Sunday 24 March 2024

Signs of Spring at Wembury and The Plym

Monday 18th March was another beautiful spring-like day as I enjoyed a walkabout at Wembury, it was warm and calm and with frequent bouts of sunshine but despite this it was relatively people and dog free for a change.

It was very quiet on the bird front too as I expected but 4 Chiffchaffs were yammering away and presumably new in. I thought I heard the Cetti's Warbler calling in the valley to the beach too but I wasn't totally sure. The usual Oystercatchers and 4 Little Egrets were along the beach on the high tide but the Redshank and Turnstones seem to have departed. It was a 4 raptor species day with overhead sightings of a Buzzard, a Peregrine, a Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk and offshore Gannets and Fulmars were seen.

Stonechat

Sloe Blossom

Yellow-legged Mining Bee

Cream-spot Tiger Moth

A Peacock butterfly feeding on dandelions was a year first, looking a bit tatty after it's winter hibernation, and along the footpath there were good numbers of Bloody Nosed Beetles with many seen mating. Even better were a male and 3 female Black Oil Beetles.

Peacock

Bloody Nosed Beetle

Black Oil Beetle

Black Oil Beetle

The highlights of the walk though were reptilian with 5 Adders seen basking in the sun along with 2 Common Lizards and a Grass Snake, all posed beautifully for the camera except the Grass Snake which quickly disappeared into cover on being spotted, a shame as it was my first ever live sighting of one.

Adder

Adder

Adder

Adder

Adder

Adder

Adder

Adder

Adder

Wednesday 20th March was mostly overcast but dry as I headed out for a Plym walk, starting at Laira Bridge and finishing at Marsh Mills on the incoming tide.Very little mud was on show even though I arrived just over an hour after low tide but a few Waders and Gulls were feeding and roosting on the small amount of mudflat available while out on the water a Great Crested Grebe and a pair of Goosanders were diving away.

I spent awhile sat on the bench in the Wet Wood and very luckily (and finally!) caught sight of a Water Rail feeding along the stream before it disappeared from view.

Water Rail - record shot

It was otherwise very quiet around the Park with 4 Chiffchaffs heard singing and a single non-singing bird seen. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard drumming and a Green Woodpecker was heard yaffling but both remained hidden from sight. A lone male Siskin feeding in the Alders gave himself away by calling briefly and only 2 noisy Ring-necked Parakeets were heard.

Blaxton Meadow was virtually waterless but out roosting on the mud were 2 Greenshank, a Curlew, 3 Dunlin, Redshank, Shelduck, 4 adult and a 2nd calendar year Common Gull, 5 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls with the brightest yellow/orange legs I've ever seen and 3 Little Egrets. Out along the river near the gas pipe 8 Oystercatchers were roosting on the mud and a Little Grebe and 2 male and a female Mandarin were seen out on the water.

Greenshank

It was overcast and cool on a repeat visit to Wembury although the sun did occassionally appear from behind the clouds as the morning wore on. Only 1 Common Lizard was seen and I didn't look for any Adders this time, I didn't find any Black Oil Beetles either but there were still plenty of mating Bloody Nosed Beetles to be seen. A surprise sighting was of a smart looking Painted Lady feeding on Dandelion flowers, it quickly dashed off before I could get a photo but 2 equally smart looking Peacock weren't quite as camera shy.

Common Lizard

Peacock

Peacock

Birding was much the same as on my previous visit with 4 Chiffchaffs heard singing away along with a confirmed Cetti's Warbler. A silent male Blackcap was also seen, presumably a newly arrived bird. A Curlew was feeding out on the rocks where a sleeping Shelduck and a preening adult Lesser Black-backed Gull were also present. A pair of Linnet were also seen at The Point, a Peregrine flew overhead and very confiding Stonechats continued to show very well along the footpath.

Stonechat

Stonechat

Stonechat

I had brought my telescope out with me for a change and with a flat calm sea I had an interesting time scanning about offshore with it. A feeding frenzy of Gannets gave away the position of around 10 Common Dolphins beneath them, distant views with the Dolphins being stealthy and elusive before they quickly moved off west with the Gannets gradually dispersing shortly afterwards. Around 20 Auks were also seen out on the water or flying west while just offshore a single Guillemot and a Razorbill were close enough to be ID-able. 2 presumed Red-throated Divers also flew in to join the feeding throng but were too distant to fully confirm ID. An adult Kittiwake was also feeding close inshore before heading out to sea and 2 female Common Scoters flew purposefully west.

RSPUP Membership should be compulsory for all dog owners! - from a gate at Wembury Point

Sunday 17 March 2024

Bramblings, a Little Bunting and a Waxwing

Wednesday 13th March was forecasted to be grey but dry and indeed it was as I headed off to Dartmoor to do some birding with Mavis. It was chilly in the breeze and a bit misty and mizzely at times but we had an enjoyable time.

We started off at Postbridge to look for the reported Bramblings and while I went to the machine to buy a parking ticket for the car Mavis was enjoying views of 2 Bramblings on the bird feeders in a nearby garden! We both then enjoyed good views of at least 3 Bramblings (2 males) coming into the feeders along with Chaffinches, Coal Tits, a Goldfinch, 2 Nuthatches, a Robin, Great Tits and a Marsh Tit.

Brambling, Postbridge

Brambling

Brambling

Brambling

We then headed off to Burrator Reservoir for a walk where we had good views of another Marsh Tit along with Siskins, Coal, Great, Blue and Long-tailed Tits, a Grey Heron, a Cormorant, a female Goosander and a Sparrowhawk.

Wild Daffodils were coming into flower and we found a few Scarlet Elf Cups on pieces of rotting wood.

Wild Daffodil, Burrator

Scarlet Elf Cup

Scarlet Elf Cup

Mossy Trees, Burrator

It was grey and claggy yet again on Saturday 16th March, I can not recall such a wet, miserable and seemingly endless winter ever, but with a Little Bunting having been found at Broadsands near Paignton I decided to ignore the wet weather and head out for a look. Unfortunately there were no trains running between Plymouth and Newton Abbot due to a week long schedule of engineering works and so I had to catch a bus from Plymouth to Paignton instead, it actually didn't take too much longer than the train and it worked out cheaper as well.

I arrived at the car park at Broadsands at around 10am and immediately found the Little Bunting feeding on seed put down over the winter period as supplementary food for the local population of Cirl Buntings which were also present. It was a very distinctive and smart looking bird and it showed very well for a few minutes before flying off, it then didn't reappear for almost 2 hours as a growing number of increasingly anxious birders began to assemble.

Little Bunting

Little Bunting

It finally reappeared and again showed very well but with the weather continuing to be drecky and the Bunting eventually disappearing again most of the birders present dispersed. I decided to hang around for a bit longer and despite increasing levels of disturbance from dog walkers and children on bikes it eventually showed very well again before it was time for me to leave and head back to Plymouth. 

Little Bunting - courtesy of @billcoulson3 on Twitter/X - a fabulous image

I have seen Little Bunting only twice before, brief views of a bird at Wembury over 2 days back in 1997 and distant views of a bird at St.Germans in Cornwall in 2010 so todays bird was a very welcome sighting. The weather and lighting weren't great but the views of the Bunting were very good especially now that I have a telescope to view through unlike back in 1997 and 2010. 

While waiting around for the Little Bunting to show I also saw 2 Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk overhead and a feeding flock of around 40 Linnet feeding in a weedy field. A Cetti's Warbler and 2 Chiffchaff were heard and a quick look offshore in the misty conditions revealed a Great Northern Diver and a Great Crested Grebe out on the water with a Little Egret and an Oystercatcher along the rocky shoreline.

Despite getting great views of the Little Bunting it was all a little bit too twitchy for my liking, the birding crowd were mostly a friendly and amiable bunch but I'm just not overly sociable when it comes to my birding time!

Sunday 17th March was actually a dry day, we even had glimpses of sunshine and blue skies and it felt quite warm and so despite being Sunday we decided to make the most of it and headed out for the day. I had casually suggested a trip to Killerton House near Exeter, luring David with the promise of tea and cake in the cafe there and the fact that a Waxwing had been showing in gardens in nearby Cranbrook did not have any bearing on my plans (much!).

We drove to Cranbrook first and after navigating the joys of the soulless estate roads we arrived at where the bird had been reported as showing and before even getting out of the car I could see the Waxwing sat atop of a bare tree with a gaggle of Toggers staring up at it.

Waxwing

Waxwing

I enjoyed some good views of the Waxwing either perched up in the treetops or gobbling down rosehips in the nearby gardens but it was often tricky to get a clear look at it amongst the branches. Apparently it had nearly been taken out earlier by a cat as it came down to drink in a nearby stream.

Waxwing

Waxwing

Waxwing

David's patience limit was reached after half an hour and so it was time to move on but I was glad to finally catch up with a Waxwing in what has been a good winter for them here in the UK. An added bonus while watching the Waxwing had been a male Brimstone flitting by, my first of the year and as always a surprisingly bright yellow colour.

We ended up visiting nearby Poltimore House instead of Killerton, we had a quick look around the gardens but it was incredibly waterlogged and difficult to navigate and so a repeat visit later in the year will be on the cards. The house itself is a bit of a ruin and unvisitable but the cafe was very good with very nice cakes which we enjoyed before heading home.

And so it's been quite the birding week this week despite the iffy weather with some very nice sightings and a definite feeling of spring being just around the corner.