Little Change

More of the same today. The Hoopoe showed well at Maer Farm this morning but migrants were in very short supply with 1 Blackcap, 6 Whitethroat, 2+ Chiffchaff, 1 Grey Wagtail and 1 Willow Warbler recorded.
The juvenile White-winged Black Tern was picked up off the Imperial at 0900 and a Black-tailed Godwit flew over calling. I could only pick out a couple Mediterranean Gulls amongst masses of Black-headed Gulls and c10+ Common Tern.
Off Mudbank - 4 Mediterranean Gull, 9 Whimbrel, 4+ Redshank and 9 Black-tailed Godwit.

Purple Patch

The Hoopoe showed well in a field opposite Maer Farm this morning. Lots of people caught up with it. At one point the assembled crowd held its breath as a Sparrowhawk crossed the field, passing just inches, directly above it. Had it flushed it would surely have been grabbed.

 

Really good birding today. This is one of those purple patches that I will dream about when I'm traipsing around Orcombe Point seeing absolutely nothing. A couple visits - morning and mid-afternoon. The Hoopoe has finally been pinned down, near Maer Farm, and other birds recorded included 1+ Tree Pipit, 2 Wheatear, 1+ Coal Tit, 3+ Chiffchaff, 1 Whitethroat, 20+ House Martin, c30+ Swallow and a flock of 4 Yellow Wagtail. Offshore a Common Scoter, Mediterranean Gull and 2 dark juvenile Arctic Skuas which were joined for a while by a probable Pomarine Skua. The pair of Arctics harassed it until it was driven off in the direction of the Warren.

The juvenile White-winged Black Tern showed well off the Imperial this morning, and off Mudbank I recorded c370 Mallard, 36+ Little Egrets, 13 Mediterranean Gulls, 6+ Whimbrel and 11 Ringed Plover.

Moths found around lights in the Bristol Schools camp included Yellow-tail, Double-striped Pug, Willow Beauty, Brussels Lace, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Blood-vein, Common Grass-veneer, Square-spot Rustic, Brimstone, Scorched Carpet and Chinese Character.

 

One of two Wheatear seen on Orcombe today.

 

 

A very dark Common Grass-veneer - Agriphila tristella - beside a light in the Bristol Schools camp.

A much more typical Common Grass-veneer

 

This Chinese Character was also discovered by an outside light. I haven't seen one of these for a while. They are bird dropping mimics but simply stunning.

 

Thirteen Mediterranean Gulls was a good count for Mudbank, although this one was photographed a couple days ago.

 

Curlew 

Hoopoe!

 

A huge thank you to Marie and John for finding this Hoopoe and kindly allowing me to view it from their home. It's occasionally getting in their back garden but also spending time in the field behind their house, and presumably other gardens on Foxholes. One of the very few places that the area can be viewed from is on Gore Lane. The gateway immediately to the right of the track that leads down to the Bristol Schools camp allows you to look across to three large hawthorns that border the garden. Can I stress that this gateway, or others, must not be blocked and cars should be parked sensibly on Gore Lane, preferably at the top where there's a bit more space.

Orcombe Point was quiet this morning but some hirundine passage was evident with 45 Swallow tracking west. A single Swift also went west early on and a Tree Pipit went over east.

The White-winged Black Tern was watched feeding off Starcross from 0740 - 0800, from the Imperial, along with 6+ Common Tern. Nine Teal were in with the large Mallard flock.

Mudbank, mid-afternoon - 4 Black-tailed Godwit, 7+ Mediterranean Gull, 10+ Common Gull, 4+ Whimbrel, 190+ Mallard, 1 Redshank and the first returning Wigeon.

 

John and Marie have a stunning garden with a lovely lawn that clearly has enough invertebrates in it to keep this bird coming back. It performed beautifully, just a few metres away from the back of the house, but it looked wary and only spent a few minutes in view before flying into the field behind. Hoopoes have been reported from Foxholes in the past but they've never stayed and I've never managed to catch up with them. Not only is this the first I've seen on Orcombe, it's the first I've seen in Exmouth.

 

WWBT and Two Black Terns

 

Nick and I watched the White-winged Black Tern feeding with two juvenile Black Terns off the seafront this morning. We were watching the birds between 6am and 7am but the three were together around 0650. The light was good and they weren't too far off at times - patrolling along Dawlish Warren beach with both Common Terns and Sandwich Terns. After a while the WWBT headed into the estuary and left the two Black Terns covering lots of ground out in the bay. Good to see Dave Stone this morning. The three of us had a quick look at Orcombe Point but it seemed very bird-less. Last night's rain clearly not doing the trick, although I suppose it brought the second Black Tern in.

Yesterday the White-winged Black Tern was off the clock tower with a Black Tern and 2 juvenile Mediterranean Gulls at 0700.

There were 4 Swift on Orcombe and Mudbank produced a reasonable count of 12 Mediterranean Gull and 10 Common Gull.

 

 

Dark-triangle Button - Acleris laterana - Orcombe Point.

Black Tern

Robin - this was the only photo I managed to get today with little time in the field.

At 6am this morning both the juvenile White-winged Black Tern and the juvenile Black Tern were resting on a sand bar off the lifeboat station. Nice to see them side by side but they soon went their separate ways. Also off there - 35+ Common Tern and c50+ Sandwich Tern. Nearby on Orcombe Point - just one Willow Warbler, 6+ Blackcap and 2 Yellow Wagtail.

Bloxworth Snout and Bulrush Wainscot

 

Bloxworth Snout - according to 'Waring and Townsend' the first colony of this species was discovered in Torbay in 1990 and since then it has spread east into Dorset and west into Cornwall. By all accounts it seems to be doing pretty well, though it's still considered a scarce and localised species. It takes its name from Bloxworth in Dorset, where the very first British specimen was obtained on September 21st 1884. The larvae feed on Pellitory-of-the-wall and the moths are usually found on south-facing cliffs, in sheltered areas where the foodplant grows.

 

Martin popped over to see the Bloxworth Snout and brought with him a Bulrush Wainscot - another brand new species for me. He was a bit perplexed, as was I, as his house is at the top of a big hill in the Blackdown Hills - some way away from any obvious fresh water. The nearest fishing ponds are some way off but are presumably the origin of this wanderer. Otherwise in the garden trap this morning - immigrant Silver Y, Dark Sword-grass, Rush Veneer and Rusty-dot Pearl. Other species included Gold-spot, Magpie Moth, Jersey Tiger and Ruby Tiger amongst the expected regulars.

Bird-wise - the morning again started with the juvenile White-winged Black Tern, this time on a sandbar between the lifeboat station and Orcombe Point. Also off there - 130+ Sandwich Tern, 20+ Common Tern, 1+ Mediterranean Gull, 1 Little Egret and 2 Great Crested Grebe.

Orcombe, in the drizzle, produced 7 Tree Pipits (including 4 together, flushed from long grass), 4 Swift and a probable Grasshopper Warbler, flushed and seen only briefly in flight).

A quick look off Mudbank was a bit disappointing but did reveal 2 more Black-tailed Godwit, 3 adult Mediterranean Gull and another Swift.

 

 

Bulrush Wainscot - thanks Martin!

Exmouth Beach

 White-winged Black Tern on Pole Sands.

 

A few bits and pieces on/off Exmouth seafront early this morning. The juvenile White-winged Black Tern was fishing just off the beach first thing and resting on Pole Sands at 0605. Also c50+ Sandwich Tern, 10+ Common Tern, 1 Redshank, 3 juvenile Mediterranean Gull, 3 Common Scoter, 3 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Sanderling, 1 Little Egret and my first Tree Pipit of the autumn over, heading north.

Nick and I had a stroll around Orcombe but only recorded 1+ Willow Warbler, 1 Tree Pipit and 2+ Whitethroat. There were 4 Wheatear up there when I revisited late afternoon.

At Mudbank I recorded my first Kingfisher of the autumn, along with 1 Little Tern, 1 Swift and the White-winged Black Tern that was resting on Cockle Sands at 0945, before slowly heading upriver with a large Black-headed Gull flock and a small number of Common Terns.