Sky Watching

I kept  looking up as I checked Orcombe at first light and I've spent some some time staring skywards from the garden today but I've seen very little. This great northern diver did a loop over Orcombe Point early on, changing its northerly course to an easterly one. Note the open bill again. Migrant wise it was dire this morning but several whitethroat are on territory and 3 swift went through. At least 5 stock dove are feeding in the top fields and there were 10 present on 15/5. This whole week has been quiet, the highlights being 4+ wheatear and a reed warbler on 14/5.

singing male whitethroat

Looking east, not long after sunrise, towards Otter Head with Sandy Bay caravan park in the foreground

Stock doves have suddenly appeared again. There were small numbers present last summer but I haven't seen any on Orcombe for months.

No kites from the house today. I've had several over the last five years during these influxes so I was fairly confident I'd get them today but it wasn't to be. Peregrines are frequently seen hunting the lower estuary from the house and they often circle right overhead.

Great Northern Divers

A good passage of great northern divers this morning. I watched from the beach huts from 0545 to 0715 and counted 32, all heading west. Some were a long way out and some gave reasonably good views as they powered in towards Dawlish Bay. Great northern divers are always a feature at this time of year and it's not unusual for them to cut right across Orcombe Point on an apparent northerly bearing. I can remember, a few years ago, having one go high overhead upriver as I stood on the Clyst viewing platform in Topsham. Also a probable 2s yellow-legged gull, 5 common scoter, 1 common gull, 1+ fulmar, 12+ dunlin, 1+ sanderling, 2 whimbrel, 5 house martin and 12 swallow.

The next couple of hours was spent covering Orcombe with Nick. It was too blown out but we got a singing garden warbler and a couple wheatear for our efforts.

First Spot Flys

It has been a truly awful spring for migrants on Orcombe, so two spotted flycatcher in the hedge bordering the Bristol Schools field were much appreciated. They never came close, hence the dreadful record shot. Also this morning, 1 'Greenland' wheatear and a singing sedge warbler. Sea watching produced a single roseate tern, c20+ sandwich tern, 10 dunlin, 1+ sanderling, 6 great northern diver, including 2 close-in summer plumaged birds, holding their beaks open. Also 1 fulmar, 1 whimbrel and 1 swallow.
A quick look off the Imperial ground produced 8 bar-tailed godwit, c50+ dunlin, c20+ whimbrel, 2 pale-bellied brent goose and 3+ ringed plover.

Pom

A pre-work sea watch from the raised beach huts from 0545 - 0645 produced 1 shelduck, 1 black-headed gull, 8 great northern diver (all south with one landing offshore), 1 pale phase pomarine skua (lingering 0550 - 0630 when it headed west, following the coastline), 7 manx shearwater, 4 roseate tern feeding with 1 little tern, c50/100+ gannet, c10/20+ kittiwake, 2 sanderling, 2 swift and 2 swallow. 

I had another quick look after work and at 1600 - 1620 I had 1 roseate tern feeding around and landing on red buoy 3, 6 whimbrel, 2 common gull, 20+ sandwich tern and 20+ swallow 'in off'. There were 2 pale-bellied brent goose off Mudbank too. The pale-bellied-brents have been knocking around since the 6/5 at least.

Quiet Times

Not much in the way of birds but the large numbers of green-winged orchids in flower on Orcombe means it's very pleasant being out and about. Exmouth beach and Dawlish Warren are visible in the background in the above photo. Birds seen this morning include 25+ sandwich tern, 1 dark-bellied brent goose, 2 great crested grebe, 4 shelduck, 4 blackcap, 5 chiffchaff, 11 whitethroat, c30+ common scoter, 4 wheatear, 8 whimbrel, 1 swallow, 1 mistle thrush and, unusually, 1 redpoll sp north. 

A quick look off the Imperial ground produced c40+ black-headed gull, 1 fs mediterranean gull, 1 wheatear and 1 bar-tailed godwit. Yesterday there were 7 pale-bellied brent goose and 5 bar-tailed godwit. I was relieved to finally get my first spring swift (2) over the house today and yesterday evening my first 'Exmouth spring' sedge warbler singing on Orcombe Point.

green-winged orchid - this flower carpets two fields on Orcombe Point and seems to spread a bit each year.

wheatear - a large ghostly pale male

holly blue revealing the beautiful upperwing (not often visible) - good numbers present in and around the garden today

Berry Head

the Exe - looking across towards Powderham

Roseate Tern

singing male whitethroat

Orcombe has been quiet for some time now but an hour after work, spent covering the top fields yesterday, produced my first garden warbler of the year (heard only), along with c6+ blackcap, c6+ willow warbler, 4+ chiffchaff, 2 wheatear and a flyover whimbrel. I'm sure a morning visit would have been much more fruitful. At least 6 whitethroat territories have been established on my usual route, but as yet a number of migrant species have yet to make an appearance on Orcombe. 

This evening I couldn't cover the top fields because the farmer was spreading manure, and work was taking place in the 'Bristol Schools' field. I only had half an hour before taking Joel to watch two school cup finals at the City ground, so I had a quick look out to sea in the hope of getting a roseate tern. The first scan revealed c20+ sandwich terns, mostly feeding off Orcombe Point, but it wasn't long before a small flock had concentrated on the rapidly disappearing sandbars and with them a lovely peach-tinted roseate tern. I lost it whilst sending some texts and then had to leave. Lets hope we get really good numbers again this year - last spring was fantastic. Also this afternoon, 1 great northern diver flew south.

male blackcap

chiffchaff

male chaffinch

Collared Pratincole

Wow! This bird is simply stunning. Running around on the golf course at Skern, Northam Burrows just yards from its assembled admirers. I've seen this species abroad before but views have always been distant and/or hampered by heat haze, so the opportunity to see one up close, in relatively flat light, was absolute magic. I was immediately struck by its diminutive size (not a whole lot bigger than accompanying wheatears), and the subtle beauty of its muted colours. It was running short distances, snatching at flies and, very occasionally, leaping up in to the air for insects. It regularly pumped its tail downwards and seemed absolutely tied to a small stretch of the golf course. A huge thank you to Mike Langman for the lift up, and it was great to catch up with Colin Bath too - a thoroughly pleasurable afternoon in great company.

Short flight views revealed rich chestnut under wing coverts and a crisp white trailing edge to the secondaries - easy to see in dull light conditions but both these features can be very tricky in harsh light - see the photo of the birds I photographed in Morocco last week - neither feature is obvious.

As well as the pratincole, the whole area seemed to be jumping with migrants. In fact it's little wonder I've seen so few migrants in Exmouth - they're all in north Devon! Whilst walking to and from the pratincole we picked up c10+ white wagtails, c15+ wheatear, 2 common sandpipers, 3 yellow wagtails, whitethroat, 2 stonechat and several swallows, whilst sedge warblers sang from the brambles. 

The wheatears we looked at appeared to be Greenland types.

The white wagtails were unbelievably smart-looking birds - love em!

I tried a field sketch but as usual it just sells the bird short - It makes you look hard at the bird though and that can only be a good thing.