A look at Bowling Green Marsh got me the 1st winter Greater Scaup along with plenty of the usual wildfowl with Common Teal , Northern Shoveler , Eurasian Wigeon , Northern Shoveler , Northern Pintail .
Other birds seen were 2 Common Greenshak , male and female Common Stonechat and this nice Mistle Thrush .
There was no sign of the 1st winter Greater Scaup on Bowling Green Marsh this morning in very heavy rain . But I did see a European Spoonbill , a Spotted Redshank . 300+ Pied Avocet , 2 Common Greenshank , numerous Common Redshank and Black-Tailed Godwit , 5 Common Snipe , 2 Little Grebe and a Common Raven
Another look at my local patch Bowling Green Marsh this morning got me the following birds .
Numerous Northern Pintail , 1st winter male Greater Scaup , 30+ Pied Avocet , 2 Spotted Redshank , Common Greenshank , 2 Dunlin , the wintering Long-Billed Dowitcher , Ruff , Lesser Black-Backed Gull and a Common Chiffchaff .
I had a look at Bowling Green Marsh this morning and came across this Greater Scaup a bird you dont see on the marsh that often .
Also seen were 4 Greylag Geese , 4 Northern Pintail , a Ruff that was feeding with a few Black-Tailed Godwit , Spotted Redshank , Common Snipe , a flock of 10 Common Moorhen all together looked very strange , 11 European Robin and a Mistle Thrush .
An early morning visit to Bowling Green Marsh in a heavy mist got me 3 European Spoonbill and after about an hour the mist started to lift and they showed a lot better . Also seen were 2 Grey Heron , 2 Common Snipe and around 50+ Northern Lapwing .
A mate of mine found a Yellow-Browed Warbler the other day around the Mill Lane area of Exeter . So off I went in hope of seeing it , and my luck was in as I refound the bird and got very nice views of it .
Also seen was Brown Rat and Red Fox .
SCARLET TANAGER
A long trip up to Northowram in Yorkshire with M Bailey and A Bond in hope of getting nice views and photographs of the 1st winter male Scarlet Tanager . We arrived at 7am and picked a spot in a small cul de sac where the bird had been seen .
But as what usually happens nothing goes to plan and after standing in the cul de sac for over 8 hours all I managed to get on the bird was a flight view of it as it flew between 2 bungalows of the area that it seems to like with berries in the back gardens .
My health is not to good at the moment and I just about stood up till around 2pm when I had to sit down on a wall completely knackererd ................Hope for better days .
The only other bird of note was a fly over Hawfinch .
Thanks Mark .
A morning out down to Portworthy Lakes near Plymton got me what I was looking for with a nice Ring-Necked Duck and a Red-Crested Pochard .
Also there were 3 European Green Woodpecker , 6 Redwing and 2 Common Stonechat .
A day out with my mate Andy with our first stop at the Northam Burrows in North Devon in hope of seeing a White-Rumped Sandpiper that has been seen there . We arrived and got out of the car and there the bird was right in front of us and at times in came within a few feet of us happily feeding on the edge of the pool .
Our next stop was at Fremington Quay where we saw a Glossy Ibis . We then decided to go to the Trolesworthy Common area of Dartmoor to look for a Pallid Harrier that has been seen there for a few days . But we were out of luck with the Harrier but I did see my 1st Merlin in Devon this year .
A quick trip down to Exmouth this morning got me my first Black Redstart in my home county of Devon this year . With a female bird showing well around the flats in the Shelly Beach area .
