, 6+ Goldcrests, 6+ Stonechats, c30+ Starling, 1 Brambling, c50+ Skylarks and 10+ Long-tailed Tits.

 

The view towards Salcombe from Sharp Tor

Black Redstart - one of three seen today.