Wood Sandpiper

Mike B found a Wood Sandpiper on Black Hole Marsh this morning, which was already our third of the autumn migration period.  Having missed the first two however I was really keen to see this one, so headed down to the wetlands this evening...

As you can tell it showed really well for me, affording stunning views in good light from the Island Hide.  Having not seen any pics of this bird before clapping eyes on it in the field, considering the date I was certain I was 'twitching' an adult Wood Sand, but as you may be able to tell it is in fact a fresh juvenile.

In my mind, pretty much all Wood Sands in July, especially down here in the south west, are adults with juvs not appearing until early August (maybe very late July at a push).  I've looked back through my blog and indeed all the Wood Sands I've previously blogged about in July have been adults, so to see a juv in mid July is a real surprise.  An early fledger? Or maybe it was born somewhere a little closer than usual (i.e from one of the few breeding pairs in the UK?).  

If anyone has any thoughts, experience or comments about this then please do let me know!  Am genuinely surprised to be seeing a juvenile so early in the season.

Black Hole and the Estuary were really buzzing tonight.  Four juvenile Little Ringed Plovers were zooming around, noisily, all over the place, with six adult Greenshank an increase from recent days. Also present were three Whimbrel, ten Common Sands, six Dunlin, three Lapwing, two Teal and two juv Med Gulls...

Three distant LRPs. Later they were on the Estuary.

Whimbrel with a sleepy Dunlin

A very cute juv Med Gull

Distant but posing nicely and I like the composition

If Black Hole keeps up like this we are in for a great autumn!

Male Ruff and Med Gulls

Wader passage is really gaining momentum now, with Black Hole Marsh proving more and more inviting as the water levels drop daily.  

It really feels like we are going to score a 'big one' in the next few weeks, but until then this stunning male Ruff will do just fine...

Best one I've seen on the Axe!

The combination or black and rich chestnut looked stunning

Lots of Black-tailed Godwits, Redshank, Common Sandpipers, a few Dunlin and Lapwing and a Greenshank were also present.  Plenty of small gulls and a couple of Teal too - it's looking so good!

Over the last few days it's been great to see a continued presence of excellent numbers of Med Gulls.  The other morning a quick look along the Estuary made me feel like I was on the Fleet...

There were 11 in total in this flock of 24 small gulls (5.5 pictured!)

Looking like a male at the back and a female

...and long may it continue. Any number of Med Gulls is never too many!

Third-summer (4cy) Mediterranean Gull

Following on from my last post, I have received the details of green-ringed Med Gull RX2P.  A cracking looking bird that I saw on the Axe Estuary at 9am on 27th June.  It makes interesting reading...

Firstly, incredibly this bird was also sighted in Weymouth on 27th June!  Looking at the EXIF data of the Weymouth photograph it was taken at 5:15pm, and although not all that surprising a gull has travelled 30 miles along the coast in a day, it's gone the opposite way to what I'd expect!  The Med Gull passage off the south west coast at this time of year is usually a westward one so it's gone the wrong way!

Secondly, and something that really excites the guller in me, is that it was ringed as a pullus in Paris on 02/07/17. A quick tot up on my fingers tells me this bird is in it's fourth calendar year (4cy) and it's third-summer plumage.  This is not something I have ever written before for a Med Gull as it shouldn't be an identifiable age-class, with the usual ageing process as follows;

Juvenile - First-winter - First-summer - Second-winter - Second-summer - Adult.

Or if you prefer using calendar years (cy) and not plumage cycles;

1cy - 2cy - 3cy - Adult.

However in the past I've seen some second-winter/second-summer Meds with such a restricted amount of black in the primaries that I've wondered if they were actually a year older. From how RX2P looked the other day, it turns out they probably were!

This is a typical second-summer Med Gull taken on the Axe Estuary on 29/03/11...

Not the best photo but black and white primary tips obvious

And here's a typical looking second-winter Med Gull taken on the Axe Estuary on 2/12/11...

Clearly overcast when I took this photo!

Here is RX2P...

Nearly adult but not quite! Small black streak on otherwise white primaries

A more distant view but shows how little black there is

So what does this mean for the 'second-winter' and 'second-summer' labelling of Med Gulls? Well a bird with a typical amount on black I suspect the ageing remains correct, but for anything showing less 'second or third winter/summer' would probably be a more accurate caption.  For example, let's look at the unringed Med Gull that RX2P was accompanied by...

Looks quite similar doesn't it!

It has a bigger black smudge than RX2P on its otherwise white primaries but it's only one smudge and is far less than the average second-summer.  It has to be a good candidate for another third-summer surely?  

I'm going to have to do some more digging I think and see what other colour-ring sightings have shown.

Gulls, is there no end to the happiness and wonder they give me?  If there is I am a long way from it that's for sure.

Marvelleous Meds

As we approach July, we are heading towards the peak passage period for Mediterranean Gulls on the Axe.  

Most the big flocks tend to fly past us over sea but we still get our fair share in the valley.  What's best though is how they look, with the adults/near adults often sporting full summer wear, and the super fresh juveniles looking like butter wouldn't melt.  It's still a bit early for the latter (mid July onwards) but at 9am this morning a small flock of Black-headed Gulls on the near shore off Coronation Corner contained these two beauts...

Colour-ringed, awaiting to hear back the details

Its non-blinged mate

The non-ringed bird again to show how brutish it looked - presumably a male

Today's windy weather gave some seawatching promise, and there was some success for those who were able to get out early.  Five Manx Shearwaters and a Whimbrel was all I added to the tally from two short watches during the afternoon, when conditions were less than ideal as the sun decided to put in an appearance.  

With a record June count of Balearic Shearwaters made in south Devon today (425 at Start Point by MD) let's hope it's a precursor for an excellent summer and autumn of seawatching in the English Channel.  Big Shears for me please!

Seaton Hole Gull Roost

Came back from a family day out today (more on that later) at about 4:30pm, and headed straight to the river for a last gasp look at the gulls.  The tide was high however and as a result numbers weren't great, so I nipped to Seaton Hole. Well I say 'nipped' but I actually ended up spending almost an hour there!

This was my first dusk visit to Seaton Hole this winter, and the gull roost was really impressive.  Numbers were constantly building right up to dusk, and the main small gull flock was pretty close in (probably due to the south west wind).

A small part of the flock

Although there were few large gulls (most seemed to head around the corner to Beer), among the small gulls were 680+ Common Gull and by the end of my stint 56 Med Gulls.  There's at least seven just in this shot...

I thought this was a good scenario to test the capabilities of the P900 out, as I was wondering if I did manage to pick something subtle out like a Bonaparte's or Ring-billed Gull, what kind of quality image would I be able to get?

This is a no zoom shot...

This is with about 25x optical zoom (with a single gull circled)...

And this is at about 95x zoom (so using full optical zoom of 83x with some digital zoom as well)...

Yes that's the Med Gull that's circled in the above pic, which is also in theory in the shot above that.  So to answer my own question, yes, I would be able to get a more than identifiable pic if there was a Ross's Gull sat out there with the Black-heads!  Seriously impressive kit. Especially when you consider the poor light conditions as well as the lumpy sea.

Rewinding a few hours, we'd enjoyed a lovely day on Dartmoor and at Stover CP.  As ever it was a lovely walk around the lake, and good to see Mandarin have really made themselves at home here.  A couple of years ago they'd often be around, but hidden away in quiet corners, but today...

Harry feeding the ducks! 

There were nine in total

Love 'em or hate 'em - they are lookers!

There were a few Tufted Duck out on the lake, no Goosanders today but a single female Pochard...

Don't see many of these being an Axe birder!

There were plenty of Siskin around in the trees as well, along with the usual woodland-species that always seem abundant here.

A Galling Gull

A quick snoop around the patch early this morning showed a flock of 15 Sand Martin feeding over Colyford Marsh, but not a lot else...

I had two more trips out today, late morning and late afternoon, with gulls being the main focus. Among the 120+ Common Gulls on the Estuary were five Med Gulls (one first-summer, two second-summer and two adult summers). There weren't big numbers of large gulls on show today, but they did include this first-summer Caspian Gull*...

First views showed exactly what can be seen in the above pic. A strikingly white headed and breasted first-year gull, with extensive (almost complete) grey saddle, solidly faded dark brown tertials, plain (although very faded) greater coverts, and narrow pink legs with comparatively long tibia.  Overall it was a sizeable bird too, larger than the surrounding Herring Gulls.

My views of it were shocking mind, as you can tell from the below pics...

Frustrating I had to go before I'd even picked this bird up, so after ten minutes of watching it I really had to go!  But when I finally and begrudgingly did drive away, I suddenly realised how I may be able to get a closer view...

Oh yes much closer and clearer, but not the most helpful of angles. And now I really really really had to go!!

I desperately hope I or someone sees this bird again, because currently I'm just not quite happy with it.  I reckon if I'd been able to give it the time it deserved then I would have come away happy, but the bill size and shape, and dull grey mottling on flanks and belly are unsettling me... 

Is it a big male Casp, or do these features suggest some Herring influence?  Any comments as ever gratefully received.

A Good Gull Day

I am sure being with/married to a birder is not an easy thing at the best of times, but it can get treacherous on particular occasions that's for sure...

There are four birding events that make my wife shudder to the core - and I don't blame her.  If I'm not birding when any of these four things are taking place, then I am not a nice person to be with. And that's not something I have any control over. Shocking but true. The four 'birding events' being; 

A patch first/lifer

A good fall day (spring or autumn)

A good sea watching day

A good gull day

What I don't think the non-birder truly understands is that to create three of the above four events everything has to be exactly right - like a complex jigsaw puzzle that fits together probably only for a single day, and then possibly not again for months/years. The weather needs to be right, the time of year needs to be right, and the birds need to be there - but sometimes even when those three do marry up it still doesn't happen, so when it does happen it is not to be missed.  If it is being missed then I simply don't want to be wherever I am at that time, I want to be birding.

And why have I written all of the above? Well today one of my four 'birding events' happened... Gulls!  Mid March, a strong south west wind with plenty of rain and 100% cloud cover - all absolute classic conditions for big numbers of Gulls on the Axe.  Miraculously once I'd seen the forecast last night, our plans for a 'lovely Saturday out' suddenly changed to us enjoying more of a 'stay at home' day.... funny that :-)

My first look along the Estuary mid-morning showed about 210 Common Gulls, two Med Gulls (second-summers) and best of all this lovely second-summer Yellow-legged Gull...

Don't be put off by the dull yellow legs - completely usual for a YLG of this age. Note the lovely bright bill, red orbital ring, square back of the head and the vast amount of grey in the wing - it's well advanced.

A direct comparison with a similarly aged Herring Gull - note the difference in bill colour!

With two adult graellsii Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Note the complete black tail band - a good feature for a second-summer Yellow-legged, other species usually show a weak or broken tail band by this age

A fluky flight shot - all perfect for a second-summer YLG

Last one I promise! With two Herring Gulls

The Yellow-legged Gull remained on the Estuary all day, as I saw it during both the afternoon Estuary scans.  Mid afternoon there wasn't much else to add, but a look along the Estuary from 17:30 showed a massive increase in smaller gull numbers - now six Med Gulls (ad, 4 2s and 1 1w) and an impressive 620 Common Gulls.  The mind boggles at how many of these have probably passed through the patch today!

All but about 11 of these birds are Common Gull!

So many Common Gull - but sadly no Ring-billeds (that I found anyway!)

Adult and second-summer Med Gull

Another second-summer Med Gull

And just to finish this post, so I can reclaim some brownie points by doing the dishes, I saw my first Sand Martins of the year today. Three were feeding over Lower Bruckland Ponds mid afternoon.

Right, must dash...

A Surprise Yellow-browed

Well that was a bit of luck!  

I was walking Harry between my house and his Grandparent's house late morning yesterday when a Yellow-browed Warbler started shouting at me.  Amazingly it was coming from the very same group of trees one inhabited last autumn, and represents my fourth in the street that I live in (Primrose Way) in four years!  I have to say I didn't think I'd get one this year as there have been far fewer in the UK this autumn than the past few years.  

Once I'd dropped the little one off, I returned with my bins and enjoyed some decent views of this little sprite. It was in a mixed flock of tits, which also included a couple of Goldcrests and a Chiffchaff.

I also spent some time yesterday looking through the Estuary gulls, it was a really windy day and early October often proves a great time of year to find scarce gulls.  There were a heck of lot of large gulls about (three large flocks) but despite trying I couldn't find anything of value within them.  It was nice to see five Med Gulls dotted around though, four first-winters and an adult, my highest count since late summer.  Also on the Estuary was this Bar-tailed Godwit...

And to end this rather short and sweet blog post, here's a couple of random photos taken from Seaton Beach during the past few weeks...

Early Marsh Harrier(s) and More Meds

A few snippets of interest to report from the patch today...

Earlier today local wildlife watcher Fran Sinclair was lucky enough to see two Marsh Harriers hunting over Colyford Marsh. At least one was still present late this afternoon, it was nice to see but I blame it entirely for flushing a large gull that deserved a closer look. Only locked on to it ten seconds before it upped and flew off south.  Drat.

I spent the rest of the evening on Beer Beach, hoping to see a raft of white-winged gulls roosting offshore. Well there were six Med Gulls, which is quite an increase on recent counts, suggesting the first signs of spring passage maybe? All but one were well on their way to showing full hoods.  But no big white-winged gulls sadly. Still.

Earlier in the day, but off-patch, it was nice to have some wonderful views of this lovely Fox. It could have been closer, but was an awesome looking specimen...

And come on, you didn't really think a super blue Moon would pass without a Moon pic appearing on this blog...