Andrew
wibble wibble
23-08-03
Location : Bowling Green Marsh, Devon. SX973875.
I got the earliest bus to Bowling Green Marsh and managed to get there for quarter to nine. This early start was rewarded with my first ever Wood Sandpiper in Britain. It was a juvenile feeding along the near edge of the pool. I marvelled at it’s regimentally dark and mottled upper parts. They were pale spots, triangles and short lines on a dark brown background. The neck and upper breast were coarsely streaked and thinned out onto the flanks. The bill was short and black and there was a whitish supercilium that only became prominent after learning it was there. Finally the under parts were a clean white and the legs were light green. Kingfisher came into the hide shortly after and took delight in learning of the small wader’s presence.
There were many other birds present including about 19 Black Tailed Godwits, 23 Eurasian Teal, 5 Northern Lapwings, only one Common Sandpiper, 2 Little Egrets, a Eurasian Spoonbill, a Tufted Duck, a Grey Heron, 2 Northern Shovelers and a Little Grebe. I was also delighted to have a brilliant view of a Red Knot on the opposite pool edge. The details were so clear compared to previous distant sightings.
Kingfisher pointed out a Common Snipe on the mouth of the ’stream’ running into the pool. It was feeding away knee deep in the water jerkily bobbing it’s head. We took some photos but due to the poor light they were not much good. Kingfisher and I waited patiently for any other arrivals and scanned the birds present meticulously in case we had missed anything. During this surveillance I picked out a Sedge Warbler nipping into the reeds to the far left and two Grey Wagtails flying past.
We decided to move onto the viewing platform. This morning’s list was supplemented by many common birds. From the viewing platform we could see Izzy the Glossy Ibis feeding away. Out on the exposed muddy estuary there were many birds to be added to the notebook including many more Little Egrets, a couple of Common Greenshanks, 50+ Eurasian Oystercatchers and two young Common Shelducks. Kingfisher pointed out seven distant summer plumaged Grey Plovers.
After a chat I had to leave as I had business in Exeter to take care of, but I called in at a favourite spot, the recreation ground at Topsham. This was a good move as there were no exceptional gulls but I did get a spectacular view of a Water Rail out in the open, preening away. It was a very short observation as six Carrion Crows soon came along and this spooked the Rail making it flee into the reed bed. Basically the detail I took in were of a long burgundy billed Moorhen type bird with a dark purple front. The most prominent feature was the penetrating red eyes. There were 114 Black Tailed Godwits and a single Common Redshank. I also spotted the second Sedge Warbler of the morning moving at the muddy base of some reeds. There were many of the birds I saw earlier this morning as well as a few other common ones.
In the late afternoon I returned from Exeter to watch the high tide roost. The hide was not as busy as I expected it to be. With the aid of a birder on my right I managed to track down the winter plumaged Spotted Redshank among the horde of Common Redshanks. The Eurasian Spoonbill was present and there was a total of thirty nine Little Egrets.
A fellow birder from my home town, Jeff, turned up and we got chatting about birding in general as well as watching the high tide roost. He pointed out a pair of Gadwall on the water. There were two Red Knot on the far side staying close together as they fed. The Glossy Ibis arrived eventually and settled in with the waders.
There was nothing new so I moved onto the platform. There was a Migrant Hawker and a Chiffchaff in the thorny trees. I learnt that two Ospreys had been seen by other birders, one with a fish in it’s talons. I thought I had seen one in the distance but after discussion it was probably just a Common Buzzard. There was nothing to be seen from the platform with the tide well in so I left for home. It had been a good day’s birding with the Wood Sandpiper, Red Knot and Water Rail being the highlights as well as meeting two friends.
Location : Bowling Green Marsh, Devon. SX973875.
I got the earliest bus to Bowling Green Marsh and managed to get there for quarter to nine. This early start was rewarded with my first ever Wood Sandpiper in Britain. It was a juvenile feeding along the near edge of the pool. I marvelled at it’s regimentally dark and mottled upper parts. They were pale spots, triangles and short lines on a dark brown background. The neck and upper breast were coarsely streaked and thinned out onto the flanks. The bill was short and black and there was a whitish supercilium that only became prominent after learning it was there. Finally the under parts were a clean white and the legs were light green. Kingfisher came into the hide shortly after and took delight in learning of the small wader’s presence.
There were many other birds present including about 19 Black Tailed Godwits, 23 Eurasian Teal, 5 Northern Lapwings, only one Common Sandpiper, 2 Little Egrets, a Eurasian Spoonbill, a Tufted Duck, a Grey Heron, 2 Northern Shovelers and a Little Grebe. I was also delighted to have a brilliant view of a Red Knot on the opposite pool edge. The details were so clear compared to previous distant sightings.
Kingfisher pointed out a Common Snipe on the mouth of the ’stream’ running into the pool. It was feeding away knee deep in the water jerkily bobbing it’s head. We took some photos but due to the poor light they were not much good. Kingfisher and I waited patiently for any other arrivals and scanned the birds present meticulously in case we had missed anything. During this surveillance I picked out a Sedge Warbler nipping into the reeds to the far left and two Grey Wagtails flying past.
We decided to move onto the viewing platform. This morning’s list was supplemented by many common birds. From the viewing platform we could see Izzy the Glossy Ibis feeding away. Out on the exposed muddy estuary there were many birds to be added to the notebook including many more Little Egrets, a couple of Common Greenshanks, 50+ Eurasian Oystercatchers and two young Common Shelducks. Kingfisher pointed out seven distant summer plumaged Grey Plovers.
After a chat I had to leave as I had business in Exeter to take care of, but I called in at a favourite spot, the recreation ground at Topsham. This was a good move as there were no exceptional gulls but I did get a spectacular view of a Water Rail out in the open, preening away. It was a very short observation as six Carrion Crows soon came along and this spooked the Rail making it flee into the reed bed. Basically the detail I took in were of a long burgundy billed Moorhen type bird with a dark purple front. The most prominent feature was the penetrating red eyes. There were 114 Black Tailed Godwits and a single Common Redshank. I also spotted the second Sedge Warbler of the morning moving at the muddy base of some reeds. There were many of the birds I saw earlier this morning as well as a few other common ones.
In the late afternoon I returned from Exeter to watch the high tide roost. The hide was not as busy as I expected it to be. With the aid of a birder on my right I managed to track down the winter plumaged Spotted Redshank among the horde of Common Redshanks. The Eurasian Spoonbill was present and there was a total of thirty nine Little Egrets.
A fellow birder from my home town, Jeff, turned up and we got chatting about birding in general as well as watching the high tide roost. He pointed out a pair of Gadwall on the water. There were two Red Knot on the far side staying close together as they fed. The Glossy Ibis arrived eventually and settled in with the waders.
There was nothing new so I moved onto the platform. There was a Migrant Hawker and a Chiffchaff in the thorny trees. I learnt that two Ospreys had been seen by other birders, one with a fish in it’s talons. I thought I had seen one in the distance but after discussion it was probably just a Common Buzzard. There was nothing to be seen from the platform with the tide well in so I left for home. It had been a good day’s birding with the Wood Sandpiper, Red Knot and Water Rail being the highlights as well as meeting two friends.
