Osprey, Yellow Wagtails, Whimbrel and Marsh Harrier still

Great to see my third Osprey of the spring this morning.  As usual the gulls first alerted me to its presence, just before 09:40 over the lower Axe Estuary...

Don't look too closely at this photo - it is horribly fuzzy!

 

It flew slowly down the Estuary, and I last saw it over Axmouth harbour heading off west, presumably it then followed the coast.  I guess there is a good chance it had roosted on or near the Axe overnight.

One of the birds it flushed was my long overdue first Whimbrel of the year, which had spent the previous half an hour feeding on the Estuary by Axmouth bridge...

An equally bad photo

 

I have a mini-update for Saturday too.  I only had an hour out mid to late morning, but I spent the whole time going through the large numbers of hirundines feeding low in the valley.  Although we have had good numbers of Sand Martins around for several weeks now, numbers of Swallows and House Martins have been really low, with not even any good passage days.  So the sight of 700-800 hirundines feeding low over the fields and river at Colyford Marsh, Bridge Marsh, and up the Axe Valley north of the A3052 was simple brilliant!  My estimations were minimums of 400 Sand Martins, 300 Swallows and 40 House Martins.  What was exciting is that every now and then I would notice new birds arriving from the south, so it really felt like there was always a chance of something better (possibly with a red-rump!?) joining the feeding frenzy.

Sadly the hirundine species count remained at three for the morning, but a lovely highlight were two stunning male Yellow Wagtails loitering with the hirundines feeding just north of the A3052 opposite Bridge Marsh.  Most the time I was just enjoying flight views of them, as they'd sporadically fly around with the Swallows and Martins before dropping back down into the long grass.  However I eventually saw both well on the deck, one walking about in an area of shorter grass on the river bank whilst the other bird sat up for a few minutes on a small hedge...

Not a great post for photo quality I am afraid!

 

I've said it already this year in my post with the not quite blue-headed Yellow Wagtail in March, but grounded spring Yellow Wags are like gold dust here. So to see two more males was such a treat!  Top birds they are.

One of the Marsh Harriers is still around, I see it pretty much every time I look over Colyford Marsh...

Great to have one lingering

Cannot really believe it is already 20th April.  Although there's been some great spring birding this year, day to day I am not seeing all that much - especially in any numbers.  Hopefully this picks up soon because when we head into May I am well aware it means we are coming towards the end of the main period of spring migration.  I am not ready for spring 2025 to be done just yet.

 

Two Marsh Harriers and Two Gulls

I went from feeling poorly at the end of last-last week, straight into a busy week of work, however have managed to fit a little birding in here and there.  I've not seen as much as I had hoped with the change in wind direction, but it is always nice to be out at this time of year.

My first meander out was down to Black Hole Marsh a week ago yesterday, on Friday evening.  It was lovely to hear Sedge and Reed Warbler singing, my first of the year.  There was nothing unexpected on the marsh itself, but a Marsh Harrier that flew in high from the west and then looked to roost in Axe Reedbed was a nice treat.

The following morning there were two Marsh Harriers on Colyford Marsh, presumably the bird I saw drop in alongside a bird that had been seen here sporadically during the few days previous.  Although they spent most the time apart...

The closer of the two

Might be distant but still instantly identifiable

I did capture the moment they briefly came together...  

Two for one

 

Two Greylag Geese on the Estuary seemed like new arrivals, and I saw and heard my first Whitethroat of the year at Axe Cliff.  Little else in the way of grounded migrants though.  

An annual March/April sighting on the Axe in varying numbers

 

Sunday afternoon I noticed the wind was starting to blow onshore, and I just managed to squeeze in a fifteen minute sea watch off Seaton before darkness set in.  I was hoping for my first Manx Shearwaters of the year, and although there weren't the numbers I was wanting, the two that did come through at 20:10 were reasonably close and offered good views.  A nice way to see my first of the year.

As Monday morning broke the wind remained onshore, but it had switched more easterly.  I think it was the clear weather than ensured everything passing here was distant, but there were birds passing.  In 45 minutes I had 175 auk sp, 35 Gannet, 10 Kittiwakes and a diver sp. fly east.  Pity my first skua of the year didn't decide to make an appearance though.

Another sea watch attempt Wednesday morning was not even as fruitful as the Monday one!  The wind was almost straight westerly which isn't good.  2 Great Northern Divers and 1 diver sp (probably a Black-throated) were all the notebook worthy sightings.

Over the week I have been keeping half an eye on the Estuary, expecting Whimbrel, Bar-tailed Godwits, etc.  However not seen much at all.  Common Sandpipers are up, with a max of three for me on 16th, and there's been a couple of Dunlin.  There's still at least one drake Gadwall around which seems to be paired with a female Mallard.

Friday (yesterday) the weather was at its worse.  Although the rain took a little longer to arrive it was a dull, damp and very windy day.  The wind was south easterly, which always comes with hope in spring, especially when it coincides with rain, however everywhere was oddly quiet.  Several looks at the Estuary, marshes and the sea during the day failed to show anything of interest at all - in fact I only saw three species of wader all day which is completely shocking for a day when wader passage should have been prevalent.   

It took until the final trip out of the day for anything of value, when the gull flock that remained on the Axe (numbering no more than 40 birds) contained a lovely, although slightly shoddy looking, first-summer Caspian Gull and a second-summer Yellow-legged Gull!  What a double whammy!  And in such a small flock, which actually contained eight different gull species, all in the below shot...

The Caspian Gull only just in shot to the left - the Med Gull was one of two I saw today

 

Here's a better photo showing both the star birds...

Yellow-legged bottom left, Caspian behind the juvenile Great Black-backed

 

The first-summer Caspian Gull was mine and the Axe's second Casp of the year, and this was my first view of it...

Right hand bird, looking suitable leggy, necky, pale and long-billed.

 

Very helpfully within a minute of finding it, it flashed me...

Everything you want to see - clean white underwing, white tail, plain greater coverts with distinct bar.

 

I changed my location to get some better shots, although the rain only got heavier and light worse...

Lots of pale grey scaps and such plain greater coverts and tertials.  Bill very pale and long.  Still some neck shawl streaking visible.  Its a long and large bird too, almost the same size as the first-winter Great Black-backed Gull walking next to it.

 

Not looking overly happy with its life choices - being on a cold and wet Axe Estuary!

 

And now for the Yellow-legged Gull, this being mine and the Axe's first of the year...

Second bird from left. Size and mantle colour obvious from here already

The Caspian Gull remained until I left the Estuary at 19:20, however the Yellow-legged Gull slipped away just after 19:00. Whilst it was present it moved around far less than the Caspian so all my photos from Coronation Corner were fairly similar...

Bottom left bird.  Although mantle colour was how I picked it up, the birds overall structure an excellent Yellow-legged feature.  Note its big rounded head and that overall it is a big hefty bird.  The photo showing both good gulls further up this post shows the YLG's massive head even better, completely dwarfing the nearby Herring Gulls.

 

So there we go.  In summary a very disappointing week which should have been so much better, but ending with a belting couple of gulls.  

The troubling raptor I saw on Thursday evening I am going to leave for another post - it had me fooled but I am still not certain as to what it was!  Check back soon for that tale, in which I shall be eating lots of humble pie...

 

Man Down

So my blog title might be a bit over the top, but I have spent the last three days inside with a really nasty sick bug.  Not a good time of year to be out of action.  I think I am finally seeing the back of it now, so hope to be back out again within a day or two.  

I have missed a few bits during this time, including at least three more Redstarts all around Colyford Common, another Hoopoe that Kev had fly in off at Beer Head this morning, and the return of the Black Hole Avocets.  Am told Reed and Sedge Warblers are in now too, neither I am yet to see/hear this year.  

The day before my mini lockdown began (Sunday this week), and the day after my last post in which the migration was absolutely epic, there were still plenty of birds moving.  Not quite as many as the previous day (although weirdly Portland reported more) but my walk to work took me past eight singing Willow Warblers, which is more than I sometime see in an entire spring here!  

The other highlight of Sunday was my second Osprey of the spring, thanks to a message from Tim C at 15:40.  Luckily it was viewable from my exact location and I could see it powering on north east up the valley with Herring Gulls in pursuit.  

The upside to more time at home is some additions to the house list, including two crackers today. Just before sunrise a group of eight egrets flew low north east over the front garden - three Little and five Cattle. Then later this morning a Jay flew high east overhead - which I was convinced was going to be a Hoopoe when I first picked it up as distant floppy-winged dot - so a bit of a disappointment to be honest.  Also this week have added Meadow Pipit and Yellowhammer. 

Hope everyone reading this has had a good start to April.  Be sure to check back soon for the next update!  

A Top Day of Spring Passage

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...

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...

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...

 

Wheatears and House Martin from Home

Well it looks like spring has moved up a notch in the South West over the last day or so, with multiple scarce and rare birds making landfall, mostly in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.  Hopefully we get a slice of the action here, but in the meantime there's plenty of spring excitement still to be had!

On Monday morning, I hadn't even stepped off my driveway when the magic of spring migration left me in awe.  It took my brain a few seconds to register that the blob near the top of a neighbours tree isn't usually there...

Yes - that blob!

And on closer inspection, it was a cracking male Wheatear...

Looked so cool!

He wasn't settled there for long, and within less than thirty seconds he was off, joined by a second bird and flew north over the road, over the houses on the edge of Seaton and last seen heading for the fields near Tower Services.

Spring migration in action, without me even leaving the garden! And one of those occasions that makes you wonder how often us birders must just miss seeing things. If I had stepped out my house thirty seconds later I wouldn't have seen any Wheatears that day.

Another new one for the house list, and also for 2025, was a House Martin that fed low over the house for a few minutes this evening.  A bang on average date for my first, however as there were more than usual reported around the UK in March this year, it feels late.

Hopefully my next post will include even more spring magic...

 

Osprey

Pleased to be in the right place at the right time when the gulls in town went stir crazy early this afternoon.  I stepped outside to see an Osprey circling over Tesco, surprisingly low, which is a good job otherwise these phone-photos would be even worse than they already are...

Incoming!

A bit better, but frustrating not to have my camera with me at the time

Any spring Osprey is a good bird here, as they never linger, but a March one even better!  It didn't hang about and presumably had only just arrived from the south. 

I think the less I say about Hoopoes the better, however I have put in a lot of leg work this last week/ten days in an effort to finally find a Hoopoe of my own.  Not only have I failed at that, but one of the places I did check during my searches then had a Hoopoe!  Probably turned up later the same day as well as it was seen for a few days by locals. Unfortunately I wasn't able to see it when it showed to all yesterday morning, however I'm thrilled that most the other local birders got to see it. There's some cracking photos of it out there that's for sure! 

I best keep trying...

An Early Spring Flurry

I had a feeling today's pre-dawn rain shower would do something, and it clearly did as I enjoyed a positively exhilarating few minutes of birding at Bridge Marsh at about 8am. I know that doesn't sound like much, but for March and on the Axe I'll take it!

I'd spent the previous hour on Seaton Marshes, where my first Willow Warbler of the spring sung from a gorse bush alongside a ditch.  I heard it a few times then watched it pick some insects off of the yellow flowers, before it flew north across the marsh landing in a willow tree right next to me. It spent about ten minutes singing and feeding in this tree, then flitted off to the north. 

It felt like a real honour watching this tiny migrant, looking as fresh as a daisy (which is quite astonishing considering it has flown around three thousand miles already on its spring migration!) on active migration.  It shared its first minutes/hour of its time in the UK this year with me, and then just carried on with the job at hand.  Mind-blowing really.

The first ones always look really striking, having seen just Chiffchaffs for the last six months!

As mentioned above I then headed to Bridge Marsh, and upon arrival could see two lovely White Wagtails feeding on the main scrape.  White Wags are bizarrely scarce on the Axe, I can easily go a spring without seeing one so I really enjoyed these two despite the distance...

Lovely birds, and both of these were males

 

It then all went a bit mad.  As I was photographing these I heard a single call from a Yellow Wagtail somewhere to my south, and about ten seconds later this landed with the White Wags...

An on the deck spring Yellow Wag of any sort is a rarity on the Axe!

  ....a cracking male Yellow Wagtail, and a Blue-headed-type at that!  I will go into more detail on the head later in the post, but any Yellow Wag on the deck on the Axe in spring is seriously good value these days. I manage fly-over spring Yellow Wags just about annually, they just never land! And their reluntancy to land is even more puzzling when you consider how numerous they are in the autumn.

I had to check back through my records a surprisingly long way, as my last grounded Axe spring Yellow Wagtails were in April 2017, with two on Colyford Marsh one evening.  It really has been that long!  Today's bird was my earliest ever spring Yellow Wagtail and my first ever March one, not just here but anywhere the UK. 

Shortly after the Yellow Wag appeared, another White Wag joined the group and then a Little Ringed Plover flew in and shared the same scrape. All this with a few Sand Martins and only my second Swallow of the year flying around above. Spring magic.

The LRP was as distant as the wagtails

 

The wagtails took flight and after five minutes of no sign, suddenly the Yellow Wagtail and a White Wagtail were on a closer scrape.  This is when I had much better views of the Yellow Wags head. It was blue, but not blue enough...

The blue might have been a bit lacking but the yellow certainly wasn't!

Nice broad white supercilia visible here, and that blue crown. Throat yellow.

Blue-capped Wagtail probably more fitting

With a White Wag. Nape mostly olive, looking flavissima-like

In summary I think it would be best to label this bird as a flava/flavissima intergrade.  Yes it is a bit frustrating this wasn't a clear cut Blue-headed, but nothing can take away from the fact it was an Axe spring Yellow Wagtail! In March!  

Thank you for reading.

 

Caspian Gull and Sand Martins

I feel like they were a week or two overdue, but good to finally see Sand Martins today, with at least six over Bridge Marsh this morning.  There were two still present mid afternoon.  

A look along the Estuary at about 2:15pm revealed a sight I have been hoping to come across for a while now, a lovely first-winter Caspian Gull.  It was with a flock of about 80 large gulls just north of Tower Hide.  Unfortunately I wasn't in Tower Hide but on the Axmouth side of the river, so views remained distant, but that didn't make it look any less striking!  A very pale fronted, long-legged, narrow-billed, tall, lanky and lean beast...

Despite the distance a nice comparison with a 1w Great Black-backed Gull in the water swimming right, and in front of it a 1w Herring Gull, the 1w Caspian Gull next to the right and then another 1w Herring Gull. Such a different looking bird to the Herrings as you can see!

 

This photo shows bill length and shape well, and that is mostly pale especially at base.  It really was a big but lean bird - classy!

 

Just looked ridiculous side-on!  Lovely dark tertials with pale tips and plain greater coverts.  Neck shawl obvious in this shot too.

Gull x Giraffe?

 

This afternoon I was actually hoping for a Blue-headed Wagtail or Hoopoe, what with the current influx west of us, but could never be disappointed coming away with a cracking Casp like this. The Axe's first of 2025 as well, right on cue when you look at previous spring records.

 

Wheatears and Orange Egrets

Delighted to see my first Wheatears of 2025 today, with three (two males and a female) at the very north end of Sheep's Marsh this afternoon.  They remained distant for me, but that didn't hamper my enjoyment of them...

Seeing that shape again gave me instant happiness

Managed to get the second male in shot - just!

 

Although the wind was as cold today as it has been for the last week - which is probably why the early spring migrants have been few and far between - today it seemed to be coming more from the east than north.  Presumably it was this slight change that has encouraged a noticeable pulse of migration into the UK today.

The only other sighting of local interest I have to post about is that the wintering flock of Cattle Egret clearly felt lazy on Saturday morning, as nine were sat alongside the Estuary at 8am.  Thanks to their laid back attitude I was able to see that a couple of them were well on their way to summer plumage...

Two of the nine, one orange one not-so

Thanks so much for reading. Do check back soon, hopefully for more migration updates!   

LRP and Whacky Wildfowl

I have missed another two Wheatears over the last few days, however early this afternoon I finally managed to connect with my first proper spring migrant of the year. Just after 1pm I was delighted to see a pristine male Little Ringed Plover on the main scrape at Bridge Marsh...

Distant views from the road, but still clearly a cracker

A slightly better shot of it. Clearly been a nice little arrival of these into the UK today.

 

Also on Bridge Marsh, having first been found yesterday by Mike B, were three Egyptian Geese.  They were as distant as the LRP, however as they are much bigger and uglier there are a few more pixels of them...

Reminded me of my first ones on the Axe, which we are about two weeks off being 19 years ago!  These were also a three, I watched them fly in on 29th March 2006 and land on Bridge Marsh.

 

Anyway, I thought Egyptian Geese was as whacky as it was going to get today. However as I was watching these I got a text from Phil to say there were two Mandarin on the sea off Spot On!

Note the two dots bottom right!

 

Pelagic Mandarins (in dreadful light conditions!)

As crazy as these were they also reminded me of a former March sighting.  Tim Wright found three Mandarin on the sea off the beach on 4th March 2019, which I twitched and posted about HERE.  It can't be a condidence surely, is March the time of year to see Mandarins at sea!? Any other patch birders out there with records to support this?  It would make sense that they are moving to breeding sites around about now I presume.

A small flock of Mandarin flying past on a seawatch would be even more bizarre looking. One for next March maybe? 

Wanting Wheatears

I'm yet to see my first Sub-Saharan migrant of the spring, and have missed the first couple of Wheatears of the year. 

Kev had the first one of 2025 on Beer Head on 6th, with another just north of Seaton Marshes on 8th.  I don't think anyone has seen a Sand Martin yet, however no doubt some have passed through as they're pretty widespread now.  A Little Ringed Plover or two is surely only a matter of days away.  Looking at the forecast I wouldn't at all be surprised if we see a bit of reverse migration this coming week, with a cold weather front sweeping in from the north from tomorrow.  This can sometimes be fairly devastating for these early migrants but hopefully it won't last too long.

A cool migrant I did come across, whilst peeing the dog in the drizzle at 10:30pm a couple of nights ago, was an Oystercatcher calling from the darkness above.  It seemed to be flying around a bit too so presume the mizzle was disorientating it.  A nice garden tick.

Following the previous weeks five Red Kites, I had one flew low north east over Seaton on Friday.  Managed a couple of photos before it dropped below the rooftops...

Love that shape

Gulls in hot pursuit!

 

Am stumbling upon more and more singing Chiffchaffs now which are always nice. And am seeing Black Redstarts a bit more frequently too, but it is hard to know whether they are wintering birds or new spring migrants.

Check back soon, we are nearly there!!   

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!