Andrew
wibble wibble
30-04-03
Location : Aylesbeare Common, Devon. SY058902.
Being in the area, we decided to visit Aylesbeare Common while we were nearby and arrived in Joney’s Cross car park at around half past three under dark skies. It had been very wet in the morning but we made our way to the car park the sunshine was struggling to break through and the rain had eased off. It did look like it would rain again but we set off on our walk around the RSPB reserve. My target birds were the Dartford Warbler, any raptor and some Stonechats.
Crossing the dividing A3052 road was not pleasant as usual as this road has it’s fair share of speeding motorists, we then strolled along the tarmac farm track. There was nothing to be seen at all at first and we turned at the second left along a well driven untreated track. It was about a few hundred yards down here that I began the list with the first birds. On a small barren tree a pair of 6 Linnets perched with one singing away gleefully. There was a path running to the left again off this track and a Song Thrush flew off as we approached.
A few yards beyond here on the same track I added the first two of 5 Stonechats, which were a pair and collecting large grubs and returning deep into the gorse. Presumably they had a nest full of hungry chicks to be fed. There was another pair of Stonechats found later on and the fifth bird seemed to be a single bird. The sky frequently had one or two of 9 Carrion Crows passing over.
I watched the Stonechats gathering food further down the track and I caught a glimpse of a bird in the corner of my eye as it moved in the gorse. As I turned to see it, it flew to a small birch tree and lo and behold I had a pair of Dartford Warblers. It was a resplendent dark blue headed and red eyed beauty with a deep burgundy breast. I know it was a pair as I watched the first bird singing for what seemed like an age and then another one flew in and perched just above it before they soon flew off together. I was elated as these are special birds to see and they were my first of the year.
I stayed in the area with my camera and scope trying to photograph some birds with no success and hoped the Darties would return but they did not. Some more Linnets flew around and I spotted a pair of today’s 3 Meadow Pipits flittering about quite oddly above the gorse and then perching in the bare tree. I made notes of their physical characteristics to look them up later in the hope I had a Tree Pipit but they turned out to be Meadow Pipits.
On the side of the track were several interesting purple flowers in clumps I have not been able to identify and some Common Milkwort. It was quite windy and there was a Buzzard using the wind to it’s advantage by gliding in a fixed spot over a patch of the heath looking for it’s next meal. I also made notes of this one because, what stumped me was a light brown set of tail feathers and there was nothing like this in the Collins guide‘s coverage of Common Buzzards.
We tracked back and then up the previously mentioned left turn up the heathland heading for the main road. The path came to two turns, a narrow path running east would take us back to the car park but we went west along a wide track. The gorse were covered in deliciously smelling flowers and Linnets flitted over into a open area behind.
I managed to photograph a male Linnet and just after this a Stonechat was pointed out to me. I wanted a picture so I trained the scope onto it. It was at that point I noticed something was unusual about this one. The white around the neck (collar) was enormous compared to a normal British Stonechat’s, it seemed to occupy a large part of the bird. I noticed four other unusual features, there was a very large white wing bar and the back of the bird’s head and it’s mantle was very blackish. Finally the breast had some reddish orange but it was only running down the top of the breast, about half to one inch deep with the remainder of the breast and belly a clean white right down to the under tail coverts. At that moment I was very confident I had a possible male Siberian Stonechat. All the features were written down somewhat poorly in my notes yet well enough for a future reference. The features seemed to be quite simplified and easy to memorise, it was a bird to remember. The bird was very mobile and difficult to get even a record shot before it disappeared further down the sloping heath. Looking at the Collins guide later on I realised the rump and upper tail coverts were also important in the identification of this race. I had not noticed anything about these features on the bird at all.
With the bird having disappeared we moved on through the small wood and found a bench which was unfortunately too wet to sit on. The path now ran down a slope further away from the main road and towards a dell where the pond is. On the way down four of 6 Swallows darted around at high speed banking and twisting frequently after flies. The fourth of today’s 4 Wood Pigeons could be seen in the woods in the valley. I scanned the pond with my scope and saw nothing at all on or around it.
We now walked back across the common returning along the track we left earlier looking for the Siberian Stonechat with no luck. The Pipits, Linnets and Stonechats could be seen again and I tried photographing them but the sky background rendered the photos useless. The increasing rain and chill hurried us back to the car park.
Back at the car park the rain abated so I decided to look around the southern half of Harpford common adding 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Robins, 1 Coal Tit, 2 Blue Tits and a pair of Blackbirds. When I returned to the car park for a cup of tea, I was already satisfied having seen a pair of Dartford Warblers and I became excited by the prospect that I had seen a very probable Siberian Stonechat.
Location : Aylesbeare Common, Devon. SY058902.
Being in the area, we decided to visit Aylesbeare Common while we were nearby and arrived in Joney’s Cross car park at around half past three under dark skies. It had been very wet in the morning but we made our way to the car park the sunshine was struggling to break through and the rain had eased off. It did look like it would rain again but we set off on our walk around the RSPB reserve. My target birds were the Dartford Warbler, any raptor and some Stonechats.
Crossing the dividing A3052 road was not pleasant as usual as this road has it’s fair share of speeding motorists, we then strolled along the tarmac farm track. There was nothing to be seen at all at first and we turned at the second left along a well driven untreated track. It was about a few hundred yards down here that I began the list with the first birds. On a small barren tree a pair of 6 Linnets perched with one singing away gleefully. There was a path running to the left again off this track and a Song Thrush flew off as we approached.
A few yards beyond here on the same track I added the first two of 5 Stonechats, which were a pair and collecting large grubs and returning deep into the gorse. Presumably they had a nest full of hungry chicks to be fed. There was another pair of Stonechats found later on and the fifth bird seemed to be a single bird. The sky frequently had one or two of 9 Carrion Crows passing over.
I watched the Stonechats gathering food further down the track and I caught a glimpse of a bird in the corner of my eye as it moved in the gorse. As I turned to see it, it flew to a small birch tree and lo and behold I had a pair of Dartford Warblers. It was a resplendent dark blue headed and red eyed beauty with a deep burgundy breast. I know it was a pair as I watched the first bird singing for what seemed like an age and then another one flew in and perched just above it before they soon flew off together. I was elated as these are special birds to see and they were my first of the year.
I stayed in the area with my camera and scope trying to photograph some birds with no success and hoped the Darties would return but they did not. Some more Linnets flew around and I spotted a pair of today’s 3 Meadow Pipits flittering about quite oddly above the gorse and then perching in the bare tree. I made notes of their physical characteristics to look them up later in the hope I had a Tree Pipit but they turned out to be Meadow Pipits.
On the side of the track were several interesting purple flowers in clumps I have not been able to identify and some Common Milkwort. It was quite windy and there was a Buzzard using the wind to it’s advantage by gliding in a fixed spot over a patch of the heath looking for it’s next meal. I also made notes of this one because, what stumped me was a light brown set of tail feathers and there was nothing like this in the Collins guide‘s coverage of Common Buzzards.
We tracked back and then up the previously mentioned left turn up the heathland heading for the main road. The path came to two turns, a narrow path running east would take us back to the car park but we went west along a wide track. The gorse were covered in deliciously smelling flowers and Linnets flitted over into a open area behind.
I managed to photograph a male Linnet and just after this a Stonechat was pointed out to me. I wanted a picture so I trained the scope onto it. It was at that point I noticed something was unusual about this one. The white around the neck (collar) was enormous compared to a normal British Stonechat’s, it seemed to occupy a large part of the bird. I noticed four other unusual features, there was a very large white wing bar and the back of the bird’s head and it’s mantle was very blackish. Finally the breast had some reddish orange but it was only running down the top of the breast, about half to one inch deep with the remainder of the breast and belly a clean white right down to the under tail coverts. At that moment I was very confident I had a possible male Siberian Stonechat. All the features were written down somewhat poorly in my notes yet well enough for a future reference. The features seemed to be quite simplified and easy to memorise, it was a bird to remember. The bird was very mobile and difficult to get even a record shot before it disappeared further down the sloping heath. Looking at the Collins guide later on I realised the rump and upper tail coverts were also important in the identification of this race. I had not noticed anything about these features on the bird at all.
With the bird having disappeared we moved on through the small wood and found a bench which was unfortunately too wet to sit on. The path now ran down a slope further away from the main road and towards a dell where the pond is. On the way down four of 6 Swallows darted around at high speed banking and twisting frequently after flies. The fourth of today’s 4 Wood Pigeons could be seen in the woods in the valley. I scanned the pond with my scope and saw nothing at all on or around it.
We now walked back across the common returning along the track we left earlier looking for the Siberian Stonechat with no luck. The Pipits, Linnets and Stonechats could be seen again and I tried photographing them but the sky background rendered the photos useless. The increasing rain and chill hurried us back to the car park.
Back at the car park the rain abated so I decided to look around the southern half of Harpford common adding 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Robins, 1 Coal Tit, 2 Blue Tits and a pair of Blackbirds. When I returned to the car park for a cup of tea, I was already satisfied having seen a pair of Dartford Warblers and I became excited by the prospect that I had seen a very probable Siberian Stonechat.
