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.

Couldn't resist the temptation to go look for the Rosy Starlings today.  They were easy to find as an small gathering of birdwatchers stayed with them all day long in Eyewell Green.  The male seemed to favour a holly tree in the middle of the terrace but the female seemed a bit more mobile.  They both visited bird tables at either end of the street along with about a dozen Common Starlings.

Rosy Starling m. in holly

Lots of warbler activity on Braunton Marsh today.

A pair of these colourful starlings has been seen on Sat 6th & Sun 7th June 2020.  Male is singing from rooftops in Eyewell Green.

Flock of 14 Crossbills flew over this morning

A short walk from Yelland to Instow and I first heard and then saw a Sedge Warbler near the Jetty.

Sedge Warbler

Sedge Warbler

Sedge Warbler

At 12.20hrs today a Red Kite low over the A38 at Ashburton headed west, a male Sparrow hawk at Buckfastleigh.

Around the garden back home at South Brent young Greenfinch on the feed station, three sightings of Green Woodpecker and a fly past from A GSWP.

A Willow Warbler carrying food to a nest site was good to see, plus a few other birds of the Pebblebed Heathlands.

Perhaps I may be excused for showing the new bench in memory of the late David Jannaway that was crafted and erected by Clinton Devon Estate staff this week.  It replaces the log seat that had fallen into disrepair.  David died in February 2015 and was a most loved Branch Committee member who will be remembered by many.  Our thanks to Clinton Devon Estate for their wonderful tribute.  The seat is a stones throw from the Aylesbeare Common reserve car park on Hawkerland. 

The 'mystery' moth I posted on may 17th was identified, thanks to Devon Moth Group, as Aethes deaurana, a species from southern Europe. This is the first Devon record and only the third for Britain. The first two were found in Weymouth and there has just been another found there suggesting possible colonisation.

Aethes deaurana. First Devon record.

This afternoon the female Pintail still present on the pond.

Female Pintail

Female Pintail

Female Pintail

Pretty quiet today but saw a dozen Mandarin Ducks, at least 2 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Stock Doves & 5 Roe Deer.

A single Purple Sandpiper, in summer plumage, on the rocks below the open sea side of the pier this afternoon.

Purple Sandpiper

late post from yesterday afternoon: Very confiding flock of 20 Sanderling (many in smart breeding plumage) and 7 Dunlin foraging amongst the seaweed along the strandline.

around 70 ringneck parakeet at 630 am including grey one.lots of juveniles calling

2 Sandwich Terns was somewhat unexpected; also a pair of Shelducks with 7 small ducklings, juv Stonechat, 2 Bullfinches & 8 Roe Deer including 2 small fawns.

Yesterday, a pair of Green Woodpeckers & c40 House Martins.

Visited the woodland on a friends farm today at South Brent, Treecreeper, Pied and Spotted Flycatcher, Green Woodpecker, Jay, young Buzzards could be heard calling from their nest site, Robin and Nuthatch adults with fledglings, Wren, Chiffchaff and a Cuckoo calling towards the moors.

And an evening visitor to the garden as viewed fro the kitchen window

Pete Stevens counted 51 Mediterranean Gulls on Slapton Beach today mostly fs and ss plumage.

Morning walk along the lower slopes of Sheepstor just above theBurrator treeline produced 3 singing male Redstarts, one Blackcap, many Siskins, 2 Gt. Spotted Woodpeckers, one Green Woodpecker, one immature Peregrine, three Ravens, Jay, Stock Dove and one Chimney Sweeper Moth

Red-crested Pochard (female) is back with 10 drake Mandarin Ducks. Also 6+ Stock Doves, Green Woodpecker, Shag, Nuthatches feeding young, Shag & at least 6 Roe Deer.

The first tentative churring started around 2145 last night, and by 2215 I had seen one briefly and heard five/six along and near the Gruffalo Walk. Nothing of note in the passerine supporting chorus.

Walked around Sherpa Marsh this morning - the first day with any rain for ages. Lots of House Martins - 50 or 60, 20+ Swifts, 5 Sand Martins and several Swallows, taking advantage of something. On Wrafton Pond a female Pintail has replaced the drake Tufted Duck from yesterday.

Female Pintail Wrafton Pond.

Red Kite seen flying along Haytor valley at 11:40.  Last seen heading south.

A Marsh Warbler, found by Martin Phillips was singing in the ditch beside the bottom end of Dell Walk but no sign after 09.50 as far as I know.

We were sat Putsborough side of the Point checking for cetaceans when we saw three Razorbills which were regularly diving for fish. The water was so clear we could see their progress for some metres under water! 

Razorbills with one diving for fish

Three razorbills

Highlights were a Kestrel, good numbers of family parties of Linnets, and 2 (or possibly 3) Wheatears.

A couple of, apparently common, micro moths last night. The Alabonia is usually a day-flying moth, sometimes, as in this case, attracted to light. Never seen one before but what a stunning and unusual moth.

Rhodophaea formosa

Alabonia geoffrella

A couple of nice hawkmoths during an excellent run of moths last night.

Lime Hawkmoth

Eyed Hawkmoth

A drake Tufted Duck on the pond this morning was a surprise.

In the reserve a singing Whitethroat is the first for a few years. The 2 remaining juvenile Little Grebes seem to be growing apace, presumably being looked after by the male, while the female is off sitting on some new eggs. Do they start a new brood before fledging the first lot?

Also saw a Tawny Owl, a Grey Heron and a very juv Song Thrush.

12.20

Red Kite over Torbay Hospital.  Headed NW being mobbed by three Herring Gulls. 

On Sunday - female Goosander with at least two fledglings under her wing. She was protecting them from the strong easterly winds.

Today - First Wheatear fledglings - 3 juvs. Redstart nearby singing. 

Third Red Kite of the spring/early summer over the house today (Hemerdon/Plympton).

Female Goosander and fledglings

Wheatear fledgling

Redstart

After a gap of over a year the Badgers have reappeared in our garden.

A butter-side up evening! In position from 9.30 to 10.15pm during which time the churring and wing clapping was more or less constant. Many close views of singles and 2 birds chasing each other. At one point 3 birds in the bins simultaneously one obliging bird that landed on a track-side fence post in good light about 10 metres away. I estimated a minimum of 8 birds within view/earshot at any one time.

3 ringneck parakeet in tree in garden

Colour ringed Dipper on the Rv Avon at Didworthy near South Brent early this evening, left leg yellow over BTO ring and right leg purple over black.

Also spent an hour watching a pair of Spotted Flycatchers always a bogey bird for me.

A snippet of info from a member of the Plymouth racing pigeon club the remains of one of his racing pigeons that was released from Honiton on Saturday were recovered today from a North Devon nest site just shows how far Peregrines can range when hunting.

EDS: The foraging studies of nesting Peregrine show most large prey is taken within 2 km of the eyrie and few birds are captured beyond 6 km (Hardey 2007). What this instead shows is how many racing pigeons end up lost and off route. 

Hardey, J. (2007) Peregrine falcon. ln The Birds of Scotland, ed. Forrester, R.W., Andrews, 1.J.,
Mclnerny, C.J., Murray, R.D., McGowan, R.Y., Zonfrillo, 8., Betts, M.W., Jardine, D.C., & Grundy, D.S.
The Scottish Ornithologists' Club, Aberlady. pp 511-514

Lower Tamar Lake this morning.

3 Willow Tit (one carrying food), 2 Marsh Tit, 4 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Mute Swan, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Nuthatch, 2 Canada Geese plus 7 Gosling, 

1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Cormorant, 1 Jay.

Sparrowhawk over this morning 6 Swifs 3 Goldfinches good numbers of House Sparrows with young.

A singing Reed Warbler, Green Woodpecker & one Rock Pipit this morning.

Crow harassing a Buzzard this morning.

Finally! Red Kite flying north west directly above Harberton, near Totnes. Beautiful bird.

at about 09.30 halfway to the gate on the track by the remains of the old building, a red kite flew in from the warren house area and stayed around for about 15 mins, then i found a cuckoo calling which seemed to be the only bird but kept moving around the area, good sightings, this followed with a whinchat and a reed bunting, and on closing the gate, the kite showed again, this time a lot closer and stayed longer, the plantation didn't show very much, a buzzard flying around and the usual small birds, tits etc, coming back to the car the red kite appeared again in the same area .lets hope he stays around.

Decorating my utiity room yesterday and this little beauty dropped in, a first for me as I've only ever seen blue ones before  and another first as, having had a wildlife pond for ten years, its the first damsel or dragonfly I've seen actually stop. May be a sign of better thing to come?.

06:49 - 09:25

Snipe drumming; Wooodpecker drumming; good views of Cuckoo; pair of Redstart, Blackcap Skylark, Wren, numerous Stonechat and Meadow Pipit.

Red kite seen flying over Exeter at height at around 8:30 this morning

Cuckoo calling at 08.55 this morning from Piddledown Common, nr Drewsteignton.

A visit to Yarner yesterday morning gave a Tree Pipit that was singing and displaying well, two GSWP's, Raven and a very confiding Chiffchaff.

Two Cuckoo calling at Emsworthy Mire.

At 23.04hrs last night I heard a Barn owl call at home at South Brent and was just quick enough to see it briefly before it flew over a hedge into the next field.

News snippet from a member of the Ashburton DRG ~ on a recent night time deployment to the Mutters moor area of Sidmouth the teams reported hearing and or seeing up to six Nightjar.

A passing Magpie and the Barn Owl.

Magpie

Barn Owl

A trip to Fremington Pill yesterday morning where a pair of Shelduck with eight ducklings near the sluice. A Wren in bushes along the Pill road. Later a trip to Braunton in the evening.  A distant fox seen hunting, a Barn Owl (the same one seen last week with the metal ring) seen hunting and with a rodent in its talons, three Mallards flew over and a Magpie passing.

Wren

Fox

Mallard