Ruff Influx and Spoonbill

Today is the first day this week that I've managed any time out birding on patch. And that's with the whole week off work!  I managed two looks along the Estuary at mid tide (early morning and mid afternoon) and an early afternoon visit to Black Hole Marsh.  It was quite a fruitful day really with my totals being; 

42 Wigeon

50+ Teal

1 Spoonbill

7 Ringed Plover

2 Dunlin

1 Curlew Sandpiper

1 Little Stint

19 Ruff
1 Bar-tailed Godwit

2 Green Sandpiper

5 Common Sandpiper

1 Spotted Redshank

3 Greenshank

There's two stand outs on that list, Spoonbill and the exceptional Ruff count.  The Spoonbill was completely jammy as I saw it with my naked eye from the kitchen window flying south west away from Black Hole Marsh. Doubt soon crept in with such a brief and distant naked eye only view, but sure enough when I went down to Black Hole an hour later... "there was a Spoonbill here about an hour ago, didn't stay long though and flew off towards the Estuary". Presumably this was also the bird that dropped in briefly at Abbotsbury today.

As for the Ruff. Wow. Just wow. I had at least ten early morning on Black Hole Marsh, Dad had 14 mid morning and when I went down there early afternoon there was an incredible 19 on view. All were juveniles, and they were mostly hanging out in two flocks of seven with the rest loosely dotted around.  Not sure if this is a record count for the patch, I highly doubt it as 'back in the day' am sure Phil saw loads together at times, but my previous highest single count here is of 17. Can't remember the date off hand but it was in the winter during a very cold snap with lots of snow and ice around.

Six of the 19 Ruff on Black Hole Marsh this afternoon

The Spotted Redshank was the lingering juvenile on Colyford Scrape, and the Curlew Sandpiper (juv), Ringed Plovers and my highest count so far this autumn of Wigeon were all along the Estuary this morning.

In other news, it's that time of year when I need to edit my mini-bio to the right of this page, and increase my age by one. Though to be honest life is going by so quick it feels like I'm changing this at least three times a year!  At the age of 32, well, I can't even begin to explain just how happy and content I am with life, it would take pages and pages of text. But the source of it all is simple...

My world

Back In Business

Finally!

A few rather major events have happened since my laptop died at the end of August. The most recent is the thing I'm writing this blog post on - a brand new laptop!  Thanks to my wife for this.  She wouldn't usually get me a new laptop, but I have just had a 30th birthday so the time was right.  Yes, I am now 30, and I quite simply can't believe it. It doesn't bother me, but I just cannot understand how it has happened, it was only yesterday I was 25... or so it feels anyway...

The other rather notable event since my last blog post was this...

Blood moon

It's not a great photo, but it does show the colour well. It was well worth getting up for early this morning, I always find anything space related extremely fascinating. And I've just heard they've found running water on Mars - mind boggling!

Anyway, back to the moon, and here's a few other pics showing the build up to the eclipse.  It was a cracking full moon to begin with...

 And later on the action began...

I have got so so sooooo much to write about, but instead of crafting one massive blog post I will divide it up into three; Birds, Bird Ringing and Moths. Next will probably be the moths, but in the meantime I've got a months worth of laptop work to be getting on with...

Oh nearly forgot, back to my birthday, if you've never tried hummingbird cake you simply must. Best cake I've ever eaten, and I have eaten a lot of cake...

Eastern Invasion Finally Reaches The Patch

Thought I was going to have to wait a bit longer for Yellow-browed Warbler to get on my patch year list - but I was pretty confident I was going to get one at some point this autumn considering the monster influx up north a week or two back.

I basically spend all of October and Novemember every year looking for Long-tailed Tit flocks - so I was pleased to hear some as soon as I got out of the car at Lower Bruckland Ponds this afternoon. With so many leaves still on the trees at the moment it's not easy checking tit flocks, so I decided to go in under the trees and look up.  Within a few minutes I got my prize, as a Yellow-browed Warbler popped out literally a few feet in front of me!! Sweeeet.  Better still, as I was watching it, another called from just above and behind me about four or five times!  I fumbled around trying to get some pics, but soon the whole flock moved off and across the pond.  About 15 mins later I had brief and distant views of one again, and heard more calls as the tit flock disappeared south away from the ponds.  Sadly no one else connected, but Dave H heard one a few hours later. The weather was pretty lousy though.

These Yelllow-broweds are our earliest ever, by a day, and represent the eighth and ninth for the patch. The last one I saw here was on 30th Oct 2007 - the two since (both at Beer Head, one in 2010 and one in 2011) were seen only by their finders.

This is the best pic I managed of the bird I saw. Look at that stonking 'super', and you can just see a wing bar... 

You eastern beauty!

Although this photo is pretty rubbish, all the other photos looked like the below, so I'm glad it decided to turn its head...

A Yellow-broweds arse!

There was clearly a bit of a warbler influx today, an early morning sprint around the valley showed 15+ Chiffchaff, and there were at least five at Lower Bruckland Ponds. Other than this, a few Wheatears and Yellow Wags, and my first autumn Stonechat today, migrant passerines haven't exactly been abundant or surprising over the last week. It's been all about wading birds.

Last Friday, a Little Stint and a Ruff appeared on Black Hole Marsh. There's now four Ruff on Black Hole Marsh, and a cracking juv Spotted Redshank which has been around since Saturday. It was quite flighty and vocal today, although looked quite settled on Colyford Marsh scrape this afternoon.  Dunlin numbers have been pretty stable throughout with 20-30, but Bar-tailed Godwit numbers seem to be ever-increasing with an impressive 11 on the Estuary yesterday! Wildfowl numbers have also increased dramatically recently, with a juv Pintail last Thursday and five Shoveler on Monday being notable. Still hoping for a Pochard!

I have been keeping an eye on the gulls too. There's not been that many to look at sadly, but amongst them yesterday was another one of those 'presumed' Lesser Black-backedxHerring Gull hybrids...

Not quite a Yellow-legged Gull

Washed out yellow legs, short wings and legs, smallish head and bill, overall small(ish) size, head streaking, wing tip pattern and mantle colour all give aways that it's not the 'real McCoy'.

I've been disappointed by the sea, although tomorrow looks like it might be worth a look.  The best I managed was yesterday morning when easterly gull passage included my first Med for several weeks (an adult), a Common and 11 Black-heads, plus two Sandwich Terns. Birds flying west included two Teal and two Common Scoter.

That's all the birdie stuff dealt with, but before I sign off I must mention that since the last post I've added an extra year to my age. Birthday means birthday cake - and when your fiancee is a professional cake maker this is what you get...

They tasted as good as they look!

A Patch Wryneck At Last

...is the title I have gone for, but I could have equally gone with...

"****!" or "I Still Can't Find a Wryneck", or "Semi-Retired Birder Trips Over Wryneck On Way To Seaton Marshes Bird Hide", or "Elderly Birder Taunted And Harassed By Wryneck Whilst On A Pleasant Outing To Seaton Marshes", or "Wryneck Interferes With The Osprey Show", or "Patch Birders Learn Of Patch Wryneck Via Shetland" etc....

No, I'm not bitter about having spent the last month in the field looking for Wrynecks without even getting a whiff, when one is sat waving at passers by early afternoon on the busiet reserve in East Devon!

So how many ways could you get wind of a Wryneck on your local patch in East Devon?? Via a phonecall from someone on Shetland is probably ranked quite low - but that's how it happened! Whilst Bun was booting sibes from a rocky geo on Shetland yesterday afternoon, his pager bleeped with news of this Wryneck, which prompted him to send me this short text...

"so you've finally found a Wryneck then"

My response contained words that on here would look like this: ****

It could have been alot worse though - I could REALLY be hating Wrynecks right now as I dipped this one on the first attempt. My clocking on time for work was nearing, and it was nowhere to be seen in the howling northerly wind - all was looking rather grim so I returned home. Just as I put the milk in my tea, the phone rings.... "Wryneck's back!"

I went back to the hide, and twenty minutes later - just as the sun came out - so did this beauty...

Digi-scoped from a busy hide, in a rather awkward and cramped position (me - not the bird!)

I also took a few snaps with the Lumix...

Scoffing ants

And here's one pic four times, variously cropped...

The oringinal - zero cropping

Just a bit of cropping

Quite a lot of cropping

Viciously over-cropped!!

However much I hate them for not popping up in front of me - they are probably the most beautiful grey/brown bird on this planet, with Nightjar being maybe the only contender?

That's my weekend birding done, it is someones birthday very soon and celebrations are called for! I did sneak a quick hour out this morning though. Black Hole Marsh was rather barren (just a couple of Green Sandpipers and Shanks, and six Dunlin), but just around the corner...

Always good value!

The Marsh Harrier was still over Colyford Marsh and eight Bar and twelve Black-tailed Godwits were hiding in the saltmarsh on the Estuary.

What a glorious morning - I hope everyone has a good weekend :-)