Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

It's been a busy weekend of Patch-bashing.


Dodgy Accentors aside, I've been putting in the effort in the hope that something of all the October Glory would filter my way. Results were present if not epic and nothing brilliant sat put to photo [which was most vexing; if 'skulky' sibes will stay put for crowds of camera-toting bods, then why couldn't one quiet chap score something much less CMF, eh?]

Not to say I didn't get the odd picture, as you will see...


Friday morning saw the best vismigging, with a Woodlark over amongst a movement of Skylarks, a Grey Heron in/off [!] and a Swallow off/out the highlights among large numbers of Goldfinches, Mipits and alba Wagtails.


Saturday had another brush with the local YBW [I'll get it eventually!]. The Nose was very quiet, with the only bird of note a Bonxie hanging around a passing trawler.


Sunday had some passage again, with Siskin joining the Goldfinches, Mipits, and alba Wags. Offshore - well, quite close inshore - a large number of gulls around the remains of the overnight slick were accompanied by a Little Gull, sadly this was flushed by a couple of [BLEEP] kyakers - who seemed to be doing their best to annoy all the gulls around the Lead Stone - before I could get more than a very distant look at it.



Now for pics!

Mr Sprawk

Goldfinches

Nuthatch

GSW

In there somewhere...

And finally, here's some Hammer scenery!

The von Carnstein Playing Fields....

Be Seeing You..

Accentor Shots

Never one to avoid a fashion, here are some lovely if very out of focus [bladdy camera] shots of a dodgy accentor;

Soot-covered head 

from spending time Up North

Traumatised by thousands of photos,

it now instinctively shies away from cameras

 ;D


Be Seeing You..

Shortbread and Si-Si-Si

Ahem.


Yes, so, after Saturday's jolly jaunt and ensuing birdfest, Sunday saw me take a nice stroll up on t' Moor with the Folks. There may have been shortbread. :)


We wandered about the tramways and quarries of Foggin and Swell Tors, before stopping at a favourite spot for coffee and Proper Devon Shortbread [yes, ok, there was shortbread]. It was very nice, with quite a bit of sunshine and not too toothy a wind. The LBD saw lots of sheep, something she at least was quite.. er, excited about... We saw lovely scenery and Mipits. Lots of Mipits.

Ok, mostly I saw Mipits [as for some reason the Folks were less keen on interrogating mobile flocks of little brown birds on the astronomically small chance one of them was a different little bird.. I don't get it myself]. This area is one of the best spots for finding large numbers of Autumn Mipits and there were more than 80 present, but nothing fancier than lone female Stonechat and [likely leucorhoa] Wheatear among them. Off to the south, a single Swallow winged by [east, of course]. C'est ca.

Piccies!
First up, atmospheric archaeoshots;

Foggintor

Swell Tor

Oooh, grannit!

Inside Swell Tor

And up close.

[Check out those accessory minerals]

Scenic View

On Patch, a spike in activity on the feeders, with today 4 Greenfinches on one feeder and 2 Nuthatches at once [I reckon at least 3 are visiting], plus Coal, Blue, and Great Tits. No further YBW encounters, but daylight is against me right now, so we'll see.

First Redwing of the Autumn were as early as last Friday morning; getting out of work to hear several flying over the car park :D
[I had been hoping for some winter thrushes [maybe even black and white ones..] along the Walkham on Sunday, but not a sniff. Oh well.]



Be Seeing You..

Short And Swiii

Very quick note to let you know that the Patch has not missed out on the YBW influx, as there were two outside my window yesterday! Heard them calling - over each other - with a tit band, thanks to a handily open window [gotta love those nightshift afternoon showers].

No sign of any GWEs though... ;)


Have some more to post when I have some more time, though this will mostly be starring scenery, Mipits, and the first Redwings of Autumn.


Be Seeing You..

Full Of Eastern Promise

Just like the old turkish delight ad said...


Yep, so I wandered my way waaaaay up north to the Taw on Saturday, in search of Things from the East.

Only really looking at getting the Dalmatian Pelican, as terns [and Caspians in particular] are horribly mobile..


It was one of those nice twitches, though, where you just rock up and score. Arriving at Fremington Quay, I found a group of lads up from Hampshire who had not only a scope on the pelican, but also one on the tern, which was sat on a sand bank!!

Right out there;

It's by the Oyks..

Fortunately, it was better through a scope, and also had a fly about [including doing an amazing Skimmer impression when it took a drink]. Even better, late on it came back and plonked down much closer;

Ok still not that close..

The Dalmatian Pelican also gave two showings;

But the Glossy Ibis was a one-timer;

Before clearing out;

Other waders showed cripplingly from the Quay;

Barwit

Curlew

But it wasn't just about them. I took an afternoon wander down the Tarka trail

to Home Farm Marsh,

where there was no ibis, but nice sightings anyway;

Mmmh, ripply....

[Thanks to egret for scale]

 

It was a good day, and also an unexpectedly warm one, so of course it was only right and proper that I assisted the local economy [in the form of the caaaaake shop cafe..]

Nice view

[the Taw ain't bad, either] 

 

A selection of others; 17+ Pintail on the Taw, with ~300 Wigeon also present. A lone Shoveler on HFM scrape. A frankly ridiculous number of Redshank along Fremington Pill, all irrationally confiding for Redshank [or any wader], plus Greenshank, Green and Common Sand [I missed the Spotshank].


Cracking location, cracking birds, cracking day.


It ended like this;

Be Seeing You..

Top Banana!

Blyth's Reed Warbler at Berry Head.


GET. IN.


Photos?

Missed!

It's in there.

Yeah, maybe not...

Wonderful little bird, tac'd like a Lesser Whitethroat and very mobile! Gorgeous when you got on it [though I was worried for a while whether I would] and clearly not Reed, if you know what I mean.

Kudos due to The Artist - nicely done!

Gorgeous seawatching weather, too;

Be Seeing You..

Staying Put

Has been the best policy today.

Well, sort of.


I did not - as you may have thought - go scurrying up to the Far North chasing that Pellycan for my Devon list [nice though it would look there].

Instead I hit the Nose, where there were actually a few migrants! Mostly Chiffchaffs..

BUT there was the odd thing flying over, most notably a Yellow Wag and a Tripit. Not enormous numbers, either, but there was something. I ended up spending a fair while there, mostly standing still, staying silent.
;)


Also some action!

Peg!

Juvie Peg: "Oooh, itsa Buzzard!"

Juveniles gotta have fun

[The Buzz disagrees, btw..]

Did I mention the Buzzard disagreed?

 To add insult to.. well annoyance, a little later what looked like the same Buzzard and its other half were required to see off no less than 4 intruders! Height and the vagaries of autofocus limited my recording of the fun;

Not so Low-flying Buzzards

After all that, I decided to do something a little random and wandered up to my favourite vismigging spot on the Moor's edge to see what was passing.

Much shock to actually get some birds!
Biggest passing group was a massive 61 Siskin - though 60+ hirundines [almost all House Martins] feeding over the horse paddocks could count [well, if they'd actually moved off together]. Nice mix of the usual finches and so on, plus a couple of Canada Geese and a small flock of Lapwing.

Best sighting wasn't at all feathery, though;

Awww...

Like the title says, just stay put for a while and you never know what might show up.

:D

It had no idea I was there

[To be fair, very few humans about at dusk]

 And, as we're had lots of Buzzardy fun already, here's some more;

Night, all!



Be Seeing You..