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.

This morning at Haldon, the Female Brambling showed twice between 10 & 11am, plenty of Siskins male & female along with chaffinches, Song thrush, Blackbirds, Sparrows and all the usual Tits

          Female Brambling                                            Siskin

pm - Cycled over to the south side of the Taw Estuary for a change to see Maurice's Cattle Egrets & was not disappointed. I cannot match Roy's excellent flight shot through my telescope but here are a few shots of the birds foraging.

one male Brambling, two male Siskins & one female Siskin feeding along with twelve Chaffinches on lawn this morning

Golden Plover flock (and others) off Turf Lock today. Not much of note on the marsh . Huge numbers of Lapwing.

Golden plover video.

https://youtu.be/W_wvgNx4HOo

13:00 - 14:00. still 10 Cattle egret among the sheep flock also 5 Little Egret on the marsh nearest to Barnstaple. On the river off Anchorwoods 1x Greenshank

   
Cattle Egret                           Greenshank

Today a Red Kite was drifting about over the town way up high. Recently checked out the high farmland around for the Golden Plovers, none about but saw several Brown Hares. 

Brown Hare

Great day out with lots of birds at Bowling Green Marsh & on the Exe Estuary. Could not resist counting the 176 Pintail present on the Marsh at high tide! My first Comma Butterfly for 2019.

Jack Snipe, 2 Snipe, 3 Red-breasted Mergansers (1 drake), 12 Goosanders (3 drakes), 7 Little Grebes, Shag, 250 Dunlins, 6 Greenshanks, 55 Curlews, 6 Wigeon (2 drakes), Kingfisher, c30 Turnstones, Common Sandpiper, 11 Mandarin Ducks (6 drakes), Stonechat, 2 Stock Doves, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 4 Nuthatches & my first kestrel of 2019 here.

the long staying male black redstart is still showing well behind the chapels, excellent plumage,  lets hope he finds a mate soon

Yarner Wood ~ very little to be seen in the way of bird life other than the usual woodland tit species, no sign or reports from other birders of the recent Redpoll flock, only high light were two Goldcrest in with a small flock of Long Tailed Tits.

During the visit two Red Admiral butterflies seen on the wing.

Haldon visitor centre ~ Lots of Coal Tits around the feed station along with small numbers of Siskin, a few Chaffinch and eventually a female Brambling showed, two GSWP, one Greenfinch, a Song Thrush, a fly over from a solitary Crossbill.

A dry day with heavy cloud and sunny spells (which were in short supply), as were the birds. Noted a pair of Greenfinch, some Stonechats  &  Meadow Pipits, a Chaffinch & a Robin. Near Clearbrook was a Green Woodpecker who saw me coming and hid in an Ivy covered tree, and on the way back to Tavistock Road for the bus back home noted a Kestrel and a pair of Rabbits chasing each other around like silly beggars. Spring must be in the air.

At 11.15 there were just 3 Cattle Egret on the marsh in amongst the grazing sheep but by 12.30 they had increased to 10.

9 Little Egret in the field below Anchor Wood and 3 more on the marsh. c156 Dark-bellied Brent geese grazing on the marsh

3 Little Egret in the tree roost at the top end of Fremington Pill plus 3 Greenshank and c100 Redshank in the Pill.

This morning at the Lake
9 Goosander 3m 6f, 3 Mute Swan, 3 Willow Tit, 1 Marsh Tit, 1 Little Egret, 1m Reed Bunting, 1 Nuthatch, 3 Long-tailed Tit,1m Pintail, 1 Ring-necked Duck (Harvey Kendall)

Usual birds along the Northbrook but nice to see the Mallard pair return for another breeding season. Also further down towards Salmon Pool, a pair of Siskin, lots of Redwing and a couple of Song Thrush, GSW and appropriately for today a goal tending Common Buzzard. Matford Marsh had the usual species but a Water Rail and Bullfinch along the back path were the highlights.

Siskin                                                         Mallard                                      Goaltending Buzzard.

5 Blue tit, 1 Coal tit, 1pr Great tit, 6 Longtailed tit, 1 pr Bullfinch, 4m 3f Chaffinch, 22 Goldfinch, 1f Greenfinch, 9m 2f Siskin, 3 Robin, 1 Wren, 1 Dunnock, 1pr House Sparrow, 2m 1f Blackbird, 1 Song thrush, 2 Woodpigen & 3 Male Lesser Redpoll. 

Goosander 7 (3M,4F); Grey Plover 2; Sanderling 6; Golden Plover, just 6 among large flock of Lapwing mid-river. Black-headed Gull with yellow ring, black A/Ns 2H93 on left tarsus.

Penhill Marsh - Cattle Egret 7 among sheep in corner of the marsh nearest where Tarka Trail enters old railway cutting. Dark-bellied Brent Goose c220; Wigeon 12; Little Egret 1.

11 Common Scoters still at Baggy Point this morning.

The two Red-necked Grebes were again together in Elberry Cove, also 3 Great Northern Divers, 1 Red-throated Diver but the highlight was a high flying Barnacle Goose which came in over the bay and continued to head NW.

Lots of Buntings on the seed at Broadsands including 8 Reedbuntings.

This Heron was rather surprised to spot me in Stokeley Hide (Slapton Ley) last Monday lunchtime.  He flew a short circuit and returned to the same reed bed.

Male Ring-necked Duck and Black-necked Grebe both visible but much too far away to photograph unfortunately.  Nothing on the sea.

Lots of skylarks singing today. Still c1000 + Lapwing / Golden Plover flocks around, c 20 shelducks at Horsey. 

8+ Crossbills at Cookworthy Forest, 11th Feb

Common Crossbill m                     Common Crossbill juv                        Common Crossbill f

Spoonbill Over Frogmore Creek This Morning.

Saw a Red Admiral enjoying the sun today near East Cornworthy. also a Barn Owl at Beenleigh ( between Diptford and Harbertonford ).

3 brambling (1m, 2f) coming in to the feeding station between 11.15 and 2.15 today, among the chaffinches.

A dozen Goosanders (4 drakes), 3 Red-breasted Mergansers (1 drake), 33 Turnstones, Shag, 7 Greenshanks, 9 Wigeon (4 drakes), 3 Snipe (showing on the ground at Blaxton), 2 Kingfishers (1 showing well by Blaxton's sluice), Common Sandpiper, sinensis Cormorant (adult), 10 Mandarin Ducks (6 drakes), Grey Wagtail, 2 Stock Doves & Green Woodpecker. 

Firecrest in Bolt Tail woods & 50 Wigeon on the sea. At the farm 155 Yellowhammer, 3 Red-legged Partridge, Chiffchaff & 40 Linnet. Across area 28 Song Thrush - a mixture of migrants & a few singing males.

The male Black Redstart still early afternoon behind Shelley Beach, Exmouth on the roof tops of Leeward Court and Windward Court.

Lots of birds around the feeders at Haldon. Siskin, chaffinches, a couple of lovely song thrushes and several Great spotted woodpeckers drumming. 3 female brambling and Rob Murphy spotted a male which I missed. Went on to Yarner where there must have been at least 40 Lesser redpoll feeding on the ground. Light was poor, so not good for photos.

Brambling                                  Lesser Redpoll                                  Lesser Redpoll

Some great views of Goldeneye on Slapton Ley at Slapton end of the ley, also Black-necked grebe at Torcross end. On the sea lots of common Scoter I think there could have been as many as 70 in 3 different groups. A couple of fulmar passed and several Gannets quite close in. Also brief views of a porpoise. A Spoonbill in the Kingsbridge estuary viewed from the pumping station.

  
Goldeneye                             Spoonbill                                 Common Scoter

On the ley Ring-necked Duck ( area around middle of Lower Ley ), Scaup ( male near Stokeley Hide ), 6 Pochards, 4 Goldeneyes, Black-necked Grebe ( Torcross ) and 3 Mediterrean Gulls. On the sea 57 Common Scoters, 2 Brent Geese ( dark-bellied, briefly joined the Scoter flock ), Red-throated Diver and Red-necked Grebe.

Two Spoonbill feeding on both sides of the Torridge below the Torridge Bridge. Neither bird was colour ringed.

On the sea: 2 Red-necked Grebes, 2 Black-necked Grebes, 21 Great Crested Grebes and 5 Great Northern Divers.

At the cirl Bunting feeding area in 2nd car park: 19 Cirl, 1 Reed Buntings and 6 Yellowhammers.

Late post but as it is still there a photo of the male Ruff at B G Marsh took on the 31st Jan

Ruff                                                  Male Ruff

A message from school teachers that a Bittern was enclosed in the  playing field. Luckily the children had not been allowed on the field during the day because of the conditions.

The RSPCA were called. The bird captured and released in a more suitable neighbouring field.

Spoonbill feeding unconcernedly in driving rain off the embankment this morning.

Yesterday at Slapton Ley got these photos of ducks and Geese.  There were a large number of: Herring gulls; a couple of G.B.B gulls; two or three great crested grebes; Coots; Moorhen and a Mute Swan.

Tufted Ducks