More Migrants Required!

Well spring really seems to have stalled since my last post, no falls worth blogging about and just a sporadic trickle of wading birds on the Estuary.  Best bird for me being the lingering female Marsh Harrier...

Small numbers of Whimbrel have been showing daily on the Estuary, along with a flock of 20+ Black-tailed Godwits that flew in to Black Hole Marsh a few evenings ago.  I haven't seen any Bar-tailed Godwits on the Axe for a while, but on the last day (25th) one of the two present was in full breeding plumage - nice!  A single Greenshank seems to be lingering in front of Seaton Marshes hide, with the odd Dunlin and Common Sandpiper dropping in.

Several Whitethroats are now in around Axmouth, with good numbers of Reed and Sedge Warblers in the valley.  Firsts for the year for me since my last blog post include a Hobby low east over Primrose Way on 25th and two Swifts this evening over Black Hole Marsh.

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...

Early Vis Mig

Taking a baby out early in the morning does have it's benefits. This was 04:45 today...

Looking north up the Axe Estuary from Axmouth Harbour

Today saw the first steady passage of Swifts and Sand Martins through the patch of the autumn, with 34 and 19 respectively flying west offshore in a 40 minute period from 6am.  I saw more Sand Martins passing through off Beer Head late morning so I do think it was a sustained movement.  Also whilst at the sea front this morning five Med Gulls flew west (3 ad, 2 juvs) among a sporadic passage of Black-headed Gulls. If I stayed longer no doubt I would have matched Dawlish Warren's total of twenty by 8am.

I saw a further three Meds on the Estuary mid afternoon, two adults and the lingering dull first-summer (which is often the southern most gull on the Estuary).  Gutted to have missed our first juv Yellow-legged Gull of the year that Ian Mc saw a bit later in the day, but no doubt I'll see many over the next few months.

Black Hole Marsh at 5am was lovely and peaceful, with quite a few waders on the diminishing water levels.  Still nothing surprising here as yet this autumn, just the routine fare, but it is still very early days. Among an increase in numbers of Common Sands were three Green Sands (all adults). An adult Little Ringed Plover was probably the bird Ian Mc had yesterday, but also looked suspiciously like the first of the autumn here back on 1st July. Otherwise there were 22 Redshank, two Blackwits and an adult Water Rail.  

Three Green and a Common Sand

Two of the Green Sands

Having missed out on finding our last three rare waders (Least Sand - Tim Wright, Baird's Sand - Phil Abbott, Semi-P Sand Peter/Phil Abbott) I think it's high time I found another decent wading bird this year (and I don't count Pecs, I have seen more of them on patch than Cuckoos!).  Hopefully the early morning baby walks will do the trick eventually...

Swifts Arrive Enmasse

Work has been getting in the way this week, hence why I've not done a post since Tuesday. Don't worry it's not because I'm becoming lazy, or because I've been changing nappies (one week to go!).

I'll start this post with today, and today has been a Swift day. Even whilst at work it's been great watching flock of Swifts flying east over Seaton, proper real migration in action and I absolutely love it.  These weren't my first Swifts of the year though as I had three over Axe Cliff yesterday morning, and a couple more over Seaton later in the day.

With the wind nudging a little more southerly, and with a few Pom Skuas being seen off the south coast today, I went down the beach tonight and had a sea watch 18:45 - 19:50 and noted;

1 Great Northern Diver (west)

47 Manx Shearwater 

1 Arctic Skua (a gorgeous and delicate pale-phased adult close east at 18:55)

12 Whimbrel

12 Ringed Plover (in off)

There were also numerous flocks of Swallows and House Martins arriving in off, along with several more Swifts.

A quick whizz along the Estuary showed two Bar-tailed Godwits (all five were still with us up until yesterday), plenty of Whimbrel and a first-summer Grey Plover.  This week there have been more small gulls about, on Wednesday evening I counted 37 Common Gulls (two adults the rest first-summers).  

The most frustrated I've felt this week was Wednesday morning. I had work at 9am, got up early, walked the dog, but before returning home spent a few minutes looking over the sea. In that time a tight flock of seven Sanderling flew east along the beach, three Whimbrel flew west, eight Sandwich Terns flew into the bay and began fishing and a Wheatear and a flock of Swallows flew in off. Oh how I wish I had arrived here earlier, or had more time to stay. There was clearly lots of passage going on.

And to finish the post, and to ensure it's not a photo-less one, I was pleased to see three Hare at Axe Cliff on Thursday, a leveret and these two adults...

Dartmoor

I've been lucky enough to spend quite a bit of time on Dartmoor over the last few weeks, and will be spending a heck of a lot more time up here over the next 11 weeks...

The weather really has been mixed, the above photos were taken on the nicest day, on other mornings we had to sit out snow and hail showers, and the first day saw a raw east wind whip up late morning.  

As expected it's been nice to see plenty of the usual Dartmoor summer birds; Cuckoos daily, Curlews, Redstarts, Whinchat, Snipe, etc. A Fieldfare on the 28th was my biggest surprise, the latest I've ever seen one in the county, but considering the temperature at dawn was -1 it was probably feeling at home...

When we are out on the moor we don't have much time to hang around, none at all really.  But when this Fox appeared in front of me I just had to stop and film it for a short while, and luckily for me it did a full on mouse-pounce...

Now back to the patch. I'm really pleased that the Hoopoe is still here today, and remained in view pretty much all day for the constant trickle of visitors, there's some stunning photos of it appearing online.  It's clearly been quite a good day today, I've not gone out birding at all but two dog walks and an eye open from my back garden has given me some nice birds. Allhallows mid morning showed ten Wheatear, two Willow Warbler and a Whitethroat. A wander around Colyford late afternoon showed a female Whinchat, and from the house this evening a female Goosander flew up river and my first Swift of the year flew south.  

Wish I had gone out birding today after all!

A Spring Shortie

There was yet another aborted attempt at bird ringing on Beer Head on Monday morning, when I got up there it was too blowy.  Mind you, the sunrise was nice to see.... 

It was actually a great shame about the wind as there were clearly quite a few Willow Warblers about, with most moving through rapidly.  Determined not to make it a wasted early morning wake up, I headed down into the valley for a look about, where I was surprised to see a Short-eared Owl flying around over the Estuary.  It spent a few minutes hunting over Axe and Colyford Marsh, before pitching on this distant post...

It stayed here until I left 20 mins later, and eight hours on when I returned, it was sat on the ground about 10 feet to the right of this post!  Later that evening it was hunting south of Black Hole Marsh, and it did the same again tonight apparently.  Although you can't tell it in my pic, it's a really dark bird, in fact when I first saw it in flight through the bins I was expecting it to turn out to be a Long-eared. Pity it wasn't, but still Short-eareds aren't ten a penny around here.

Today I didn't get out birding until late morning, and my first little wander was my most productive spell of the day.  My first Lesser Whitethroat of 2015 was singing well, and showing now and then, in the hedgerow that runs north of Coronation Corner. Two Common Sandpipers were flitting along the near bank of the Estuary here, with a Greenshank feeding on the first bit of exposed mud as the tide began to drop.  Best of all though were two adult summer Med Gulls that only gave themselves away by repeatedly calling to each other as they flew over rapidly and VERY high north west - sweet.  

Despite quite a lot of looking, didn't really see anything else of note whilst out birding this afternoon.  I did see an Osprey, but that was the comfort of my own kitchen, as it flew south west over Black Hole Marsh.  Why bother going out?

And to break up the text a bit, here's another Wheatear photo. At least it's a female for a change...

Oh yes, I nearly forgot. On Sunday evening whilst watching my sixth Red Kite of the month circling over fields between Colyford and Musbury, two Swifts zipped into my binocular view. It's funny how often this happens, when your watching one bird in the bins, and another you wouldn't otherwise have seen appears in the field of view. Maybe I should just randomly put my bins up to apparent empty skies every now and then?

No birds here....or are there?

Fog Changed The Game

My alarm was again set for 05:40 yesterday for some pre-breakfast birding. A look out the window though revealed thick fog so I got on with my laptop work and saved up my birding time for later on in the day.

Late morning, after noticing from the kitchen table several big Swallow flocks flying north - and my first Swift - I just had to get out!

Black Hole Marsh was my destination, and I was soon greeted by a fly over Yellow Wag amongst the trickle of Swallows and Martins.  It was as I was leaving that I first heard the song of the Lesser Whitethroat, and I soon picked it up just south of the main entrance track to the marsh.  Gav and Karen both arrived, by which time it had moved nearer to Black Hole Marsh, and was joined by a Whitethroat.

In mid song

I returned home for an hour or so, but my best efforts to work were disturbed by a text from Gav informing me of a Garden Warbler north of Coronation Corner.  Kindly Gav waited for me (delaying his lunch hugely!), but I had to wait about half an hour to see it.  We could hear it, and see Blackcaps, a Whitethroat and a couple of Willow Warblers, but the bloody Garden Warbler took an age to come out!  Thankfully it did though...

Not an easy bird to see here in the spring

Then it was back home, and this is where I stayed until Jess finished work. Early evening we went for a walk around Lower Bruckland Ponds, not much to be seen here, so we headed into town to buy a few bits.

Jess knows by now though that I can't drive past the 'Farm Gate' without stopping!  And I'm glad I did last night as an immature male Marsh Harrier was hunting over Colyford Marsh - result! It was a cracking bird too.

This morning, the alarm went off at 05:40 again and I went down to Black Hole Marsh.  The Lesser Whitethroat was still singing away, more Reed Warblers were singing away than recent days, and 12 Ringed Plovers were good to see (wader passage!).  

Whilst attempting a sea watch after this, I didn't see any sea birds but I did see a Yellow Wag fly in off the sea.

Right - time to bury my head in my laptop yet again!!!

Blackhole Marsh This Afternoon

The only birding I did today was a mid/late afternoon stint at Blackhole Marsh for an hour or so...

Wader numbers have gone up a little. Ringed Plover numbers looked similar, but there were another ten or so more Dunlin than when I was last here. In with them the two Little Stints still, and most notably our first Turnstone of 2010...

First spotted by Sue Smith

A Greenshank was feeding on the marsh along with a Blackwit and the Ruff still, which showed a little better today...

All birds should take a leaf out of this Ruff's book!!

Over the marsh were a nice collection of Swallows, House Martins and Sand Martins with this late(ish) Swift...

After an entire summer season I've FINALLY got a half decent flight shot of a Swift!!

Workies all day tomorrow, roll on next week...