3052 Bridge

The bridge over the Axe along the A3052 is a spot I occasionally check. Last night there were both Cetti's & Sedge Warbler singing there plus a Common Sandpiper flew downriver. Nearby, a Lesser Whitethroat sang at the substation. I scanned Bridge Marsh close to dusk but couldn't see anything out there except Canada Geese. On Sunday, I was amazed by the number of Whimbrel from Tower hide. 25+ is pretty good going for us. They called so much I could still hear them from Colyton! Ringed Plovers still feature on Coly scrape at high tide and on Saturday there were 3 Greenshank on the estuary which I've not seen since. Nor have I seen the Grey Plover again since Friday. Swifts & Sand Martins now rival the Swallows in numbers but I'm still waiting for the final arrival of the Colyton House Martins. I think that's it...

Ringos About

Avocet + Oystercatcher, B.H.M. 29/05/17(Copyright T D Wright)

I'll not say too much about Bank Holiday weekend as I only saw the same waders that Steve Waite had despite extensive soakings. Yesterday, I had to go to Exeter for an interview and realised after we were done that I could use my Devon Ranger ticket to pay a quick visit to Dawlish Warren. From the train I had an astonishing 16 Turnstone together. Once you leave East Devon and cross the Exe it's like a different birding continent, isn't it? Once at the Warren all I had was 5 Whitethroat and my first Small Copper of the year, plus Skylark & Swallows. A Great Crested Grebe was all I could see on the ocean side of the wall (I only had bins though). Today (3rd) I had a look from Tower Hide at high tide and the Blackwit & Barwit count was even at four apiece. The same could be said for the Dunlin & Ringed Plover count which was 3-all. However, I then checked Coly Common hide and had 5 more Ringos on the scrape. Yes, it's possible 3 of them could be the same ones but my hunch tells me the final score is 8 - and my hunch has rarely let me down in the past. A Sparrowhawk flashing past the Lookout is always good to see as was the pretty girl typing inside it. They seemed to be ringing at the Discovery Hut - wonder if they've mis-identified any Dusky Warblers today?

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!

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...

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.

Cattle Egret Update!

 

Cattle Egret, Colyton, April 2017(Copyright T D Wright)

Only a phonescoped shot as it's impossible to get close enough for a DSLR photo. Having seen 7 Cattle Egret from Tower Hide on Good Friday I thought I'd check their Colyton haunts as people had expressed concern that they'd left us. Pleased to say all 7 were about Easter Sunday but using different areas to feed as there are now more cows outside plus the growing/insect season is now getting going. (Apparently they like grasshoppers). Yesterday (B.H. Monday) I decided to avoid the crowds on Coly Common watching the Whinchat and 20 Wheatears (as per I.McLean) and head down to Seaton Marshes. I had 3 Common Sandpipers in the channel from the hide plus 4 Wheatear (2 rusty roller, 2 by lagoon). There were also 3 Sedge Warbler there. Whimbrel were still about, the most I've seen is 4. Reed Warblers are also in along track to Tower hide. This morning (18th) IMc finally got some reward up Beer Head with Pied Flycatcher and several Redstart. At last - but too late for Easter!

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.