Devon Birds would like to thank the many members and other birdwatchers who complied with the restrictions during the recent Lockdown and stayed in their local area (village, town or part of city) to birdwatch while exercising (and later) taking recreation. We hope that, despite the obvious frustrations, you found some respite in watching wildlife in your local area and perhaps discovered some birds close to home, that you might otherwise not have seen! As always, please submit sightings to the County recorder and / or BirdTrack. 

 

Please continue to follow the Covid related requirements (currently "rule of six outside, social distancing etc) while enjoying the new freedoms to extend your birdwatching. Some hides will remain closed for the time being and where you find one open, please follow Government guidelines on keeping yourself & others safe: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/social-distancing/what-you-need-to-do/

 

Thank you from

Devon Birds News site editors & members of the Records Committee

Please think very carefully before posting any information on scarce or rare breeding species both here and elsewhere online.

A list of ‘at risk’ species in the county can be found here. Please note that Wood Warbler should now also be treated as on the list. All species included need to be protected - many receive full legal protection under Schedule 1 and/or are rare in the county and may be vulnerable to persecution/disturbance. It is an offence to intentionally disturb any of the Schedule 1 species during the breeding season without a valid licence. This also applies to anyone taking photographs of these species at or near the nest or whilst feeding dependant young.

Some species may be found breeding at numerous locations however please keep information on these species limited to well-known sites (e.g. Labrador Bay for Cirl Bunting, Aylesbeare Common for Dartford Warbler). Others may be found as obvious migrants and as such can also be posted eg coastal Ring Ouzel and passage waders, or raptors eg Little Ringed Plover, Red Kite or Marsh Harrier.

If you have any doubts and think there is a chance there may be breeding, either because of the habitat or behaviour of the bird(s) then do not post, but please submit your records to the County Recorder and the RSPB.

Please be aware that egg collecting and other forms of persecution remain very real hazards for some of Devon’s birds.

Posts which breach these guidelines are likely to be not admitted / removed althogether, rather than edited.  

As noted in the minutes of the Oct 2020 DBRC meeting, Tim Jones is standing down after serving as a member of the Committee for an extended sixth year. Tim has been an active member of the Committee, and his consistently pragmatic approach to assessing records has proved invaluable. The Society would like to thank him for his contribution over the past six years and wish him well in the future.

In the hope of maintaining a geographic spread across the Committee, DBRC approached Dean Jones to fill the vacancy. Dean grew up birding and ringing in Antrim and Lothian, before a tour of various European islands, including Lundy where he has been the Warden now for the past four years.

His experience and knowledge from ringing and birdwatching around Europe will be especially useful to Devon Birds and the Records Committee.

Unless the County Recorder receives any other applications before 15th April 2021, Dean will be formally elected to fill the vacancy for a five year period.

For more information and/or an application form please contact:

Kevin Rylands, County Recorder.   Email: recorder@devonbirds.org 

If you follow our Blog but are not currently a member of Devon Birds please consider joining Devon Birds to help with the upkeep of running the website and this service as well as our valuable conservation work.

  To add to previous post: 2 Little Egrets, 2 Redstarts, 3 Wheatears, 2+ Willow Warblers and 2+ Chiffchaffs and several Whitethroats.  The Sparrowhawk was hunting early morning and the same waders were on the beach being regularly disturbed by dogs.

Dunlin

Watched from the hide from 16:30 till 19:15

3 yellow wagtails the first of the autumn were in with the cattle, the adult spotted redshank came in with 156+ redshank, 20+ bar tailed godwits , 140+ Dunlin, 7 knot, 8+ ringed plover, 4 whimbrel, 500+ black tailed godwits, 9+ little grebes plus 3 recently fledge juv's,  the Garganey showed at times far left hand corner , 3 tufted, 1 pochard, 1 sparrowhawk, 1 white wagtail, no sign of the wood sandpipers today, the juv spottred redshank flew over and into goosemoor . Not a bad afternoon 

Just seen an adult hobby flying SW over my house (outside Paignton). Mobbed by 30+ swallows and house martins.

Mid tide this afternoon I rowed from Turf to Topsham and had good views of 50+ dunlin, 4 ringed plovers (all juvs), c30 sanderling and one curlew sandpiper. Also 4 shelduck and about 50 black-tailed godwits. All dispersed by peregrine at about 4.30.

The osprey was reported carrying a fish south of Turf. Also reported were a couple of wheatears.

Waders at Wembury today :- 1 common sandpiper, 5 turnstone, 4 ringed plover, 3 whimbrel, 1 dunlin, 2 redshank, curlew and oystercatcher. Also 2 juvenile wheatear and a close view of a male sparrowhawk trying unsuccessfully to fly off with a woodpigeon kill.

Male sparrowhawk with woodpigeon

All the action around the marshes- on Thurlestone early am - 2 Wigeon, 8 Teal, 1 Swift, 1 Snipe, Water Rail , 1 Yellow wagtail.

On South Huish marsh - 16 Teal, 8 Black tailed Godwit, 1 Ruff ( over ) , 150 + Swallow and House martin, ,  1 Spotted Flycatcher, 3 Willow warblers, 2 Whitethroat, 30 + Goldfinch , 13 Wheatear.1 Dunlin

Waders on the beaches - 5 Ringed Plover, 10 Dunlin,2 Sanderling, 1 Green Sandpiper and 1 Redshank ( over ).

Ringing team - 1 Groppa, 6 Sedge, 7 Reed W , 3 Blackcap, 4 Willow, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Whitethroat.

Over high ground at Upton's Cross large flock of Swa;;ow and sand martin which included 2 Swift.

Only 4 Black-tailed Godwits visible from the reserve this morning, but on the flooded part of the field with them were 3 Wigeon, and several Teal.

Ringing this morning 4 Blackcaps and 3 Chiffchaffs of note.

A fantastic morning with great light giving views of, 70+ Black-Tailed Godwits, 3 Curlew, Lesser black backed Gull.

Other sightings from the last week were, Kestrel, 8 Buzzards (at once) 15+ Lapwings with 3 juv among them.

Watched from  15:45 till 18:35

2 juv wood sandpipers still showing on far side from the hide ,the adult and juv spotted redshank were amongst 150+ redshank, 130+ Dunlin, 4 knot, 4 ringed plover,12+ bar tailed godwits good numbers of black tailed godwits , 5 lapwing , 9+ little grebes, 1 pochard, 1 Garganey , 3 tufted duck, 20+ teal, 1 wigeon, 5+ whimbrel, 2 common sandpiper. 

Had a call from Gary Clayden that 4 wood sandpipers flew over towards exminster at 19:25, and Brian heasman had 2 on powderham marsh at 18:30 so at least 4 around the estuary maybe more ? 

On the pond this evening 5 juv Pochard, now 5 Wigeon, and in amongst the host of Mallard a juvenile Pintail.

On the flood over the trail from the pond now 31 Black-tailed Godwits.

31 Black tail Godwits this evening at the flooded field on the Tarka Trail opposite Wrafton pond at 1900. 

A brisk NNW wind with some sunshine. Only wader on the beach this am was a Sanderling. However South Huish Marsh  produced our first Ruff of the year along with a Green Sandpiper, 8 Black Tailed Godwit and 7 Dunlin. A Yellow Wagtail in with a small flock of Alba's

12 Ringed Plover and 5 Turnstone flew in and up the valley.

In the Bay 4 Sandwich Tern and a jv Arctic Tern  feeding.

3 Grey Wagtail over whilst Bob B had a Crosbill over the car park at 13.30

Mid afternoon a quick look at the estuary from Topsham revealed an osprey (wing moult suggests adult) and 120 black-tailed godwits. Also c200 dunlin flying south.

14:30

Black-tailed Godwit 112.

17 Mediterranean Gulls (11A; 1 1st S; 5 2nd S) in a roost of c600 Black-headed Gulls. The roost off the sewage works is certainly increasing in numbers.

25 Sanderling flying about.

c500 Canada Geese including the white farmyard goose and the hybrid..

Orcombe Point - 1300 - 1430 - a quick scoot around the top fields was surprisingly productive with 1 short-eared owl (presumed adult in wing moult), 8 wheatear, 3 whimbrel and 1 hobby.

Migrants on Orcombe in the last couple of weeks have included 30+ willow warbler, 1 reed warbler, 9+ tree pipit, 10+ wheatear, 4+ chiffchaff, 1+ pied flycatcher, 1 sedge warbler, 1 whinchat, 3 grasshopper warbler, 2 yellow wagtail, 1 greenshank, 1 green sandpiper and 1 ringed plover and 1 fw yellow-legged gull.

Short-eared Owl

juv swallow

Early this morning, the Little Stint, 3 Ruff and 44 Black-tailed Godwits on Black Hole Marsh - along with the usual Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Green and Common Sands.

Mid morning, (presumably) Monday's Garganey reappeared, this time on flood opposite Axmouth FC near Boshill Cross (SY261930).

Juv. Common tern and Little Gull at high water.

Common tern and Little Gull

15:25-17:25

Pale phase juv Long-tailed Skua W at 15:50, 1 Balearic, 10 Manx, 10 Kittiwakes and 2 Sandwich Terns. Slow going, but worth it.

Wed 1515 1845. Clear, after heavy rain wind; SW 4-5 inc. 6 Seastate 5. most birds distant :-( all West 

Shearwater: Sooty 1, Balearic 5, Manx 218

Great Skua: 4

Commic Tern:4

Blacktailed Godwit:1

Ocean Sunfish:1

   0620-1500  [Only rained 0730-1350 ! ]  Single observer, very wet, and very little close, but don't think I missed much, so interesting to see how much more Berry Head got compared to Hope's Nose on todays' wind.

   Manx Shearwater                  45

   Balearic Shearwater              12

   Sooty Shearwater                   8       5 of which together distantly at 1445

   Great Skua                            5       only

   Arctic Skua                            5       only

   Pomarine Skua                       3      inc. a spooned sub-adult which sat on sea

   Long-tailed Skua                     1      dark juv. at 0653

   Arctic Tern                              1     juv.

   Black Tern                               1    ad.

       ---------------------------------------------------------

     On a completely different tangent, on a single buddleia yesterday near the Globe Inn, Lympstone,

   one Clouded Yellow, 3 Painted Lady, 15 Small Tortoiseshell, 3 Red Admiral, and 1 Peacock.

2 Swifts and a Yellow Wagtail around the midway car park this evening.

Couple of photos from yesterday

Wheatear

Swallows

After a fine days seawatching, popped into the airfield briefly this evening. At least 7 wheatears and 2 whinchats still.

Watched from the hide 15:35 till 18:25

3 juv wood sandpiper were nice with 1 on far side and 2 near bank , the adult and juv spotted redshank were more easy to see today, the male eclipse Garganey was over in far left hand corner , also 63+ Dunlin, 1 ringed plover, 2 common sandpiper, 1 green sandpiper,1 turnstone, 4 knot, 12+ bar tailed godwit good numbers of redshank and black tailed godwits , 4+ whimbrel in with the curlew, 8+ little grebes, 2 wigeon, 2 gadwall, 1 pochard, 12+ shoveler, 20+ teal, 5+ snipe, 26+ little egrets, 1 peregrine, 1 kestrel, 1 sparrowhawk, 7+ lapwing

A very good afternoon 

Stayed on to 15.20ish with Luke. Conservatively another 8 sooty shearwaters (at least 4 through together), 9 balearic shearwaters, 1 pale phase arctic skua, 5 sandwich terns. Also 20 black tailed godwits flew into the bay and a wheatear on the cliffs.

Still drying out....

Wet, wet & very wet. Set out at 08.00 to look for waders on the beaches- managed to find 13 Sanderling, 5 Ringed Plover. When the really bad weather started viz so bad could not find a Gannet .

Moved on to Beesands where some passage but not up to BH's totals . From 09.15 - 11.30

90 Gannet, 17 Fulmar, 13 Kittiwake, 2 Common Scoter ,1 Turnstone and a Wheatear. Skuas moving west were - a juv Long Tailed at 09.30 ( considering the conditions good in flight views) and at 10.45 a light phase Arctic.

At 07.00 a Hobby over T'stone Marsh . Last nights Swallow roost est at 6000+

A good selection of birds late afternoon over high tide.

Sandwich Tern 4

Common Tern 16

Black Tern 2

Little Gull 1  A very smart juvenile

The only unexpected wader was a single Golden Plover among c600 Oystercatcher.

A passing Sparrowhawk caused chaos for a while.

On a rising tide:

2 wood sandpiper, 8 green sandpiper, 2 greenshank, 3 common sandpiper, 2 kingfisher, 2 Egyptian geese.

In addition to the earlier post from ML from 1145hrs to 1345hrs an additional, 4 Sooty Shearwater, 1 Juv Long-tailed Skua @1225hrs, 9 Great Skua, 12 Arctic Skua, 20 Balearic Shearwater and a Yellow Wagtail over the headland, and no you can't see the sketches in my note book!

A quick look at Black Hole Marsh at 14:00 revealed; 1 Little Stint still present alongside c40 Dunlin, 25 Blackwits, 18 Ringed Plover, 3 Ruff, 3 Green Sands (with 3 more opposite Axmouth FC), 2 Turnstone, 2 Lapwing, 1 Knot, 1 Tufted Duck and an increasingly poorly looking Kittiwake.

Although the Little Stint was showing much nearer to the hide than it was at 8am this morning, the weather was still very dull and wet.  Well that's my excuse anyway for this dreadful photo...

Three Wood Sandpipers form the hide at lunchtime.

A very soggy seawatch 0615-1145hrs, of interest: 2 juv  Long-tailed Skuas sat on sea fairly close in for some time, 3 Sooty Shearwaters, 54 Balearic Shearwaters, 300+ Manx (much milling around in feeding flocks!), 30 Arctic Skua, 12+ Great Skuas, 8 Common Scoter, 1 Arctic Tern, 23 Common Tern, 1 Common Gull, 5 Harbour Porpoise.

Update as at 1230hrs

Another Long-tailed Skua south at approximatley 1215hrs. Presumed 3rd bird although plumage was similar to paler bird in Mikes pic. Mobbed by Arctic Skua (showing difference in size). Also another Sooty Shearwater with more Arctic Skuas/Shearwaters moving through after the front passed through. Im sure those left on site will post full update later. JDPM

Sooty Shearwater.

06:05-10:05 at the Beer shelter...

1 Sooty Shearwater @ 06:30, 24 Balearics and 13 Manx, 5 Arctic Skuas and 1 Pomarine, 35 Common Scoter, 2 Kittiwakes, 1 Curlew, 3 'commic' Terns, 2 Arctic Terns. Everything flew W except the Pom, which went E.

At BHM - 1 Little Stint (appeared to fly off N), 1 Spotted Redshank, 1 Knot, 3 Ruff, 1 Turnstone, 1 Green Sandpiper, 19 Black-tailed Godwits, several Common Sands, Dunlin and Ringed Plovers.

Back to the hide tide roost at bowling green marsh today watched from the hide 15:15 till 17:15

The adult and juv spotted redshank were elusive hidden amongst the 376+ curlew, 3 whimbrel, 502+ black tailed godwits included 45+ juv, 12+ bar tailed godwits, 5 knot, 33+ Dunlin, 1 ringed plover, 7 lapwing, 2 common sandpipers, 1 greenshank, 34+ little egrets, 9+ little grebes, 116+ redshank , 1 wigeon, 2 tufted duck ,had a call from Gary Clayden 17:15 with news of juv little gull from the goat walk in topsham, did not see the little gull had flown over towards turf but there was 1 juv black tern in with 3+ arctic tern and 15+ common terns, a kingfisher flew over to exminster marsh. 

Popped back to the hide and watched from 18:15 till 1910

A new arrival on the far side from the hide a stunning juv wood sandpiper , and shortly after a male eclipse Garganey , also 20+ snipe , 1 pochard, 14+ shoveler, kestrel 

A cracking afternoon 

Broadsands 07:45-08:00pm

Huge number of herring gulls on the beach, possibly 250+ and that again on the sea. Only about 20+ black headed gulls and no med gulls.

I managed to pick up a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull before 5-6 kayakers disturbed the birds and pushed them on to the sea.

4 Pochard, with single Wigeon and Shoveler on the pond today, and over the trail on the flooded field up to 8 Blcak-tailed Godwits with 2 Little Egrets, 3 Mute Swans and the escaped Black Swan.

A good mix and numbers of waders today - big influx around 13.30

South Huish marsh - Wood Sandpiper still and a Green Sandpiper. In the bay 2 Med Gull.

At 13.30  aflock of 25+ Dunlin flew over my garden , Bob had picked up some waders flying over inc 25 Ringed Plover. then found 86 Dunlin on the beach, these still there at 15.30 , other waders on the beaches- 17 Sanderling, 2 Ringed Plover ,1 Dunlin, 2 Turnstone , 32 Oystercatcher.

A Wheatear on the coast path. In amongst the Gulls in the field were 45 ad Lesser BB Gull ( a good count at this time of the year0

Just a couple of hours this morning turned up whimbrel, 2 tree pipit, sedge warbler, 6 whitethroat,

2 willow warbler, 5 chiffchaff & 40 linnet.

A quick look this morning after yesterdays deluge found 9 wheatears and 2 whinchat along with approximately 30 swallows feeding around the dung heap. No visible migration this morning and it is probably a sad reflection on their fortunes but have not had a single sand martin through so far this autumn.

Congrats to Doug and co at Budleigh yesterday with the Long tail but i see that it kept another clean sheet regarding shearwaters!

One flew south from Colyford Common towards Axmouth and currently hunting over river near Axmouth (13:15). Also 2 Spotted Redshank, 1 Knot, 3 Green Sand, 3 Ruff and good numbers of Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Bl-t Godwit etc. at Black Hole Marsh. Two Whimbrel and 80 Curlew from Colyford Common hide.

A good look around the Axe  this morning 07:45 - 10:00 gave the following totals; 3 Lapwing, 26 Ringed Plover, 1 Knot, 44 Dunlin, 4 Snipe, c25 Black-tailed Godwit, 9 Common Sands, 14 Green Sands, 1 Spotted Redshank, 3 Ruff, 1 Turnstone and a Kittiwake!

I have received a good selection of photos for the 2011 Bird Report - but there are more out there I've seen them on various Websites, if you would like to submit some good quality photos taken in Devon during 2011 for consideration - not just rarities - please contact: mikelangman@blueyonder.co.uk

06.10-17.00 all south: Long-tailed skua 4 (+2 probable), Pom 4, Arctic skua 78, Pom/Arctic 2, Bonxie 20, Gannet 670+, Sooty shearwater 1, Manx (hundreds) and Balearic (min 9) but not consistently counted, Common tern 234, Arctic tern 1 juv, Black tern 1, Roseate tern 1 ad, Sandwich tern 9, Little gull 1 juv, LBB gull 3 ads, Kittiwake 200+, Storm petrel 1, Redshank 9, Greenshank 1, Whimbrel 1, Curlew 1, Dunlin 3, Common scoter 13 (inc 1 with prob LT duck but too murky to clinch), Swift 2

Watched from 08:10 till 16:30 with LC from11:35

Not as good as BH but still good numbers with 5 long tailed skuas ( 1 flew in nearly over are heads and into the estuary and was followed by 2 more that flew into the estuary ,my first in Devon ) , 52+ arctic skuas , 5+ great skua, 3+ pomarine skua, 2+ black tern , 1 little tern, 1 juv little gull ,6+ arctic tern, numerous common terns and sandwich terns, 1 curlew, 1 whimbrel,  good passage of Manx shearwater but to far out to get good count, 1+ balearic shearwater, 29+ common scoter, 30+ fulmar and a steady passage of gannets

A very good day 

Did all of those seawatching at Berry Head miss something - looks very much like an Iceland Gull in this picture - perhaps the same bird BMc and Jake saw off Broadsands over a monthago? 

06:15 - 17:15 (all obs). TBr, MD, IL, ML, SL, DN, KRy, RSt et al in attendance (at times). F5 SSW, prolonged rain, drier spells. 

12 (confirmed + probable) Long-tailed Skua,  6 Pomarine Skua, 65 Bonxie, 134 Arctic Skua, 9 Sooty Shearwater, 53 Balearic Shearwater, 2500+ Manx Shearwater, 2 Stormie, juv Little Gull, 1 Common Gull, 1 Yellow-legged Gull, 1 Sandwich Tern, 1 Black Tern, 10 Arctic Tern, 246 Common Tern, 1 Grey Phalarope, 2 Curlew, 3 Whimbrel, 1 Dunlin, 1 Swift, 12 Scoter, 2 Mallard.  n/c, but good passage of Gannets, Fulmars & Kitts.

A few Porpoise.

<10 mins glance off Dawlish c.19;00 revealed Bonxie & a 5 Arctic Skua in the murk.

Seawatch 13:00-16:30. No Long-tailed Skuas (or I failed to identify them!). Juvenile Sabines Gull in with raft of Manx Shearwater off the Mew Stone, flying around and landing from 13:00 (immediately on arrival) to about 13:10 when a squall impaired visibility/it disappeared. In comparison with BH, a modest count of commoner skuas was expected but 3 Sooty Shearwaters wasn't a bad count for FP (only 2 Balearics though). A large feeding frenzy of several hundred shearwaters north west of Eastern Black Rock (SX915500) had grown since Saturday and may be worth looking through.

Seawatch from Warren Pt 2hrs from 08.20- although a F 5 SSW and poor viz not up to expectations - 70 Gannet, 2 Fulmar, 1 jv Pom Skua , Waders on the beaches - 28 Sanderling, 2 Turnstone. Amonst 30 Alba wagtail feeding on the Golf course a jv Yellow Wagtail , 2 Tree Pipit over.

Went over to BEESANDS at 12.00 and shorly afterwards joined by Perry S much more passage here all moving towards Start Pt . In 3 hrs totals were - 105 Gannet, 38 Fulmar, 16 Manx S'water, 1 Balearic S'water, 6 Common Tern, 16 Sandwich Tern, 15 Arctic Tern ( inc 1 flock of 14 ), 8 Arctic Skua, 1 Turnstone, 2 Great C Grebe. 3 Sand Martin over the Ley

Highlights of afternoon seawatch (14:50-17:40)

Another juv Long-tailed Skua W at 16:20, 6 Arctic Skuas, 25 'commic' Terns, 24 Common Scoter.

The habitat at South Effiord marsh has improved dramatically in the past few weeks after water has been allowed on to the marsh through the tidal exchange system. With recent rain this has created a series of shallow pools and wet areas, hence today at high tide

Wood Sandpiper; 6 Green Sandpiper; 4 Greenshank; 4 Dunlin.

Also: 18 Little Egret; Kingfisher; 10 Sand Martin; 70 Swallow.

4 juv Pochard on Wrafton Pond this morning 2 of which seem to be moulting into male plumage. 1 Wigeon still.

Across the tarka trail on the flooded field, 7 Black-tailed Godwits.

Trawler returning with a mass of Gulls Gannets.

Seawatching 0615-1715hrs a great mixture of species and some really good birds: Grey Phalarope 1, Long-tailed Skua 8 (all juvs plus a 2s) , plus 4 probables juvs, Pomarine Skua 6 (1s to sub-adults as expected - juvs not normally seen until very end of Sep), Arctic Skua 134 mostly ads/imm not many juvs, Great Skua 66, Black Tern 1, Sooty Shearwater 9, Balearic Shearwater 53, Manx Shearwater 2300+, Strom Petrel 1, Arctic Tern 11 virtually all juvs, Common Tern  241, 'Commic' Tern 87,  Little Gull 1 juv, Whimbrel 5 Curlew 1, Turnstone 1, Dunlin 1, Swift 1, Pied Flycatcher 1, Wheatear 2. Harbour Porpoise 3+.

Many obs through the day

Watched from 8.30.a.m. to 11.40.a.m. with SH ,RH and CT

Juvenile Long-tailed Skua 10.40.a.m.

Also 14 Arctic Skua, 5 Great Skua, Sandwich Terns, Arctic Terns ,Common Terns.  Passage of Fulmar, Kittiwake and 9 Common Scoter.

Combined totals from 2 sessions (06:10-08:40 and 09:55-11:55). Virtually everything flew W.

Common Scoter 37, Kittiwake 6+, Common Tern 1, Arctic Tern 2, 'commic' Tern 9, Sandwich Tern 13, Roseate Tern 2, Whimbrel 2, Manx Shearwater 6, Balearic Shearwater 2, Arctic Skua 9, Bonxie 3, Long-tailed Skua 1 (juv W at 10:42)

PA, GMH, KH, IMc

Black Hole Marsh this morning 06:10 - 08:00 gave totals of; 1 Garganey (then flew north to Colyford Marsh), 60 Teal, 1 Tufted Duck, 3 Lapwing, 24 Ringed Plover, 42 Dunlin, 3 Snipe, 43 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Spotted Redshank, 4 Redshank, 10 Green Sands and 8 Common Sands.

In pleasant conditions found: Pied Flycatcher 3+, Sedge Warbler 2, Willow Warbler 8, Chiffchaff 10, Whitethroat c10, Blackcap 3, House Martin 40+, Wheatear 5.

Called in at excellent improved habitat at Averton Gifford (South Efford) on way home where 5+ Green Sandpipers, 35+ Little Egrets and 4 Greenshank showed and Paul Kemp saw the 2 Wood Sandpipers before they disappeared over the sea wall.

Watched from the hide from 12:00 till 14:00

The juv and adult spotted redshanks showed well, along with 47+ little egrets, 4+ greenshanks, 8+ little grebe, 1 kingfisher,  1 knot,  20 Dunlin,  great spotted woodpecker, 1 snipe

Goat walk from 10:30 till 11:15

450+ black tailed godwits including 15+ juv's, 20 ringed plover

From viewing platform 11:20 till 11:55

21+ greenshank, 11 ringed plover, 2 common sandpipers , sparrowhawk, 2 kestrels

At 19.45 rec'd a call from John King to say he had a Wryneck in his garden

Early start this morning before any disturbance. The 3 Ringed Plovers still, 7 Wheatear, 2 Whinchat, 3 White wagtails amongst 30 Pied, 1 Grey wag, 1 Meadow pipit, 1 Whitethroat.  About 30 Swallows and a few House martins moving south.

This evening 8 Wheatears, 1 Whinchat.

Late news for Saturday midday down Pignose Valley.

At least one wryneck, watched for 20 mins. Pied and spotted flycatcher. Hobby. Great skua harrasing lbbgs off point. 

One over house at 19:10 bideford

Quite a bit around today - Beer Cemetery Fields - 5+ Tree Pipits, 4 Spotted Flycatchers, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 2 Whinchat, 7 Whitethroats,1 Redstart (m) & a few Willow Warblers, also Gav had 5 Crossbills over whilst i was a few fields away

Beer Head - 30 Wheatears, 2 Whinchat, 2 Redstart, Spotted Flycatcher & Yellow Wagtail.

(P.Abbott, K.Woolley, G.Haig, K.Hale)

Relatively quiet day - this am 4 Tree Pipit over T'stone Marsh with 15 Teal on the water .

Waders around - 1 Wood Sandpiper on S Huish marsh, 1 Knot over, 10 Dunlin and a Ringed Plover on the beach before all the sunworshipers  moved them on

Bob B ringed 10 Reed , 5 Sedge and 1 Willow Warblers

Now 48 Black tailed godwits on the marsh.

08:30

At least 23 Mediterranean Gulls in mid-river roost with Black-heads. 17A, 4 2nd S, 2 1st S.

Early this morning 20-30 Gannets feeding just offshore with small pod of Harbour Porpoises, one Bonxie heading W. Just a handful of Manx Shearwaters in contrast to yesterday afternoon, with lighter winds and dramatically better visibility. Only grounded passerine migrants were two Wheatears.

1130-1530 when rain and poor vis set in. 74 Manx (West) 9 (east)

1 Balearic (W), Osprey (W) at 1515, 1 wheatear

Quiet this morning with only a juv Med Gull on the beach and 15+ Whitethroats (local juvs probably)

Watched from the hide from 11:00 till 13:00

The adult spotted redshank is still showing well and is now in full winter plumage , also 70+ Dunlin, 1 knot, 2 snipe , 3 whimbrel, 10+ bar tailed godwit, 20+ little egrets, 400+ black tailed godwits

From the viewing platform earlier 2 grey plover, 1 ringed plover, 2 common sandpiper, 20+ greenshank, 1 juv med gull. 

A cold north westerly wind made for difficult birding this evening. Just 5 wheatears and 1 whitethroat but now 3 ringed plover with the juv joined by two adults. Around 80 swallows feeding in the area. On the way home an astonishing 30 mistle thrushes gathered just on the Devon side of the Somerset/Devon border just outside Churchinford.

Osprey seen flying SW low over the sea at 3pm today (25/8), just off Sharpers Head (below East Prawle and east of Prawle Point).

14.30 to 17.30 Strong NW breeze (but not strong enough!) and heavy showers. 295 Manx Shearwaters, 48 Gannets, 35 Fulmars, 7 Whimbrel, 1 Stonechat, 1 Kestrel, 2 Harbour Porpoise, 1 Grey Seal.

37 Black tailed godwits still, with 20 teal, 2 grey heron.16:00.  

Not much recent change but Redshanks have edged up to 110, and Little Egrets to 12. 3 Greenshanks remain and 4 Dunlins were on the pool with 33 Curlews. 

Still two Pochard and a Wigeon on the pond and an odd singing Chiffchaff. Cetti's Warbler also called - first I've heard for several weeks.

148 manx shearwater,1 Balearic shearwater,1 pale Arctic Skua,91 Terns between 7 am and 9am seen by Malcome Shakespeare

This morning,08.30 - 10.00, 5 x Common Sand, 9 x Green Sand and single Spotted Redshank.

16.15 to 19.00

Pom skua at 16.50 attacked a Kittiwake and then sat on sea until 2 Great Skuas past west at 16.58 when it got up and joined them. 3 juv Little Gulls between 18.15 and 18.35 and a Little Tern with Sandwich terns at 18.25. Routine fare in 70 Gannets, 24 Sandwich terns, 2 Commic terns, 20 Kittiwakes (4 juvs), 19 Fulmar and 4 Common Scoter. All heading west.

Budleigh has become a shearwater free zone at the moment - i can only think that the guys at Berry Head have erected some kind of force field stopping them going further up channel or have an infinite supply of sprats!

15:54 - 17:50

Juv Long-tailed Skua E at 16:37, 3 Sandwich Terns, 5 'commic' Terns, 3 Kittiwakes, 1 Manx Shearwater, 1 Common Scoter, 160+ Gannets.

Driving rain and very poor viz made any seawatching impossible - even the Gannet were too far out. A nice ad Med Gull and 4 Sandwich Tern in the bay. on the beaches waders totalled - 22 Sanderling, 22 Ringed Plover, 13 Dunlin and a Whimbrel over.

Late afternoon 8 Sandwich Tern in the Bay , 3 Black Tailed Godwit on South Huish marsh with 6 Teal.

At 07.30 a Wigeon on T'stone marsh

Seawatching 0645-1800hrs noteable species: Manx Shearwater 607, Balearic Shearwater 11, Arctic Skua 13, Great Skua 10, Pomarine Skua 1. Common Tern 76, Commic Tern 51, Sandwich Tern 5, Common Scoter 23, Common Gull 1 (juv/1w), 1 Swift, Sunfish 1, Harbour Porpoise 5. Also 637 Gannets, 50+ Kittiwakes and a Wheatear.

ML,MD,PA,BBH,SS,LH

Updated 19:30

A friend phoned me to say he was watching a Red Kite over  the river Torridge at Torrington this morning at around 10:30. He said he saw the colour wing tags but did not take note of the colours!

A dearth of migrants at present - just 2 wheatears tonight (with 6 last night). The juv ringed plover still present

Wednesday 22nd August
1 Pied Flycatcher on east side of Otter

Thursday 23rd August
A walk along the coast path this afternoon produced my 2nd Wryneck for the area (the 1st being just last year on 4th Sep). It was approx. 1Km east of Otter Head before flying inland.
Also 1 Whinchat on the top fields and a Greenshank on the main scrape this afternoon.

Wryneck: Nr Otter Head

    40 Black tailed godwits,30 teal,17:45.

06:15-16-00 hrs ( East Soar / Starehole / Warren / Soar Mill Cove / Southdown etc. )

No overnight rain, 75% cloud cover at dawn. Very still and humid by early afternoon with a light S-SW wind picking up.

Lot of effort for not a lot namely Ringed Plover, Swift, 250 Swallows, 150 House Martins, 4 Yellow Wagtails, 10 Tree Pipits, 3 Wheatears, 3 Sedge Warblers, 13 Whitethroats, 9 Blackcaps, 15 Willow Warblers and 6 Chiffchaffs.

To all those rarities that hid away this time all i can say in my best Schwarzenneger voice is ......i'll be baaack.

 At 6.00pm today there were at least 1 common sandpiper, 3 green sandpipers and 4 wood sandpipers on the ditches and pools close to the railway line and as far as possible from the viewing area. The only other birds were 6 mallards, 1 shelduck, 3 moorhens, 2 coots, c30  pied wagtails, 9 linnets and lots of rooks with a few jackdaws.

Walked from Bollberry Down to Soar Mill Valley- fairly quiet - totals - 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 4 Whitethroat, 8 Chiffchaff, 8 Willow Warbler, 7 Blackcap, 40 Linnet, 30 Goldfinch, 2 sparrowhawk

The Wood Sandpiper still on South Huish marsh.

Tonight  21 Teal and 225 Mallard on Thurlestone Marsh - last night the Swallow roost was 4500 plus a Hobby

This am Bob B ringed 26 Sedge, 1 Reed W blr, 3 Chiffchaff, 3 Willow warbler with a Tree Pipit over

Juv Spotted Redshank still on Black Hole Marsh this morning, with 3 Redshank.  Also 45 Teal, 25 Black-tailed Godwits, 16 Dunlin, c8 Common Sands, 5 Green Sands, 3 Snipe, 2 Lapwing and a Water Rail.

Mid morning a lone Whimbrel flew west over the house (a common sight and sound in spring, not so in autumn).

Just had a mid afternoon stroll over Beer Head, singles of Yellow Wagtail and Whitethroat were the only migrants.

Had a look from the Pumping Station along Embankment Road, Kingsbridge on the rising tide this evening but fairly quiet. Only 71 Redshank, Greenshank, Whimbrel, 4 Black-tailed Godwits, Med Gull and 4 Sandwich Terns. Numbers of Tringa Sandpipers and gulls well down on what one would normally expect here this time of year. No small waders either but they are always a bit hit and miss here.

Late news for Tues - at 20.30 4 Black Tailed Godwit flew onto the marsh ( no sign att 07.00 today )

2 Wigeon and 15 Teal on the marsh this am

Waders on the beach only 37 Sanderling. A Whimbrel and a Curlew flew over. Offshore feeding parties of Gannet and 3 Manx S'water.

Bob B ringed 6 Sedge and 1 Reed Warbler , also 1 Tree Pipit over.

This afternoon news rec'd of a Wood Sandpiper at the back of South Huish Marsh- still there when I went over at 16.45

Ley predictably quiet but around and about:

60 house martin, 9 wheatear, whinchat, 3 willow warbler.

Initial impression was that all birds had deserted the common,,, until one of those mixed Tit flocks of birds turned up, including c20 Long Tailed Tits, Blue, Great and Coal Tits, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Nuthatch and Tree Creeper.  Then along came a female Redstart and a Spotted Flycatcher. Also present on the common were Bullfinch and both Green and Gt Spotted Woodpecker. Totasl of 21 species present.

Yesterday out on a fishing boat 30nm SSE of Start Point. c200 gulls mostly Lesser Black-backed, 8 Common Terns, 30+Fulmars, 20 European Storm-petrels (many now in active moult giving a different wing shape!), 3 Bonxies and a Balearic Shearwater.

One of the new features of the new Devon Bird News is photos have a zoomable feature, click any of these to see a larger version with the bird named.

08:00 - 09:00.

Mediterranean Gull 5 ( 1A, 1 1st S, 3 2nd S including 1 carrying green ring on left leg - Belgium/France)

Common Gull 4; Sandwich Tern 1; Ringed Plover 65; Turnstone 3; Sanderling 2 and 15 Dunlin.