The total of European Spoonbill has risen from 3 birds to four today and is a very rare sight for the marsh . So I just had to go down and take a look at them .
Also seen today were Pied Avocet , Bar-Tailed Godwit , Dunlin , Grey Plover , Common Sandpiper and Common Raven
A trip down to Gammon Head in South Devon this morning with 2 fellow birders Charlie Flemming and Dave Land to look for the Red-Billed Chough that have been in the area for a while now . And really rare birds to be able to see in my home county of Devon !
After a bit of searching the fields we managed to see 3 of them and at one point we even had them coming down and feeding on the Hawthorn Berries .
Also seen was a female Hen Harrier that flew along the ridge of one of the fields and my 1st for a couple of years , 2 Eurasian Sparrowhawk , 2 Peregrine Falcon , 2 Common Kestrel and 4 Common Raven .
A couple of new Butterflies for the year were also seen with Clouded Yellow & Wall Brown .
A great day out with 2 good friends .
Late yesterday evening news came out of a Red-Necked Phalarope on Bowling Green Marsh so I jumped into the car and shot off down there . I arrived to find the finder still there and he soon put me onto it , but the bird was distant with light dropping fast so at this time I could only say to be sure that it was a Phalarope ! Later on I saw footage of the bird that the finder had taken and could then say yes that it was a RNP .
So this morning I went down again to the marsh just as the light was starting to rise and the bird was still there but it was still distant with hardly any light at all . I only managed to get these two shots of it in the bad conditions before the bird flew out of the marsh and headed north . But then again I did not expect to get anything at all . The bird was a new one for me on the Exe Estuary and puts me on 318 .
Also seen todat were 3 Eurasian Spoonbill , a Garganey , a female Western Marsh Harrier and 2 Tawny Owl were heard calling 1st thing .
A trip up to Lodmoor in Weymouth this morning in hope of seeing two birds a Citrine Wagtail and a 1st winter Red-Backed Shrike .
Our luck was out with the Wagtail but the Red-Backed Shrike showed quite well & it was my first for 4 years . Also seen today were a Eurasian Spoonbill , 3 Great White Egret , 2 Little Stint , a Ruff and 20+ Yellow Wagtail
There was news this morning of a Eurasian Spoonbill on Bowling Green Marsh and as it is only 5 minutes from where I live I went to have a look at it . And after a while it was joined by 2 other birds that flew in from the Clyst Estuary , making it a very rare sight to see more than one Spoonbill on the marsh at the same time .
Also seen was a Water Rail , a Cetti`s Warbler and a Common Chiffchaff .
This morning I went down to Dawlish Warren and walked out to Warren Point . Quite a feat for these old bones lol .
But it was well worth it as I got a brief view of a Eurasian Wryneck , It was sat out in a bush on the Estuary side of the point but it saw me exactly the same time and flew off towards the seaward side of the point , I went and looked for it again but had no luck but it could have dropped in anywhere in the dense vegetation .
Also seen were my 1st Sanderling of the year , a Common Kestrel , a Northern Wheatear and a male and female Cirl Bunting .
A couple of hours spent at Bowling Green Marsh this morning got me 4 Pied Avocet , 100+ Dunlin , 10 Red Knot , a juvenile Little Stint , 5 Curlew Sandpiper , 8 Common Greenshank , 6 Bar-Tailed Godwit , the long staying Lesser Black -Backed Gull and a female Peregrine Falcon .
I got up early this morning to look for a Possible Long-Billed Dowitcher that was reported on Bowling Green Marsh yesterday , but there was no sign of it this morning. But there was a couple of Yellow Wagtail , a Whimbrel and a Curlew Sandpiper .
Paul Bray and myself then went over to Blackhole Marsh near Seaton to look for a reported Little Stint but there was no sign of that also , but there was 3 Common Sandpiper and a Green Sandpiper .
We then got a message telling us that there was a Little Stint on Bowling Green Marsh so we headed back home but we just missed it on the marsh . But we went down to the viewing platform and saw it ok out on the Clyst Estuary. And we also saw12 Sandwich Tern and a Common Tern that were out on the Exe Estuary .
I popped down to Bowling Green Marsh this morning and found this Great White Egret that was hidden behind the large island . But I was lucky enough to see it pop its head out but it was then quickly lost from view again . But after a while it came out into the open and showed very well to everyone in the hide .
Also seen were some nice Curlew Sandpiper , a large count of Red Knot , 4 Pied Avocet , numerous Dunlin and one was caught and eaten by a Lesser Black-Backed Gull , 2 Ruff , a Common Sandpiper , a Stock Dove and a fly over Common Raven .
Today Dave Boult and myself went to look for a reported Pectoral Sandpiper on Colyford Common in east Devon but to our disappointment there was no sign of the bird when we got there .
But we did see 3 Northern Wheatear , 2 Whinchat , 2 Common Kestrel , a European Green Woodpecker and 20+ Barn Swallow .
I arrived at Bowling Green Marsh this morning to find a cloud of mist covering the marsh . But I was lucky enough to pick out a flying Great White Egret before it vanished into the mist and was lost from view . And after a while the mist started to lift and I was able to see the following birds .
1 Eurasian Spoonbill , 17 Little Egret , 1 Ruff , 2 Common Sandpiper , a Mediterranean Gull , 2 Stock Dove and 2 Yellow Wagtail . And a look from the viewing platform at the Clyst Estuary then got me a Curlew Sandpiper .
I went over to the Exminster Marshes this morning to look for a reported Little Stint that had been seen on the lagoon . And I managed to see the bird but it was very distant along with a couple of Red Knot , 2 Curlew Sandpiper , 3 Ruff and a couple of Black-Tailed Godwit .
Also seen on the marshes were 26 Cattle Egret , a female Common Kestrel , 20+ Barn Swallow and a Common Chiffchaff .
I then went down to the Turf Locks to look at the Exe Estuary and saw the following . an Osprey that was sat on a pole in the middle of the estuary , a Common Sandpiper , a Grey Wagtail , 3 Dunlin and then fellow birder Mark Bailey found an Arctic Tern a superb bird to see on the upper end of the estuary .
