A rubbish record shot of this morning's Ruff, but Ruff is a really good bird in Exmouth. Having said that, this record closely mirrors the last one, which involved a single bird accompanying a large flock of Black-tailed Godwits, on October 25th last year. This bird was with c150 Black-tailed Godwits and looked very like the last one. Could it be the same bird?
Orcombe Point counts included 1 Dartford Warbler, 3 Blackcaps, 12+ Chiffchaffs, 3 Goldcrests, 3+ Song Thrushes, 7+ Blackbirds, 1 Snipe, 3+ Swallows, 2+ House Martins, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers and 1+ Grey Wagtail. Westward passage wasn't particularly heavy in fine, clear conditions, and I suspect a lot of stuff was just too high to see, but I managed to record 84 Skylarks, c50+ Meadow Pipits, 55 alba Wagtails, c50 Chaffinches (suspect I missed loads), 1 Starling, 2+ Siskins, 1 Reed Bunting and plenty of Goldfinches and Linnets.
Mudbank - 150+ Black-tailed Godwits, 1 Ruff, 3 Greenshank, 8 Redshank, 1 Grey Plover, 6 Great Crested Grebes and the three Black Swans. Nearby, the juvenile Whinchat was still at West Lodge when I cycled past.
Several Feathered Ranunculus trapped last night but this one was particularly smart.
Black Rustic.
Beaded Chestnut.
Pink-barred Sallow.
Some very nice moths there, Matt. I do think some of the autumnal species are particularly attractive. Should be going to a local mothing event next weekend.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your Whinchat shots previously. Seems to have been a record season for them. Usually a bird I see a couple of times locally but been seeing them for a few weeks now with my last to date last Sunday. More recently some bumper numbers of Stonechat with 72 seen in Richmond Park a couple of weeks ago. A few on my local patches.
Thanks Neil - I think I've seen fewer than normal this year, and Stonechats are barely featuring on Orcombe Point, though numbers seem reasonable up on the pebbled heaths. Sorry to hear you're not going to Scilly this year. Hopefully you won't miss much...
ReplyDeleteAll the best. Matt.