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Acting on comments to Devon Birds some changes have been made to this page. To the right of this header post you'll see there are now several subjects for you to choose to read and post on. Just click your chosen subject and use as previously.

Please be careful not to post under the wrong subject. If you do, you can still easily go back to edit and change the subject yourself so it appears on the right page.

Please try and keep posts short, particularly in the Scarce / Rare Birds & Passage Counts page. Photographs are still very welcome.  

For help with ID email photos to id@devonbirds.org.

From the viewing platform this lunchtime, 3 Common Sandpipers and 3 Greenshank.

The summer plumaged Spotted Redshank was at Goosemoor.

An hour by the Silent Pool yesterday (26 June) : Southern Hawker Dragonfly (teneral), mating pairs Large Red & Azure Damselflies, Large & Small White Butterflies, 2 Smooth Newts, many Froglets plus a Scorpionfly amongst a myriad of other flying insects.

Spent the night ringing at Hartland point and caught 16 Storm Petrels, one of which was a Control from somewhere else.

Early morning set a few nets near the caravan and caught 2 Robins, 7 Chiffchaffs, a Blackcap, 3 Whitethroat, and a Grasshopper Warbler.

1 Hobby at the reserve this morning .  Hunting over the field just above Turners wood , I had a good view of it catching & eating on the wing .  

On my way to work this morning,  I watched as some rspca ladies unloaded a cage containing a seal.I offered to help carry the cage to the shore line which they accepted,  then stayed to watch as this pup nervously entered the water. I didn't stay to see but I am told it quite happily stayed around a while before moving off.

Seal release combemartin.

At least 17 med glls tonight at the skern.9 ads,5 2s,3 fs.or 100 black headed all over the baitfish following the calmer conditions today.Also male sparrowhawk which flew close enough to the car i could see its eyeys.18 pied wagtails on beach.18:40-21:00

med gulls 3 adults and 1st winterish

Just on 9pm a very low flying Hobby over the garden at South Brent being mobbed by a small flock of Swallows

Yesterday (Saturday) in the reserve the Little Grebes finally have a family - so 6 on the day list. Didn't see them all today, but a good number of Butterflies this afternoon: Large and Small White, Small Skipper, Meadow Brown, Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral, Painted Lady and the first Ringlet.

When I got home, this rather beautiful Dark-green Fritillary was on the Buddleia. Never seen one in the garden before.

Lunch time walk from Heybrook Bay to HMS Cambridge. Lots of Stonechats, Linnet, Whitethroat, Oystercatcher, Rock Pipet, 2 Herons, 3 Egrets, a Curlew. Lots of Butterflies that i don't know the names of.

30 pluss ringneck parakeet central park this morning

1 1st summer Little Gull on the sands this morning in the drizzle, a real little beauty!

Thank you Mike (ML) for confirming id & age of this bird, I could not find an exact match in any of my field guides. Mike said they do vary hugely in plumage & a normal field guide cannot cover all variation.

6 members of DB (East Devon Branch) attended this mornings fieldtrip around the common and hopefully no one turned up at Exminster after the venue was changed due to road closure at Exeter (all present had seen the change of venue given on this website).

21 species were counted and included proof of breeding for Linnet, Stonechat and Gt Spotted Woodpecker with juveniles seen.  Tree Pipit, Willow Warbler, Green Woodpecker and 6 Yellow Hammer were found and were the main interest.  Dartford Warbler were elusive and only one 'possible' was seen at a distance.   

To add a challenge to our morning, all 21 species were listed according to the BTO standard two letter species codes as follows:

LI SL B. ST C. BF CC BC R. WW GS  SC Y. G. CT TP WP GO J. GR BZ

The last two (Green Finch and Buzzard were added to the list at the car park after the group broke up.

late post from yesterday.7 med gulls 6ads, 2s 18:00 along with 15 black headed.

Late posting

Lower Tamar Lake yesterday (22nd June) --

2 Garden Warblers, 1 Grey Heron, 3 Chiffchaffs in song. 6 Willow Warblers singing, 1 Jay, 1 Magpie, 1 Buzzard, 1 Wren, Blue and Great Tits. several Swallows, 1 Blackcap.

Plus:  Azure Damselfly, Blue tailed Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Banded Damoselle,Broad bodied Chaser, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Large Skipper, Speckled Wood, Red Admiral, Green Veined White, Large and Small Whites.

Harvey Kendall & Barry Bryne.

Apologies for longer post, but I hope members will appreciate the reason.

This is an update on an interesting story and several sightings of a Common Redshank at Turf Hotel, Exe Estuary by various birders over the years.  

On 14th December 2016 I photographed a Common Redshank ringed C73 at Turf Hotel and reported it to the project coordinator in the Netherlands, Wim Tijsen.  He responded immediately, very excited as this was the first sighting that winter of a very special Redshank.  He told me it was her 13th Winter at Turf Hotel and she is the Daughter of the Widow of 'Ol Bill' - 'Ol bill was apparently the oldest Common Redshank recorded in Europe - 19 years old.

C73 likes to spend her winters at Turf Hotel before she returns to the Netherlands to find a partner and breed. This summer she found a younger partner and laid eggs, but unfortunately the nest was predated.   

However, C73 is a tough and resilient little bird.  She went on to try again and today Wim has tweeted the photo of her very late chicks.  What an amazing little bird she is!  

She has now featured in the top Ornithology Journal in the Netherlands and Wim is currently notifying the Dutch media.  I felt that Devon and the Exe Estuary deserves some recognition for playing its' part in her wellbeing all these years too, so I wanted to share the story here.  

So please look out for C73 this winter if you're at Turf Hotel and let Wim know if you see her.

Common Redshank C73 near Turf Hotel, Exe Est                                 The very late chicks of C73

I'm pretty sure I spotted an Alpine swift over Otter nurseries this afternoon. Familiar with Hobby's which we see around Stockland regularly, this bird just outside Ottery St Mary was like a very large swift with a short forked tail. Just wondered if anyone else spotted it.

On the River Dart between Riverford Bridge and the old weir upstream: 1 adult and 1 juvenile Grey Wagtail, 1 Dipper, 2 juvenile Mandarin ducks. Also possible evidence of both Otter and Salmon in the area with 2 Salmon corpses. At Yarner Woods 3 separate pairs of Redstart feeding young in nests, 2 male Yellowhammer and 1 female Yellowhammer carrying food to nest and a male Stonechat on the downs.

               Salmon corpse                                    Male Redstart                                    Female Redstart

The venue for the planned fieldtrip to Powderham Marsh, Exminster, scheduled for Sat 24 June has been changed due to ROAD CLOSURES at COUNTESS WEAR, EXETER from 10pm Friday to 5am Monday.  We will now meet at Joney's Cross Car Park (Grid Ref  SY056897) at 09.30am for a visit to AYLESBEARE COMMON.  Anyone coming from west of the estuary should use the motorway as congestion may be expected through Exeter. 

Decision to change venue made jointly by Geoff Green and Jonathan Ruscoe.

6 med gulls this evening.3 ads,3fs 18.30 

Another hot one with the first High Brown Fritillary on the wing at 06:25. Birds included: 3 singing Garden Warblers; at least 2 singing Tree Pipits; a singing Whitethroat; a singing Yellowhammer.

                High Brown Fritillary                         Dark Green Fritillary                             Dark Green Fritillary

An evening walk along the Dart produced 5-6 Grey Wagtails, 2 Dippers, numerous Swallows, Swifts, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Song Thrush, Mallard, Wren, House Sparrows, Greenfinch, Jackdaws,Chaffinch, Blackbirds and several Goldfinch.

Red Kite circled over Yelverton this afternoon.  (Mike Beales)

dozen swifts over Whipton Exeter

One of 3 Dark Green Fritillaries seen today at Dunsford Woods 

Dark Green Fritillary

Red Kite circling over the new solar farm at Moreleigh ( South Hams ) 16:20 pm.

Sitting in my back garden at Bovey Tracey, at 17.20, alerted by the cries of Herring gull - flying low over the garden came a peregrine clutching a downy gull chick with two adul tgulls in pursuit. Not something you see every day!

Just seen a Red Kite circling on a thermal above County Hall, Topsham Road, Exeter. Then it headed off eastwards.

The summer plumaged Spotted Redshank was showing well for a while this lunchtime. It flew to Goosemoor briefly before settling back down out of sight in the far right hand corner of the marsh. 1 juv Black-headed Gull in amongst the adults.

A very nervous swallowtail visited our garden in Paignton. Finding nothing in the front garden to its liking, it took itself off over the house to the back garden. Even there it couldn't settle though it did finally land, briefly, (hence the incomplete photo) on the Choisya. For several minutes it flew from our garden over the hedges to those of my neighbors before returning to give us more tantalising glimpses. The lesson learned  (without bragging)I have more flowers in my garden than my neighbors so I felt it would return.

On holiday in the English riviera

Herring Gull around the University that got me going a bit today as it had one white wing so from one side looked like a Glaucous/Iceland. Then as it turned, the other side was normal. Just as a word of caution to Plymouth birders!

Two Red-veined Darters at Middle Soar on crop edge inc.one really bright male. Also 2 Golden-ringed Dragonflies on site, first of the year. First Grayling, at Sharp Tor. Birdwise now two pairs of Reed Warblers at Starehole Ponds inc.one feeding young. 200 Rooks on the sileage fields.

Red Kite 8-30am high over the valley but some lovely photos.

Just to add to Mark's earlier post the Great White Egret flew back onto BGM at 20:45 then chased out again by Grey Heron with good views from the viewing platform on the Clyst estuary before heading back towards BGM again after 21:04 but unable to relocate. Also fs Mediterranean Gull and male Pochard in BGM and sp Spotted Redshank from viewing platform.

                      Great White Egret on Clyst estuary                             Great White Egret flying into BGM

One red kite flying low over shirwell.

The Great White Egret still this evening on right hand side of main pool in front of reed bed until 18.58pm when it flew low south towards the Clyst Estuary- it seemed to drop but no sign shortly after on a dropping tide from the viewing platform. The sum plum Spotted Redshank showing well to the left of the viewing platform with the Redshank flock . 

See https://twitter.com/markrabailey?lang=en for some distant pics of the Egret 

Red kite,, behind Barn owl pub/kingskerswell bypass...11.09am.. Heading towards Abbotskerswell

Those that like their Dragonflies might like to pay a visit to Aylesbere, there was a good showing of Emperors, Skimmers, Chasers and Damselflies by the two ponds.

Emperor Dragonfly

spotted redshank full s/plum med gull 2nd winter/is sandwich tern 8 

It was fairly quiet this lunchtime at Bowling Green Marsh until a Great Egret dropped in at about 2.05. It was still there when I left about 2.25. Black-headed Gull numbers are starting to build up. A male Pochard also. 

Yesterday lunchtime a group of at least 7 Sandwich Terns dropped in.