Andrew
wibble wibble
24-07-04
Location : Dawlish Warren & Bowling Green Marsh. Devon. SX987795 & SX973875.
Shamefully despite being the organiser and Devonian resident I was late for the Devon Bash 2004 meeting. I had turned up fifteen minutes late due to a missed bus which I accredited to a late cooked breakfast. Well, that was my excuse at least. Sadly two of the party had to pull out due to work demands but the party included Alan (alan_rymer), Helen (helenol), Ben (Ben H), Gerry (Gerry Hooper), Jason (Bluetail), Trevor (Grousemore) and myself. After a group mug shot outside Lisa's Kiosk instead of the toilets, we set about our first task of the day, looking for a Lesser Whitethroat in an ideal habitat behind the works buildings. There was a lot of activity but not enough to have us believe we might have seen our quarry. Some bird and butterflies started off the list here though namely, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Long-tailed Tit with the butterflies being Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Small White and Speckled Wood.
We now moved onto the main pool near the visitor centre via the first wood and resumed our additions to the tally along the way with Common Blackbird, Wood Pigeon, European Robin, Blue Tit, Common Chiffchaff, Carrion Crow, Magpie and a flyover Great Cormorant. When we reached the pools we simply stood our ground hoping to find some quality as well as chat amongst ourselves with the interest provided by European Greenfinch, Great Tit, Grey Heron, European Goldfinch, Mallard, Willow Warbler, Common Swift, Common Whitethroat, Great Black-backed Gull and a Cinnabar Moth caterpillar. There was what seemed to be an Eurasian Reed Warbler flying down towards us and alighting in the reeds close to us out of view. That was more than compensated for by a Lesser Whitethroat appearing in the scrub. Some of us struggled to see the bird but good directions from Jason and Ben put me on to the bird just before it flew over to another set of trees. That put us in a good mood.
It was now close to high tide and one of our target birds was a Roseate Tern so we pressed on to the hide in front of the high tide roosting area. Continuing via Greenland Lake provided a few more birds including Skylark, Stonechat and Common Linnet but the indisputable star of the show was a Peregrine Falcon gaining height then making a speedy dive down to an unsuspecting Magpie that managed to evade capture at the last second. I was disappointed as I have always wanted to see a Peregrine successfully engage with it's prey. From the dunes looking out into the English Channel we could see a huge raft of European Shags and several Sandwich Terns plunge diving for Sandeels. Soon as we descended on to The Bight we could see the Peregrine Falcon plucking into a victim which I suspected to be a Black-headed Gull. I tried to take a decent photograph but the wind only allowed a record shot.
From around the hide we could only see a few waders and gulls gathering for the high tide roost with the new additions being Eurasian Oystercatcher and Dunlin. There was some comic relief as some juvenile gulls were squabbling over a golf ball that had strayed from the golf course. The gull in possession would fly up into the air and release the ball hoping to crack it open like a shellfish. Knowing how a golf ball reacts when you remove the cover we prayed it would not crack for the young gulls' sakes. Although, if it did, they would probably have a ball! The incoming tide was making little impression on the Peregrine as it refused to leave it's kill even though it was becoming waterlogged. It must have liked salt on it's food! Eventually the water got too much for the Peregrine and it flew off out of sight, no doubt to look for a fresh kill.
In the distance there was a Common Buzzard soaring over Starcross and a Small Tortoiseshell fluttered across the viewing ramps before Jason's sharp eye spotted a Ruddy Turnstone behind the wader roost. We were now settling into a prolonged vigil over the tern roost for any signs of a Roseate Tern but so far they were all Sandwich Terns. A passing Common Kestrel provided some action. The increasing tide soon shifted some terns off the railway bank over to the roost but the only new additions were single figures of Common Tern and a fly-by family party of Common Shelduck.
We gave it a good hour after the high tide mark and accepted defeat making our way back to the dunes to scan the sea again. This brought a considerable flock of Common Scoter that Jason estimated at a hundred and twenty birds. The last addition from Dawlish Warren was a House Martin flying over us here. Jason and Helen were duly worried about the parking ticket expiring so made a beeline for their cars while the rest of us carried on back at a more leisurely pace through the back of the woods adding Small Copper and Green-veined White.
Alan, Ben and Gerry had to leave now so the remaining party of four (Jason, Trevor, Helen and I) decided to try for a reported Osprey from the viewing platform at Bowling Green Marsh. I was really delighted to receive a generous bottle of Chilean Merlot from Alan as a parting token which I am enjoying as I write this.
From the hide at Bowling Green Marsh there were a few more new birds including Little Egret, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Coot, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Northern Lapwing, Common Redshank and Mute Swan but the star attractions were a moulting Spotted Redshank and a pair of Little Grebes with one chick. We were itching to make a concerted effort to look for the Osprey so it was onwards to the viewing platform. Just before reaching the platform an Eurasian Sparrowhawk passed over in pursuit of some passerines.
Sadly at the platform, we were greeted with the tide exceptionally low on The Exe meaning our chances were slim. That was better than nothing so we tried. We did manage a few more birds such as Common Greenshank, Feral Pigeon and Stock Dove. We wound up Devon Bash 2004 at this point and headed back to the cars with my salvaging Dunnock and House Sparrow in the lane when they had already been seen by the group as well as showing everyone an excellent finale to the day, a Comma.
I had recorded fifty five birds but Jason had managed a few more than I did and the butterfly count stood at eight species. The remnants of the group bade farewells and all headed off home in various parts of the country. Hopefully they were all as happy with today as I was.
Location : Dawlish Warren & Bowling Green Marsh. Devon. SX987795 & SX973875.
Shamefully despite being the organiser and Devonian resident I was late for the Devon Bash 2004 meeting. I had turned up fifteen minutes late due to a missed bus which I accredited to a late cooked breakfast. Well, that was my excuse at least. Sadly two of the party had to pull out due to work demands but the party included Alan (alan_rymer), Helen (helenol), Ben (Ben H), Gerry (Gerry Hooper), Jason (Bluetail), Trevor (Grousemore) and myself. After a group mug shot outside Lisa's Kiosk instead of the toilets, we set about our first task of the day, looking for a Lesser Whitethroat in an ideal habitat behind the works buildings. There was a lot of activity but not enough to have us believe we might have seen our quarry. Some bird and butterflies started off the list here though namely, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Long-tailed Tit with the butterflies being Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Small White and Speckled Wood.
We now moved onto the main pool near the visitor centre via the first wood and resumed our additions to the tally along the way with Common Blackbird, Wood Pigeon, European Robin, Blue Tit, Common Chiffchaff, Carrion Crow, Magpie and a flyover Great Cormorant. When we reached the pools we simply stood our ground hoping to find some quality as well as chat amongst ourselves with the interest provided by European Greenfinch, Great Tit, Grey Heron, European Goldfinch, Mallard, Willow Warbler, Common Swift, Common Whitethroat, Great Black-backed Gull and a Cinnabar Moth caterpillar. There was what seemed to be an Eurasian Reed Warbler flying down towards us and alighting in the reeds close to us out of view. That was more than compensated for by a Lesser Whitethroat appearing in the scrub. Some of us struggled to see the bird but good directions from Jason and Ben put me on to the bird just before it flew over to another set of trees. That put us in a good mood.
It was now close to high tide and one of our target birds was a Roseate Tern so we pressed on to the hide in front of the high tide roosting area. Continuing via Greenland Lake provided a few more birds including Skylark, Stonechat and Common Linnet but the indisputable star of the show was a Peregrine Falcon gaining height then making a speedy dive down to an unsuspecting Magpie that managed to evade capture at the last second. I was disappointed as I have always wanted to see a Peregrine successfully engage with it's prey. From the dunes looking out into the English Channel we could see a huge raft of European Shags and several Sandwich Terns plunge diving for Sandeels. Soon as we descended on to The Bight we could see the Peregrine Falcon plucking into a victim which I suspected to be a Black-headed Gull. I tried to take a decent photograph but the wind only allowed a record shot.
From around the hide we could only see a few waders and gulls gathering for the high tide roost with the new additions being Eurasian Oystercatcher and Dunlin. There was some comic relief as some juvenile gulls were squabbling over a golf ball that had strayed from the golf course. The gull in possession would fly up into the air and release the ball hoping to crack it open like a shellfish. Knowing how a golf ball reacts when you remove the cover we prayed it would not crack for the young gulls' sakes. Although, if it did, they would probably have a ball! The incoming tide was making little impression on the Peregrine as it refused to leave it's kill even though it was becoming waterlogged. It must have liked salt on it's food! Eventually the water got too much for the Peregrine and it flew off out of sight, no doubt to look for a fresh kill.
In the distance there was a Common Buzzard soaring over Starcross and a Small Tortoiseshell fluttered across the viewing ramps before Jason's sharp eye spotted a Ruddy Turnstone behind the wader roost. We were now settling into a prolonged vigil over the tern roost for any signs of a Roseate Tern but so far they were all Sandwich Terns. A passing Common Kestrel provided some action. The increasing tide soon shifted some terns off the railway bank over to the roost but the only new additions were single figures of Common Tern and a fly-by family party of Common Shelduck.
We gave it a good hour after the high tide mark and accepted defeat making our way back to the dunes to scan the sea again. This brought a considerable flock of Common Scoter that Jason estimated at a hundred and twenty birds. The last addition from Dawlish Warren was a House Martin flying over us here. Jason and Helen were duly worried about the parking ticket expiring so made a beeline for their cars while the rest of us carried on back at a more leisurely pace through the back of the woods adding Small Copper and Green-veined White.
Alan, Ben and Gerry had to leave now so the remaining party of four (Jason, Trevor, Helen and I) decided to try for a reported Osprey from the viewing platform at Bowling Green Marsh. I was really delighted to receive a generous bottle of Chilean Merlot from Alan as a parting token which I am enjoying as I write this.
From the hide at Bowling Green Marsh there were a few more new birds including Little Egret, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Coot, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Northern Lapwing, Common Redshank and Mute Swan but the star attractions were a moulting Spotted Redshank and a pair of Little Grebes with one chick. We were itching to make a concerted effort to look for the Osprey so it was onwards to the viewing platform. Just before reaching the platform an Eurasian Sparrowhawk passed over in pursuit of some passerines.
Sadly at the platform, we were greeted with the tide exceptionally low on The Exe meaning our chances were slim. That was better than nothing so we tried. We did manage a few more birds such as Common Greenshank, Feral Pigeon and Stock Dove. We wound up Devon Bash 2004 at this point and headed back to the cars with my salvaging Dunnock and House Sparrow in the lane when they had already been seen by the group as well as showing everyone an excellent finale to the day, a Comma.
I had recorded fifty five birds but Jason had managed a few more than I did and the butterfly count stood at eight species. The remnants of the group bade farewells and all headed off home in various parts of the country. Hopefully they were all as happy with today as I was.
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