Friday 30 November 2012

Dawlish Warren

A trip down to Dawlish Warren to look for some more Waxwing but we just missed them but we did see a male Bearded Tit a Warren tick for me on the main pool ! along with a  Black-Necked Grebe that showed well & Little Grebe & a male & female Bullfinch flew over .

Black-Necked Grebe . Dawlish Warren . Devon . 30 / 11 / 2012

Thursday 29 November 2012

Tuesday 27 November 2012

Waxwings

This afternoon I found out that there was some Waxwing in some trees at Gypsy Lane in Exmouth & as they are still an Exe Estuary tick for me I shot of down to there right away & was very pleased to find 14 of them in the tree outside of the school & was told that they have been around the area for most of the afternoon .

Barn Owl

At 10.15 this morming I was driving along the old road from Tedburn St Mary to Cheriton Bishop when I found a Barn Owl hunting over the grass verge & the fields , it flew down the road in front of me & landed on top of one of the lamposts on the Woodleigh Junction of the A30 , you dont come across many of these birds hunting in the daytime & they are quite rare anytime ! but perhaps its normal hunting ground was flooded , funny enough it was on the same road that I found a female Hen Harrier a few weeks ago it must be a birding hotspot LOL .

Sunday 25 November 2012

Right Place Right Time !!!

Well I was certainly in the right place at the right time today as I had gone for a look at Bowling Green Marsh in Topsham to see if the Long-Tailed Duck would still be there ! & it was out in its usual place out on the main water with the long staying Scaup but after about half an hour it came into the channel & swam right down past the hide & fed for a little bit before swimming out to the main water again , I have never seen it in the channel before so luck was with me today .
Also seen were all the normal ducks but a male & female Pintail were new in to the marsh today , a Little Grebe , 2 Kingfishers , 2 Raven , a Cetti`s Warbler & a male Bullfinch were also seen , so not a bad mornings birding !!

Long-Tailed Duck . Bowling Green Marsh . Topsham . Devon . 25 / 11 / 2012

Friday 23 November 2012

Not Much Today

There was not a lot to report today but a walk around the Topsham Cemetery this morning got me numerous Redwing , about a dozen of both Fieldfare & Mistle Thrush & a couple of Goldcrest .
Then a quick look at Bowling Green Marsh didn`t turn up anything new but the female Long-Tailed Duck & the 1st winter Scaup were still showing well .

Mistle Thrush . Topsham Cemetery . Devon . 23 / 11 / 2012

Thursday 22 November 2012

Bowling Green Marsh

A look at Bowling Green Marsh this morning got me the female Long-Tailed Duck that has been around the Exe Estuary for a few days now , also seen was the 1st winter male Scaup , 3 male & 2 female Tufted Duck , numerous Wigeon , Teal & Shoveler , a single Little Grebe , a hundred + of both Avocet & Bar-Tailed Godwit & a walk down the lane got me 3 Redwing .
The road between Topsham & Darts Farm is  impassable as the River Clyst has burst its banks a sight that I have never seen before !!!!

Avocet . Bowling Green Marsh . Topsham . Devon . 22 / 11 / 2012

Long-Tailed Duck . Bowling Green Marsh . Topsham . Devon . 22 / 11 / 2012

Friday 16 November 2012

Not a lot to report today with only a male & female Mandarin worth talking about on the River Dart at Buckfastleigh .

Monday 12 November 2012

Thrushes are Back

There was a small fall of thrushes in the grounds of the Topsham Cemetery this morning with numerous Redwing , around half a dozen Mistle Thrush & a few Fieldfare & Blackbirds !

Redwing . Topsham Cemetery . Devon . 12 / 11 / 2012

Thursday 8 November 2012

Long-Tailed Duck

There were 3 male & 4 female Brambling in with the large finch flock at Darts Farm in Topsham this morning , I then heard that there was a Long-Tailed Duck in the Exe Estuary so I went to the viewing platform on Bowling Green Marsh & I saw the bird but it was drifting of down river .

Brambling . Darts Farm . Topsham . Devon . 8 / 11 / 2012

Monday 5 November 2012

Nothing to get hot about on this Bonfire Night !!!

Early this morning 3 Stock Dove & a Raven flew over my house in Topsham , I then had a look at Bowling Green Marsh & the 1st winter Scaup was still there & today it was hanging around with 4 male Pochard , & the Wigeon flock is still getting bigger , also seen were over 200 Avocet , 50+ Bar-Tailed Godwit , male & female Bullfinch & singles of Little Grebe , Robin , Sparrowhawk , Mistle Thrush , Redwing & Fieldfare !

( European ) Robin . Bowling Green Marsh . Topsham . Devon . 5 / 11 / 2012

Sunday 4 November 2012

Scaup

A look at the Exe Estuary from Mudbank Lane in Exmouth for the Scaup that has been seen there but I got no luck but I did see numerous Wigeon , Teal & Pintail & further up river 8 Great Crested Grebe & 2 Goldeneye were on show .
There was then a call that there was a Scaup on Bowling Green Marsh perhaps the bird that I was looking for at Mudbank Lane !!!! the bird showed quite well & there was also 100+ Avocet & a 100+ Brent Geese flew over .

Scaup . Bowling Green Marsh . Topsham . Devon . 4 / 11 / 2012

Friday 2 November 2012

Hen Harrier

The highlight of the day was finding a Female Hen Harrier hunting over a ploughed field just outside of Tedburn St Mary this morning !