Rob Harrison - 8 January 2010

A bird buried in a garden on 3 December and first thought to be a Storm Petrel has now proved to be a Leach's Petrel that died after being recovered from Roborough Down on Dartmoor.

9 January 2010

Chris Townend photographed two interesting visitors on the Otter Estuary on 9 January. A scarce Devon visitor was a Jack Snipe and Chris managed to get two very good photographs.

The second was a very unusual photographic record of a Water Rail drowning a Meadow Pipit and then eating it.

18 December 2009

Devon Recorder Mike Langman recently circulated a series of photos he took of a grey (rather than brown) Chiffchaff at Clennon Valley on 9 December, posing the question as to whether the bird is an Eastern Chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita tristis.

4 December 2009

Mark Darlaston took these three photos of a Little Auk which landed very close in off Berry Head on 2 December. The bird was first spotted by Dave Stone.

24 November 2009

Despite the wet and windy conditions at Dawlish Warren on 21 November, Lee Collins managed to get these two shots of a somewhat bedraggled Water Pipit.

23 September 2009

Paul Nunn captured this sphoto of a Firecrest at Berry Head this morning.

4 September 2009

Ivan Lakin, Kevin Rylands, Mark Darlaston, Mike Langman and Tom Bragg were fortunate to witness a unique event off Berry Head on 2 September. During the day a fast-moving Atlantic depression (the rermains of ex-hurricane Danny) swept into the English Channel on a perfect trajectory for a good seawatch, bringing with it poor visibility and strong winds swinging from SW-SE and then SW-W all during the early afternoon and evening before clearing.

1 September 2009

Pat Mayer photographed this Icterine Warbler at Prawle on 31 August.

26 August 2009

Gavin Haig captured these shots of an Ortolan Bunting at Beer Head during a 'migrant hunt' on 22 August.

21 July 2009

Among three Mediterranean Gulls roosting on the rocky shore at Instow on 19 July, captured in this photograph by Stewart Beer, was one colour-ringed bird.

13 July 2009

Lee Collins took this series of excellent close-ups of adult and 1st summer Roseate Terns at Dawlish Warren on 11 July.

13 July 2009

Mark Darlaston captured these photos of a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull following fishing boats off Berry Head on 10 July.

With regard to identifying Yellow-legged Gull, County Recorder Mike Langman writes: "This juvenile Yellow-legged Gull can be identified from juvenile Herring Gull by the following features:

1. Lack of very contrasting paler inner primaries against dark secondaries and dark outer primaries.
2. Dark outer greater coverts forming a partial bar.
3. Very contrasting tail and and rump.
4. Pale head and dark mask – juvenile Herring Gulls are much greyer/brown.
5. Large dark almost spotted sides to breast and rear flanks, and almost white centre belly.

…and from the more similar juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull by:

1. More contrasty upper wing pattern.
2. More advanced cleaner plumage – most LBBs have just fledged and are greyer in early July.
3. Large size (Mark commented that it was almost as big as a Greater Black-backed Gull).
4. Large bulky bill. 

8 July 2009

Last year, some intensive seawatching was carried out off Berry Head monitoring Balearic Shearwaters. Mark Darlaston reports that a few have started to arrive this year.

23 June 2009

Further to Chris Proctor's excellent comparative shot of Mediterranean Gull and Black-headed Gull at Broadsands, here is a series of five images taken on the same day, 20 June 2009.

23 June 2009

Chris Proctor took this fantastic comparative shot of a 2nd summer Mediterranean Gull and adult Black Headed Gull at Broadsands on 20 June.