Saturday, 30 May 2020

Friday 29th May

Today I went for a look around Aylesbeare Common in glorious weather and I managed to see the following birds. 2 Common Buzzard , a European Green Woodpecker , a Great Spotted Woodpecker  a Willow Warbler and a Spotted Flycatcher.
Also heard was a reeling Common Grasshopper Warbler  and European Nightjar was also heard .

Spotted Flycatcher ( Muscicapa striata ) . Aylesbeare Common . Devon


Wednesday, 27 May 2020

Tuesday 26th May

Golden Oriole are words that you do not here very often down in this neck of the woods !! So when I received a message from local birder Chris Townend this morning telling me one was calling on Duldich Common I got there as fast as I could . I arrived to find no one there at all as Chris had gone of to another area to look for it , but after a while another birder Dave White turned up and we settled in waiting to here it call and after a bit of a wait we were rewarded around 10 am with a male bird calling to the left of us , a few other birders turned up but the bird never called again and I left around 11.30 . I heard that the bird was calling again in the evening so I went again in hope of seeing it but I had no luck but it was seen by one lucky birder .

Many Thanks Chris  

Monday, 25 May 2020

Haldon Forest

A morning walk on Haldon Forest today got me the following birds , 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker , a Eurasian Jay , 2 Tree Pipit , at least half a dozen Garden Warbler , 4 Willow Warbler , 2 Common Chiffchaff , 3 male and a female Eurasian Siskin , 6 Common Linnet and 4 Common Crossbill .

Common Crossbill ( Loxia curvirostra ) . Haldon Forest . Devon


Monday, 18 May 2020

Saturday 16th May

I went out early this morning to Budleigh Salterton to see if yesterdays European Bee-Eater`s would come out of their roost and show again . And after a bit of a wait they came out and showed for a short spell before heading out towards Lyme Bay .
I then went to a spot near Sherford where I got nice views of a European Turtle Dove a very rare bird in Devon now . My next stop was at the Colyford Common where a Lesser Whitethroat was showing quite well on and off .
I then went back to the Exminster Marshes as a Wood Sandpiper had been reported there and I managed to see it but it was very distant and as I was looking at it a Yellow Wagtail flew past so that was a nice end to a good days birding .

European Turtle Dove ( Streptopelia turtur ) . Nr Sherford . Devon


Saturday, 16 May 2020

Friday 15th May

European Bee-Eater is a bird that I have always dreamed about getting on my county of Devon list and in the 35 years that I have been birding I have come close a couple of times but I have just missed out on them . So when I had a call in the evening telling me that there was quite a few showing near Whites Bridge at Budleigh Salterton I got there as fast as I could and after a bit of a walk I got the amazing site of 13 of them in the air together , as you can see they were a bit distant to get a shot of but I didn`t care a jot and was just over the bloody moon to see these superb birds in my own county .


European Bee-Eater ( Merops apiaster ) . Budleigh Salterton . Devon


Thursday, 14 May 2020

Yarna Wood

A look around Yarna Wood this morning got me European Green Woodpecker , a Great Spotted Woodpecker , a Spotted Flycatcher , 3 male & 2 Female Pied Fycatcher , a Tree Pipit , a male Common Stonechat , 3 Willow Warbler and a female Common Redstart .

Pied Flycatcher ( Ficedula hypoleuca ) ( Female ) . Yarna Wood . Devon


Monday, 11 May 2020

Good Birding

Out early this morning for my daily walk and the first bird that I saw was a male Garganey one of our best looking ducks . also seen were 3 Red Kite , a Common Kestrel , numerous hirundine with Common Swift , Barn Swallow and Common House Martin , Cetti`s Warbler , Sedge Warbler , 2 Common Skylark and a Sandwich Tern was heard calling on the Exe Estuary .

Garganey ( Anas querquedula ) . Devon


Red Kite ( Milvus milvus ) . Devon


Sunday, 10 May 2020

Raptor Watch

This mornings walk with nice weather turned into a bit of a raptor watch with the icing on the cake being a European Honey Buzzard that was first picked up by another birder but I soon was able to get on to it , it slowly drifted across the marsh allowing us to pick out the main features on it and it hardly flapped its wings at all and just glided through on the thermals . It was the 4th one that I have seen on the marsh with the last one being in 2014 .
Also seen today were 5 Common Buzzard , 2 Red Kite , 2 Common Kestrel , a Peregrine Falcon and 3 Eurasian Hobby .

Eurasian Hobby ( Falco subbuteo ) . Devon


Friday, 8 May 2020

Firecrest

On my walk today I came across a spot where there was at least 5 Firecrest and I was over the moon with that as it is one of my favourite birds .
Also seen today was a Common Raven , a Eurasian Nuthatch , a Mistle Thrush , a few Blackcap , a Common Chiffchaff and a Garden Warbler . But again no sign of any Willow Warbler...very strange !  

Firecrest ( Regulus ignicapilla ) . Devon




Thursday, 7 May 2020

A nice walk !

I met up with my mate Andy for my daily walk today and it was good to see him after quite a while , even though we kept our distance from each other . And the walk turned out to be quite rewarding as the first area we looked we got a few Blackcap , 2 Eurasian Treecreeper , a Eurasian Sparrowhawk , a Firecrest and 2 Spotted Flycatcher our first for the year .
We then went to another area where we saw a Little Ringed Plover , an inquisitive Dartford Warbler , numerous Common Sand Martin , a female Whinchat ( another new one for the year ) , a male and female Northern Wheatear , 2 Common Buzzard , a Common Kestrel and a few Common Linnet .

Spotted Flycatcher ( Muscicapa striata ) . Devon


Little Ringed Plover ( Charadrius dubius ) . Devon


Northern Wheatear ( Oenanthe oenanthe ) . Devon


Sand Martin ( Riparia riparia ) . Devon


Common Kestrel ( Falco tinnunculus ) . Devon


Wednesday, 6 May 2020

Great White Egret

The star bird of my walk today was a Great White Egret that I just picked up as I was searching for Eurasian Hobby and Common Swift , the bird flew over the marshes quite high and then headed south Perhaps it is a new bird or the one that was seen around the Exe Estuary earlier in the year .
also seen today were 50+ Common Swift and a Eurasian Hobby .
Away from the birds these were also seen . Quite a few Large Red Damselfly , a Beautiful Demoiselle , Brimstone and Green-Veined White Butterflies and a Slow Worm

Beautiful Demoiselle ( Calopteryx virgo ) . Devon



Large Red Damselfly ( Pyrrhosoma nymphula ) . Devon



Friday, 1 May 2020

Pom Skua

On my walk this morning I saw 20+ Northern Gannet , a nice Dark Phase Pomarine Skua  that was chasing the Sandwich Tern`s , 3 Rock Pipit , 4 Barn Swallow , numerous Common Whitethroat , 3 Blackcap , a Common Chiffchaff and an Atlantic Grey Seal .

Common Whitethroat ( Sylvia communis ) . Devon