Please be advised that the Taw & Torridge Field Meeting on Sunday 23rd June has had to change venue. The woodland is off limits at Hartland Forest so the meeting will now take place at SS373193, Landcross to Powlers Piece road. Clear fell area before Powlers Piece. Look out for Roger Doble and Dave Paul who will park up and look out for members. Meet at 9.30pm. Further information can be obtained from Norman Briden 01271371072 

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. Many of these 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. 

You should also apply these principles to vulnerable species without the wider legal protection. 

Although some species may be found breeding at numerous locations, please keep information about them limited to well-known sites (e.g. Labrador Bay for Cirl Bunting and 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, as appropriate, the RSPB. 

Please be aware that egg collecting and other forms of disturbance and persecution remain very real hazards for some of Devon’s birds. Unfortuately this can involve people wanting to photograph or obtain close views of the  birds, as well as eg egg collectors. 

Every year editors on this site have to remove or edit posts which breach the code outlined here. Please play your part in making this unnecessary. 

Thank you.

Please take extra care when visiting Dawlish Warren. We have been informed that due to the recent bad weather there has been significant erosion from Groyne 10 eastwards. This means that access along the site, to and from Warren Point (and the bird hide) will be via the beach only, with a risk of being cut off for a period either side of high water! Signs have been put up to alert people to the hazards, but people need to be aware that access routes that they have become used to may not be available and they need to exercise extreme caution,  with the possibility of being cut off by the tide, and people are strongly urged not to try climbing the sand cliffs. Further information is available on the Teignbridge District Council website.

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

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.

2 Glossy Ibis, 2 Spoonbill, 12 redshank 4 greenshank 2 Kingfisher a Male Kestrel and a quick glimpse of a female Marsh Harrier around 2pm this afternoon ...Dunlin ,Black Tailed Godwit the usual Gulls Heron & Egret and a single Sedge Warbler and a single Common Sandpiper aso present...

Some images taken last evening when some of the recently released wild Tawny youngsters came in for their supper, the close up bird had actually managed to get back into the release pen and had to be caught up and re released and went off non the worse for its adventures....one of the birds coming in having been found by a DBWPS member.

Made my first visit to Horsey Island on Sunday to find the glossy ibises - and my daughter spotted five of them in the estuary, rather than the large "lake" where I was looking. Lovely to see them flying and three spoonbills as well. Are the ibises still around?

Late this evening good numbers of Swallows over the house at South Brent heading towards Plymouth, just on 8pm six Swifts came over, very vocal, shortly after that three spent some 20 mins screaming and racing around the roof tops as they do.

For most of the afternoon I was kept company by a very vocal Green Woodpecker, a Nuthatch over the garden this morning.

Some pictures from this morning's trip from Brixham. A good range of species, spectacular shearwater rafts and our first really good views of Balearic Shearwater for this season. 

   
Arctic Skua (adult) chasing Common Tern (juv)         Balearic Shearwater                         Storm Petrels

1 Wood Sandpiper, 1 Green Sandpiper showing well this afternoon, also, 140 Black Tailed Godwit, and 2 Reed Warblers at the back of the marsh. A female Marsh Harrier floated through at 4 pm, occasionally dropping into the reed bed, before flying off towards Darts farm.

33 Little Egret at the high tide roost above Instow on the Torridge at 7pm tonight.

A Cattle Egret on Blaxton Pool with 13 Little Egrets and 24 Curlews, Also 90+ Goldfinches and c60 Swallows. 

Out again this morning on another 3 hour trip and wow what a difference, sorry Plymouth group!!! 500 + Manx Shearwater, 8 + Balearic Shearwater, 1 Artic Skua, 4 Storm Petrel, 6 Tern sp, 1 Razorbill, Guillemot, Kittiwake, Fulmar, Lesser Black-backed Gull and Great Black- backed Gull. The Shearwater were in big rafts. 4+ Dolphins, difficult to ID species due to the swell. A most enjoyable trip. Next 3 Sundays we are full. 

A female Sparrow hawk landed on a dead tree in the back garden at Lipson, Plymouth, eyeing up the birds on my feeders

Four Glossy Ibis this evening. 1 Winter plumage Knot. 24 Mediterranean Gulls.

Small influx of Wheatears today. They will  be going south now I guess. Saw 2 on Froward Point and one on the bowling club green next door in Brixham.

Froward Point also gave us a male Clouded Yellow and some Painted Ladies.

     Wheatear backdrop of Start Bay                                                 Clouded Yellow taking off

The immature Little Gull flew into the Skern again just before high tide at 5.00pm this evening. It rested up with mainly Black-headed Gulls and 2 each of Mediterranean Gulls and Common Gulls. Also about 20 Ringed Plovers .

Plymouth group had a trip out this morning from Brixham  into Lyme Bay. 1 Grey Seal in harbour. Nice and sunny but very quiet some Guillemot on the water, 2 Razorbill, 8 Scoter flying in the distance, a small group of Kittiwake on the water until we reached the 8 mile mark. At last birds started to come to the chum. Birds seen 3 Storm Petrel, 1 Great Skua, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull , usual support from the Herring Gull and Fulmar. Very few Manx Shearwater, approx10. Coming back in we saw 6+ Common Dolphin and 2+ further out. Today we reached the 9 mile mark. 

Osprey at Gribbleford Bridge. On electricity cable surrounded on 3 sides with mature trees. Sorry no photo but larger than Buzzard, it's creamy white front and necklace of dark feathers,dark brown wings and back showed well in morning sun 8.30am. 

3+ Whimbrels, 14 Ringed Plovers and 11 Dunlins in Charleton Bay on the high tide early AM. Surprised to see an unseasonal male Common Scoter between Charleton Pt and Lincombe Woods.

4 of 7

And also this evening: 14 Black-tailed Godwits, 20+ Little Egrets, 12 Dunlin, 2 Spoonbills. 1 male Sparrowhawk, 9 Mediterranean Gulls to go with the 5 on the Caen saltings.

Sightings for today at the Lower Lake.

5 Common Sandpiper, 4 Great Crested Grebe and 4 juv, 2 Nuthatch, 3 Greenfinch, 1 Grey Heron, 5 Moorhen, 12 Coot, 3 Tufted Duck, 3 Robin, 3 Marsh Tit, 5 Blue Tit, 1 Willow Tit, 4 Great Tit, 10 Canada Geese, c50 Mallard, c10 Swallow, 3 Coal Tit, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 7 Chaffinch, 2 House Martin.

 Rod Mudge

4 of the 7.

Almost as soon as we started walking we had a quick view of a male sparrowhawk (at this point we didn't know what it was). It flew into the bushes so I followed it and had a quick but oh-so-beautiful viewing of this amazing bird plucking an unidentified prey item. We were also lucky enough to see a spotted flycatcher. We only saw one at a time but are very sure that there were more about. Other bird species that we saw here include: marsh or willow tit (probably marsh), blue tit, goldcrest, wood pigeon, wren, possible great tit, stonechat, nuthatch, robin, goldfinch, quick views of a possible (very likely) swallow, buzzard, chaffinch and chiffchaff/willow warbler.

Amongst a flock of 80 Dunlin & a few Ringed Plover 1 Knot in summer plumage.

Today at South Huish Marsh - A Yellow wagtail feeding around horses feet, 3 dunlin, a juvenile and an adult Mediterranean gull and a juvenile Yellow Legged Gull.

Thurlestone village - 3 spotted flycatchers in garden and around 10 swifts overhead

Offshore - a Sandwich tern, gannets, distant small shearwater sps. heading west, 2 small shearwater sp. closer in heading east, and a distant large shearwater sp. heading west at around 12:50hrs

 
Yellow Legged Gull - juvenile

Juvenile Green Woodpecker on the front lawn AM, I was able to photograph through the glass of porch.  Pity the sun went behind a cloud but it came reasonably near as we prayed that nobody would walk through the Close.

Green Woodpecker

The 7 Glossy Ibis have returned showing well from the toll road flood bank by the stables at 2 o clock this afternoon....Also a single Spoonbill...

18 swifts in a group over my house in Barnstaple this evening about 6.30 pm. Over the last two days have seen groups of swifts on my way round North Devon. Obviously migrating back south and the summer. Lets hope they find it. Ours seems to have vanished yet again!

Pair of Wood sandpipers BGM

A wet morning at Bowling Green Marsh hide.  A Spoonbill was by the main channel when I arrived just before 11am, but unfortunately soon got scared off by a low flying aircraft (helicopter?).  A Common Sandpiper showed well, but I didn't see the Wood (or Green) Sandpipers this morning.  The number of Teal and Wigeon have increased since last week, and there was one Shoveler. A quick visit to Goosemoor on my way home at around 1pm found the re-located Spoonbill and the long-staying Spotted Redshank, as well as several Greenshank.

All quiet on the western Front last night.

The 2 Wood Sandpipers showed very well. They y were joined by a Common Sandpiper & a juvenile Dunlin. Another common Sand flew in later just off the main channel. First visit since alterations, so don't know how deep, but one of the Woods decided it was quicker to swim across. Approx 10+ lapwings also presrnt.

  
Wood Sandpipers                Wood Sandpiper & Dunlin                          Wood Sandpiper

Large Skua species off Teignmouth, Ness. Mobbing, chasing a group of Sandwich Terns.

The morning started with a flock of juvenile Long Tailed Tits moving through the garden along with some juvenile warblers I suspect Chiffchaff, two Raven over head, a single swift and another late this afternoon.

This evening three of the four young Tawny owls that I have raised this season that were released on the 24th July came in for food just after 8.30pm as they have done since release giving me the chance to take a couple of photos.

A few bits & bobs included 15 Swift, 3 Wheatear, Willow Warbler, post-breeding flock of 40 House Sparrow and 180 Linnet in two flocks inc.130 on Bolt Head. 

Yesterday had a small skimmer on cliffs at West Soar which was probably a wandering Keeled Skimmer but there is always a possibility of a Southern Skimmer (would be first for UK mainland).

Good views (within 50 metres )of 7 Glossy Ibis 2 still in summer plumage at 2pm this afternoon...Watched them for an hour before they flew off high in the Barnstaple direction..2 Spoonbill, 2 Ringed Plover and 8 Black Tailed Godwit also present.

2 Great Crested Grebes with 2 well grown juveniles, 4+ Moorhens, 2 Coot, 1 Grey Wagtail, 12 Canada Geese, Swallows and House Martins, 15 Mallard, 2 Nuthatches, 2 Coal Tits, 1 Great Tit, 1 Willow Tit on the feeders, 1 Chiffchaff,. Buzzard nearby, 3 Wood Pigeons, 1 Wren..

Beautiful Demoiselle, Banded Demoiselle, Blue tailed Damselfly, 1 Southern Hawker, 3 Red Admirals, 1 Peacock several Meadow Browns, 2 Carpet moths..

Harvey Kendall and Barry Bryne.

Young wheatear,12 gannets over 3porpoise,fulmars,large numbers of stonechats' 4 young spotted flycatchers,redstart and chiffchaff.