Yellowhammers

Having apparently vacated  Exmouth heathland over January it was good to see a couple Yellowhammers back this morning. This male was glowing in the early morning sunshine. Also this morning, during the first couple hours of daylight - c140 Fieldfares, 25+ Redwings, 2 Dartford Warblers, 2+ Crossbills (heard only), 1 Green Woodpecker, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 22 Rook, a singing Mistle Thrush and a Kestrel.

An early evening look off Mudbank, as the sun set, revealed the 2 juvenile Spoonbills, 70+ Wigeon, 4 Red-breasted Mergansers and 23 Great Crested Grebes. The Cetti's Warbler was calling from behind the viewing screen.

Fieldfares and a Redwing on the archery club playing fields. A count of 140 Fieldfares was high for Exmouth. This site is a traditionally good spot for winter thrushes at this time of year.

Sunset Wigeon.

Bearded Tits

Windless today so, feeling the need to get out of Exmouth for a bit, I headed up to the north end of the river to see if I could get some better photos of the Bearded Tits. I had a couple a little while before Christmas and today there were at least six in pretty much the same spot (in the Exe reed beds). My photos are a tiny bit better but still pretty dreadful. Also in the Countess Wear area - 3 Water Rails, c40/50+ Teal, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Little Grebe, just the 1 Chiffchaff and at least 5 Cetti's Warblers.

Nearby, at Powderham Marshes - 2 Marsh Harriers, c15+ Cirl Buntings, 3 Stonechats, 7 Stock Doves and the Snow Goose, along with the usual array of winter wildfowl. It was really nice to bump into Leigh, as always.

Late afternoon, off Mudbank - 2 Spoonbills, 1 female Scaup, 1 female Goldeneye, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers, 34 Cattle Egrets (on a wreck, north of Starcross), 2 Mediterranean Gulls, 40+ Common Gulls, 23+ Great Crested Grebes and c30 Black-tailed Godwits - my first in Exmouth this year.

Little Grebe.

Drake Teal.

Powderham Marshes with the Exe in the far distance.

Snow Goose.

Marsh Harrier.

Both Spoonbills off Mudbank late this afternoon.

A laughable attempt at photographing the Scaup from the end of Sowden Lane, Lympstone. It sticks stubbornly to the middle of the river and just never comes close. Good to have it still around though.

1 Spoonbill

Just the one immature Spoonbill off Mudbank this afternoon but one is certainly better than none. Selected counts included 41 Wigeon, 39 Mallard, 150+ Curlew, 14 Redshank and 1 Greenshank. The female Scaup was again well upriver, with 13+ Great Crested Grebes and a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers.

Yesterday - a female-type Black Redstart moved rapidly through gardens along Belle Vue Road.

Dung Rockits

Two, presumably local, so presumably petrosus, Rock Pipits have been frequenting the dung heap all winter but in the last few days they've been joined by four more birds. The six birds now seem pretty tied to the dung and at least two of them seem to be candidates for the Scandanavian littoralis race, being noticeably grey-toned above and whiter below. Of course, it's possible that all six originate from Scandanavia, but according to the literature there's considerable overlap in appearance between the two races. They're a bit easier in the spring apparently...

I've enjoyed Gav's posts on Rock Pipits - see here for a really good one.

Shades of BBP to this one.

Presumed littoralis.

Some nice yellowish tones to this lovely individual.

A rusty-brown presumed petrosus.

This bird is a pale, grey-looking individual that, at times, had me checking I hadn't overlooked a Water Pipit. I'm assuming it's a reasonable candidate for littoralis.

At some angles the pale supercilium is strikingly strong.

Meadow Pipit.

One of 2 Chiffchaffs feeding on the dung. Along with the chiffies and pipits, up to 4 Pied Wagtails, 1 Grey Wagtail, 3 Dunnocks, a Wren and a Robin are spending time on the dung. Sometimes they're joined by a male Pheaseant and a Cirl Bunting or two!

Raven.

SEO

Lu and I are both off work with Covid at the moment. Lu has the added pleasure of Shingles to contend with, so the house doesn't feel very healthy at the moment. As I write this, Joel is out in the kitchen, blowing his nose and coughing, so it's likely he's coming down with it too. After lunch, Lu and I wrapped up warm and took the dog round the block, in order to get some much-needed fresh air. I was a bit stunned to glance up (at 1338) and see a Short-eared Owl flying downriver, as we headed along the cycle path. I completely fluffed getting the camera out and switched on and, by the time I had, it had gone over Mudbank and was drifting towards town. I managed just a couple distant record shots as it was mobbed by crows, but at least you can see what it is. I failed to see SEO in Exmouth at all last year and I'm not aware of any birds locally, so goodness only knows where it's come from, or where it's going to! Otherwise off Mudbank - a quick scan revealed 1 Mediterranean Gull and 28 Wigeon.

Yesterday off Mudbank - selected counts included 15 Great Crested Grebes, the female Scaup, 10 Red-breasted Mergansers and 1 Siskin over. Three Eider were distantly off the seafront.

Comfortably the 'beefiest' Mediterranean Gull I've seen in a long while.

Little Egret - Mudbank.

Bull Hill Spoons

 The two Spoonbills were snoozing on Bull Hill early this morning. Viewed from Shelly Beach. Also off there - 5 Great Crested Grebes and 17 Lapwings, which is unusual.

Off Mudbank - c215 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 1 Pale-bellied Brent Goose, 17 Great Crested Grebes and the female Scaup, which seems to be preferring things a bit further upriver of late.

Yesterday, counts included 170+ Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 64 Knot, c135 Grey Plovers, 23 Wigeon, 8 Red-breasted Mergansers, 42 Mallard, c130 Dunlin, 2 Goldeneyes and the female Scaup.

A quick look at the top fields, on Orcombe Point, revealed a sizeable flock 190+ Lapwings, and 3 Chiffchaffs were feeding on the dung heap, along with one of the Cirl Buntings.

Lapwings - Orcombe Point.

Cirl Bunting feeding on the dung heap.

Shelly

The male Black Redstart was feeding around the sailing club this evening and, off Shelly Beach, c320 Carrion Crows on the mudflats. The 2 Spoonbills flew out of the estuary corner, at 1645, and landed at the entrance to Cockwood Harbour. Late news for Monday (23/1) - the Cetti's Warbler was singing in the hedge, between Mudbank and Lower Halsdon Farm, whilst Lu and I walked the dog (late afternoon).