August 31, 2005
RED-BILLED CHOUGH
News that the CHOUGH was still showing down at Stoke Point in South Devon got me off of my bum to make the journey down there to see if I could see it .
I walked down the path to the coastal path & walked north & after about 20 minutes the bird flew over making its fantastic call & then landed in the field in front of me & showed very well .
Also seen at the site was a Weasel & a Clouded Yellow Butterfly .
I then went to the marsh at Thurlestone & had another look at the LEAST SANDPIPER the light was now getting quite bad as there was a storm on the way so I did the best I could with this photo .
On then to South Huish Marsh in hope that the Black Headed Wagtail was still on show but there was no sign of it today but I did see a SPOTTED CRAKE , 3 YELLOW WAGTAIL & a WHITE WAGTAIL .
While I was there the storm arrived & there was some fantastic lightning strikes out at sea .
August 29, 2005
A Quiet Day Today
This morning I went down to Exton for another look out over the Exe Estuary & saw the following !
8 GREENSHANK were feeding out on the mud along with 13 GREY PLOVER & 3 LITTLE EGRET , Then a lone WHIMBREL & a SANDWICH TERN flew up river & a YELLOW WAGTAIL flew over calling but I couldn`t see it , we then picked up the OSPREY again & watched it catch a fish & fly off towards the Haldon Forest again .
In a field next to the river there were the following Butterfly , 4 Clouded Yellow ,
& 2 Common Blue .
August 28, 2005
A Good Day In Devon
Early this morning I had a call telling me that there was a SPOTTED CRAKE on the Otter Estuary in East Devon .
So off I went to see if I could see it ! I arrived just as a small crowd was walking down the bank of the river to get views of it , after about 5 minutes the bird came out & into view it was quite a bit down river but we still got nice views of it .
Also seen were 2 GREY WAGTAIL & a KINGFISHER .
I then went back to the Exe Estuary in hope that the OSPREY that was seen there yesterday would put in an appearence today , there was thick mist on the Estuary this morning but after it had lifted the Osprey was seen fishing & after making a few attempts with out any luck the bird then caught a fish at around 10.35am & flew off towards the Haldon Forest .
Also seen was this Atlantic Grey Seal that was basking in the sun .
In the early evening I got a call from Brian Heasman telling me that the bird that they thought was a Temminck`s Stint at South Milton Ley was in fact a LEAST SANDPIPER & only the 2nd for Devon so we shot off down there & got good views of this stunning little bird just before the light went ( Another Mega For Devon in a Great Year )
August 22, 2005
DownTo The Warren Again
Up early this morning & off to Dawlish Warren again with Andy Bond , Andy was looking for the WRYNECK that was on site yesterday & as luck would have it he found the bird right away .
As it was raining today the bird was deep in a bush , Andy had good views of it but I only had a few breaf views .
I then went up to the beach area & saw 3 WHIMBREL , 5 SANDERLING 2 TURNSTONE & 2 PEREGRINE FALCON .
In the bay by the hide there were numerous RINGED PLOVER & DUNLIN , 1 Juvenile CURLEW SANDPIPER & today I caught up with the Juvenile KENTISH PLOVER .
Out in Exmouth Bay there were 30+ COMMON TERN , 20+ SANDWICH TERN , 1 ARCTIC TERN & 1 ARCTIC SKUA .
August 21, 2005
A Good Day At The Warren .
Today I went down to Dawlish Warren to see if I could see the Wryneck that had been found there this morning .
At first I looked around the area where it had been seen but with no luck so I went to look at the waders in the bay & saw 4 Juvenile CURLEW SANDPIPER , 5 SANDERLING , around 50+ RINGED PLOVER & 20+ DUNLIN , while I was stood looking at the waders a GARDEN WARBLER popped into a bush beside me .
I then went down to the beach to see if I could see the Kentish Plover that has been there for a few days but I didn`t see it , but I did see a Juvenile LITTLE RINGED PLOVER .
I then got a call from Brian Heasman telling me that the WRYNECK was in an area called Greenland Lake ! so I went there & got good views of it but as you can see I could only get photo`s in bad light .
Still better luck next time !
August 19, 2005
THURSDAY 18th AUGUST . 2005
ANOTHER MEGA ON BOWLING GREEN MARSH .
Late this afternoon I had a call telling me that there was a Juvenile WILSON`S PHALAROPE on Bowling Green Marsh in Topsham ! so I shot off down there & Matt Knot the finder of the bird soon put me on it , the bird was very active in & out of the water & at one point the bird flew off with some GREENSHANK but lucky for some it came back again .
Once again with the Marsh the birds are always distant so I got what photo`s I could .
On the Marsh there was also a Juvenile MEDITERRANEAN GULL , 2 Juvenile CURLEW SANDPIPER , 2 GREEN SANDPIPER , & a RINGED PLOVER .
WILSONS PHALAROPE . BOWLING GREEN MARSH . TOPSHAM . DEVON . 18 / 8 / 2005
MEDITERRANEAN GULL . BOWLING GREEN MARSH . TOPSHAM . DEVON . 18 / 8 / 2005
August 14, 2005
BERRY HEAD . DEVON
Today at Berry Head in South Devon there was a bit of a mini fall ! with a WHEATEAR seen on the rocks to the left of the Quarry , in the Quarry there were 20+ WILLOW WARBER seen along with 2 CHIFFCHAFF , a Female PIED FLYCATCHER & a SPOTTED FLYCATCHER .
Also seen were a MERLIN , a PEREGRINE FALCON & 2 COMMON RAVEN & back by the wardens house there was a Male & 2 Juvenile CIRL BUNTING .
August 2, 2005
A 2nd CATTLE EGRET IN DEVON
Today I went down to the River Otter at Budleigh Salterton in East Devon to look for the CATTLE EGRET that has been there for a few days .
I found it without any trouble as it was on the saltmarsh opposite the hide with 4 LITTLE EGRET , this bird was a different bird to the one on the Axe Estuary last month as that was an Adult & this is a Juvenile .
Also seen was a lone GREY HERON that flew over & put up about 300 HERRING GULL .
Back by the car near the bridge over the River Otter there were about 30 SWALLOW & a couple of HOUSE MARTIN .
