A quick hours birding at the Darts Farm Reserve got me a nice Spotted Redshank a 1st for me at this site .
Also seen were 300+ ( Dark Bellied ) Brent Geese , 10 Eurasian Wigeon , 12 Eurasian Curlew , numerous Rook , 6 Common Chaffinch , Great Spotted Woodpecker , Song Thrush & a male Reed Bunting .
A new bird into Bowling Green Marsh today was this female Common Pochard a bird that we dont see that often on the marsh . Also seen was the long staying Greater Scaup , a Ruff , Common Snipe , 2 Dunlin , numerous Northern Lapwing and a Wester Marsh Harrier that flew around the marsh a few times before settling in the reed bed .
But the highlight of the day was a Great White Egret that I picked up as it flew through the marsh heading towards the Exe Estuary .
On the high tide at Bowling Green Marsh this morning the following birds were seen .
Greater Scaup , Gadwall , Northern Pintail , Pied Avocet , Long-Billed Dowitcher , Spotted Redshank , Common Snipe , Western Marsh Harrier , Common Kestrel , Long-Tailed Tit and Common Chiffchaff .
A look at Woodbury Castle this morning got me my first Brambling in Devon this year with this male bird showing in with a small flock of Common Chaffinch . Also seen were 4 Coal Tit , 3 Winter Wren and 2 Eurasian Nuthatch .
And on Bowling Green Marsh in Topsham there was 8 Greylag Geese , a 1st winter Greater Scaup and a Mistle Thrush .
Here are a few distant shots of todays Surf Scoter that was showing with 4 Common Scoter in Hope Cove Torquay .
I went down to Dawlish Warren this morning in a gale with pouring rain to have another look look for the illusive Dusky Warbler that has been showing for a few days ( I know I`m Stupid lol ) . I have tried twice before with no luck but this morning I heard it calling and as I walked towards it the bird showed and flew up into a dead bush and I never saw it again . This bird makes it my 8th in Britain with 7 of them seen in my home county of Devon . Also seen at sea were half a dozen Northern Gannet and 4 Great Crested Grebe .
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 .
A trip up to Portland in Dorset this morning to look for a Red-Necked Grebe that could possibly be of the Holboell`s Race . We soon got onto it but it always stayed quite distant from us .
We then went to the Chiswell area of Chesil Beach where we saw 2 Black Redstart and 2 Common Stonechat . Our day was finished off at Portland Bill where we saw 3 Common Raven and in the Observatory they had a Silver-Striped Hawkmoth.... A new one for me 😊
Long distance views this morning of a couple of Water Pipit on the north end of the Otter Marshes . Also seen were Great Cormorant , Little Egret , Grey Heron , Water Rail , Meadow Pipit , Cetti`s Warbler and Reed Bunting .
Not a lot seen but it was good to get out in the good weather !
A trip out with my mate Andy to Avon Dam on the edge of Dartmoor to look for Ring Ouzel and at first we struggled to see them in the bad light . But after a while we started to connect with them and in the end we saw 12 but I am sure there were more of them .
We also saw a 1000 + Redwing , 2 Fieldfare , 2 Eurasian Jay , 4 Goldcrest , a Eurasian Sparrowhawk and a Northern Goshawk .
This morning I made a quick trip down to Exmouth to look for a Yellow-Browed Warbler that has been see there for a few days now in the Maer long staying carpark . The bird was quite hard to catch up with but he did come into a silver birch tree once with a Common Chiffchaff and I was very lucky to fire off this one shot of it before it vanished from view again .
A trip up to Dorset today to look for a Isabelline/Red-Tailed Shrike and after a bit of a search we got nice views of the bird . There are now 2 splits from Isabelline Shrike being Red-Tailed and Durian but at this time we have to wait for a dna test result to be sure which one it is !
We then headed for Longham Lakes on the way seeing 3 Red Kite , we arrived at the lakes in pouring rain and after it eased of a bit we saw what we had come for , a very nice close Velvet Scoter a bird that you hardly ever see inland so it was nice to get good views of it .
This morning I was able to get better shots of the wintering Long-Billed Dowitcher that has been coming into Bowling Green Marsh on the high tides .
Not a lot else to report with just numerous Northern Pintail , Spotted Redshank and a Stock Dove .
