Oh Not Again...

Well, dear reader[s], I have again managed to break myself and so my birding is curtailed until I heal. Drat and other comments.

I am not incapacitated, but won't be toting anything heavier than bins for a while [and that includes a rucksack, keeping me off t'Moor, too.. ::sniff::]. 

I've not been doing nothing, having been ambling slowly about the Patch - indeed a bit too much today as I have aggravated it {a BlackRed was involved.. Ahem} - and so I have something to report.

My first actual Collared Dove from Here this week was perhaps overdue, but they're never common on Patch and this side of The Hill? Exactly. On the 25th, my SkyGarden was filled with tits as no less than 15 arrived at once! And 10 of them were Blue [I've had lots of LTTs in on cold winters before].

The benefit of my misadventure today was a f-type Black Redstart - briefly - on the back of Sandy Cove at the Nose [with Mike P]. Also on site; 5 of today's 15+ Blackcap, and 2 GCG offshore [well, inshore, really]. The 50+ Common Scoter were off Meadfoot, in the lee of Thatcher Rock, with 3 Rockits together on the Sea Road. No divers seen and no sign of the Velvets in the still-impressive swell and pesky glare [but note; no scope!]

There were at least 7 GNDs in the Outer Harbour - seen together by the cill! - with 2 more on the sea off Livermead, accompanied by 3+ GCG and a throated diver sp. which eluded speciation. A Kingfisher was fishing the calm water under the overhung section of the oil pier [has the yacht crane on it], but there were only Herring Gulls sat on the pontoon. Again. 

Inland, Blackcaps came in bursts, most notably just up from the Museum [I was looking for another BlackRed which has been seen around there], as did tit bands, but I got nothing rare or even scarce, with Patch Scarcity coming in the form of 2 Stock Dove flying over trying to pretend they were Feral Pigs and not worth looking at!

I have no idea when I'll be back to form again, I'm just hoping it'll be sooner than later...

[What can you do?] 

Be Seeing You...

More Holding Points

I still haven't even started an update post - detailing everything I've been not doing and so on - which won't do, but at least right now it's That Time Of The Year, so I have a vaguely-convincing excuse.

Friday I pinched a morning to go after the 1w Scaup that's been reported at Exminster for a little while now.

The extensive water-fall-from-sky induced flooding required some creative access. Well, distant access, as I had to park at Countess Wear and walk down the canal; about 5km lugging the scope, so not that bad.

What was that bad was the utter absence of Scaup of any kind.

Feck.

What were I'm pretty sure four Marsh Harriers proved some distraction, which with a Buzzard, a Sprawk, and maybe two Kestrels gave the poor waders and smaller wildfowl plenty of nervous exercise...

Said waders and wildfowl were present in reasonable if not epic numbers, with several hundred Lapwing easiest to estimate as they were repeatedly put up. In contrast, I only got on 4 Pintail and 6 Shoveler.

Still, the Sun shone, a sinensis Cormorant posed for an almost-sharp photo on the Canal, and it was good to be out and about.

As you may have guessed, this was going to be something a bit longer, but stuff happens, [to censor the Yautja] so what can you do?

News from the Patch; now 3 f Velvet Scoter by the Oyster Beds off Thatcher Point, numbers of divers [mostly GND of course] offshore and indeed inshore, and Treeeeecreeeeper up in The Copse again. Ah, 'tis almost like the Good Old days. 

Be Seeing You... 

To Continue

Following on, Friday saw me head over to the Exe estuary in search of none other than a Lesser Crested Tern. This is a rare vagrant, famously one once at Dawlish Warren a mere 40 years ago, and more usually in the vicinity of Africa..

It was a wee bit nippy on the platform at Cockwood Crossing, and the birders present cheerfully told me 'It's over there at the Warren'. Only I couldn't see it. And they couldn't, either, as it had taken the chance to vanish...

Yeah.

So an hour and change pass, with me freezing various bits off - out from a Night shift, btw - and getting ever more vexed at Life, the Universe, and Everything.

People massed [where none were supposed to be?] at the Warren were looking at something, but assorted trawlers were moored in the way. I resolved to move, and had the scope in the bag, when the LCT - which clearly has quite a sense of humour - reterned with what looked like a Sandeel.

It then flew around a bit before plonking down again. This time in view. Result.

Short while later it took off again and flew about some more, clearly having some fun trying to fish in the fresh breeze [apparently not quite a named storm] and to our joy getting closer and closer and closer.

Indeed it came right past us [well, in scope terms, anyways] giving me the chance for some actual non-blob photos [ see OverHere ] before again settling [after catching another fish] on a closer bit of the estuary.

[There were other birds around, waders and waterfowl and so on, but you're not bothered by them, are you?]

Anyways, I was a happy bunny.

There's not much more to tell of the weekend, due to Important Things, though I did find a Treecreeper with a tit band up on The Hill [remember there?] that afternoon in slightly better conditions [sheltered from the wind, always helps], which was nice, though as I was being towed by taking Canis horribilis salivatus out for a walk at the time, no chance of a pic [I doubt I'd have succeeded, too much cover and against the light, but hey].

Be Seeing You...

Having An Actual Job

Is a good thing - could be a lot worse and all that - but sometimes, well...

 

There's that tern, you see. Well, on river, not sea, but not see-n by me.

 

[[You know it's bad when he starts demi-rhyming]] 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

😔 

Be Seeing You

 

[Be Seeing It?] 

Once Upon A Time

There was a blogger who blogged regularly. Like more than weekly.

[And he had a blogging service with a frickin' spell check]

[[And a setup which didn't add BLEEEPing a space with every paragraph break, FFS you BLEEEPs 😠]]

Ahem.

Weird, huh? 

One day, I will be him again.

I hope.

Be Seeing You...

That Vismigging Thing

Vismigging at the Nose from sunrise on Sunday [er, that Sunday, in er, October... 😳] didn't give the epic numbers of other sites, mostly due to birds for some strange reason cutting assorted corners [dunno why?!?] instead of properly following the coast. [Won't do, won't do at all]

Though at least I was there at the proper time. Well, almost. Ideally you get there before sunrise, but this is still me we're talking about here... 

💤

In 90 mins from Official Sunrise, I had;

 

Woodpigeon                 105+ [5 groups]*

Meadow Pipit                 9+

alba Wagtail                    3+ 

Greenfinch                     10+

Goldfinch                       4+

Siskin                             10+

Chaffinch                       18+

Linnet                            90+

Brambling                       1 

small passerine sp. [N]   1

Jackdaw                          5

The Linnet were in one big flock which then descended on Thatcher Rock and hung around there for some time. The teeny passerine - likely a tit or phyllosc - went over giving a short distinct high 'zi! call, with clear pauses between repitition. There are lots of things than can apparently do that, and without a sonogram [obv.] there's no way I can get anything like an ID. It's not something I've heard before, though. [Though given the way many spp. vary their calls, that's not saying much]

Much more recently - as in this very last Sunday - I was again vismigging at the Nose and in ~60 mins, ~56,000 Woodpigeon came from low down over the land, coalesced into thousand-scale megaflocks, and went off/out to the SE.... 😮😲😍😁 The first of these had a knot of 10 Stock Dove with them, but as it became clear just how many birds were passing, I had no real chance to closely examine the rest for anything.!!

Look over at my BlueSky for a few pics.*

A movement co-incided with frisky NE winds, and these I think pushed the 'pigs - which normally pass by inland in smaller groups and so avoid giving my poor Patch a spectacle - into using the peninsula as a gathering and jumping-off point.

Also noted passing were 15+ Goldfinch, 19+ Chaffinch, 2+ Siskin, 1+ Meadow Pipit. 12 Brent Geese flew South and later 3 Red-breasted Merganser flew North [those seen from Meadfoot while trying {and failing} to relocate a 'smaller, paler duck sp.' which had passed the Nose with Common Scoter]

 

 

Of note, all those +'s knocking around are due to minimum counts; from passage where either birds were unable to be counted or were heard only [then recorded as 1+ unless calls heard to overlap].

I have more to report, including the briefest of BlackReds and an actual November Garganey [though still no dice on Slavonian Grebe....], but that shall have to wait for whenever I get to this again.

 

[Oh dear.] 

Be Seeing You...

[[* Just compare those two figures. I was quite happy with the first one, it's what I'd expect from the Nose; a few flocks in the low-mid double figures, getting over the hundred mark. Then That Sunday happened... Woooooooooh.]] 

Still Here

Just a quickie to let you know that I am still here, I will  do another update directly, and despite getting rained on a LOT recently, I aten't ded [yet].

Some idea of what I've been up to may be found - albeit in more pictures than words and rarely in proper order - can be found on My Bluesky which despite being iffy on pctures, will at least let you look at my feed without signing up. Unlike the actual birdplace.

 

Though it will insist on you giving either your financials or biometrics to an unaccountable third party [based in '..and other countries'] if you want to be treated like an actual adult... 💢

Ahem.

Be Seeing You...