Great Scott!

Happy Back To The Future Day everyone!



[Where's my hoverboard?]



Ahem.


Right then, so.. Sunday.


Feeling a bit better but still not anything like 100%, I did not go out a' yomping over t' Moor or anything like that. I did decide to do some proper birding instead.


I had this cunning plan, you see. I had noticed the day before [and indeed often in the past before that] that quite a few birds seem to like flying up and down the Bovey valley. If you look at a map, you'll see why - especially when they are going west. [Short version; 'oh look, there's a big lump of granite in the way, let's follow this valley past/through it rather than go up and be exposed to passing raptors / strong winds etc.']. This also seemed to extend right through the day - indeed on Saturday, passage seemed stronger when I left than when I arrived.



So, getting to Trendlebeare in the afternoon, instead of wandering around as I usually do, I took my foldy stool and my li'l scope and found myself a nice viewpoint. I was aided in this by the rangers, who had helpfully hacked down the gorse by the res., leaving a lovely spot on the ridge with some shelter from the prevailing and a 180° view to the east! Wrapped up in two fleeces and with flask and rations to hand, I sat myself down and waited to see what [if anything] would fly over.


Yeah, there was a bird or two.

In 2 hours 164 Mipits, 121 alba Wagtails [plus 2 definite Pied], 17 Grey Wagtails, 76 Woodpigs, and a whole host of other passerines went by. To the left, to the right, and straight up over my head! Very few winter thrushes - 13 Redwing, 2 Fieldfare, 5 Mistle Thrush - with lots of assorted finches in small numbers; only Chaffs broke 2 figures.


Finch-wise, Crossbills [7] and Redpoll [2] were good, but the star bird was undoubtedly the one that went over giving well-spaced 'tsic!' calls...  Did not expect that one, I can tell you. :D

There were some patterns in the movements; the wagtails almost entirely came by late - with more than 100 albas and all the Greys in the last half hour - and the Mipits passed in noticeable waves, with odd groups of no more than a half dozen in between pulses.

Also of note; a big group of corvids tarting around towards Lustleigh included at least 80 Jackdaw, and when I arrived, there were 17 House Martins feeding over Yarner.



When there wasn't anything flying over, there were a few birds knocking around the Down too, including this lovely buff-bellied Mipit ['scuse the humour] [and the handheld phonescope shots...]

It sat on this Birch for almost 40 minutes

 and  I thought 'why not?'

You might be able to see how buffy it was underneath

[yup, I had time to get up and move]

[[and this was still the best I could do.. oh dear]]

Less fun were the sodding Deer Flies... Yarner seems to specialise in the damn things [if you've been lucky enough not to find out what they are, think a big tick that moves as fast as an ant and can fly!] and one even snuck home with me - going for my neck when I was putting my kit away..



So, after all the fun of the weekend, it was back to work.. but wait, there's more!


Time for a prettier picture;

Who's a pretty Goldie, then?

"Oh shit, he's got a camera!"

At least 3 Goldfinch [2 ads and a 1w] on my feeders on Monday! :D In the company of a dozen Greenfinch, with Coal and the odd Great and Blue Tits as well.


Aaaand that's all, folks.
The plague is hanging on by its fingernails [claws?], but I am hopeful that I will be free of its clutches soon.

Maybe just in time for The Artist to pin down a twitchable White's at Berry Head? [Hey, I can still dream!]




Be Seeing You