Little Terns

Four Little Terns whizzed upriver at 0820 this morning. Also off Mudbank - 97 Mallard, 3 Great Crested Grebes, at least 2 Common Terns and 19 Whimbrel.

Yesterday off there 9+ Common Terns, 84 Mallard and, late in the evening, a flock of c80 Redshank.

22/7 - 1 Great Crested Grebe, 3+ Common Terns and 1 Mediterranean Gull. A late look off Shelly Beach revealed c145+ Sandwich Terns and 6+ Common Terns.

21/7 - 70+ Mallard, 1 Canada Goose, 2 juvenile Mediterranean Gulls and 2 Common Terns. Off Shelly Beach - c50 Sandwich Terns, 1 Common Tern, 2 Mediterranean Gulls, 1 Black-tailed Godwit and 200+ Curlew. A look off Maer Rocks in the morning produced 17 Mediterranean Gulls, 4 Manx Shearwaters, 6 shearwater sp (three of which may have been Balearic but were just too distant), 4 Little Egrets, 1 Fulmar and 1 Dunlin.

Little Egrets past Maer Rocks towards the river on 21/7.

Guess Who's Back! (pm edit)

The third-summer Yellow-legged Gull was again off Mudbank this morning and, on closer inspection, the penny dropped - this is the returning bird, first seen in August 2021 when it was a juvenile! Just something about the way it looks. It has returned every year since - see more details here. I'm guessing it didn't reappear this spring as it would have been attempting to breed somewhere. Keen to prove beyond doubt that it's the same bird I later popped down its favourite haunt - the coastal waste recycling centre and bingo - there it was!

Also off Mudbank today - a big jump in Mallard numbers with 74 birds present. Also - 16 Whimbrel, c25/30+ Dunlin, 1 Knot, 2 Common Terns, a small number of Sandwich Terns and at least 5 Mediterranean Gulls.

An evening dog-walk with Lu produced another Yellow-legged Gull - a different juvenile to yesterday's and the third juvenile so far this summer.

Chalk and cheese in flight - juv Herring Gull above, juv YLG below.

Juv YLG

A nice juv Yellow-legged Gull off Mudbank this evening. A bit earlier on the third-summer bird was off there along with 18 Whimbrel, 11 Mallard and 9 Mediterranean Gulls (including four juveniles). Also, a Hummingbird Hawkmoth there. Lots of gulls around at the moment with all the flying ants emerging.

Yesterday I had a quick look off Shelly Beach but the light was awful. No sign of any Rosys but 16+ Turnstones, 6 Eider, 11+ Common Terns, c60+ Sandwich Terns and a Mediterranean Gull were logged. Nearby - 5 Black-tailed Godwits and 2 Mediterranean Gulls off Mudbank.

The third-summer Yellow-legged Gull is presumably the bird I had a few days ago. It didn't exactly stand out in the harsh afternoon sun.

Wigeon

Sandwich Tern - Mudbank.

I was surprised to see 2 Wigeon on Cockle Sands this morning. Early returning birds or birds that have spent the summer somewhere a lot closer than Russia? Also off Mudbank - c145 Curlew, 21+ Whimbrel, 8 Sanderling, a juvenile Mediterranean Gull, a handful of Sandwich Terns and 4 Mallard. Nearby, off Shelly Beach - 7 Mediterranean Gulls, c85 Sandwich Terns, 11 Mute Swans and 6 Eiders.

A short sea-watch earlier on produced 22 Common Scoters, 3+ Mediterranean Gulls and 8+ Sandwich Terns. Three distant skuas went south at around 0845 but they were way too distant and out in the murk. They looked chunky so were presumably Bonxies or Poms.

Yesterday - Maer Rocks - 2 juvenile Ringed Plovers, 15+ Sandwich Terns, 1 summer-plumaged Great Northern Diver and 4 Mediterranean Gulls.

Shelly Beach - a flock of 5 Common Sandpipers, 1 Turnstone, c70 Sandwich Terns and 3 Mediterranean Gulls. The six Eiders were off the seafront.

13/7 - Mudbank - 10 Mallard, 1 Mediterranean Gull, 10+ Sandwich Terns and 27 Little Egrets (flew out of roost on opposite side of the river).

Marbled White on Sea Holly - The Maer.

The six Eiders off the seafront yesterday. This morning they were roosting on Warren Point.

A feature of any look off the seafront at the moment is the arriving Mediterranean Gulls - each one heading purposefully towards the river mouth. The odd one lands on the beach or loafs for a while offshore.

Juvenile Mediterranean Gull - Mudbank.

Second-summer Mediterranean Gull - Exmouth beach (yesterday).

3s YLG

A third summer (4th cal yr) Yellow Legged Gull off Mudbank this afternoon. Also 4+ Whimbrel, 1 Mallard and 2 Common Terns.

Silver-studded Blues

Female Silver-studded Blue.

A male Cirl Bunting, the male Nightjar and a Green Sandpiper on Bicton Common this afternoon, whilst looking for Silver-studded Blues.

Yesterday off the seafront - a quick and early look produced a summer-plumaged Great Northern Diver, 5 Common Scoters and 2 Mute Swans.

Tuesday - Mudbank - a female-type Shoveler, 14+ Sandwich Terns, 3 Mediterranean Gulls, 15 Whimbrel and 2 Great Crested Grebes. Off Shelly Beach - 6 Mediterranean Gulls, 33 Sandwich Terns and the 6 Eiders.

Male Silver-studded Blue.

Small Heath.

This male Cirl Bunting is still on Bicton Common. No sign of any juveniles yet...

Green Sandpiper - Bicton Common. A regular site for this species.

Mediterranean Gull.

Long-tailed Skua

Caught up with the Long-tailed Skua late this evening, off Shelly Beach. It was always distant and the visibility was horrendous as the rain lashed down. Many thanks to Kev and Mark for the calls and to Ivan for finding it earlier this morning. A very unusual record both in timing and location. I'm useless with skuas and totally unfamiliar with this age class but am assuming it's near adult/sub-adult with relatively short  tail streamers and a hint of a dusky pec band. My appalling photos will give you some idea of the views I was getting but it's a fabulous record for Exmouth. Apologies for not texting or phoning anybody but my phone is completely out of credit.

Also of Shelly Beach today - 12+ Common Terns, c20 Sandwich Terns, 5+ Mediterranean Gulls, the 6 Eiders and 24 Shelduck.

Off the seafront - 7 Manx Shearwaters (east), 7 Common Scoters and 4+ Mediterranean Gulls.

Arctic Skuas

Off the seafront late this evening - 2 dark phase Arctic Skuas sniffing around a gull flock that included a number of Mediterranean Gulls and several Kittiwakes. All attempts at counting them were compounded by distance and tricky light conditions. At least one Common Dolphin was way, way offshore with a few Gannets in attendance.

Off Mudbank on this morning's rising tide - 11+ Whimbrel, 145+ Curlew, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Dunlin, 2 Mallard, 70+ Carrion Crows, 1 Sandwich Tern and 1 Mediterranean Gull.

LRP, BLH

I could only find one Broad-leaved Helleborine along Wright's Lane this afternoon.

Too much west in the wind for it to be any good for sea-watching  today but a Little Ringed Plover was on the beach, by the lifeboat station, shortly after 530am. Frustratingly I didn't actually see it until it took off, calling. They breed just beyond the Exmouth parish boundary but this is only my third record within Exmouth itself. Otherwise a single Mediterranean Gull off there, along with 3 Common Scoters, 1 Curlew, 3 Sandwich Terns and 2 Black-headed Gulls.

On Cockle Sands - on the tiniest patch of mud as the tide dropped - 2 Common Terns and 9 Sandwich Terns. Also a single Mediterranean Gull on a very brief look.

Sparrowhawk

A nice close encounter with this male Sparrowhawk down at the marina this morning.

I looked at the sea from 0530 - 0635 this morning. Nothing out of the ordinary but 9+ Sandwich Terns, 6 Mediterranean Gulls, 4 Common Scoters, 1 Great Northern Diver, 4 Manx Shearwaters and 1 Black-headed Gull scraped into the notebook. Two Great Crested Grebes flew in from the east and settled offshore. Nearby, off the Imperial rec/Shelly Beach - 4+ Mediterranean Gulls, 5+ Sandwich Terns and the 6 Eiders (way over towards Cockwood Corner). A single Bar-tailed Godwit was the only notable sighting off Mudbank.

Yesterday off Mudbank - my first Common Sandpiper of the summer. Also 1 immature Peregrine, 1+ Mediterranean Gull, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Kestrel, 3+ Sandwich Terns and just 1 Whimbrel.

A late look off the seafront produced at least 1 Common Dolphin and 4 Manx Shearwaters.