Vis Mig Mini Watch

This morning was one of those mornings that I really could have done with all the time in the world! A lovely start to the day encouraged a flurry of westwards visible migration, which am sure given more coverage would have produced a scarcity or two.

All I was able to do was a 15 minute watch from Mum and Dad's front garden at the west end of Seaton from 08:20, and then a half-hour watch at 9am from my second favourite vis mig watch point on patch, Beer Stables.

Looking east over Seaton towards Axe Cliff from Beer Stables. The great thing about this site is you can see birds coming from miles off!

Watching over this 45 minute period gave me totals of;

3 Lapwing
1 Golden Plover
4 Stock Dove
390 Jackdaw (biggest single flock 220 birds)
2 Crow
7 Magpie (!!)
70 Starling
48 Skylark
85 Meadow Pipit
26 alba Wagtail (one flock of 14)
5 Grey Wagtail 
94 Chaffinch
18 Goldfinch
12 Linnet
1 Greenfinch
8 Siskin
5 Reed Bunting

I can't tell you how much I wished I was up Axe Cliff for the whole morning - although saying that many of the larger birds seemed to be passing inland of me at Beer, so would probably have been completely missed from the cliff edge. Actually what I really wish is that we had a proper vis mig pinch point here on the Axe patch, but we don't... or I've not found it yet anyway!  

Jackdaws

More Jackdaws!

Vis-migging Magpies!

Over the last few days I have been checking the usual haunts when I can, like the Estuary for example - especially considering how many large gulls we've had gracing us lately.  Sadly nothing in them worth writing about since my last Yellow-legged and the half Caspian-thing.

Seaton Hole was really birdie about a week ago, several Chiffs, Goldcrests and Blackcaps, with the same selection although in smaller numbers present there today. On Tuesday however when I went there it was oddly quiet, but I soon worked out why...

Sat out proud

Stunning male Sparrowhawk

...and again!

And for the last time I promise... just look at that eye!

Delightful to get such a prolonged, relaxed and close view of our second commonest raptor on patch. They maybe common, but views like this don't come by often. 

Many Meds

I've only seen a couple of Med Gulls so far this summer, despite excellent numbers of Black-headed Gulls about. So I was pleased to seen ten on Black Hole Marsh this morning; five juvs, single first and second-summers and three adults...

Two adults flanked by two juveniles

Adult

Colour-ringed first-summer

A gorgeous juvenile

Same juvenile back on, they are subtly beautiful

And now for a quiz pic. How many Meds? And what ages are they...

I know many don't find gulls interesting or attractive, but I don't think there's many birds smarter than an adult summer Med Gull.

Also on Black Hole today was my first Shoveler of the 'autumn', three Teal and waders included 12 Blackwits, 9 Common Sands, 6 Dunlin (my first juv) and a Green Sand.

Yesterday I had a rather nice and spectacular surprise during a mist netting session. Although I've been a C ringer for four years, this was the first time one of these have flown into my nets (and stayed there until extracted, big birds often 'bounce' straight out of mist nets)...

Sparrowhawk

What fierce eyes! They really have nailed the 'death stare' to perfection.  This bird was a '5 male', which means it's a male that was born in the previous calender year (2014).  It showed a remarkable moult with a seemingly random mix of first-year (brown) and adult (blue-grey) feathers...

The fact the adult feathers are blueish say its a male, as did its small wing size

I say the moult looked random, but clearly it isn't and this is obviously how Sparrowhawks do it so that they remain in good enough condition to continue to hunt.  It still looked very 'juvenile' on its front...

So glad James M was with me at this time, enabling me to get these photos.

Also of note was this juvenile Whitethroat, notable because they don't breed on site so it has clearly travelled some distance - although probably not that far...

Whitethroat age code 3

The Yellow Wagtail - Trapped And Ringed

Our second ringing session at Colyford WTW since the probable Eastern Yellow Wagtail has been in residence proved a total success, because at 08:35 it flew in to one of our mist nets! RESULT!

Biometric data proves that this bird is indeed..... a Yellow Wagtail! So not much use at all! But what it left in my hand is probably going to prove of great use...

Yellow Wagtail poo!!

This - along with a couple of belly feathers it lost in the net - should secure the identification of this bird once and for all....eventually! Good old DNA :-)

I took loads of photos of various different parts of the bird - here's three of them...

All photos copyright Steve Waite

In the lower photo, note the strip of yellow-buff on lower breast/belly, and the smidgen of yellow-buff between its legs. All white under tail coverts though.

The other very useful thing it did was call - which to my ears sounded quite different to the usual spring and autumn flyover flavas. I managed to record seven calls, and the first comments back are very positive. Martin Garner is preparing some sonograms and these will appear on his blog, along with some comments from the man himself and the sound clip of this bird.... CLICK HERE

Wagtail aside, it was an excellent ringing session, with this stonking Water Pipit...

A beast!

And this stunning male Sparrowhawk...

Just look at that eye!

By 10am the Yellow Wagtail was back, feeding on its favoured filter bed. It was still there when we left at about 11:30am.