The Last 2 Days

 The last 2 days I have had a look at the Exminster Marshes where I saw . a male Gadwall , 6 Little Egret , a Cattle Egret , 4 Common Sandpiper , 5 Whimbrel , numerous Barn Swallow & Common House Martin around a dozen Common Sand Martin , 3 Common Swift , 2 Sedge Warbler , a European Reed Warbler , a male Reed Bunting and a calling Common Cuckoo .

Common Sandpiper ( Actitis hypoleucos ) . The Exminster Marshes . Devon

 

Wednesday 24th April

 A trip down to Beesands today to look for a Purple Heron that has been seen there . And we managed to get nice views of the bird on the far side of the Ley . I also saw my 1st Willow Warbler of the year .

We then stopped of at Slapton Ley for a quick look and saw 2 Great White Egret .

Purple Heron ( Ardea purpurea ) . Beesands Ley . Devon

 

 

Tuesday 23rd April

 A trip out with the boys today and an early start saw us at Winterbourne Down where we saw 2 Stone Curlew , a Grey Partridge and a few Corn Bunting . We then went to Salisbury Plain where we saw 12 Great Bustard , 2 more Grey Partridge , 6 Red Kite , a lot more Corn Bunting , a Common Whitethroat and 2 more Stone Curlew .

Our next stop was at Marlborough Down where 3 Eurasian Tree Sparrow and 2 Northern Wheatear were added to the list .

We then decided to go to Normandy Marsh in Hampshire in hope of seeing a Marsh Sandpiper that had been reported there and I was soon getting very nice views of the bird . And with my last one seen way back in 2008 on my local patch Bowling Green Marsh in Topsham I was very pleased to get this one . Also seen was Spotted Redshank , Curlew Sandpiper , Common Tern and Little tern .

Marsh Sandpiper ( Tringa stagnatilis ) . Normandy Marsh . Hampshire

 

 

Corn Bunting ( Miliaria calandra ) . Salisbury Plain . Wiltshire

 

Stone Curlew ( Burhinus oedicnemus ) . Salisbury Plain . Wiltshire

 

Grey Partridge ( Perdix perdix ) . Salisbury Plain . Wiltshire

 

Eurasian Tree Sparrow ( Passer montanus ) . Marlborough Down . Wiltshire

 

20th April

A walk around the East Devon Commons this morning only got me a Little Ringed Plover , half a dozen Meadow Pipit , a Common Cuckoo , Common Raven and a singing Common Chiffchaff .

Little Ringed Plover ( Charadrius dubius ) . The East Devon Commons

 

The Exminster Marshes

A couple of hours on the Exminster Marses this morning in a very strong wind got me . 20+ Common Shelduck , a male Gadwall , 2 Grey Heron , 3 Ruff , a fly through Red Kite , 3 Winter Wren , a Common Chiffchaff , European Reed Warbler , Sedge Warbler , Cetti`s Warbler and a male Reed Bunting .

Ruff ( Philomachus pagnax ) . The Exminster Marshes . Devon

 

Common Shelduck ( Female ) ( Tadorna tadorna ) . The Exminster Marshes . Devon

 

A Good Day

 A nice day out with my mate Andy Bond . Saw us at first out on Dartmoor where we saw  a few Common Stonechat , a Common Cuckoo and a Common Grasshopper Warbler . It was quite cold and rain had started to come in so we decided to go and have a look around Portland Bill .

The first bird we saw was a stunning Western Subalpine Warbler that was showing near the campsite , also seen was a male Common Redstart and a Little Owl .

On our way back home we stopped of at Ferrybridge where 4 Sandwich Tern were added to the yearlist . Our last stop of the day was at Abbotsbury Beach where we saw a nice Woodchat Shrike that was showing near the car park , we had to wait for over an hour to get good views of it but it was well worth it in the end .

Western Subalpine Warbler ( Sylvia iberiae ) . Portland Bill . Dorset

 

 

 

Woodchat Shrike ( Lanius seator ) . Abbotsbury Beach . Dorset

 

Arizona

 Last few shots from Arizona... Hope you enjoy then .

Yellow-Eyed Junco ( Junco phaeonotus )

 

Dark-Eyed Junco ( Junco hyemalis dorsalis ) ( Red-Backed Race )

 

Black-Throated Sparrow ( Amphispiza bilineata )

 

Neotropic Cormorant ( Nannopterum brasilianum )

 

Double-Crested Cormorant ( Nannopterum auritum )

 

Sora ( Porzana carolina )

 

Blackcaps

The day started off at Bowling Green Marsh but not a lot was seen with only 2 Eurasian Spoonbill ,  6 Common Greenshank and my first Blackcap of the year.......Also seen were 2 Brimstone Butterflies .

I then had a look at the Exminster Marshes and I saw 30+ Eurasian Curlew , a Common Buzzard . 2 Cetti`s Warbler , 2 Common Chiffchaff , 3 more Blackcap and this nice male Reed Bunting

Butterflies seen .. Brimstone , Orange Tip , Speckled Wood & Red Admiral 

Reed Bunting ( Emberiza schoeniclus ) . The Exminster Marshes . Devon

 

Wednesday 10th April

 My first venture out since my trip to Arizona saw me at my local patch Bowling Green Marsh in Topsham and I managed to see 3 new birds for the year with Common Sand Martin , Common House Martin and Barn Swallow . Also seen were 2 Eurasian Spoonbill and a Common Sandpiper .

Later in the day I got incredible news of a Black-Throated Diver way up on the River Exe at the Topsham Recreation Ground and I was lucky enough to get these few shots of it .

Black-Throated Diver ( Gavia arctica ) . The River Exe . Topsham . Devon

 

 

 

Warblers & Flycatchers from Arizona

Black-Throated Gray Warbler ( Setophaga nigrescens )

 

( Audubon`s ) Yellow-Rumped Warbler . ( Setophaga coronata auduboni )

 

Orange-Crowned Warbler ( Leiothlypis celata )

 

Vermilion Flycatcher ( Pyrocephalus rubinus )

 

Dusky Flycatcher ( Empidonax oberholseri )

 

Say`s Phoebe ( Sayornis saya )

 

Arizona

 A few more birds from my trip to Arizona .

Song Sparrow . Melospiza melodia

 

Townsends Solitaire . Myadestes townsendi

 

Mexican Jay . Aphelocoma wollweberi

 

Hepatic Tanager . Piranga flava ( Male )

 

Cinnamon Teal . Spatula cyanoptera

 

Killdeer . Charadrrius vociferus

 

Arizona

Back again and today its my favourite bird species Woodpeckers . Hope you enjoy them . 

Arizona Woodpecker ( Male ) ( Dryobates arizonae )

 

Arizona Woodpecker ( Female ) . ( Dryobates arizonae )

 

Acorn Woodpecker ( Melanerpes formicivorus )

 

Gila Woodpecker ( Melanerpes uropygialis )

 

Ladder-Backed Woodpecker ( Dryobates scalaris )

 

Arizona

 I am just back from a two week trip to Arizona in the United States . We spent our first day in 2 foot of snow up in the mountains and had a great time at the Grand Canyon where we saw 12 Elk . We then spent time around the Phoenix area , and down in the deserts near Tucson and Tombstone .

I saw some nice birds and here are some shots of Hummingbirds that I saw .

Other photos to follow later .

Broad-Billed Hummingbird ( Cynanthus latirostris )

 

Magnificent Hummingbird ( Eugenes fulgens )

 

Anna`s Hummingbird ( Male ) ( Calypte anna )

 

Anna`s Hummingbird ( Female ) ( Calypte anna )

 

Black-Chinned Hummingbird ( Archilochus alexandri )

 

GWE

 A quick half hour at Bowling Green Marsh got me a few Northern Pintail , a male Tufted Duck , 2 European Spoonbill , 2 Little Egret , a Great White Egret , a Grey Heron , 4 Black-Billed Magpie and a few Common Blackbird .

Common Blackbird ( Turdus merula ) . Bowling Green Marsh . Topsham . Devon

 

Barnacle Goose

 News of 30+ Barnacle Geese on the Exminster Marshes saw me going over to see if I could catch up with them ,  and I ended up with nice views of them . Not a lot else to report with only a Western Marsh Harrier , a Common Chiffchaff and a European Greenfinch .