Blue-Rock Thrush

A trip up to Stow On The Wold in Gloucestershire today with my mates Andy and Ken to look for the Blue-Rock Thrush that has been there for a few weeks , we got there in foggy conditions and had to wait a while for the bird to show but the wait was worth while in the end as the bird showed quite well , this is my second one seen in Britain with my first way back in 1999 on the Isles Of Scilly ! also seen was this Bohemian Waxwing .
On the way back home just outside of the village we saw 2 Red Kite , a Common Buzzard and a Common Raven

Blue-Rock Thrush ( Monticola solitarius ) . Stow On The Wold . Gloucestershire

Bohemian Waxwing ( Bombycilla garrulus ) . Stow On The Wold . Gloucestershire

Just a few things to add

I had my first Bohemian Waxwing of the year at Borehamwood  in Hertfordshire on the 28th December

And today I saw 5 Red Kite over the M4 near Reading in Berkshire

Yellow-Browed Warbler

Early this morning I went down to the Recreation Ground in Topsham where I looked at the River Exe , and I managed to see the female Long-Tailed Duck , 2 female Common Goldeneye and 1 male and 3 female Red-Breasted Merganser`s .
But the bird that I had come in hope of seeing was a Yellow-Browed Warbler that was seen yesterday but I only heard it calling today but after much searching I just couldn`t manage to see it .

Long-Tailed Duck ( Clangula hyemalis ) . The River Exe . Topsham . Devon

Common Goldeneye ( Bucephala clangula ) . The River Exe . Topsham . Devon

Together !!

The Topsham Loop

This morning I walked around the Topsham loop with the first stop at the Bowling Green Marsh area and at the bottom of Bowling Green Lane the 2 long staying Mistle Thrush were still keeping guard of the Mistletoe , on the marsh itself the usual wildfowl were seen with Eurasian Wigeon , Northern Shoveler and Common Teal seen in large numbers , also seen were a male and female Tufted Duck , 3 Common Snipe and a female Eurasian Bullfinch , I then had a look at the Clyst Estuary and saw 4 Grey Plover and a Common Sandpiper , the last place I looked at was the River Exe and I saw 20+ Pied Avocet , 2 Common Goldeneye , a female Long-Tailed Duck and 6 male & 4 female Red-Breasted Merganser and this show off Grey Heron .

Common Snipe ( Gallinago gallinago ) . Bowling Green Marsh . Topsham . Devon

Grey Heron ( Ardea cinerea ) . Topsham . Devon

A Very Happy Christmas To All My Readers !!!

Topsham

This was the view first thing this morning outside my house in beautiful Topsham , later on I had a look around the Bowling Green Marsh area but I didn`t see much at all but I did see 7 Greylag Geese , numerous Eurasian Wigeon , 40+ Northern Shoveler  , 20+ Common Teal , 9 Northern Lapwing , a male Eurasian Sparrowhawk that landed on the fence outside of the hide , and a single Reed Bunting .

Red Sky In The Morning Shepherds Warning !!!

Blyth`s Pipit

A trip up to Blagdon Lake in Somerset with Andy Bond to look for the reported Blyth`s Pipit and we connected with the bird as soon as we got there as it was in with a small flock of Meadow Pipit`s that were feeding on the edge of the lake , the bird was easy to pick out because of its larger size and different feeding pattern , this is my 3rd one seen in Britain with the first on the Scilly Isles in 93 and my second on Portland Bill in 98 !!.......( One in Devon next please lol )
Other birds of note seen were 9 Great White Egret , 3 Bewick`s Swan , a female Goosander and a Eurasian Treecreeper .

Blyth`s Pipit ( Anthus godlewskii ) . Blagdon Lake . Somerset

A Foggy Day

The birding was hard today as you could hardly see the birds because of heavy fog ! but a look at Bowling Green Marsh got me most of the usual birds for this time of the year with Eurasian Wigeon , Common Teal , Northern Shoveler and Black-Tailed Godwit in abundance , also seen were 20+ Northern Lapwing , a Song Thrush and Mistle Thrush .
I then walked down to the viewing platform to have a look at the Clyst Estuary and I could just about make out a some Pied Avocet , Grey Plover and Dunlin but that was about it for today .

Black-Tailed Godwit . Bowling Green Marsh . Topsham . Devon

Green Sandpiper

This morning I had a look for the American Wigeon on Bowling Green Marsh as it was seen on the marsh the day before yesterday , but there was no sign of it today in with the numerous Eurasian Wigeon !
There was also a few Northern Shoveler and Common Teal , 400+ Pied Avocet , numerous Black-Tailed Godwit , 3 Bar-Tailed Godwit , 3 Common Snipe and a single Green Sandpiper .

Eurasian Wigeon ( Male ) ( Anus penelope ) . Bowling Green Marsh . Topsham . Devon

Common Goldeneye

A quick look this morning at the River Exe from the Topsham Recreation Ground got me 2 female Common Goldeneye , 14 male and 8 female Red-Breasted Merganser with quite a few of the males displaying !  2 Common Gull and a Grey Wagtail were also seen , 3 Water Rail were heard calling from the Exe reed beds , and 10 Common Redshank flew in as the tide started to drop .

Common Goldeneye ( Bucephala clanggula ) . The River Exe . Topsham . Devon

Dusky Thrush

Four of us made the long trip up to Beeley in Derbyshire to look for a new bird for us all ! a 1st winter Dusky Thrush that has been showing there for a few days now , and we arrived  just as the bird showed very well , but it only showed for a short time before flying off and it got harder to get good views it from then on , not a lot else was seen only a mixed flock of Redwing and Fieldfare were worth talking about . 

Dusky Thrush ( Turdus eunomus ) . Beeley . Derbyshire

Long -Tailed Ducks

A group of 3 Long-Tailed Duck was the highlight today seen in Chiselbury Bay off of the Otterton Ledge but as I was putting the news out I lost view of them ! but they may have gone in with the 200+ Common Scoter flock that was moving all the time , also seen was a Red-Throated Diver , 2 Great Crested Grebe , 20+ Common Guillemot , 4 Razorbill and 8 Northern Fulmar .
I then had a look around the Otterton Sewage Works where I saw 6 male and 5 female Cirl Bunting , 100+ Common Linnet and a 1st winter Reed Bunting .

Cirl Bunting ( Emberiza cirlus ) . Otterton Sewage Works . Devon

Common Scoter ( Melanitta nigra ) . Chiselbury Bay . Otterton . Devon

Bonaparte`s Gull

This morning I went to the far end of Exmouth sea front near Orcombe Point to look for a reported Yellow-Browed Warbler , I heard it calling a few times and after much searching I just about managed to see it , there was also a few Common Chiffchaff and in with them was a Siberian Chiffchaff , a female Blackcap and a couple of Goldcrest .
I then had a look around the Shelley Beach area of Exmouth where I found a Black Redstart on the roof of the flats , a couple of Rock Pipit on the beach and the adult winter Bonaparte`s Gull that flew in and showed for a short while before it flew off up river .

Bonaparte`s Gull ( Chroicocephalus philadelphia ) . Shelley Beach . Exmouth . Devon

Merlin

A quick look around the Exminster Marshes this morning got me numerous Canada Geese , 2 Barnacle Geese , 1000+ Eurasian Wigeon , 100+ Common Teal , a female Merlin that flew through the marsh , a male and female Common Stonechat , 3 Reed Bunting and a few Redwing .

Common Stonechat ( Female ) ( Saxicola torquatus ) . The Exminster Marshes . Devon

Red-Necked Grebe

A trip this morning down to Broadsands in South Devon to look for a reported Siberian Chiffchaff but I couldn't find it anywhere after much looking .
But I did see 4 male and 6 female Cirl Bunting`s , a few Common Blackbird`s and around 5 Goldcrest , I then went and had a look at the sea where I saw a Great Northern Diver , a male and female Common Eider , a Black-Necked Grebe and a few Black-Legged Kittiwake .
The next stop was at Goodrington Sands where there was 12 Common Scoter , 2 Velvet Scoter and a Red-Necked Grebe .

Cirl Bunting ( Emberiza cirlus ) . Broadsands . Devon

Common Blackbird ( Turdus merula ) . Broadsands . Devon

Common Goldeneye

A lovely brisk sunny morning saw me again looking at the River Exe at the Topsham Recreation Ground area where 2 female Common Goldeneye were showing very well , there was also around 15 Red-Breasted Merganser , 2 Little Grebe , 2 Little Egret , 3 Common Kingfisher , 5 Common Snipe , a Grey Wagtail and one Water Rail was seen and another 3 were heard calling , I heard that the female Long-Tailed Duck was still around but after much searching I couldn't see it anywhere today !

Common Goldeneye ( Bucephala clangula ) . The River Exe . Topsham . Devon

Little Egret ( Egretta garzetta ) . The River Exe . Topsham . Devon

Local Birding

There was a fall of winter thrushes in the Topsham Cemetery Grounds this morning with Fieldfare , Redwing , Mistle Thrush and Common Blackbird all seen feeding on the berries , later I went for a walk around the Recreation Ground in Topsham and I saw a male Red-Breasted Merganser , a Little Grebe , 2 Common Gull , a 1st winter Mediterranean Gull , 2 Water Rail and a sparkling Common Kingfisher a bird that I always love to see !

Common Kingfisher ( Alcedo atthis ) . The Topsham Recreation Ground . Devon

Mediterranean Gull ( Larus melanocephalus ) . The Topsham Recreation Ground . Devon

Cold Mornings

I went over to the Exminster Marshes at first light this morning and to start with it was a lovely sunny morning but the clouds soon rolled it and it became quite cold , on the marsh 16 Barnacle Geese were still showing well with also 100+ Dark Bellied Brent Geese and two 1st winter Light Bellied Brent Geese , Eurasian Wigeon and Common Teal were showing everywhere on the marsh , a Peregrine Falcon and a Cetti`s Warbler were also seen .
I walked across the marsh to have a look at the River Exe at the ferry crossing and got good views of the female Long-Tailed Duck that was showing with a female Common Goldeneye , 12 Red-Breasted Merganser and 2 Common Kingfisher .

Long-Tailed Duck ( Clangula hyemalis ) . The River Exe . Devon

Pale Bellied Brent Goose ( Branta bernicla hrota ) ( 1st Winter ) . The Exminster Marshes . Devon

Barnacle Goose

The highlight of today was seeing these 13 Barnacle Geese on the Exminster Marshes , they were quite a way out on the marsh but were put to flight by a female Western Marsh Harrier allowing me to be able to get this flight shot , I also saw another 3 of them on another part of the marsh ! it is a very rare sight to see this these birds in good numbers in the South West of Britain and a real bonus of the approaching winter .
The marsh had amazing numbers of wildfowl with Eurasian Wigeon , Common Teal and Northern Pintail in large numbers , also seen was a Water Rail , 2 Grey Wagtail , 20+ Redwing and a couple of Reed Bunting.

Barbacle Goose ( Branta leucopsis ) . The Exminster Marshes . Devon

Grey Wagtail ( Motacilla cinerea ) . The Exminster Marshes . Devon

Long-Tailed Duck

A quick look at the River Exe this morning from the Topsham Recreation Ground got me this female Long-Tailed Duck along with 2 Common Kingfisher and a singing Mistle Thrush .

Long-Tailed Duck ( Clangula hyemalis ) . The River Exe . Topsham . Devon

The Floods at Topsham

The South West of England has again been hit by flooding and here are a few shots of Bridge Road/Darts Farm area of the Clyst Marshes this morning !! not a lot to report on the bird front with just a Firecrest in a holly bush near Topsham Railway Station and a few Redwing and Fieldfare in the cemetery grounds .

Topsham Flooding !!

Desert Wheatear

Another trip down to South Devon today to look for the Desert Wheatear on Leasfoot Beach at Thurlestone and what a day we picked as the weather was terrible whith very heavy rain most of the time , we arrived around 8 am and it took us till quarter to nine to get our first view of the bird but it was soon lost from view again , but it showed again later looking a bit bedraggled and wet , we got a few shots of it then left it to feed up hoping that the cold doesn`t get to it !!!

Desert Wheatear ( Oenanthe deserti ) . Leasfoot Beach . Thurlestone . Devon

Little Stint

Around my house in Topsham this morning there was 20+ Western Jackdaw , a Eurasian Sparrowhawk and a Mistle Thrush , I then walked down to Bowling Green Marsh where the highlight of the day was a Little Stint seen on the end of the point , also seen were 8 Greylag Geese , numerous Black-Tailed Godwit , 26 Bar-Tailed Godwit , 800+ Dunlin , 200+ Pied Avocet , 6 Common Greenshank , a Grey Wagtail and a Common Chiffchaff .

Western Jackdaw ( Corvus moneedula ) . Topsham . Devon