Whooper Swans, Waders and Vis Mig

Right I need to start blogging more frequently now, otherwise my 'catch-up post' is just going to get longer and longer!  So this post is just about today, but check-back soon for more about the previous ten days or so..

I managed to squeeze in an early morning check of Black Hole Marsh today.  In general wader numbers have dropped a bit although of the lingering birds there were still seven Ringed Plover, two Greenshank, two Ruff (male and female), two Curlew Sandpipers (including the limping bird), a Bar-tailed Godwit and a Little Stint present. An Avocet was a new arrival, feeding frantically in the south east corner of the marsh, and before dawn a flock of at least 15 Cattle Egret briefly dropped in before continuing north up the valley.  

Good job Avocets are mostly white, because it was distant and in poor light!

 

My walk to work this morning was a delight with very busy skies overhead, as birds were migrating through in the clear weather.  Most numerous were Meadow Pipits, Skylarks, alba Wagtails, Siskins, Chaffinches and Linnets, but I also recorded four Redpoll, a couple of Greenfinch and a Crossbill.  A more concerted effort would have revealed some excellent counts I suspect.

Excitement levels moved up a notch when a message from Mike Morse at West Bexington came through alerting us to six Whooper Swans flying our way over the sea.  I waited and waited, but no sign,  although I was surprised to see the sheer number of birds feeding over the bay - mostly gulls - plus two Grey Heron that flew distantly west together...

Two vis migging Grey Heron about a mile out photobombed by an Atlantic Bluefin Tuna!

 

An hour later and news came through they had indeed made it to us, with six Whooper Swans on Black Hole Marsh.  I managed to catch up with them just as they took flight...

Not very satisfactory!

 

 

Thankfully they almost immediately landed again, with the six spending most of the rest of the day on Colyford Marsh with the Canada Goose flock, looking absolutely awesome...

All adults

  

They looked absolutely brilliant in the with the geese

Wonder where they are heading to winter? Presumably somewhere west, Ireland maybe?

 

Whooper Swans have become more regular on the Axe again, with records in each of the last six years except for 2023.  This follows a drought period with very few records, in fact just one in the eight years prior to 2019. Today's flock is the largest herd I have ever seen here and certainly the largest group to have been recorded on the Axe in the last 30 years at least.  Four is my previous highest count, with flocks of this size seen in March '05, Feb '09 and March '10.  

What a lovely early October treat!  More of this please...