Backwater Birding - Seaton, Devon (1 Viewer)

[Larry Sweetland]

So what's this big grey square labelled "Bonaparte's Gull at Seaton" all about then crew ?

And well done on the Iberian Chiffchaff...it just goes on and on !

I wish I lived in Seaton !

 

[Gavin Haig]

....along with a beautiful demoiselle......

Had one of these fly through the garden today, looking for the pond that's coming soon. Nice to hear the Tree Pipits are at home, James.

Steve fell foul of a couple of the Bonanza Penalty categories today.

1. Gross rarity-finding greed (that's a 50 point deduction)
2. Exceeding the weekly adrenaline allowance (minus 20 points)

Around 11:00 I get a call from Steve. As seems to be the norm these days, slightly panicky:
"Can you get to Coronation Corner right now?"
I needed to know why - not in the mood for surprises today.
"I've got a small Black-headed Gull with an all-black bill....."
Even though Steve never committed himself I KNEW (and so did he, I suspect - probably just couldn't believe it) that it was going to be the Patch's first Bonaparte's Gull. I was at home, but the drive round to Coronation Corner just took forever, with massive jams and cra-a-awling snails. About 6 minutes later I was there. Initially the bird was a bit distant, but looked promising, even in the haze. I hurried over to the grass by the picnic tables, and a low helicopter came over, flushing all the gulls. The Bonaparte's, fortunately, flew closer, giving Steve and me clinching views of this little cracker. But before we could take any pics it simply upped and left, flying off high to the NW. I must have watched it for no more than 5 minutes, so its disappearance was a real shame - Karen arrived a minute or two later, as did Ian M, so celebrations had to be fairly muted. No air guitar at all. Anyway, that was it. Or so we thought..........

I was half way though this post when the phone went off again. It's back! This time sticking around for (almost) all to see. Bit of heat haze made digiscoping tricky, but (with apologies for the quality) here are some shots anyway. It's a 1st-summer, so not the bird that was on the Otter estuary a while back (which was a 2nd-winter). So, an Axe first, our 14th(!!!) gull species this year, and my first Bonaparte's Gull for aeons.

...I've posted a pic below that you can print out and use when your kids get bored with 'Where's Wally?'. This first one is easy, but they will get progressively trickier - just wait until we get a Bonaparte's in a massive BHG flock!

Now there was a threat I never expected to carry out, but the last shot is my best attempt at doing so.

 

[Steve Waite]

AMAZING DAY!!!!

Spent the first four hours of the day ringing in Combpyne, I got to play around with a few nice birds, but I couldn't have dreamt about what was around the corner!!!

On the way home, I thought I'd check out the river, and a quick bin scan from Cori Corner showed a little gang of 30+ Black-heads up river....oh well, I thought I'd better get my scope out!!! They were hazy, but I could still make out a sightly odd looking one in there!!! It looked a tad smaller, its head pattern looked wrong....and the bill looked all black...but it was very hard to make out, any zoom increase on my scope and it all went blurry! Anyway, thought I'd give Gav a bell!!! Before he got on site, the thing stepped out of the water...hmmm...I thought, those legs look pink!!!

Gav arrived, and as he was walking closer to it, everything went up thanks to a low flying heli....but luckily I kept the scope on it....wow, did it look small in flight, and this made me run up to Gav shouting "It IS a Bonaparte's!!!!" We then got super views of it on the water....but then it flew off...strongly north west and we thought that was it!!!!!!

Anyway, mid afternoon, I went back down the river and there it was!!!! Again from Coronation Corner, and I'm so glad everyone (nearly) has got to see it!!!! What a superb bird!!!! Real cracker, and so tiny!!!! Attached are my efforts. FIRST FOR THE AXE!!!!! Our 3rd BB of the year, our 2nd in three days!!!!

 

[KarenWoolley]

I was THRILLED to see my fourth lifer in less than a week today!!!! |=)| With the 'interesting' Bonaparte's Gull. Especially after having missed it this AM.

I must say it was not at all easy to tell from the black headed gulls and I'm sure I'd never had noticed it myself.

Well Done Steve, a real purple patch for you at the moment.......and long may it continue!! The adrenalin's good for your heart!!

After having had really good views of the Bonaparte's, I thought I would be able to ID one in future.

I soon had a chance at Colyford Common. Phil rang to ask me if one of the flock of black headed gulls which had just landed on the scrape was the Bonaparte's. I had a quick look from the platform and they were all swimming ..... one looked like the right one so I texted 'Yes' :eek!: Big mistake!! I thought I'd better move up to the hide and get closer because I could see several birders keen to see said bird at the farm gate. When I got to the hide and had a closer look I was pretty sure I'd made a mistake. There was one with a black bill but no little pink legs!! Better amend that text I thought..........

Looked up to the Farm Gate they'd all gone..................


Oh no! ...................they're on their way here!!


I would like to unreservedly apologise to said birders who trudged down to Colyford Common for nothing.

SORRY I'm rubbish at Gulls! |:$|

I will now go and lock myself in a darkened room in shame!:flyaway:

 

[bun]

Nice one with the Bonapartes Gull, my 3rd lifer in a week - well done steve, think i owe you a chinese takeaway!...Karen your not alone in I.D.ing Gulls, I really struggle unless there adults in summer plummage! Gull flocks are something i think i need to study more in the future....14 different species of Gull on the patch so far this year, excellent!! I wonder what will be the next one to fall?? hopefully a nice summer plum, Sabine"s.

 

[Steve Waite]

Went back out after I wrote my last post, no Bonaparte's but was pleased to see the Iceland Gull STILL on the saltmarsh opposite Coronation Corner plus 6 Barwits (including 2 red ones).

Karen I'm sure they could have done with the extra walk anyway!!!!

Just realised, the last day of Feb was the Laughing Gull, today is the last day of April.....so the last day of June....that must be the Slender-billed?

EDIT: Found a shot I fired off that just about shows the star birds underwing....mega out of focus though!!

 

[Jos Stratford]

The Seaton seagull factory in action again! Good on you lads and lasses, long may it continue.

 

[Gavin Haig]

I will now go and lock myself in a darkened room in shame!:flyaway:

Absolutely no shame Karen! Bonaparte's Gull is NOT easy - especially a 1st-year bird, and even more so if you can't see its little pink legs! Talking of which - even Steve's not easy at range unless he's got his shorts on......3

EDIT - great underwing shot Steve!!

 

[Andrew]

Just realised, the last day of Feb was the Laughing Gull, today is the last day of April.....so the last day of June....that must be the Slender-billed?

I've just put this on my calendar for June 30th....."Sit outside Frydays with a large fish and chip lunch then just eat and wait".

Mind you, do I bother coming down on May 31st?

 

[Simon Wakely]

Hi All, Farm Gate 6.30pm 11 Whimbrel, 5 Black Tailed Godwits 2 in Summer plummage. Both Egyptian on Coly common.

 

[Roger Boswell]

The Egyptian Geese were getting very amorous in front of Colyton Hide this morning - until eventually she said yes! Hope they have built a nest somewhere.

 

[Ranger James]

I wonder whether the amazing glut of stonking gulls this year is a combination of committed observation effort (flattery) and just a perfect gull viewing estuary (realism)?

The Axe has got excellent numbers of gulls roosting, and they are often in accessible areas for viewing, so a sharp pair of eyes (as sported by the likes of SW, GH, KW et al) can pick out anomolies which would be impossible to find on larger estuaries.

Any other suggestions as to why we seem so blessed? Or is it just a good gull year?

James

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Just realised, the last day of Feb was the Laughing Gull, today is the last day of April.....so the last day of June....that must be the Slender-billed?

QUOTE]


Or, put another way, what slipped through the net on the last days of January and March...?

Well done on the continued run of good fortune. (And, of course, the commitment required to make the best of such good fortune!)

James

 

[Gavin Haig]

I wonder whether the amazing glut of stonking gulls this year is a combination of committed observation effort (flattery) and just a perfect gull viewing estuary (realism)?

The Axe has got excellent numbers of gulls roosting, and they are often in accessible areas for viewing.....

Pretty much sums it up I should think James, though I suspect the 'Napoli' was a bit of a draw earlier in the year, probably sending out a nice little 'chum' slick. Certainly the viewing accessibility of resting gulls on the Axe is a major factor - we can see virtually every gull, and there are often lots of them....and they get a lot of looking at!

Little bit of birding at lunch time. A quick look for the Bonaparte's Gull turned up a surprise spring Little Stint. That was nice - pics attached. Followed this with a brisk walk out to the clifftop at Beer Head, in the vain hope that the Iberian Chiff might still be about. Gave it a few minutes, but heard nowt. A single Wheatear in compensation, and 2 lovely Wood Whites.

Lots of sheep on Beer Head, and I learnt something about their physiology today. I discovered that they produce the occasional liquid poo. Don't know whether that's the lambs, adults, or both, but no matter. The important aspect of this new knowledge is that in hot sunny weather they form a crust, which encloses a virtually pressurised warm liquid centre. I made this discovery as I marched back to the van and my right heel compressed one of these little delights, exploding it all over my left leg and shoe. Lovely. For some reason it brought to mind Chicken Kiev. Remember them? Seemed to turn up on your dinner plate at least once a month through the 1980s. When injudiciously stabbed with a table knife they had this neat trick of spurting a monumental jet of molten garlic butter down your shirt-front or, more pleasingly, down someone else's.........|=)|

Not really on-topic, that, was it? Ah well..........

EDIT - Forgot to mention the results of an early morning seawatch: an hour at the seafront was quite slow, but enlivened by 17 Manxies, 8 Sandwich Terns, 1 diver sp, 6 Swifts in off, and my first (distant) Arctic Skua of the year.

 

[KarenWoolley]

Thanks for the text about the Little Stint Gav, spotted it eventually.

my right heel compressed one of these little delights, exploding it all over my left leg and shoe. Lovely.

That's a coincidence - I trod on something surprising today too, a newly fledged Blackbird, Fortunately not with the same consequence !!!!! The only explosion was me jumping 3 feet in the air in shock. It survived relatively unscathed!

I payed a quick visit to Trinity Hill this afternoon, didn't see any Tree Pipits but I saw plenty of butterflies and this Dragonfly, Broad Bodied Chaser??.

EDIT

Chicken Kiev. Remember them? Seemed to turn up on your dinner plate at least once a month through the 1980s. When injudiciously stabbed with a table knife they had this neat trick of spurting a monumental jet of molten garlic butter down your shirt-front or, more pleasingly, down someone else's.........

I've a horrible feeeling this ritual still goes on to this day!!! Shocking!!!

 

[Steve Waite]

Yep that's a Broad-bodied Chaser Karen - an early one too!! This weather is doing weird things!!!

Saw the Little Stint- I think only about the second spring Little Stint I've ever seen!! Haven't seen much else - but ladies and gentlemen we have an addition to the team, hopefully he will introduce himself on here in the next few days - but he's our very own American warbler specialist....

 

[Gavin Haig]

Good News and Little Things

Just a coffee-break quickie.......

First of all, very positive news re the Beer Head Iberian Chiffchaff. BF member DocMartin very kindly agreed to analyse the recordings that Karen made, and has produced some sonograms from them. We can submit these to the BBRC to help them come to a decision as to whether or not it is a DEFINITE Iberian, rather than an aberrant Common Chiffchaff, say. The good news is that DocMartin is pretty certain that it is an Iberian. Excellent! If the record is accepted it will be Beer Head's first BB rarity, and a very good one at that - only about the 15th British record.

Second of all, following a text alert just a short while ago, I was nipping down the estuary to see 3 Little Things - Gull, Stint and Tern!! Unfortunately the Stint had gone out of view, but the Gull (a 1st-summer) and Tern were on view. The Little Tern was close enough to digiscope, and follows rapidly on the heels of our first in recent times - 3 off the seafront on 24th April.

 

[KarenWoolley]

Axe Cliff this morning was very windy with very few birds about, several singing Whitethroats though, I managed to get a shot of one collecting cobwebs for it's nest.

On my way back I got a text about the Little Gull and Little Stint from Ian M, and as I was so close already I couldn't not go to take a look. Like Gavin, I missed the Little Stint this time but was thrilled to see another Little Tern fishing on the river. Only a week after the patch's first for over 40 years!

Steve - Ian and I saw it 'simultaneously' and would like to share the points!!!

There were also at least 3 Bar-Tailed Godwits (nice orange ones) 4 Common Sandpipers and a flyby Kingfisher (unusual at this time of year on estuary).

Talking of Kingfishers. A moment ago, when I was on my way out to the post office, I saw one flying over the tramway just down the road. They must be flying over Kingsdon Hill as a shortcut between the Axe and the Coly !!??

Nice to meet you Nick - I'll no doubt see you along the Coly sometime soon!

All in all a top morning on the estuary ......... Must get back down there now!!!

 

[Simon Wakely]

Hi All,Top of Axmouth 6.30pm, Still no spotted flies. Coly common our 2 Egyptian Geese, 6 Whimbrel.

 

[Gavin Haig]

Popped out this evening for a stroll down to Colyford Common. Little Stint on the Scrape, with a Dunlin (pic attached - a bit distant). The tide was up, and a large boat came chugging up the river, flushing a little group of 3 Bar-tailed Godwits and 5 Whimbrel from the saltmarsh. The scrape is looking in great condition at the moment, ripe and ready for that longed-for rare spring wader. Marsh Sandpiper would be my choice, I think, but I'm not fussy.......|=)|

Very nice to meet Andy from Chard paying us a visit this evening and, earlier, Nick, an addition to the local squad.