Black-throated Diver

Black-throated Diver field sketches.

 

I did a sea-watch from 0520 - 0645, in a reasonable South-Westerly breeze, and had a nice selection of stuff. Most notable was a relatively close black-throated diver that flew West, past the lifeboat station, towards Langstone Rock. The bird was in non-breeding plumage and was in view long enough for me to complete the above sketch. Early yesterday morning I had it or another flying more distantly West. It pitched down on the sea somewhere off Dawlish Town.

Also this morning I recorded 4 great northern diver (taking the spring total to 123 so far), 37+ common scoter, 2 common tern, 6 sanderling, 3 first-summer mediterranean gulls that flew in together, 1 kestrel that flew across the bay towards the Warren, 2 swallow and my first great skua of the year.

Migrants on the Point included my first reed warbler (on Orcombe) of the spring, 1 sedge warbler and 1 wheatear.

 

 I probably average one or two records of Reed Warbler a year on Orcombe. They're always singing birds really late on in the spring. I very rarely see them so I was quite pleased to get the above record shot. Let's face it, I've taken worse photos!

Good to see a large, recently-fledged, brood of long-tailed tits on the patch this morning. I'd estimate 10 - 15 juveniles. The above is a rather knackered-looking adult. Below - some juveniles.

 

More Stuff

Ringed Plover on Exmouth Beach. It's quite unusual to get any waders on the beach so I was pleased to see this bird. It was calling for some time before I managed to clap eyes on it. Moving this late in May it's presumably a more northerly breeding tundrae race bird.

 

The usual circuit this morning, in less than ideal conditions, produced 3 great northern diver, 11 sanderling, 1 ringed plover and 18 canada goose that sat on the sea off the lifeboat station and then swam round Orcombe Point - bit odd!

I had to drop the kids in Topsham mid-morning so I had a quick squiz at Exminster Marshes. A lone dunlin was the only wader I could seen on the pools but I spent most of my time stood beneath the line of oaks on 'the bend' as a large hirundine flock swarmed around me. They were predominantly house martins but there were also several swallows and a small number of sand martins. About 50+ swift fed generally higher up and further out over the marshes.

 

 

My camera can't cope with the lightening speed of hirundine flight but this photo hopefully gives some idea of how busy it was beneath the boughs of the oaks.

I absolutely love house martins. I see very few in Exmouth so watching them at close quarters this morning was all the more special. It was a bit of a novelty to see them sat in the lush green foliage of the oak trees.

I picked this feather up on Exminster Marshes this morning. I'm useless with feathers - anyone any ideas? Would like to think it's the rear flank or undertail feather from a Baillon's Crake - yeah right!!??!

Migrants and Fledglings

Juvenile Linnet.

 

I mini upsurge in migrants this morning! I did Orcombe Point from 0525 'til about 0700 and recorded 5 sandwich tern, 25+ sanderling, c15+ wader sp, 1 dunlin, 23 swift (all west and the biggest movement this year), 3 house martin, several swallow and 1 spotted flycatcher.

I had a mooch up on the Commons this afternoon but failed to locate yesterday's cuckoo. Nice to see reasonable numbers of stonechat and meadow pipit though.

Spotted Flycatcher

The pair of Rock Pipits that breed on Orcombe Point have successfully fledged a single juvenile. Interesting to see how subtle the differences between juvenile and adult plumage are. The juvenile is on the left in the above photo.

Juvenile (bottom) and female Stonechat - Woodbury Common.

Adult male Stonechat.

White rumps is the 'norm' for male Stonechats on the Pebbled Heaths.

Green Hairstreaks, Small Heaths and Common Blues among the butterflies seen on Woodbury Common this afternoon.

Soarly Missed

Woodpigeon outside the hotel room.

Lu and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary with a night down in the Soar Mill Cove Hotel. The weather was amazing and I was reminded of just how much I love the area. Its beauty, in my opinion, is incomparable with anywhere else in the county. I didn't do any birding as such, but it was hard to ignore the songs of numerous cirl buntings and stonechats as we walked the coastal footpaths. I used to make fairly frequent visits to Soar in the autumn but family commitments and the escalating cost of fuel put an end to that. I'm really going to try and get down there this autumn. The birding is fantastic and if you hit a quiet day there, you never feel as though you've had a wasted journey.

Locally, the female 'Greenland' wheatear is still in residence in the dung field and I was over the moon to hear, and see, a cuckoo whilst walking the dog up on the East Devon Commons this afternoon - the first I've had up there in about 2 years!

 

Soar Mill Cove

 

The Bay at the bottom of Starehole Valley, photographed on the descent from Bolt Head - masses of bluebells are in full bloom, all along the coastal path, along with gorse and thrift. Small pearl-bordered fritillaries were among the butterfly species noted.

Swallow

Generally Quiet but much too Loud in the Woods!

 

Juvenile and adult male Pied Wagtail - Sandy Bay. The juvenile was one of 2 birds present.

Not a lot doing in Exmouth at the moment but good to see quite a few birds fledging. Orcombe today produced 1 first-summer mediterranean gull, 2 mallard, 4 great northern diver, 9 sanderling, 1 turnstone, 1 whimbrel, 1 shelduck, 1 common tern, 2 sandwich tern and 1 wheatear.

Early yesterday morning I had 4 black-headed gull, 1 sandwich tern, 1 black-throated diver (south @ 0648), 2 mute swan, 1 little egret and 1 great northern diver.

At least 3 pairs of Song Thrush are on territory within the Orcombe Patch boundary.

Woodbury Fort is a good place to find breeding Stock Doves. They nest in holes in trees and are very vocal at this time of year.

The starling flock 'out the back' of our house is swelling by the day, as more and more newly-fledged juveniles appear.

Robin - very busy feeding young at the moment.

 

'Greenland' Wheatear - Orcombe - this female bird has been knocking around for a few days.

I went looking for Tawny Owls in a previously unexplored patch of quiet local woodland this afternoon. It didn't take me long to locate a pair by following the scolding calls of blackbirds and chaffinches. I was patiently trying to get the above photo when a loud bark just feet away scared the s**t out of me. Expecting to see a massive dog, I was somewhat relieved to see a roe buck peering through the understory at me.

111

 Geoneedle.
 

This morning's 3 great northern divers that flew past Orcombe Point took my spring tally to 111 birds. I don't do that much sea-watching so I wouldn't like to hazard a guess as to just how many birds have flown out of Lyme Bay in the past few weeks. I also had a probable black-throated diver flying south distantly. It wasn't a great northern and it wasn't a red-throated but I don't like identifying birds by default, so it has to remain as just a 'probable'. The best bird this morning however wasn't a diver but a skua. A pale phase pomarine skua was picked up a long way offshore at 0635 before beating its way purposefully into the bay to show off its 'spoons'. It remained off the lifeboat station, harassing kittiwakes, until at least 0655 when I had to leave to go to work. It was a bit unexpected given the rather benign weather conditions.

Also off there this morning were 6 small wader sp, just 2 sandwich tern and 3 great crested grebe.

Yesterday I recorded 1 great northern diver, 3 great crested grebe, 1 wheatear, 2 sandwich tern and 2 sanderling.

On 19/5 I logged 21 great northern diver, 6 sandwich tern, c30+ kittiwake, 4 fulmar, 8 wader sp and 1 probable hobby distantly offshore. On 20/5 there was a pair of wigeon in the estuary early morning, and a couple of dog-walks on the common this week produced tremendous views of both dartford warbler and hobby.

Best Bird Missed

Male Bullfinch - perched openly for a change. A pair breeds on Orcombe Point but they're normally pretty elusive.

 

Just two migrants recorded on Orcombe today - a wheatear and a fly-over yellow wagtail. I missed the best bird - a smart adult little gull that Nick videoed off the seafront this morning. Would like to have seen that one!