A trip up to Dorset today to look for a reported Woodchat Shrike that was seen at Cogden Beach, but after much searching there was no sign of the bird anywhere .
We then went on to Portland Bill where we had more luck with a Little Own that showed very well out in the open . Also seen were Northern Wheatear , a male Whinchat , numerous Common Guillemot , a few Razorbill , 4 Northern Fulmar and a nice pod of Bottlenose Dolphin .
A trip up to the RSPB Reserve at Ham Wall in hope of seeing Great Bittern and 8 were seen . Also on show today were 10 Great White Egret , 6 Western Marsh Harrier , 2 Eurasian Hobby , 2 Common Crane , 3 Great Crested Grebe , a Little Grebe & 4 Common Swift .
Also heard on call were 2 Common Cuckoo and a few Garden Warbler .
A trip down to Cornwall this morning to look for a European Roller as I have only seen one of these birds before in Britain and that was way back in 1989 in my home county of Devon .
Paul Bray and myself arrived at the golf course on the Clowance Estate and walked to the spot where the other birders had gathered and after a short wait the bird showed distantly but very well and I was able to get these shots . My first ones taken in Britain .
We then went on too Bosporthennis Common in hope of seeing a Montagu`s Harrier as one had been seen there a few days ago . We looked for over 3 hours but we had no luck , but we did see the following birds , one Common Grasshopper Warbler was seen and another 4 were heard reeling , a Common Cuckoo , a nice Red Kite , 2 Common Swift and a Common Whitethroat .
Our last stop was at a private site where we saw 6 Red-Billed Chough and what a joy it was to be able to hear these birds calling 😀
Out today on the Devon Bird Trip on the M . V . Oldenburg to Lundy Island . We got off to a late start but we soon started seeing birds on the crossing with numerous Manx Shearwater , a few Razorbill and Common Guillemot , around 7 Northern Gannet , 4 Atlantic Puffin and a Black-Legged Kittiwake .
We arrived at the Island and sailed around , seeing lots more Atlantic Puffin , Razorbill , Common Guillemot a Northern Fulmar and 3 Peregrine Falcon
On the Island the birding was quite slow with only Common Stonechat , Common Linnet , Spotted Flycatcher and a very strange for the Island a female Mandarin Duck that was seen near the harbour . But it was still a great day out spent with Ken , Andy and Paul .
News came out this morning that the 1st summer Bonaparte`s Gull was again showing off of Exmouth . So off I went again in hope of seeing it and I was lucky as 2 of my mates Dave and Paul waited for me to get there and soon put me on to it . The bird was very distant out in the estuary but I took a few shots and was amazed to get these two as I never thought that I would get anything at all 😊
Thanks to Dave and Paul .
Yesterday in the early evening I went down to Exmouth to look for a reported 1st summer Bonaparte`s Gull and I was pretty sure I had it around just before 6pm . It was with 5 Black-Headed Gull`s and they flew off up river .
It had then started to rain heavy and a few other birders had turned up by then and we all got soaked to the skin . But the bird was not seen again after much searching and that has casted a bit of doubt in my head so I think I will have to let that one go until another day ! 😒
But I did see the 1st summer Yellow-Legged Gull that was showing at the recycling centre again . And out in the estuary was my 1st Little Tern of the year that was with a few Sandwich Tern . And a Peregrine Falcon was sat out on one of the mudflats .
This morning I went to Lympstone Common in hope of seeing Spotted Flycatcher and my luck was in as I had three sightings but it could be all just the one bird .
Also seen were 2 Eurasian Nuthatch , 2 Eurasian Treecreeper , 2 Blackap and a Common Chiffchaff .
I then went to a private site and got 4 Firecrest at least . So it was a great end to the morning .
I got a message this morning telling me that there was a Roseate Tern in Lyme Bay . So I shot off and met up with my mate Matt Knott and after a short while he got me onto the bird that was out in the bay with 4 Sandwich Tern ......Thanks Mate
Also seen were around 20+ Northern Gannet and a few Black-Legged Kittiwake
Not a lot done today ! But a quick look at my local patch Bowling Green Marsh in Topsham got me this young Eurasian Spoonbill a bird that is not that common on the marsh and always nice to see .
Not many birds around today with the best being a nice summer plumaged Bar-Tailed Godwit seen at the Turf Locks along with 2 Whimbrel .
So I then went up to the Haldon Forest to look for Butterflies and I managed to see the two that I went for Grizzled Skipper and Pearl-Bordered Fritillary . So not a bad day after all .
A trip out today with Ken Montandon and Andy Bond our 1st one for quite a while lol ( The Boys Are Back In Town )
Our first stop of the day was at Lydlinch Common in Dorset where we saw a few Garden Warbler , we then heard a few singing Common Nightingale and then we came across one that showed very well . And I even managed to get this shot of it , I know its not great but it is the first one that I have got a shot of in this country . So it means a lot to me 😀 . We also had a singing Wood Warbler that was very pleasing .
On then to our first look at Salisbury Plain near to Stonehenge .Where we saw 2 Yellow Wagtail and 4 Corn Bunting . We then went to the Winterbourne Down reserve to look for Stone Curlew but this time we only managed to se one single bird .
Our last stop of the day was another look around the Salisbury Plain area and we saw 10 Red Kite , numerous Corn Bunting , 6 Red-Legged Partridge , 10 Great Bustard , 2 Whinchat and 2 Common Raven . Also seen were numerous Brown Hare and a few Sika Deer
A look at the Exminster Marshes this morning turned out to be very good as I saw 3 Eurasian Hobby and 2 new in Common Swift
Also seen were the normal Warbler with Cetti`s , Eurasian Reed , Sedge and Blackcap .i I walked down to the far end of the marsh where I then saw Short-Tailed Vole , Common Shrew and my first Water Shrew for many years
A trip down to Slapton Ley this morning to look for a Black-Crowned Night Heron that has returned to exactly the same spot as it was last year, which was right below the road bridge. The only difference this year was the plumage as the bird is now in 2nd summer plumage and is looking quite smart.
At one point there was a Roach that was quite close to the surface. The bird shot out into the water, grabbed the fish and flew off into the reeds again.
The next stop was at Beesands to look for a reported Hooded Crow. And after a bit of a search the bird was found in the garden behind the houses and on the roofs. As this is only the third time that I have seen these birds in my home county of Devon, it was very much appreciated.
