A Stroll With The Folks

Because it's been a while, because it was a clear night last night, because a brisk north-ish can be a pain, and indeed just because.

"How do you feel about Prawle?"

I did try not to grin - after all, another chance to dip Pallas' Warblers!

When we arrived, the car park was not full and the Reserve was not heaving with birders drooling over seven-striped sprites. Here we go again.... Having been generously told "You can catch us up, we're going thattaway", I had a careful look around [[Join Devon Birds, get into Prawle Reserve! Go on, you know you want to!]], because you never know, right?

There were many many Blue Tits and Great Tits and Robins and Blackbirds and Chaffinches. Also a silent Phylloscopus warbler with snazzy wingbars. It stayed high in the willows and I could see the Most Ridiculously Close Dip Ever* happening all over again. Only then it tilted its little head enough...

I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!

It then decided that, the game being up, it might as well show like a porn star. It even started calling. :D

After that**, I caught up with the Folks and we wandered eastwards. We turned back before Mattiscombe, as some tosser had left a gate open and cattle with calves had wandered onto the coast path; cattle with calves + Tilly in an enclosed space bordered by a cliff = trouble. Instead we worked back to the Point and had coffee looking out towards The Bolt.

But before that... Lots of Cirls, as you'd expect from the site for them, but best non-stripey headed birds were not one but 2 Blackstarts, one each side of Lannacombe. Gorgeous! Woodpig flocks were passing towards the Point all day - I totalled a little over 700, so I think I might have missed one or two....? Two Oyk flocks on the rocks each had add-ons; a Dunlin and a Curlew. Skylarks, Mipits, Chaffinches, and alba Wagtails were moving overhead with the Woodpigs [mostly higher].

The sea was, perhaps unsurprisingly, devoid of anything fancier than a couple of LBBs, with no cetaceans [though water traffic was unusually light]. Landbirds were fairly plentiful, with tit and 'crest bands, assorted finches and pipits, thrushes [though no Ouzels] and corvids knocking about.

The sun shone, no it blazed, it was more like September than November and out of the wind it was almost sweltering... Butterflies fluttered, bumblebees buzzed, jaspers caused trouble, Mum found a Violet in bloom [not bad for November]. Tilbury was quite well-behaved, for her [well, there was this one cow, and some sheep, and then she decided low-flying gulls were fair game... But apart from that.] It was nice; we ambled out, we ambled back, we admired the scenery. The Start Complex really does make beautiful coasts.

[[*See the Great Berry Head Pallas' Debacle. Or don't, its painful...]]

[[**Ok, after I'd drunk in the joy of the Pallas', done a couple of rubbish sketches, grinned, cackled, done a silly dance and generally been extremely happy... ;) ]]