Odds and Ends

First of all, thanks to everyone who's made kind comments about the article I've written for the November edition of Birdwatch magazine. I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to pen a three page article all about birding the Axe Estuary and Seaton Wetlands during the winter months. I was even more delighted in the fact the Axe had been given so much magazine space! If you want to read it, when you're next in a Newsagents look for this front cover...

It's worth paying the price for the Sibe Blue Robin story and photos alone!

I've just got a few odd sightings to report from the last few days on patch, not that I've done much birding...

Last Thursday I had several sightings and 'soundings' of a Brambling bombing around where I live. Never saw it perched, but it was clearly perching somewhere.

The following morning (Friday) I saw my first Black Redstart of the autumn, with a female-type on roofs along Beach Road, Seaton. Offshore were big numbers of gulls, Kittiwakes and Gannets feeding, although mostly far out.

Sunday morning a calm sea revealed a lovely Great Northern Diver at first off Seaton, then off Seaton Hole. It came quite close inshore at times, but the light made photography tricky...

And today, my best sighting was of thirty Golden Plover with Lapwing in the usual fields alongside the A3052 by the Honiton turn-off. Sadly no small grey ones among them. There seemed to be a few birds moving this morning, from the back garden I had a few Chaffinch and Redwing, and a flock of six Fieldfare NW.

Hopefully I'll manage to get out a bit more during the remainder of the week.