This morning I birded up in the Haldon Forest just outside of Exeter and I was lucky enough to see my first Tree Pipit of the year .
The backup birds were not to bad either with a nice new in Garden Warbler , numerous Willow Warbler , 2 Common Chiffchaff , 2 Blackcap , 2 Common Whitethroat , 2 Song Thrush , a Common Raven and a smart male Yellowhammer .
An early morning trip out to Dartmoor this morning on a lovely sunny day got me the following . 2 Common Cuckoo , a nice male Whinchat , 6 Willow Warbler , a single Common Chiffchaff , a male Blackcap , a European Green Woodpecker and this stunning male Common Redstart .
Also seen were two different herds of Britain`s larges deer the Red Deer and it is always great to be able to catch up with these on the moors .
A morning look for Whinchat on the Exminster Marshes turned out to be a bad move as after a good look I didn`t manage to see it . And there was not a lot else to see with the best birds being 4 Sedge Warbler , 2 European Reed Warbler , a few Meadow Pipit , Common Linnet and Reed Bunting .
Later in the evening news came out of a White Stork being on there . It was a bird from the reintroduced project but I just had to go over again and have a look at it !
I all I am back again and managed to venture out today after a very bad bout of food poisoning that had wiped me out for a week !
Well this morning I went for a quick look at the Exminster Marshes and I saw 17 Cattle Egret , 2 Common Kestrel , a Western Marsh Harrier , 6 Whimbrel , 1 Common Skylark , a Cetti`s Warbler and 2 Sedge Warbler . I then headed back home for a rest 😒
Early in the evening news came out of a Jack Snipe showing on the the marshes , I was really tired but with such a good bird for this area I just had to give it a go 🙏 that it would still be on show . At first there was no sign of it as it had flown out of view , but then it was picked up again and showed quite well going through its bouncing up and down motion while feeding, the shame was that with most birds on the marshes they are always distant .
We then had a massive bit of luck as while we were looking at the snipe an Osprey flew right over our head and out to the Exe Estuary and then after a short while it flew back again carrying a large fish .
I went for a walk this morning along the back path by the railway on the Exminster Marshes and I saw 4 European Reed Warbler my first of the year , 2 Sedge Warbler , 5 Cetti`s Warbler , 2 Common Chiffchaff , 2 Blackcap .
Also seen were 3 more firsts for the year with 2 Grass Snake , a Short-Tailed Vole and Orange Tip Butterfly .
I took a look at Yarner Wood this morning and was lucky enough to see the 2 birds that I went for . The first being Pied Flycatcher and I saw 4 males and a female , the second was Common Redstart and I saw one male bird and heard another one singing . I did here that another was seen in a different area so there are at least 3 males in the wood .
Also seen was a female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker , a Eurasian Treecreeper , a Mistle Thrush , and the following warbler . 7 Willow Warbler , 4 Common Chiffchaff and 3 Blackcap .
Also on the wing were numerous Brimstone Butterflies .
I took another look at the Exminster Marshes this morning and I found this Short-Eared Owl . It was hunting on the lower marsh near the main reservoir but only showed for a brief time and was then lost from view again .
Also seen this morning was a male Northern Wheatear , 6 Barn Swallow , 5 Cetti`s Warbler , 3 Sedge Warbler , 2 Blackcap and a few Common Chiffchaff .
This morning I saw a Common Grasshopper Warbler on the Exminster Marshes and it was the first one that I have seen since 2017 .
I also got nice views of the Spotted Crake that has been with us a while now . Also seen where 3 Egyptian Geese , a Western Marsh Harrier , 6 Cetti`s Warbler , my first Sedge Warbler of the year , 2 Blackcap , 3 Common Chiffchaff , a Common Raven and a Eurasian Jay
3 hours looking around the Orcombe Point area of Exmouth this morning didn`t get me many birds at all . But I did see my first Northern Wheatear of the year . Also logged today was a Yellow Wagtail that flew over calling , 3 Common Chiffchaff , 6 Common Skylark and 5 Common Linnet . There was also a nice show of Green-Winged Orchids .
I then went to a spot near Lympstone where I saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker , a male Blackcap and a Red Admiral and Small White Butterflies .
A trip today over to Bridge Marsh in Seaton got me a very smart looking male Green-Winged Teal . the bird was very distant with some Common Teal so no photo`s today
Also seen were a few Barn Swallow .
Today started with a late Redwing in Topsham Cemetery . Later in the day I took a look at Bowling Green Marsh and from the hide I saw the following . 12 Pied Avocet , 10 Common Greenshank & 3 Common Snipe .
I then went down to the viewing platform area and 2 Cetti`s Warbler were chasing each other around so I take it that it was male and female , also seen was a male Blackcap and a Common Chiffchaff . And a look from the viewing platform at the Exe Estuary got me my first Osprey of the year .
Todays destination was Bowling Green Marsh where I saw the following birds . Little Egret 5 , Grey Heron , numerous Black-Tailed Godwit and Common Redshank , a Spotted Redshank that has just started to change to summer plumage , 3 Common Greenshank , 12 Pied Avocet , Common Snipe , 3 Common Sand Martin and 2 Mistle Thrush .
And out on the Exe Estuary there was 7 Sandwich Tern , my first of the year .
A look at the marshes again this morning didn`t get me anything different , but I did see the long staying European Spoonbill , 6 Little Egret , a female Western Marsh Harrier , a Common Kestrel , a Common Raven , 6 Common Chiffchaff and 4 Cetti`s Warbler .
And at Turf Lock there was Common Redshank , Great Cormorant and a new in male Blackcap .
Late yesterday evening I got news that there was a Short-Eared Owl showing on the Exminster Marshes so I went over to see if I could catch up with it . And my luck was in as my mate Andy had it in his scope and waited for me to get there and he put me on to it ...Cheers Mate
Today four of us went up to Bridport to look for a Yellow-Browed Warbler that has been seen by a small stream beside the Co-op and we got some nice views of the bird in the end but it was very hard to get a decent shot of it .
A morning look at the Exminster Marshes got me a Peregrine Falcon sat on one of the pylons as I drove in . I then went for another look at the Spotted Crake and after a bit of a wait it showed quite well but still distant and quite Illusive .
Also seen was my first male Blackcap of the year . Along with European Spoonbill , Water Rail , Western Marsh Harrier , Common Skylark , Cetti`s Warbler and Common Chiffchaff .
