Blue Skies, Red Kites, Insects and Sparrows!

Well the weather has taken a turn for the better.  Lots of lovely unbroken sunshine over the last week, and although it might still be cold at times, the warmth from the sun is very much appreciated.  And not just by me but by the natural world too.

Birds song has increased in volume and variety in the last few weeks, several species are carrying nesting material around and our female Blackbirds have suddenly disappeared. Our heather has been absolutely rammed with bees during the warmest hours of the day, and on the butterfly front I have seen three Red Admiral and most unexpectedly, a Small White!  I've never even seen a March Small White before, so one on 28th February in our front garden was noteworthy...

Orange-tip and Green-veined usually come before Small White!

 

On the bird front I will start in the garden and the male Blackcap is still here, although presumably not for much longer.  House Sparrows have done the right thing and since my last excitable post am seeing up to ten in the garden regularly, which I am absolutely chuffed about! 

Same bird as it has a grey fleck above and behind its left eye

They seem happy with the available bush cover

In the river valley, Lapwing and Wigeon numbers have plummeted, although I did count my winter high of Curlew in the last week of February, with 74 on Bridge Marsh.  Gull numbers have also dropped since the turn in the weather, but on the final day of the worst weather (24th) this Kittiwake was taking shelter on the lower Estuary...

Riding the waves of the Axe

 

Although Red Kites have completely changed in status here, winter records remain scarce.  So during a sky scanning vigil from my garden on 28th, I was really surprised to pick up a single spiral of five Red Kites over Stedcombe Vale, which is about two miles to the east.  As I was sending a message out I lost four of them, and could only see a single bird flying north up the river valley. However about ten minute's later the four were right over the garden, flying west low and slow. 

I didn't have my camera to hand, however Tim C wasn't too far away and soon watched them drift over his garden.  I did point my phone camera at one of them but managed nothing better than this...

Exciting to see this mini flock clearly on the move - just as they do later in the spring during spells of sunny weather

 

I have not seen any Wheatears or Sand Martins yet, although a singing Chiffchaff on 3rd was not in a place I would have expected a wintering bird to be, so likely a migrant.   

As always, thanks for reading!

Big News!

Well it won't be big news for anyone else but it is for me!

In our old house, although our front garden was not really a garden at all, just a small bit of concrete and shingle between the pavement and the front door, it contained my most successful wildlife-friendly project of the house.  Back in 2013 I planted some roots of a Privet hedge which were dug up from a garden in Exeter.   

Our old front garden in 2012...

White door

 

And again in about 2022, the same white door!.  It got even bushier than this, far exceeding the darker neighbours hedge in height by the time we moved out...

So happy with it!

 

This hedge gave the garden a new lease of life, and after hanging a fat ball feeder near it, it soon became a focal point for the local House Sparrows.  We would get so much enjoyment watching up to twenty at a time from our sofa, and grew really fond of them.  There were even a couple that would tap their beaks on the front window when the feeder became empty...honestly! 

So, now we are in our lovely new house, which as I have already blogged about has a lovely garden. Lots of green, lots of shrubs and bushes, and as a result a much more varied list of visiting bird species - completely different to our old place.  However one species that I have really been missing is House Sparrow.

Frustratingly, from our back garden I can see to the next street behind, where a small colony of House Sparrows seem very content and are pretty much always audible from the garden.  My goal from day one has been to tempt them 30 meters south west to our back garden, but despite a mass of fat balls they have proved reluctant to move.  

Well that was until I relocated one of my feeders so it would be visible to the Sparrows from their current favoured spot, and on Saturday just gone...

Well hello there, what kept you so long!?

 

So that was two male House Sparrows visiting, and Jess has seen two males and female briefly drop in on another day.  Neither times have they stayed long, but both times they've used the feeder and on the second visit one of the males dived into one of our bushes for cover.  So am now confident it is only a matter of time until we feature on their routine feeding circuit. 

So thrilled!

 

Mighty Meds

Well my plea for more gulls in the last post has been answered as it's been a nice week of increased gull numbers on the Axe, as expected for the time of year.  

I have not had anything unusual as of yet, however that's not really mattered as it's been the numbers that have been making me happy.  Friday's stormy weather produced the most, with an particularly exciting hour or so late afternoon watching large flocks of mostly Common Gulls heading down the valley to roost, although gull passage was evident in the valley throughout the day.

At my first stop of the day, the make-up of the large gull flock resting by the main scrape on Bridge Marsh immediately informed me passage was under way.  Only in the months of Feb-Apr would a large gull flock on the Axe be made up of 70% adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls, as this one was...

In the winter, Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the Axe are actually surprisingly few and far between

And as predictable as the late winter/early spring Lesser Black-backed passage at this time of year is the Med Gulls.  I had a minimum of 19 on Friday, 16 of these in the hour pre-dusk.  Mostly adults showing a variety of hoods with just one first-winter and two second-summers.  It has been a particularly poor winter for Med Gulls on the Axe (seems to be the norm now) which made these even more enjoyable...

What a trio of beauties, with three Common Gull in foreground

A not-so immaculate trio, but still looking awesome in the rough estuary at high tide

 

The most dapper of them all, alongside a full summer Black-headed Gull

Same bird looking equally impressive on the water.  Ten points if you can spot the other Med Gull in shot (just!)

And finally, Mr Dapper in flight

 

My final totals for Friday were 19+ Meds, 45+ Lesser Black-backs and 1,700+ Common Gulls.  However it wasn't just Friday that Med Gulls and Lesser Black-backs were obvious, I had seven Med Gulls on the Estuary on Monday with birds present every day, along with daily Lesser-Black backs.

Gulls are pretty much all I have to talk about in this post to be honest, except for a little, well Great surprise which popped up on the Estuary on Friday whilst I was of course watching gulls.. 

A summer plumaged Great Crested Grebe

Great Crested Grebes are usually regular winter visitors here, with birds on the sea often towards Seaton Hole.  Double-figure counts were not uncommon at all, except in recent years.  Like everything else numbers have dropped off a cliff with just low single figures wintering with us in last few years, but this year it has been even worse.  I saw one Great Crested Grebe in the bay several times at the end of 2024, but this bird on the Estuary yesterday was my first of the year as I haven't seen a single one in the bay in almost two months.  Depressing really.

Oh well, at least I have gulls...

 

More Gulls Required!

I have had a few looks at the gulls in recent days.  Although actual spring is still a little way off, spring gull passage usually starts in early February.  There's no mega numbers here yet, although there does seem to be some more Common Gull about now, as well as a maybe a slight increase in Lesser Black-backed and Mediterranean Gull numbers... 

Adult Med Gull looking well hooded already

A sleepy second-winter, which was even more hooded

Although it is clearly wintering here, and despite the fact my office overlooks the lower Axe Estuary, Monday was only the second time this year I have seen the Common Sandpiper...

Elusive blighter!

 

One day it will be the American version, an overdue first for the Axe in my opinion.  

Male Blackcap

First of all to continue the theme of my last post, since posting that I have heard a few more species singing locally, including Nuthatch, Marsh Tit, Goldcrest and Greenfinch all in full song. I have heard several drumming Great Spotted Woodpeckers too.  Now we are in to February I know the excitement of Spring is literally just around the corner and it is, well, exciting!  

Have not had much time at all out this last week, but a short spell in and around woodland at the western edge of our patch (Bovey Down/Morganhayes) gave me at least two Crossbill, a Redpoll (not many around this winter) and several Siskins, so not a bad result for such little time given. Have seen nothing different at all in the river valley during my brief glances over it, not even a Med Gull this week but gull numbers have seemed low.

In the garden, I have added a few new species to the house list, including Stock Dove and Kestrel. More pleasingly though has been watching a male Blackcap settle in with us for the last couple of days, having only seen a female here previously...

Rain soaked fat balls seem to be easier for the smaller birds to consume

 

He's already getting protective over these fat balls, even giving the Robins a run for their money!

 

 Be sure to check back here soon!  Thanks for reading.

 

The Dawn of The Dawn Chorus

The best thing about the clearer and calmer weather of the last few days has been the bird song.  It's been wonderful to hear so many birds properly warming their vocals, even though there is still a chill in the air.

Of course Robins have been singing all winter, and over the last few weeks I have heard the odd Song Thrush and Blackbird, but the last couple of mornings I have heard several individuals of these species (especially Song Thrush), as well as full song from Wood Pigeon, Stock Dove, Collared Dove, Pied Wagtail, Dunnock, Wren, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Goldfinch and Chaffinch.  Such an uplifting audible delight and a timely reminder we are heading towards Spring.  

 

Blue sky and a male Chaffinch in full song, truly heart warming

 

Great to hear so many singing Song Thrush. Don't think they are all local breeders so maybe the wintering birds are getting lairy too?

 

This male Bullfinch wasn't singing in full, not that Bullfinch have much of a song!  However it was uttering some song-notes as well as the usual call

And a couple of other photos from the last couple of days.  It was nice to see a Dipper today on my walk to work, between Colyford and Colyton, although remained distant in a shaded part of the river...

Hopefully thinking about breeding nearby

And yesterday, this Kingfisher offered some nice views feeding in a ditch alongside my office...

 

A male bird, one of many wintering in the lower Axe Valley

 

As I think you can probably tell I am loving my new Nikon P950! A terrific bit of kit and one I am really enjoying getting familiar with.  So be sure to check back soon, even if it is just for some more completely average photos of common birds!

A Tale of Two Storms

Well Storm Eowyn didn't really do much down here in East Devon, with the west coast and Ireland taking the brunt of it.  Storm Herminia however has been brutal, with some periods of exceptionally heavy rain coupled with strong southerly winds.  Not been pleasant at all - and I usually enjoy a good storm!

Looking towards Beer Head

Clearly been some even bigger waves before I took this photo

Nice light when I took this

Bird-wise, every time I have looked at the sea, except for feeding gulls close in, it has been really quiet.  So either too windy for anything out there or just that there isn't anything out there (I suspect it is the latter!).  My highlight on Sunday was the flock of six Dark-bellied Brent Geese that dropped in on the lower Estuary mid morning, remaining for an hour or so before flying over onto Sheeps Marsh...

Nice to see this little flock, smart birds

During the heaviest of rain showers

 

I also had this dark-mantled Herring Gull, which on first glance I was sure was going to be an argentatus Scandinavian Herring Gull.  Not only was it dark mantled but it was a big ugly brute.  Although not the size of a Great Black-backed, it had the same powerful and dominating feel to it, nothing like our usual southern softie argenteus...

Top right, nicely stood alongside a Great Black-backed, a Lesser Black-backed and two regular argenteus Herring Gulls

 

However closer inspection revealed a non-typical argentatus primary pattern.  Although I didn't see it open its wing, I would have hoped to have seen a lot more visible white in the primaries on the closed wing and far less black on P5. 

Such a brute!

I don't think this means it isn't one, as I know there is much variation depending on where exactly it may have come from, but for me it's just not typical enough to submit as one.  Argentatus is still a rare bird here, in fact getting rarer if anything. 

And that has been about it for me during my limited time out. I'll end this post with a photo from one of the rare mornings so far this year (Saturday) without any cloud...

Looking up the road from us

Thanks for reading, and Wheatears soon...

Garden Birding

Although we have been in the new house for over a month now, up until today I haven't really had chance to stop and take some time to see what I can see with a telescope from the garden.  So I was pleased to have about half an hour late this afternoon with the scope in the driveway, and added ten new species to the house list.

Different parts of the house/garden offer views of slightly different parts of the river valley (all north of Coronation Corner), but the driveway offers the broadest views and includes parts of Colyford, Bridge and Axe Marshes.

I have roughly annotated this map with what parts of the river valley I can see from where I was stood this afternoon...

Can think of several Axe rarities that would have been viewable from my then future driveway! 

 

Yesterday night's rain produced the expected flooding in the valley, which meant this afternoon I could see much more water from the house than I'd usually be able to. Yes it is about a mile and half away but that is what a zoom lens is for right!?

The highlight was watching a hunting Barn Owl for at least five minutes just before 5pm, going back and forth over a reedbed below Stedcome House. Not really a surprise seeing as though there seem to be a few about in the Axe valley this winter, and yes of course it was distant but still good to see. A Barn Owl from the garden is never to sniffed at - no matter how far away it is!

 

On the flood water I added Shelduck, Wigeon, Teal and Curlew, and although there was nothing in with the Lapwings that I could see on the ground, the Black Hole Marsh Lapwing flock took to the air several times and revealed some new species, including a single Golden Plover, half a dozen Black-tailed Godwits and three Dunlin.  It was also interesting to see, several times, a striking Lapwing with what looked like white-tipped wings, so presumably suffering some sort of partial leucism.  I hope to get some better views of it but has anyone else locally seen it?

 

The final two new house ticks were with the gull flocks flying down the valley.  Common Gull was one and I saw over a hundred of these, along with two adult Mediterranean Gulls. I was hoping to add Cattle Egret as it got darker, however I got on to the biggest flock of pre roosting egrets too late to do anything with so missed that one today.

As ever, thanks for reading. Especially as I appreciate that only I really care about what I can see from my garden! 

Some Winter Highlights

I enjoyed a couple of hours out on Saturday morning just gone, ending up with a nice little selection for a mid-winter foray on the Axe patch.

My first port of call, the seafront, was the most underwhelming of the mornings locations.  Three distant Red-throated Divers flew east together, with the only bird on the sea that wasn't a gull or Cormorant being a single Razorbill.  Dire.  Can only presume the feeding conditions aren't great off here at the moment.

Lower Bruckland Ponds in what felt like the half-light of dawn still, thanks to the heavily overcast grey skies, showed a pair of Gadwall still lingering with the Mallard flock.  The wintering Coot was still present too, with two Chiffchaff calling from water-side willows.

I headed to the river valley after this, where a check of a regular wintering site for Jack Snipe returned three birds, including two that came up virtually side by side.  At least 18 Common Snipe too.

Shocking photo of a Jack Snipe, but in my defence it was pratically still dark!

Nearby a flock of 25 Fieldfare were good to see, as there really haven't been many around this winter...

Part of the Fieldfare flock

 

On the river and marshes, singles of adult Med Gull, Greenshank, Golden Plover and Dunlin were sightings all worth noting.  But the highlight for me was prolonged views of the lingering Marsh Harrier that I mentioned in the previous blog post, allowing me the opportunity to take some 'in habitat' shots...

A distinctive shape and an equally distinctive yellow crown!

 

Wouldn't like to be a Water Rail or Snipe in this reedbed!

It kept returning to this spot to hover, but never went down

Clearly a first-winter bird. Be great if it stays for the rest of the winter

All I need now is for the sun to come out.  Yes it was great to see some birds, but like am sure many people are feeling right now, I cannot say how much I am DONE with this constantly dull, grey and overcast weather that we seem to be trapped under.  Just feels like dusk all day.  Grim.  

Roll on Spring...

Cold Weather Leftovers

I didn't make it out during the coldest weather last week when even Seaton had a flurry of snow, although it was preceded by lots of rain giving it little chance to settle.  

I did have time for a look around Friday afternoon, revealing 15 Golden Plover with the Lapwing on Bridge Marsh...

The most I could get in one shot, several of the birds were well spread out

 

At Lower Bruckland Ponds, five Gadwall were amongst the Mallards on the top pond, three males and two females...

Gadwall pair

Such beautifully marked birds

But that was about it for me. Tim C has done well again today, with a Marsh Harrier and Avocet, maybe not cold weather related but evidence of some movement going on.  Talking of movement, won't be long until some proper gull passage gets started, can start as early as late January now! Exciting!

Black Redstarts continue to frequent Seaton Quay, but not the adult male for a few weeks now.  They're not always easy to photograph at this site though as they tend to stay high up on the new houses...

A typical Seaton Quay Black Redstart view

Presumably a young male with all the white edging on its secondaries.

 

Won't be all that long until I am papping Wheatears not Black Redstarts... I can't wait! 

A Quick Mid-Winter Update

As promised in the last post, a much needed update-post, not that there is all that much to update on since the end of autumn 2024...

For me the best bird was the two day Whooper Swan found by Clive on Thursday 12th Dec, in with the Mute Swans opposite the entrance to Stedcombe House.  A nice adult bird, which I only had a few minutes with seeing as it was the day before we moved house...

Basically just a head shot.  It fell asleep shortly after this so was lucky to get anything to be honest!

Whenever I have looked through the gulls I haven't seen anything of note, even Mediterranean Gulls have proved few and far between having seen only one adult so far this year.  

In general wildfowl and wading bird numbers seen modest/low this winter. Teal and Shoveler numbers are the only species in good numbers really, with Wigeon, Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwits present in average numbers at best, just the odd Dunlin and one Greenshank. A Common Sandpiper is wintering on the lower Estuary, the first wintering Common Sand on the Axe for at least four years, before this, one or more would stop over every winter.  Before Christmas a pair of Avocet stayed for a few days, which I saw twice, but unfortunately they didn't stay any longer than that. 

Cattle Egrets are using the valley to roost in, but heading off somewhere north of the patch for most daylight hours.  Low double-figures have been seen on several dates, although I have only seen four myself as haven't done the egret roost yet this winter.  Goosanders are being seen now and then at dusk too, no doubt more coverage would show they are roosting on the lower Estuary regularly.  I missed the rarest bird of the year so far, Tim C found a brief Glossy Ibis on Black Hole Marsh on 3rd January.  

On the passerine front, it was nice to see a Firecrest right by my work on the 5th.  Black Redstarts are still using the new Seaton Quay houses to feed on, with up to three still present although I very rarely see the adult male.  Hope to get some decent photos of them before too long.

And back to the new house to finish the post.  Although I only managed this awful photo, in the half-light of dawn at the start of this week, the first Bullfinch for the garden spent a few minutes feeding in the front garden...

Hope it returns!

Hopefully will be getting out a bit more soon, just need the days to pull out a bit more!  As ever, thanks for reading...

New Year... New Home!

Sorry it has been a bit quiet on here lately, but we've been a bit busy!

Having lived in Primrose Way, Seaton, for over 12 years, a move was long overdue as we had all very much out grown our first home.  The location of the house is what kept us in it longer than we planned, being just a few minutes walk from Seaton Wetlands and with views from the main bedroom over the river valley across to the hills above Axmouth.  

More details of the house and pictures can be found on the blog post I wrote back in November 2012 shortly after we moved in.

Moving day!  Many thanks Tim C and Kev for all the help loading and unloading this van.

 

It was largely due to its location that in the 12 years and one month we lived there I recorded an impressive 129 species from the house/garden.  Full list below...

 

House List
Mute Swan	Collared Dove
Canada Goose	Swift
Shelduck	Green Woodpecker
Wigeon	Great Spotted Woodpecker
Gadwall	Magpie
Teal	Jay
Mallard	Jackdaw
Shoveler	Rook
Pochard	Carrion Crow
Goosander	Raven
Red-legged Partridge	Goldcrest
Pheasant	Firecrest
Cormorant	Blue Tit
Cattle Egret	Great Tit
Little Egret	Coal Tit
Great White Egret	Skylark
Grey Heron	Sand Martin
Glossy Ibis	Swallow
Spoonbill	House Martin
Little Grebe	Cetti's Warbler (heard)
Red Kite	Long-tailed Tit
Marsh Harrier	Yellow-browed Warbler
Goshawk	Chiffchaff
Sparrowhawk	Willow Warbler
Buzzard	Blackcap
Osprey	Lesser Whitethroat (heard)
Kestrel	Whitethroat (heard)
Merlin	Grasshopper Warbler (heard)
Hobby	Sedge Warbler (heard)
Peregrine	Nuthatch
Water Rail (heard)	Treecreeper
Moorhen	Wren
Coot (heard)	Starling
Oystercatcher	Blackbird
Avocet	Fieldfare
Little Ringed Plover (heard)	Song Thrush
Ringed Plover	Redwing
Golden Plover	Mistle Thrush
Grey Plover	Spotted Flycatcher
Lapwing	Robin
Dunlin	Black Redstart
Ruff	Stonechat
Snipe	Wheatear
Black-tailed Godwit	Dunnock
Bar-tailed Godwit	House Sparrow
Whimbrel	Yellow Wagtail
Curlew	Grey Wagtail
Common Sandpiper (heard)	Pied Wagtail
Green Sandpiper	Tree Pipit
Greenshank	Meadow Pipit
Wood Sandpiper (heard)	Rock Pipit
Redshank	Chaffinch
Black-headed Gull	Brambling
Little Gull	Greenfinch
Mediterranean Gull	Goldfinch
Common Gull	Siskin
Lesser Black-backed Gull	Linnet
Herring Gull	Lesser Redpoll
Iceland Gull	Common Crossbill
Great Black-backed Gull	Bullfinch
Sandwich Tern	Hawfinch
Rock Dove / Feral Pigeon	Yellowhammer
Stock Dove	Reed Bunting
Woodpigeon

  

As you can see there are some really good birds on there, with some of the stand out sightings being an adult Little Gull feeding over a flooded Axe Estuary on 5th February 2014, three Glossy Ibis including two feeding in the field next to the house, an immature Iceland Gull flying up the valley on 30th April 2020, several sightings of Cattle and Great White Egret, numerous Red Kite, Ospreys, Marsh Harriers, Hobbies and three Goshawk sightings, two female Pochard in flight on 8th May 2023, a vis mig Hawfinch on 29th October 2021 and out of the four Yellow-browed Warblers that I have heard from the garden, one I actually saw from it (the other three I did see but not from the garden).  The dates of the Yellow-broweds were 30th October 2015, 23rd October 2016, 19th October 2017 and 14th October 2018.

The 2015 Yellow-browed Warbler. Two were in trees by a small green just down the road from our house, with the other two in trees by a small green just up the road from our house.  It just proves that good birds can be found anywhere!

 

One of the things I really loved about the house was that at night, from the garden or our bedroom with the window open, once all traffic noise had died down you could hear the water birds (and occasionally passerines) of Black Hole Marsh.  High tide was an absolute treat, especially during the autumns, with many species on the list simply because they were so vocal after dark.  

The year the Avocets bred on Black Hole Marsh (2023), although I did see them several times from the house, hearing them call most nights with a back drop of Redshank, Oystercatchers, squabbling Godwits and Black-headed Gulls and later in the season whistling Teal and calling Snipe, was absolutely magic.   Another great heard-only from the garden was a spring Grasshopper Warbler which took up territory for over a week in a very uninspiring hedge between two uninspiring fields besides the house in April 2020.

I was gutted not to have seen the October 2024 Rose-coloured Starling from the house, even though I saw it about ten paces from my front door, and where it was perched would have been viewable from my back garden.  Sadly it never did come back to Primrose Way, despite staying in East Devon for several weeks following its discovery.

I have got a 'one that got away' house story too.  On a very wet and dreary day in April 2016, I was sat in the kitchen and could not for the life of me figure out what the bird was that was flying towards the house from the direction of Black Hole Marsh/Axe Estuary.  I rushed into the garden and  just as it flew over the house the penny dropped... can only be a Stone Curlew!  I ran through the house to my car parked out the front and grabbed my binoculars from the boot, but just as I raised them to my eye I could see the bird disappear from view to the west.  As I never manage to get any plumage on it I never submitted the record, but there was simply nothing else it could have been based on structure and flight. This certainly taught me to always leave a pair of easily grabbable binoculars in the house, a lesson I will be bringing over to our new house for sure.

Time to talk about the new house now, and yes we are still 'on patch'. We are still in Seaton in fact, just a few minutes drive from Primrose Way actually. We are slightly closer to the town, but high, above all surrounding houses, giving us excellent views of the Axe Valley up to Musbury Castle, plus views towards the Tower Garage and best of all a huge sky vista.  I am really excited about the vis mig potential here - roll on spring and autumn!  

The best thing though (which my Son and Golden Retriever will certainly agree with me on) is that we actually have a garden.  Behind the house is a lovely large lawned garden with big hedges on two sides and fruit trees in the corner, so the day after we moved in of course some well-stocked bird feeders went up. Ten days later, after the expected Robins, Dunnocks, Blackbirds had discovered them, I snapped this out of the kitchen window...

A very welcome female Blackcap. Doesn't seem to be many around this winter making it even more exciting.

I do have some local bird news to catch you all up with, but will write about that in another post within the next week or so. 

To complete this post all that is left for me to say is to wish all readers of this blog, whether regular readers or one-time viewers, a very Happy New Year.  I sincerely hope for every single one of you, that 2025 is filled with happiness, good health and of course plenty of birds!