Ring-necked Ducks

Lu, Maisie and I walked the dog this morning. We did a loop from Bystock Pool, up through the reserve, on to Lympstone Common  and around the edge of Blackhill Quarry, before dropping down across East Budleigh Common, back on to Bystock. Very little seen but two Ring-necked Ducks, on the main quarry pool, were a lovely surprise and the first self-found since the female I had on Newcross Pond, Kingsteignton, way back in December 1996.

Earlier, a sea-watch from the raised beach huts, from 0725 - 0840, produced 24 Kittiwakes, c30/40+ Gannets, 4 Common Gulls, 1 Velvet Scoter, 3 Great Northern Divers, 2 Common Scoters, 5 Red-throated Divers, 1 diver sp, 3+ Great Crested Grebes, just 3 auk sp and a Peregrine which headed south, across the bay. On Maer Rocks later - 4 Purple Sandpipers, 5 Turnstones and a Little Egret.

Yesterday, off Mudbank - 2 Goldeneye (male and female), the Spoonbill and 1 Greenshank.

The Velvet Scoter was off Maer Rocks this morning, before taking off towards the Warren.

The Spoonbill was back off Mudbank, late yesterday afternoon.

Drake Wigeon close off Mudbank yesterday.

Storm Eunice

Some images from around Exmouth today, in an effort to document some of the affects of storm Eunice. With school closed, we all stayed indoors throughout the worst of it, around late morning/early afternoon. Very little seen. Tomorrow might be better. Off Mudbank - 22 Pintail and nearby on the Imperial rugby ground - c100 Dark-bellied Brent Geese and 1 Pale-bellied Brent Goose. It was pretty wild off the seafront but only 2 Red-throated Divers, 4 Common Scoters and an adult Mediterranean Gull of any note.

Yesterday afternoon - checked Shelly Beach with Neil, where c20 Cattle Egrets (behind Cockwood) and a hunting (presumed juvenile) Peregrine were highlights. Eight Lesser Black-backed Gulls off Mudbank.

Looking west across the river towards Cockwood, from the Imperial rec...

...and north towards Lympstone.

Looking back at the seafront from the Quay, before Eunice got properly going.

The Warren took another hammering today.

Pale-bellied Brent Goose - Imperial rugby ground.

Ringed Oystercatchers

Three ringed Oystercatchers on Maer Rocks late this afternoon. Only the above bird showing clear lettering. The Purple Sandpiper flock was really difficult to count, but fourteen or fifteen birds were present, which is by far the highest count for a long time. If anyone manages to count a definite 15 or more, please let me know. They flew off in a tight pack as the rocks got covered.

Counts from Mudbank included 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (including a first-winter bird), 2 Mediterranean Gulls, 115+ Common Gulls, 28 Wigeon and 25 Pintail.

This ring is black with what looks to be three white stripes.

First-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull - Mudbank.

Mediterranean Gull.

A red-ringed Polish Mediterranean Gull.

Carrion Crow - Maer Rocks. Not a species that features very often on the blog. This one was unusually approachable.

Curlew

This Curlew showed well off Mudbank this evening. Also off there - 10 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 1 adult, summer-plumaged Mediterranean Gull, 2 Greenshank, 4 Redshank and 20 Pintail.

Wet and Windy

Grey Plover - Mudbank.

Foul, wet and windy weather for much of today. An early morning look at Maer Rocks produced 7 Purple Sandpipers, 4 Common Scoters and 4 Fulmars south. Good numbers of  auks, Gannets and Kittiwakes on the move too. Off Mudbank - 16 Pintail and a single Grey Plover.
Yesterday, a similar watch off Maer Rocks, in drier but nonetheless windy conditions, produced hundreds of auks, good numbers of Gannet and Kittiwake, 4 Red-throated Divers, a very probable Black-throated Diver, 5 Purple Sandpipers, 4 Turnstones, 88 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 1 Pale-bellied Brent Goose, 4 Common Scoters and 1 Fulmar. Additionally, a flock of c25 Jackdaws was wheeling around and a flock of c4/500+ Black-headed Gulls was doing the same.

Off Mudbank - 500+ Black-headed Gulls (possibly the seafront flock), c60 Common Gulls, 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (a sign of some early movement), c60 Bar-tailed Godwits, 300+ Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 18 Wigeon, 2 Teal, 4 Great Crested Grebes, 9 Pintail and c15+ Sanderlings on Cockle Sands. Late in the afternoon 55+ Cattle Egrets flew into roost north of Starcross.

No sign of the Glossy Ibis flock yesterday but in Maer Valley - 5 Little Egrets, c40+ Redwings and a Chiffchaff. Nearby on Orcombe Point c50 Snipe and one of the female Cirl Buntings.

Finally, a quick look at Withycombe Raleigh Common produced 3 Dartford Warblers and a single Kestrel.

Pale-bellied Brent Goose with Dark-bellied birds on Maer Rocks yesterday.

A large, high-flying flock of Black-headed Gulls was off the seafront, yesterday morning. Estimated to be c4/500 birds. A short while later, a flock of 500+ birds was counted, resting on the mud off Mudbank. Presumably the same birds.

Cirls

Six Teal off Mudbank this afternoon were, surprisingly, my first of the year in Exmouth. Thirty Pintail and the Spoonbill were also present. 

On Orcombe Point the wintering Cirl Bunting has been joined by a second individual, and 54 Snipe were flushed from the field opposite the dung heap - a high count for there. There were 6 Rock Pipits on the dung heap and also noted - 1 Peregrine and c15 Meadow Pipits. Nearby 4 Glossy Ibis were feeding with gulls at Maer Farm, but I made no attempt to find the other five or six. The second-winter Mediterranean Gull was also present.

Six Rock Pipits were feeding on the dung heap.

Female Cirl Bunting. The bottom photo shows the second bird.

This is the second Cirl Bunting. Both birds are feeding near the dung heap and can be seen from the gate, when perched in the hedge. Their quiet 'sit' call is the best way to locate them.

Meds

Nine of the Glossy Ibis flock was feeding in the field next to the water treatment works, along Maer Lane, this afternoon. The field had been sprayed with slurry and was attracting a number of crows and gulls, including a second-winter Mediterranean Gull. The birds had earlier been seen at Green Farm but they're clearly quite mobile, and happy to go where the food is. Lovely to see Luke and John P this afternoon. The only other birds of note along Maer Lane were a Kestrel and 3 Ring-necked Parakeets.

I checked the seafront on the way home but could only manage a flock of c12+ Common Scoters. They were extremely tight-packed and very difficult to count. A last-ditch look off Mudbank revealed 9 Pintail, the Spoonbill and a Greenshank. The 9 Glossy Ibis shot over at 1703 and the Cattle Egret flock, consisting of c70+ birds, flew over Starcross at  1713. The only other notable sighting today was an adult Mediterranean Gull that was feeding with Black-headed Gulls on Warren View playing fields first thing.

It was lovely to finally see the sun bouncing off the Ibises' plumage this afternoon - a beautiful mix of bottle-green and deep chestnut. Magic!

 Cattle Egrets flying to roost over Starcross.