Big White Birds

Just a quick update, but one that does include plenty of pictures of big white birds!

On Sunday night Phil found a Great White Egret on Black Hole Marsh (although a tram driver reported to me an egret that looked larger than a heron earlier that day, but from experience I've found sometimes driver's bird ID can be a bit ropy!).  I was stuck home Sunday evening, but a glance out the bedroom window was all I needed because there it was sat on a tree alongside the Tower Hide!  It stayed there about twenty minutes 'til it got too dark to see.  Please excuse the quality of the phone-scoped pic...

My second GWE from the house

This morning Jess suggested an early morning walk in Lyme - which I didn't vote against seeing as Richard let me know the night before that an unringed White Stork roosted near the Cobb.  I thought we had missed it as it was last reported flying east over town, but soon after our arrival there it was flying over town coming back west...

And much to our disbelief, it landed on the RNLI Station which we were stood right next too!!

Amazing views! After about half an hour it took off and flew west a little way out to sea, but seemed to turn back east and drop back in towards Lyme...

As we drove off a little while later, I could see it again in flight and heading west, so as we came back into Seaton I suggested we briefly stopped off at the sea front in case it kept on flying west.  And amazingly this greeted me...

Incoming Stork!

And it did exactly the same as it had in Lyme, it landed right next to us!  On a roof I'm more used to seeing Black Redstarts on...

The big white bird on the roof!

A White Stork on patch!

Soon after I left it, Kev watched it fly west over Beer Head and it's been seen today on the Exe, and finally this evening on a pub roof in Sidmouth!

Sadly though, although the sheer joy of seeing this amazing bird still lives on, the feeling it's given me inside has completely withered....  Look closer at the open wing shot on the RNLI building and there's clearly been some sort of human intervention with the tips of these primary feathers...

And despite the lack of rings, it's wearing some sort of satellite tag.  If anything this makes it even more intriguing though, why tag it and not ring it!??

So come on, own up, who is tracking this Stork!? Please get in touch!

Mostly About Egrets...

I didn't make it out birding at all yesterday which was a massive shame. It was the first still day for a while which saw a significant pulse of bird migration along the south coast of the UK.  I couldn't even cash in on the five Great White Egrets that flew west from Abbotsbury Swannery, and were later seen at Dawlish Warren.  They left Abbotsbury at 09:10, continued west past West Bexington at 09:22, Charmouth at 09:47 and finally Dawlish Warren at 10:30. I reckon they would have gone by here pretty much bang on 10am - right when I was conducting an appraisal at work! 

Oh well, I may have missed five big yellow-billed egrets yesterday, but this evening during a ten minute check of the Estuary, I saw five small yellow-billed egrets!  I don't know how many Cattle Egrets were actually present, as egrets were bombing about all over the place in the half-light, roosting in two different places, but five was my highest definite count.  As I said in a tweet a few weeks ago, to me it now feels like Cattle Egrets are here to stay, unlike their last influx four or more years ago.  Apparently there are up to 95 wintering just in Somerset! 

Here's three of tonight's five (plus)...

It was a pretty decent ten minutes along the Estuary actually, with masses and masses of pre-roosting gulls on show.  I wish I'd had more time to look through them, as a first-winter Yellow-legged Gull stood out in one of the first gatherings I looked at.  Another highlight came in the form of a flock of four Goosanders that flew downriver at 18:10. 

So a rather pleasant end to an all-round pleasant day....

The Last Week

Only a rapid fire post tonight I'm afraid folks, I just wanted to keep you up-to-date.

Well the Glossy Ibis that was found last Saturday afternoon on Colyford Marsh pleasingly remained for me to see. I didn't see it until Monday though due to work commitments. I did try for it on the Sunday morning but a five minute scan over Colyford Marsh failed to show it, however a Great White Egret dropped on to the Estuary which made up for that! Finally! After missing five of these massive white birds here this year, number six (my lucky number as well!) did the decent thing and pleasingly stayed all day for everyone to enjoy. The Cattle Egret was also on Bridge Marsh (and remained until mid week at least) making it a three Egret day!

Wood Pigeons were moving most mornings this week, although in lesser numbers than the end of the previous week. My best vis mig bird without a doubt was the young female Merlin that zipped west through Seaton Marshes on Friday morning. Really overdue this autumn as there seems to be a few about, but amazingly this was my first Merlin on patch for a staggering four years!

Birds that have been seen here this week, but not by me include a Red Kite over the Estuary (B Clark) and a Brambling in a private Seaton garden (K Hale) on Friday, and a male Black Redstart today just east of Seaton Hole (R Harris).

Autumn is rolling on quickly and winter is approaching at speed. Hopefully there's a few more surprises to come yet, but in the mean time have a seasonal Harry photo...

That's More Like It!

Well Ophelia has come and gone, but in birding terms delivered nothing. She didn't bring any American land birds or waders, and didn't even drag up that many sea birds on her journey - bit or an ornithological flop really. But since then things have picked up...

The last week has seen an exceptional arrival of Firecrest across south Devon and Dorset, well some parts of south Devon and Dorset! Portland recorded an unprecedented 150+ on Sunday, with probably just as many around Prawle/Start/Soar. But other places (Dawlish Warren, Exmouth, here) recorded none on the very same day!  Pleasingly they have started trickling through here now, I had my first at Spring Head, Axmouth on Monday afternoon, with another on Tuesday up by Axe Cliff Golf Course car park. Dad had six at Beer Head also on Tuesday, and Bun another in Beer village. Such smart birds.

A quick look along the beach to see what Ophelia had left us revealed just six Ringed Plover, a Little Stint (presumably the lingering bird) and a whole load more Man o' War.

Looking east along Seaton Beach on Tuesday morning

Wednesday gave us a nice double, although sadly one of which I missed.  Our Reserves Officer James Chubb saw a Great White Egret on Colyford Common (which had previously been at Abbotsbury Swannery), but it soon took flight and headed off south west. So proving to be as brief a visitor as the other two recorded here this year. Drat.  What followed cheered me up though...

Yellow-browed Warblers have proved much scarcer this autumn than recent years, presumably solely because we've not had the easterly winds of the previous few autumns. So, stepping out my front door early afternoon, I was really surprised to hear one call from trees just up the road - my third from the garden! I didn't have great views of it, but Tim White clearly did an hour or so later as he managed THIS fab picture of it - always such smart birds and always great to see/hear.

The drizzle and completely still conditions of last night saw (well heard!) an excellent nocturnal passage of Redwing and Song Thrush overhead, which gave me high hopes for this morning.  But those hopes have not really been lived up too (as usual!), although it did feel really good out there. There was one lovely highlight though...

As I drove over the lower Axe bridge into Seaton, I was amazed to see a flock of six Avocet fly across in front of the car! A really mega-sized flock by Axe standards.  I watched them fly upriver, they then circled around a bit before seeming to drop down on Black Hole Marsh. So I went around for another gander...

And that brings me and this blog up to date! So good to feel proper autumn excitement - we are a go...

Finding Emerald

I enjoyed another mid afternoon wander around Lower Bruckland Ponds today looking for dragonflies and butterflies. Was really hoping to bump into the Lesser Emperor again but no luck with that, although I did have some luck as I found my first patch, and I think the first patch, Emerald Damselfly. 

It's a very widespread species, just not one we get here. And as I haven't seen one for a number of years I had forgotten just how beautiful they are. It's body was just like the colour (iridescence included) of a Demoiselle, with a surprising amount of blue on the side of its thorax and head, a delicately slightly pinched in abdomen and amazing tear-dropped shaped wings. Such a beautiful insect. I just wish it hadn't flown off just as my camera was focusing on it! I will certainly drop in there again this week in case it sticks around, I would love to get a pic.

It seems to be the best year for a long time for Small Red-eyed Damselflies here. I'm sure that's simply down to much fewer dabbling ducks on site, resulting in far more surface vegetation...

I also saw my first two Southern Hawkers of the year, along with two Golden-ringed Dragonflies...

There was nothing unusual among the as ever excellent numbers of butterflies, but here's another underwing shot for you, and today it's a Red Admiral...

And now to birds. Well since my last blog post I have managed to miss two patch Great White Egrets. This morning Ian Mc had one fly in off the sea and appear to land on the beach (although there was no further sign), and three days ago one appeared on BirdGuides for Seaton Marshes just after midday, but no one saw that one again either.  They can be ever so slippery for such large white birds!

Waders continue to move through slowly. On Thursday 13th I had a Greenshank, six Dunlin, one  Whimbrel and 76 Curlew (a big sudden increase) on the Estuary. Tonight there were at least three Whimbrel present along with a decent scattering of Common Sandpipers. The water levels are looking better on Black Hole Marsh again now so expect more sightings from here in the coming days and weeks.  Med Gull passage seems to have slowed down a bit on the Estuary, although they are still trickling past offshore, with four flying in from the south west on Thursday morning.

A walk around the wetlands yesterday morning didn't show much in the way of water birds, but overhead it was wonderful to watch a flock of about 50 screaming Swifts feeding. Whilst watching them I realised that within a matter of weeks they will all be gone, so I decided to watch them some more...

A Hobby zipped through south and in the bushes two Willow Warblers made their presence known by calling. It was great to hear that call again, although on the other hand it's a bit sad when you notice just how little bird song there is now, in the last couple of weeks it has really quietened down.  Proper autumn is looming...

Slovenia

What an incredible few days!

A few weeks ago and completely out of the blue Nikon approached me and asked if I would be interested in featuring in a short film about birding. I managed to sort some last minute time off and was pleased to be able to agree.  I had it in my head it would be shot somewhere in the UK, maybe Norfolk or up a mountain in Scotland or Wales? So when the director said he had chosen Slovenia as the location I was somewhat surprised!! Soon into the trip though it was clear why he had chosen this magnificent country...

I was only out there for three nights, and it really was all work and very little play. Each day we were filming for most of the morning, broke for lunch at about 11:30ish, and then travelled to a new location before filming again until dark.  For the first day and a half we were in the Julian Alps, the Triglav National Park. We started off at the foot of the mountains on the east side, near to where we spent the Wednesday night, a cabin called Mihov Dom.

The Gorenjska region of the Triglav National Park.

Mid afternoon on the Thursday we were filming at what is apparently the cleanest river in Europe, the Dragonja, at Trenta.

It was so hot here! Amazingly clear water though.

Then by Thursday evening were right on top at the fantastic Mangart, which is the third highest mountain in Slovenia, right on the border with Italy. The views were absolutely outstanding and the drive up was simply incredible.

Amazingly from here you could even see the Adriatic Sea, in the above photo it is in the dip between mountains in the middle of the photo. With a bit of zoom you can see it a little better...

That night we stayed in the breathtaking Mangart Pass Hut which is at about 2000m, situated just below the Mangart Saddle. 

Friday morning it was more mountain filming at Mangart, before heading a long way south to a place called Lake Cerknica and nearby forests.

A forest somewhere in Slovenia!

Lake Cerknica. This was just one of a large network of water bodies.

And this is where we remained until I was picked up and taken back to the airport at 13:30 on Saturday. What a whistle stop tour of a magnificent country, I really look forward to coming back and exploring more of it.

Although it was pretty much all work, in between takes and during breaks of course I kept my eyes and ears open, and managed to see the following...

Golden Eagle - one by Dragonja River and another at Mangart.
White Stork -  a few seen in the lowlands.
Great White Egret - 10+ around Lake Cerknica.
Wood Sandpiper - 2+ at Lake Cerknica.
Little Ringed Plover - 2+ at Lake Cerknica.
Black Woodpecker - two feeding at a tree stump alongside a track through a forest on east edge of Triglav National Park.
Grey-headed Woodpecker - one flying between two areas of woodland in south of country, also heard several times.
Alpine Swift - a couple seen on the way up and at Mangart.
Crag Martin - one seen from car on way up to Mangart.
Ashy-headed Wagtail - a pair (male in song) at Lake Cerknica.
Alpine Accentor - one at Mangart.
Water Pipit - at least six at Mangart, looked like a family party.
Crested Tit - common in lowland woodlands.
Black Redstart - seemed common in lowlands, but also a pair at Mangart.
Nightingale - a fledged young showed well by Lake Cerknica.
Sardinian Warbler- a female feeding young by Lake Cerknica.
Hooded Crow - everywhere!
Alpine Chough- most numerous bird at Mangart, saw at least 15.
Red-backed Shrike - seemed quite common in lowlands.
Great Grey Shrike - one seen whilst traveling in lowlands.
Serin - a couple of singles seen in lowlands.
Snowfinch - at least four, including a male in song flight, at Mangart.

Out of all these species, two were especially special for me.  The Black Woodpeckers were amazing, and I was so so lucky to see them - they had chosen to feed on a tree stump situated right next to the forest track we were driving along! And then there were the Snowfinch. I can remember being struck by this species the first time I opened up the Collins book, I just love birds with black and white on them. So to have a male song flighting around my head, and a really close fly past by a family group, was just incredible - and in stunning (but cold, it was 3c!) scenery too. 

The only birdie photos I managed to take were these...

Alpine Chough - adult and baby.

Great White Egret

White Stork

From this trip not only have I learnt that Slovenia is in amazingly beautiful and dynamic country, but also that the people are wonderfully kind and nothing is ever too much trouble.  You really need to get used to all the welcome drinks you are given, some are really strong!  Oddly though, the Slovenians apparently haven't discovered butter yet.  Every meal we sat down for (three breakfasts, three lunches and three dinners) there were mountains of bread on the table, but not one knob of butter!  Also, they don't seem to bother with locks on toilet/bathroom doors, whether in a private house or a public bar/restaurant/lodge...

And as for the film, once it is finalised and edited I hope to post it up here. 

Green Moths

A couple of Silver Ys and Rusty Dot Pearls were the only immigrants in my moth trap this morning. So I was very gripped when I heard a Dewick's Plusia had been caught in Colyton!

There were a couple of nice green moths in the trap though...

Always a pleasure to catch - Merville du Jour

Green-brindled Crescent - the green is almost 'frosted' on, a stunning moth!

I downloaded a few pics from my Nikon this afternoon, and found an okay one of one of yesterday's Great White Egrets...

So much better than a 'white Heron!'

Also last night I heard the first after dark Redwings going over. I have to say though, I think this is the first autumn I have seen them in the day before hearing them going over at night!

The Great Whites Are Back

Just a quick one before I head out again, there's a good feel to today and I can only give in to temptation!

The two Great White Egrets (assuming they are the same birds?) were on the salt marsh opposite the Tower Hide this morning. After fifteen minutes of watching them, a canoe flushed them and the flew north. They circled down and landed out of view on Colyford Marsh where the Coly meets the Axe...

I wonder where they have been in the meantime?

Best of all this morning though, as I was watching the Egrets I heard chacking and seeeping from above, and looked up to see a flock of 20 Fieldfare and 40+ Redwing flying over high west... :-)

Hot Hot Hot!

The shorts have come back out, it feels like mid summer out there!

And this unseasonal weather has done the tricks in the ornithological world too, as Phil found two Great White Egrets on Black Hole Marsh late last night. At 9am this morning, under a layer of mist, I could see they were still with us, feeding on the flooded salt marsh north of Coronation Corner...

A record count for the Axe!!

When I was watching them, I thought they 'felt' like juvs - don't ask why or how, they just did! But looking at my photos, the lores appear to be green, which would surely be the remnants of summer plumage? This of course would actually make them adults.

I left them to have a wander along the beach, but apparently at about 09:45 they took off and flew north up the valley....

My beach wander showed 23 Dunlin and 12 Ringed Plover - but not the Semi-P that I was hoping for...

Has it gone - or does it just not like roosting on pebble beaches!??

It was nice to see a Painted Lady fluttering in off the sea, and rest on the first pebbles it came too...

Well done - you've made it, just a pity you will probably die within the next week anyway!!!

Rewinding back a bit, Black Hole Marsh yesterday morning was rather quiet, although this impressive flock of hirundines were feeding over the marsh...

More than enough for a Tree Swallow or Purple Martin!!!

The day before that, this Whinchat was at Beer Cem...

Sat on top of the tallest tree in the area!

And sometime last week, this Tufted Duck was on the Borrow Pit, Seaton Marshes...

Formerly a patch scarcity!