Snow? What snow?!?

While the country supposedly vanished under feet of snow, here there was a brief flurry of sleet [about 10 minutes after my last post...] and nowt else. There's an icing sugar dusting on the highest Moor hills, and exposed standing water has frozen, but the roads are covered in salt only.

Saturday saw me awakening to these conditions, thinking 'Ah, up on't Moor it is!', then realising my phone's battery was dead. Schoolboy error there.. While it charged I patrolled my patch, finding not a lot - no berry-munching trillers yet.. After an early lunch I decided to head down to Berry Head to see if this Lapland was as confiding as reported. The possibility of really good views [as opposed to the usual "It's 50' away in a field full of stubble and furrows, with 100+ assorted Mipits, Skylarks, and others running interference..."] was tempting, as they're gorgeous little things, plus you never quite know what'll turn up there.

The wind out there had teeth my dears, and sharpened ones at that. It was also strong enough to send an unwarily crouching birder over on his arse [fortunately the photographers* present were looking the other way...]. The Lapland, once found [It was sneakily hiding in plain sight, right by the main roadway just inside the fort gates!] was a lot more than confiding - if you stood still would come right up to you and it let people and even dogs pass within a few feet. At most it would freeze, or nip behind a stone - it apparently took a dog going for it to make it fly. It's been there since Wednesday, I think, so this is hardly the desperation of a starving 'I've just flown for thousands of miles' bird - it's just icy cool. I watched it when there was nobody about at all and its feeding behaviour was the same.

[*A couple of young lads from SG - into birds and having gotten cameras before optics; I suppose this is the future of birding..!]

After spending 45 minutes admiring this cracker I took a wander through the woods and down to the Famous Pallas' Spot. In the brisk to strong wind and double figure windchill ensuing there was unsurprisingly little doing - though a smart male Bullfinch sat in some brambles long enough for me to be sure he wasn't a Northern one [not that I was expecting it, but it's nice to a) know what to look for and b) be able to check just in case]. As I was trudging back up the road I met the SG lads [being driven home by one of their Mums - these two are even younger than young master Ray!] [[Yes, that is apparently possible.. ;) ]] again, who'd seen a sea duck off the quarry and weren't sure what it was [Yup, got Mum to stop the car to talk to Strange Bloke in Silly Hat...] Bird in question was very dark and looked quite Eider-y, but the head shape in the photo didn't look right. Oh well - it's not dark yet so I'll wander over and have a look.

Said duck is indeed still sat on the sea off the fishing platform - got the scope on it and it's a juvenile [probably female by the lack of super] Eider all right! Just goes to show that the camera does lie - head shape looked very Scoter-ish in the shots but in the feather no doubt of the ID. I know this is one of my pet rants, so I'll spare you any more of it than 'this is why they use paintings in field guides'.

Today due to a slight case of sleep I again did not get up on't Moor. This morning saw more patch-bashing, with 11 Redwing over the best of it, and Mr. [sorry Herr] Blackcap having set up in the garden to winter on the fat block.

This afternoon I went for a stroll around Yarner with the folks - usual winter Tits and 'hatches - with Tillbury Dog providing hi-jinks that had me climbing a bank to untangle her from a tree stump, some gorse, and a small tree [all in a dog's cradle of extendo-lead...]. We went a way we [and indeed I] don't usually go, and met the granite tramway, which with the line of Beeches beside it was very pretty indeed. It was crisp and dry and cold enough to feel but not so bad that it was nasty [nice warm gear helped, of course]. Very pleasant walking, though we managed to meet every single person there [judging by the car park] on the way. I'm not going to start rhapsodising about layered colours again, but they were beautiful.

Success...

My cunning plan of posting about how ordinary and uninteresting it's been at work this week has worked!

It is early this morning, and I've gotten to work nice and sharp, as the threatened Frost and Ice and Snow of Doom has failed to materialise [In fact it's been very very sunny, then overcast and drizzly, but not even slightly icy, all day!]. Sitting by the mirror-smooth Dart [gently steaming; it was -1 in the valley] I am again vexed by Cormorants, as no less than 6 fly past low, but I again don't pick them up until they're receding rumps... [[Curses...]]

However, all is not lost as soon after a susurration fills the air - Starlings! Right overhead they fly upriver - I estimate a thousand but then am amazed and delighted to see they are but an outlier to the main flock, which is following the ridge across the valley and is numerous enough that their wingbeats are audible! There are enough to form a proper skydancing flock and we can hear the change in wing noise as they shift and swirl.. Holy Shit.

I've not seen a flock that size in Devon for years and I've been wondering where they'd come from. Earlier this week a dog walker had said she'd seen 'a lot of dark birds' coming out of a reed bed downriver - evidently Starlings - but I didn't think there were beds on the Dart big enough for that lot? [[Unless they were in conifers, of course]] I suppose they could have come up from Slapton, but there's tons of good feeding down there, so why move up so far north? Wherever they came from, they were an incredible sight, a piece of the Levels, and I'm still smiling now. :)

Changing tack, I'm feeling a bit detached right now. I've been watching all this stuff about ice and snow and so on on the news, but so far I've seen two frosty mornings, a whole heap of sunshine, and now light showers, a bit of wind, and no sign of anything freezing... If I listen to the forecasts I'll cower inside tomorrow, but my instincts tell me to get out and go birding. What to do? I know forecasters speak with forked tongue, but playing 'Cresta Run' in my little car on some Dartmoor lane does not appeal...

Typical Working Week

So far, with very little happening. Little Grebes on the river now and again, the odd Cormorant flying around and avoiding being ID'd to race... I have reached 65 on my Work List, which is nice, having finally seen a Dunnock! Oh, the joy at finally getting this seemingly most ordinary of nymphomaniacs.. ;) "Where are the Dunnocks?" was something I've been muttering to myself for months now - it's not like it's a hostile environment for them [not least because they're almost everywhere]. One of the quirks of birding, I suppose. I did see a Fox in my street on Tuesday morning - never seen one actually in it before [plenty just 'round the corner, mind - one of those funny things again].

Sic Sic Sic Jackpot!

Yesterday I Was Good and didn't abandon my shop-shop-shopping to go running off after Hawfinches. [Wandering up the hill to see the Cattle Egret was just being polite, remember...]

Today was of course another matter, and after well over an hour of the very lazy wind at Ide this morning I at last scored the flying nutcrackers in Devon! :D In 2.5 hours I got precisely 3 views of at least 2 birds. Wowness. Distant, brief [well, one was a bit over 30 seconds] and nowhere near as good as you can get at for example Bruton, but these were in Devon, so felt much better :) Other finches present included 3 Bullfinch, plus Chaffinches and Goldfinches.

Also LOTS of thrushes around - mostly Redwing, with Fieldfares and a couple of Mistle [plus Blackbirds and a Song]. I also learned one of the reasons why I've always dipped there in the past - duff gen! 'Go right at the roundabout, out of the village, and after you go down a slope there's a stand of tall trees' This is true, but it's not where the Hawfinches are. I can't remember who it was who told me where to go, so I can't name and shame them. Oh well, I knows now and I've seen those lovely big bruisers in Devon at last [I've dipped in most of the other places they've ever been, too, so it's not just blaming dodgy directions].

This afternoon I went for a brisk wander with the folks and Her Tillyness up around Mamhead. Cold wind and an unwillingness to stop and freeze to try to spot the calling birds in the trees meant not a lot was seen - though there were winter thrushes passing here, too. I heard some Siskins.

Goldfinch in the garden again, and a new record of 8, yes 8 Chaffinches!

The Joy of Shopping

This isn't a post about birds. I was in Exeter today, doing Things That Must Be Done. Had a coffee-based lunch in my favourite tea shop - watching the Grebe dancing under the twelve moons.. :) I really like the place [it having the best coffee going helps ;) ] which is why I'm being cryptic, as it's busy enough as it is! [[What a selfish git I am]] I had middling fortune looking for stuff and while there's justified scandal at the parking going up in the new year, the park and ride's gone up already.. There was some kind of parade that suddenly appeared, cutting the town in half with barriers, and then disappeared - I have very little idea what actually went on, there were crowds and an old-style fire engine and what may have been a Crier, but he wasn't crying...? I'm not a fan of all this xmas BS - crowds and commercialism and worst of all the $%§*$%£$+&§!!!! muzak... - and knowing I've got plenty more of this to come is not a fun thought... Oh well.

Ok, after that maybe a bit about birds - as I also had to go to Dart's Farm*, it would have been rude not to wander up to the coobeastie field to see the Cattle Egret, which showed very well. Having spent some quality time watching the Egret [while both bird and birder were being watched by curious bullocks], I made a small detour on the way home in search of the Brent flock which had been at Dart's earlier in the day. I was hoping to set eyes on this RBG and see if I could see the possibly-transparent-on-one-side bling it's got, but they weren't at Topsham and as time was pressing I didn't detour further and try Exminster. There were Wigeon, Teal, Shovelors and a female Pochard at Bowling Green [plus a lurking Snipe at the back], with a fair few waders on the Clyst mud - including one Avocet nice and close and 27 more further off.

[[*Needing seed and a fat block for the poor starving Blackcaps..]]

Hits and Misses

The gap, after my post-a-day antics? Still smarting over what might have been, of course....

To look on the bright side, a) at least there was a Pallid on my Patch and b) if I hadn't been at work I'd almost certainly have been at Berry Head and would probably have had a seizure.... ;)

A quick note of kudos to [Famous Devon Birder] for publishing his notes - very helpful to the rest of us!

Right then. It has not been a week entirely bereft of birdily goodness for me - a sinensis sighting would have been the highlight if I hadn't been half awake this morning; two calidrids flying low upriver didn't elude me [or one of my co-workers, who asked "Well, what were those, then?" after they'd passed] though I was rather surprised at what they were - Curlew Sands! November is pretty late for them, though maybe as they were 1cy birds they were just lost? [Or maybe they'd decided that enough was enough when it came to this migration nonsense.. ;) ]

I still haven't seen Derek, even distantly, and am starting to think he must have buggered off. I did get a lovely view of the smaller, spotty Grey Seal yesterday. Drifting downriver on the falling tide first thing, it exhaled, the frosty breath billowed over the mirror-smooth water, it seemed to pause for a moment, then began to repeatedly breath out - I swear it was watching it's breath! Wonderful to witness.... :D

Weather and daylight rapidly put a stop to Operation Berry Bushes, as you probably didn't need telling. First sighting of a Blackcap was also yesterday - a male came in looking for the fat block [which isn't there yet...]. Also a brief Goldfinch - a real garden rarity!

Things may be about to get a bit thin for a while, as between work and That Time Of Year commitments there won't be so much birding.. :(

It's Raining - Time to Talk Nonsense...

It was only supposed to be a 'risk of showers' today, and I was thinking about going up on't Moor and playing Fieldcraft vs Fieldfares. It's been continuous rain, of the "You won't be seein' nuffin', mate" variety, so I've decided to talk bollocks online until it clears up a bit and then go looking for something. Somewhere. I suppose I must be worn out by all of yesterday's excitement, as in the past a nice bit of rain has proved an incentive to get up there - far fewer annoying people! [Oh, I'm an antisocial git..]

So, what am I gong to foist upon your poor suffering eyes this time?

Absolutely nothing, except to say go read Gavin Haig's stuff on NotQuiteScilly! Hah, you didn't see that coming, did you? :) But seriously, his points about bad behaviour at twitches [primarily in regards to being discourteous to other birders, as the bird can often just bugger off] are very valid. Read and remember, please.

Actually, I did write a whole lot of nonsense before the weather cleared, but I've decided not to foist it on you. Instead I'll let you know that after much Patch patrolling, I saw nowt fancier than Goldcrests and LTTs [again], but I did find a few very nice Hawthorns and Rowans on the estate just over there ::Points thattaway:: These will be worth checking, though doing it on workdays will be tricky due to daylight issues...

Edit: Monday. Tried the 'Get in from work, drop work stuff, pick up bins, get straight out' routine. I got 15 mins before it was very dark. Its just enough to check the berries. Today, no dice. I'll keep it up as and when weather and light allows. At work today, 2 Little Grebes and a Mute Swan flying down river plus another sighting of the Famous Buzzard [This is the one which MD photo'd for his "No, it's not a Rough-legged" article on DBWPS, btw, which is often around Totnes]

Oh, and the corrugated ice on my car this morning was a right bastard to get off. Yes, corrugated - all ridgey so your ice scraper bounces over them. I must confess I'm considering the use of chemical weapons [[ Hello to the poor bugger at GCHQ who now has to read through all my blog to make sure I'm not a terrorist because I wrote 'chemical weapons'. Oops, did it again. Sorry! ]] - well, something with lots of glycol, anyway....