Backwater Birding - Seaton, Devon (1 Viewer)

[Steve Waite]

Three words to describe this morning; WET and STORM PETRELS!

The rain has obviously effected these Dancing Sea Fairies, and after hearing Ian M had seen a few from Beer I trotted off down to the Seaton Seafront. I immediatly picked up two, really REALLY close in. One was feeding around the closest black and yellow flag, and another came 'dancing' through my scope at half the distance! Best views I've ever had from here by a long shot. They ended up pairing up together and spent the rest of the time I was watching feeding around the flag. I then nipped up to Seaton Hole, and soon picked up another 3 Stormies from here (though these were at normal Stormie distance). In a break in the weather 2 Manxies, 2 Balearics (thanks Ian!) and several Gannets flew west too. I wish I stayed watching a little longer though as Ian M shortly afterwards had a small pale-phased Skua fly west past Beer, bummer!

A look up the estuary produced my first Whimbrel of the autumn, then Colyford Common gave 5+ Blackwits, 1 Dunlin and 6 Common Sands.

 

[Gavin Haig]

Storm Petrels are always a delight - just wish they were a lot closer though...

Well, I got my wish today. A goodly stint of peering though the sheets of rain this afternoon provided me with 12 Stormies, the closest at no more than 150m. Very nice too. Also 133 Gannets, 107 Manxies, 4 Kitts, 6 Common Scoter and 1 Razorbill. This is no doubt just a percentage of what actually passed me, as most birds (especially Stormies) had no trouble disappearing in the troughs of the rough sea. Perhaps surprisingly, I couldn't string any Balearics - not even one.

 

[Steve Waite]

I know its just off patch but 15 Stormies feeding off Sidmouth Seafront this evening (per Clive!). If you bird a section of the south coast of Devon/Dorset/Cornwall and Storm Petrel is a species missing from your patch list, look out to sea tomorrow morning! The number of birds around is simply amazing, Terry Smith had 51 following one boat this afternoon off Exmouth!! And Berry Head had a little short of a trillion fly west today!!

At last, it's stopped raining!

 

[Terry Smith]

The number of birds around is simply amazing, Terry Smith had 51 following one boat this afternoon off Exmouth!! QUOTE]

Actually they were seen on Tuesday Steve! Even I don't go out in that sort of weather! :-O

Said Stormies followed a little fishing boat passing close in to Orcombe Point, but I couldn't see whether any entered the Exe estuary behind the boat, as the distance was too far.............

 

[Gavin Haig]

If you bird a section of the south coast of Devon/Dorset/Cornwall and Storm Petrel is a species missing from your patch list, look out to sea tomorrow morning!

Good thing I'm not in that boat, 'cos a look out to sea this morning didn't reward me with any Stormies! Mind you, I did miss one, which Karen didn't. By the time I packed in, around 07:40, I hadn't seen any shearwaters either, and only 4 Kittiwakes and a single distant auk sp. However, this seeming dearth of seawatching fare was more than compensated by the appearance of 7 skuas - 4 Arctics E together, 2 Arctics W and a spooned-up adult pale phase Pom which loitered in the bay for an hour! Result!!

 

[Steve Waite]

Seawatched for am hour from 08:25. Birds passing west included: 1 Manxie, 3 Whimbrel, 9 Sandwich Terns and 2 Razorbills. A surprise was a female Gadwall which spent about 20 minutes flying around the bay; poor girl really didn't know where to go! One minute she'd be bolting through east at an extreme distance, then she'd be flying back west virtually over the beach! Who know's where she finally went? (maybe the ducks in white coats came and took her away!!?). A few days ago on Gavs blog he was waffling about how great it is to see things actually migrating (he mentioned the Avocets in/off in spring). Well this morning, I witnessed the first passerine 'vis mig' of the autumn, when five Sand Martins flew south over my head, over the beach and disappeared from view still heading south a long long way out to sea....bye bye..... At least 600 large Gulls fed offshore for virtually the whole hour I was there, but amazingly nothing joined them.

After this a look along the estuary produced 4 Dunlin and a Lapwing. A Common Sand was sat in the middle of a field opposite Stedcombe Vale and on Bridge Marsh were 5 Blackwits, 2 Whimbrel and a Green Sand.

 

[Gavin Haig]

A few days ago on Gavs blog he was waffling...

????????

Harsh!

....but probably fair....

 

[KarenWoolley]

I set the alarm for 5.00 this morning with every intention of being in position and seawatching at the Yacht Club by 6.00. I got up in time, but somehow I managed to procrastinate in fine style until nine minutes past six when I got a text from Gav. 'Skuas lingering in the bay, including adult Pom' it said. I had a flashback to the 3rd of May, will I ever learn?!!

Undeterred, I optimistically rushed out as soon as I could (yes, I had been loafing around in my dressing gown again!) I was there in 4 minutes! I had missed SIX Arctic Skuas but luckily the Pom had been having a rest and soon reappeared and gave some superb prolonged views. Brilliant stuff! |:d| (Oh, and inconsequentially a yeartick too! )

I also had a very brief glimpse of a Stormie, which vanished into a trough never to be seen again...

At least 600 large Gulls fed offshore for virtually the whole hour I was there, but amazingly nothing joined them.

At about 8:10 something did join them, not something you'd expect though!!!
There were two of them, they flew out of the estuary and low over the sea heading straight for the feeding flock. When they arrived they plonked themselves down right in the middle and just floated there doing nothing!! Weird! What were they? Mute Swans! What, with these and Steve's disorientated Gadwall it appears that it's silly season for wildfowl at the moment!! :eek!:

Steve's mention of Sand Martins leaving, prompted me to pop over to Colyton and take the dog for a walk along the Coly to see if the ones there had survived yesterday's deluge. The water level had indeed risen above some of the nest holes but there were lots of Sand Martins on the wing. I would estimate at least twice as many as earlier in the month, so I presume many were fledged young, just in time then, so it seems.|=)|

Lastly, fortunately Rex's colouring makes him stand out from his surroundings like a sore thumb, which stops me losing sight of him too often. Well usually anyway. For a time today I couldn't see him anywhere because he was foraging around in what is obviously his natural environment, he was nicely camouflaged.

 

[Steve Waite]

????????
Harsh!
....but probably fair....

Certainly not meant harshly, Gav. Your blog is a cracking good read!

 

[Terry Smith]

Interesting to read that Steve had some Sand Martins leaving the country in haste! I had 3 of the little blighters leaving over Orcombe Point on the 1st! I watched them, thinking they would turn back, but they disappeared into the distance, until they were micro-specks over the distant horizon!

Could you send some of your wandering "sea" ducks along my way. Apart from a spring Tuftie, I haven't had any other freshwater ducks off Exmouth.

Karen, I have often had Mute Swans sitting on the sea, off Budleigh Salterton. They fly down the Otter and do a few circuits & bumps, before gliding in on the briny! Thus, our Whooper back in late winter sat on the sea, about 3 quarters of a mile out, seemed strange, but not so strange! (If you get my drift )

Only 3 Stormies off Orcombe Point at lunchtime, but the sun was producing an almost permanent glare on the sea. When the odd cloud came over, it seemed to be the time for the Stormies to suddenly show themselves.

 

[KarenWoolley]

Terry - I didn't mean weird that they were on the sea par se. Just that they chose to land right in the midst of a feeding flock of gulls. They're just nosey I suppose!

 

[Steve Waite]

A look along the estuary this morning showed the Lapwing was still present, and counts of eight Dunlin and six Blackwits (all summer plumaged) were both increases on previous days. Of interest one of the Blackwits was colour-ringed, it remained distant but appeared to be red above pale blue left leg and pale green above yellow right leg with a metal ring below joint. Best of all though was my first Med Gull of the autumn, a stunning adult - nice!

 

[bun]

Not much birding from me recently, but did manage to catch up with some Storm Petrels off the spot on, on tuesday evening (8th) and again off Beer the following morning.

Also while hedgecutting in Branscombe this afternoon ( before the showers) 2 juv Peregrine,s making quite a din, hassling the adult female, overhead near the church..

 

[Gavin Haig]

Certainly not meant harshly, Gav. Your blog is a cracking good read!

Thank-you Steve! If there's ever a book, you are getting a free copy. :t:

Time for nothing more than a look at the river today. An afternoon browse produced my first 'autumn' Greenshank from the Farm Gate - a very nervy and busy individual, it would stick its bill in the water at a 45 degree angle, and then rush forward really quick, sweeping it to and fro like a demented Avocet! On the way home I had a look at Bridge Marsh, where a nice little pool has formed over the far side. 11 absolutely spanking summer-plumaged Blackwits were prodding around nearby. I wonder how much turnover we are getting with this species? Quite a few different individuals/groups have been through I reckon.

 

[KarenWoolley]

I had a quick look along the river this morning, there were 4 Dunlin, 2 Common Sandpipers, 2 Lapwings and 4 Blackwits along with my first Med Gulls of the autumn, two lovely adults. A walk in Morganhayes Woods with the dog was brightened up a little bit by spotting three juvenile Spotted Flycatchers.

 

[bun]

Got out and about early afternoon today, first stop Beer Quarry, Moorhens have produced a second brood with at least 4 fluffy black youngsters, also a few Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs (including a juv) also in the field next to quarry a family of Whitethroats 1 adult, 3 juvs...

Also good numbers of Butterflies including 6+ marbled whites, 15+ Ringlets and a few Red Admiral, also my first Humming Bird Hawkmoth of the year.

At Colyford Common this afternoon things were pretty much the same, 2 Lapwing, 2 Green sands, and 11 Blackwits..

 

[Steve Waite]

A walk in Morganhayes Woods with the dog was brightened up a little bit by spotting three juvenile Spotted Flycatchers.

Brightened up and Spotted Flycatcher are surely mutually exclusive!

Having worked the last four nights, I thought I'd make the most of tonight so I went Owling, Karen joined me. In Musbury we had some lovely views of four Little Owls (two at one site and singles at two sites), then from the farm gate the Barn Owl was hunting over the marsh at about 22:00.

 

[Gavin Haig]

A quick trot along the river before breakfast (including a distant gaze at the Coly Marsh scrape from the Farm Gate) produced evidence of a little more wader passage: 7 Common Sands, 3 Green Sands, 7 Dunlin, 5 Lapwings, a Greenshank and a Ringed Plover.

 

[Steve Waite]

As Gav has already said, seems to be a few more waders about today. A look around the river mid afternoon produced (in bird-book order, ish!): 5 Lapwing, 2 Ringed Plover (1 ad, 1 juv), 5 Dunlin, 4 Blackwits, 4 Whimbrel, 4 Greenshank (all smart adults - superb to watch feeding as a team), 35+ Redshank, 1 Green Sand and 4 Common Sands.

Attached are a couple of ropey Whimbrel pics!

 

[Steve Waite]

Just been out for another sweep of the estuary. Well worth it as one of my favourites was awaiting me, a pristine juv Med Gull. I just love 'em! They really remind me of mini juv Yellow-legged Gulls. This beats last years first juv by a day, and 2006's first juv Med by two days! On this trip out also saw three Green Sands from the farm gate. Click here for a ropey video of the Med.

Forgot to mention in my first post that I saw a few Small Red-eyed Damselflies at Lower Bruckland earlier today.