OoooOOoohh!!

It was with something approaching joy that I drew back my curtains on Saturday morning to see mistyfog shrouding the landscape..

Could it be that there might actually be something good lurking in the bushes of the Nose?

Oh stop laughing...

 

There was, however, this;

Juvenile male Eider

[Lead Stone in foreground]

As picked up by Mr Peregrine, off Thatcher Rock. [It was hiding behind it when I swept the sea hald an hour earlier. Definitely.] It later moved in close to the Lead Stone, was driven off by jetscum, then came back again, a bit.

Jetscum?

Seconds later..

[Eider head just visible]

Jetscum.

Ban non-electric jetskis, I say.

Ahem.

There were good numbers of warblers along IMD and especially in the Top Dell, mostly quietly and determinedly stuffing their faces and not posing

Standard pattern Chiffchaff

Yellowy one.

All were Chiffchaffs. Those that weren't were Blackcaps. 7 and 2.  Massive numbers.

At least 5 Swallow were in the Quarry early doors, and a Mipit was with the Rockits [possibly more than one, 11 pipits in a flock were annoyingly mobile around the Mounds]. At least 12 Oyk on site.

 

Despite all the reduced visibility, all I saw offshore were a 2cy Med Gull, 3 BHG and 3 C Scoter; all South.

Even in the absence of sunshine, insects were still in evidence;

Here's something smart!

White-tipped Darwin Wasp

Ichneumon albiger

And not just insects, of course,

Female Garden Spider

Araneus diadematus

Weaving a new orb web

[normally done at night]

More Eider.

 

Showing the dark colouration of a juvenile [females far sandier, adults with white bill tip which would show at this range] and the white supercilium marking indicating a male.

Not great pics, alas. Earlier on, he did come inside the Lead Stone, but jetskis beat my camera...  :(

Not - as I thought at the time - a Patch Yeartick, as I'd had a female flypast into the Bay while seawatching from Meadfoot at the end of January [blogged early Feb, as sharp-memoried readers may recall], but great to have one that stuck around. Indeed it was twitched [!] by no less luminaries than MB and BoBa* as apparently the first gettable one this year! [Less gettables have also occurred on the Exe, I think the Mighty MK has photos on his blog]. Oh how things have changed, there used to be wintering flocks - flocks! - including at the mouth of the Harbour, where you could stand on the breakwater and look down on them...

Be Seeing You..

[[ * The Teacher's nickname for Bailey Senior. I don't know if he knows enough Starwars to be amused..? It does appear to be sticking, though. ]]