Aylesbeare Common
09:04-11:16
Dartford Warbler and Treecreeper the highlights.
Skern
Golden Plover, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Curlew, Wigeon, Shelduck, Herring Gull, Black Headed Gull, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Stonechat, male and female Black Redstart and a Merlin.
Exminster marshes
Marsh harriers were active over the marsh (2 or 3 birds) putting up the waders and waterfowl. Waders on the estuary mudflats included avocet, oystercatcher, grey plover, dunlin and redshank, plus lots of gulls around the estuary generally including lots of common gulls.
Black Redstart
Female Black Redstart reappears at Preston Rocks after a couple of days missing. Also a Rock Pipit.
Plym Estuary & Saltram
On Blaxton Meadow just after high tide – 27+ Snipe, Turnstone, Mediterranean Gull (ad-w), drake Teal, 49 Wigeon & female Red-crested Pochard. Also, 3 Little Grebes, 3 Goosanders (1 drake), Common Sandpiper, c400 Dunlins, Raven & Grey Wagtail.
In my garden (Mount Gould, Plymouth), now 4 Blackcaps.
Wrafton scrape
A single Spoonbill with 110+ Black-tailed Godwits on the scrape this morning.
Ludwell Valley Park
Two yellowhammers amongst the finch flock at the top of the park yesterday afternoon.
Berry Head
Seawatch 0930-1530: Leach’s Storm-petrel, 4 European Storm-petrels, 2 Pomarine Skuas (both 1w), 4+Great Northern Divers. Also 5 Harbour Porpoises & Grey Seal.
Braunton area
Counted 113 Black-tailed Godwits on the scrape this morning, In the reserve a recalcitrant Cetti’s Warbler allowed millisecond views whilst shouting really loudly from no more than 10 feet away! 1 Chiffchaff, only 2 Redwing today. Skylark flew over. Late afternoon visit to a very stormy sea at Down End was productive: 2 Ravens over, 2 Common Scoter and an Eider, all females dodging the waves just off the point. And annoyingly Frog Lane is only a stone’s throw away from my house in Braunton…. (See earlier post re Red Kites).
Berrynarbor
5 Red Kite seen flying low over Frog Lane, Braunton by Andy Cotton at around midday this morning .
Bowling Green Marsh
After the rain blew through this morning: 150+ Avocet, 200+ Black tailed godwit, 50+ Pintail, 33 Snipe, 2 female Pochard, 7 Gadwall, 1 Ruff, 1 Spotted Redshank. 16 Common gull (Ad Wint) from the viewing platform, 4 Red breasted Merganser (2m,2f) from the goatwalk.
Blackcap
Hi Phil, I think you are reading the ring upside down! On the BTO rings I use, the numbers are at the bottom and the writing (return address etc).at the top. SO for me this ring is on upside down and I nearly always put them on the other way up. So the 2 numbers I can read are 89. Blackcaps take an ‘A’ size ring and for a couple of years now they have had 3 letters and 4 numbers. (My latest are AFV4_ _ _ ) So not easy to say whether it was mine without a few more digits I’m afraid. Strangely, I had a male Blackcap on my fat-ball feeders yesterday morning – the first time ever!
Dawilsh Warren and Exe Estuary this morning
Dawlish Warren, out to sea, 18+ Great Crested Grebe, 2 Guillemot and a male Common Scoter, female Peregrine stooping over the Warren. River Kenn outfall, highlights were 2 Greenshank, quite a few Avocets and a Common (Mew) gull.
+1 Photo
Legringed curlew at Ashford Strand
A friend noticed a satellite tracking device on the back of the Curlew we reported on 1st January with the coloured leg rings. The Ringer, from Germany, kindly sent me the attached image showing the movements of the bird in the last 6 weeks of 2022. It seems to favor Ashford Strand over to Crow Point….and not much else! And seriously straight lines of flight!
Braunton ringed Blackcap
Finally had a male Blackcap in the graden to keep the regular female company, or rather, compete for the fatballs! Sue spotted it had a leg ring so I attempted an image through the kitchen window….not brilliant, but I THINK the metal ring, on right tarsus, is 1682. John, one of yours?
Beesands and Torcross
Male Ring-necked Duck on Widdicombe Ley.
Laughing Gull on beach near Torcross.
Ilfracombe
Pair of Fulmar exploring ledges on cliffs overlooking Tunnel Beaches; 9 Oystercatchers strung out along rocks below Capstone; Purple Sandpipers (2) and a flock of Long-Tailed Tits in sycamore copse behind The Bath House.
Pickwell (Private Land)
Around 200 Linnet flocked in the trees above the large garden. This is the 4th January in a row that I have seen this.
Lower Tamar Lake
Late for yesterday.
Lower Tamar Lake.
18 Goosander 5m 13f, 4 Willow Tit, 2 Bullfinch, 5 Coot, 9 Tufted Duck 4m 5f.
Westward Ho!
Mid afternoon at Westward Ho! on the rocks below Nassau Court there were 6 turnstones and 6 oystercatchers among the herring gulls.
