There was a break in the rain this morning so I went for a look at the Exminster Marshes where the Green-Winged Teal was showing quite well . It is the American version of our Common Teal !
Also seen were numerous Common Teal , Eurasian Wigeon and Northern Shoveler , a male and female Northern Pintail , a flock of 500+ European Golden Plover , 30+ Norther Lapwing and a single Cetti`s Warbler .
Today I went to a private site near to where I live . And I saw at least 4 delightful Woodlark doing their flight song and I was lucky enough to get one drop into the field beside me .
Also seen were 100+ Common Skylark . 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker and 2 Mistle Thrush .
This morning was cold and icy and I did not go out until after 10 with my first stop at Powderham Park where I saw 5 Stock Dove and some nice looking Fallow Deer .
I then had a look around the Kenton area and came across a few Red-Legged Partridge , 10 Long-Tailed Tit and 3 Common Rave
My last stop was at Powderham Marsh where I found a Firecrest and I was well pleased with that as its a first for me at this site . Also seen was a flock of 50+ Common Chaffinch , a few Cirl Bunting , 4 Reed Bunting , a Common Kestrel and 2 male Eurasian Bullfinch .
A walk to Bowling Green Marsh was on the agenda this morning and plenty of the common duck were on show with the standout birds being a male and female Common Pochard .
Also seen were numerous Black-Tailed Godwit and in with them was a single Bar-Tailed Godwit , 5 Common Greenshank , 2 Water Rail and a Cetti`s Warbler .
The walk was finished off at the top of Bowling Green Lane where I found 2 superb Firecrest one of my favourite birds .
The first bird that I saw today was the long staying Slavonian Grebe that was well out on the Exe Estuary at Cockwood .
I then went to Dawlish Warren for a walk and I saw 30+ Great Crested Grebe , a Dark Phase Pomarine Skua that flew across the bay towards Exmouth , and 3 Common Raven . The last stop was near Sainsburys on the Dawlish Road where this smart male Black Redstart was showing well .
This morning I had a Eurasian Treecreeper in my garden the first one in the 30 years that I have lived here , so as you can imagine I was very well pleased with it !
Later in the morning I went across to the Exminster Marshes where I saw numerous Eurasian Curlew , 20+ Dunlin , a female Western Marsh Harrier , 20+ Redwing and this nice Cetti`s Warbler that I heard at first on call and after a bit of a wait I got this brief view of it before it flew out of view again ..
Today I decided to go to the Exminster Marshes in hope of seeing the Western Marsh Harrier and again I was out of luck but never mind as I did see the following . Thrushes were the main birds on the menu today with numerous Common Blackbird and Redwing , a few Fieldfare , 3 Song Thrush and a single Mistle Thrush .
Around the Turf Locks area there was a large flock of Dark Bellied Brent Geese and in with them was one Light Bellied Brent Goose , also seen was a Pied Avocet and a Common Kingfisher . And on the Exe Estuary near to Powderham Corner Grey Plover and Common Ringed Plover were added to the year list .
A trip down to Brixham this morning to try and catch up with some of the birds on show there . The first birds that I saw were a few Black-Legged Kittiwake that were sat riding out the rough weather . A walk up to the pontoon then got me a nice Iceland Gull . The wind was picking up and a look out to sea got me a few Northern Gannet and in with them was a dark phase Pomarine Skua , I then had a look from the top road and picked up the winter plumaged Black Guillemot the main bird that I had come for .
My next stop was at Broadsand where a few Cirl Bunting were added to the year list . On then to Youngs Park in Goodrington for a male Greater Scaup . The last destination of the day was at Aveton Gifford to look for the Lesser Yellowlegs that is wintering there , and the bird showed very well but it was hard to get a decent shot of it due to the harsh light . On the way home a stop at the bridge in Buckfastleigh got me Manderin Duck , Goosander and White-Throated Dipper .
A trip down to Bude today to look for the Sociable Lapwing that has been there a few days now It is a bird that breeds in Central Asia and should be wintering from Northern Africa across to India . I have managed to see two of these birds before but this is the first one that I have managed to photograph so I was well pleased . And I did follow all the government guidelines for people in my circumstances !
Also see was a Pink-Footed Goose , a male Mandarin Duck , 3 male and 2 female Goosander and a single Willow Tit .
I went over to the Matford Marshes in Exeter again this morning in hope of getting a nice shot of the Green-Winged Teal but the bird was always a bit distant , I will try again sometime in the future hope of getting it closer .
Not a lot else was seen apart from the common birds but I did see a nice Brown Hare in a field near Otterton .
Happy New Year to all of my readers .
Well I was out early in the freezing cold to start of my year list . And the first bird that I looked for was the wintering Dusky Warbler and I stood in the freezing cold for over an hour with no luck . So I moved on to the Exminster Marshes and things looked a bit better as I started picking up Redwing and Fieldfare and the other usual birds .
I was walking down towards the Turf Locks and there was a Microlight flying over the marshes and spooking the birds and I was stood there cursing at him as the ducks and waders were put to flight , when all of a sudden he flushed a Eurasian Woodcock a new bird on the marshes for me !! so I stopped cursing at him lol . Other birds seen were the 11 Barnacle Goose that have been with us for a few days now , a nice Common Kingfisher and 2 male and a female Eurasian Bullfinch .
I had returned home when I got a message telling me that there was a male Green-Winged Teal on the Matford Marshes in Exeter , so off I went again and it was nice to end the day with the American version of our Common Teal .
