Not Much To Report

Well this blogger and local patch birder is starting to get down hearted by the absolute lack of birds. This is the time of year we spend the whole year looking forward too, and it is proving absolutely dire!

The last couple of days I have spend a few hours in the morning down the marshes and looking along the Estuary.  Out Pec still hasn't materialised, not much has in fact!  Look what I ended up taking photographs of yesterday morning...

It was a very stupid and tame Pheasant though!

And then there was this Wheatear on the board walk...

 

We all love a good Wheatear - this is the best I can offer I'm afraid!

When it comes to notable birds, five Green Sands and singles of Greenshank and Dunlin were the best - all on Black Hole Marsh.

Today it was virtually exactly the same, although a check of Axmouth harbour revealed this Guillemot...

Can't recall seeing an auk on the river before

Rewinding back a little, I had an amazing weekend although there was very little birding involved.  Did have an evening stroll around Beer Head with Jess on Saturday though.  Bird-highlights were 100+ Meadow Pipits and three Yellow Wags, but the sunset was the real highlight...

Stunning!

In The News

The River Axe was mentioned on the BBC National News several times today - but for the wrong reasons.

A huge amount of rain (and I'm sure not helped by big tides and a gusty southerly wind) has caused horrendous flooding in the area. A lot like many other places in the south west today. The damage it has caused to houses, businesses and roads is very sad to see, but the effect on the local wildlife must be catastrophic.

Pictures never give the full effect of something like this, but here's a few anyway...

The Axe Estuary today about an hour before low tide!

From the farm gate

Note how on the far side of the tram line it looks like one huge lake - the whole of Colyford Common, Black Hole Marsh, Seaton Marshes and the fields in between were flooded into one. The bank at Seaton Marshes stopped the flooding continuing any further south.

So I thought I'd go around to Black Hole Marsh...

The entrance track - I couldn't even get to the gate!

So I then tried to get down to Colyford Common...

Ok - maybe not!

As usual the A3052 flooded over and it was closed by the bridge.

These are the fields just south west of Boshill Cross

The rain wasn't just causing problems via the river...

One of many that I've seen today

And this land slide by the side of the harbour was pretty dramatic to see. Totally blocked the path to the beach east of the harbour...

Note the tree in the river!

The only birds I've seen of note today were two commic Terns south down the Estuary and a Hobby low over Black Hole Marsh. These really are insignificant though when you think how today has affected our local breeding birds - I should imagine ALL Reed/Sedge Warblers nests have been flooded out today. Disaster.

Searching For The Stripes

I spent my morning searching for small stripey warblers and nothing else...

Between 09:00-11:00 I visited many phyllosc-friendly sites, but didn't even see a Chiffchaff! The only notable warbler I did chalk up was the Cetti's Warbler at Lower Bruckland Ponds again - which this morning was singing in the sunshine, lovely to hear again :-)

The higher pond at Lower Bruckland Ponds

The river mouth - looking rather dramatic today!

There are plenty of sycamores on the east side of Axmouth Harbour, where I've seen a few Firecrest in the past. Not seen a Yellow-browed or Pallas's here yet, but in time I'm hoping I will!

This afternoon a look along the Estuary showed just four Med Gull (three adults and second-winter), 32 Blackwits and five Barwits. It was nice to see good numbers of Black-backed Gulls though, which always raises the chances of a rare Gull or two!