Recycled YLG, GND

As suspected this is the returning Yellow-legged Gull, now in its 5cy and back in the coastal waste recycling centre this evening, having earlier been off Mudbank. Great to see it back!

Off Orcombe Point today - a non-breeding plumaged Great Northern Diver, 2 lingering Arctic Skuas, 2+ Mediterranean Gulls, 8 Common Scoters and 23 Sandwich Terns.

Shelly Beach - 1 Turnstone, c30 Sandwich Terns, 1 Mediterranean Gull and c15 Sanderling.

Mudbank - 4 Common Terns, c360 Mallard, 50 Whimbrel, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit and the 5cy Yellow-legged Gull.

Shoveler

Willow Warbler - Orcombe Point.

It's taken seven months to record my first Exmouth  Shoveler of the year! A single bird was in with c210 Mallard off Mudbank today. Also logged - 8 Common Terns, 42+ Sandwich Terns, 64 Whimbrel, 228 Curlew, 1 Redshank, 1 Grey Plover, 1+ Dunlin, 1+ Ringed Plover, 2 Mediterranean Gulls, 14 Mute Swans, 10 Shelduck and 2 Common Gulls. Earlier, on Orcombe, 1 Garden Warbler, 5+ Blackcaps, 2+ Whitethroats and 15+ Swallows.

Yesterday on Orcombe - 1 Sedge Warbler, 6+ Willow Warblers, 2 Mute Swans, 1 Kestrel and 4+ Cirl Buntings. Off Mudbank - 310+ Mallard, 57 Whimbrel, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit and 1 Dunlin.

YLGs

3cy (second summer/third winter) Yellow-legged Gull - Exmouth cricket pitch. I think this is the bird I had last month on Warren View and Blackhill Quarry (and probably the bird seen at the Warren).

Orcombe Point migrant-less this morning but at least 3 Cirl Buntings there with 4 shearwater sp and 4 skua sp (prob Poms) distantly offshore. Mudbank - 1 Grey Plover, 47 Whimbrel, 113 Canada Geese, c350+ Mallard, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Common Gulls and 3 Common Terns.

Yesterday on Orcombe - 6 Mute Swans, 3+ Cirl Buntings (including 1 juv so breeding successful for second year in a row) and 1 Goldcrest. Mudbank - c50 Sandwich Terns, 41 Canada Geese, 5 Great Crested Grebes, 31 Whimbrel, 1 Dunlin, 25 Little Egrets, 1 Mediterranean Gull, c240+ Mallard, c20 Sanderling and 1 Common Gull.

And could this older bird on the Imperial rugby ground be the famous returning bird that I first saw as a juvenile in 2021? If so it's in its 5th cy (4th summer plumage).

Mute Swans over Orcombe Point yesterday morning.

St Lucia

The famous Pitons on the west coast of the island.

Lu and I booked a last-minute break to St Lucia in the Caribbean. It's only a small island (28 miles north to south) but takes a good 5-6 hours to drive around if you follow the slow-paced east and west coast roads. Not a holiday dedicated to birding but most of the endemic species seen with a single visit to the interior rain-forested hills. Otherwise easy birding within half a mile of the hotel where we stayed in Rodney Bay, situated in the north-western tip of the island.

Grey Kingbird - Rodney Bay - one of the most commonly-seen species with a habit for building their scruffy nests on telegraph posts.

Green-throated Carib. And below. One of only three hummingbird species on the island but all easy to find.

Purple-throated Carib.

Male Antillean Crested Hummingbird. Below - flashing its dazzling fore-crown.

Singing male Grey Trembler - Rodney Bay.

Male Black-faced Grassquit.

Mangrove Cuckoo - Rodney Bay.

Fiery Skipper.

Disjunct Scrub-Hairstreak Strymon bubastus.

White Peacock.

Presumed Pale Yellow Pyristia venusta.

Hanno Blue Hemiargus hanno.

Hanno Blue. An incredibly tiny butterfly.

Great Southern White.

Gulf Fritillary. Below - some as yet unidentified moths...

Melipotis famelica.

Scaly-naped Pigeon - Rodney Bay.

Common House Gecko.

St Lucia Anole.

This huge female Hawksbill Turtle had just finished egg-laying on the beach (Pigeon Island) in broad daylight.

Juvenile Spotted Sandpiper - Rodney Bay.

Female Indigo Bunting - Rodney Bay. Not sure of the status of this species on the island but certainly wasn't expecting it. 

Adult Laughing Gull - Rodney Bay marina.

African Giant Snail.

Atlantic Ghost Crab.

Male Lesser Antillean Bullfinch - Rodney Bay. Lots of these seen.

Zenaida Dove - Rodney Bay. An extremely common species on the island.

Shiny Cowbird.

Snowy Egret - Rodney Bay marina.

Little Blue Heron - Rodney Bay.

Green Heron - Rodney Bay marina.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron - Rodney Bay.

Male Magnificent Frigatebird.

Immature Magnificent Frigatebird.

Juvenile and adult Brown Pelican - Fort Vieux.

Adult winter Royal Tern  - Rodney Bay.

Adult male Brown Booby - Rodney Bay. 

Brown Booby - subadult female?

Parrot's Beak Heiconia psittacorum.

Phillipine Ground Orchid.

Red Christmas Heliconia wagneriana.

Lilac Tasselflower Emilia sonchifolia.

Whitemouth Dayflower Commelina erecta.

Butterfly Pea - Centrosema virginianum.

Lesser Antillean Saltator - Pigeon Island.

Spectacled Thrush - Pigeon Island.

Male Carib Grackle - Rodney Bay.

Caribbean Elaenia - Rodney Bay.

Common Ground Dove.

Scaly-breasted Thrasher - Rodney Bay. Pearly-eyed Thrasher was seen (and heard) in the high elevation rainforest but escaped my efforts to photograph it.

Female Caribbean Martin - Rodney Bay.

American Kestrel - Rodney Bay.

Tropical Mockingbird - Rodney Bay.

Bananaquit - Rodney Bay.

Lesser Antillean Skimmer.

A gap in the rain forest (Des Cartiers trail) where a number of St Lucia Amazons were seen - mostly distant and in flight but none the less spectacular.

Female St Lucia Black Finch - an endemic species.

St Lucia Amazon. Photo taken from considerable distance. A few birds flew past us very closely but were too quick for me to photograph.

Lesser Antillean Pewee - Des Cartier trail.

St Lucia Oriole. One of two seen but as you can see I had no luck with photographing them! Another endemic species.

Rufous-throated Solitaire  Des Cartiers trail.

The endemic St Lucia Warbler - Rodney Bay.