Happy New Year to all

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A fantastic range of unusual species around the bay at the moment:

3 Beaches Headland, Goodrington (accessed from Oyster Bend  behind the church at Goodrington)

A 1st w Surf Scoter with 7 Common Scoter straight out from the headland, picked out initially from Broadsands.

Broadsands: The Yellow-browed Warbler still present in back of 1st car park, also 2 Siberian Chiffchaffs (and another probably Siberian but showing some pale olive in upperparts and less strong supercilium), also 4-5 collybita Chiffchaffs and 1 Goldcrest. 12 Cirl Buntings on seed in 2nd car park.

Elberry headland: and cove: 1 Red-necked Grebe, 1 Black-necked Grebe, 3 Great Crested Grebes & 5 Great Northern Divers.

                 Siberian Chiffchaff 1                       Siberian Chiffchaff 2              Probable Siberian Chiffchaff

am. Female Black Redstart in the lighthouse compound. Crossing the meadow a male Merlin sped past at knee height.

Nineteen Goosanders All Female On The Lake This Morning, The Most I Have Seen At This Location.

Photo Shows Twelve With Another Seven Out Of Shot!!

Male Siskin in my garden this morning

3 female and 1 male Siskin on the feeders in my garden this morning.

This afternoon's Stuart Line cruise again witnessed spectacular numbers of birds, especially in the upper part of the estuary. The Great Northern Diver was still present between Cockwood and Starcross, as were the usual Slavonian Grebe, 2 Little Grebes and 2 immature drake Eiders. The Eiders seemed to be feeding successfully on mussels. A dozen or more Great Crested Grebes and about 20 Red-breasted Mergansers were scattered throughout, but large numbers of Brent Geese and Wigeon were concentrated around Shutterton Creek and off Lympstone, with a hundred or more Pintail at the latter. Over 100 Mallard, c50 Teal and maybe 200 Shelduck completed the ducks. A Harbour (Common) Seal was hauled out on a sandbank off Lympstone Barracks. c100 Common and 2 Lesser Blacked Gulls were amongst large numbers of gulls on the intertidal flats.

The mudbanks at the northern end were covered in hundreds each of Avocets, Black-tailed Godwits, Dunlin and Redshank. There were perhaps 1000 Lapwings and 500 Golden Plover there too, with about 50 Knot and smaller numbers of Grey Plovers and Bar-tailed Godwits and occasional Greenshank and Ringed Plover. A Sanderling back at Bull Hill sandbank completed a 'full set' of waders!

First Blackcap of the winter - male on the feeders this afternoon. A Mistle Thrush has taken up residence in our Rowan tree and is busy defending the berries against the local Blackbirds.

The Siberian Chiffchaff present again today around the higher of the 3 main lakes also at least 7 collybita Chiffchaffs in area.

                   Siberian Chiffchaff                                                                              collybita Chiffchaff

Yellow-Browed Warbler still mid morning at Broadsands in back right hand corner of first car park favouring ivy tree , plus 1 Chiffchaff 

I've had a male and a female Siskin on the feeders in my garden on and off since 9.30 this morning.

This evening about 7pm we saw TWO Barn Owls in the headlights. Both were sat on posts adjacent to the road close to the thatched linnay. They remained undisturbed as we passed though we were carefully watched by both of them. Very encouraging to see two! 

Dunlin 175, Black-tailed Godwit 4, Redshank 128, Greenshank 7, Curlew 56, Goosander redhead, Wigeon 17, Little Grebe 7 & Oystercatcher 9.

The Yellow-browed Warbler was again in the back corner of Broadsands Marsh this morning. 

Walking back from a nice stroll around the Gaia Trust reserve at about 1pm today along the Tarka Trail we heard a steady repeated "peep" from a bush. On looking for the bird we saw a Chiff Chaff flitting through the bare branches. Unable to get an image but, knowing they have a diagnostic call, on Googling the birds call when we got home I have to conclude that the call was the same as we heard. I'm definitely not an expert and there may well be other birds which SOUND similar, but this was a Chiff Chaff and sounded just like the recording of the Siberian race we found on Xeno-Canto. 

Eds: Views of the bird and a description of the plumage tones are equally important

Large numbers of birds present in the run-up to high tide this afternoon, the pick being 2 Ruffs, 2 Spoonbills and 65 Pintails.

Perfect conditions for the RSPB Avocet Cruise down the River Exe from Topsham.

Highlight was the Grey Heron with a Big Breakfast Eel.

Also Great views of Avocets, Godwits (Black Tailed & Bar Tailed), Mergansers, Turnstone,  Common Gull, Cormorants, Little Egret, Brent Geese, Dunlin, Lapwing, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Teal, Canada Geese, Mute swan.

Distant Views of Grey Plover, Golden Plover

Very Distant view of Peregrine

  
Grey Heron and Eel                    Red-breasted Merganser                              Common Gull

Drake Ring-necked Duck in Ireland Bay, Black-necked Grebe at Torcross, 4 Goldeneyes & a Kingfisher.

Single Pochard on Beesands.

Holne Bridge, Ashburton a pair of Goosander roosting on a rock below the bridge.

Nr Babeny a female Kestrel (one of three seen) and a couple of Stonechat.

Buzzards dotted about all feeding on the ground or sat on low posts.

The only location found with an abundance of birds was the road leading down to Prince hall near Yelverton, at least six Brambling in with the large flock of Chaffinch feeding on Beech mast, some 30 plus Starling and seven Meadow Pips feeding in a sheep field, a large mixed flock of Redwing and Fieldfare flew in, one GSWP, a Kestrel and two Jay.

Lower side of Soussons flock of 10 Reed Bunting.

At Dartmeet the usual run of the mill birds around the feed station (the car park is now pay and display, £2 for the day).

Near Widdicombe a Sparrowhawk and another followed by a third Kestrel near Dean Prior.

From the Car Park saw 17 Common Scoter but could have been more, arrived from the south but flew off out to sea. 

Common Scoter

Very dull afternoon's veiwing from the hide brightened by sight of a male Sparrowhawk that was watching the feeding ducks before it flew-off down the estuary

  
Sparrowhawk

7 Black-tailed Godwits out on the scrape while I was ringing again this morning.

Only 31 birds ringed today, but that included 4 Chiffchaffs.

A Yellow-browed Warbler was present today in the top corner of the 1st car park feeding high in the willows most of the time often with 2 Chiffchaffs - some nice photos of it here by Chris Lake   https://twitter.com/CDLWildlife/status/1069961272584753152 

In the 2nd car park there were 14 Cirl Buntings on seed and a Brambling in the trees nearby.,

On the sea 1 Red-necked Grebe, 1 Black-necked Grebe, 2 Slavonian Grebes, 8 Great Crested Grebes, 6 Common Scoter, 6 Great Northern Divers, 4 Razorbills and 3 Guillemots including a partially oiled bird flapping regularly but still feeding.  

No sign of hoped-for winter raptors but some respectable counts: 6 Buzzard, Red-legged Partridge, 4 Lapwing, 30 Stock Dove, 940 Skylark, 24 Meadow Pipit, 24 Dunnock, 41 Blackbird, 38 Song Thrush, Chiffchaff, 21 Magpie, 320 Starling, 30 Goldfinch, 60 Linnet, 76 Yellowhammer, 16 Cirl Bunting and one Reed Bunting.

Berry Head:  5 flypast Great Northern Divers, 1 flypast probable Red-throated Diver, 8 Common Scoter (female), 6+ Harbour Porpoise.

South Torbay: 1 Great Northern Diver, 1 Slavonian Grebe, 1 Red-necked Grebe, 9 Common Scoter

 
Red-necked Grebe                                     Harbour porpoise

2 water rail, 1grey wagtail, 1dipper,1treecreeper,4nuthatch,4 goldcrest, coal tit, marsh tit, long tailed tit g s Woodpecker mistle thrush, thrush and all the locals looking fine, primroses in the woodland today. 

At low tide this morning there was a group of at least 19 little grebes on Radford Lake. 

20 Common Scoters (1 male + 19 female) off the point early am. Also 4 Eider & 1 Red throated Diver.

Fifteen Wigeon, Goosander (redhead), 5 Little Grebes, 2 Kingfishers, 18 Turnstones, 3 Shags, 54 Curlews, 2 Black-tailed Godwits, 9 Oystercatchers, 7 Greenshanks & 2 Ring-necked Parakeets.

Wet, windy and a day for ducks at West Charleton Marsh today! Over 150 on the scrape alone. c100 Teal, c50 Wigeon, 6 Mallard, 2 Shelduck and a lone Pintail. Also Cormorant, 2 Greylag geese, 1 Dark Bellied Goose, 4 Little Egret, Heron, Curlew and a Pheasant. Elsewhere a flock of c40 Golden Plover flew over a neighbouring field towards the Estuary . By the feeders a Water Rail showed well. On the rough estuary most of the birds were sheltering, but another 6 D/B Brent Geese were braving the waves and a flock of 23 Oystercatchers and a few more Curlew and Shelduck were sheltering behind rocks. Over 30 species recorded.

Water Rail - West Charleton Marsh - 03-12-2018

On a visit to Avonwick this evening saw an adult Hedgehog on one of the new housing estates I can't ever recall seeing a Hedgehog in December previously.

Very brief visit produced highlights of two Great Northern Diver off Broadsands beach, Red-necked Grebe in Elberry Cove and usual flock of Cirls Bunting in the car park by the feeding spot.

2 Cattle Egrets with a Little Egret in the first field on left driving south (from the old Nortel factory site and new housing development) on Waddeton Road.

My apologies. The earlier post reporting this bird did not contain that vital bit of information, the location! Which is the lake at Arlington Court, in North Devon. Sorry. 

Black Guillemot  (in moult: white face & nape; black crown & upper parts; reared  up once to show black belly roughly circled with thick white band) on water towards Berry Head. Only other birds of note: a Gt Skua, >S to land in mouth of Torbay; diver sp > S (sorry too far to ID).

A red necked grebe on Slapton Ley just off the pond dipping platform on the way around to Ireland bay

 
Red-necked Grebe

A piece in the on-line Guardian news paper on the 01-12-18, about the Black Redstart in Ford Park Cemetery. If anyone wishes to view this please follow the link. https://www.theguardian.com/environme…/…/country-diary+birds

Half-a-dozen Cormorants included a sinensis, 4 Shags, redhead Goosander, 5 Little Grebes, 152 Redshanks, 153 Dunlins, 6 Greenshanks, 53 Curlews, 3 Black-tailed Godwits, 8 Oystercatchers, 30 Shelducks, 17 Wigeon, 2+ Ring-necked Parakets & a Chiffchaff. 

18 Goosander 8m 10f,  at the Hide 3 Willow Tit, 1 Marsh Tit, Car Park, 2 Willow Tit, 3 Goldfinch, 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, plus Wigeon, Teal, Tufted, Great Crested Grebes, Shoveler, Coot, Moorhen and a Mute Swan.

Female Marsh Harrier seen at 10.30am, flew over R Caen into the strong drizzly breeze.