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While day spent at both locations, starting to get those body winter numbers. No counts as there was just so many.

Bowling green. Rising tide to high

Curlew sandpiper, knot, curlew, whimbrel, redshank  black tail and bar tail godwit, pintail, teal, wigeon, mallard, little grebe, little egret, grey heron, lapwing, Canada geese, female Marsh harrier, hobby, sparrowhawk, jackdaw, crows, green dngr4at spotted woodpecker, black head gull, herring gulls, kingfisher, 

Exminster marshes falling tide.

Great white egret, grey heron, little egret, kingfisher pair, black tail godwit, black head gull, a murmuration of starlings, comorant, mute Swan, dunlin, black swans, wheater, curlew. The two spoonbill asleep in the area opposite the lion rest building, at a distance.

Poor results from a late start ringing in the reserve - 10 birds ringed best being 3 Blackcaps, 2 Coal Tits, a Blackbird and a Song Thrush. 2 Peregrines over together. Later at the scrape 6 Cattle Egrets loafing and 2 Ruff (M/F) feeding strongly.

The reported Pectoral Sandpiper was in the flooded area of the field the runs down to the marsh early this afternoon.

At least five Yellow Wagtails in with the cattle, two Wheatear, on the beach and rocks numerous Pied Wagtail and Rock Pipit along with a single Whearear.

Pectoral Sandpiper

Yellow Wagtail

A Little Stint which circulated Blaxton Meadow on the high tide, and then dropped in was my first at the Meadow since 1998!  Also, today, 11 Greenshanks, 6 Dunlins, 2 Common Sandpipers, Mediterranean Gull (ad-w), 2+ Stonechats & 2 Roe Deer.

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Please encourage others to do the same.

Glossy Ibis seen at South Efford Marsh 10.45am feeding at high tide. Also sandpipers, green shank, kingfisher, grey heron, cormorants, egrets.

Early walk along to the scrape : 2 Ruff and 2 Black-tailed Godwits along with several Shoveler. Large (20ish) flock of Long-tailed Tits. From the bridge over the river 4 Cattle Egrets then a fifth dropped in. Dipper in the river.

Yesterday at Exminster marshes around 4pm, 2 Spoonbills flew over towards the Ex. lovely sighting.

Lots of birds on the beach @ South Milton early morning before the dog walkers. Dunlin, Turnstones, Rock Pipits and a Wheatear

Dunlin

Turnstone

Still 7 Cattle Egrets this evening with the cows between the Tarka Trail and the reserve. Still a bit flighty, but at one point apparently they took off and landed in trees in the reserve. That means that Cattle Egret can officially go on the reserve list!

Counted  54 Black tailed Godwits & 1 Bar tailed foraging in the mud.

A flock of 45 Dunlin flew past attracted by the foraging activity. In amongst the flock was one with a white rump - Curlew Sandpiper, also one Knot

Fortunately, after a few circuits they alighted amongst the Godwits. It then started raining soon after I got the camera out of the bag! 

A quieter morning with just Whinchat, Wheatear, 60 Swallow, 6 White Wagtail, 80 Meadow Pipit, 3 Willow Warbler, 11 Chiffchaff, 9 Blackcap, 17 Stonechat, 30 House Sparrow & Grey Heron over.

Non-avian: influx of 39 Red Admiral.

Still things arriving: a drake Gadwall on Wrafton Pond and the cygnets making a wheezy call not unlike a Crane! 2 Ruff out on the scrape and a Kingfisher over it. As I crossed the river into the field, I could see an Egret or two with the Cattle. Aha I thought 1 of each again? Well no, they were both Cattle Egrets and further scrutiny revealed a total of 7! So I quickly called Sue, but then as I neared the reserve, they all flew off South! Another quick call to say they'd gone (that's spin for I flushed them!) Jay and GSW still in the reserve but a female Teal frantically chasing flies on the pond provided entertainment as I drank my coffee. As I was leaving I could see the cattle and an Egret or three, and they had all come back. Fortunately Sue was by the gate with her telescope and had seen them. 2 Grey Wagtails in the river, 2 Swallows over the cattle and a Little Egret plus male Stonechat too.

Yesterday morning was again an early start for me as I arrived at Wrafton pond just after sunrise.  To start there were just three Ruffs, a few female Shovelers and a female Pintail. As the morning progressed the birds increased. A Cattle Egret dropped in for a short time, a Greenshank too and Jon Turner counted 22 Black-tailed Godwits.  In the long grass adjacent to the scrape a single Snipe tried to hide itself from on lookers.

Cattle Egret

Black-tailed Godwit

Blue tag left leg 683

17.55

Good views of a Wryneck in scrub towards Sandy Point. 

Also, 3 Knot, Common Sandpiper, 5 Wheatears, 4 juv Pheasants and a Whitethroat. Grey Seal at the Point. 

A Dotterel over the airfield at Soar 

Dotterel

Dotterel

Distant Hoopoe @ Slapton between Memorial car park & Strete. On the path several times flushed by joggers. At East Soar two waders flew over the airfield, a Dotterel and a Ringed Plover. Several flycatchers in the willows 2 pied and at least 3 spotted. A Redstart and a Hobby. lots of Chiffchaffs and a few Willow warblers.

Spotted Flycatcher

A visit at high tide produced a Cattle Egret on Blaxton meadow, along with 16 Little Egret, 11Greenshank, 10 Oystercatcher and 2 common Sandpiper. By the wreck on the sea wall on the estuary were 149 redshank and a lone Dunlin. 

Trip out into Lyme Bay on Kelly's Hero Charters delivered the following: 8 Med Gulls - all ages, 60 Kittiwakes , 600+ Common Terns - 90% juveniles in flocks of 100+ , 4 Arctic Terns, 20 Sandwich Tens, Great Skua, 2 Purple Sandpipers, Peregrine chasing Common Terns, 5 Balearic Shearwaters, 2 Manx Shearwaters, 50+ Common Dolphins, 12 Harbour Porpoise.

Common Tern

Purple Sandpiper

Morning visit - Spoonbill, 2 Little Stints, 3 Green Sandpipers, 2 Ruff, good number of Dunlin, Ad Mediterranean Gull, 2 Marsh Harriers (fem and juv), a young Merlin , 2 Wheatears and a fem type Redstart near Toby's

1000-1340:

On the high tide this morning, a 1st winter Little Gull on the tip of Warleigh Point in with a flock of Herring gull and Black headed gulls, lost to view after 10 minutes. Also, 4 Sandwich Tern diving for tiddlers, 4 Great Crested grebe, 3 Chiffchaff, 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Blackcap. 

Ernesettle Creek on the falling tide: 92 Redshank, 2 Greenshank, and a Kingfisher.

A great morning at Soar with the highlight being a Wryneck, (presumably the same as Rob's bird yesterday?) initially at the bottom of Stare Hole Valley but very mobile. Worked its way up the west side of the valley then looped back again.

Also a good spread of common migrants including 5 Wheatear, 2 Whinchats, a Redstart, 3 Spotted Flycatchers, a Pied Flycatcher, 10 Tree Pipits, 3 Yellow Wagtails, 3 or 4 White Wagtails, 30+ Chiffchaffs, at least 3 Willow Warblers, c12 Blackcaps, c15 Whitethroats and 2 Sedge Warblers etc. Lots about! 

Pleased to see some Godwits on the scrape this morning - counted about 30 before they were flushed by a cow heading into the pond for a drink. 2 Ruff (M/F) and 5 Shoveler there too. Also, both Little and Cattle Egrets out with the cattle. In the reserve, Kingfisher (or 2?) GSW and once again, a Jay. Lots of small birds - probably a roving Tit-flock, included Blue and Great Tit, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff. several Blackbirds and a Song Thrush.

From the kayak: 29 Greenshank, 12 Little Egret, Common Sandpiper, Kingfisher, Raven.

Hoopoe reported at Slapton.

Saturday evening on Instow beach. Low light (after sunset) photography on the rock near the cricket ground.  Standing still for a while was well worth the wait as Dunlin came in real close, just within a few metres and they were all around me.  There were also a small number of Ringed Plover.

Dunlin

Ringed Plover

Three humming bird hawk moths feeding close together on verbena bodnariensis clump in garden. I haven't seen three together before. Are groups commonly seen?

Morning visit - 1 Little Stint, 2 Sanderling, 5 Ringed Plover and 9 Dunlin on the Drakelands Pit. 

Highlight was a Grasshopper Warbler skulking in gorse at the top of Crownhill Down.

4 ruff on scrape and cattle egret hanging out with little egret at Velator 

Just had a reliable report of a Vagrant Emperor in the quarry at Berry Head this afternoon.

Only 2 Ruff seen this morning out on the scrape. Best bird in the reserve was a Jay (one or two sightings per year) But news of a Blackbird ringed in the reserve in Nov 2019 - retrapped in Norway in August this year. That's a long flight North.

A visit this morning produced: Sedge Warbler, 2 Whitethroats, 4 Whinchats, 4 + Stonechats, Wheatear, 3 Spotted Flycatchers, Sand Martin, 11 Greenshanks, c150 Redshanks, 11 Oystercatchers, 2 Common Sandpipers, Dunlin, 11 Shelducks (10 juvs) & 2 Shags. 

A morning visit turned up a Wryneck just below Starehole Ponds (prob.same bird as on the 6th), adult Yellow-legged Gull with 200 Herrings & 3 Lesser Black-backs, a Teal in Southdown Valley (1st land record for 25 years), 3 Kestrel, 70 Swallow, Sand Martin, 3 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Grey Wagtail, 5 White Wagtail, 6 Wheatear, 24 Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, 8 Whitethroat, 3 Blackcap, Pied Flycatcher, 50 House Sparrow & Bullfinch.

At 12.30 ish today on the river bank off Anchor Wood were two Green Sandpiper, one Curlew and many gulls. No camera but a very good close-up view of the pipers.

Spotted flycatcher in Ford Park Cemetery this morning

13 Dunlin on the beach at South Milton sands, lots of Rock Pipits and Pied Wagtails

Dunlin

Rock Pipit

Over the last 2 afternoons at Radford lake. Kingfisher, Heron, Moorhen,, Juvenile Yellow-legged gull, adult and juvenile Med gull, Little Grebe, Mute Swans with youngster.

Eds - this appears to be a Herring Gull.

Male Kingfisher

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull

Starcross to Countesswear produced:

- in Powderham Park, the Great Egret;

- in the estuary, 20+ Avocets, 15+ Greenshanks and 10+ Ringed Plovers;

- between the cycle bridge and Turf, 3 Wheatears;

- on the canal banks, 3 Water Rails and a Reed Warbler;

- on and over the marsh, 5 Cattle Egrets, 2 Spoonbills, 2 Hobbies, 2 Marsh Harriers, 1 Peregrine, 1 Ruff, and 1 Green Sandpiper.

Back in Exeter, the local Sparrowhawk made it a 6-raptor, 75-spp. day. 

09:31 - 11:03

Spoonbill (2); Curlew; Whimbrel; Pintail; Gadwall; Shoveler; Teal; Wigeon; Little Grebe; Black-tailed and Bar-tailed Godwit; Snipe; Peregrine making a couple of passes over the Marsh; leucistic Black-headed Gull we’re the highlights.

2 Spoonbill back on Exminster at Midday. Also 4 Cattle Egret, by canal north of fisherman’s car park, Garganey, 3 Hobby, 5 Ruff, 2 Little Stint and Juv Marsh Harrier. Also 100+ Teal and 30+ Dunlin. 

Walking embankment Road at low tide  was lovely to see 13 turnstone by the yacht club as well as 12 shelducks. Also seen 2 whimbrel, c4 curlews, 6 little egrets, 2 comorants, 1 heron, variety of gulls. And some type of small sandpiper but nothing to see it closer 

Looked in at the scrape on my way to the reserve this afternoon where there were 4 Ruff - 3 males 1 female. Also a Shoveler. Reserve quiet, so I walked down the river embankment as far as the old landing light gantry. Over on the Chivenor boundary wire, a Whinchat with a family party of Stonechats. A single Dunlin near the pillbox but further on a group which then flew to the other side of the river- I counted 44. Nothing else with them Some way on a lone Greenshank. A scattering of Little Egrets. On the way back 12 Pied Wagtails with the cattle, and a Common Sandpiper at the start of the harbour. 2 Grey Wagtails in the river by the bridge. Only 1 Swallow seen.

This morning, pair of Marsh Harriers, Hobby, Peregrine, 2 Spoonbills, Cattle Egrets, Heron, Reed Buntings, flock of Goldfinches.

Marsh Harrier

Reed Bunting

Morning walk down the valley to South Down Farm. Buzzard, 2 Kestrels, Sparrowhawk. 9 Chiffchaff, 3 Blackcap, 3 Whitethroat, 2 Spotted Flycatchers, 14 Robins, ca 150 Goldfinches (counted from photos)

Six Little Stint (four on Monday, two on Tuesday, so presumably some new birds), Two adult Sanderling, 20 Dunlin and eight Ringed Plover on the Drakelands Pit viewed from the top of Crownhill Down. Scope essential.

Little Egret on pool at the top of Crownhill Down was a patch year tick. 

Little Egret

09/09/2021 - early evening.

2 Grey Plover, one still in sumplum & a flock of Black tailed Godwits flying into the reserve around 19.30 joined by some more after the photo was taken.

Osprey over Isley Marsh 09.15 this morning. 

On the Lundy crossing from Bideford  there was one Great Skua harassing Gannet. Possibly the same bird seen on the return journey. 

Three Ringed Plovers, 6 Dunlin and a Sanderling feeding just up from the river mouth.

During a visit this afternoon: 4 Whinchats, 3+ Stonechats, 2+ Spotted Flycatchers, Green Woodpecker, Sparrowhawk, 3 Dunlins, 6 Greenshanks, Mediterranean Gull (ad-w) & 4 Roe Deer.

Over the morning hide tide, Bowling Green Marsh held lots of birds, but nothing very unusual: 62+ Pintail, 6 Shoveler, Pochard, 2 Lapwing, 6 Bar-tailed Godwits, Whimbrel and 2 Greenshank. Over the centre of Topsham, a Hobby chased a group of Starlings. At Exminster Marshes, 2 Spoonbills (ad+juv), G W Egret, 5 Cattle Egrets, juv Marsh Harrier, 3 Hobbies chasing dragonflies, 2 Little Stints and 2 Ruff.

Seawatch 0630-1430 combined totals ML & MD: An incredible passage of 2,313 Common Terns 90%+ juveniles,  11 Arctic Terns all juvs, 13 Sandwich Terns, 1 Black Tern, 21 Arctic Skuas, 4 Great Skua, 10 Mediterranean Gulls, 41 Balearic Shearwaters, lots of Kittiwake and Gannets. many Common Dolphin, c10 Harbour Porpoise 1 Grey Seal and a Common Seal.

Walking from the RSPB car park, a warm and misty morning start produced a sleeping Spoonbill among cattle in the water meadow. A Water Rail was heard calling and a Marsh Harrier remained perched on a wood fence waiting for the sun to appear. A female Reed Bunting and a Sedge Warbler were seen moving about in the same bush. Willow Warblers were calling from the trees over the road and a single Cattle Egret was found feeding in the pasture. Viewing the scrape from a vantage point in the sun on the canal path we picked out a couple of Little Stints moving back and forward feeding in the mud at the water's edge, in proximity to a very active Ruff combing the mud in the shallows. A flock of Godwits flew into the scrape to rest in the water and preen. The scrape contained another two Spoonbills and a Spotted Redshank newly arrived from the arctic taiga breeding grounds. The bird took to the air and circled the scrape, being joined by another for a fast flight away in the direction of the estuary. When a dark morph Marsh Harrier flew into view before landing on the ground and disappearing, a Hobby emerged zigzagging across the pasture and over the scrape in search of its prey. Further along the canal path to the Turf pub, an Osprey could be seen nearby in the estuary perched on driftwood in the sand at low tide. A walk back to the cars produced a Kestrel hovering over the fields.

Lots of Sand Martins around the farm, a Whinchat, Spotted Flycatcher near the pond, 1 Yellow wagtail, Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers, hundreds of Linnets, a Sparrowhawk, a few Whitethroats, a Blackcap and some really heavy showers

Spotted Flycatcher

Sand Martin

An exciting late afternoon walk up the valley with a juvenile Marsh Harrier quartering the slopes and a mobile Red-backed Shrike below the quarry. Both unexpected!  Also, good numbers of Chiffchaffs and a few Blackcaps about, plus a Sparrowhawk, a Kestrel and the usual Linnets, Stonechats, Meadow Pipits, Dipper etc.

During a break in the rain this afternoon: 3 Sand Martins, 6 Whinchats, 7 Stonechats, 2 Whitethroats, Willow Warbler, Green Woodpecker & a Roe Deer.

From the hide this morning just before the high tide, up to six Little Grebe, the closest ones to the hide feeding on Sticklebacks, two Knott, ducks species inc a drake Pochard, several Pintail and five Shoveller.

Good numbers of BH Gull, one LBB Gull, Curlew, Black Tailed Godwit, and Redshank.

Sixteen Lapwing flew in, seven Avocet, small numbers of Whimbrell.

Little Grebe

Exminster marsh this morning, several very pleased observers viewing across the marsh from the canal bank, two Great White Egret, Cattle Egret, two Spoonbill, numerous Little Egrets, Heron, adult female Marsh Harrier, several Little Stint.

Great White Egret

Spoonbill

A beautiful calm & warm (20C) early morning around the high tide starting at Velator Quay with 2 Grey Wagtails + 2 Kingfishers.

On Horsey 2 more Kingfishers, 2 Wheatear & 5 Greenshank, also Swallows feeding low over the water.

No sign of the Osprey but may still be around on another part of the Taw Estuary.

2 Wheatear on the sea wall at Powderham and a Female Marsh Harrier seen from the cycle bridge

Lots of Kittiwakes at Slapton, a few Med gulls and Skuas and shearwaters far out to sea

Kittiwake

Mediterranean Gull and Black-Headed Gull