Bird Sightings

Odd season just now. Whilst playing golf, hundreds of fieldfare and redwing over while chiffchaff in song, a few violets in flower and a clouded yellow drifted past. Little grebe still on pond on 3rd hole where they bred this year.

One Godwit this morning before the shooters started blasting away down over the Marsh. Frightened the Cattle, the sheep and even all the Gulls on Wrafton Pond flew off. In the reserve a Raven was an unusual visitor – the local Crows weren’t happy. More Finches around of late. Later on there were again 2 female Marsh Harriers over the reed-beds.

Lean pickings today, but, at Slapton Ley, 2 Firecrests, 16+ Swallows, 4 Chiffchaffs, 3 Mediterranean Gulls & a lone Wigeon. At Beesands Ley, 2 Pintails, 23 Gadwalls & 3 Mediterranean Gulls. Also, 10+ Swallows, a Fieldfare & a Skua sp (Arctic or Pom) at Start Point.  

On the Marsh this morning were 2 Marsh Harriers, 2 Kestrels, 1 Cattle Egret, and 1 Greylag and 3 Egyptian Geese.

Matford ponds are expanding quickly and held 300+ ducks including 220+ Teal, 20+ Wigeon and 1 Tufted, plus 1 Green Sandpiper.

In the Trews Weir flood channel, the Little Grebe is now in its third week of residence. 

Kingfisher and Grey Heron. 

Non- Bird news – European Hornet nest found

25/10/22 Approx 250+ Redwing & 50+ Fieldfare very flighty and also feeding on berry laden Hawthorns in the Lyd valley. Kingfisher and Grey Wagtail on the River Lyd.  

1 Snow Bunting on the strandline earlier this morning.

Seawatch 0730hrs- 0930hrs: 10 Great Shearwaters, 3 Balearic Shearwaters, 7 Arctic Skuas, 1 unidentified Skua (Arc/Pom), 1 Petrtel sp. 2 Great Skuas, 1 Arctic Tern, 11 Mediterranean Gulls, 631 Auks, 600+ Kittiwake, 5 Common Gull, 300+ Gannets, 5 Swallows, 10+ Common Dolphin, 1 Harbour Porpoise 

In quarry: 3 Ring Ouzels, 1 Black Redstart 

Mike Langman, Mark Darlaston, Bill Macdonald, Dave Dawe, Phil Bentley 

Sat in my conservatory at OTR at 4.50 pm and looked up to see a great white egret fly over, or trying to, against the strong southerly wind.

08.45 – 10.30; 3+ Arctic Skua, 2 Balearic Shearwaters, 3+ Med Hills and good numbers of auks/kittiwakes. 4+ Ring Ouzel at bottom of quarry and 2 Black Redstarts.

A quieter day but still 2 Ring Ouzel, Fieldfare 19 (13E 6W), Redwing 25E, Song Thrush 5 inc.2W, Stock Dove 43 (37E 6W), Woodpigeon 68 (27E 41W), Jackdaw 5E, Starling 42E, Goldfinch 27E, Siskin 20E, 2 migrant Great Spotted Woodpecker, Golden Plover, Cetti’s Warbler, 2 Blackcap, 150 Skylark & 6 Bullfinch.

Non-avian: Clouded Yellow & Speckled Wood.

An excellent count of 10 Firecrests; also, Lesser Redpoll (my first ever here), Lapwing, Dipper, c35 Redwings over, 25 Jackdaws east, Grey Wagtail, Kingfisher, Green & Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 19 Wigeon, ad-w Mediterranean Gull, 10 Greenshanks & 2 Roe Deer.

Red Kites-Just like buses, you don’t see one for a while and then three come along at the same time.  Today at 11.45 am on the A361 between the West Buckland junction and Aller Cross roundabout there were three Red Kites flying low over a field on the right-hand side. No photos as driving at the time.

12+ Ring Ouzel around first bridge with another 15+ around the dam;  quite mobile so difficult to count accurately. Ringtail Hen Harrier flew across the valley 100 yards past the first bridge approx 12.40. Fem/imm Black Redstart along the top of the dam. 100 + Fieldfare, mostly around car park but only 2 Redwing seen. Goshawk seen soaring distantly and  looking South from car park approx 15.00.

Juv Ring-necked Duck Bicton Lake, East Devon this evening. Best viewed from Bicton Botanical Gardens.
It is presumably the same bird first discovered at Dawlish Warren on 27 Sep by Kev Rylands which then re-located to Blackhill Quarry up until 3rd October. As far as I know, it has not been reported since.

Although not as many as over the previous three days the numbers of Fieldfare and Redwing remains impressive at South Brent, one of my holly trees as expected has been stripped bare of berries.

It was only a matter of time before the numbers attracted birds of prey but I did not expect to see a high soaring Goshawk, my third sighting here this year.

Eds – photo appears to show a Sparrowhawk, not a Goshawk.