Marsh Harrier and Yellow Wag

Both Cattle Egrets are still here today. This morning they were probably no more than about 20 feet from the Tower Hide, but would have been completely invisible from there. I was watching from Axmouth and they were tucked right under the river bank with seven Little Egrets.

Enjoyed a lovely hour out late this afternoon down Black Hole Marsh with Harry, in gorgeous weather.  Managed to bag two autumn firsts during the wander, a Marsh Harrier and a Yellow Wagtail.  A fidgety Harry ensured I left the Tower Hide bang on cue to see all the loafing gulls flush up and a juv Marsh Harrier float around in the air above. I didn't see it close up and had to keep moving, but still it was good to see (our second of the year)...

The Yellow Wagtail was far less exciting. It flew over east calling.

The wader situation looked much the same on Black Hole itself, just a few more Dunlin (36+) and now nine Ringed Plover. Numbers will probably keep rising now as we move into August - the peak month for autumn wader passage on the Axe.

Cattle Egrets

It was always matter of 'when' and not 'if' we will see some Cattle Egrets on the Axe this autumn, but nevertheless two on Black Hole Marsh this morning were a welcome addition to the site fauna. It was refreshing to finally see something a bit different here to be honest as everything so far has been rather run of the mill.

At first they were sat on posts in the middle of the Marsh, but then flew to the posts and trees in the corner near the Tower Hide where most the Little Egrets and Black-headed Gulls congregate in the early mornings...

As you may be able to tell from the lower shot of my two shoddy attempts, they are juvenile birds. I would dearly love to know where they were born, but surely it has to be either Somerset, Devon or Dorset?  Phil was also in the Tower Hide and managed a much better pic of one of them, take a look at his twitter (@philabbott60). They flew off north not long after we took these pics, but they were back about an hour later and Tim Wright has seen them again late this afternoon, so they've clearly been around all day.

Also on the marsh at around 07:00;

5 Ringed Plover

27 Dunlin (though Phil had 29)

8+ Common Sandpiper

20+ Black-tailed Godwit

3 Whimbrel 

In the bushes a few more juv Willow Warblers were noticeable, and there seemed to be more Sedge and Reed Warbler activity than of late.  It was nice being underneath a large feeding flock of mostly House and Sand Martins whilst I was there, 200 birds present at least.

I found out via Twitter this afternoon that yesterday's Turnstone is still with us as well, lingering at the lower end of the Estuary by the Tram Sheds.

So Cattle Egret overtakes Yellow-legged Gull as my best find whilst holding the baby. I wonder what will be top of that list by the end of the autumn?

More Yellow-legged Gulls and More Waders

Had a really enjoyable hour and a bit in the Tower Hide with Phil and Clive this morning, oh and Harry of course who as usual slept through all the chit chat and excitement. There were lots of birds about on the rising tide, including a couple of local scarcities which was nice.  

So that most of you don't switch of now I'll start with the wading birds and end with the gulls. Even if I do say so myself though, you would be a fool not to look at today's Yellow-legged Gull helpings as they are a bit good.  But for now the non-gulls; 

3 Teal
2 Ringed Plover
12 Dunlin
2 Whimbrel
20 Black-tailed Godwit
5 Common Sandpiper
1 Turnstone

Turnstone with Dunlin and two Redshank

Two adult Ringed Plover

At least one of the two juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls on show was an additional bird to yesterday's four - the more distant of today's two had more pale notching on its tertial tips than the average Yellow-legged and any of yesterday's. Still within variation though and all other features ticked the right boxes...

Bird one. Classic pale ground colour to underparts, large size and hefty bill, square head shape, long pale legs, dark centered scapular and coverts and mostly black tertials just with some pale notching on tips of the upper two.

Bird one. A lovely thick set bird and looked quite long necked at times.

Bird one in flight. Pale head contrasting with darker breast streaks, pale inner primary window also visible but no tail detail on this shot sadly.

And then there was bird two, which may or may not have been one of last night's four. It was unquestionably though an absolute stunner and was almost always the closest gull to the Tower Hide...

Bird two. An even paler bird and another chunk.

Bird two. Tertials much better on this bird, all black with narrow white edging. Note the brown cast to the mantle and scapular feathers, another trait of juvenile Yellow-legged.

Bird two. This shot shows really well the classic Yellow-legged Gull (irrelevant of age) head and bill shape. This bird had a really striking dark eye mask, almost hiding the eye.

Bird two. A swimming shot - looking suitably long winged and long billed.

Bird two. Can just about see the tail here, which is really white with a neat black tail band. This bird has a little bit of extra black on at least one of the tail feathers just above the tail band.

Bird two. As with most juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls at this time of year, this bird is already starting to moult in to first-winter plumage. There are several second generation feathers coming through here, but the most obvious two are smack bang in the middle. They are more rounded feathers, not pointed, worn and brown like the juvenile ones, but white, grey and black. You can see why they are called 'anchor-shaped'.

Bird two. To complete the photos a flight shot, which was mostly ruined by the Herring Gull in the foreground! Still the pale ground colour and typical juv YLG wing pattern can be seen well.

Ok no more gull pics...well not today anyway!  

Oh I almost forgot, I've heard at least four Willow Warblers today, hooet-ing from various different places on patch. Numbers of these will rapidly build up now as autumn rolls on...

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls... Finally!

Well this year I have skillfully managed to see fledged juvenile Herring (for almost a month now!), Lesser Black-backed (three days ago) and Great Black-backed Gulls (this morning) before Yellow-legged Gull! In most recent years Yellow-legged would be second in that list, sometimes even first!

I have missed a few juv Yellow-legged Gulls here this summer (which is unusual as not many other folk look closely at gulls here) but thankfully tonight faith was restored - no doubt thanks to the wind and rain. At 18:30 there were two juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls on the Estuary, but at 20:30 there were four!  All were distant and in poor light, but gladly I managed to get record shots of them all...

Look how solidly black those tertials look even at this angle!

Two together

Asleep in the middle - again the black tertials a dead give away this isn't a Herring Gull.

I had a fifth bird that didn't show me enough features well enough to allow me to make my mind up.  Gut says it's a Lesser Black-backed, but it did look fairly big and in brief flight views seemed to look better for Yellow-legged (narrow black tail band and a faint pale window in inner primaries). You thought the last three photos were bad...

It was a darker bird and overall appearance still says LBBG to me. The legs do look quite long and bright though, hmmmm...

The wader situation has been a bit samey since my last post. I have seen up to 16 Dunlin, a peak of four Greenshank (on 21st July), 16+ Black-tailed Godwits and a couple of Whimbrel.

What I haven't seen is any patch large Shearwaters!  That is despite two Cory's being seen off here a week ago today, along with record numbers of both Cory's and Greats off Dawlish Warren and Portland Bill on the same day. One day maybe, one day...

Black Hole Beckons

With storms and rain showers overnight, and wader-inviting water levels, I knew Black Hole Marsh needed a thorough look over this morning. So at 06:00 I whisked Harry down there and we stayed until about 07:50.  It was so worthwhile - today has proved to be the best wader day of the autumn so far.

I was amazed at how quickly the water levels had dropped, this was taken at 13:00 yesterday...

And this at 06:50 today...

This was another part of the marsh this morning - lots of lovely (and lovely plumaged) wading birds...

My totals were;

3 Teal
32 Little Egret
1 Ringed Plover (autumn first)
1 Little Ringed Plover (ad)
20 Dunlin (also had six flying over the Estuary, unsure if they joined the Black Hole flock so maybe 26 present)
3 Greenshank
53 Redshank
12 Black-tailed Godwit
7 Common Sandpiper
1 Green Sandpiper
1 Med Gull (juv)
2 Kingfisher
 

When the marsh is in this condition birds seem to constantly trickle in, so expect these totals to be way off by this evening, especially after a high tide. Exciting times!

The Ringed Plover and Little Ringed Plover stayed close to each other, this allowed for some nice comparison shots. Ringed Plover upper bird in both shots, just look at the overall difference in size (particularly bulk) and shape...

The two Greenshank that remained together, although both adults, looked completely different to one another (left bird still very much in summer plumage)... 

And I simply cannot get enough of juv Med Gulls, enjoy them before they moult...

If you ever find yourself in the Tower Hide with a camera, do make sure you keep an eye on the post just underneath the hide on the Black Hole Marsh side. This little fella can easily sneak in and out without being noticed...

In the voice of a stern tennis umpire... "More rain please!"

Finding Emerald

I enjoyed another mid afternoon wander around Lower Bruckland Ponds today looking for dragonflies and butterflies. Was really hoping to bump into the Lesser Emperor again but no luck with that, although I did have some luck as I found my first patch, and I think the first patch, Emerald Damselfly. 

It's a very widespread species, just not one we get here. And as I haven't seen one for a number of years I had forgotten just how beautiful they are. It's body was just like the colour (iridescence included) of a Demoiselle, with a surprising amount of blue on the side of its thorax and head, a delicately slightly pinched in abdomen and amazing tear-dropped shaped wings. Such a beautiful insect. I just wish it hadn't flown off just as my camera was focusing on it! I will certainly drop in there again this week in case it sticks around, I would love to get a pic.

It seems to be the best year for a long time for Small Red-eyed Damselflies here. I'm sure that's simply down to much fewer dabbling ducks on site, resulting in far more surface vegetation...

I also saw my first two Southern Hawkers of the year, along with two Golden-ringed Dragonflies...

There was nothing unusual among the as ever excellent numbers of butterflies, but here's another underwing shot for you, and today it's a Red Admiral...

And now to birds. Well since my last blog post I have managed to miss two patch Great White Egrets. This morning Ian Mc had one fly in off the sea and appear to land on the beach (although there was no further sign), and three days ago one appeared on BirdGuides for Seaton Marshes just after midday, but no one saw that one again either.  They can be ever so slippery for such large white birds!

Waders continue to move through slowly. On Thursday 13th I had a Greenshank, six Dunlin, one  Whimbrel and 76 Curlew (a big sudden increase) on the Estuary. Tonight there were at least three Whimbrel present along with a decent scattering of Common Sandpipers. The water levels are looking better on Black Hole Marsh again now so expect more sightings from here in the coming days and weeks.  Med Gull passage seems to have slowed down a bit on the Estuary, although they are still trickling past offshore, with four flying in from the south west on Thursday morning.

A walk around the wetlands yesterday morning didn't show much in the way of water birds, but overhead it was wonderful to watch a flock of about 50 screaming Swifts feeding. Whilst watching them I realised that within a matter of weeks they will all be gone, so I decided to watch them some more...

A Hobby zipped through south and in the bushes two Willow Warblers made their presence known by calling. It was great to hear that call again, although on the other hand it's a bit sad when you notice just how little bird song there is now, in the last couple of weeks it has really quietened down.  Proper autumn is looming...

Small Copper and Lesser Emperor Update

I think Small Copper is one of my favourite common butterflies. I prefer the upperwing but today you'll have to make do with an underwing shot...

Whilst on the insect theme, I found out today that my male Lesser Emperor of last month at Lower Bruckland Ponds wasn't the one day wonder that I thought it was.  I saw it on Monday 19th June and on Sunday 2nd July Roger Harris (@chardbirder) saw it on three occasions.  Sadly neither of us managed to photograph it though.  He's got a great blog by the way, well worth a look especially if you like spiders and other insects; http://threecountieswildlife.blogspot.co.uk/.

It won't take me long to update on my bird sightings because I've not seen that much lately, well not much new anyway. A Whimbrel was with the Curlew flock yesterday morning on the Estuary, as was the usual dull first-summer Med Gull.  Black Hole Marsh will likely go a bit quiet for a few days now as the water levels have risen...

Rain in the forecast... White-winged Black Tern anyone?

Early Vis Mig

Taking a baby out early in the morning does have it's benefits. This was 04:45 today...

Looking north up the Axe Estuary from Axmouth Harbour

Today saw the first steady passage of Swifts and Sand Martins through the patch of the autumn, with 34 and 19 respectively flying west offshore in a 40 minute period from 6am.  I saw more Sand Martins passing through off Beer Head late morning so I do think it was a sustained movement.  Also whilst at the sea front this morning five Med Gulls flew west (3 ad, 2 juvs) among a sporadic passage of Black-headed Gulls. If I stayed longer no doubt I would have matched Dawlish Warren's total of twenty by 8am.

I saw a further three Meds on the Estuary mid afternoon, two adults and the lingering dull first-summer (which is often the southern most gull on the Estuary).  Gutted to have missed our first juv Yellow-legged Gull of the year that Ian Mc saw a bit later in the day, but no doubt I'll see many over the next few months.

Black Hole Marsh at 5am was lovely and peaceful, with quite a few waders on the diminishing water levels.  Still nothing surprising here as yet this autumn, just the routine fare, but it is still very early days. Among an increase in numbers of Common Sands were three Green Sands (all adults). An adult Little Ringed Plover was probably the bird Ian Mc had yesterday, but also looked suspiciously like the first of the autumn here back on 1st July. Otherwise there were 22 Redshank, two Blackwits and an adult Water Rail.  

Three Green and a Common Sand

Two of the Green Sands

Having missed out on finding our last three rare waders (Least Sand - Tim Wright, Baird's Sand - Phil Abbott, Semi-P Sand Peter/Phil Abbott) I think it's high time I found another decent wading bird this year (and I don't count Pecs, I have seen more of them on patch than Cuckoos!).  Hopefully the early morning baby walks will do the trick eventually...

Scorchio!

Wow it's hot today.  A look along the river at about 08:30 showed there had been a bit of an arrival of new waders, with three Black-tailed Godwits alongside three Dunlin (my first of the autumn) along the waters edge...

Summer plumaged Blackwit and three Dunlin

Among the gulls three Med Gulls were on show, the first-summer that I yesterday labelled 'distinctively bland' and these two beautiful juveniles...

If you're not familiar with the juvenile plumage of Med Gull, I urge you to come over to the Axe Estuary or Black Hole Marsh and take a look at one. At this time of year they should be present pretty much daily now in varying numbers, and they really do have a delicate beauty to them.  Gorgeous things.

The moth trapping last night would have gone better had Mum and Dad's resident pair of Herring Gulls not taken an interest in the trap before I got to it!  Still there was a very good variety of moths and good numbers too. Nothing new for me or the garden, but the two scarcest species (which were actually both on the wall of the house) were...

Female Four-spotted Footman

The Fern

It was great to get the chance to introduce Harry to a Poplar Hawkmoth, his reaction was epic...

Cows on the Line!

Just a quick one to update all, having spent a bit of time out over the past few days...

On Sunday morning there had been a notable increase in Common Sandpipers with 11+ in the valley, along with a nice summer plumaged Blackwit on Black Hole Marsh.  On Sunday, and the few days since, several gull scans have failed to give me my first juv Yellow-legged of the year but I have seen three different Med Gulls on the Estuary, two first-summers and an adult...

A distinctively bland first-summer Med Gull

 

The sea this evening was beautiful, but quiet (as expected)...

A flock of 11 Common Scoters flew west, with a group of six sat on the sea closer in. I would have been really gripped by Ian Mcs fly by Red-breasted Merganser this morning had I not seen a pair off here within the first few days of the year. He also had seven Med Gulls fly west today, a usual sight at this time of year but always a lovely one.

I had quite a surprise this morning along the Estuary, with cattle on the salt marsh and tram line...

There were at least 14!

A quick phone call to the tram company scrambled three guys and the maintenance tram. It was quite fun watching them herd the cattle back to where they belonged, but I have to say they did a great job - certainly looked like they had done it many times before!

Now don't all sigh at once, but I have a moth trap out tonight for the first time this year. It's about time really as we've had so much suitable weather. I promise though I won't drown this blog with moth photos - but it would be nice to catch a few immigrants. Fingers crossed!

More Waders

Well my predictions in my last post are hardly encouraging me to buy a lottery ticket because they were just so predictable, but half an hour down Black Hole Marsh this afternoon showed my first Little Ringed Plover of the autumn (an adult found by Ian Mc an hour earlier) and a Green Sandpiper.  Plenty more Common Sands too, and even more mud...

Clearly the arrival of all this mud has helped with the increase in wader and gull numbers, but late June/early July often sees a variety of wading birds pass through here. It's easy to forget exact dates so a quick look back through my blog and notes shows we've had Grey Plover, Barwit (and ofcourse Blackwit), Greenshank, LRP, Wood Sand and even Curlew Sandpiper and Little Stint in late June.  Some probably being late spring migrants but most will be early autumn returners, they don't hang about on their breeding grounds if they don't need to.

Basically it's always worth checking muddy edges whatever the month, especially considering the fact the big one often travels alone...