Emperor

Neil discovered this wonderful female Emperor Dragonfly on his doorstep this afternoon, and very kindly invited me across the road to see it. Many thanks Neil! It has presumably only just emerged - as it stayed put and even allowed me to pick it up.  

 

 

Keeping with the dragonfly theme, this Broad-bodied Chase was on Bicton Common this afternoon.

 

 

Male Stonechat - Bicton Common. It's quite easy to see why there are a number of historical 'Siberian Stonechat' claims for the pebbled heaths.

Godwits and Nightjars

One Dark and five Pale-bellied Brent Geese - Mudbank - there are ten birds in total lingering off Mudbank at the moment - six pale and four dark. It has been surprisingly challenging to establish the exact make-up of the group as they're normally a long way off in the middle of the river. In fact it's not easy when they're relatively close either!

 

A pre-work look at Orcombe this morning produced single Spotted Flycatcher and Reed Warbler - the latter in full song.

Off Mudbank - 10 Brent Geese, 5 Sandwich Tern, 3 Whimbrel, 12 Curlew, 6 Dunlin, 2 Sanderling, 5 Bar-tailed Godwit and 1 Black-tailed Godwit. The roosting Oystercatcher flock totalled 180 birds.

Yesterday off there - 10 Brent Geese, 1 fs Mediterranean Gull, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Great Crested Grebe and 2 Sand Martin.

I don't think I can ever remember seeing the two Godwit species side by side in Exmouth. Here a Black-tailed is flanked by two Bar-tailed.

Bar-tailed Godwit

Three Bars and the Black-tail.

Meadow Pipit - Blackhill Quarry.

 

At least two singing male Yellowhammers on Exmouth heathland this evening. Also at least 2 churring Nightjars, Peregrine and Little Egret. Elsewhere on the commons - 2 hunting Hobby and at least 2 Dartford Warblers this evening.

Spot Flys and Reed Warbler

Heath Spotted Orchids are starting to appear on Woodbury common.

 

On Orcombe today - Spotted Flycatcher, 2 House Martin and my first Reed Warbler of the year - a singing bird in scrub near the back of the raised beach huts.

Off Mudbank - 8 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 first-summer Mediterranean Gull, 6+ Whimbrel and 9 Brent Geese - 5 Pale-bellied and three dark plus one other!

Spotted Flycatcher - Orcombe Point - my first on Orcombe this spring.

Canada Goose success at Bystock. A pair of Tufted Duck and several Siskin also noted.

Spotted Flycatcher - Woodbury Common.

Today's Stuff

Good to see at least one Spotted Flycatcher back on territory on the Exmouth boundary.

 

Mudbank today - still 5 Pale-bellied Brent Goose and 3 Dark-bellied Brent Goose off Mudbank, with 3 Sandwich Tern. A quick look at Orcombe produced just 12 Swift and 6+ House Martin.

Yesterday off Mudbank - c40+ Sanderling, the usual 8 Brent Geese, 8+ Whimbrel, 1 fs Mediterranean Gull, 1+ Dunlin and a Great Crested Grebe. The drake Common Scoter was still off Maer Rocks, as were 6 Sandwich Tern.

On 16/5 - Maer Rocks - 39 Black-headed Gull, 1 fs Mediterranean Gull, 21 Common Scoter, 4+ Great Northern Diver, 3 Manx Shearwater and 3 Shelduck. A big build-up of Black-headed Gulls off Mudbank with 300+ birds in the evening along with the eight Brent Geese.

Five or six Dartford Warblers on the pebbled heaths this afternoon. Also at least 1 Hobby (Paul had three), 22+ Crossbill, 2 Redpoll, 1 Sparrowhawk and a number of Stonechat (with several fledged young) and Willow warbler. Additionally, Paul had Cuckoo and a day-churring Nightjar.

Grey Plover

Grey Plover - Maer Rocks

Maer Rocks early this morning - 1 Grey Plover, 1 Dunlin, 1 Grey Heron, 3 small wader sp and 1 diver sp - almost certainly a Great Northern. Just four Sandwich Tern off there this afternoon.

Off Mudbank - 4 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 22 Black-headed Gull and 2 first-summer Mediterranean Gull. Yesterday there were 7 Black-tailed Godwit off there but more unusual was a pair of Sand Martins lingering.

Black-tailed Godwits - four birds off Mudbank, down from seven yesterday.

 

Small Copper

 

Peregrine

Ringos and Arctic Skua

Two Ringed Plovers stand alongside a stranded Barrel Jellyfish on Exmouth Beach. At first light this morning five birds were present. Beauties.

 

A cold and clear morning but beautiful all the same. Species off the seafront included 10 Shelduck, 3 Turnstone, 15+ Dunlin, 1 Sanderling, just 3 Sandwich Tern, 3 Black-headed Gull, 5 Ringed Plover, 3 Great Crested Grebe, the drake Common Scoter and a first-summer Mediterranean Gull. Best by far though was a pale phase Arctic Skua that raced in to the bay and sat on the water for a while, off Dawlish Warren. I later picked it up charging east, out to see off Orcombe Point.

Mudbank has been consistently productive of late. Today I mustered 5 Pale-bellied Brent Goose, 3 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 18 Bar-tailed Godwit, 9+ Whimbrel, 9+ Dunlin, 4 Swift and a Siskin over.

'Interesting Flycatcher' Revisited

With an interesting-looking female Collared Flycatcher (at least that's what the Yorkshire birders evidently seem to think) turning up at Spurn yesterday, see https://www.spurnbirdobservatory.co.uk/, I had another look at some photos of a bird that turned up on Orcombe Point on 20/4/16. It would be very early indeed for a Collared Flycatcher but some of its plumage details still leave me feeling a little uneasy - notably the overall grey-toned plumage and the large primary patch which I still think is exceptional for Pied Fly.

An over-exposed shot which over-accentuates the primary patch, but note the long wings and whitish-grey rump which contrasts with the darker tail.