A look at Bowling Green Marsh today got me the smart looking Spotted Redshank that was in with 50+ Common Redshank .
Other birds seen today were Common Greenshank , Black-Tailed Godwit , Bar-Tailed Godwit , Dunlin , Eurasian Curlew . Whimbrel , Common Sand Martin & House Martin , Stock Dove and Common Chiffchaff .
This morning I went to a private Site near Exeter where I saw my 1st Barn Owl in Devon this year .
There was not much else to see but this nesting Little Grebe was a very nice bonus and also seen were numerous Eurasian Collared Dove.
News of a Red-Footed Booby seen a couple of times in Lyme Bay had me down at Exmouth doing a bit of a search but I afraid that all I saw were 8 Sandwich Tern and a few Great Black-Backed Gull .
I then went to a spot in Exmouth where there was a show of over twenty Pyramidal Orchids .
This morning I went down to Bowling Green Marsh to look for a Spotted Redshank that was seen there . And I managed to see the bird ok but getting this shot of it was hard in the harsh light .
But the birding was still quite slow beside that with only 7 Common Shelduck , 3 Gadwall , 3 Little Egret , 50+ Common Redshank , 50+ Eurasian Curlew and around a hundred Black-Headed Gull .
I had a look around Bystock Pond this morning but did not see many birds at all with only the following . Common Moorhen . Winter Wren . Common Chiffchaff and Goldcrest .
But there were a few Dragonflies hawking over the pond with the best being Four-Spotted Chaser and nearby there were a few Beautiful Demoiselles .
A look around the Pynes Hill area of Exeter this morning got me quite a few Marbled White Butterflies .
I then took a look at the Exminster Marsh but only saw the usual suspects with .
Grey Heron . Common Buzzard . Barn Swallow . European Reed Warbler . Sedge Warbler . Blackcap . Common Chiffchaff and Carrion Crow .
Also seen was a large Mirror Carp in the Exeter Canal .
Here are a few shots of the Osprey that was showing at Powderham Park this morning and also hunting out over the River Exe .
Also seen was a flock of 14 Mistle Thrush , 3 Grey Heron and a Little Egret .
Some Birds from the trip with Andy Bond and Dave Boult to Somerset and Gloucestershire .
What a great days Birding .
This afternoon news came out of an extremely rare bird a Eurasian Golden Oriole on the Exminster Marshes . So over I went in hope of seeing it , but I was only lucky enough to hear it calling .
I have only ever had one on these birds on the Marshes before and that was way back on the 12th of May 1998 !
There was also 2 Cetti`s Warbler , 2 Common Chiffchaff , a Sedge Warbler and a nice show of Yellow Iris .
A look around the Exminster Marshes got me the following birds .
Little Egret , Common Buzzard , Eurasian Hobby , Black-Tailed Godwit , Barn Swallow , Common House Martin , European Reed Warbler and Reed Bunting
Also seen were Azure Damselfly , Blue-Tailed Damselfly and I was in the right place when this Steam Engine shot past me 😀
There is not a lot around at the moment but a look at Bowling Green Marsh got me a Stock Dove and a pair of Black Swan with 5 cygnets and I think that this is the 1st time that they have bred on the marsh .
At the top of Bowling Green Hill there was a Eurasian Jay and my last stop of the day was at the Tesco`s store at Exe Vale where there was this lone Bee Orchid .
A day out looking around the Venford Reservoir area on Dartmoor with my mate Andy was quite productive with the following birds .
Great Spotted Woodpecker , European Green Woodpecker , Common Raven , Garden Warbler , Willow Warbler , Common Chiffchaff , Blackcap , Spotted Flycatcher , Common Redstart , Common Cuckoo , Pied Flycatcher , Common Crossbill and Lesser Redpoll .
We also got caught out in a Thunderstorm of Rain and Hailstones and got soaked to the skin 😨
Here are a couple of ropey shots of the illusive Lesser Whitethroat that is in scrub near to the old Welcombe Inn . The bird sang quite a bit but only showed itself a few times . Also seen were Common Swift , Barn Swallow and Common House Martin .
I went looking for Spotted Flycatcher on the East Devon Commons this morning but I had no luck at all . And there was not a lot else on show either with only 4 male and a female Tufted Duck , a European Green Woodpecker , Great Spotted Woodpecker , Common Chiffchaff , Coal Tit , Eurasian Jay and a single Beautiful Demoiselle .
Devon Birds Lundy Island trip
The M . V .Oldenburg left Bideford for Lundy Island around 9.30 am and on the way we saw Common Guillemot , Razorbill , Manx Shearwater , Black-Legged Kittiwake , Northern Fulmar and a Eurasian Collared Dove that landed on the ships mast .
Once we arrived at Lundy the ship went around the Island so everyone got nice views of the seabirds with some nice Atlantic Puffin seen .
On the Island we saw numerous Common Skylark and Meadow Pipit , a Common Whitethroat , 3 Northern Wheatear , a male and female Common Stonechat , a female Whinchat and around 20+ Common Linnet . The 6 of us then stopped off for a pint in the pub with ( A Bond , P Bray , D Boult , D Land , I Pearson & myself ) and just as we were leaving we were told that a female Golden Oriole had been found in Milcombe Valley so we got there as fast as we could and after a bit of searching we all managed to all get views of it ( The 1st one for me since one at Portland back in 2017 and to back it up there was also a Spotted Flycatcher .
On the trip back to Bideford not a lot was seen but 2 Harbour Porpoise were a nice end to the day .
MONTAGU`S HARRIER
A trip up tp the RSPB Reserve at Greylake this morning in hope of seeing a Montagu`s Harrier that has been showing there for a few days . And we did not have to wait to long before we got distant views of the 1st summer male bird that was being mobbed by a Western Marsh Harrier at 9.15 am . It then dropped down onto the ground and was not seen again till late afternoon .
Also seen was a Great Bittern and another 2 were heard booming , 2 Common Cuckoo , 3 Red Kite , 3 Common Crane , 3 Eurasian Hobby , 4 Yellow Wagtail and my 1st Water Vole for about 30 years !
A quick look at the Exminster Marshes only got me 2 male Garganey . I then decided to do some birding on Dartmoor where I saw .3 Whinchat , Northern Wheatear , Meadow Pipit , Common Skylark , Common Cuckoo , Common Redstart , Pied Flycatcher and a Eurasian Treecreeper .
News of a Lesser Whitethroat on the Exminster Marshes got me going over to look for it but this time I dipped it as there was no sign of it at all . But I did see Cetti`s Warbler , European Reed Warbler , Sedge Warbler , Common Chiffchaff , Blackcap and 3 male Garganey all together . A rare sight on the marshes .
A trip over to the Exminster Marshes again today as I had a message telling me that there was a male Garganey showing well on the pond by the middle car park . And as you can see it was well worth the trip . Also seen were the normal warbler`s for this time of year with Cetti`s Warbler , European Reed Warbler , Sedge Warbler , Common Chiffchaff and Blackcap .
This morning I had a look at the Exminster Marshes and saw 4 Eurasian Hobby , 2 Common Kestrel , Eurasian Sparrowhawk , Common Buzzard , a female Western Marsh Harrier , 10 Common Swift , 2 European Reed Warbler , Sedge Warbler and after a bit of a walk a distant adult Temmininck`s Stint ( after being re-identified today ) .
Later in the afternoon I went to the new LORP at Budleigh Salterton and saw a Little Ringed Plover and after quite a bit of a search a nice male Green-Winged Teal . Also seen was my first Weasel of the year .
