Backwater Birding - Seaton, Devon (1 Viewer)

[Steve Waite]

A little reluctantly I agreed to join in the patch year list, my rather pathetic total stands at 97.

I wouldn't worry, that will soon be at well over 100 after tomorrow morning Ian!

Gorgeous day today - really wish I didn't have to go to work, what a bummer! Started with a hunt for a vocal Cetti's Warbler - but failed. A Water Rail showed well on the Borrow Pit, but that was the lot. The estuary and Lower Bruckland Ponds showed nothing of note, and all the sea gave were a few Great Crested Grebes, the long-staying Velvet Scoter and two Mute Swans!

I knew it was time for drastic measures if I wanted to start seeing some birds, so I turned to the half-full packet of chocolate doughnuts from yesterday tea-time. After a severe and messy session of doughnut in-take I went up to Jubilee Gardens in Beer. An hour of nothing passed, but then the doughnut magic must have filtered in to my bloodstream as out popped two Firecrest! What a pair of stunning birds, feeding in low shrubs and felled trees at the west end of the gardens. I just love 'em - I think they are the bestest bird on the plannet, they really can brighten up any day!

113 now!

 

[KarenWoolley]

Firstly, I forgot to put Woodcock on my missing list, so actually, yesterday I only had 102! I'm going to struggle at this game if I don't learn to count!! |:$|

Secondly Gavin, it appears you need to learn to shoot straight as you obviously only winged the Dipper yesterday (actually I'll immediately retract that remark, my car tyres are a pretty big target!!!!!). The Dipper was alive and well on the Coly today and what's more it had brought in reinforcements!

When I arrived on the Coly, right at the furthest point upstream, what did I see first, a Dipper? No Phil and Bun! Dipper was obviously the most wanted tick of the day today!

We all had brief flight view of one individual before Phil and Bun had to leave, I had left my car in Colyton so needed to walk the whole length of the river back. When I reached the metal bridge at Ratshole Gate I spotted two Dippers together under the bridge and proceeded to follow them all the way to Heathayne after which they turned back. I attempted to take some photos but as I was travelling light I didn't have my teleconverter, and hence didn't have much reach! Also the sun was directly behind the birds all the time, which led to the shots being rather 'artistic' - well alright then -Naff! I've posted them because two of them show two birds and the other (the stunning flight shot) I think is amusing, what a massive undercarriage it has!!


After lunch I thought tick 2 may be on the cards with a visit to Jubilee Gardens where Steve had seen the Firecrests earlier today, when I got there I immediately saw - a Firecrest?? - No Gavin! He hadn't seen one yet and we looked for a while longer but drew a blank. After Gav left Ian Waite turned up, and later Phil, but a Firecrest didn't. I'd spent over 2 hours there. Madness!

I had to pop out to the shop for some cat food later and (desperate for another tick) I somehow managed to incorporate a trip to the Farm Gate into this little errand. I got my tick straight away with Water Rail, (104) but an amazing bonus was superb views of a Barn Owl hunting over Axmouth Marsh, I watched, mesmerized, 'til it got dark. Brilliant and not even a tick! |=)|

 

[Jos Stratford]

Karen,

Look at picture three again, it is an incoming Little Auk! Don't let it worry you that it is on the Coly and don't let it worry you that you had seen Dippers there a few moments earlier.

Thus your year list is now one higher.

Best wishes,
Backwater List Master

 

[Gavin Haig]

Ton-up, finally

Up and out early today (though not early enough for owls) and off to the woods. The year-ticks fell left and right: a Jay screeched, a Goldcrest called, then a bit of excitement as a flock of at least 15 Redpolls flew over, round and back again. All three species currently on the British List were no doubt in there, which will be handy if I need them later in the year. In the meantime I'll just count Lesser. Soon a couple of Woodcock got fed up with my scrabbling about in the undergrowth and said hello. They were the real target, but a fat female Sparrowhawk as I got back to the car was a nice bonus.

TWO outings to inspect the Jubilee Gardens shrubbery were irritatingly birdless. And not just for me. Steve's so-called Firecrests this morning were probably made up anyway - the oozy chemical cocktail in the middle of chocolate doughnuts make them a dangerous hallucinogen when consumed in the monstrous quantities that Steve's habit craves. I hadn't intended to go to Beer twice, but an afternoon visit to the estuary to check the gulls was badly timed - a bunch of canoeists emptied the mud as I arrived. Three million gulls in the air is a spectacular sight, but they are quite hard to check. So, after another tedious hour or so in Beer I headed for Seaton Hole, where Phil was already trying to string a Black-throated Diver out of anything floating. The roost held at least five Med Gulls (4 adults and a 1st-winter). A Peregrine became year tick number six. Stupidly I then went home, instead of to the Farm Gate....|8(|

103 sounds a bit more respectable.

PS. Glad you're playing Ian :t:

 

[bun]

Managed a couple brief flight views of a Dipper this morning, seemed every time we tried to creep up on it, it would just keep flying further down stream and round the next corner...so will be going back sometime for better views...

Also managed to catch up at coly common with a Water Pipit, that first appeared behind the viewing platform, around the new reedbed/wetpatch, before taking off and dropping down in front of the platform giving good views..

This afternoon i decided to enjoy the sunshine with a walk up Beer Head, and even though i had my bins and scope, i didn't even think about Dartford Warblers in the scrub, or a white winged Gull on the rocks/beach below...... but i did see 3 Stonechats, 4 Ravens and a peregrine.

107 for me.

 

[Steve Waite]

I would never have thought a Dipper could look like a Little Auk, but in that photo it does look remarkably like the latter!! Nice find Karen!

Gav - the Firecrest were in the shrubs next to the decking on the edge of the private garden above Jubilee. At first at least one of them came out of the large conifer above, they weren't calling much (only in flight) but did both stay together. They only other birds in the vicinity were two Blue Tits which joined them after a few minutes. Sorry you all missed them, I spent two bird-less hours looking there in the last two days before connecting. Keep trying, just don't bother if it's windy but rain is ok - may even help (keep them low).

 

[Ian M]

A gentle stroll around a superb bit of woodland in the pleasant company of Steve and Karen produced five patch year ticks. (Woodcock, Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Siskin and Redpoll) I still seem to be in last place with a total of 102.

 

[Steve Waite]

A gentle stroll around a superb bit of woodland in the pleasant company of Steve and Karen produced five patch year ticks

Glad you enjoyed Ian. Yes, in the woods this morning with at least five Woodcock, a couple of Redpoll, half a dozen Siskins and the usual woodland suspects....

Then had a look about all over the place, but only managed very few highlights. Six Med Gulls on the river early afternoon (5 ads, 1 2nd-wint) were all very nice - but that's as good as it got!

After lunch the flat calm seas were too tempting to ignore. At first from Beer, where a couple of Red-throated Divers and 1 Diver sp. were, and then Seaton Hole. Here two distant Diver sp. had Phil and myself puzzled, they were just too distant to clinch. Also three Red-throated Divers on sea with three more east, several Great Crested Grebes (at least 11), the Velvet Scoter, 16+ Common Scoter and lots of wildfowl. Best of all, at about 16:00 I picked up two Brent Geese flying around the bay - they were Pale-bellied! Such smart birds - miles better than Dark-bellies! They flew west before landing off Seaton Hole for ten minutes, then took to the air again continuing west.

 

[Gavin Haig]

No birding for me until after 4, and I went out with three target birds. Jack Snipe was the first, but a squidge around in the Axmouth saltmarsh produced only 3 Snipe, which made me wonder if someone had been out there already. A calling Reed Bunting was a very tarty year tick. Then up to the Farm Gate for Water Rail and Barn Owl. Karen was already there, hoping for a repeat of yesterday's performance. A Water Rail squealed on cue, then the Barn Owl ghosted in from across the river around 17:30 and commenced hunting quite close. Superb! The list rumbles on to 106...

 

[Phil Abbott]

Just a brief update from me,Dipper yesterday,Firecrest today and redpoll with 12 around the car park at trinity hill feeding on buds in the silver birch trees, so 111 for me.

 

[KarenWoolley]

Yes, in the woods this morning with at least five Woodcock, a couple of Redpoll, half a dozen Siskins and the usual woodland suspects....

Except Marsh Tit!!

3 more ticks for me today (total now 107) 2 this morning, Woodcock and Jay and this afternoon a brief, distant, blurry view of what I was reliably informed were 2 Pale-bellied Brent blobs! Thanks Steve. Then I just had to go back for the Barn Owl again at dusk, a great end to the day!! |=)|

 

[bun]

Pretty good day out and about on patch, 12 Redpolls at Trinity common my first of the year, followed by brief views of at least one, but probably two Firecrest, at Jubilee Gardens..

Then a trudge through the saltmarsh at Axmouth looking for Jack Snipe drew a blank, although there were plenty of Snipe until we flushed them all..

Then thanks to a call from steve, i managed to get to Seaton Hole just in time to see the 2 pale bellied Brents before they flew west.

This evening i went into Couchill woods looking for Woodcock( have had them here before) but despite watching the skyline till dark no sign of any..

109 for me.

 

[Simon and Sue Wakely]

Evening all,

Garden update:

13 Siskins today, all arguing over the niger feeders!
A pair of Ravens flew over.
A barn owl sighted this evening and there were plenty of Tawny Owls calling.

A trip to the estuary was gulls galore but a distict lack of waders.
Heres a couple of pictures which we took on our travels.

Do you notice anything different about this Med Gull?
Can you identify the bird hiding in the bush, trying its upmost to avoid detection?!? It was taken at the side of Bindon Barns.

Happy Birding
Simon and Sue

 

[Steve Waite]

Evening all, off to work in abit :-C

With a flat calm sea I thought a good look over our bit of the English Channel would be worthwhile, I was wrong. Branscombe produced only a Red-throated Diver west - and a totally empty sea! Off Beer, equally naff all! Seaton Hole showed the distant Velvet with 12 Common Scoters, 8 Great Crested Grebes and 3 Red-throated Divers.

After a meeting with the EDDC's boys, it was back home for lunch then a look along the river. There weren't all that many Gulls about, but did include a nice total of seven Med Gulls - six adults and one first-winter. I tried to get photos of all the Meds, and it nearly worked! Just one of the adults slipped away before the camera came out! Also 32 Dunlin, an increase.

I then had another look over the sea with a nice flock of six Red-throated Divers passing east the only highlight. Then a look at Beer Beach just to make sure there were no white-winged Gulls was successful - there were indeed no white-winged Gulls!!!

Here are five of the six adult Med Gulls:

 

[Steve Waite]

And two pics of the first-winter....

I see there's a Stone Curlew and a 'new in' Whimbrel in the UK today, plus Pink-feet are moving en-mass through the country, great...it must be spring!

 

[KarenWoolley]

A mixed kind of day for me.

Massive highlight was at lunchtime whilst walking the dog to Beer, through Jubilee Gardens, when I caught up with one of the Firecrests at last!! This time it was in the very easternmost end of the private garden, behind the wall, along the coast path. Apologies for not texting those who haven't seen one this year but it was a typical brief view, 20 seconds at most and it then flew further into the garden and out of view. I don't think it was really twitchable! Honest! |^|

I just had enough time to wip out my camera and get a distant, quick, blurry record shot (had to sharpen it a fair bit) 'you can tell what it is though'. :king:

Later in the afternoon I arrived in Axminster a bit early for 'kicking out time' at school, so I thought I'd pop up to Trinity Hill. I didn't see any of the Redpolls that Phil and Bun had yesterday, but flushed a couple of Snipe and saw a flock of 8 Reed Buntings, first ones I've ever seen here. Low point of my day occurred here too, I was followed around, crept up on and propositioned by a very unsavoury character, quite disturbing really! I'll certainly be staying away from there for a while now!! I need to trade Rex (my 'Beanie Baby' dog) in for a larger more fearsome model!!

EDIT: Oops! Forgot the most important thing, 108

 

[Steve Waite]

Another day started with a look over the sea, but it was a little too lumpy this morning and there was nothing flying over it, so I headed up river! After another half hour I had still seen next to nowt, so decided to waste some time looking for small Woodpeckers! Spent a fair while with Karen wandering about some lovely woodland seeing no Woodpeckers, but a Tawny Owl roosting in an Ivy covered tree was nice!

This is the only tedious and less enjoyable bit of year listing in my eyes, the tricky pain in the arse species which are probably there but just SO hard to find! They can also require lots of walking and a fair share of early mornings!

 

[Jos Stratford]

Apologies for not texting those who haven't seen one this year but it was a typical brief view, 20 seconds at most and it then flew further into the garden and out of view. I don't think it was really twitchable! Honest! |^|

Suppression, I like it, I raise the odds of you winning the year list race :-O

 

[J M]

I still seem to be in last place with a total of 102.

No chance Ian...thats spot is absolutely reserved for me...I probably have the same numbers as you only in another order - try 021

 

[Ranger James]

After an exciting morning picking lovely pictures for this year's Backwater Bird Report, I decided to get out of the office and see some of them in the afternoon. I started slightly off patch at a new nature reserve near the Hare and Hounds pub. I was hoping for woodcock, but had no luck, scooping a lovely lot of bullfinches and a blackcap instead. Then on to the farm gate look out-to wait for the barn owl. Like clockwork it appeared at ten-past-five, and hunted over the reedbed. Sadly I didn't pick it up earlier, so can't guess as to where its roosting, I only hope its a good roost, with plenty of scope for a mate and a brood or two.
Up early this morning and out for a long walk with a local school up the Otter estuary, we saw lots, but I shan't go on about it here - I know how you patchers get sniffy about off-patch louts like me.
James