Saturday, 29 April 2017
Barwit Thursday
An evening visit to Tower hide on Thursday produced a new Bar-tailed Godwit with just 2 Blackwit. At least 6 Whimbrel were visible but IM had 15 at Stedcombe earlier in the day! Common Sandpiper & Dunlin both numbered 2 and the Greenshank was still present.On the way home, I managed to catch the Little Owls mating again which bodes well for the summer plus I caught a glimpse of one of the Tawny Owls which have been very vocal around Colyton. A Dipper also afforded brief flight views on the Coly as did the 7 Cattle Egrets the previous evening. Hirundines have been more numerous although 90% of them seem to be Swallows. Finally, a very brief visit to Seaton Marshes Friday afternoon yielded 3 Common Sandpiper from the hide. If you like Blackcaps we've got plenty of those!
Tuesday, 25 April 2017
Lesser Whitethroats
I joined Ian MacLean for a look at Axe Cliff at 8am this morning and although 'Bun' had already told us that Beer Head was very quiet we didn't do too badly. Two Lesser Whitethroat were singing simultaneously from the coast path and several Common Whitethroat were also singing. Blackcap & Chiffchaff were singing constantly and a Yellowhammer also gave us a brief flurry. A Wall Brown posed in the morning Sun, my first of the year. We also noticed a decent number of Sand Martin over the Axe from Farm Gate. Let's hope the Northerly wind today has the same effect on the valley as it did last year...
Thursday, 20 April 2017
Greenshank, Etc.
Tuesday evening I was pleased to see a Whinchat and 7 Wheatear in the ploughed field along Cownhayne lane at dusk. On Wednesday they were absent. At BHM it was fairly quiet but a Greenshank flew up the river. Also Common Sandpiper. On BHM a female Wheatear spent some time on an island whilst 6 Dunlin and 4 Ringed Plover loitered at low tide. At Seaton Marshes a couple of House Martin showed well and there were more over the town. A lone Common Scoter was diving beyond a cluster of Shelduck off Fisherman's Gap. And that's about it.
Tuesday, 18 April 2017
Cattle Egret Update!
Cattle Egret, Colyton, April 2017(Copyright T D Wright) |
Saturday, 15 April 2017
More Cattle Egrets
The Saga continues! At 17:55 (approx.) I picked up a flock of 7 egrets flying down the valley from Tower hide. As they got closer, I realised that they all had yellow bills. No sign of a black, long-billed Little in there. They gained height over Axmouth and disappeared behind some trees as they headed for the high ground of Axe Cliff/Dowlands area. Wonder if that's the last of them; or, maybe they were 7 from somewhere else? Anyway, 4 Whimbrel then flew up the estuary. Perhaps 3 of them were the same ones I'd seen earlier from Seaton Marshes hide. I also saw 2 Common Sands on BHM plus at least 8 Ringed Plover and a Dunlin. Along Cownhayne I saw 2 Wheatear on the ploughed field fence at lunchtime, then at dusk I found a massive flock of hirundines around Colyton WWTW. About 50 Swallow and 6 Sand Martin but no House that I could see. Does this constitute a Good Friday? Perhaps Could-be-worse Friday is more apt.
Thursday, 13 April 2017
Sandwich Terns
Just a quick update to say that 2 Sandwich Terns were feeding close in off WestWalk at lunchtime today. Also 2 Swallows flew over the bowling club. Last evening, I had 2 Wheatears in the ploughed field along Cownhayne Lane plus a single Greylag on Bridge Marsh at dusk. Here's a picture of me feeling the worse for wear this morning after yesterday's cycling acrobatics...
As you can see, I landed on my face. Not a pretty sight but couldn't resist sharing this with you all. Back to the bird pics next time.
Nasal Roadrash, 13/04/17 (Copyright T D Wright) |
Wednesday, 12 April 2017
Spoonbills & stuff
Wheatear, Seaton Marshes, April 2017(Copyright T D Wright) |
Wheatear,Seaton Marshes, April 2017(Copyright T D Wright) |
Spoonbills, BHM, 11/04/17 (Copyright T D Wright) |
Spoonbills, BHM, 11/04/17(Copyright T D Wright) |
Saturday, 8 April 2017
Waders About
Greenshank, BHM, 07/04/17 (Copyright T D Wright) |
L.R.P., BHM, 06/04/17 (Copyright T D Wright) |
Little Ringed Plover, BHM, 06/04/17 (Copyright T D Wright) |
Thursday, 6 April 2017
Another Quickie
I'm in Axminster today but amazingly was stopped in my tracks at Lyme Close by that old friend, the song of your actual Willow Warbler mate. Spring is great!
Wednesday, 5 April 2017
Wheatear at last!
Thanks to IM for providing the wheels to get me up Beer Head at 8:30 this morning. The Northerly 'wind' I spoke of yesterday was more of a gentle zephyr so no major fall of birds. For Beer head, the date is just ever-so-slightly early too. Even though one can see Portland from it the birds making landfall there rarely visit us. I think Sunday onwards ought to produce more variety. Having said all that, I did see a single Wheatear which Ian picked up as I unpacked my scope so I pointed it at the 'Bird on a Wire' as it afforded us prolonged views with the Sun behind us. It was all downhill from there - or possibly slightly undulating - as we noted a dearth of phylloscs or hirundines. We did see and hear about 8 Blackcaps and enjoyed several Stonechat and other resident birds, plus some friendly dogs. It will all happen soon, Igor, soon...
Tuesday, 4 April 2017
Borrowed Egrets
Pintails, BHM, 30/03/17(Copyright T D Wright) |
Pintails, BHM, 30/03/17 (Copyright T D Wright) |
Monday, 3 April 2017
Colyton Update
Just when I thought they might have dispersed I checked Colcombe farm (viewed from public footpath) and counted 5 Cattle Egrets along with 12 Littles at 3pm Sunday afternoon. So they're still around, as are Little Owl and Dipper whose precise location I shan't blog.
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