Not Boring Seawatching Stuff

Beacuse seawatching is fun and interesting.

I tell myself this even when I've not seen anything bar one Herring Gull for the last 40 minutes and I'm wondering why I didn't stay in bed, no, really, I could be just getting up now, what in the name of the Great Green Arkleseizure is wrong with me?!?!?

Ahem.

So, I spent much of my traditional early September Hollydays seawatching, mostly from the Nose. I did not get to cornwall, due to circumstances, which is a bit of a shame, but not as much of a shame as getting to Pendeen to find that the dreamed-for South Polar Skua had been and gone already and I got up at fBLEEEEPing four for this?!?

Ahem again.

Adding in the Weekend's Seawatching I still haven't tallied in public, the other seawatching I've done, the fact this is now late October [eek]*, and we have a few totals. This is what this post is for, so those of you not interested in hourly rates of Gannet passage, and what I dropped on the 3rd [which I can talk about as I can't say it was one], may be advised to just skip it.

Still here?

 

Ok!

😁 

I have ten watches, with varying levels of recording, depending on what was passing. Properly I should be recording the same species in hourlies for every watch regardless of passage levels, but there are limits to what I can do - especially on my tod - and how many clickers I can feasibly use.!

What I'm going to put up is a simple list of Date, Site, Start Time, Wind Direction and then hourlies for Gannets, Kittiwakes, Manxies, Balearics, and Auks, with added Species of Note. I have not included the commoner gulls and terns, though I have included Fulmar [all recorded Fulmar are definite passage birds, btw].

 

 

All passage is South [or West - same direction of movement] unless stated. 

 

16/8, Hope's Nose, 0925, E-ENE

 

Gannet                   41 - 72 - 37

Kittiwake              46 - 31 - 14

Manxie                  68 - 12 - 27

Balearic                18 - 2 - 4

Auks                       No records

 

LT Skua, Arctic Skua, Great Shearwater, Arctic Tern, Roseate Tern.

17/8, Hope's Nose, 0930, NE

 

Gannet                  39 - 17 - 26 - 86 - 24

Kittiwake              1 - 9 - 5 - 39 - 27   

Manxie                  1 - 1 - 2 - 5 - 0

Balearic                  1 - 0 - 0 - 2 - 0

Auks                       No records

Black-tailed Godwit, Arctic Skua, 7 Med Gull, Fulmar.

18/8, Hope's Nose, 1310, E-ENE

 

Gannet                   69 - 22  [+22N]

Kittiwake               43 - 25   [+25N]

Manxie                   1 - 0

Balearic                  1 - 0      [+4 N]

Auks                       1 - 0

2 Arctic Skua [single different birds N + S], Black Tern, YL Gull.

31/8, Hope's Nose, 0650, SSW

Gannet                   42 - 56 - 48 - 14

Kittiwake              Passage not recorded; 2000+ in vicinity of Ore Stone

Manxie                  0 - 0 - 0 - 2

Balearic                 11 - 2 - 1 - 3

Auks                      0 - 1 - 0 - 0

 

LT Skua, Arctic Skua, 3 skua sp., 3 Fulmar.

2/9, Hope's Nose, 1055, WSW

 

Gannet                   43 - 16 - 52 - 69

Kittiwake              138 - 43 - 65 - 127

Manxie                  0 - 0 - 1 - 1

Balearic                 27 - 8 - 1 - 6

Auks                     No records

Cory's Shearwater, 2 Sooty Shearwater, Pomarine Skua, storm petrel sp., 3 Med Gull, 8 Fulmar.  3 Painted Lady butterfly.

3/9, Hope's Nose, 0730, WSW-SW

 

Gannet                 205 - 76 - 62 - 28 - 24 - 22

Kittiwake             885 - 112 - 157 - 78 - 14 - 16

Manxie                0 - 3 - 20 - 27 - 25 - 1

Balearic               7 - 20 - 29 - 24 - 27 - 23

Auks                    5 - 2 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0

7 Great Shearwater, LT Skua, Bonxie, 6 Arctic Skua, Stormie, [probable Wilson's Petrel 0740], 4 Arctic Tern, Roseate Tern, 17 Fulmar, Med Gull, 2 Whimbrel.  2 Painted Lady & 1 Clouded Yellow butterflies.

7/9, Hope's Nose, 1000, SSE

 

Gannet                 60 - 69 - 65 - 82 - 62

Kittiwake             278 - 28 - 9 - 3 - 63

Manxie                 0 - 0 - 0 - 3 - 1

Balearic                1 - 2 - 0 - 2 - 8

Auks                     2 - 1 - 1 - 0 - 2

Dunlin                  41 - 0 - 33 - 31 - 0     

[Note: Dunlin passage added for this watch only.]

Cory's Shearwater, LT Skua, 2 Pomarine Skua, 15 Arctic Skua, Stercorarius sp., Sabine's Gull, 3 Arctic Tern, 2 Black Tern, 2 Med Gull, YL Gull, Fulmar, C Scoter, Ringed Plover [not with any Dunlin].

10/9, Hope's Nose, 1125, SSW

 

Gannet                    17 - 24 - 29 - 33

Kittiwake                0 - 2 - 1 - 1

Manxie                    0 - 0 - 8 - 58

Balearic                  0 - 4 - 17 - 56

Auks                       0 - 1 - 0 - 0

YL Gull, Med Gull, shearwater sp.

12/9, Prawle Point, 1145, W

Gannet                   40 - 14 - 4 - 3 - 19 - 68 - 6

Kittiwake               8 - 1 - 0 - 8 - 7 - 57 - 20

Manxie                  39 - 46 - 45 - 76 - 112 - 248 - 56

Balearic                 15 - 10 - 7 - 10 - 17 - 26 - 4

Auks                       3 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 - 2 - 0

5 Cory's Shearwater, 3 Great Shearwater, 9 large shearwater sp., shearwater sp., Sooty Shearwater, Puffin, Sabine's Gull, Stormie, probable Leach's Petrel, 6 Arctic Tern, Grey Phalarope, skua sp. [prob. Pomarine], Med Gull, Fulmar.

19/10, Hope's Nose, 0940, SSE

 

Gannet                    306 - 60 - 54 - 48 - 12

Kittiwake                23 - 1 - 0 - 1 - 0

Manxie                    1 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0

Balearic                   No records

Auks                        742 - 81 - 10 - 1 - 2

Bonxie, Sooty Shearwater, Puffin, auk sp., possible Leach's Petrel, YL Gull, 3 Med Gull + 4 more on slick, C Scoter.

Phew!

A few good birds and interesting numbers, there. For example, 27 large shearwaters and 40 skuas; even ten years ago I'd expect maybe 3 big shears and 400 skuas, how times change.! Also clear evidence to how good I am at failing to get up at a decently early hour... 😔

Right, time to hit Post

::faints:: 

Be Seeing You...

[[* Not to mention my current fixation with italics... ]]

In Which I Go Tarting About On t'Moor

Now this is about the other stuff I've been up to - when I've been up to much - and is indeed mostly related to wandering the Moor. It also dates back into September in part, and well, what can you do, really? I'm not giving up on this here blog, but two other social feeds and the mind-controlling therefrom [so many things to keep up with... argh] isn't helping. In order to allow pictures to be put up and people to actually see what I'm doing, I need them both [tut].

 

Ok, stop whining and [try to] get on with it!

 

 

 

I have bashed Patch and near-Patch [though that involved seawatching, too, because I'm me] too, and I have a couple of pics of interesting things over on Bluesky of actual birds and even something that isn't a bird [gasp!], which should be visible with only a small amount of scrolling when you're reading this.

In not entirely actual chronological order [because why be obvious?]...

 

 

I found myself needing to while away what turned out to be a day in Paignton. Naturally I'd brought some optics along [duh] and so I wandered about here and there. Clennon Lakes held a variety of not at all rubber duckies, including an array of nice Gadwall moulting out of eclipse. Young's Park [of Scaup fame] held a likewise slightly different array of ducks, plus a showy Grey Heron. I joyfully noted The Artist's Favourite Bird there, and have put a pretty [ok, that is debatable] pic of it up so you can all admire it. 😇

But being me, and having, it seemed, quite a bit of time to play with, I ended up looking at the sea. From the middle of a bay, on a [well what started out as a] sunny day. Nope, I did not see anything better than a couple of Med Gulls in about three hours total [and those were sat on the shore, too]. The odd Gannet and Kittiwake were out there, but that was it. Well, aside from a gorgeous paddle steamer - yes, really! - that came cruising by, doing a lap of the pretty riviera coast for the masses aboard, it seems. 'Waverley' did photo quite nicely when she came by, and so you can see over there.

Another day not so far out saw me patrolling the Patch on foot, mostly to see what was going on if anything. I found Firecrests in three areas, which was great, and checking the Real Living Coast [might need a new name for Haldon Pier, now] for overly-early Purple Sand payed off with a lovely juvie Ringed Plover [which was alone, and had white above the gape line, so got looked at very hard...]. Not had Ringo there before, and not on deck on Patch this year [you sometimes find the odd few grounded on the Point at Hope's Nose].

Ok, let's actually get to the bit on the title.

Yarner is technically Dartmoor, and when not robbed out by thieves foragers* is of an Autumn filled with a great assortment of funguses. I took a wander over after work and while it was horribly humid, it was also very quiet and indeed very fungal. I had lots of fun, though when the Deerflies found me it got less amusing... [bladdy things]. A notable plethora of Boletus species was in evidence [and a health warning, while some are edible, many are not and one is deadly, so be very careful, ok?] and again a lack of Russula [4 spp, mostly one of each?!?], while Yarner's bounty of deadly Ammanitas continues...

There were a few birds about, including a party of flyover Crossbills, and a late-ish Common Hawker.

Earlier I was first about Fernworthy, where I found almost no Russula, even in the really good bit, though loads of False Chanterelle [don't be fooled, and have a care for your insides] all over the place. A big party of Crossbills eluded the camera, bar their lookout, who was up on top of a conifer and I got a pic [it's on Bluesky somewhere]. 

I spent most time out on the Moor looking for a stone row and a cairn circle in what turned out to be a great wading of vegetation. The grass wasn't too bad, but the Gorse was ouchy...

When located, the row was dinky and badly pinched-from, but seemed to be aimed at Bellever Tor, which was cool to learn, and the circle was also buried - though under Gorse not grasses - and also well-robbed out. But in a very scenic location, and if not for the rain which waited for me to find it and sit down, would have been well-worth the hunting. Just. 

I saw a bunch of Hirundines, and at least 4 Whinchats [not expeced and also WOO!] but also got rained on hard a few times. Ah well. Yes, I've mentioned that twice now, but I got rained on twice before I got to the trees, so I figure its appropriate.

Even earlier I took a wander to somewhere I'd not been to since I was yea-high to a doodlebug, Manaton Hill. Which was buried under VERY high Bracken [it's been a good year for the stuff, unfortunately] but was also home to far more views than I remembered. It rained far far more than forecast, with the rain having noticed me [and me without full waterproofs, as I foolishly believed it would be 'hot Sun with few showers' Ho frickin' ho] and evidently decided I was target for the day [it was frickin' sunny at Cosdon Beacon while I was being rained at. Repeatedly. Tut.]

Ahem.

I toddled over from Hound Tor [slightly more recent blast from the past], where I later had lots of fun finding the cairn circle there [I knew it was..not where it was. Which was less than helpful], but, upon having a triumphant [ok exhausted] coffee in the lee of a Gorse bush there, I was rewarded by a VERy close Wheatear! Too close, as when I tried to verrrry carefully go for my camera, the Wheatear wasn't having it. Alas, the pic would have been legendary.

A trip to Prawle later, I was back up on t'Moor looking for more lesser-known standing stones. This time I started at Fernworthy [still almost no Russula...😕] and headed through - via lunch [late start, tut] at Assycombe - to the Stannon valley, where I sought a row and another cairn circle.

The grass was long, the stones in the row not robbed are small, the coobeasties were in the way. I found it eventually, noted with interest it seemed to be pointing to Bellever Tor, and then went on for the circle.

 

Which took more than an hour, being hidden amongst circle-high Gorse and Heather and Bramble on a hillside studded with stood-up [as opposed to standing] stones. The photos I'd seen showed it in low Heather and grass, clearly visible. Oh ho ho not so now, oh no. The supposedly very nice cist inside is now totally hidden, though the location and view therefrom is quite worth the walk out there.  

The reward also was a surrpise encounter with Whinchats, plural. At least four! Woo!

Work later, I took a Friday afternoon at Yarner, where I finally found some fungi, and a Common Hawker, though that was the only getting out I did that weekend.

Yet another late start presaged what was hoped to be a look for early Ouzels, but that was kaiboshed by far nastier than forecast weather. I headed away from Headland Warren and up over the ridge, where a nice hut circle was high-walled enough to shelter me from the blast while enjoying a view off to the North and East. Moving on - a little reluctantly, as a comfy spot with a good view is a thing of value - I went looking for the latest in a series of cairn circles [I'm not chasing a yearlist, and the collecting bug demands sustenance...], this time near Grimspound. This one was easier to find, though my hopes of getting a pic of the interior was foiled by it being full of Ferns.!

 

I'd not been to King Tor for a while, and again a nice view sheltered from the wind was on offer. There were a lot of Skylarks in the area, including many juveniles. I stayed put until the rain turned up, though nothing fancy did before then. You puts the hours in and sometimes something comes out.

The next day saw me out not seawatching [dratted weather timings] but at Cockwood Crossing, looking for a reported Slavonian Grebe [news of which had broken while I was up on the Moor, naturally]. I gave it 2 1/2 hours - stood by the main line in the full force of the wind - but no dice. A female Common Scoter - much rarer on the Exe - was some consolation, but even an eventual Kingfisher perched out of sight...

I headed to Bowling Green - despite the tide being past - to have lunch sat down out of the elements. You never knew, a Garganey might be there?

Ho ho.

 

 

BUT I did then see a wader wander out from amongst the loitering Teal, Wigeon, and Canada Geese. A smallish thing with pale legs and a nicely pointed fringe of streaking on the pecs. On the Pectorals.

 

Oh [BLEEEP], that's a Pectoral Sandpiper**. And it then flew when I went for the camera.

😰

[This is typical]

Then I refound it and this time got the shots. 

Then I asked the others in the hide if they were interested in a Pec Sand [they weren't, dear raspberries one and all] then I sent a few texts. Then I counted to just under ten minutes, which is when the first twitcher arrived. [Wotcher Dave].

Despite being a bit flighty, the yankee wader stayed put for the rest of the day, showing very well [for a Pec] to assorted birders. At one point a Glossy Isbis turned up and tried to steal the limelight. A couple of Ruff were there, too.

But I was just too happy to get something twitchable twitched. First one since the Glonkus maximus. 

Result.

😎

October started with much Patch patrolling. Highlights included 2 Wheatear and a House Martin at the Nose on the 4th and a fall of phylloscopus warblers on the 10th, plus loads of Firecrests all over the place!

Next weekend, I was again thinking thrushes, and decided to do some reconnaisance in to the presence or not of berries in a couple of Moor vallies. The result was an utter lack of Rowan berries, though many Hawthorn bushes were well-stocked. More excitingly, a juv female Merlin below Avon Dam - I got a truly awful picture as she vanished at typical warp speed - was early. I found only three Mistle Thrushes in the Mardle, nothing thrushy in the Avon, and 2 Grey Wags but no BlackRed on the dam, with 10+ Teal at the top end of the reservoir and no Goosander.

This weekend, while today I was not out for birds, yesterday morning I got to Emsworthy, where I saw at least 4 Ring Ouzels [2+ ad males, 1 ad female, 1+ 1w], 35+ Fieldfare, 3+ Mistle Thrush, but no Redwing [reported by others, though]. Others got to double figures of Ouzels, but hey that's birding.

In the afternoon I was out on Patch with the Folks and the birding highlight was seeing the local pair of Buzzards being assailed by 5 Jackdaw. This is of note as Jackdaw are rare here [it's Crows and Magpies and Ravens and Jays]. Added to the now regular 2 who are visting my skygarden and it might be significant? Will be interesting to see if they stay on and try breeding next year.

 

Zoggin' 'eck, I'm - seawatching tallies aside - up to date!!

 

::Faints:: 

Be Seeing You...

[[* Ok, taking what you will eat today, leaving at least 90% of fungi intact, and not going after rare species is one thing, I suppose.]]

[[** American wader, vagrant, and if not a serious rarity, a bird that was once a real pain in my behind as I've dipped them a ridiculous number of times ]]

A Month Or So Later...

I'm still having issues.

When I have the time to post - like say right now - I just can't get it to work. When I don't.. Well, not really then, either. 

Give it a go anyway:

Overcast and trying to dizzle at the Nose early this morning, and a surprising number of warblers chasing insects and each other about the South Side. Mostly Chiffs, of course, but not all. Vismig highlight a Crossbill, but mostly Mipits, alba Wagtails, and common finches. Of glad note, there are hordes of Firecrests everywhere; four in one small tree on the way out!!

Also of interest, as well as Blackbirds and Magpies, now the local Jackdaws {both of them} have learned how to cling on to the fat block feeder like they're Blue Tits... Birds, eh?

There, that's what I've got. Yes, it's better than nothing.

And I'm not giving up.  

I will afflict you with some sort of seawatching data comparison at some point.

[[I say afflict, I dunno who reads this anymore anyway, aside from fecking AIs...]]

But even so, I will

 

 

Be Seeing You... 

 

 

 

 

[Some sunny day]

 

 

Interjection

Yesterday I found myself in the hide at Bowling Green, well after high tide. It was quite sunny and quite windy, too. I'd just spent about 2 1/2hrs dipping Slavonian Grebe off Cockwood*, and fancied sitting down out of said weather to have lunch.

I'd barely taken a bite from my sarnie when I found a Pectoral Sandpiper. [A wonderful example of putting the hours in, to be in the right place at the right time]. To my amaze, I then not only managed to photo it but get the news out and see it successfully twitched.

Still a little in shock at that. Last one was Glonkus maximus, after all.

I will put all the other stuff on here eventually.

No, really.

It's going to happen. 

Just don't exactly know when.

😕

Be Seeing You...

[[*This involves standing in full force of a cold North wind on a small platform above the river, with the main railway line right there. It's a fun spot, but the view of the lower Exe is unrivalled.]]

Froward, To The Seawatching!

This post now includes Extra Seawatching Content!

Woo!

And is horrifically late..

UnWoo.

😔 

Anyways;

 

I like to visit Froward Point at least once a year.

It's not an easy place to get to, but once you're there [quietly wondering if your legs will take the climb back...] it's quite good. Not perfect, by any way; 'tis too tucked in to really give good coverage of passage birds, but for the northern half of Start Bay it's not bad at all. So when I don't have the time to go to Prawle, the wind or time of year isn't right for the Nose, or I just fancy a change, I go there. Also some quite good land birding in the area  😁

These days, though, as well as the 'fun' level of climbing involved, the nt [::hawk ptooi::] are doing their best to keep any one for whom actual money is an issue away; with ever-increasing charges at the only access points and less-helpful hours, too. [You now get to choose from 3 hours or all day, the previous, handy, four hour option is no more. 3hrs is not long enough to get down and do an even half-decent watch... Also said 3hrs costs more than the 4hrs did. Naturally. 😡]

Ahem.

Anyways, it was a good call, as there was a lot of feeding action going on in - or more accurately off -the northern part of Start Bay. This made getting counts less than easy, unless of birds clearly passing and only passing.

So we have what we have.

420+ Gannets and 'more' Kittiwakes were feeding in a long band of activity, well out [ie. km scale range], with an unkown number of shearwaters - almost all seen being Balearic - with them. 87 Balearic and 11 Manx Shearwater were seen breaking off and passing South, so those are very much minimum numbers.

1 Bonxie trolled through early on, scattering all before it in tradtional 'bowling ball in a skittles alley' manner, with 2 Pomarine and at least 12 Arctic Skuas counted, including a group of 3 which came close enough inshore to not only photo - albeit badly - but to see and harrass a passing Whimbrel.!

Mediterranean Gulls were also part of this feeding activity [also, and notably, a dearth of Herring Gulls {??} ] and I counted a total of 65 come in and head into Start Bay's inshore waters, presumably to Slapton Ley/beach with a 1cy Yellow-legged Gull passing even closer in [I just hit it with a scramble-grabbed camera]. Plus 3 Fulmar and 3 Black-headed Gulls.

32 Common Scoter [in three groups] passed by south and were definitely passage birds. 

Under all this activity were seemingly several groups of Common Dolphin; getting counts at range not easy, but I recorded groups of 15+ and 39. Blue-finned Tuna were seen once early on, and may have been present throughout, but too far out to call. My first Bottlenose Dolphins of the year - slightly closer in than the main feeding area - were a group of 4+, with an even closer-inshore group of 3+ Harbour Porpoise also seen.

It was all rather good.

Over the weekend before the Marsh Sand, a series of days of forecast ESE to SE that turned out to be ENE to NE saw me giving the Nose repeated goes, with not a lot of numbers, but quite a bit of quality.

A mere 10 hours total over three days, and with half of them on the least productive day [oh, what a surprise], but I packed a few goodies in. 

Then we come to my Traditional Early September Hollydays, when I got to the Nose five times, with additional watching from Goodrington-Three Beaches and Prawle, though only an average watch time of four hours [poor, very poor]. However, despite barren patches there were some really rather tasty birds seen [and some dropped for that matter] but that's seawatching.

I'm not going to put a mass of numbers in this post, as to be honest I want to get something out. I will instead do another seawatching post, which will hopefully include some possibly interesting comparisons of hourly rates of those birds I've done hourlies for, as well as a few of the others [Blog Rules apply*]

I have been doing some other things; just yesterday I was up on t'Moor, taking far too long to find a cairn circle - albeit one buried under Gorse {that was NOT in the book, you fiend} - and getting rained on hard as a result [I had waterproofs, I'm not an amateur], but also finding surprise Whinchats! Been meeting a few of them, recently.

 

So yes, more to come. Hopefully with a bit more regularity of posting, both here and pictures over there.

 

You never know, might happen. 

Be Seeing You...

[[*Currently rarest allowable bird is Long-tailed Skua, on account of Sabine's Gull's regrettable recent scarcity. But Sabs have been doing well this year, so maybe a rethink will be in order.]]

Well, It's Like This...

I am just having issues with my muse. The words don't seem to want to come much. At least, not when I'm sat here trying to come up with an ever-increasing catchup on all the seawatching I've been doing [and it has been quite a bit, in numbers of watches if not actual watch durations].

Yes, I'm typing now, but this is the 'oh dear I can't type what I really want to', not anything actually useful, isn't it?

Anyways, I shall be posting properly, and not just about seawatching, but I don't know when.

I blame gargle, as it's much harder to get things flowing when I know I can't put up photos [thousand words, etc. etc.]

Pictures, visible to all, not sundry, are frequently put up on BLUESKY, though rarely with much explaination.

[Hey google, you are evil and CENSORED FOR LEGAL REASONS BUT IT'S RUDE!]

 

I shall still, at some point,

Be Seeing You...

No, This Isn't Seawatching.. [Oh, Don't Look Shocked]

But it is something.

 

 

Last Sunday I went up Exminster-Powderham way in search of a reported Garganey. I did not see it. Nor did I see the reported 7 Glossy Isbis later in the day [ok, I think that technically I did see them, but from so far off that I'm not counting them]

I did see a Little Stint, 3 Wood Sand, 2 Green Sand, and 5 Ruff through range and heat haze [and vegetation and coobeasties] on Powderham Marsh during the 3.5 HOURS I was waiting on the Garganey  - so not at all a wasted trip - but hey, nm.

On the Monday I was out with the Folks. We went up Sourton Tor, had tea, enjoyed the view. It was nice. 2 Buzzards and 3+ Ravens was far more aloft than my last visit, Mipits and Linnets all flocked up, and again a Wheatear as we were leaving.

Friday and I could not resist the lure of the showy Wryneck, so back to Exminster and down to Turf lock. It rained quite a bit. Then the Sun came out and so did the Wryneck. There was a lot more nonsense than that sentence implies, but what can you do? I'm giving something, here.

Again I failed to see a Glossy Isbis, but I'm not yearlisting. I did see lots of birders and some very expensive coffee and cake [but gluten-free cake and decent coffee, so just about forgiven], also my first Kingfisher in Devon this year [[Wait? WHAT?!?!?]] [[Yes. Really.]]

 

I also got really good Wryneck photos - only the third one I've shot and the second recognisable - at last. One day I hope to get one Here [What? I have ants in my Skygarden. It could happen] but until then, this will do quite well.

Ok, a Patch Wryneck will be needed, but I technically have that. [Look in the archives of This Here Blog if you doubt me, to see 'Wryneck Inna Treeeee']. Better Patch Wryneck needed.

Ok, that'll do for now.

And yes, one day a seawatching blog post will be finished.

 

 

One day.

 

 

Be Seeing You... 

Actual News

MASS PANIC AS APOCALYPSE LOOMS

Ahem.

Today I was stirred from my post-Nights stupor - having decided a trip up to Frampton was not a safe thing - by a text from The Teacher: 'Marsh Sand at the Black Hole'. Having been thinking on looking for [presumably] this bird on the Exe, and having seen exactly one before, no less than 17 years ago [which was, incidentally, the last one in Devon..], I decided that I did indeed feel ok to go that far.

::One very much not Wacky Races interval later::

I rocked up to barely fit in the car park, meet the Mighty JT on his way out and learn that the bird - and very full supporting cast - was on show, and then shortly after The Teacher himself, abased before the Dread Artefact, which was unerringly locked on the vagrant wader.

[[Did I mention I've come off a Night shift and not yet slept?]]

 

Marsh Sandpiper is an elegant little-ish wader, like a cross betwixt Greenshank and Black-winged Stilt, which zips about watery places on long legs [often belly-deep] picking off insects and so forth with its knitting needle of a bill. This one showed a lot better than the other - seen sideways from the Bowling Green platform up the Clyst - though the bright Sun and wicked heat haze didn't help my attempts at pictures, alas.

Also on show a very nice Wood Sandpiper, two lovely Little Stints, a Spotshank, Common Sandpiper, Ruff, and a scattering of the usuals in the ways of Summery waders and wildfowl.

 

Look up! OSPREY!

 

'Hey, is that the Osprey back, high up to the North?' asked a birder who was paying attention. I got on it and channeled Obi-wan; "That's no Osprey, that's a WHITE TAILED EAGLE..."

::Cue pandemonium:: 

A little later, I wandered up to the north end viewing platform, as the Island Hide was a bit crowded for the weather and my nerves. This was a Good idea, and not just for the Wasp Spider by the main way.

 

'Look over there, is that another Buzzard?' 'Nope, that's a Red Kite.'

 

I loitered to have some rations and the coffee needed to navigate safely, and the Marshie and Woodie eventually came rather close, though of course directly up-Sun.

Finally, I was thinking of going, starting to pack the scope up, and oh, here's a butterfly landing right in front of me [and I mean touching distance].

That looks a bit bright... Oh ::Naughty words, sorry:: that's a Brown Hairstreak. In fact, that's a female Brown Hairstreak and she's laying eggs.  

Just you wait until I've been through the hundreds of pics, uploaded the ok ones, and put the Brown Hairstreak shots up. Oh, just you wait.

I even hit the eagle. It's awful, but I hit it.

Kite's a bit better.

Waders are ok, considering.

Oh, what a day.

😁

Be Seeing You...

Something Moor.

In light of once more being far behind, I am trying something different.

I have a variety of seawatches [ok, three] to now report on, with associated lists of birds and whatnot, but also I've been up on t'Moor again.

So I'm going to split by subject rather than time.

Hey, at least you're getting something, right?

You may recall that the last time I was up on t'Moor - aside from an afternoon with the Folks on Rippon Tor - I was beyond cryptic with the actual location, on account of sensitive rare species of a potentially breeding nature.

Fortunately for you all, I saw no Grouse, Red or Falcon, Hobby [or anything else rare, for that matter] so I can say where I went.

Woo. 

Ahem.

I hit the south Moor, wandering from Whiteworks to Fox Tor, then down and over to Ducks' Pool, before deviating from my normal route [due to heat and idle curiosity] to head straight over the bogs to Great Gnats' Head, then down over the Plym to Eylesbarrow, back on the usual route.

Things were complicated from the start as I found I was sharing the Moor with not one but two sets of endurance runners, as an ultramarathon and half ultra were being run... Hmm. Well, could be worse. They were at least restraining themselves to the more well-trodden routes, so I'd not meet the runners until I was descending from GGH [not that I knew that then, but the lack of those little flags was reassuring].

Since my last time up top, there had been at least a little rain, and it was markedly damper, with much more green in evidence, though still by no means actually wet. More like closer to where you'd expect Summer to be, perhaps. Though of course as we've had feck all falling since then, it may be browning over again.. Regardless, it wasn't exactly hard going [I'd think at least once before heading straight for Gnats in winter, say] and surprisngly and pleasingly free of Horseflies [dry weather has its uses; as Horsefly larvae live in the soil, it drying out puts a crimp in their lifecycle. {Yes, yes, part of nature, yes, yes, lots of other things that don't bite through denim don't like the soil drying out. Moving on.}]

I found there were still many Wheatears up on t'Moor, including adults still feeding young in the nest, and you may have seen a few pics thereof on gluesky [they've annoyed me, so don't get their name written correctly], also a few dragonflies, a couple of which even posed, despite the fresh breeze.

It was lovely up there, though out of the wind it was quite toasty - which is the main reason I'd decided to avoid the notoriously hot head of the Erme valley - and in it quite frisky. Interesting times, but that's t'Moor.

The very next day I was up again, this time with the Folks [and of course, Canis horribilis salivatus], for a more restrained time - as it was less windy and more 'ot - around the Meavy valley area of Burrator. Many were the Beautiful Demoiselles about the Devonport leat, and many the species of birds seen and heard, too. 😁 

 

Juvenile and female Redstart, Spotted Flycatcher, Willow Warbler, Great Spotted Woodpecker, and a lone Wheatear were outside the compound and notable [I will get some pics up eventually] when we relocated to somewhere a little less sheltered and with more of a view.

It may be of interest that I recorded 14 species of bird, butterfly, and dragonfly on the tops, and 37 in the valley the next day. 

Far more varied habitat, of course, or should I say habitats, and I suspect if I had been more assiduous in counting say plant species, or even included other inverts [that's three up for the tops off the top - boom boom - of my head] that it would be less one-sided. 

Anyways, 'twas a good weekend, and in defiance of the heat, too.

 

Be Seeing You...

Er, Yeah...

I have been doing things, but the muse has again deserted me.

 

 

So I will be posting, about things such as looking at the sea and wandering about t'Moor, and so on.

But not yet.

What will you do?

Be Seeing You... 

[Really. Will be.]

Moor Hours, Moor Birds

This Sunday - after losing the previous day to my head [argh] - I was determined to get some kilometres under my feet.

T'Moor awaited, and I defied the iffy forecast and actual rain to go for a proper yomp.

Aside from assorted DofEs, I almost had the place to myself, which was great. I covered a fair whack of ground and got to new bits for the year, I even refound - and used - an old crossing point I'd last used while still working at the merry 'vox..!! Better yet, I only got rained on once! Result.

My legs were unamused by all this use, though, and the creaking when I got home was a terrible thing to behold, but it was worth it.

 

And not just for being Up again, oh no.

 

The birds, my dears, the birds!! 

You may be wondering why I've not actually used any names, any places, so far. This is entirely deliberate, as when I said 'the birds', I meant it!

😁 

Part-way through - way out 'somewhere' - I came across an interesting feather on the path. Look Over There and tell me what you think? 😏

I knew what I thought and was extra on guard - despite being in what I did not think of as an area for the species - though I still managed to be surprised when I flushed two-no three! RED GROUSE, which went zooming off low, as is their wont.

 

You might want to hit that link, as I hit one well enough for you to see what it was [just about].

 

Zoggin' 'eck!!!

I've heard them this year, more than once in fact, but not seen any since that time I was 'somewhere on Dartmoor' and came across a female with train of utterly adorable chicks, up very close and personal. There are pics, you may have seen them if you've been reading this for long enough. ::Whistles::

 

Thus the lack of location detail; Red Grouse are very rare and very protected and you do not give locations in the breeding season [or any other time, if you're me].

 

 

Not very long after at all, an adult Hobby came zooming past. I was again surprised and again got a photo. Score. As it is still breeding season [well, just] and Hobby are also very sensitive breeders [Maybe. They're that sensitive. I think they do somewhere in the county but nobody is telling. {And that's very right and proper, too}], I couldn't tell you where I was even if I hadn't met the grouse. Ah well.

 

 

Elsewhere there were Wheatears, including a very confiding juvenile, and my first Black Darter of the year [latter much lower down and soggier location that the former].

In something of a re-balancing, I again got no soaring birds that weren't Ravens despite quite a bit of skywatching.

Ah, I love being up on t'Moor.

Be Seeing You...

I Got Rained On And Everything!

The forecasters lie.

This is known.

But I dragged up early on Sunday [not this Sunday, the one before. Backward Time, this is, in the way-before.] anyway, and even though it looked far too sunny, there was wind, it was in the SE [so even the shipping forecast was wrong.!! {Yes, really, it had just said 'SW to W..' 😮}], and there were some clouds... 

Well, there was also a lot of sunshine and awful glare and generally bad light, but - as you may have guessed from the title - it did get better, with the odd frisky squallish shower coming through.

Most of all, there were some birds!!

Wooooooooooooooooooo

Ahem.

The Teacher arrived a bit after I did, and stationed himself out at the TSWS. Seawatching being what it is - and lone sets of eyes from different heights and angles being what they are - we got slightly different results. As did Berry Head, where the Great and the Good were assembled, and scored an awful lot of Balearics, among other things.

 

But I get ahead of myself. 

Glonk Corner, three hours;

Gannet              43/1

Kittiwake          45/1

Manx               572/3

Balearic             27  

Cory's               1-3  [0709, 0748, 0859 *]

Sooty                 1   [0659]

prob. Stormy     1  [0657]

Fulmar               4 

C Scoter            0/4

Guillemot          32

Razorbill            1

Med Gull          3/1

BHG                  4

Sarnie                2

Swift                  1

Hourlies;

Gannet         9/17/17

Kitt              20/4/21

Manx        323/208/41

Balearic       17/7/3

Fulmar          2/2/0

Guille           30/2/0

* Three sightings of a bird no closer than the Big Shear Line, that never semed to head off, and wasn't seen to come in from very far north, added to none past Berry Head, implies to me one circulating bird doing a loop out into Lyme Bay.

The Teacher had Common Dolphins which didn't get down to me, which may add to this theory.

I would dearly have liked to be there at first light [ho ho], as there were three figures of Balearics past BH, and I suspect they went past the Nose very early on, or were circulating themselves in the northern Bay / near Lyme Bay until the Sun came up. 

Another watch of IFs, but enough quality, despite the almost universally ghastly light conditions [which is - as I kept reminding myself - good practice] to be a decent one.

When will the weather allow another?

The WiSPs are out there. This is known. 

Be Seeing You...

Pushing Metaphors Beyond Sense.

I'm not going there with the title of this one.

To get on with it;

At least the forecast of vaguely useful weather had me to the Nose early doors two days in a row, though reality having other ideas meant I only watched for one and two hours respectively...

1hr, Glonk Corner;

 

8/2 Manx

10 Gannet

3 Kittiwake

1 Fulmar 

1 Stormie

1 Little Grebe  [Nose Tick!!!]

2hrs, Glonk Corner;

 

121/13 Manx

1 Balearic

22 Gannet

10 Kittiwake

1 Fulmar 

65 Common Scoter [incl. flock of 56!]

1 Med Gull [+ another post-watch]

Nothing spectacular, but gems amongst the gravel.

That scoter flock was caught on camera, which is how I got a sure count.

That weekend I also took a meander about the lanes the other side of the Haldon Hills, but nothing of note was found, aside from a male Broad-thighed Beetle, which stowed away in my car and so was transported to a whole new area [there's lots at the Nose, so he wasn't totally doomed, btw]

The weather got hotter and hotter, and with seawatching off the table, all that remained was bug-hunting.

 

So at it! 

I'd long meant to get to Oreston Drive nr Plimoth, where White-letter Hairstreaks could be 'seen at eye level and there's loads'.

 

Well, it was worth a try.

 

I found one, plus at least four Purple Hairstreaks, but the views were more or less eye level [usually looking down at 'em, really!] and certainly the best I'd had of WLH, with photos even being taken ::faints:: 

Being Over There, I had a choice to make, but as it was rather windy, I decided to try the site with at least some shelter.

 

It was actually a lot windier at the theoretically more sheltered Slapton, and while there were Norfolk Hawkers flying about, they weren't stopping in view, the jade-eyed fiends...

 

 

I gave it a long while, but the best thing I saw was a massive - 46!!! - flock of mixed adult and juvenile Long-tailed Tits streaming over. As I was limping off [yep. again.], I tried the little bit by the bridge for one last time..

 

Oh hello.  

Pics Over There, worth a look.

 

I stayed to have a look at the sea [you never know, there might have been terns]. There weren't.

Another weekend, and again only on one day was it cool enough to even think about going out bug hunting.

 

The wind was blowing the other way and less vigourously, so I went after Southern Damselfly. I was off up North, and it got verrrrry hot - 30°!! - but I saw a host of the teeny blue darlings. In one 10m stretch of runnel [just one of several at the site; which I will not publicise as they're protected] there were 8 pairs in assorted tandems and seven more single males searching hopefully. That's by far the highest density I've ever seen there or indeed anywhere else.

To celebrate - and get out of the heat - I relocated to t'Moor, where I got all reminiscencey about Spain as I climbed up a handy tor, before spending two hours not seeing soaring anything...

 

But the views were wonderful, and an A400M burned by at eye level; weaving through the wind turbine obstacle course the countryside is these days. 

Eventually, a juvie Wheatear turned up, so that was all ok.

I would have stayed longer, but my car was in the Sun and I feared it might melt, so I called it a 'day I was so glad to have aircon in this one!' and went my way homewards.

There will be more, and there will be seawatching.

Be Seeing You...

Hotter Stuff. Possibly.

Being Part 2 of the long due Update stuff.

So I'd just been off up norf after naughty butterflies and come away with a score draw.

 

 

It still being all sunny - though a bit windier than I'd have liked - I went after more butterflies, this time a double-header after frits and ads.

Aish Tor had again far too mobile fritillaries, and getting photos - let alone decent photos - proved very dificult. 10+ High Brown and 2+ Dark Green [that's the set! 😁] Fritillary were seen but not shot. Then a lovely Silver-washed Fritillary came down from the treeline and sat and posed for me. Wings shut but I took it! [See BlueSky, it's on there somewhere!]. A large number of Brown Silver-lines Moths had emerged, too.

 

Then I took a small detour on my way home to try Great Plantation, where the wind was even friskier, despite being down in the Bovey basin. Ah well. 

I found a sunny sheltered spot with actual flowers and waited. White Admiral and Silver-washed Fritillary duly appeared after a not entirely short wait and hardly any Horseflies. I even got photos, as Over There has shown 😎  Golden-ringed Dragonflies were out in numbers but not stopping in view, and the Beautiful Demoiselles were posing just out of a good view, the fiends, but a nice Comma - my first of the year - did pose, showing off said comma, even.

 

 

Next day and I got dragged into action by a text from The Teacher; "Woodchat Shrike at Dawlish Warren!"

 

I miss shrikes [anything smaller than them will disagree], and the lovely Great Grey from earlier in the year had if anything sharpened my desire for them. 

But it was a sunny day, Dawlish Warren in the sun in Summer.. Grockles...Hordes of Grockles...::Shudder:: but SHRIKE.

 

I went for it.

 

It was blowing a hoolie, but there was a twitch and after a wait there was the bird. 

 

WOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

 

Only my third Woodchat, but I got some pics and it was Glorious.

 

 

 

And then it was the Solstice. 

🌞

The nigh-inevitable clouds didn't quite extend to the horizon, so I was gifted a half-Sun sunrise, before it clouded up even more. The wind was blowing a bit, and I may have brought the Big Scope along, so I had a look at the sea. As you do. 

I only gave it an hour, as it wasn't exactly ideal for seawatching, and was rewarded with a handful of Manxies, a couple of Med Gulls, and Little Egret - passing by as you do - which was ok. Not dire, by any means. Worth a look, certainly.

 

A re-kitting later and I was up onto t'Moor to have a nice leisurely lunch looking out for soaring raptors, what with assorted Red Kites being seen around and about. I figured the Great Mis Tor would give me an excellent vantage point, with the bonus of not being too far off - in terms of transit or yomp - for me to relocate if things didn't work out. [It's the Solstice, rain is always possible!]

It started very well indeed with not one but THREE Red Kites passing low over the main road at Holming Beam. I skidded [entirely safely and legally, officer] into a handy layby and went for my camera. One kite tarried over a field to the south of the road and I got pics! Woo! 

 

There would be more from the Tor, yes?

No. No less than 17 Herring Gulls of assorted mankiness flew down the Walkham valley, but no kites that I could see.. Oh well.

But there were lots of Wheatears, including extra-cute fledgies, so I was quite content.

On my way home.. Two more Red Kites!!! First by Dunnabridge Pound evaded me, despite a very quick stop, but then at Cold East Cross I was able to get into the car park in time to get more pics. Different missing feathers proved they were all different birds, btw, and all were heading SE.

Another day and what to do? Too sunny and wrong wind for the Nose, too windy for land birds [if you can find any] of insects... Ah, of course!

 

I went to Prawle. 

5 hours from the Point gave a Manxie a minute, a Balearic an hour, a flock of 7 Puffins 😮, and 4 Risso's Dolphins.

[[There was more, but I'm weeks behind as it is..]]  

I stopped off at Slapton on my way home, but the Norfolk Hawkers weren't showing in the er, 'fresh' breeze.!

There we end my summer hollyday, and I am less than a month behind.

I will - no really - I will be catching up the rest, with some seawatching [just a little bit, alas] and tarting about after scarce insects to come. This won't be so hard as a) I'm back to work, so less happy time, b) I slightly pinged something [again...], and now c) it's been too fecking hot to do much. 

Oh, woe is me, what is a Backward Birder to do?

Watch all the cute juvies at Home, mostly.

😄

Blue and Great Tits, Dunnock, Blackbird, Greenfinch, GSW, Tawny Owl, and Swift! all seen [ok, TO only heard, but VERY vocal], with Coal Tit, Wren, Firecrest hoped to be imminent. 

Oh, and be very grateful I can't unleash moths on you here any more...

😇

Anyways, I shall

Be Seeing You... 

Hot Stuff. Maybe?

Updated at last, etc. etc.

Part 1, anyway..

[What? Something better than nothing!] 

 

So, where were we? 

Ah yes, I'd gone hunting for Silver-studded Blues and in a shocking development, actually seen quite a few.

😄

 

 

After an interval of work and so on, I decided to carry on with this and go after some more. News of fritillaries had me going to the Usual Place in hope of the High Brown Fritillary, and maybe the Dark Green, too.

The Sun was shining and it was good and warm, but the wind was also quite fresh, more so than forecast [oh, what a shock]. I used the cunning tactics of finding somewhere sheltered from the wind, with nice sunny Brambles in flower. High Brown Frits duly turned up and I even got some pics; see Bluesky. My first Large Skipper of the year also appeared, so it was quite good.

 

Scores; High Brown Fritillary 6+ male, 1+ female; Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary 2+ male, 1 female; Green Hairstreak 4+; Large Skipper 1; Small Heath 1; Meadow Brown 6+; Brown Silver-lines Moth 17+. [Purple Hairstreak reported by others]

11 days later I had another go and in more heat and less wind got very little on camera, but there were 10+ High Brown, 2+ Dark Green, and 1 Silver-washed Fritillary, with 5 Meadow Brown and singles of Large Skipper, Small and Large White. [Green Hairstreak reported by others].

 

I followed this visit with a trip to Heathfield, where 2+ White Admiral, 1+ Silver-washed Fritillary, 1 Large Skipper, 1 Comma, 2 Meadow Brown were present, with 5 Golden-ringed Dragonfly, 1 Emperor Dragonfly, and 2+ Beautiful Demoiselle. It was sunny and everything was bombing around and not posing, but I eventually got a couple of pics [again, see BLUESKY {no butterfly emoji on here, wonder why? pathetic from gaggle}]

Ahem.

Time for a yomp up on t'Moor!

 

I went up to see The Man*, after a wild letterbox chase that took me to a new bit of the Moor, which in turn came after finally re-finding the Conies Down Stone Row [first seen many years ago on a wander with the Folks slightly by accident, and a couple of looks in recent years failed to find it, despite looking all over the right hillside...], that itself came after 'trying to photo stuff while fighting off Horseflies' at Holming Beam. 

::Deep breath::

 

Skylarks aside, the high Moor was enjoyably quiet. Ok, as you may have surmised, there were a few Horseflies about, too [yikes], but not up on the tops. I did find some juvie Wheatears, which was great.

Time for more butterfly-hunting!

In order to see all 8 species of fritillary in one year, you have to go looking for the harder ones. Perhaps hardest of all is the Heath. There is a site in Devon, but you're not supposed to go there, so I went to Zumerzet, where there are sites you can access. Theoretically, anyway.

I turned up somewhere new - to me for Heaths, anyways - to find I was not alone. A half-dozen seekers were soon joined by twice that from the local BC group.! The Heaths were having none of it, though, and in the five hours I was on site I had three sightings, each of an in-flight butterfly only.

 

Feck. 

There were a whole lot of other insects to look at - and a lot of Horseflies looking at us...!! - and Tree Pipits up high and a Spot Fly messing about the treeline to keep me distracted, at least.

 

I went elsewhere and found a site where I'd seen them before was now totally overgrown with me-high Bracken. CENSORED!!!! So that colony's dead. Well done National Trust [their land, their fault], as ever missing the real problems.

I did get Fritillary No7 the same day, though, with the very distinctive form of a Silver-washed flitting over the Exe-side road as I was heading back.

Silver [washed] linings and so on! 

Now, as to No.8, and indeed all the other things I've been up to [before hot and muggy weather - oh and work 😔 - almost stopped play], I shall be getting to that. It has taken me so long to get this far, though, that it's 'better something now', so here we go;

 

 

I will, honest,

 

 

 

Be Seeing You... 

[[*The Beardown Man, that is. But he is the manliest Man on the Moor - or possibly anywhere else - as you will learn if you go and see him from th South.! 😉]]

Actual Birding News

Steady now...

 

 

With the overnight weather looking interesting, and coming off a Night, I hit the Nose as early as I could this morning to see if anything was doing.

 

The sea got an hour before it got too sunny and in a shock development, I was actually rewarded.!

 

Glonk Corner:

[All S{/N}] 

Manx               8/2

Gannet             10

Kittiwake          3

Fulmar              1

Storm Petrel     1

Little Grebe!!   1 

Wowser! I've seen Little Grebe at the Blackball roost [once] and in the Outer Harbour every now and again, but I am pretty sure never ever at the Nose. So seeing one zipping past south [in a train with two Guillemots?!?] was quite the non-sequitur, I can tell you.

Speaking of auks, the colony on the Ore Stone is busy, and today I counted 11 Razorbill among the - or rather, over from - the Guillemots, including one making repeated display flights; very mechanical, stiff-winged, and Nightjar-like. Not seen that in real life before. 😀

Despite the 'fresh' breeze, at least 3 Small Copper and 4 Marbled White were on the wing; trying very hard to patrol.

At Home, my first juvenile Greenfinches were in this week, though not able to get a count on them.

And yes, my latest long update is still a work in progress.

Be Seeing You...

 

Note

I am writing another post, but as I've been up to stuff it's taking a while.

But I am getting on with it.

Pictures minus context [sometimes] here;

PrettyButterflies 

I shall indeed

Be Seeing You...

[Honest] 

Two Weeks Later...

Ahem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, so that whole 'I'll keep up now' went well, didn't it?

In my defence, I wasn't exactly promising.

 

Hoping, perhaps.

 

 

Anyways, it's been more of the same; chasing butterflies with mixed results interspersed with the odd yomp up on t'Moor.

Which also often involves butterflies.

 

 

It has now got very hot and sunny, which is not weather that agrees with me.

 

But that hasn't stopped me. I was out this very morning, chasing butterflies over two sites.

 

But to that in due course-

 

[["What? No! Post now while you're actually doing it!" I hear you cry]]

 

I will be posting, as it's going to be too hot over the next few days to do much else [[::Mutter mutter::]]

 

And I have succeeded in seeing all of The Eight.

 

[I'll get to that]

 

 

Pretty pictures [or at least, my attempts at them...] on  twerpter and bloosky  There may even be something like context, if not proper detail.

[["Proper detail, what's that?!?"]]

And I will, in less than two weeks, honest, 

 

 

 

 

Be Seeing You... 

A Proper Update. No, Really.

Back after my break.

Yes, I am doing it in one post. Those reading on their phones may be advised to pull up a chair...

 

 

So, to cast minds back to April, we start with a four hour seawatch at the Nose. Passage was a bit up and down, but there were Manxies and that was Good.

Ok, looking at the Notebook, we have 222 Gannet, 41 Manx, 34 Kittiwake, 44 Fulmar, 2 Sarnie, 10 C Scoter plus 3 north, 1 LBB, 1 Turnstone at 1217, and the goodies; 1 Little Gull [2cy] at 1013 and 2 Puffin at 1020. A GND was on the sea and I noted 16 Early Purple Orchid spikes up at three locations.

I think it started as expected [seawatching 'because'] and then got better; possibly the Goddess of Birding taking pity on me..

Next day was a lot 'better' and I was at the Nose after migrants, being very pleased to find a Reed Warbler chuntering away in the Top Dell when the sun nearly came out. With a Garden Warbler also on site, this wasn't bad return for these days.

Other Irregulars on site had Wheatear and Whitethroat, which I was unable to find 😕

Next day I headed up to t'Moor in search of Whinchats.

I found loads of Willow Warblers, 3 Cuckoo, a lovely pair of Redstart, and single smart Wheatear and Reed Bunting, but it seemed that Whinchat would elude me.. Until it didn't, with a cracking male up and singing!

Woo!

 

While this was - I believe - again Devon's first Whinchat of the year, a naughty 'tog was also out, and got on social media before I could, to claim my Glory... Tut.

I had planned a day out the next day, but was dragged up and out earlier than intended [on Nights, you know, not lazy. Honest] by the Teacher, who'd found a reeling Gropper at the Nose!

 

Heading over, it was the same old story; I heard it but could I see it? Could I f[CENSORED!]. Eventually the Gropper dematerialised completely.

2 Mipits and 8 Swallow passed overhead, 3 GND were on the sea, a Whitethroat was singing.

 

So, I had the Big Scope and some rations, what was a birder to do?

I gave the sea 2.5hrs, largely out of sheer bloody-mindedness.

22/3 Gannets, 1 Fulmar, 3 Kittiwakes... Whimbrel were heard but not seen repeatedly; hiding on far side of the Lead Stone, I triangulated.

Then it got better; 9 Whimbrel north in three 3s, Red-throated Diver S [1240], 7 Sarnies, 3 Common Tern [1223], Little Tern [1203], Arctic Tern [1206]

Far better than I expected or had a right to, but that's tern passage all in. You can never really tell.

Next weekend, a proper early visit to the Nose gave a singing Lesser Whitethroat which, while trying to stalk for a photo, I managed to almost walk into [pesky birds not staying in one spot...]. Also a Sedge Warbler in subsong, 2 singing Whitethroat, the Mallards of Hope's Nose posing for a pic, and a Common Sandpiper which posed nicely, but my BLEEEEEPing camera refused to work for.... Arg. 

From there I went on up t'Moor, where habitat from open moor to increasing trees gave Skylarks, Cuckoos, Yellowhammers, Tree Pipits, Willow Warblers, Garden Warblers [yes, two], Redstart, Pied Flycatchers. With Grey Wagtails and Dipper on the un-named river [due to Dippers breeding].

 

A good day.

April's last birding was all around Exminster, where I found no Wood Sandpipers, but 3 Hobby overhead, a Wigeon for a pair of intrepid daylisters, and - alas right after they left - a Cuckoo on Powderham Marsh!! My first on site, I believe. A single Gyppo and at least 16 Cattle Egret there, too.

All the expected warblers bar Lesser Whitethroat on site in numbers.

May opened up with another Dartmoor edge wood - yes very cryptic but wait - where a couple of Spotted Flycatchers showed far better though also far more quietly than the nearby Wood Warbler.

😎

Oh yes.

 

Pied Flies, Redstarts, an unusually showy [to bins] Garden Warbler, and two migrating Hobby made it quite the day, I can tell you.

I then decided to get some proper exercise and indeed up on the tops of t'Moor. My intended start point of Scorhill was foiled by a large party arriving just before me - all in their own cars - filling the place up. This is very inconsiderate; if you're a big group meeting somewhere with limited access, car pool!!

 

Ahem.

 

My backup spot was almost full due to inconsiderate parking as well, but as my car is only li'l, I was able to squeeze in. My Wild Tor loop was not off the table, though, as despite being miles away from my usual start point, I could still get there!

Things turned up quite quickly, as while waiting for a hack photoshoot to finish [everyone's on socials], I got on not one but two Red Kites heading west along the line of the A30. Things like this are why I always have a scope up on t'Moor. Even my li'l one makes a difference 😁

 

After a slightly zig-zaggy route not ending up in Raybarrow [itsa big bog. Avoidance recommended], I joined my usual route at White Moor Circle, heading up to Wild Tor for a slightly more sore-footed lunch than usual, but all annoyance forgotten when a Hobby came screaming by at 0' 😮😁. 

 

It was very much a day of ups and downs, as while I got up Hangingstone Hill with no problems, I was driven off the top by arriving hordes [what? I make no bones about my desire for a little solitude]. Not so bad as I got out of the wind [did I mention it was a bit breezy?] by the Hangingstone itself. A cuppa was then rudely interrupted by a column of smoke rising over Cut Hill.....

 

Yes, THAT day.

 

I swore vehemently, quickly packed up and got up to the summit again to get signal [and fully out of the wind] and called 999. Always do this if you see a fire out in the country. You may assume that it's been called in, but maybe everyone else is assuming the same...

The width of the base of the smoke had doubled in the ten minutes between first sight and call, and as the news may have told you, it burned 500 hectares before the fire brigade and commoners [who were arriving within the hour] got it under control.

Stopping off back at Wild Tor, I was greeted by my only Wheatear of the day, and the sight across the valley of the firefighting effort assembling. Now aided by all-terrain vehicles; a good thing too, out that far.

Then comes some filthy twitching, as a pair of Black-winged Stilts had arrived at the Black Hole. I hadn't twitched anything for so long I was worried I'd forgotten how, but it all came back to me 😉

Seeing Murphys [briefly] and The Teacher was good, but BWS porn was even better [no offence, folks 😆]

 

On my way home, a raptor was quite low over Splatford Split. "THAT's not a Buzzard!" I said to myself, and I was right. It wasn't a kite, either, far less any kind of eagle... young Marsh Harrier. 

O...k.

[Still rather good, but, well, hopes went up a bit]

 

 

 

 

Another week passed and I was on a mission.

 

We now get to the source of a whole week's posting on bluesky; the Great Butterfly Hunt!

 

Glanville Fritillary is a very pretty butterfly and I'd never seen one. Yes, there are those who say "Only the Isle of Wights ones are kosher", but I say "Beavers" [and maybe a few other things]

 

So I set off early [bright wasn't happening at that hour] and went up the 303 [road of dooooooom], hit a right, then a left, and found myself at the wonderfully-named Spreadeagle Down. This may be the NTs smallest car park. It is certainly the only one I know right next to a very busy airfield. But never mind all that, as I went swanning off down a track, looking for a certain spot on a certain bank. 

Needn't have bothered, the things were basking on said track like they were Speckled Woods.!!

 

Also Brimstones showing - yes, just sitting out in the open and letting themselves be photo'd.!?! - and also Adonis and Small Blues, Dingy and Grizzled Skippers... It was rather fun. There were birds, too, but butterflies sort of dominated. The usual steeply-sloping site, but if you can hack that [and the heat when the sun shines..woooh] it's well-worth the trip. 

 

I couldn't not then head over thattaway a bit to the Cerne Abbas Giant, where it was even steeper, even hotter, and the Duke of Burgundys even more obliging. You could sit down and they'd land next to you and let you macro them... ::Faints:: 

 

Also Marsh Fritillaries, both sites. Though less bright than the Devon ones, I notice.

Then on to the traditional 'end of a good day in Dorset' site; Maiden Castle, where the Corn Buntings were singing, and Walls were showing.. What madness was this?

Back to more normal service though, as I got on and promptly dropped another kite. Ah, that's more like it.

[In my defence, it was miiiiiiles away and dropped below the horizon without giving a good view. But still.] 

 

 

 

More time passes. Eurovision comes around and I do my traditional Eurovision Nightjar Trip. There were indeed Nightjars, and I even got a pic of one!

Also a Roe Deer, and a surprise reeling Gropper [which I could not even get the slightest glimpse of. Of Course.]

 

 

Next day I was up on t'Moor, where the Marsh Frits were starting to appear, though ahead of the orchids. I went for a yomp up higher, and my first Green Hairstreak of the year plus more Walls - including a very unnaturally posey one..?!? - were notable, because why not more butterflies? Wheatears busy provisioning chicks delighted me more than all of the above, though. 😀 

Sunny and a little bit windy became windy with a hint of sunny the next weekend, plus added near sideways showers for fun and grockle-repelling value. I was - of course - up on t'Moor again, this time a bit further south. 14 miles of up and around and down and over and over a bit more included more Wheatears up, Yellowhammers down, and another unusually-showy Wall, what is going on with them this year?!?

This was from Shipley Bridge, so much time spent on The Sub - with two showers blown overhead to my satisfaction - though without anything interesting seen despite much sky-scanning. I did get over to finally see the standing stone on the other side of the Avon - which I'm pretty sure completes the set - and it's quite a nice one, possibly with now-flattened stone row, too. Bit out of the way, though and thus the moderately-impressive distance covered.!

 

 

Another weekend and due to Circumstances only one day out again, this time I was - as per usual these days - following the Murphys. This time I was after a sizeable Silver-studded Blue colony on the East Devon Pebblebeds; one bigger than any I'd seen before [my pet spot had an all-time highest day count of 4...]

However, as I'm me, I didn't ask exactly where they were - and with such a sedentary and compact-territory species, this can be crucial - as I wanted to see if I could find them myself. 

This decision cursed repeatedly in unexpectedly-sweltering heat, mounting wind, threatening cloud, and surprise Horseflies as I naturally started at the wrong end....

 

But I did succeed. 6+ males [no females] including one VERY fresh one, showed quite wonderfully. Hard-earned and all the better for it.

 

Also year-ticked the Red Arrows, saw a Good Horsefly, did more skywatching - best non-mechanical bird a Swallow... - and got more dragons than expected with a flyby Downy Emerald while I was having lunch. Yes, I dropped my sarnie. 

Hmm. So many words. Is this more than all last year? Maybe.

I am now looking with what I don't dare allow to be hope at the prospect of maybe, possibly, could be, seawatching weather where I can get at it.

 

 

 

 

Just don't mention cheerfully carefree warblers.....

 

 

 

[Ok, not that bothered; off-Patch and not chasing a yearlist]

 

 

 

[Not THAT bothered? Singing? Singing.....]

[[Singing!!]] 

Ahem.

I shall, once more,  Be Seeing You...