Not Another Firecrest!

Just a quick update to say I've just seen a cracking Firecrest along the path from the Pay & Display car park to Seaton Marshes car park. Superb!

Phonescoping Teal

North American Green-winged Teal, BHM, 16/02/16 ( Copyright TD Wright )

Eurasian ( left ) & N.American ( right ) GW Teal ( Copyright T D Wright )

Eurasian ( left ) & N.American ( right ) GW Teal ( Copyright TD Wright )

Even with their heads submerged they're easy to i.d. ! I think my phonescoped pics have the advantage over my DSLR of having a tremendous zooming option so here's some more pics. I've just come from Tower hide where 2 adult Med Gulls and the Barn Owl were showing. The GW Teal is showing really well from the Walters mound. A Red Kite was seen today by Steve Waite & Ian MacLean so still some surprises are possible...

The White Stripes

Green-winged Teal, Seaton Marshes, Feb.2016 ( Copyright T D Wright )

GW Teal, Seaton Marshes, Feb.2016 ( Copyright T D Wright )

Having an overwintering rarity on your local patch is a nice way to get to know the species. The North American GW Teal amongst our Eurasian GW Teal is easy to pick out, even at long range, with its 'stonking' ( a professional ornithological term, you understand ) vertical white flank-stripes. It also has a pale patch near the base of the bill but I think that's just our individual specimen. The less bright golden-yellow dividing lines around the green areas on the head are not the most obvious feature I've ever beheld on a bird, but these are supposed to be an i.d. feature. Its behaviour is almost exactly the same as our EGWT and no other features differ noticeably. Thank God for the luminous White Stripes, eh?!

Seaton Sightings 15th Feb

Just a quick update. The Green-winged Teal was still visible from Merchants Lane and the ramp this afternoon. The Glossy Ibis was showing distantly from the Hide. The path to the hide had Stonechat and the path to the ramp/Merchants lane held a stunning pair of Bullfinches. No sign of any new bird movement but tonight is going to be our coldest of the winter so let's hope tomorrow brings something new...

Siskin

Siskin, Seaton, 11/02/2016 ( Copyright T D Wright )

Siskin, Seaton, 11/02/2016 ( Copyright T D Wright )

Siskin, Seaton, 11/02/2016 ( Copyright T D Wright )

Siskin, Seaton, 11/02/2016 ( Copyright T D Wright )

Siskin, Seaton, 11/02/2016 ( Copyright T D Wright )

I finally grabbed these pics of a SM Siskin this afternoon!

Barn Owl & Buzzard

Buzzard, Seaton, Feb.2016 ( Copyright T D Wright )

Barn Owl, B.H.M., 10/02/2016 ( Copyright T D Wright )

Barn Owl, 10/02/2016 ( Copyright T D Wright )

Buzzard, Seaton, Feb.2016 ( Copyright T D Wright )

Buzzard, Seaton, Feb. 2016 ( Copyright T D Wright )

I 've had a couple of close encounters with local predators this month! Yesterday, the Barn Owl came hunting past the Tower Hide at dusk. More unusually, though, this Buzzard was very close to Seaton Marshes Car Park last week. I wonder if it's escaped from captivity? It tolerated quite a near approach before showing that it could fly if needs be...

Seaton Sightings 1-3rd Feb.

We've got a mega-rare Brent Goose hanging around Seaton Marshes just now. I saw it an hour ago from the hide but it can also be seen from Black Hole at times. The Green-winged Teal seems to be alternating between Black Hole and Seaton Marshes North Flood. I saw it today on Black Hole but yesterday it showed brilliantly at Seaton Marshes. The large numbers of Common Gulls have had me looking for a Ring-billed but all I got today were 4 adult Med Gulls. One of them was ringed, however so I'll be interested to know where it's from of course. It had a yellow ring with 2E34 in black on it. No pics today but I'll get the camera out soon I reckon.

Pintails! ( & GW Teal )

GW Teal, Black Hole Marsh, 30/01/2016 ( Copyright T D Wright )

I was glad to spot Mike Lock at the wetlands on Saturday and glad to see his GW Teal which showed nicely from the screen. I'll only inflict one of my poor quality phonepix on you! Well, the birds keep coming  and whilst failing to see Phil Abbot's Iceland Gull on Sunday I did notice a couple of drake Pintail flying high above 300 Lapwings. They were reluctant to settle and we eventually tired of watching them all over the estuary from Bridge Marsh to Seaton Marshes. But I got more personal satisfaction from them than the Teal as I spotted them myself. Weird, huh?