Autumn Starts Early

Between bird surveying, and having to be home for the Honey Monster, I squeezed in an early morning visit to Black Hole Marsh today.

Here there were several signs of the autumn migration having moved up a notch, with our first juvenile Little Ringed Plover of the year near the far viewing platform. 

Don't see many in June, July is when they tend to start moving through

A summer plumaged Black-tailed Godwit, three Common Sandpipers and six Teal were also on show.

Local breeding birds were present in good numbers too, both in the bushes and on the lagoon. Shelduck really seem to have had a good breeding season, and both Oystercatcher broods are doing well.

Great little birds

Hopefully the good breeding season means we are in for a good autumn...

Busy Busy Busy...

Am falling behind with just about everything at the moment - the blog is low on the list of priorities but here's a quick one.... 

I'm pleased to say, and blimey has it jumped up on us, the wedding is coming up soon. So we are busy rushing around finalising details and emptying our bank accounts to pay for the last few bits.  Who's idea was the chocolate fountain?

Then of course there's this little lady - who has already grown considerably...

Honey looking like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth!

She's certainly taking up some time, but we are really impressed with so many aspects of her - especially sleeping so well at night and staying dry.  Still not impressed with the lawn digging though!  Not being able to take her for walkies yet is incredibly frustrating but hopefully the next four weeks will fly by...

I do have a few bits of bird news, with first returning waders (I presume) seen over the last few weeks including Greenshank, Green Sand, Lapwing (three) and Bar-tailed Godwit. I missed a summer plumage Grey Plover sadly but pleased with what I've seen never-the-less.  Black-headed Gull numbers are also ever increasing, sadly no Ross's, Bonaparte's or even Little, but a first-summer Med Gull circled over the house a few days ago.

Also from the garden, have seen three Red Kites in the past two weeks. They really are loving this high pressure!

Haven't been ringing for a few weeks, frustrating as I know how many unringed Siskins are waiting for me at one of my sites...

Some of the last birds I did ring included this lovely House Martin...

And this even lovelier young (3J) Skylark...

The Garden Is Done!

Well it's about time I revealed this exciting news.  The garden is compete - all thanks to Phil and his family who spent several days up here grafting. 

So, this is what we started with (as you all should know by now!)...

First step was to remove all the decking and patio - and all the wood that came with it.  I've shown this done in previous posts, this took a couple of weeks. Next step was the new patio and the surround to what would be our lawn...

Then came the top soil...

Which was followed by a morning of James Mc help (a pro gardener), who helped prepare the soil...

And then later, turf it!  Here's me laying the first bit of turf (along with customary bacon roll)...

And here I am laying the final piece (with customary builders bum!)...

So by the end of the day it looked like this...

What a transformation!  A week later and the grass has taken well, and is really growing. This is how it looked at just after 6 this morning...

Oh, did I forget to mention something!?

Yes, as of yesterday there's an addition to our family. Meet Honey our 8 week old extremely adorable Golden Retriever...

 

Honey absolutely loves the garden - although she is doing the best she can to undo all the work James and I did laying the lawn....

Back Home For The Day

Long-term readers of this blog will probably have noticed a lack of moth-related posts so far this year. Is that a good or a bad thing? Well for me a bad thing, but I'm sure some of you are pleased about it!

Throughout the spring I kept reading on Twitter about disappointing number of moths across the UK, so just didn't bother. Recently though I've been seeing plenty of moth photos about, that coupled with promising looking conditions (little wind, plenty of cloud cover and night-time temps in double figures) on Sunday night had me digging out my Robinsons at Mum and Dads. Really pleased I did too!

On Monday morning I had 72 moths of 27 species. Heart and Dart was the most numerous species (12) and a Silver Y the only immigrant. Some of the rest looked like this...

Puss Moth - only the second I've ever caught in the garden, a big and stunning moth.

Peach Blossom - I always go 'wow' when I see one!

Green Carpet

Buff-tip - not doing a very good job of blending in though!

Purple Bar

Scalloped Hazel

Treble Lines, the usual 'classic' form on the left and a example of the obscura form on the right

Whilst I was up Mum and Dads, I put a net up in the front garden too.  Two more Bullfinches ringed made it 43 trapped and ringed here now, although this was only the second time I've netted here in the 12 months.  I only ringed one Bullfinch here in 2013, ten in 2012 and an amazing 30 in 2011!   The best bird ringed though was this beautiful just fledged Coal Tit....

Such lose juvenile body feathers - I love a nice fresh '3J'!

Must just mention that I learnt more about Bee-eater sightings after my last post.  James M had the one past Charmouth at 09:20, but a message came out the next morning that four flew past here almost at the same time.  The bird James saw looked to be on its own, so the four must have taken a different route or gone through just before he got there - so it looks like it was a four and a single that joined up here on patch.  There's currently five lurking in Hampshire somewhere, so possibly after they flew off on Sunday afternoon, they dropped down into the valley and then followed it inland before turning back east?

If whoever saw the four over Charmouth reads this, olease drop us a email or comment as it would be good to learn more....

Bee-eater!

Well yesterday was a very exciting day, and I can't tell you how lucky I feel.

Every Sunday I always work 6am to 4:15pm. But yesterday, not only was it the start of new Sunday hours for me (now working until 7pm), because I had to go in for an early morning meeting, I had a couple of hours off in the middle of the day.... this was vital.

The first hint of Bee-eater action was former patch birder James Mc who had one fly west along the cliff-edge at Charmouth, which isn't far from our patch at all.  Bun reacted to this news by heading up to Axe Cliff, which is the western edge of the Undercliff and the most likely spot to see a coast-hugging migrant.  I think it was towards the end of his walk when he heard Bee-eater calling, and at the same time Karen saw one briefly by the parking area. But as soon as they saw it, it was off, and flew west.

Phil was at my place, and after hearing this news we debated heading to the coast, but thought standing in the garden would give us as good a chance. But then we had another phone call from Bun (many thanks mate, always good at keeping others informed) to say the Bee-eater was circling over the golf course in the distance. I bundled Phil into my car and we went off.

The next bit of news was less than hopeful though, as Bun said it seemed to continue west and flew off from the golf course. Oh bugger. We stopped along the Estuary to have a listen, nothing. I then thought maybe it was still worth popping up to the golf course as Bun and Karen were viewing from quite some distance away. We walked onto the golf course and within a minute Phil said "What's that on there?" (he didn't have any bins on him!)...

Patch tick! Probably the most colourful bird on my patch list!

Incredible!!!! Then ensued numerous texts and phone calls as we watched the Bee-eater sit motionless. Bun and Karen arrived, as did Tim Wright, but just before the next wave of local birders got to us, a Crow flew in and flushed it. I could have taken some photos of it in flight, but decided to record that lovely call. It's not just the Bee-eater you can hear though, I apologise for the language I use as I realise the bird was flying off. I was just really disappointed that it didn't stay put for a bit longer...

Thankfully for some, the Bee-eater was relocated further up towards Rousdon, along with four more! But sadly yet again they didn't hang around, and soon all five flew off west never to be seen again.  Bee-eater is a mega Devon bird, they just don't hang around.  So it really was a great shame that the Axe couldn't be the place many people added this beautiful species to their county lists.

This was my third UK Bee-eater, having found two singles fly through at Spurn. This was my first perched UK bird though, and what a delight to see. So happy!  And as for Phil, well it wasn't just a patch tick for him, but a UK first too! I hear he was jumping up and down in excitement for the rest of the day...

A Mixed Morning

Once the early morning shower had passed (although there were a few more afterwards!) I took my nets up to a site near Beer where I monitor the breeding Swallows.  Last week I had come up here to eye up the potential for catching adult Swallows, but instead came away in awe of what must be one of the busiest bird feeding stations I've ever seen - with an impressive variety of species too!

I only had one 60 foot net up (this is all it needs) and it kept me very busy! My personal highlights were three Siskin; an adult male that was already ringed (D776068), a second year male and a juvenile.  We all know how stunning male Siskins are...

But even the juveniles are super little birds...

I had been here for about an hour and a half (although had to close the net for twenty minutes whilst another rain shower came through) when I started hearing rumblings about one of my most wanted gulls well within twitching distance...

Soon enough it was confirmed - there was a Ross's Gull on Bowling Green Marsh!  There's very few species I'd drop everything for if they were turn up off patch, but this is one of them.  I love gulls, I dipped Ross's Gull in my younger years, and it's simply a species I've always wanted to see - the opportunity was too great to let go.  I sent a few texts out and within ten minutes had a car full getting ready for a trip west.

We left Seaton at 10:30 with news the gull was still these despite the tide having fallen, but on arrival we were informed twenty minutes ago it had flown off towards the Estuary. Bugger.  We headed for the platform by the River Clyst, but one last glance over the marsh revealed it sleeping beside a Black-headed Gull.  We spread the news that it was back and enjoyed some great views over the next half hour or so...

Not the everyday view of Bowling Green Marsh....

Although it was great to watch it resting and feeding, it looked even better in flight!  The tail really is striking - a black-tipped diamond.  Size for me was a really noticeable feature too, as although it was smaller than the nearby Black-headed Gull it never looked minute as Little Gulls do. There's a great photo on Devon Birds which shows the size difference well, click HERE.

Oddly when I was watching the Ross's feeding in a muddy scrape it reminded me most in shape, structure and behaviour of a Common Gull! 

You can see from these photos though why it caused some headaches and debate yesterday...

An obvious Ross's Gull

Hmmmmm..... a far from obvious Ross's Gull!

Lastly I'd like to thank Bun, Ian and Karen for the twitching company, and Matt and Mark for all the useful info and updates throughout the morning.

Nightjars Return With Friends

Last year Nightjar was added to everyone's patch lists as at least two birds were found late summer in only recently created suitable habitat (see HERE).  We couldn't prove breeding but both male and female birds were present.

Last Sunday night I took my first dusk trip to the site this year, and was delighted to see a male Nightjar fly in and begin churring at 21:25. Even better a female immediately reacted to the song and flew up to join him. They both flew around together before heading off into the darkness - awesome! 

Whilst here, in the fading light I was pretty sure I could hear a Tree Pipit singing from somewhere, so went back this morning for a walk round during day light hours.  And it just shows that if the habitat is there, birds will use it, as I saw an amazing three Tree Pipits! Two males and a female...

 And how do I know one was a female? Well....

Tree Pipit porn!  I'm pretty sure this is the first known breeding Tree Pipits on patch.

Only other news I have to report is of my first immigrant moth of the year, in a rather unusual location!  This Silver Y was on the charging lead for the works van...

Great to see again!

Back To Beer Head

Unlike Tuesday morning, on Wednesday I didn't snooze the alarm and slip back into bed - I was on Beer Head for 5:30.

The conditions really didn't seem good, but I've said that so many times I'm beginning to ask myself whether I know what 'good' is!?  There was the fainest NW wind, which practically wasn't there - but it must have been enough to drop some migrants out of the clear blue skies.  Walking from my car to the netting site I heard a couple of Willow Warblers singing, and saw a Spot Fly, so knew it wasn't going to be a complete waste of time.

Whether they were all new migrants, or some lingering from yesterday is another question.  A Garden Warbler spent the whole morning singing around the area I was in, and I first heard it from the same bush I saw the Garden Warbler in yesterday. They're a scarce spring migrant here so my money's on it being the same bird.  There were at least five Spot Flies around too, and I bet at least some were hangers on from yesterday. But there were clearly more Willow Warblers around and a Redstart that wasn't there on Tuesday.

I had two nets up for four hours, and caught 26 birds. Amazingly, considering the date, 18 were Willow Warblers. What's also amazing is that although the odd one could be seen in the bushes, no one would ever have said 18 were present!  I have now ringed 103 Willow Warblers on Beer Head this spring.

Out of the 26 birds caught, I only used four A-rings (the most used ring size when netting passerines). One went on a locally breeding male Robin, but the other three were pure migrant quality. 

This was the first Garden Warbler I've ever ringed, and its a species I've always wanted to handle. I'm 99% sure it was the singing male that was hanging around - if anyone sees it well have a look at its right leg.

Out of the five Spot Flies, only this one found its way into one of the mist nets. The sunlight made the nets look quite obvious which probably didn't help, but also Spot Flies spend a lot of time on top of the tallest trees and bushes, and often fly between them at height.  Another great bird to handle, they are really long-bodied and look strikingly long-bill.

This was the sixth Redstart I've ringed up here this year, the fourth female.  I really wasn't expecting to catch any more of these as I presumed they would all be in by now.  I saw it briefly in the field first, caught it a few minutes later, ringed and released it, then no further sign.

I would have used a fifth A-ring if the male Whitethroat hadn't extracted itself from the net. So annoyed by that. Grrrrrrrr.

Three Blackbirds were the only other local birds I caught, a first-year male and two fresh juveniles, my first '3J's' of the year (ringing speak for a bird in juvenile plumage).

So as you can see, some fantastic catches. But none were anywhere near as exciting as this Blackcap...

This '5' (born last year) male Blackcap, which had spent the hour or so before I caught it singing from nearby bushes, already had a ring on its leg - and it wasn't one of mine!! If any ringer reading this recognises Y737725 then please get in touch.

Other birds I saw during the morning included three single Yellow Wags, a Whimbrel and a decent passage of Swallows over west/north west.

Another thouroghly enjoyable morning bird ringing on Beer Head, and again in glorious weather. Nice to have James M with me for a few hours too.

May Migrants

I went to bed last night with all the intentions of getting up early for a ringing session on Beer Head, despite the fact there's been very few migrants up here since May begun. 

I woke up at 5am this morning with a headache, glanced out the window to see clear skies and a strong breeze, so stupidly decided to slip back under the covers.  Several hours later I got up, and headed up Beer Head just to see if I had missed anything....I really had!

It was actually very interesting walking around Beer Head, as I've spent all my time up here this spring in one area. And after covering the whole headland I can safely safe I've picked the best spot! The area around the Sheepwalk was obviously sheltered from the wind, and this was where there were at least six Spotted Flies (my first of the year), a Garden Warbler (ditto - quite a spring rarity here), a Whitethroat and two Willow Warblers.  Elsewhere on the headland, a couple of Blackcaps and a fly over Yellow Wagtails were all I saw.  

Although it was too windy for mist netting really, I would certainly have caught at least one Spot Fly I'm sure. Gutted.  At least it has given me some hope for the next week or so as birds are clearly still coming through. A wander around Beer Head yesterday showed absolutely nothing so I was beginning to think that was it for spring 2014. Away from the migrant birds, two of these continue to linger here...

Today has clearly been a good day for migrants as I've just had my first Hobby of the year over the back garden - about time too!  Within the last few days there's been a big increase in Swift numbers, with over 150 in the valley yesterday morning.  A Lesser Whitethroat has also been present in the valley, I've heard it singing from the same hedge on three occasions during the last week.

Wading birds have been really disappointing so far this month, with a handful of Dunlin and a trickle of Whimbrel the best from the Estuary.

I did have a few waders during a sea watch on Saturday morning though, with one Turnstone, two Ringed Plover, two Dunlin and three Whimbrel past.  These, along with five Great Northern Divers, six Manx Shearwaters and a few Kittiwakes meant it was a reasonably enjoyable hour staring at the sea.

And what about the garden I hear you say?? Well, we had a lot of wood to get rid off, but thankfully now it has all gone. And we've pulled up the patio that we uncovered under the decking.  The last photo I posted looked like this...

And today it looks like this...

Hopefully from this weekend onwards there will be lots of obvious progress. Watch this space...