Andrew
wibble wibble
06-02-04
Location : Stover CP, Dawlish Warren, Powderham, Exminster, Budleigh Salterton, Topsham Recreation Ground & Bowling Green Marsh. Devon. SX835752, SX987795, SX963860, SX936878, SX075825, SX962884 & SX973875.
This morning Padraig and I left Exmouth in the dark hours of the morning to pick up ideboy to begin our ‘Great Devon Bird Race‘. We had planned this day for ages, an attempt to record as many birds as we could on a winter's day. The journey was a cathartic moment as we had been looking forward to it for quite a while and we were raring to go. There was one problem, it was coming down like stair rods meaning we expected to lose some of our guaranteed target birds.
Our first venue was Stover Country Park with the hope of a Water Rail. On the walk round the lake we started off well with Common Pochard, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Great Cormorant, Common Snipe, Common Coot and Common Moorhen. A quick look for the finch roost was fruitless so we went to the raised woodland walkway and watched the feeders. The sun was still struggling to come up and the birds had not yet woken up, this was a disaster for our timing. We had hoped to be away from here earlier than planned. A single Blue Tit provided scant faith in this spot until about eight o'clock when the woods seemed to wake up and birds came from everywhere to the feeder and overhead. We ticked Common Blackbird, Herring Gull, Coal Tit, Common Starling, Marsh Tit, Great Tit, European Robin, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Chaffinch and Black-headed Gull. The Woodpecker was a bonus bird as we did not have it down as a fail-safe bird for the day, the Marsh Tit was an essential from here. We also had this spot earmarked for Nuthatch and wasted too much time waiting for one until I remembered the other feeder station behind the Ranger's Office. We dashed there and saw Wood Nuthatch within seconds and got back in the car to make our way to Dawlish Warren. We were now three birds ahead of schedule on twenty one birds from Stover but we were leaving when we should have been at Dawlish. The Woodpecker had made up for missing out on Bullfinch.
The traffic in Newton Abbot was a standstill so we diverted into the country lanes. Fortunately for us, on the way the rain dried up we ticked Wood Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Pheasant, Winter Wren and Collared Dove. Looking in some back gardens near the parked car we pushed the number up with Magpie, European Greenfinch, Goldcrest, Dunnock and House Sparrow. Going straight out to the sea front was good for ticking off Northern Gannet, Red-breasted Merganser, Great Crested Grebe, Eurasian Oystercatcher, European Shag, Red-throated Diver, Common Guillemot, Pied Wagtail, Common Scoter, Slavonian Grebe, Great Northern Diver and Red-necked Grebe. It was sharp eyes and experience that paid off here as we knew the importance of looking for blobs on the sea and zooming in on every one of them. Sometimes they turned out to be flotsam and jetsam floating on the sea! I later learned the Red-throated Diver was a lifer for ideboy so that was a good bonus. Out of those twelve birds, three were bonus birds which put us in good stead for the day. We now walked along the top of the dunes to view the reserve and the sea. It paid off as we added Great Black-backed Gull, Common Eider, Common Kestrel, Black-necked Grebe and at least two very valuable Velvet Scoters.
We were disappointed to find the tide had gone out considerably so some birds we expected from the hide would be impossible. Giving it a good shot was good for some anyway such as Little Egret, Eurasian Curlew, Common Linnet, Bar-tailed Godwit, Red Knot, Dunlin, Grey Plover, Eurasian Teal, Common Redshank, Common Shelduck, Brent Goose, Grey Heron and Eurasian Wigeon. Just outside the hide we clawed back Rock Pipit and spied a distant Stonechat that we soon passed right by. Near the visitor's centre there were Meadow Pipits galore. We were now leaving for Powderham Church forty minutes late at twenty five past eleven but nineteen birds ahead of schedule on sixty four.
As anticipated, we picked up Canada Goose and Greylag Goose at Cockwood on the way without getting out of the car. We stopped by the mouth of the River Kenn at Powderham for five minutes hoping to score Greenshank and failed but added Black-tailed Godwit and Redwing. Visiting the Powderham to Turf footpath to view the fields and estuary was as good as expected with a few important birds showing well. This was to be our only realistic chance of European Golden Plovers and we got them on the estuary. On a reconnoitre from the Goatwalk on the other side of the river yesterday I spotted a Common Buzzard here in a dead tree and it was still there, it had paid off. Other birds quickly ticked here were Eurasian Jackdaw, Rook and Pied Avocet. We were now eighteen birds ahead of schedule on seventy three but had clawed back twenty minutes which could prove important later in the day.
Our fifth stop of the day was in a field outside Exminster for some valuable ticks that were not possible at our other spots, these were Cirl Bunting and Woodlark. Walking to the usual Woodlark spot failed to flush any from the ground with Feral Pigeon, European Goldfinch, Brambling recorded before returning to the opposite end where ideboy heard and spotted Woodlark which was a huge relief. Now our attentions turned to Cirl Bunting. There were none on the tree tops but we got Reed Bunting, Skylark and Song Thrush. We made an effort to find a Cirl Bunting but having clawed back some time we did not want to lose it again and left to have a quick lunch then head over to White Bridge at Budleigh Salterton. Exminster had been penned down to give us five birds but provided six, despite no Cirl Bunting, to put us on eighty.
We were really pleased to arrive at White Bridge only five minutes late and made a bee line for the cliffs with a brief look from the small hide. In some wet fields just before the bridge was a small party of Northern Lapwings. There was now glorious warm summer sunshine so we hoped for some more raptors. With the River Otter flooded the only bird added from the hide was Little Grebe. From the cliffs we clocked Common Raven, Northern Fulmar, Peregrine Falcon and Black-throated Diver. The Diver meant that White-billed Diver apart we had completed all the possible Divers and Grebes which we thought an amazing feat. On the walk back to the car a White Poplar catkin dropped onto the ground in front of me and I shouted for all of us to look up. This was a real stroke of luck as we got two completely unexpected bonuses, Lesser Redpoll and Eurasian Siskin. This was a real boost to our tally. We had a quick look from White Bridge but the chocolate brown river was too high and fast, thereby abolishing our chance of Kingfisher and Dipper. We were not too despondent knowing we were ahead of our target of sixty eight at this stage with eighty eight birds and leaving for the home straight in the Topsham area on time. It was nice to have the timing going to plan.
Our seventh and eighth venues were the Recreation Ground at Topsham and the Bowling Green Marsh reserve with at least five birds to be guaranteed. Luxuriously, two of those were Izzy, the Glossy Ibis and a Spoonbill! For once we arrived somewhere early and raced to the northernmost end of the path at the Recreation Ground and worked our way back picking up only two birds, Grey Wagtail and Common Gull. Sadly, the Common Sandpiper did not prove as reliable as it had done on all my previous research trips. The number and variety of gulls were disappointingly low as well. I was actually a bit disgusted that one of my favourite and reliable stamping grounds did not play fair today of all days.
We cut our losses short and drove round to Bowling Green Marsh well ahead of time and got within ten feet of Izzy the Glossy Ibis before retiring to the hide. The water had shockingly risen well over a foot during the night and there were only two Black-tailed Godwits to represent the waders! All was not lost as we ticked the dependable Northern Shovelers and Northern Pintails. The Spoonbill's absence was hurting us but ideboy remained optimistic and assured us to wait for it to come to roost. I felt drained and rested my head on my scope for forty winks until half past four when the ninety fourth and last bird of the day sailed in, an angelic vision of whiteness circling the reserve for a good spot for the night. There can be no better way to end the day with an Eurasian Spoonbill. We all gave each other the thumbs up with quiet expressions of acknowledgement on what we had achieved today, conveyed through massive grins and gentle nodding. It was a wonderful team effort that shone through the day to attain such a high total with luck playing a gargantuan factor. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and will remember it well until the next attempt!
Location : Stover CP, Dawlish Warren, Powderham, Exminster, Budleigh Salterton, Topsham Recreation Ground & Bowling Green Marsh. Devon. SX835752, SX987795, SX963860, SX936878, SX075825, SX962884 & SX973875.
This morning Padraig and I left Exmouth in the dark hours of the morning to pick up ideboy to begin our ‘Great Devon Bird Race‘. We had planned this day for ages, an attempt to record as many birds as we could on a winter's day. The journey was a cathartic moment as we had been looking forward to it for quite a while and we were raring to go. There was one problem, it was coming down like stair rods meaning we expected to lose some of our guaranteed target birds.
Our first venue was Stover Country Park with the hope of a Water Rail. On the walk round the lake we started off well with Common Pochard, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Great Cormorant, Common Snipe, Common Coot and Common Moorhen. A quick look for the finch roost was fruitless so we went to the raised woodland walkway and watched the feeders. The sun was still struggling to come up and the birds had not yet woken up, this was a disaster for our timing. We had hoped to be away from here earlier than planned. A single Blue Tit provided scant faith in this spot until about eight o'clock when the woods seemed to wake up and birds came from everywhere to the feeder and overhead. We ticked Common Blackbird, Herring Gull, Coal Tit, Common Starling, Marsh Tit, Great Tit, European Robin, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Chaffinch and Black-headed Gull. The Woodpecker was a bonus bird as we did not have it down as a fail-safe bird for the day, the Marsh Tit was an essential from here. We also had this spot earmarked for Nuthatch and wasted too much time waiting for one until I remembered the other feeder station behind the Ranger's Office. We dashed there and saw Wood Nuthatch within seconds and got back in the car to make our way to Dawlish Warren. We were now three birds ahead of schedule on twenty one birds from Stover but we were leaving when we should have been at Dawlish. The Woodpecker had made up for missing out on Bullfinch.
The traffic in Newton Abbot was a standstill so we diverted into the country lanes. Fortunately for us, on the way the rain dried up we ticked Wood Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Pheasant, Winter Wren and Collared Dove. Looking in some back gardens near the parked car we pushed the number up with Magpie, European Greenfinch, Goldcrest, Dunnock and House Sparrow. Going straight out to the sea front was good for ticking off Northern Gannet, Red-breasted Merganser, Great Crested Grebe, Eurasian Oystercatcher, European Shag, Red-throated Diver, Common Guillemot, Pied Wagtail, Common Scoter, Slavonian Grebe, Great Northern Diver and Red-necked Grebe. It was sharp eyes and experience that paid off here as we knew the importance of looking for blobs on the sea and zooming in on every one of them. Sometimes they turned out to be flotsam and jetsam floating on the sea! I later learned the Red-throated Diver was a lifer for ideboy so that was a good bonus. Out of those twelve birds, three were bonus birds which put us in good stead for the day. We now walked along the top of the dunes to view the reserve and the sea. It paid off as we added Great Black-backed Gull, Common Eider, Common Kestrel, Black-necked Grebe and at least two very valuable Velvet Scoters.
We were disappointed to find the tide had gone out considerably so some birds we expected from the hide would be impossible. Giving it a good shot was good for some anyway such as Little Egret, Eurasian Curlew, Common Linnet, Bar-tailed Godwit, Red Knot, Dunlin, Grey Plover, Eurasian Teal, Common Redshank, Common Shelduck, Brent Goose, Grey Heron and Eurasian Wigeon. Just outside the hide we clawed back Rock Pipit and spied a distant Stonechat that we soon passed right by. Near the visitor's centre there were Meadow Pipits galore. We were now leaving for Powderham Church forty minutes late at twenty five past eleven but nineteen birds ahead of schedule on sixty four.
As anticipated, we picked up Canada Goose and Greylag Goose at Cockwood on the way without getting out of the car. We stopped by the mouth of the River Kenn at Powderham for five minutes hoping to score Greenshank and failed but added Black-tailed Godwit and Redwing. Visiting the Powderham to Turf footpath to view the fields and estuary was as good as expected with a few important birds showing well. This was to be our only realistic chance of European Golden Plovers and we got them on the estuary. On a reconnoitre from the Goatwalk on the other side of the river yesterday I spotted a Common Buzzard here in a dead tree and it was still there, it had paid off. Other birds quickly ticked here were Eurasian Jackdaw, Rook and Pied Avocet. We were now eighteen birds ahead of schedule on seventy three but had clawed back twenty minutes which could prove important later in the day.
Our fifth stop of the day was in a field outside Exminster for some valuable ticks that were not possible at our other spots, these were Cirl Bunting and Woodlark. Walking to the usual Woodlark spot failed to flush any from the ground with Feral Pigeon, European Goldfinch, Brambling recorded before returning to the opposite end where ideboy heard and spotted Woodlark which was a huge relief. Now our attentions turned to Cirl Bunting. There were none on the tree tops but we got Reed Bunting, Skylark and Song Thrush. We made an effort to find a Cirl Bunting but having clawed back some time we did not want to lose it again and left to have a quick lunch then head over to White Bridge at Budleigh Salterton. Exminster had been penned down to give us five birds but provided six, despite no Cirl Bunting, to put us on eighty.
We were really pleased to arrive at White Bridge only five minutes late and made a bee line for the cliffs with a brief look from the small hide. In some wet fields just before the bridge was a small party of Northern Lapwings. There was now glorious warm summer sunshine so we hoped for some more raptors. With the River Otter flooded the only bird added from the hide was Little Grebe. From the cliffs we clocked Common Raven, Northern Fulmar, Peregrine Falcon and Black-throated Diver. The Diver meant that White-billed Diver apart we had completed all the possible Divers and Grebes which we thought an amazing feat. On the walk back to the car a White Poplar catkin dropped onto the ground in front of me and I shouted for all of us to look up. This was a real stroke of luck as we got two completely unexpected bonuses, Lesser Redpoll and Eurasian Siskin. This was a real boost to our tally. We had a quick look from White Bridge but the chocolate brown river was too high and fast, thereby abolishing our chance of Kingfisher and Dipper. We were not too despondent knowing we were ahead of our target of sixty eight at this stage with eighty eight birds and leaving for the home straight in the Topsham area on time. It was nice to have the timing going to plan.
Our seventh and eighth venues were the Recreation Ground at Topsham and the Bowling Green Marsh reserve with at least five birds to be guaranteed. Luxuriously, two of those were Izzy, the Glossy Ibis and a Spoonbill! For once we arrived somewhere early and raced to the northernmost end of the path at the Recreation Ground and worked our way back picking up only two birds, Grey Wagtail and Common Gull. Sadly, the Common Sandpiper did not prove as reliable as it had done on all my previous research trips. The number and variety of gulls were disappointingly low as well. I was actually a bit disgusted that one of my favourite and reliable stamping grounds did not play fair today of all days.
We cut our losses short and drove round to Bowling Green Marsh well ahead of time and got within ten feet of Izzy the Glossy Ibis before retiring to the hide. The water had shockingly risen well over a foot during the night and there were only two Black-tailed Godwits to represent the waders! All was not lost as we ticked the dependable Northern Shovelers and Northern Pintails. The Spoonbill's absence was hurting us but ideboy remained optimistic and assured us to wait for it to come to roost. I felt drained and rested my head on my scope for forty winks until half past four when the ninety fourth and last bird of the day sailed in, an angelic vision of whiteness circling the reserve for a good spot for the night. There can be no better way to end the day with an Eurasian Spoonbill. We all gave each other the thumbs up with quiet expressions of acknowledgement on what we had achieved today, conveyed through massive grins and gentle nodding. It was a wonderful team effort that shone through the day to attain such a high total with luck playing a gargantuan factor. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and will remember it well until the next attempt!
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