Seaton & Colyton Stuff 14th-17th May

House Martin, Colyton WWTW, May '16 ( Copyright T D Wright )

House Martin, Colyton WWTW, May '16 (Copyright T D Wright )

Gadwall pair, Axe Estuary, May '16 (Copyright T D Wright )

There's not been too much on patch since I last posted. A couple of Ruff dropped in briefly on BHM and we've had Gadwall knocking about. All the excitement seems to be elsewhere, what with Bearded Vultures on Dartmoor these days!

As Good As A Mile

House Martin, Colyton, 15/05/2016 ( Copyright T D Wright )

I tried to photograph this Martin collecting moss from an old thatched roof but was just too late. I was also too late to see a Purple Heron that was reported from Colyford Common on Friday 13th. It's almost enough to make one superstitious, isn't it? Well, I'm assuming that whoever wrote PH on the board at the Discovery Hut was correct. I mean, I wouldn't know as I saw lots of Grey Herons whilst looking for it but the purpurea version eluded me. Still, it encouraged me to take some video with my D7100; some of which I've posted above. It's been a while since I used its video function - I almost forgot it had the capability. OK at close range...

At Last Some Waders(On the Estuary)

A couple of Greenshanks on Coly Common scrape on Sunday were very welcome; in fact, they have proved to be the precursors of some long-awaited wader movement on the Axe. Nothing on Black Hole Marsh though, it's all on the estuary last night and today. A spring-plumaged Sanderling accompanied a small Dunlin/Ringed Plover flock Tuesday evening, also a Barwit and the Grey Plover shown above. The plover wouldn't show its underwing and as we haven't had one for a while I struggled to remember why the white band across its uppertail was significant. Then I recalled that this diagnosed Grey Plover! It's OK to take your time if you get there in the end. Anyhow, today I returned to Tower hide and the Dunlin count had gone up exponentially. Among them were a summer plum Knot and a Turnstone.. What next?

Fun On The Beach

Just as I was about to leave the Walters Mound at BHM yesterday, I got a text from Steve Waite saying a large flock of Pale-bellied Brents were heading West from Lyme Regis. I knew I had to move fast though it was not so much a case of 'pedal to the metal' as simply pedal and pedal on my pushbike. As I clambered off it at Seaton seafront I could see the flock beyond the mouth of the Axe! I frantically grabbed my scope and had terrific views of at least 40! I then enjoyed a seawatch of 100 Manxes, a probable Balearic ( early one! ), Dunlin flocks and Med Gull (adult). Cheers Steve, a nice end to the day for me...