A bit of an odd mix on Orcombe this morning. An early morning whiz around and a more casual stroll mid-afternoon produced a list that included 3+ Wheatears, 1 Whinchat, 5+ Yellow Wagtails, 2 Grey Wagtails, 1 skua sp, 1 Mute Swan, 5 Whitethroats, 1 Goldcrest, 1+ Blackcap, c20+ Swallows, 1 Snipe, 1 Ringed Plover, 4 Tree Pipits, c10 Chiffchaffs, 7 Skylarks and 1 Kestrel. Good to see Leon again this morning.
Mudbank - 36 Mute Swans, 2 Pintail, 4 Great Crested Grebes, 12 Black-tailed Godwits, 21+ Knot, 1 Snow Goose, c200+ Canada Geese, 10 Wigeon, 7 Bar-tailed Godwits, 2 Grey Wagtails and an adult Mediterranean Gull. Six Cattle Egrets were perched on a wreck, north of Starcross and the Osprey was picked up, perched high on a dead tree, somewhere north of Powderham Park. Really good to catch up with Rob and Steph at Mudbank today.
Not a breath of wind this morning so quite bizarre to see this skua fly past Orcombe Point, in towards the estuary, shortly after 7am. It appeared to be gaining height all the time. I'd be interested to know where it ended up. In the field I first thought this was a Herring Gull, then a Bonxie, then a Pom. I still think it probably is a Pom but I've chickened out of the original identification. From the crappy photo I'm not sure I can rule out Arctic. I've never been any good with skuas!
Whinchat - Orcombe Point. I'm pretty sure this is yesterday's bird. It looks the same and is in exactly the same spot, behaving exactly the same way - always too far off for a good photo.
My first Snipe of the autumn, captured for posterity. It followed my first Goldcrest of the autumn.
The feral Snow Goose flew in with Canada Geese to settle off Mudbank. Whatever its origin, I always enjoy seeing it in Exmouth.
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