Beer Head Back On The Birding Agenda

After several days of blustery and wet conditions, Tuesday was calm and dry so I thought I'd give Beer Head a try for autumn migrants. It was a bit of a long shot really as sites like Portland and Dungeness hadn't reported much in the way autumn migrants yet.

As ever, and in keeping with previous 'first visit of the season to Beer Head posts' - here's a scenery shot...

Notice the mist in the river valley

Nice to see a new visitor board at the entrance too. For some reason they've not labelled the prime migrant spots though...

I just wish people would read the 'Please keep your dog on a lead' bit!!

Bird wise it certainly was a worthwhile visit - although no variety, totals of 28 Willow Warblers and two Wheatear certainly made it feel 'autumnal'...

This is the closest this Wheatear would allow me!

Every year when I see the first autumn Wheatears they always look small - and I suppose that's because the last Wheatears I see proir to this are large Greenland-type jobs in late spring.

I gave Beer Head another try today, it was much quieter with just one Wheatear and eight Willow Warblers. I did have a Beer Head tick though in the form of a juv Green Woodpecker near The Summit bushes. They do breed half a mile in land but I've never seen one here before.

A little later in the day I had a lovely flock of 17 Crossbill in Morganhayes Woods. They were clearly hanging around as they were moving backwards and forwards between tree-tops, so I'll have to keep my eye on them in case a Two-barred joins them. Now that would be nice...  

After this, a quick look at Lower Bruckland Ponds showed an aytha in with the moulting Mallards. Sadly not a Scaup or a Pochard...

...a lady Tufted Duck

My daily Black Hole Marsh vist was later than usual today, I didn't get here until early afternoon.  The wader situation appaeared much the same as the previous few days. A single juv Ruff remains, there's up to 34 Black-tailed Godwits (including two Axe Estuary colour-ringed birds) and several Green and Common Sands dotted about.  There was a newbie in with the Dunlin (numbering 40) and Ringed Plover (numbering 22) though - this lovely Sanderling...

Sanderling surronded by Ringed Plover, Dunlin and a Common Sandpiper

Have to say it wasn't feeding like a Sanderling at all, it was probing just like a Dunlin!

To complete this post, an update on the colour-ringed juv Kittiwake at Black Hole Marsh on Monday.  Thanks only to Phil's quick camera work we were able to make out the combination of colour-rings, and I've already had a response...

The bird was ringed at the Pointe du Raz colony (Plogoff, Finistère, Bretagne, France), which is pretty much the most western point of France. It was last seen in the colony here on 27th July.  Thanks to Phil and Jean-Yves Monnat.