Slav Grebe, Glossy Flock

Sunrise from Orcombe with Portland on the horizon.

A strangely good day in Exmouth today - the highlight coming late this afternoon with a winter-plumaged Slavonian Grebe in the estuary off Shelly Beach. Many thanks to Mark for the message. I'm old enough to remember a time when they were common winter visitors to the Exe but since the demise of the famous long-staying bird, a few years ago, they've become really rare. Today's individual is remarkably early too, undoubtedly a product of the cold northerly airflow. 
At midday I was enjoying watching a hefty female Goshawk being mobbed by a (relatively small) Kestrel, across the other side of the river (from Mudbank), when I picked up a flock of 19 Glossy Ibis. They were already high but circled higher and higher, until almost stratospheric, before heading south with some purpose. Also off Mudbank today - 25 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 1 Pale-bellied Brent Goose, c380+ Wigeon, 4 Teal, 60+ Pintail, c65+ Dunlin, 7 Redshank, 23 Black-tailed Godwits, 7 Knot, 1 Whimbrel and c40 Sandwich Terns.

A  freezing cold dawn spell on Orcombe produced c180+ Meadow Pipits, 25+ Siskins, 1+ Yellow Wagtail, 10+ Pied Wagtails, 4 Grey Wagtails, 4+ Goldcrests, c40+ Swallows, 45+ hirundine sp, 18+ House Martins, c30 Goldfinches, 18+ Linnets, 4+ Chaffinches, 2 Greenfinches, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 3 Wheatears, 7 Skylarks, 2 Blackcaps, 1 Redshank and 9 Common Scoters (east)..

This is the first Slavonian Grebe I've seen since February 11th 2021 when I photographed the famous long-stayer off Shelly Beach. One of the photos I took that day appears as the current 'banner' of this blog.

Baird's Sandpiper

Baird's Sandpiper - river Otter. Two trips needed. A nice walk with Lu this morning (when we dipped) and a silly dash this afternoon. One of those species that I haven't seen for years! In fact, my last one was nearly 30 years ago - at Needs Ore in Hampshire on 16/9/96. Kev and I twitched it on our way back from a short birding trip to Norfolk and Essex. Prior to that I saw one at Bowling Green on 31/8/93 and my first, at Crowdy Reservoir, Cornwall on 7/1//89. Really great to catch up with Chris having not seen him in ages. Also there today - 5 Black-tailed Godwits, 1 Dunlin, 1+ Yellow Wagtail, 1 Wheatear, 1 Osprey and 11 Spoonbills over south.

Didn't do any birding in Exmouth today but yesterday - a juv/fw Little Gull over the Imperial rec before flying over the town. On Cockle Sands - c170 Curlew, 1 Pale-bellied Brent Goose and 5 Sandwich Terns. A Whimbrel was in Duckpond. Mudbank counts included 78 Pintail, 7 Teal, 6 Knot, c50 Redshank, 39 Black-tailed Godwits, 7 Bar-tailed Godwits and 2 Greenshank. A quick look off the seafront mid-afternoon produced 1 Arctic Skua and 18 Sandwich Terns. Just 3 Wheatears and lots of passage Swallows on a very speedy look at Orcombe top fields.

Eleven Spoonbills high over the Otter valley towards the sea this afternoon.

Ospreys

Two Ospreys off Mudbank this afternoon. A bird carrying a fish east, over the Deaf Academy, at 1055 could have been a third individual.

Mudbank today - 1 Pale-bellied Brent Goose, 2 Ospreys, 1 Goshawk and a juvenile Peregrine along with 73 Pintail, 8 Teal, c170 Wigeon, 4 Greenshank, 1 Turnstone, 1 Grey Plover, 13 Dunlin, 5 Ringed Plovers, 1 Knot, 15 Redshank, 25 Black-tailed Godwits, 5 Bar-tailed Godwits, 1 Whimbrel, 30+ Common Terns, 1 Mediterranean Gull and 1 Yellow Wagtail.

A Tawny Owl was calling as I was about to go through the moth trap this morning and on Orcombe - 1+ Siskin, 2 Wheatear, 3 Stonechats and a Nuthatch. An Osprey circled eastwards, with a fish, over the Deaf Academy at 1055.

Yesterday evening - 600+ Common Terns roosting on Cockle Sands with a juvenile Little Gull. Also - 41+ Pintail, 45+ Teal, 35+ Black-tailed Godwits, c85 Wigeon, 1 Pale-bellied Brent Goose, 1 Whimbrel, 1 Greenshank and 1 Bar-tailed Godwit.

Wheatear - Orcombe Point.

Pearly Underwing. First time trapping for a while - 2 Angle Shades, 3 Dark Sword-grass, 2 Blair's Mocha, 1 Four-spotted Footman, 2 Olive-tree Pearl, 2 Large Ranunculus, 9 Rush Veneer, 10+ Rusty Dot Pearl, 1 Silver Y, 1+ Portland Ribbon Wave, Yellow Shell, Box-tree Moth, L-album Wainscot, Carcina quercana, Coastal Pearl, Light Emerald, Square-spot Rustic, Willow Beauty, Large Yellow Underwing, Lesser Yellow Underwing, Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Lunar Underwing, Double-striped Pug, Twenty-plume Moth and Wax Moth.

Female Four-spotted Footman.

Juvenile Peregrine - Mudbank.

Female Peregrine - Bicton Common.

Black Tern, Gadwall

Whimbrel - Mudbank.

A look off Mudbank after work this afternoon, on the dropping tide, revealed 800+ Common Terns resting on Cockle Sands. Amongst them - 1 juvenile Black Tern and at least one juvenile Arctic Tern. Also off Mudbank - 2 Knot, 3 Sanderling, 1 Whimbrel, 3 Greenshank, 10 Black-tailed Godwits, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 14 Redshank, 1 Peregrine, 1 Mediterranean Gull, 8 Pintail, c35 Wigeon and 1 Stock Dove.

Yesterday off there - a female-type Gadwall (my first this year), 1 Shoveler, 1 Teal, c160 Wigeon, 96 Shelduck, 95 Mallard, c50 Common Terns, 2 Whimbrel, 5 Ringed Plovers, 4 Bar-tailed Godwits, 20 Redshank, 11 Black-tailed Godwits, 1 Dunlin, c20 Sandwich Terns and a fly-over Siskin. Further upriver - an Osprey and 4 Black Swans.
Earlier, on Orcombe - 67 Meadow Pipits west along with 12 Grey Wagtails, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Tree Pipit, 11 Swallows and 17+ Siskins in the first hour and a half after dawn.

Osprey, Ibis

An adult Osprey on Cockle Sands this morning.

Orcombe first thing - 12+ Chiffchaffs, 2 Blackcaps, 1 Stonechat, 7+ Grey Wagtails, 15 Meadow Pipits, 1 Kestrel, at least 7 Yellow Wagtails still and 1 Wheatear.

Mudbank -  2 Greenshank, 18+ Turnstones, 31 Redshank, 15 Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Whimbrel, 15 Great Crested Grebes, c180 Wigeon, 1 Kingfisher, 5+ Grey Wagtails, 20+ Sandwich Terns, 37 Pintail, 1 first-winter Mediterranean Gull, c50/60 'commic' terns, 1 Peregrine and 1 Osprey. A single Glossy Ibis circled Powderham Park just after 9am before appearing to drop somewhere north of Powderham Church.

Yesterday an early morning sea-watch from the raised beach huts produced 2 Arctic Skuas, 12 Common Scoters, 1 Mediterranean Gull, 22 hirundine sp out to sea and a good count of 115+ Balearic Shearwaters.

Mudbank - 18 Redshank, 9 Pintail, 2 Greenshank, c205 Wigeon, 5 Bar-tailed Godwits, 1 Whimbrel, 1 Peregrine, 8 Black-tailed Godwits, 1 adult Mediterranean Gull, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Common Sandpiper, 88 Shelduck and 1 Osprey ((upriver).

On Orcombe - 8 Yellow Wagtails on the dung heap.

Pintail off Mudbank in the drizzle.

Juvenile Swallow - dung heap.

Yellow Wags, 2cy Casp

Nine Yellow Wagtails on the dung heap today.

Orcombe Point this morning - 9 Yellow Wagtails, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 8 Meadow Pipits, 7+ Swallows, 1 Bullfinch and 6 Ravens.

Mudbank counts included a fly-over Golden Plover, a 2cy Caspian Gull just before dark this evening, c400+ Common Terns, 158 Wigeon, 20 Pintail, 2 Turnstones, 2 Teal, 6 Black-tailed Godwits, 3 Greenshank, 10 Great Crested Grebes, 1 Whimbrel, 19 Redshank, 6 Bar-tailed Godwits, 96 Shelduck, c195 Curlew, 40+ Little  Egrets and 45 adult Mute Swans. 

2cy Caspian Gull - difficult to sketch and photograph as t was getting dark.

Whimbrel - Duckpond.

Hobby

Hobby. I've struggled with this species in Exmouth this year - this being only my second. It passed over Orcombe pretty quickly this morning.

A look at the sea, from the raised beach huts 'til 0745 this morning produced 1 Arctic Skua, 1+ Common Scoter, c35 Common Terns, 10 Balearic Shearwaters, 3 fw Mediterranean Gulls and 5 Sanderling.

On Orcombe Point - 1 Hobby, 1 Yellow Wagtail and 1 Wheatear. Nearby on the cricket pitch - the 5cy Yellow-legged Gull and 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls in with c300 Herring Gulls.

Mudbank - 1 Osprey, 3 Mediterranean Gulls, 1 Teal, 88 Shelduck and 26 Common Terns.

This evening on Cockle Sands - 1 Black Tern in with c500+ Common Terns and c30 Teal in with c35+ Wigeon.

Mudbank yesterday - 40 Wigeon, 1 first-winter Yellow-legged Gull, 7 Redshank, 2 Black-tailed Godwits, 3+ Whimbrel and 1 Pintail. A pre-dusk scoot round Orcombe was worth it with both Redstart and a flock of 13 Yellow Wagtails logged in the top fields.

Lu and I chanced upon this resting Hummingbird Hawkmoth on this morning's dog walk.

First-winter Yellow-legged Gull very distantly off Mudbank yesterday.

Latticed Heaths, Whinchat

I disturbed four Latticed Heaths from long grass on Orcombe this morning - a species that until today I'd only seen in France. I can't believe I've overlooked them for the last twenty-something years (although it's not impossible) so presumably a brand new colony.

Orcombe Point - rained off with just 1 Whinchat and 1 male Blackcap logged. Nearby - on the beach by the lifeboat station - a flock of 52 Ringed Plovers. A flock of 8 or 9 Common Scoters whizzed by offshore.

Mudbank - 25 Wigeon, 5 Pintail, 5+ Black-tailed Godwits, 9 Bar-tailed Godwits, 2 Greenshank, 9+ Ringed Plovers, 1 Sanderling, 12 Dunlin, 2 Common Sandpipers, 7 Sandwich Terns and 6+ Common Terns. The Osprey was well upriver.

Wigeon - Mudbank.

Two Painted Ladies, two Vestals and masses of Rush Veneers in the rain on Orcombe this morning.

Disappointingly quiet in soggy conditions this morning but this juvenile Whinchat on the dung heap was nice.

Lil Stint, Casp, Glossy Ibis

This beautiful first-winter Caspian Gull was off Mudbank this afternoon. Statistically more of a common sight in Exmouth than today's Little Stint but not quite as common as Glossy Ibis - today's bird being my 19th in the parish.

The bay was heaving with birds first thing this morning. By the time I started counting a lot of it had moved on but I logged 150+ 'commic' terns, 3 Balearic Shearwaters, 4 shearwater sp, 1 Fulmar and 6 Common Scoters before things quietened down a little. Masses of Gannets, Kittiwakes and Black-headed Gulls made up the bulk of numbers.

Orcombe Point - 3 Wheatears, 3 Grey Wagtails and 3 Sand Martins but otherwise pretty blown out by the south-easterly.

Mudbank - Little Stint with c20 Dunlin, 1 Sanderling, 14+ Ringed Plovers and 1 Turnstone, first-winter Caspian Gull, 1 Osprey, 26 Wigeon, 3 Pintail, c30 Common Terns, just 5 Sandwich Terns, 3 Black-tailed Godwits, 8 Redshank, 3 Greenshank, 4 Pale-bellied Brent Geese and 1 Common Sandpiper.

Nearby a surprise juvenile Glossy Ibis in Duckpond with 3 Whimbrel.

Sand Martin - Orcombe Point.

Osprey - off Mudbank.

Initial view of this afternoon's juvenile Glossy Ibis, found in the Duckpond. A different, much browner-toned individual, turned up across the other side of the river at Dawlish Warren.