The moment I stepped outside this morning, before the sun had even risen, I knew today was going to be a good day. Clear skies with a cold north east wind in April can deliver really exciting birding, with birds arriving throughout the day and flying low in the cold wind, and that is exactly the conditions we had today (and just like the weather of 20th April 2023).
I didn't think I was going to be able to get out until late afternoon, however fortunes changed and I spent mid to late morning out, a couple of hours out early afternoon when I walked as many hedgerows as possible in the valley, and again this evening for a family dog walk over Beer Head.
In the bushes it was all about phyllocs, with Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs filtering north through the hedges (and sometimes even where there were no hedges!) everywhere I went. But it all came to an incredible conclusion this evening at Beer Head, where at least 60 Willow Warblers were flycatching in the last of the days light. The vast majority were down the edge of the cliff where they were sheltered from the north east wind, although 15 were along the top of the slope above Branscombe. It really was an incredible spectacle, and worth remembering that all these birds were here even after seeing so many aleady pass north during the day!
It really was so terrific to see so many Willow Warblers, as numbers of these have been slow to arrive this year despite seeing my first one a week ago. Also I've not had a good spring for Willow Warblers on the Axe for so many years now, certainly haven't had numbers like this since I was ringing on Beer Head in the early 2010's. Nice to know that all hope is not lost.
For much of the day it did feel like all I could find migrant wise was Willows and Chiffs, but am glad I kept going as at 13:15 I came across a Redstart. Unfortunately it was a female (sorry - but I had my eye on a male!) and was along the cycle track behind Colyford Common. And I am proud to show you what I believe will be the worst photo of a Redstart you have ever seen...
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| Good job they have red tails! It flew deeper into the bush just as I pressed the shutter button. |
Overhead it was all about Meadow Pipits, with small flocks flying relatively low north up the valley almost constantly. I counted 160+ north during my time out, but in reality many hundreds probably flew over this morning. Other birds on the move overhead included Swallows and Sand Martins trickling north, several small groups of Linnets and an invisible but vocal Yellow Wagtail over Seaton Marshes mid morning. I should also include the two Red Kite I saw today in this paragraph, one south over Colyford at midday and another north west over my house at 15:20.
Other highlights today included up to eight Cattle Egret at two sites in the valley, an Egyptian Goose on Colyford Marsh, and on the Estuary my first Dunlin for about a month as well as this lovely pair of Med Gulls...
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| Such awesome birds at any time of year, but they take some beating when they look like this. |
It's also been really nice seeing plenty of butterflies today - especially if you remember back to last spring when numbers were absolutely dire until June. I will do a butterfly-themed blog post later this week, so be sure to check back for that...
