Bird Sightings

Mid afternoon watch from the Black Hole Marsh island hide:

• 1 Curlew Sandpiper
• 1 Little Stint,
• 2 Ruff
• 6 Ringed Plover
• 7 Dunlin
• 1 Common Sandpiper
• 2 Lapwing
• 14 Redshank.

200 Dunlin on the sea wall roosting at high tide, south of Turf. Amongst them were 2 Juv Curlew Sandpiper & a Juv Little Stint. 5 Ad Common Gull, first sign of their arrival. Also 5 Swallow.

From Turf 3 Sandwich Tern, 210 Curlew, 3 Grey Plover & first Shelduck returning amongst small numbers of other waders.

From Exminster VP, 10 Gadwall, 12+ Shoveler, 60+ Teal & 2 Little Grebe. Imm Kestrel being only other bird of note.

A walk along the trail at lunchtime on the high tide but with mud still exposed. Large numbers of canada geese (100-200) spread about. 200-300 oystercatchers spread along the trail. Couple of dozen bar tailed godwits still in summer plumage. 20-30 dunlin with a couple of curlew sandpiper mixed in. 20-30 redshank, only 1 or 2 curlew. 1 great white egret, about 6 little egrets spread along the walk. 3 cormorant on the river, 2 teal flying over. 30-40 swallows migrating south. BH gulls and several dragonflies buzzing about but not able to identify them

Fourteen Mediterranean Gulls, 12 Sandwich Terns and 3 Turnstones were noted at Bovisand this morning.

0700-0900: 4 Cory’s Shearwaters – 3 between 0700-0800 and a 4th at 08:44 – all just past the Mew Stone. Also a single Manxie, 3 Med Gulls. Other shears too far out to call.

Yesterday’s spoonbills were the icing on the cake…before that at the Skern were several wheatear, linnet,pied wagtail and meadow pipit. A mini murmeration of starlings, 80 to 100 curlew, 100+ oystercatchers. Peregrine sat on the ground chased off by a large juvenile Peregrine. Fremington pill had 4 greenshank, 3 glossy ibis, 9 knot,redshanks a few teal and a kingfisher. On the river 4 great white Egret,3 herons, several little egrets and on Saltpill were 2 snipe. A good day’s birding!

Late for Saturday 23rd.
Lower Tamar Lake this morning.
1 Willow Tit, 1 Marsh Tit, 5 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Grey Heron, 11 Blue Tit, 9 Chaffinch, 1 Robin, 5 Coal Tit, 15 Moorhen, 1 Wren, 14 Coot, 5 Mallard, 1 Nuthatch, 2 Grey Wagtail, 1 Goldcrest, 5 Long-tailed Tit.

Two spoonbills feeding on the falling tide.

• Walk along cliff path to east of LORP produced many migrants moving west. Several hundred Swallow and fewer House Martin. Small groups of  Skylark  and Meadow Pipit also moving. Two Wheatear in stubble field. Also three Clouded Yellow

Great white egret, 2. Glossy ibis, Teal 60+, Redshank 80+, Oystercatcher 40, L egret 5, Greenshank 4, Canada goose 30

Second ever record for Spoonbill with two flying SW at 1015hrs, 2 Ring Ouzel in Starehole (3 weeks earlier than usual arrival), Meadow Pipit 410 generally moving west, Grey Wagtail 1W, Swallow 100, House Martin 100, Great Spotted Woodpecker moving up through Starehole,  Wheatear 2, Goldcrest, Robin 34, Dartford Warbler, Blackcap 14, Chiffchaff 36, Siskin 22W,  Jay 2 in Starehole, Goldfinch 90.

Oh4 Dunlin and Ringed Plover in the big pit. Ring Necked Paraket was a surprise along the bridleway, my first here. Also, Wheatear, 2 Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer, Green Woodpecker plus usuals.

Wryneck briefly around 13:00, 2 Cory’s Shearwater still offshore and 5 Balearics flew East.

The only waders along the beach at high tide this morning – apart from 49 Oystercatchers and 4 Curlews at the regular roost site – were 17 Turnstones. Thirty Mediterranean Gulls, mostly adults, were on the stubble field. Two White Wagtails M.a.alba were on the beach and 115 Meadow Pipits flew west in small parties throughout the morning. The only other migrants of note were 40 Siskins in three parties of 9, 6 and 25 at different locations. Also noted were a Grey Seal and a Clouded Yellow.

A walk around the southern part of the Marsh. In the fields viewed from the path alongside the railway were 2 wheatear, two flocks of meadow pipits (totalling c20) and a few pied wagtails. In the Discovery area a small tit flock with a goldcrest and a spotted flycatcher.

At Turf a common sandpiper flew over the canal onto the estuary. There were about 250 curlew on the mud. Also a clouded yellow and grey seal.

From the viewing platform about 300 teal was my highest count this autumn. A single kestrel and an immature buzzard were both mobbed by corvids. A small group of swallows flew north.

A visit on rising tide. 210+ Curlew, Whimbrel, 18 Barwit, 205 Redshank, 13 Lapwing, 2 Knot, 22+ Greenshank & an Avocet.

115 Pintail, 30 Wigeon, 60+ Teal and 5 Shoveler.

Little else of note.

A Swallow flew over the scrape as I was looking for the Godwits late morning. From the reserve I saw three Swallows above. Also 2 singing Chiffchaffs.

A group 14 members met at Seaton Wetlands on Thursday 21st September and saw a total of 57 species across the varying habitats on the reserve. The stand out species were Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper and Ruff. All showing well for prolonged periods from the Island Hide on Blackhole Marsh. A full list of species will be posted in society news.

John Lloyd