A Mixed Bag

Friday saw Jess and I enjoy a seven mile walk from home to the Ship Inn in Axmouth to celebrate Dad's birthday - via the back lanes of Axmouth.

I was pleased to see my first Mistle Thrush, Fieldfare and Nuthatch of the year during the walk, however I still haven't come across any of the Brambling that have been seen by others!  

The numbers of small birds really is a delight to behold though, with my best sight being a single flock of 52 Yellowhammers (plus a few Linnets) bathing in some muddy puddles. I saw a further 15+ Yellowhammers during other parts of the walk too, the Axmouth to Rousdon farmland must be one of the best spots left in Devon for Yellowhammers? 

What a wonderful scene - almost felt like a view from back in time!

 

I ended the day with a quick look at Lower Bruckland Ponds, where I failed to find the two Egyptian Geese Phil had found earlier in the day.  There were however five Gadwall and another couple of Fieldfare.

Saturday started with a wander through woodland at the edge of the Axe patch.  The prize reward was a splendid first-winter Goshawk (probably a male) that flew so low over my head I could see each individual tear-dropped shaped spot on its underparts. Absolutely stunning.  I also came across three Crossbill, two Siskin and singles of Marsh Tit and Mistle Thrush.

I then had time for another quick look at Lower Bruckland Ponds where the two Egyptian Geese were this time on view...  

They were looking very settled, I wonder if we could have a patch first breeding record on our hands in the not too distant future...

 

After dark I went for a look around with my new torch, which resulted in a Woodcock (thanks Kev for the tip-off) near the Tower Service Garage in Seaton.  Really pleased to see one as my usual day-time roost spots for this species have been empty every time I've checked so far this year.

This morning during a brief spell out the highlight was good views of a lone Great Northern Diver on the sea off Seaton, along with one Great Crested Grebe, three Red-throated Divers and the lingering Common Scoter flock that contained exactly twenty birds.   

I spent the rest of the day at work, and then it got dark.  So that was it for me this weekend, but hopefully I will get a few windows of opportunity to get out during the week ahead.