Right Then.

Sunday.

 

[[That's last Sunday, not this Sunday.  I mean, come on, what blog is this? You're not expecting punctuality or anything now, are you???]]

 

 

 

So, yes, last Sunday; after spending an hour watching the birdies, I got myself out and after stuff.

Yarner was both cloudier and windier than I hoped, and it took a fair lot of stomping about to find anything much. I then took a moment or six to employ the Big Scope I'd dragged along to scan the environs while I had a cuppa, before heading West[ish], with Revenge on my mind.

 

 

 

Oh yes, here we go again.

A nice tree at Yarner

Enjoy this.

[I hope you're not expecting any good bird pics, as eeech, you ain't getting' none.]

I do have some nice pics, though. [Just not of birds] [[Ah, what's new?]]

So, another go at that duck.

I remember when the famous RCP was easy. Sitting on Saltram duckie pond, usually. But even when up at Portworthy Dam, she wasn't exactly elusive. RCPs being big things, too, and hard to hide. Or so you'd think.

 

 

Not this year.

Lots of looking about said water body and, well,

Sleeping something

I honestly don't know what that is, but there's a male Teal behind it, so it's quite big.

I eventually found the Red-crested Pochard on the north pools. Just. There are two, one by the road, viewable if you are careful about the traffic, and one over the way, viewable with great difficulty. [Or very easily if you feel like trespassing on the Mine's property, which I didn't.] She was of course on the eastern pool, tucked right in to the southern end and only visible legally from one point. Also 12 Canada, 1 L Grebe, and 9 Tufty on that pool.

I was focussing through a line of Willows, and camera? Hah!

I stomped off in a 'Gotcha. It's done. I'm done with you.' kinda way. It was far later in the day than I'd hoped, and I reluctantly scrubbed my intended third stop due to time. But Crownhill Down was just up there. I could use a good walk for more than one reason. There might be a sexy gull up there? [There sure weren't ANY on Portworthy...]

 

Off we go!

Coobeasties.

[There are some winter thrushes,

you can't see them]

Did I mention the weather? Sideways mizzle. Bugger.

 

First glimpse..?

 

But... Gulls!

The view.

[Again, no trespassing here!]

Gulls!

Zoom applied

High counts [there was a slow but constant turnover ongoing];

116 Herring, 57 Common, 22 LBB, 11 GBB, with a 2cy YLG

Also at least 15 alba Wagtails around the shoreline.

Closer to, and much easier to get the camera to focus on;

Velvet Shank

Orange Mosscap

Yellow Brain

Turkeytail

The day after, I hit Broadsands.

The divers are out there.

Yes, beyond the Mussel beds...

Lots of Razorbills and Guillemots scattered across the Bay in ones and twos, but divers?

Up there you have three in a row, all BTD! [Yes, really]

 

Totals; 3 BTD, 2 RTD, and 9+ GND

Not bad. Though not one grebe or duck could I find. It was a bit choppy and afternoony [work limitations, you know], but you would have thought at least a GCG or two..?

The marsh was very quiet bar a lone [though vocal] Blackcap - I suspect the warmer weather has a lot to do with that - and the only other bird of note was yet another croaking flyover Grey Heron [seems like every visit, these days].

Med Gulls were better behaved;

Count 'em

And

Pretty sure these two are different from the four up there.?

The final results of all this madness is 141.

And I still haven't seen a Ringed Plover this year.....!?!

Or that Ruff, or those geese.

Hmmm. Must do better.

Be Seeing You...

That 'Patch' Thing

After all the fun of Friday, Saturday saw me suffering a nasty attack of indecision [also sleep].

But fortunately, The Teacher sent me timely news of a Certain Bird and I dragged myself by the bootlaces over to The Nose.

Oh look, right away;

BlackRed

Yes!!!!!

Ahem.

I'd lugged the Big Scope over and Much Sea Scanning followed.

I found 1 GND, 

At a tricky long range / bad

light combination...

Checking from other points?

3+ Harbour Porpoise, and this character

ZzzzzzZZZzzzz

Yeah.

As the day ended, I hit the Blackball Roost - for the first time in far too long - and I got..

Nothing. Zero.

Even the Herring Gulls flew around the corner.

Well, that was a first.

The Goddess of Birding, She giveth as She pleases.

Be that wonderful birds or bugger all, we have to find out for ourselves...

I've also spent a little time watching my little Skygarden, here's a pic;

Greenfinches

Only two when I'm counting, of course 😕

Also, it being rather Springy around here, some more flowering things;

Mimosa

Primroses

What a lovely way to end a post.

Not the ending to the weekend, though. I had Unfinished Business, after all.

Be Seeing You...

Walking Around In More Circles

Another week, another city, more wandering about after yearticks.

This time it was Plimoth* and I had business with birds upon a theme of red not green.

Cue the thumbnail pic;

 

Redshank, showing

us how it's done

 

I headed over after work on Friday, hoping and indeed succeeding in catching to falling tide at Laira Bridge, where a certain grebe was duly fishing just upstream near the west bank. However, I then spoiled this great start by legging it down to said Bridge to try to get a decent photo, instead of setting up and hitting it right away. Looking into the light and getting a blob at best was my fear, so it wasn't an unreasonable decision. Also said RNG was actively fishing, and could drift off out of view very easily. So moving closer.

You can see where this is going, right?

 

Well, I certainly didn't see where the Red-neck went, it vanished qite thoroughly! I rather suspect it had gone quite a long way, as there's been one on and off around St.John's Lake, on the 'other side', and I have a One Bird Theory...

A nice GND was just downstream of Laira Bridges**

Helpful light?

Ho ho ho...

Hoping the RNG might come back when the tide turned [it was getting quite low] and having other fish to fry, I turned myself upstream and yomped to Saltram.

Blaxton Meadow

[perhaps a renaming in order?]

Not much to see? Well, the Greenshank nipped off quickly, but a whole lot of Snipe didn't

Not being very Snipe-y

This lot doing it better.

Double Test;

1. How many Snipe?

2. Spot the Jack!!!!

:D

Oh yes.

35+ Common Snipe in view, which isn't bad. One [and possibly a second] Jack Snipe was blimmin' brilliant.

Another year tick was very vocal but not very visible. I headed up to the house, then back via the inland route, and

 

On the Gift Shop

Duck Pond!

One of 28

Redwing

There you are.

Eventually one started up the kid's toy routine down-Sun.   :)

Getting back to Laira, I met a local birder who was making a practice of dipping the RNG, and duly no RNG was seen by us.

Suffering yearlistingitis, I abandoned the wait and headed up to the edge of t'Moor in search of another red-themed bird, but it was getting late and not a sniff could I get of her. 

Bugger.

But I'd got 4 out of 5, and while dipping the easy one was annoying it was also somewhat amusing [well, it is now, looking back] or at least bemusing.

Having to go back for a rubber duckie, though.. Well, that's birding.

[Those with longer memories may recall me going a LOT further for one, once upon a time, so not that unreasonable. Maybe.]

What?

Oh, yeah, sorry.

'That's yearlisting'.

As it was a weekend of it, there will be more and I shall

Be Seeing You...

[[* Don't get me started]]

[[** 

 

Two, see?]] 

Walking Around In Circles

So you have a tendency to do daft things when chasing yearticks.

Like wandering around in large funny-shaped [due to a very inconveniently-closed bridge] circles trying to find and photo a bird that shouldn't be that hard to get, really...

I found the right bit of the right bit eventually, in what was very much not the sort of area you'd expect to find waders in. Behold, what is in effect a bramble-lined concrete channel in one of those neighbourhoods were there are speedbumps everywhere;

Green Sand,

'somewhere in Exeter'

It's not that bad, really, [bit like Foxhole, he says] but when you're trying to get the frickin' camera to zoom, it's being petulant, and you notice out of the corner of your eye a shifty type in a hoodie alter course your way.. Well, you start to think of post themes.  [Ok, that slightly after you've got a bad pic, pocketed your camera, and stomped away past said - probably entirely unaware you exist - character with your best 'I am so not worth even thinking it, mate' face on]

Ahem.

Before that, I'd tried wandering around a lot of the Valley Parks, looking for this as well as that. It was a bit windy, but not horrific, and sheltered areas weren't bad at all.

Matford.

Spot the Little Grebe.

I did [at last!]

Along Northbrook, a Kingfisher wasn't a yeartick, but was posing

"You'd be amazed how many

hoorays walk right

past me every day without

a clue, you really would"

No, mate, I wouldn't.

On the Exe herself, Goosander;

Four!

Time for a close-up.

[Ok, a zoom-up...]

I like Goosander,

even when they're

not feeling helpful

"Do you mind, I'm trying

to preen, here"

A shingle bank on the near side of a river far better than the far side of a lake when it comes to getting photos [funny, that].

A very sneaky Dipper was less obliging, as was a nice [well, sort of] Grey Wagtail. A bit further downstream I got rather muddy trying to get a decent angle on what looked like a Green Sand, hunkered up by the waterside;

Redshank.

Sat on a riverside lawn

at Countesswear..?!?

Not quite where you'd expect one.

[And until I got opposite to it, those orange bits were hidden]

Anyways, I got there [in both senses] in the end.

What next? Hmm.

Be Seeing You...

Tarting About The County

As you do, when combining birding with shameless yeartick hunting.

Many sites, many yearticks, here's a flavour thereof;

Have you ever really

looked at a Dunlin?

Didn't see that one coming, did you?

Dunlin not a yeartick, but wandered up while I was trying and failing to see one. I was having lunch at the time, back to a rather frisky wind, but not so distracted to miss the chance of a half-decent picture.

[By my standards, at least]

Earlier...

Spot the yeartick

[easy version]

Spot the yeartick

[moderate version]

Where's Wally, but with birds.

Or, How Many Brambling Can You See?

:D

Right, and now...

Spot the yeartick

[hardcore version]

Ambling about rural lanes and encountering some very big [~300, 300++, and 503 {that one counted as they streamed by overhead; it took a while!}] finch flocks of mostly Linnets, Chaffinches, and more Chaffinches respectively!

A few other species with them and another flyover Crossbill all added up to 9 finch species, which isn't bad [plus 2 buntings]

Easier to photo in a tree was this

Nuthatch

Getting back to the Exe

One or two Brent Geese

Wowzer...

And some assorted scenery,

A day of days, perhaps. 

 

Ain't Devon Glorious?

Be Seeing You...