Windy Weather Finally Wains

Today autumn had a chance to breathe. The wet and windy weather of late (which has produced some good birding - keep reading on for that) cleared for dawn today revealing beautifully clear skies with a light northerly wind. Ideal conditions for a bit of migration so as soon as I could (8am) I was wandering around Axe Cliff...

Lots of Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails

Try as I might I couldn't turn anything scarce up - but the volume of birds was seriously impressive.  The Golf Course looked as good as I've ever seen it, with large numbers of Meadow Pipits, Pied Wagtails and Linnets feeding on the greens...

A closer view

The bushes and fence line between this and the fields hosted a Stonechat, five Yellowhammer and three Reed Bunting...

Female Reed Bunting

In the stubble fields were 20+ Skylark and a few more Meadow Pipits and Linnets.  The bushes at first seemed quiet, but looking down into the Undercliff Chiffchaffs were almost constantly filtering through, along with a couple of Goldcrests.  The sky was also pretty busy, mostly hirundines and Meadow Pipits going over along with a few Skylark and Chaffinch.  So yes, disappointing to not score a goodie, but exciting nevertheless to be among some true autumn magic.

Spent a bit of time late morning/early afternoon hoping to see some fresh Long-tailed Blues at Axmouth Harbour, but the sunshine didn't deliver the goods.  Good to see two Tufted Ducks on the Estuary though, Gav saw them earlier from the same spot...

We don't see many diving ducks on this Estuary!

There's been a Cattle Egret hanging around recently, and I was lucky enough to see it on Colyford Common early Saturday morning...

However common these become I will always enjoy seeing them! Am pretty sure it's an adult although they are tricky to age.

I often find Cattle Egrets strike unusual poses and postures compared to Little Egrets!

Size difference with a Little

On Sunday afternoon a wander around the Wetlands with Jess' family showed singles of Ruff and Green Sandpiper on Black Hole Marsh, but sadly not the Spotted Crake that I've been hoping to jam in on! 

Green Sandpiper

And now to the sea.  Following the record breaking Balearic Shearwater day as detailed in my last post, I've enjoyed some more time looking at the sea.  We've had a few really lean sea watching years here, so it's been nice to be blessed with not only the right weather, but actually some birds too.

On Sunday morning (29th) I shared the Beer shelter with Ian Mc and Phil from 07:15 - 09:00 and it was excellent!  My totals were (all west);

2 Red-throated Diver

48 Common Scoter

3 Great Skua 

3 Arctic Skua

22 Kittiwake

2 Golden Plover (in-off)

1 small wader sp. 

12 auk sp.

Flock of Common Scoter flying west

I didn't count the Gannets but they really were plentiful. The six skuas were easily the highlight for me, and as usual injected a good amount of adrenaline into the watch.  Four of them (two each of Arctic and Great) passed at fairly close range - just brilliant to watch. Good fun ageing them too!

My other sea watch was on Tuesday 1st from Spot On Kiosk in Seaton 07:15 - 08:45 and showed (all west);

350+ Gannet

9 Balearic Shearwater

2 Shearwater sp.

12 Common Scoter

1 Arctic Skua (pale-phased)

3 Kittwake

6 auk sp.

So all good.  And I suppose if there was a moral to this blog post, it's you don't need to see a rarity to have a good time out birding!

Mipits are Go

Managed to spend the first few hours of today on Axe Cliff, which was nice.  As I've not been able to get out much during the mornings so far this autumn, Axe Cliff has been frustratingly under watched - well not watched at all as far as I'm aware.  But still, better late than never...

Looking west.  I took this photo from the spot I did most the 'vis migging' from today.

I timed my first visit of the autumn here with the first big push of Meadow Pipits, a sure sign that we have moved into (what I call) the mid-autumn period.  Flock after flock were flying low west over the field pictured above, with many staying tight to the cliff edge.  Most flocks were in the 10-20 region, but there were a couple of 30's and one of c45.  I counted up until 8am and noted the following; 

360 Meadow Pipit

7 Tree Pipit

5 pipit sp. (flew like Tree's but remained frustratingly silent)

3 alba Wagtail

2 Chaffinch

Off they go! Mipits moving west with Beer Head in the background

Despite the passage overhead it was disappointing to see all the fields so empty - often on big Mipit days many of them land and feed here, but not today. In fact there weren't many grounded migrants about at all, just one Wheatear, two Whitethroats and eight Chiffchaffs noted.

On the way home I was going to stop off at Axmouth to see if the lingering Osprey was fishing - but there was literally no space! Fingers crossed we see it on the Birdwatch Special Tram tomorrow morning.

A busy Coronation Corner!

Winter Water Pipit ID

The inspiration for this post came from the superb mixed flock of Water and Rock Pipits currently on Colyford Common, but also due to the number of occasions I've been asked to assist in the ID of one or more of these birds. I really hope this helps.

The first tip of my Winter Water Pipit ID post is; Are you sure it's not a Meadow Pipit?

Meadow Pipit is the commonest and most widespread species of Pipit in the UK during the winter (well the whole year actually) and you can get them anywhere that Rock or Water Pipits occur. Hopefully this superb Meadow Pipit photo from Stephen Burch, which I've labelled, helps with this.

Meadow Pipit (c) Stephen Burch

1. Relatively small mostly pale bill.

2. Supercilium diffuse, particularly behind eye.

3. Well marked streaked mantle.

4. Green edging to flight feathers.

5. Very pale pink legs.

6. Fairly heavily streaked underparts, bold black streaks on white or buff-white underparts.

And now let's compare Meadow Pipit and Water Pipit side by side, thanks to a couple of photos I took way back in 2007 when the Axe Estuary Ringing Group caught these two birds together on Colyford Common.  Try and apply points 1-6 above to the Meadow Pipit in these pics, and then look at the same parts of the Water Pipit and check out the differences.

Water Pipit on the left

Just look at the difference in leg colour!

Plumage aside, once you've seen a few Water or Rock Pipits you'll soon notice how different they walk and feed to Meadow Pipits. The smaller Meadow Pipit usually makes a lot of fast jerky movements, unlike the often lumbered approach Water and Rock Pipits have to life.

Once you have ruled out Meadow Pipit by one or more of the above features, the next question is, is it a Water Pipit or a Rock Pipit? The books all talk about superciliums, wing-bars, outer tail feathers, habitat, etc. But in reality identifying whether you have a winter plumaged Rock Pipit or Water Pipit comes down to just one yes or no answer...

And the question; Does it have a white belly?

 Yes = Water Pipit.

No = Rock Pipit.

And I do mean white, clean Daz-white. Any olive/grey/dullness, well anything that isn't white, isn't white, so it isn't a Water Pipit. Let's try this out with a few more photos...

White = Water Pipit

White = Water Pipit

White = Water Pipit (x2)

It's pale, but it isn't white = Rock Pipit

No white-bellies here = Rock Pipit (x2)

One of each here, even out of focus white is still white!

Can't see most of this bird, but you can see enough, White = Water Pipit.

Even this shockingly shoddy photo taken during foggy weather shows how simple it can be...

I don't need to tell you which dot is a Water Pipit!

Obviously there is far more to a Water Pipit than a white belly, and these are some of the other features to look out for;

A nice grey nape contrasting with a brown mantle, so much so that they often remind me of mini-Fieldfares...

Water Pipits often also show noticeably paler rumps, whereas Rock Pipits tend to be basically one colour across the whole of their upperparts, usually olive-grey, with no/little contrast anywhere.

The underpart streaking is finer and sparser in Water Pipit. Rock Pipits usually have rounder more 'blob-like' streaks, densely packed, whereas Water Pipits, especially along the flanks, show long and narrow streaks.

Water Pipit above, Rock Pipit below.

There are other features, but be wary of some that are cited by books and other websites, because in my opinion they can be misleading. Here's a few things you may read regarding Water and Rock Pipit identification;

"Only Water Pipits show white outer tail feathers". Incorrect. Rock Pipits can show white outer-tail feathers, presumably birds of the Scandinavian littoralis race. Water Pipits should show more white in the tail though that is true.

"Two clear white-wing bars makes it a Water Pipit". Incorrect. It's surprising how vivid the wing bars can look on some Rock Pipits. They may not be as white as Water Pipits, but they can be almost as pale.

"Water Pipits live on marshes, Rock Pipits live on beaches". Incorrect. Just look at Colyford Common for starters! In winter Rock Pipits often inhabit marshes and estuaries, but also Water Pipits will overwinter on beaches.

"Water Pipits have pale legs, Rock Pipits have dark legs". Incorrect. Both species often show pale legs. Same goes for their bills, both species bills can be as pale as each other.

"Water Pipits have striking white supercilium". True, but not always. A classic Water Pipit does have wonderfully striking white super's, but not all are as extensive as others. And now and then you will come across a Rock Pipit with really impressive super's that would look just fine on any Water Pipit.


Actually the last paragraph makes a very good point. Water and Rock Pipits are a bit like first-winter Herring Gulls...they vary greatly! Often two of the same species look different, as the degree of streaking on the underparts, size of the supercilium, and often even the tone of the upperparts vary. For example some Water Pipits just look grey and white, whereas you'll come across some with really warm brown mantles, not far off Meadow Pipit colour.  That's why I think it's good to focus on the one most striking and consistent feature, does it have a white belly?

Both Water Pipits and Scandinavian Rock Pipits moult into summer plumage from late Feb/early March.  This is when identification can get a bit trickier, but even though the streaking on a Rock Pipits breast becomes much reduced, they still don't really ever look white breasted. Plus, as a Water Pipits breast turns pink, they are often completely streak free making them look more like Wagtails than Pipits! If you've never seen a summer plumage Water Pipit before, make the effort because they are absolutely worth it. Stunning birds.

And there we are.  If this post helps just one person to get to grips with Water and Rock Pipit ID, then I'm glad I took the time to compose it. Thanks for reading and happy hunting!

Autumn Adjourns

The blog posts have dried up because autumn has...

It has been really stagnant out there for the last week and a bit (but boy have I been trying!). We had a sudden and surprising influx of Grey Plover at the end of last week, Phil had a staggering nine on the evening of Thursday 22nd, with one still present for me the following morning. On Sunday morning another couple had arrived/returned to make three...

A true record shot!

Bar-tailed Godwit numbers seem to be dwindling now, but other wader counts have been very samey with less than ten Dunlin, a couple of Ringed Plover, five Common Sandpipers and not a lot else. I'm hoping the upcoming new moon along with some wind and rain will encourage a bit more variety, but it's looking like the Black Hole Marsh autumn is done now, as the marsh often seems to largely lose its appeal to wading birds by the end of September.  

The clear skies and light winds this morning meant there was only one place to go, Beer Head...

It's getting towards my favourite time of year for weather - I just love cool, crisp and blue late autumn mornings.

Overall it was pretty quiet, but it was nice to see a few different bits and pieces - this list is a mixture of grounded birds and fly overs;

14 Skylark 

200+ Swallow

80+ House Martin

11 alba Wagtail

2 Grey Wagtail

100+ Meadow Pipit 

1 Whinchat

2 Stonechat

3 Blackcap

5 Chiffchaff

1 Spotted Flycatcher

c30 Chaffinch

1 Siskin

1 Yellowhammer

In brief, the bushes were quiet and overhead a little less quiet!  The lone Siskin I think confirms my suspicions that this isn't going to be one of those amazing Siskin autumns - hopefully this won't be the case for all the finch species though.

Annoyingly for some reason all the subjects I tried to photograph this morning were in some way obscured...

Whinchat - the clearest of them all.

A hiding Spotted Flycatcher.

Even this Small Copper suffered from a blade of grass!

It was nice to see Ian Mc at Beer Head this morning back fresh from his holidays, he ventured further west than I did and saw another two Whinchat and a Reed Bunting.  It's great to have another pair of eyes back on the patch, I get the feeling coverage has been pretty poor on weekdays this month - there's only so much ground one pair of boots can cover!

Birds aside, I've been seeing the odd Clouded Yellow around which is nice, including a male on Beer Head this morning.

Let's hope the next blog post is a bit more exciting...

The Birds

It's time to review what the birding has been like on the Axe over the last month or so, and what I've seen...

I'll start back when I first became laptop-less, in late August.  The Baird's Sand proved a one day wonder on Black Hole Marsh, but the Wood Sands lingered.  Although big numbers were only present for a couple of days, there were between five and 14 for the next few weeks - still amazing numbers when talking about Wood Sands!  What proved as amazing as the numbers were the views they were offering...

Personally I think there's not many places better for seeing wading birds up close in the UK than Black Hole Marsh.  Just look at that Wood Sand in the photo above, it couldn't be closer to the Island Hide!

We had quite a few juv Little Stints over the course of August/September, never more than two at a time, but we probably had about seven or so over the course of the autumn.  Curlew Sands though have proved scarce this autumn, and all we managed were a couple of juveniles on 24th Aug...

A front view and a back view! Both are Curlew Sands I promise

Otherwise we had good numbers of Ruff (up to double figures) and the odd single Knot, Turnstone, etc...

Knot

Black Hole Marsh really came good on 30th/31st Aug. Late on 30th a patch first and Devon mega appeared in front of Tim Wright, a Citrine Wagtail! (the grim details and a photo here).  Sadly after barely a minute it flew off and was never seen again. Gutting.  The following morning birders searching for the rare waggy turned up a cracking Spotted Crake and a Wryneck - on fire!!!  I didn't see any of the three rarities, but so happy for the chaps that did and very pleased for the patch. A Bittern was seen on Colyford Marsh by many on 8th Sept, but since then Black Hole and Colyford Marsh have remained rarity-free zones. 

Over on the Estuary  it's been fairly quiet.  The small wader flock from Black Hole Marsh could often be seen here at low tide, and good numbers of gulls on 21st Sept included 180+ Great Black-backed Gulls and a lovely first-winter Yellow-legged Gull.  I saw my first Wigeon of the autumn on 24th Aug (it was actually on the sea), but from mid Sept numbers have been building, there are probably about 80-100 present now.  A nice surprise this morning were two Pintail on Colyford Marsh scrape, my first ones this year. Unusually a Razorbill has been present for a good few weeks on the Estuary, often on the river as far north as the Tower Hide. Bit of an odd sight.

Back to the sea, and an evening walk along Branscombe Beach with Jess and Honey on 29th Aug showed there were large numbers of Gannets offshore (despite no wind at all), and thousands of whitebait washed up on the beach.  

I was interviewed by BBC Radio Devon about this, not quite the 'freak phenomenon' they were hoping for though!

Because of this, the next morning I spent a few hours at Spot On Kiosk, and was rewarded with lots and lots of birds. Most of these were feeding gulls and Gannets, but I did see c35 Manxies and at least six Balearic Shearwaters, a couple of which were lingering and feeding offshore.  A Greenshank in-off was a bonus too, and vis mig over the beach included three species of wagtail for the first time this autumn (Pied, Grey and Yellow).

A bird ringing update will be in another post (once I have IMPR up and running again), but I have spent a fair bit of time at Beer Head, and have had some good mornings there without really seeing anything that special. You don't always need rare birds to have a good day.

The 1st Sept was a pretty good morning up there, in two hours I logged 25 Yellow Wags, one Grey Wag, two Tree Pipit, eight Wheatear, two Redstart, three Spot Flies and a late Swift.

The best day for me though was 17th Sept. Up to the day before I'd seen just a handful of migrant Meadow Pipits, but it was bursting with them!  I left the head 3.5 hours after arriving, and had counted at least 750 Mipits, some flying straight through, but most landing among the long grass in large flocks briefly before continuing on west.  It felt so so good for a rare pipit, but sadly it never happened.  The bushes were just as busy as the fields, with good numbers of Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps, what will probably prove to be my last Willow Warbler and Redstart of the year and a single Spot Fly.

A beautifully well marked juv Spotted Flycatcher

More recently, the 30th Sept was a windy morning, but hirundines were streaming through in their thousands at Beer Head, all going east. In with them plenty of Meadow Pipits, a few finches and on the land a Wheatear and a Spot Fly.

The best day for vis mig variety was even more recently, on 3rd Oct. I was up there ringing and it was fairly foggy, but birds were piling through north.  Several large flocks of Linnets, Goldfinches and Siskins, almost continual Chaffinches and Meadow Pipits, numerous Pied and Grey Wags, the biggest movement of Skylark of the autumn so far (35+), a couple of Redpolls, singles of Reed Bunting and Yellowhammer, and best of all at least two Crossbill. If only the bushes were as busy!  I did see a Firecrest, but sadly didn't catch it...

The only notable birds I've seen since the 3rd were this morning's Pintail that I've already mentioned, and a Firecrest in the middle of Colyton during a dog walk on Sunday morning.

It feels good to be up to date, so from now on as I see I will post, yes regular blog posts will resume.  And I look forward to compiling the bird ringing post too, that will probably come early next week.

Anyone Seen A Wryneck?

First of all, a short message to any locals who read this blog. If you have one of these in your garden...

..then please let me know! My email address is stevewaite85'at'gmail.com. Thanks :-)

Beer Head this morning was epic. It's felt pretty samey up here over the past week, but this morning there was passage and new grounded migrants. I could have spent the whole day up here to be honest - it felt like there was a rarity around every corner. Sadly I never found it, but I still had a very enjoyable three hours birding.

For the first time this autumn Meadow Pipits were fairly abundant, c100 is the total in my notebook, but there was so much movement this could be a gross underestimate. Chiffchaffs out numbered Willow Warblers 28:1, another sign that we've moved into the next 'phase' of autumn migration. 

So although I didn't find the rarity I was hoping for, I did come across a patch scarcity with a cracking Pied Fly.  Pleasingly the Pied Fly was in an area I (and I think most the other local birders) don't usually go, I've only included it on my route around Beer Head in the hope of turning up a Wryneck! It stayed pretty loyal to a row of trees so I ended up taking quite a few pics...

Only my second of the year following a cracking spring male by Seaton Marshes

I think that's enough of the Pied Fly! These are my full totals from this morning:


c350 House Martin
c300 Swallow
c100 Meadow Pipit
c75 Yellow Wagtail (most grounded but others straight over west)
5 White Wagtail (my first of the autumn)
2 Grey Wagtail (over west)
26 Wheatear
1 Whinchat
4 Spotted Fly
1 Pied Fly
11 Blackcap
3 Whitethroat
28 Chiffchaff
1 Willow Warbler

And a few more pics...

Two of the Spotted Flies

The closest approaching Wheatear

Three of the White Wagtails

A pretty standard-looking autumn Yellow Wagtail

With all these passerine about - no surprise this fella was lurking around...

Down in the valley, it seems as though our Black Hole Marsh bubble has burst.  Every September something happens which suddenly makes this wonderful place much less wonderful. In 2011 it was 25th September, and this year it was last Sunday.  For some reason the small waders leave the marsh and start feeding on the Estuary at low tide - only using Black Hole over high tide. Then they begin avoiding it altogether and start roosting on Seaton Beach, and that is where we are at the moment.

Low tide yesterday...

This is quite nice to see again to be honest though

High tide yesterday...

First person to spot the Curlew Sand gets first prize...

I may be wrong, and once the water levels drop, Black Hole Marsh may become THE place again. But personally I think that's it. Saying that though, it doesn't mean the rarity potential on Black Hole Marsh is any less.