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.

In the very warm sunshine early this morning  - well, 09.30 - a veritable storm of Dragonflies and Darters for about 15 minutes. Never seen such numbers in the UK before.

Ringed another Kingfisher on Thursday: that's 15 this year.

mear valley 7 ringneck parakeet including blue one

Flock of 20+ over short-term car park 19.30. Presumably gathering for a roost nearby.

At Bowling Green Marsh and Goosemoor this morning were one each of Water Rail, Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper and Mediterranean Gull, three Avocets, five Greenshanks and at least thirty Pintail (within a total of several hundred ducks, a big increase on last week). Today's bonus bird was an Osprey, seen at around 1045 flying S. over the M5 as I went back up Topsham Road.

Single Chiffchaff in good voice 0820 this morning with c50 House Martins and a few Swallows overhead. 2 Southern Hawker Dragonfly in a small patch of sunlight with Red Admiral, Peacock and Speckled Wood Butterfly also present. No Painted Lady this visit.

Two hobbies, one vocal, circled over the Avon Dam early this morning, while below them eight goosanders sat on the beach getting ready for the day's fishing trip..

Lundy today. 

Spotted Flycatcher

Beautiful Lesser yellow legs at South Efford marsh, Well done Eric for finding it.

Lesser Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

I have been contacted by the White Stork release team. They informed me that over 20 juvenile White Storks were released in August at a West Sussex location in the hope that they would migrate and later return to the West Sussex/Surrey area to breed. They believe that the Devon sightings recently are from this release scheme. 

Hadn't intended to viz mig when I arrived at Prawle at 7.15am but soon engaged with the spectacle of thousands of hirundines flying into the ESE brisk breeze. Watched intensely until 8.45 and estimated at least 10,000 stretching out from over the sea to the airfields (fields just beyond Prawle village). Mostly swallows and house martins but also at least 800 Sand Martins. Also large movement of Meadow Pipits (6-700); Linnets (4-500), Skylarks (150+). And Alba Wagtails (40+) Also of note passage of Jackdaws and Magpies.

In field with Black Cattle there were 5 Yellow Wagtails. Later 6 Wheatear and 8 Chiffchaffs and a few Blackcaps. I White Wagtail at Horsley Cove and a Goldcrest at Stallions Bite.

I left at 1pm and popped into Aveton Gifford to see the Lesser Yellowlegs. Later Pat texted me to say he'd seen a White Stork fly in off into Pig's Nose Valley at 1.15pm and later seen high over Bolt Head !

2 white storks flyong north ,midday.

900 Swallows moving east in one hour - 0840 to 0940  final total 1010. Also 45 House Martin, 55 Skylark, Sand Martin, 130 Meadow Pipit, 3 Wheatear, 55 Goldfinch, 8 Greenfinch & 360 Linnet.

This morning, 20 Yellow Wagtail (in two cattle fields), Golden Plover over, 4 Wheatear, 4 Chiffchaff, 2 Whitethroat, 3 Blackcap, 500+ Linnet, Peregrine, 2 Yellowhammers and 1m Cirl Bunting. Hundreds of Swallow, House Martin and a few Sand Martin over between 0800 and 0900.

Yellow Wagtail

Spoonbill flew down river 7pm, Osprey or two fishing 

4 cattle egret in flight over towpath car park at end of station road at 12.30pm. Came down into cattle field to the NW. Also 1 juv hobby over. 

Hobby, Tree Pipit, 10 Wheatears, 11 Yellow Wagtails, 300 House Martins, Sand Martin, 27 Chiffchaffs, 7 Blackcaps, 2 Whitethroats, Goldcrest, Willow Warbler, 8 Stock Doves, 2 Clouded Yellows & 2 Roe Deer.  

White stork perched on buildings at Teignmouth community school yesterday lunchtime!

 Crossbills on the cones of Spruce trees at Wistlandpound Reservoir today. Extremely difficult to find because of the location and bright sun  however two definitely seen.

A good tally included 200 Gannet fishing off West Soar, 2 Sparrowhawk, Hobby, migrant Great Spotted Woodpecker, 150 Swallow, 170 House Martin, Sand Martin, 300 Meadow Pipit, Grey Wagtail, 5 Wheatear, 14 Stonechat, 4 Blackcap, 8 Chiffchaff & 520 Linnet.

Non-avian: 4 Red Deer (first ever record & not the usual Sika), mature female Red-veined Darter, 6 Common Darter, Clouded Yellow, 158 Red Admiral, 41 Painted Lady, Comma & 9 Wall Brown.

Later back at Harleston: Hobby overhead, male Emperor over pond and Wall Brown - quite a day!

Small Tortoise Shell butterfly, Warleigh Point

At least 12 Great Crested Grebes showing well on the Ernesettle side of the estuary. Osprey seen at a distance on the river Tavy by the railway bridge. Other wildlife was mainly butterflies, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Common Blue, Small Tortoise Shell.

Good selection this morning - Hobby, 3 Whinchat, 7+ Yellow Wagtail, Spotted Flycatcher, Tree Pipit, 17 Wheatear, Peregrine, Whitethroat, 5 Chiffchaff, Blackcap and flock of 500+ Linnet. 

Yellow Wagtail

Wheatear

Eight brown-head Goosanders on res this morning, the first roosters since Jun, apart from one record in Aug. Initially on the water, they then spent about 30 minutes preening on shore before flying out over dam at 0735, 40 minutes after sunrise which is later than usual.

   
        Goosanders at Avon Dam 18 Sep @ 0645h                 Goosanders at Avon Dam 18 Sep @ 0730h

A visit to the Avon dam yesterday, below the dam was the scene of most bird activity with Stonechat, Linnet, Goldfinch, a lone Swallow, two very pale alba type Wagtails, Chiffchaff, Dipper, Raven and Buzzard.

A Dotterel over Woodbury Common @1910 this evening, before heading very high west.

Yesterday evening off Mudbank - 360+ Wigeon, 40+ Pintail, 14 Teal, 3 Shoveler, 1 Tufted Duck and a Garganey.

Mid-afternoon found the curlew sandpiper that was reported by JT yesterday. Luckily it posed with the dunlin for a comparison. Later witnessed it again with Alan Denzey. Also there were a couple of wheatears near the ramp leading to the Horsey Island “breech”. A great white egret was also present on Horsey Island mud flats.

curlew sandpiper in the middle

curlew sandpiper again

One of two very photogenic Wheatears....

Wheatear

A juvenile Little Stint feeding with 11 Dunlin this evening on Budleigh Beach.

Curlew Sandpiper, as seen by JT yesterday, thanks to Colin Draycott finding it today....!

Curlew Sandpiper

A visit by the E Devon group today was very productive for the 11 members who came - varying from some very experienced birders to a couple who are very new to it all.  About 2 dozen species were seen, including a Sparrowhawk hunting through the myriad Meadow Pipits (several 100) in front of us, 2 Peregrine overhead, a Kestrel and several Buzzards.  A flock of  Yellow Wagtail, numbering at least 20, were with the pipits in a clover field, not with cattle, and in the same field were at least 1 Tree Pipit and several Skylarks.  An excellent close view of a perched Raven, 50+ Swallows, c 10 House Martins, several Wheatear and Chiffchaff wee also of interest.  (We missed a Redstart, seen earlier in the day.)  Several of us saw an unidentified seabird, possibly an Arctic Skua, but distance and bright sun behind prevented confirmation.

Blk t godwit 26 . 600+ swallows .5. Stock doves. 8 Cl.yellows.

Blk t godwit 26 . 600+ swallows .5. Stock doves. 8 Cl.yellows.

Just returned from a few days camping in South Devon.

On Saturday aft at 15.00 an Osprey flew south over the Otter Estuary spooking all the gulls (including the ones on the Cricket field) then heading west over the pebble ridge along the coast towards the mouth of the Exe Estuary. Yesterday aft there were 2 very vocal Avocets on the Otter Estuary.

Seen this morning. Med Gull 26 mostly adults, Whimbrel 1, Wheatear 2,   Whitethroat 3 and 16 Cirl Bunting 

Nice to have a Barn owl back in the house field this evening just on 8pm, looks as if it had just bathed, no idea where but it was sat on a post drying itself, Tawny owl calling loudly close by and a sizable bat flying around as well.

Not birding today but a Kingfisher Old Pinn Lane (Pinn Brook) Pinhoe and a Raven over Beacon Heath Exeter about 3 pm.

A few dragonflies at South Milton Ley, lots of Common Darters, a couple of Migrant hawkers and a southern Hawker. Also a Small pearl bordered fritillary at Soar and a clouded yellow at south Milton.

Common Darters

Southern Hawker

Smal pearl bordered fritillary

My first Firecrest of the autumn along the west cliffs at Budleigh this morning and two Avocets on the River Otter this afternoon.

At the Bere Ferrers end of the railway bridge, 1 Osprey perched in a tree eating a fish, at 1700.

At about 2p.m. amongst about 30 Dunlin a 100 yards past the Toll House, was a smart Curlew Sandpiper. It was still there when I returned at about 3.45p.m. but then everything was flushed by an unseen bird of prey.

A curious dearth of scrub migrants (just one Chiffchaff) but 210 House Martin, 80 Swallow, 3 Wheatear, 550 Linnet, 13 Jackdaw east & Carrion Crow with white primaries.

2 Great White Egrets at Wistlandpound 0830 today

Five Redwings flew into the berry laden hedge of my house field just before 11am this morning

Just back from a late afternoon visit to Black Hole Marsh with the Exeter & district RSPB local group. There was a good mix of waders on the marsh, including a couple of Green Sandpipers, Snipe, Ruff and Little Stint. We stayed late to look for the Barn Owl, and were surprised to see a couple of Cattle Egrets on the marsh in amongst the gulls.  Then a Great White Egret flew over! And, finally the Barn Owl did make an appearance.

A male Cleopatra butterfly on buddleia on the far side of the 4th (top) pond. There have been a few (genuine?) British records but given previous odd butterfly records in the area this is sure to be a release. Other butterflies included red admiral, painted lady, comma, small copper and assorted whites. Many migrant hawker (mostly on the first pond), southern hawker, common darter and a late blue tailed damselfly. Best of the birds were kingfisher, dabchick, tufted duck, chiffchaff, sparrowhawk.

Cleopatra, male

migrant hawker, also male.

Sorry for the incorrect location on my post (thick fingers). So Cattle Egret, Osprey, Knot 3, Sandwich Tern 3 & 2 Black Swans.

Seen this morning. Western Cattle Egret & Osprey.