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.

Neap tide produced 142 Oystercatcher, 10 Knot (1 in breeding plumage) and a single Bar-tailed Godwit. The Warren's Linnets seem to have had a very good breeding season.

Five birds seen between 9:50 and 10:15 this evening. Birds very active with there wing clapping displays and churning. 

This morning 2 Juvenile Willow Tits on the fat balls, later an adult on the seed feeder.

A few weeks since I've been back up here,  saw a good variety of different birds from usual.  There were the normal meadow pipit and stonechat,  skylark and wren. There were whitethroat,  warblers and chiffchaff, male and female reed bunting and bird of the day a yellow hammer. 

Stonechat

Yellow hammer

Not sure, willow warbler? ( small)

A singing Whitethroat at Blaxton Meadow, was the first I’ve had on the patch since a single Spring migrant. Also Comma & Marbled White.

The Buzzard seen this morning and one of many Marsh Orchids.

Buzzard

Marsh Orchid

Out and about in North Devon today when I came across this Buzzard perched on a rock.  Also saw a few Whitethroat a pair of Linnets a nest building pair of Goldfinches and some Marsh Orchids.

Whitethroat

Linnet

Goldfinch

Hopes Nose 12/06  11.00 - 13:00

At least 40 Manx shearwater south. a couple of gannets, one kittiwake and two fulmar. On the Ore Stone were at least 280 guillemots and three razorbills along with more guillemots on the sea nearby.

Two Mediterranean Gulls (adult & 1st-summer) amongst the Black-headed Gulls on Blaxton Meadow. Also 5 Roe Deer.

Two flocks of migratiing/dispersing Crossbills absolutely belting east, low over the clifftops, early this morning. The first had gone through before I could get my bins on it, the second was about 15 birds. Also 32 Swifts and 8 House Martins all heading east. Lots of Guillemots & Razorbills commuting up-Channel, almost certainly to feed chicks at Exmoor coast breeding colonies W of Lynmouth. Last week there were some sizeable (400+) offshore feeding movements of Manx Shearwaters.

07:32 - 09:33

Grey Wagtail, female Redstart and male and female Pied Flycatcher feeding their young were the highlights.

About 40 Mediterranean Gulls on the beach tonight. All looked to be either 2nd or 3rd calander year birds.

Seawatching 5-6pm

A Bonxie flew south at 535pm- 7 Med Gulls (5 ad , 2 fs- inc 6 in the outfall on arrival) and 135 Manxies flew south 

A walk around my local patch along the river exe from the mill on the exe to the flood relief channel start at Exeter st David’s was routine until just after 09:10 when a group of 15 Mediterranean Gulls including several adults and a nice mixture of younger birds was picked up as they flew up river until lost to sight my previous best for the patch was 4 so a good record. 

8 Mediterranean Gulls (2 Ads, 3 fs - first summer and 3 ss - second summer) at Broadsands Beach this afternoon here are some of them.

First returning Turnstone this morning. Also: Kestrel, 7 Stock Doves, Marbled White & 3 Roe Deer. 

Goosander (F) and 10 well grown juveniles on the R Otter just above Fluxton this morning. Probably the same mother and chicks from early May when she had 14 chicks. 

A computer glitch prevented me from sending this report in yesterday but at 11.45 on 11.06.20 a party of about 10 Crossbill flew over my garden heading NE. Strangely enough at about 13.15 this afternoon a smaller party of about 5 birds flew over the house heading in the same NE direction.

Exminster Marshes: Curlews,  Egyptian Geesex4, Canada Geese, Sedge, Reed and Cettis Warblers, Swifts, House Martins and Swallows.

Yarner Wood, Spotted Flycatchers,Garden Warblers,Tree Pipits, Bullfinches,Greenfinches, 

Egyptian Goose, Spotted Flycatcher

A walk along the Seafront this morning produced a second summer Mediterranean Gull on the beach, near the pier and a Whimbrel flying north off Roundham Head.

Eds - first summer (ie 2nd calendar year)

Mediterranean Gull

10:26 - 13:25

Highlights for me - Sanderling, Dunlin, Sandwich Tern, Skylark, Ringed Plover, Slavonian Grebe, Common Whitethroat and a Cuckoo flying around Warren Point.

Quiet lately. A Whitethroat has been singing in the reserve of late, but not heard yesterday or today. The adult Little Grebe was trying to give the 2 remaining young a lesson in how to catch the small Sticklebacks this morning, They weren't impressed, wanting lunch delivered... Lots of evidence of Song Thrushes reducing the snail population. A few Swifts and House Martins over the reserve, but bird of the day was a fly-over Peregrine heading off North.

An excellent night on Tuesday/Weds this week with two new species for me - both well camouflaged on the render on the wall of the house and a view of a Spectacle showing how it gets its name.

Eudonia angustea

Sharp-angled Peacock

Spectacle

Seawatch 05.15-08.15hrs highlights: 1 Little Tern, 4 Common Tern, 2 Sandwich Tern, 12 Manx Shearwater, 8 Puffin, 3 Great Northern Divers, 20 Common Scoter, 4 Med Gulls, 33 Kittiwake, 1 Whimbrel, 2 Swifts and a pod of 8+ Common Dolphin

                      Great Northern Diver                                                         Common Dolphins

9 ringneck parakeet

Redstart,Whinchat,Red Poll,Red Kite,Willow Warbler,Grey Wagtail.Very pleasing amount of Whinchat and young.

Whinchat

Redstart

Grey Wagtail

Two Siskins in my garden (Mount Gould) today.

Earlier little of note at Plym Estuary & Saltram bird-wise, but Marbled White again.

Two red kites just east of Tiverton Parkway 09:00.  Then one still present 16:30

Four Red Kites Soussons,Warren House,area today. 

Lower Tamar Lake this morning.

1 Willow Tit, 1m Tufted Duck, 2 Nuthatch with 4 fledglings, 3 Blackcap, 2 Mute Swan, 5 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Jay, 1 Cormorant, 1 Chiffchaff, 9 Chaffinch, 1 Greywagtail, 1 Pied Wagtail with 1 fledgling, 2 Canada plus 7 goslings.

A very pleasant walk on East Budleigh Common and Squabmoor this afternoon with at least three territorial pairs of Green Hairstreaks showing well on the common.

Green Hairstreak

Small Heath

Good views of Red Kite over the down.  In view for at least 30 minutes.  Also cuckoo,  whinchat feeding young, spotted flycatcher, numerous willow warblers and one blackcap.

Now is a good time of year to plan a visit to Braunton Burrows. Go on a day when the weather is good & you will not be disappointed.

The flowering plants are beautiful.

Sandy Lane car park is now open.

Nothing interesting on the bird front apart from heaps of House Sparrows and Goldfinch young. 

Non Avian

Common Green Capsid bugs, Speckled Bush Cricket Nymphs, Burnet Companion Moth, Cinnabars and Marbled White Butterflies

Took these 3 photos this morning at 8.30am at Haytor Dartmoor of what I thought was a skylark with an unusual black marking on the breast. Skylarks where singing and displaying at the time. Only know looking at the photos I am thinking could it have been a Calandra Lark?

Eds: just an odd looking Skylark.

Quail calling in morning, also Spotted Flycatcher & 3 Swift.

Non-avian: record count of 468 Dark Green Fritillaries between West & Middle Soar.

At approximately 1230 Whilst sitting in my Sitting Room I spotted a Red Kite flying over Mainstone Woods in Plymouth

Little of note bird-wise today (or yesterday) but the pair of Shelduck with 7 ducklings on Blaxton Meadow, 4 Stock Doves, Green Woodpecker, Roe Deer & my first Marbled White of the year.

Spotted a red kite drifting across fields between Dartington and Totnes at about 9am today. It headed off tin the direction of Totnes / Paignton. 

Two Dartford Warblers seen on the common yesterday morning. A few families of Stonechats too. Spotted Flycatcher in the woods. Dragon and Damsel Flies very active on the ponds with newts also numerous.