Early news this morning of a Eurasian Spoonbill had me making the trip over to the Exminster Marshes to look for it and I found it out on the marsh in the usual pose of these birds ...asleep lol , but it did put its head out a few times allowing me to get this distant record shot of it !
There was not a lot else on show with the best birds being 10 flyover Common Snipe , and a vocal Cetti`s Warbler .
Saturday, 28 February 2015
Friday, 27 February 2015
Ring-Necked Duck
Early this morning the piercing sound of the call of a European Green Woodpecker was coming from the Topsham Cemetery Grounds , the first one heard there this year ! later in the day a trip up to the Clatworthy Reservoir in Somerset with my mates Andy & Ken got us a super drake Ring-Necked Duck , it was a bit of a walk around the reservoir to see it but well worth it in the end , it was close to 2 male and a female Tufted Duck`s , but not like them it stayed very close the overhanging trees on the far side of the reservoir .
Wednesday, 18 February 2015
Poor Quantity but Good Quality
A trip down to Cornwall today didn`t get us a lot of birds !! but what we did see made up for that !! as we saw the 1st winter King Eider but it took a lot of walking and searching before the bird was found , also seen was a female Common Eider and 10 European Shag .
Time was now going against us so we made our way to Gulval just outside of Penzance to look for a Little Bunting that has been seen there and this time we managed to see this super little bird right away so we then headed for home ! what a great end to the day .
Time was now going against us so we made our way to Gulval just outside of Penzance to look for a Little Bunting that has been seen there and this time we managed to see this super little bird right away so we then headed for home ! what a great end to the day .
Friday, 13 February 2015
Bowling Green Marsh
A mid day look at my local patch Bowling Green Marsh got me most of the usual suspects with numerous Northern Shoveler & Eurasian Wigeon , 7 male and 2 female Northern Pintail , 4 male and 1 female Common Pochard , a male and female Tufted Duck , 200+ Bar-Tailed Godwit , 50+ Black-Tailed Godwit , 2 Grey Plover , 1 Common Snipe and a Red Fox was asleep under the railway line bank .
Tuesday, 10 February 2015
A Good Days Birding !!
Off on our journeys again today with a new one on board in the shape of Hoppo ..Dave Hopkins !!! with our first stop at Holes Bay in Poole Harbour , seen there today was a juvenile Eurasian Spoonbill , a Spotted Redshank , 6 Red-Breasted Merganser and a female Smew ! on then to Gosport to look for the long staying American Ring-Billed Gull and after a bit of a wait the bird graced us with its presence , my first RBG for quite a while !
We then went to Wyke Down near Salisbury Plain to finish the day off and we ended up seeing 2 Short-Eared Owl , a Male and 3 Female Hen Harrier , a Common Kestrel , a Peregrine Falcon , 50+ Red-Legged Partridge , a very large flock of Fieldfare , 3 Roe Deer and a couple of Brown Hare .
We then went to Wyke Down near Salisbury Plain to finish the day off and we ended up seeing 2 Short-Eared Owl , a Male and 3 Female Hen Harrier , a Common Kestrel , a Peregrine Falcon , 50+ Red-Legged Partridge , a very large flock of Fieldfare , 3 Roe Deer and a couple of Brown Hare .
Monday, 9 February 2015
Black-Throated Diver
A look at Chiselbury Bay near Otterton in Devon got me 2 Black-Throated Diver along with , 20+ Red-Throated Diver , 1 Great Northern Diver , 6 Great Crested Grebe , 20+ European Shag and 2 Northern Fulmar .
And at another area close by a male and 3 female Cirl Bunting , 20+ Common Reed Bunting and 3 Common Raven were also seen
And at another area close by a male and 3 female Cirl Bunting , 20+ Common Reed Bunting and 3 Common Raven were also seen
Sunday, 8 February 2015
Eurasian Penduline Tit
Three Eurasian Penduline Tit were seen at the Exminster Marshes this morning a new bird on the marshes for me and a 1st for the marshes ( I think !!! ) , also seen was a Water Rail and a Jack Snipe , I then went out to an area near the village of Ide and saw 20+ Common Skylark , a male Eurasian Sparrowhawk , 2 Common Buzzard , 6 Common Raven and a Yellowhammer .
Friday, 6 February 2015
Stover Park
A look at the River Dart at Buckfastleigh in Devon got me 20+ Mandarin Duck and 2 Grey Wagtail , I then had a look at the Stover Country Park and saw a male and female Eurasian Bulfinch , 2 Eurasian Nuthatch , 3 Marsh Tit and 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker , I was also told by someone that they had heard a strange call and when they told me what it sounded like it could only have been Lesser Spotted Woodpecker but I never saw or heard it and in fact its the first time that I have heard of them at this site !
Thursday, 5 February 2015
Hawfinch
A trip up to Gloucestershire today with my mates Ken and Andy turned out to be quite a good day ! our first stop was at Parkend to look for Hawfinch and as soon as we had got out of the car we saw some and in about 10 minutes the total had risen to 21 before they all flew of high , we then went to St Pauls Church where some Common Crossbill have been seen and after a bit of a wait we saw a male and a female , also seen were 2 Eurasian Jay , we were just on our way to our next stop at New Fancy when we saw a few more Hawfinch and I managed to grab this distant shot .
At New Fancy we saw a male and female Northern Goshawk but the weather was dull and freezing so we then headed for the Slimbridge WWT , on arrival numerous Greater White-Fronted Geese flew over our heads , also seen were numerous Bewick`s Swan , a single Pink-Footed Goose and 2 Common Crane but after much looking we did miss one bird the female Ferruginous Duck !
At New Fancy we saw a male and female Northern Goshawk but the weather was dull and freezing so we then headed for the Slimbridge WWT , on arrival numerous Greater White-Fronted Geese flew over our heads , also seen were numerous Bewick`s Swan , a single Pink-Footed Goose and 2 Common Crane but after much looking we did miss one bird the female Ferruginous Duck !
Wednesday, 4 February 2015
Tuesday, 3 February 2015
Bonaparte`s Gull
The long staying Bonaparte`s Gull at Dawlish Warren showed this morning for a short while around groyne 4 before flying off towards the Exe Estuary , also seen were 4 male and 2 female Red-Breasted Merganser , a Great Crested Grebe , a Common Raven , 20+ Common Skylark and a Water Pipit , I have added a couple of pictures but it looks quite dark so any remarks on it would be welcome .
My doubts on yesterdays pipit have been confirmed as the bird is a well marked Rock Pipit , thanks for all remarks as the Water Pipit was also on show at the same time !
My doubts on yesterdays pipit have been confirmed as the bird is a well marked Rock Pipit , thanks for all remarks as the Water Pipit was also on show at the same time !
Sunday, 1 February 2015
Glaucous Gull
Up early this morning to go and look for the juvenile / 1st winter Glaucous Gull that is being seen at the Brixham Fish Quay in South Devon , on arrival the bird was not on show but after around twenty minutes the bird flew in and landed on the Fish Quay Roof and showed very well , last year we had a long staying bird just down the road from me at Exmouth but its still always good to see these birds !
I then went to Three Beaches headland where a look out got me 20+ Great Crested Grebe , a Black-Necked Grebe and a Common Kingfisher , my last stop of the day was at the Passage House Inn at Kingsteignton and I managed to catch up with Common Sandpiper for the year ... at last !
I then went to Three Beaches headland where a look out got me 20+ Great Crested Grebe , a Black-Necked Grebe and a Common Kingfisher , my last stop of the day was at the Passage House Inn at Kingsteignton and I managed to catch up with Common Sandpiper for the year ... at last !
