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.

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

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.

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!

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.

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

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.

From just after 11pm for the last two nights I have been hearing a loud churring call from a bird flying around the house and across Hillside, my Barn owls in particular have been calling and responding to this bird which I assumed was an owl possibly a Little owl but could not identify the call it was making which was a richer more vibrant chur than that of a Nightjar.

Tonight I was all set to try and identify it and sure enough it arrived around 11.10pm flying well above the tree tops which are over 15m I managed to get a lamp on it twice as it circled around and it is a Barn owl, the first one I have seen from home.

Now that I know what it is I am of to bed ....

Both female juveniles have now fledged, with the second one leaving the nest this morning.

Cycled via Plym Bridge to Princetown and back via Burrator. A total of 19 Wheatears, 3 Marsh Tits, 2 female Mandarin Ducks each with 2 ducklings, Spotted Flycatcher, 6 each of Siskins and Lesser Redpoll, Dipper, 3 Grey Wagtails, Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Cuckoos heard, 3+ Tree Pipits, Reed Bunting and 2 juv Peregrines with an adult at the Cann Quarry nest watch point.

Sorry about the late post but at the weekend at about 10:30 pm - 11:30 pm was 1 or possibly 2 nightjars 'churring' at Kennick Reservoir (one of the Hennock Reservoirs). We where told that they will call between 11:00 pm and 3:00 am most nights.

3 red kites hanging out on the thermals in the Umborne valley as I type (2.50pm) .  1 flew by on Friday and must have told his friends ! 

Two red kites over village at 11.45 today.

11.15 this morning, a solitary Red Kite wafted serenely high over Combe Martin (1000ft), floating gently eastwards.

Tawny Owl just appeared in the garden tonight. Have heard them before but not seen them.

                                            Tawny Owl

Spent a pleasant couple of hours on Ideford Common looking for Nightjars. Around 21.45pm the churring started and by 22.30pm we had counted 5 in total. Plenty of wing clapping and whistling. One flew very close and around us, then perched on the very top of a nearby tree and. churred for a good while. A very magical experience, thanks to the generosity of Mark Bailey with his spot on directions 

Friday 16th:

Red Kite at 14:00 circling between Winkleigh and Brushford, seen from the B3220.

Later another Red Kite circling above north end of Copplestone, seen 17:00 from the A377.

A pair of wheatear with four young two of each. A visit from a peregrine and sadly a herring gull with a broken wing.

                   Wheatear                                         Herring Gull                                            Peregrine

Red Kite over Sourton Down by the A30 at 1000hrs this morning.

Took the cycle track from Plymouth to Clearbrook and back this morning. Two Spotted Flycatchers, 3 Marsh Tits, 4+ Lesser Redpolls, 5 Mandarin Ducks with 2 ducklings, 5 Siskins, Blackcaps and Bullfinches both feeding young, a male and juv Grey Wagtail, 4 Tree Pipits and adult plus one juv Peregrine at the Cann Quarry nest watch point.

Saw this Kingfisher this morning at Mansands, this is normally a winter visitor, first time I've seen one at this time of the year! Also Cetti's Warbler still singing and quite afew Reed Warbler around the reeds by the beach.

Three birds heard churring just before dark last evening at Stover country park, several sightings of individual birds.

Red Kite over Mamhead Obelisk car park 1348 hrs

Red Kite over the A381 at North Park Corner between Harbertonford and Halwell at 1.45pm, heading west.

Red Kite over at 1300