Er, Yeah. Stuff To Report On.

It's the mostcrazyful time of the year, so this will be short and to the point.

No, really.

Friday and I zipped off after work and found a) Warleigh Point DWT [which is very nice] and b) the Velvet Scoter lurking in proximity to it.

Velvet showed very well, and scarfed five not at all small crabs while I was there. Legs and all.

I was impressed.

Saturday, my head decided to foil my plans. This was extra vexatious as The Teacher found a Hawfinch ON THE DECK at the Nose.

I've never even had a flyover there. Or anywhere else on Patch.

Bugger.

Sunday. the head was behaving but I had Things to Do. I got to the Nose first anyway. Lots of Blackcaps, lots of Common Scoter, an few GNDs, one calling. Four Grey Seals, a few Common Dolphins. A Painted Lady was nearby, basking in the windy sunshine. Look at my socials.

😇

Up Exe way some time later and I found nothing particularly noteworthy, though lots of waders and a few Brents around, which is always nice.

Closer to Home,  [Right at it, as it happens] a female Blackcap has turned up [best thing that happened on Saturday]. She has a metal ring, which is not only upside down, but very hard to read as she naturally splits her time between trying to kill the male and terrorising everything smaller than a Blackbird... I have '..T075..' with the 5 a touch speculative.

That's it.

Be Seeing You...

The North Wind Blows: Surf's Up!

I had something important to do on Saturday, but was able to find an hour to answer The Call from my fellow Irregulars;  "Big scoter at the Nose!"

Big-nosed scoter at the Nose; a 1w Surf Scoter was with 5 f-type Common Scoter in Hope Cove, closest to Black Head and so best viewed from Bishop's Walk.

Twitter and Bluesky have lots of pics and video, but gaggle still suck, so nothing here. [Be grateful, mine aren't good]

Still there the following morning, as I stopped in on a patrol of the lee side of the peninsula, hoping for something else sheltering from the NW now N-NE blast.

A fair-sized for these days group of about 45 [couldn't count accurately with the swell; couldn't even get them all in a photo!] Common Scoter were out by the Buoy Farm, and a few Gannets were tootling about. The shelter at Meadfoot had persons, assorted in, so I had to reesort to going to the cafe and buying a coffee to do a scope scan [oh, the sacrifices we make]. I'd brought rations, so no chips, btw.

I found 2 GNDs on the sea, and a Razorbill flew N while a Guillemot flew S.

Wow.

On to the Harbour, where on the Real Living Coast I found there were at least 8 Sandpipers Purple, in small groups among the boulders. 

Anglers on the end of the pier [not allowed to do that, but they didn't care] meant I had to go around and scan the upper Bay from Princess, where 2 more GNDs, 1 GCG, and a Grey Seal [plus of course the usual plethora of Shags and Cormorants] were all to be seen on the sea. A nicely dark and streaky Guillemot was in the Outer Harbour, too.

One GND came close enough for half-decent photos, but my hoped-for BNG, let alone anything sexier, was not to be had.

Nothing better than Firecrest in terms of land birds, and that calling and resolutely not showing.

So, WAHOOOOOOO!!! for first Surfer on the deck at the Nose, and a well-twitched easily watchable one, too [much better].

Be Seeing You...

Borrowed Powers

Circumstances saw me at Dawlish Warren at lunchtime today, where I would spend some hours looking for a Dusky Warbler that turned up earlier in the week. In very un-Dusky style, it has been tarting about in the grass in front of all and sundry like an Olive-backed Pipit, when it should be hiding in bushes and showing once an hour if you're very lucky.

Today it seemed someone had told the bird that, as after showing it was still present to LC first thing, it then vanished.

Others saw BlackRed and Firecrest while searching the most salubrius bit of the Warren the DW had chosen; right next to the gokarts and pirate golf, by the railway line.  I didn't.

A lovely male Bullfinch did show up for myself and KR, which I will stick a pic of up on butterflies at some point, but the Dusky was not having it, it seemed. We walked a good loop of every possible bit we could think of, but no joy. A Song Thrush and the Bullfinch again was the best that could be found.

 

All others had already abandoned hope, and the weather was closing in with intent, so Kev too called it a day [he has seen it, I believe, a few times to be fair]. I'd wandered back to the car park with him, so did one last loop through the main area on my way back to where I was parked [as I refuse to pay what would be extortionate summer rates in winter; Teignbridge Council can go BLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP]. We had cheerily discussed the possibility of it showing for me, with me saying "I can see it popping up and going 'Nah nah, nobody'll believe you!' "..

And so I was slightly faster with the camera than I might have been if I was on my last gasp otherwise. The first view was just get on it and be sure, yes, but then it flew up to hide behind the pirate golf and I got a snapshot off. Amazingly I hit it, wings spread. Unamazingly, it was not at all in focus, but you could see it was not a Robin or a Wren or a Dunnock [or a BlackRed].

Pic [plus the same view without the bird in comparision. This is a Backward Birder record shot......] on the birdie. I will probably inflict it on butterfly, too.

It popped up by the gokarts, coming out of a teeny Pine in a small patch of cover by a sheltered bit of long grass - which is where it had probably been happily foraging while Kev and I were wandering everywhere else.! - zipping over to the corner where Lee had it in the morning. A couple of minutes later it nipped through a gap in the security fencing and into the thick Buddleias behind the pirategolf, along the railway line. I gave it half an hour, then ten minutes more. No further sign.

Time pressed, so I exited, stage left.

Also at least 9 GC Grebes offshore, with assorted divers seen by those who hadn't pinged their backs and could lug scopes about.

[It had been a fun morning]

Anyways, I'm sure there's more to say but now is not the time.

Be Seeing You...

[[Oh, the title? I'd been hanging around with legendary birders, and some of their bird-finding Power had rubbed off on me. I doubt it'll last, but it was fun seeing something and getting any kind of pic. :) ]]

Late Again

And I don't even have 'had to wait until I sorted the photos out' as an excuse any more... Oh dear.

Been a bit under the weather, for various reasons, but I was determined to get out, depite having Things to Do as well.

Bearded Tits have been seen on the upper Exe reedbeds on and off, and they're on the 'to do' list, so I figured it was worth a try, being in the area anyway on Sunday and having lunch and the afternoon to play with.

Needless to say, they weren't having any of it and I got not a sniff.

I did run into a very nice Siberian Chiffchaff at Dart's Farm ponds; quite likely fresh in, as there seems to have been an influx of eastern birds over the weekend. I heard it first, among sporadic standard Chiff calls coming from the Penduline bit [IYKYK]. A group of maybe 4 or 5 warblers were actively feeding in there and the muddy Snipe field next to it and fairly soon a wonderful grey and white type Sibe appeared. Would it let me get a shot? Would it BLEEP ...

But one Chiff did actually pose, and you can see it Over There or Over There if you feel like it.

The usual Kingfisher was even more mobile after being flushed by a Cormorant [yes, really; it came in to land, saw me and took off emergency style] before I could get it, and the Cetti's wasn't showing at all but that's not a surprise. No wildfowl or waders other than a handful of Canadas and Mutes was, though.

No Brambling among the finches and pipits and wagtails, either.

The Exe herself had the family of Black Swans at Topsham Rec [['not self-sustaining' my arse Ahem.]], a few gulls and a flyby Common Sand. A lot of the usual waders further downstream, including Avocets off the Goatwalk 😁 A juv Marsh Harrier dropped into the reeds opposite the Quay, which may go some way to explain why nothing else popped up from said reeds.!

Loads of ducks on Bowling Green [that's where they all were hiding] including 24+ Pintail, 86+ Shoveler, and the 1w male Scaup [right at the back in the awful light, the rotter...]

The birds have been ravenous on my feeders with tits in good numbers particularly, though worryingly I haven't seen any Greenfinches for a while, now...

In case I haven't mentioned it, I caught the male Blackcap on the fat feeder and while the photos are through angled glass with curtain reflections, they are point blank. [Which is why curtain reflections were necessary].

Ok, I think that'll do.

Be Seeing You...

Only Mad Dogs And Seawatchers Go Out In The Noonday Storm

Bert by name, frisky by nature. Sunday saw me able to get myself together in time to get out and see what was going by [sometimes backwards].

[[Now there are those who say you shouldn't go out in a weather warning, but this was only a Yellow, and it was very necessary for my mental health to do some seawatching, so we'll have no more of that]]

I got to the Nose not long after sunrise and was surprised to find absolutely nobody else there. Not even a Bass angler?!?

"No stamina, folk these days" mutters I as I manage to get down without being blown off my feet to Glonk Corner; well out of wave range, perhaps a little too out, but you can't have everything.

[I'd include a nice scenic shot to show you the impressive swell, but google still blow goats, so what can you do?]

I gave the sea 6 hours, though the last was more 'I don't want to get soaked packing up' than 'birds are still going by woo'. Then, having seen The Teacher turn up, I wandered over to find him cooing over a nice array of divers and scoter in Hope Cove. I didn't fancy climbing down into the Quarry, so I looked back over the Slick, where only common spp. were about [not even a Med. Tut.] and thus was looking the right way when a couple of Sandpipers Purple were kicked up by a wave.

:D

 

I got the odd photo, so go look at twitter [or bluesky if you're allergic to people you don't agree with] to see a couple, look at The Teacher's for better quality images of divers, too. More may well appear over the next few days, but not of birds so much.

This, having no character limit, is where numbers go, and you're expecting some, yesno?

Hope so as you're getting them.

Glonk Corner, 0810-1410

[All S]

Gannet                        227

Kittiwake                   544

Auks [Raz bar 2 Gu]  134

Little Auk                    1 [poss 2nd]   0855 [0908]

Fulmar                        29

Great Shearwater*        1     1026

Sooty Shearwater        2    1010, 1029

Manx Shearwater        1     1026

Shearwater sp.             1     1023

Bonxie                         1     0957

GN Diver                     2

Swallow**                       1    0919

wader sp.                     2 groups [heard only]

C Scoter                      14

Com Gull                    19

BH Gull                      31

LBB                            7

4 more GND on the sea, including one which flew in from the N. 12 more GND, 1 RTD, 3 C Scoter in Hope Cove so full totals are;

GND         18

RTD           1

C Scoter     17

Hourlies;

G  20, 59, 31, 76, 16, 25

K  191, 156, 78, 81, 23, 16

A  22, 43, 9, 34, 20, 5

F  3, 16, 8, 1, 1, 0

Spot where the front came through, the wind turned and eased, and the heavy rain started.!

All of the good stuff was in the leading or trailing edges of the vigourous if not feisty squalls that were a feature of the morning. Rain never really hard in them, but enough to hit visibility.

The Little Auk[s] came through on the Manx line [second was a very small auk, but I couldn't get enough on it in the gunk to rule out 1w Puffin], the shears were all outside it and seemingly angling out into Lyme Bay. The Bonxie came through inside the Lead Stone, which is why I got a half-decent picture. It was small and slight and dark and I confess I got a bit interested, but photos showed it had no wingmoult and a hint of rufous to the mantle, so just one of 'those Bonxies'.

One day.

A very rewarding - in variety if not numbers - watch, though I was really hoping for at least Little Gull if not a Leach's coming into the slick. The SWBCM was working all day, with lots of gulls always in attendance, but I guess you gets what you gets eyes on.

Be Seeing You...

[[* In late November?!? Climate change, people.]]

[[** Questioning its life choices, I suspect...]]

Autumn Afternoon

An Autumn Sunday afternoon by the Dart with the Folks and Sister the YoungerYounger was very pleasant, though with two Whisthounds it wasn't always peaceful.!

Though with chews of distraction employed, coffee and barmbrack went down well, and a couple of Dippers and a Goosander showed nicely, too.

As we were climbing back up from our spot, 2 late Swallows went over at treetop height; it's not quite Winter yet!

[Though with the drop in temperature today, you do wonder...]

At Home, it was 2 for 1 on Nuthatches on my feeders on Monday afternoon, with 3 Great, 3 Blue, 2 Coal Tits, 2 Dunnocks, a Robin working on getting at the newly re-positioned sunflower and pellets feeder [moved to foil Woodpigs and Magpies] while still trying to beat up the Great Tits.! [This was simultaneously; busy busy!]

Eyeing the forecast with interest..

Be Seeing You...

Halleluia. Sort of.

Dragged myself up and out and had a go at getting a better view and maybeevenyouneverknow a photo of the Pallid Harrier.

I failed.

I did succeed in getting a very nice view and even some grainy photos of the male Hen Harrier that's been knocking about the area, from The Pulpit [which is a stone circle, as religion in Devon goes back a Long Time]. Thus the title.

Amused, aren't you?

A flock of 11 Redwing were going to be the next best thing, but a Dipper gave me a flyby as I loitered about Cadover in vain hope of a last minute Pallid perforfmance.

I'd not been up Trowlesworthy Tors in many many years, so that was nice, too.

And nothing fell off the car this time, which was a bonus.

Be Seeing You...