Osprey

 

In the absence of an Osprey photo here's a 'silvery' Pheasant on Orcombe Point. There are very few Pheasants on Orcombe but I bump into them from time to time.

 

Thanks to a text from Lee I was able to watch an Osprey, fishing just north of Mudbank this morning. I watched it from the back garden for a good 20 minutes, during which time it made several spectacular attempts to catch a fish. I never actually saw it catch one though. Perhaps it had something to do with the constant attention it was receiving from gulls and angry Oystercatchers! This evening, off the Imperial, there were at least 52 Sandwich Tern and 2 'Commic' Terns. They were almost certainly the 2 Common Terns that Kev had seen off the Warren earlier though I have to admit my initial reaction was that they were 'Arctics'. On the deck they looked short-billed and very short-legged. They looked less convincing in flight however, so best left as 'Commics'. I always struggle with terns at this time of year. Come to think of it , I struggle with terns at all times of year!

Also off the Imperial this evening - 40 Shelduck, 6 Dark-bellied Brent Goose and my first Whimbrel of the spring.

Orcombe was disappointing this morning. Conditions felt good but I managed just 13+ Chiffchaff, c15+ Meadow Pipit, 2+ Willow Warbler and c20+ Linnet. Offshore there was a flock of 14 Common Scoter and 20 Dark-bellied Brent Geese were on Maer Rocks.

Willow Warbler and more Pale-bellied Brents.

 

Willow Warbler - one of 2 on Orcombe today. Another moved through our garden this afternoon.

 

It looks like the anticipated Pale-bellied Brent Goose movement has started already. There were 4 on Maer Rocks first thing this morning (including yesterday's bird) and 11 in the estuary, off the Imperial, this afternoon. Also on Orcombe today - 18 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 8+ Sandwich Tern, 2 Red-breasted Merganser, 4 Manx Shearwater, 1 Fulmar, 1 Diver sp, 2 Auk sp, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Great Northern Diver, 1 fw/s Mediterranean Gull, 5 Common Scoter, 4+ Chiffchaff, 2 Willow Warbler, 1 Blackcap, 7 Meadow Pipit, 9 Linnet, 1 Goldcrest and 1 Swallow.

Off the Imperial, in addition to the aforementioned Pale-bellied Brents, there were 3 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 34 Sandwich Tern and a (white?) ringed first-summer Mediterranean Gull.

 

The Pale-bellied Brents - looking from the Imperial towards Mudbank.

This Comma was in the garden this afternoon. Several Peacocks and a couple Green-veined Whites were also seen today.

Pale-bellied Brent, WW and Merlin

Pale-bellied Brent Goose - Maer Rocks.

 

The Pale-bellied Brent Goose was again with 16 of its Dark-bellied cousins on Maer Rocks this morning. As it's unquestionably my favourite of all the Brents I rattled off a few more shots, in more favourable light than yesterday. It's a bit scruffy but still a great bird. Towards the end of the month we should start to see further parties of Pale-bellied birds moving through the Exe - something I always love to see. Otherwise Orcombe Point was quieter this morning, though I did at least record my first Willow Warbler of the spring - a singing bird in cliff-top scrub. Also recorded - 2+ Sandwich Tern, 9 Great Crested Grebe, 12+ Chiffchaff, 3 Pied Wagtail, 2+ Meadow Pipit, 1 Fulmar, 2 Stock Dove, 1 Goldcrest, 2 Common Scoter and 3 Canada Goose.

The river also seemed quiet today but I was really chuffed to watch a Merlin race across the river from just north of Mudbank to somewhere over towards Cockwood.

Orcombe Mix

Pale-bellied Brent Goose - Maer Rocks.

 

An eclectic mix of birds on or just off Orcombe this morning in beautiful spring sunshine - 16 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 1 Pale-bellied Brent Goose, 1 drake Gadwall (new for Orcombe patch list), 5 Sandwich Tern, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Turnstone, 9+ Chiffchaff, 1 Firecrest, 12+ Meadow Pipit, 5 Wheatear, 1 Fieldfare (first I've seen in Exmouth this year), 1 Siskin and small numbers of Linnet, Goldfinch, Chaffinch and Greenfinch over. The fieldfare dropped out of the sky, landed in trees bordering the Bristol Schools Camp and then headed off high north. The Gadwall was on the sea just off the beach at Maer Rocks. I was hoping for a photo but it took off and headed towards the river mouth before I could even get the camera out of the boot.

Mudbank produced just 92 Turnstone and 1 Ringed Plover.

I've been a bit tied up the last couple of days - busy helping get the garden sorted and looking after the kids whilst Lu has been up in London. I did however manage to see a Greylag Goose heading downriver yesterday and on Tuesday I recorded a tight flock, of 25 Sandwich Tern over the river from the back garden. No Osprey as yet but surely any day now?

 

Chiffchaff - a small fall of these this morning, some in song but not this one.

First Swallow

This Chiffchaff has been singing on its Orcombe territory for over a week now.

 

I was hoping to pick up a few bits and bobs off the back of storm Katie this morning but, apart from large numbers of Herring Gull and a steady trickle of Kittiwakes, there wasn't much about. An hour long watch from the beach huts from dawn produced 1 Common Scoter, 2+ Sandwich Tern, 1+ Great Northern Diver, 1 second-summer Mediterranean Gull, a pair of Pintail (south), 1 Great Crested Grebe and my first Swallow of the spring. It battled its way low and purposefully landwards as a chilled westerly wind tried to nudge it off course. Later in the day there were at least 8 Sandwich Terns off the seafront.

Yesterday I managed a half-hour, mid-afternoon look at the sea and recorded c20+ Manx Shearwater, 3 Sandwich Tern and 4 Common Scoter.

The day before, in horrible wet conditions, I managed a presumed 'new' Firecrest, a single Wheatear and a lone Chiffchaff, all on Orcombe Point.

Large numbers of Herring Gulls were passing Orcombe Point this morning. The wind was forcing them to hug the cliff edge so I used the opportunity to try some flight shots. One day I'll get a better camera!

Note the odd tail pattern on this individual.

 

The numbered marker buoys off Orcombe are incredibly useful for getting others on to passing seabirds. Storm Katie is presumably responsible for ripping 'No. 1' from its anchoring last night. It was tucked in just below the point.

Latest Stuff

Firecrest in cliff-top scrub - Orcombe Point 23/3/16

Orcombe was very quiet today. An early morning visit and a brief afternoon visit produced just 1 Wheatear, 1 Blackcap, 2 Stonechat (up to 14 have recorded on Orcombe so far this spring), 4 Long-tailed Tits and a couple Chiffchaffs. A look at the river was more productive with a single flock of 40 Red-breasted Mergansers representing the largest flock I've seen this year. Also off there my first Sandwich Tern of 2016, 5 Great Crested Grebes, 5 Wigeon, 1 Goldeneye, 80+ Turnstone, 30+ Brent Geese and a smart adult summer-plumaged Mediterranean Gull.

Early Yesterday morning I watched a party of 7 Sand Martins head low west across the river and 9 Brent Geese flew high east over Orcombe, clearly heading for pastures new.

The day before yesterday I found another Firecrest on Orcombe whilst doing a rapid pre-work circuit. It has already been a record-breaking spring for this species on Orcombe though it's very difficult to work out how many I've seen. Possibly as many as seven but more likely just 2 or 3!

Greylags

Two Greylag Geese powered noisily over Orcombe Point shortly after dawn this morning. This is only the second time I've recorded this species on Orcombe. They came in from the east and headed towards the Exe. I didn't record much else this morning but a cold grey dawn is rarely productive at this time of year.

Shelducks heading east off Orcombe Point this morning. This species is fairly frequently observed commuting between the Exe and sites to the east.