July 28, 2004
WEDNESDAY 28th JULY . 2004
After the Euphoria of yesterday ! today was rather tame , i decided to walk along the River Clyst to see if there were any Yellow Wagtail about .
No luck today but there were 3 COMMON SANDPIPERS , about 80+ GREENSHANK & a KINGFISHER .
On Bowling Green Marsh there were 21 LITTLE EGRET , 14 DUNLIN & 3 GREY HERON .
Out on the Clyst Estuary there were 5 OYSTERCATCHERS , 7 WHIMBREL & about 100+ CURLEW
CURLEW . CLYST ESTUARY . TOPSHAM . DEVON . 28 / 7 / 2004
In my garden this JERSEY TIGER MOTH showed well & there were a few butterflies including this PEACOCK .
JERSEY TIGER MOTH . TOPSHAM . DEVON . 28 / 7 / 2004
PEACOCK BUTTERFLY . TOPSHAM . DEVON . 28 / 7 / 2004
July 27, 2004
OH WHAT A VERY SMART MOVE
TUESDAY 27th JULY . 2004
The message that was waiting for me from Bob Bailey ! was get yourself down to the warren as QUICK as you can CASPIAN TERN right in front of the hide .
After the initial panic had gone I found myself heading off to Dawlish Warren as quick as I could get there .
I decided to stop at Cockwood Railway Crossing where there were two birders looking across to the Warren , I asked if they had the Tern they said yes & let me look through a scope at only the 2nd ever CASPIAN TERN thats been recorded in Devon .
I then carried on to Dawlish Warren & ran/walked out to the hide , but by the time that I got there the bird had flown , making it one very smart move to have stopped at the Railway Crossing for that precious look .
At the Warren there were 10 COMMON TERN , 30+ SANDWICH TERN , WHIMBREL & 4 Adult & 1 Juvenile LITTLE RINGED PLOVER .
LITTLE RINGED PLOVER . DAWLISH WARREN . DEVON . 27 / 7 / 2004
LITTLE RINGED PLOVER ( JUVENILE ) . DAWLISH WARREN . DEVON . 27 / 7 / 2004
July 26, 2004
MONDAY 26th JULY . 2004
BOWLING GREEN MARSH . TOPSHAM . DEVON
Another juvenile YELLOW WAGTAIL was the highlight of the day , feeding on the far side of the marsh again for about 5 minutes before flying off back over the hide .
Other birds seen included 15 LITTLE EGRET , 12 GREENSHANK , RINGED PLOVER , COMMON SANDPIPER & 1 SEDGE WARBLER .
There were a few CHIFFCHAFF around including these young one`s being fed .
CHIFFCHAFF ( YOUNG WAITING TO BE FED ) . BOWLING GREEN MARSH . TOPSHAM . DEVON . 26 / 7 / 2004
SUNDAY 25th JULY . 2004
News that an OSPREY had been seen fishing on the Exe Estuary the day before had me down on the viewing platform overlooking the Clyst & Exe Estuarys , not in luck this time as the bird didn`t put in an appearence today .
Not much else to look at today ! back on Bowling Green Marsh there were a few WHIMBREL & GREENSHANK & 1 COMMON SANDPIPER .
In the evening i had a LITTLE OWL on the road to Woodbury
July 22, 2004
THURSDAY 22nd JULY . 2004
News that a real county rarity a CHOUGH had been seen the day before down in South Devon had myself & Andy Bond going down to see if we could see it .
We were in luck as we found the bird pretty quickly & i could get the following shots of it which pleased me & Andy was pleased as it was a County Tick for him .
There was a large passage of 100/150 SWIFT going through with a few SWALLOW mixed in with them & on the sea there were about 30 SHAG .
CHOUGH . STOKE BEACH AREA . Nr YEALMPTON . DEVON 22 / 7 / 2004
July 21, 2004
WEDNESDAY 21st JULY . 2004
A bright sunny morning had me going off to Bowling Green Marsh again to see if anything new had dropped in .
After going through about 300 BLACK HEADED GULL to see if anything was lurking in with them , with no luck today .
I then found this juvenile YELLOW WAGTAIL on the far side of the marsh , i was very pleased with this as we dont get many on the marsh , & this was the first one i have seen in Devon this year .
YELLOW WAGTAIL . BOWLING GREEN MARSH . TOPSHAM . DEVON 21 / 7 / 2004
OTHER BIRDS SEEN ON THE MARSH TODAY .
WHIMBREL . 40+
CURLEW . 100+
LITTLE GREBE . 1 with chick
GREY HERON . 3
GREENSHANK . 4
WATER RAIL . 1 JUV
BLACK TAILED GODWIT . 300 +
GREEN SANDPIPER . 1
COMMON SANDPIPER . 1
DUNLIN . 6
DUNLIN . BOWLING GREEN MARSH . TOPSHAM . DEVON . 21 / 7 / 2004
July 19, 2004
Monday 19TH JULY . 2004
After a good period of birding in the area , a trip down to my local patch at Bowling Green Marsh Topsham turned out to be very quiet .
The only birds of note were 40+ WHIMBREL in with a 100+ CURLEW , 1 GREENSHANK , 9 DUNLIN , 30+ SWALLOW & 16 LITTLE EGRET .
This Vixen & 3 cubs were in a very playful mood this morning ! dashing up & down the marsh but putting all the birds up most of the time
July 18, 2004
SUNDAY 18th JULY . 2004
Up early this morning & down to Dawlish Warren to see if the BROAD BILLED SANDPIPER was still around , but out of luck today with no sign of it upsetting some birders who had come from Wales to see it .
But 3 ROSEATE TERN , 8 COMMON TERN & 1 LITTLE TERN gave good views , i could only get a record shot of the LITTLE TERN but i suppose its better than nothing !
Then news broke of a PECTORAL SANDPIPER that was showing opposite the hide , i was right out on the end of the Warren & by the time i got back it had gone out of view , so i went out again to the end of the Warren & worked back to where the birds were showing , but i only got breaf views of the bird with its head out once & then it vanished again into the pack .
On the beach there were a few SANDERLINGS & RINGED PLOVER showing but not much else .
RINGED PLOVER . DAWLISH WARREN . DEVON . 18 . 7 . 2004
LITTLE TERN . DAWLISH WARREN . DEVON . 18 . 7 . 2004
July 17, 2004
FRIDAY 16th JULY . 2004
News that the BROAD BILLED SANDPIPER had been found at Dawlish Warren had me & local birder Brian Heasman making the journey down to see if we could get good views of the bird .
I was also trying to get better shots of the bird ! but by the time that we arrived the light was bad & fading , so i got the best shots i could .
But the bonus was getting photo`s of a ROSEATE TERN the first time that i have got shots of these birds , the bird was sat on the poles outside the hide with some COMMON TERN & plenty of SANDWICH TERN .
COMMON TERN & ROSEATE TERN . DAWLISH WARREN . DEVON . 16 / 7 / 2004
ROSEATE TERN . DAWLISH WARREN . DEVON . 16 / 7 / 2004
BROAD BILLED SANDPIPER . DAWLISH WARREN . DEVON . 16 / 7 / 2004
July 14, 2004
WEDNESDAY 14th JULY . 2004
Down to Bowling Green Marsh Topsham again looking to see if the BROAD BILLED SANDPIPER was still around
In luck again it came into the marsh late again but it didn`t stay long as it was flushed out again by the local train going by , but better views obtained today as it was on the near side of the marsh as to yesterdays far side views .
OTHER BIRDS SEEN
COMMON SANDPIPER
GREEN SANDPIPER
DUNLIN 40+
GREENSHANK 9
KNOT
LITTLE GREBE
LITTLE EGRET 2
SPARROWHAWK
LESSER WHITETHROAT
SAND MARTIN 6
BROAD BILLED SANDPIPER . BOWLING GREEN MARSH . TOPSHAM . DEVON . 14 / 7 / 2004
BROAD BILLED SANDPIPER . BOWLING GREEN MARSH . TOPSHAM . DEVON . 14 / 7 / 2004
July 13, 2004
TUESDAY 13th JULY . 2004
A phone call from local birder Matt Knot with news of a BROAD BILLED SANDPIPER had me heading for Bowling Green Marsh as quick as i could get there .
On arriving there i quickly got on to the bird , after a while i got good views of the bird but it didn`t show well for long periods as it was out of view behind all the other waders .
All of the waders then flew out to the Clyst Estuary so a quick walk down to the viewing platform soon had us looking at the bird out on the estuary with the Dunlins , as we stood looking at the B B SANDPIPER a ROSEATE TERN flew down the estuary right in front of us giving great views .
OTHER BIRDS SEEN ON THE MARSH & CLYST ESTUARY
LITTLE EGRET = 2
COMMON SANDPIPER
KNOT
WHIMBREL
GREENSHANK = 9
RINGED PLOVER
MEDITERRANIAN GULL ( adult )
PEREGRINE FALCON
MEDITERRANIAN GULL . BOWLING GREEN MARSH . TOPSHAM . DEVON . 13 / 7 / 2004
BROAD BILLED SANDPIPER . BOWLING GREEN MARSH . TOPSHAM . DEVON . 13 / 7 / 2004
BROAD BILLED SANDPIPER . BOWLING GREEN MARSH . TOPSHAM . DEVON . 13/7/2004
July 09, 2004
FRIDAY 9th JULY . 2004
BOWLING GREEN MARSH . TOPSHAM . DEVON .
A still & quiet day on the marsh today ! with no sign of yesterdays LRP`S & counts of other birds down as well .
BIRDS SEEN TODAY
WIGEON = 2 male
TUFTED DUCK
COMMON SANDPIPER = 2
GREEN SANDPIPER
GREENSHANK = 9
WHIMBREL = 5
LITTLE GREBE = 2
HOUSE MARTIN = 8
SAND MARTIN = 3
RED FOX
GREEN SANDPIPER , BOWLING GREEN MARSH , TOPSHAM , DEVON , 9 / 7 / 2004
THURSDAY 8th JULY . 2004
BOWLING GREEN MARSH . TOPSHAM . DEVON .
A good day for the marsh today , with 2 LITTLE RINGED PLOVER , a good count of 7 COMMON SANDPIPERS & a 100+ DUNLIN .
A Female MARSH HARRIER drifted across the marsh putting everything up & then flew out towards Exminster Marshes .
OTHER BIRDS SEEN
LITTLE EGRET
WHIMBREL = 10
GREENSHANK = 5
TUFTED DUCK = 2 male
HOUSE MARTIN = 10
SAND MARTIN = 6
LITTLE RINGED PLOVER , BOWLING GREEN MARSH , TOPSHAM , DEVON , 8 / 7 / 2004
LITTLE RINGED PLOVER , BOWLING GREEN MARSH , TOPSHAM , DEVON , 8 / 7 / 2004
COMMON TERN , BOWLING GREEN MARSH , TOPSHAM , DEVON , 8 / 7 / 2004
July 07, 2004
WEDNESDAY 7th JULY . 2004
A trip down to Bowling Green Marsh Topsham , didn`t turn up much today , the usual birds were there with their young COOT , MOORHEN , MUTE SWAN , & the LITTLE GREBE have bred & also have two young .
OTHER BIRDS SEEN ON THE MARSH
LITTLE EGRET
GREY HERON
GREENSHANK = 12
DUNLIN = 2
WHIMBREL = 12
KESTREL
SANDWICH TERN = 24
COMMON TERN = 3
SAND MARTIN = 4
HOUSE MARTIN = 8
LITTLE GREBE & CHICKS . BOWLING GREEN MARSH . TOPSHAM . DEVON . 7 / 7 / 2004
July 03, 2004
SATURDAY 3rd JULY . 2004
TAW ESTUARY . DEVON .
Yesssssssss i have managed to catch up with WHITE WINGED BLACK TERN in Devon at last .
A supberb looking Adult bird giving fantastic views , in flight down to a few feet .
OTHER BIRDS SEEN
LITTLE EGRET
MEDITERRANIAN GULL ( 2nd Summer )
ROCK PIPIT
BLACKCAP
BULLFINCH
WHITE WINGED BLACK TERN . TAW ESTUARY . DEVON . 3 / 7 / 2004
WHITE-WINGED BLACK TERN . TAW ESTUARY . DEVON . 3 / 7 / 2004
July 01, 2004
SANDWICH TERN . BOWLING GREEN MARSH . TOPSHAM . DEVON . 1 / 7 / 2004
THURSDAY 1st JULY . 2004
A quick trip down to Bowling Green Marsh Topsham , didn`t turn up anything new today .
There are still large counts of REDSHANK , BLACK TAILED GODWIT & CURLEW
But no sign today of the LITTLE TERN that was here yesterday , but SANDWICH TERNS had built up to 20+
Other Birds Seen.
LITTLE EGRET
LITTLE GREBE
RUFF
GREENSHANK = 5
COMMON BUZZARD
WHIMBREL = 6