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.

3 oystercatchers and 1 common sandpiper on the rocks early afternoon.

4 ringneck parakeet mear valley including the blue one

2500+ Swallows in to roost reedbed at tank car park

Osprey at Warleigh Point this morning.

Redstart, Spotted Flycatcher, 11 Yellow Wagtails, Tree Pipit, 5 White Wagtails, 14 Wheatears, 15 Chiffchaffs, 13 Blackcaps, 6 Whitethroats, 3 Willow Warblers, 2 Goldcrests, 2 Grey Wagtails, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Snipe, 30 House Martins 3 Roe Deer & 4 Clouded Yellows.

Spotted Redshank 

Brisk NE wind. Great to see around 500 Kittiwakes ( 90% adults ), 2 adult Yellow-legged Gulls, 18 Common Terns, 8 Ringed Plovers and 3 Dunlins.

Vocal male Ring Ouzel in small hawthorn above res at sunrise this morning. My previous earliest for area was 20 Sep 2015, but earlier records elsewhere on Dartmoor, e.g, 7 Sep last year. Two Wheatears and 7 Pied/White Wags (probably White) on dam wall, and a Whinchat on Brent Hill yesterday.

well over 100 ringneck parakeet came from no where in central park at 720 am quite something to watch these birds performing acrobatics in the sky.stayed for about half hour before splitting up

11am Cattle Egret still with cattle in field by cycle track 2 mins walk to the SE of Turf Lock. 

Black Swan Stokeley Bay today

 102 Common Terns ,Ad.and1st.yr's. 68 on the beach and 34 close offshore.

A single wheatear on the telegraph wires near Lyneham House.

A good range of migrants this morning: Swallow 115, House Martin 50, Tree Pipit 2, Meadow Pipit 325, White Wagtail 4, Grey Wagtail 1, Stonechat 17, Whinchat 1, Wheatear 13, Whitethroat 9, Blackcap 16, Chiffchaff 13, Willow Warbler 2, Spotted Flycatcher 1 & Linnet 300.

Back at Harleston in garden, Palmate Newt, Southern Hawker, Common Darter, Clouded Yellow & 9 Painted Lady.

Wryneck found in fruit cage this morning. Released unharmed

8+ skittish and mobile Yellow Wagtails amongst the cattle this afternoon at South Huish Marsh. A Ruff also flew in to join the 16 Black-tailed Godwits, 21 Dunlin and 3 Ringed Plover.

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Ruff with Black-tailed Godwits

Spent an hour this afternoon at Slapton. Large numbers of what i think were juvenile Kittiwake. Not much to see in the time i was there on the Ley, mostly Tufted Duck and Great Crested Grebe. A few Rock Pipit on the beach. 

Juvenile Kittiwake

Rock Pipit

Two Tawny owls tucked away at the bottom of the garden today.... South Brent

Autumn's here - the Brents are back.  A flock of 35 on mid-estuary sandbank, mixed Pale-bellied and Dark-bellied.    60 Wigeon, 10 Pintail & 50 Mute Swans coming to the southern end of the estuary to get their share of the Exmouth LNR eel-grass.

Redshank 8; Black-tailed Godwit 9; Bar-tailed Godwit 9; Greenshank 3; Knot 5.

Little Egret 14 and Grey Heron 11.

walking from powderham church to turf locks, in the field next to the lock gate, the cattle egret was feeding with the cows, it then flew up into the dead tree,  sat there for a while,  it then dropped down to the small pond behind the tree and stayed there with a grey heron. 

Sept 8th, three curlew sandpipers at Seaton Black Hole Marsh. Sept 10th reed warbler at Seaton discovery hut and at Colyford Common hide, 5 curlew sandpipers. At Black Hole Marsh greenshank and several different sandpipers. Sorry no photos possible. Two disappointments this year: Not so many birds as normal nor the variety but no one has control of that. Disappointed that the hides whiteboards have not been updated on each day's sightings since June! Anyone any answers or suggestions please. Otherwise great to be here as always.

Hobby behind Holmleigh Road

70 Linnets on wild bird crop near top of the hill

Wigeon 12, Gadwall 37, Tufted Duck 4, Pochard 1, Stonechat 1.

70 Linnets on wild bird cop top of hill towards Torcross

Usual bids on the rising tide. Dunlin, Turnstone Etc. highlights Wheatear (2 poss 3) on sea wall near Turf. Cattle Egret with cattle in field behind (SW of) the pub.

Cattle Egret

Wheatear

Wheatear

Lots of Wheatears today; I counted 64 but there were probably more. Also: Spotted Flycatcher, Tree Pipit, 2 Yellow & 13 White Wagtails, 14 Blackcaps, 11 Chiffchaffs, 8 Whitethroats, Goldcrest, Ringed Plover, 50+ House Martins, 150 Swallows & 2 Roe Deer.

Water Vole today on the lane that runs from Four Chimneys to Topsham Road (near the Topsham Road end - first I've seen for years.

Usual waders at BGM on high tide - Common Sandpiper (also one on Goosemoor - same one?) two Greenshank (approx 20 on Goosemoor mostly obscured), 3 Pintail,. Darts Farm during a heavy shower at around 17.10 - Buzzard, small flock of Linnet (40-50), Swallow, lots of Pied Wag with the Devon Red herd and two Yellow Wags and one Wheatear - never close enough to photo.

Common Sandpiper

Someone on the Facebook group - A place in North Devon group has photographed a wryneck in their garden today, as attached.

Wryneck at Fremmington

Sunday 8th 7-8 pm c5000 Swallows and House Martins gathering over the Ley, Torcross end pre-roost.

swift over the house with swallows and house martins just outside okehampton this morning,will it be the last?

Porpoise and grey seal seen 12 km offshore this morning, also a lesser blackback attracted to chum nearby.

Porpoise

Seagoing grey seal

Lesser black backed gull

10 ringneck parakeet mear valley including the blue one 

A mid afternoon drive from Challacombe to sandyway cross saw a few flocks of wheatear with around 6-11 birds in each, a flock of meadow pipits and a few r l partridge and pheasant. 

R l Partridge

Wheatear

Meadow Pipit

Pics from the morning's boat trip. See Nigel's post for numbers seen.

Great skua

Arctic skua, dark phase adult

Manx shearwater

3 Sand Martins, 2 Wheatears, 2 Chiffchaffs, Green Woodpecker, Stock Dove, 5 Greenshanks, Common Sandpiper, 2 Turnstones & Kingfisher.

Little Grebe, 21 Great Crested Grebes, 3 Teals, 7 Gadwalls, 52 Tufted Ducks, Pochard, 187 Coots, Greenshank, Kingfisher, 30 Swallows, Rock Pipit and 2 Wheatears. Offshore 4 lingering Sandwich Terns. 12 Common Scoters and a Common Tern flew south.

31 Curlew, 5 Oystercatcher and 5 Greenshank on Blaxton Meadow on the incoming tide.

RNParakeets heard, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Wheatear, 1 Whinchat, 3 Stonechat, 1 Kestrel, 1 House Martin, 30+Swallow in a feeding flock with adults feeding young mid-air, Stock Doves,1 Firecrest,  2 Roe Deer, 1 Toad, 2 Clouded Yellows and 1 Comma around Saltram Park

Whinchat

Clouded Yellow

Today's trip out into Lyme Bay from Brixham was a good one. We had good numbers of Skua and Gannet and I think all enjoyed, so some numbers of sightings for you.

3 Arctic Skua (dark phase), 2 Arctic Skua (pale phase), 5 Great Skua, Sandwich Tern, Arctic Tern, Common Tern, Arctic Skua mostly chasing the Terns. Big Numbers of Gannets diving on fish and sitting on the water, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Med Gull, Kittiwake, Fulmar, rafts of Guillemots and some Razorbill but only 1 Manx Shearwater. 8+ Porpoise, 2 Common Dolphin, 4 Grey Seals in Brixham Harbour but most unusual was a large Grey Seal 12 Kilometres out into Lyme Bay, probably enjoying big shoals of fish out in Lyme Bay.  Hope some pictures put up on the Blog soon as this is the second to last trip I will be doing. Last trip 22nd and fully booked!!

At least 10 yellow wagtails in amongst the cattle at South Huish marsh. Also a couple of wheatears and the usual waders, both species of Godwit and dunlin.

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Counted 15 wheatears in the field near middle Soar and several more along the stone wall. Lots of whitethroats and watched a buzzard catch a snake and eat it.

Buzzard

Buzzard

Goosemoor ~ 2 Greenshank.

BGM ~ Mediterranean Gull, 2 Common Sandpiper.

From the viewing platform Kestrel, good numbers of Redshank.

Goat walk ~ Osprey sat on the mud in the far distance towards Powderham, Black Tailed Godwits and Curlew in good numbers and a very mobile flock of Dunlin.

Countess Weir WTW 14+ Little Egret, Common Sandpiper and a Kingfisher.

15 ringneck parakeet  quite lively flying around saltrum cafe and house