Andrew
wibble wibble
11-10-03
Location : Bowling Green Marsh & Dawlish Warren, Devon. SX973875 & SX987795.
All week a young Rosy Starling had been reported at Dawlish Warren and having got back home I went down on the bus to try and catch up with it. I was on the first early bus and had arrived in Exeter too early for the connecting bus so I boarded the present bus to Topsham to have a look at Bowling Green Marsh. There was a thick fog covering the marsh making it difficult to pick out any exceptional birds. After some study and with some help three of us managed to identify two Whimbrel and a Little Stint among common fare including some winter arrivals like the 19 Pied Avocets and 3 Eurasian Wigeon. The backing cast were 500+ Black Tailed Godwits, 150+ Black-headed Gulls, 5 Common Shelducks, 100+ Eurasian Curlews, 200+ Eurasian Teal, 25+ Mallard, 100+ Dunlins, 7 Northern Shovelers, 13+ Common Moorhens, 50+ Common Redshank, 4 Northern Lapwings, 2 Little Egrets, 16 Herring Gulls, 2 Greylag Geese, 8 Canada Geese, 4 Great Cormorants and 8 Mute Swans. Obviously with the fog impeding visibility the numbers counted are much lower than what were present. On the ride round to Dawlish Warren on two buses I spotted a large gathering of 50+ Common Pheasants in three ploughed fields just north of Kenton. I could only think they had just been released. The sunshine was now out in full force and the fog completely gone. There were several migrants present on the open areas just outside the reserve including 30+ Common Linnets, 30+ European Goldfinches and a minimum of 9 Meadow Pipits. I scanned each pipit hoping for something to shout about. About quarter to ten I came to Greenland Lake and saw some birders watching the sycamores lining the border between the reserve and the golf course. Setting up my tripod to looking in that direction I soon had great views of a juvenile Rose-coloured Starling. It was nothing much to look at really yet I was cock-a-hoop to have ticked this bird on my life list. Admittedly I would rather have seen an adult. The main features were the brown mantle, lighter underparts, orange bill, pinkish legs, dark wings and what seemed like a very large eye. In all the time I watched this bird it was quite calm moving from tree to tree simply to stay with other birds for security. It was then onto the top of the dunes to scan the sea with a growing group of birders. The sea was calm with hardly a breeze making it easy to spot any birds on the water. An adult winter plumaged Red-necked Grebe was pointed out. Around the sea I could see at least 73 Common Scoters. A Sandwich Tern fished in front of us and a lone Grey Plover landed on the beach. I did not bother going round to the hide, instead I scanned the flocks from the dunes and counted 600+ Eurasian Oystercatchers, 105+ Eurasian Curlews and 120+ Great Black-backed Gulls. A Common Stonechat perched on the wooden railings nearby. The other birds seen today at the Warren were Dunnocks, Common Starlings and Common Magpies. The Rosy Starling was bird number two hundred on my life list which is a landmark I have had on my mind for quite a while and it is great to finally reach it.
Location : Bowling Green Marsh & Dawlish Warren, Devon. SX973875 & SX987795.
All week a young Rosy Starling had been reported at Dawlish Warren and having got back home I went down on the bus to try and catch up with it. I was on the first early bus and had arrived in Exeter too early for the connecting bus so I boarded the present bus to Topsham to have a look at Bowling Green Marsh. There was a thick fog covering the marsh making it difficult to pick out any exceptional birds. After some study and with some help three of us managed to identify two Whimbrel and a Little Stint among common fare including some winter arrivals like the 19 Pied Avocets and 3 Eurasian Wigeon. The backing cast were 500+ Black Tailed Godwits, 150+ Black-headed Gulls, 5 Common Shelducks, 100+ Eurasian Curlews, 200+ Eurasian Teal, 25+ Mallard, 100+ Dunlins, 7 Northern Shovelers, 13+ Common Moorhens, 50+ Common Redshank, 4 Northern Lapwings, 2 Little Egrets, 16 Herring Gulls, 2 Greylag Geese, 8 Canada Geese, 4 Great Cormorants and 8 Mute Swans. Obviously with the fog impeding visibility the numbers counted are much lower than what were present. On the ride round to Dawlish Warren on two buses I spotted a large gathering of 50+ Common Pheasants in three ploughed fields just north of Kenton. I could only think they had just been released. The sunshine was now out in full force and the fog completely gone. There were several migrants present on the open areas just outside the reserve including 30+ Common Linnets, 30+ European Goldfinches and a minimum of 9 Meadow Pipits. I scanned each pipit hoping for something to shout about. About quarter to ten I came to Greenland Lake and saw some birders watching the sycamores lining the border between the reserve and the golf course. Setting up my tripod to looking in that direction I soon had great views of a juvenile Rose-coloured Starling. It was nothing much to look at really yet I was cock-a-hoop to have ticked this bird on my life list. Admittedly I would rather have seen an adult. The main features were the brown mantle, lighter underparts, orange bill, pinkish legs, dark wings and what seemed like a very large eye. In all the time I watched this bird it was quite calm moving from tree to tree simply to stay with other birds for security. It was then onto the top of the dunes to scan the sea with a growing group of birders. The sea was calm with hardly a breeze making it easy to spot any birds on the water. An adult winter plumaged Red-necked Grebe was pointed out. Around the sea I could see at least 73 Common Scoters. A Sandwich Tern fished in front of us and a lone Grey Plover landed on the beach. I did not bother going round to the hide, instead I scanned the flocks from the dunes and counted 600+ Eurasian Oystercatchers, 105+ Eurasian Curlews and 120+ Great Black-backed Gulls. A Common Stonechat perched on the wooden railings nearby. The other birds seen today at the Warren were Dunnocks, Common Starlings and Common Magpies. The Rosy Starling was bird number two hundred on my life list which is a landmark I have had on my mind for quite a while and it is great to finally reach it.
B 
