Backwater Birding - Seaton, Devon (1 Viewer)

[Simon Wakely]

Hi All, Farm Gate am ,Shellducks now 107, Egyptian and Greylag on common, lapwing and Widgeon everywhere. 17 Mute swans. My uncle popped in and informed us he giving up Ostrich Farming he, now realises it will never take off. But good news he brough us a EGG the only one, no wonder looked in cook book ,boil for three days with the cost of gas and electic no chance. So I have blown it , Mega pan cakes tomorrow. The EGG looks great on my mantle piece. Viewing by appointment Only.

 

[Steve Waite]

I'm not sure whats happening to me. I actually got excited about you guys finding the ring billed. Maybe all this rain has finally soak through the top of my head and addled my brain.
Anyway nice find Steve and great photos showing the differences very well indeed.
P.S. I haven't been ignoring the patch, just nothing to report and all the photos have been rubbish

But are you excited enough to twitch it??? It is here for your eyes.... (if it stays). Thanks for the positive comments Bob.

 

[bob hastie]

But are you excited enough to twitch it??? It is here for your eyes.... (if it stays). Thanks for the positive comments Bob.

I know this thread can get a bit silly at times, but the idea of me twitching a gull is just ridiculous :-O :-O

 

[KarenWoolley]

Steve - Thanks for the call, very much appreciated. Ring-billed Gull another lifer for me, and I now know what to look for, the differences are so much easier to see in the flesh as opposed to a text book.

 

[Steve Waite]

Hi all, heck of a lot of water about this morning!!!

Started with a seawatch, a Common Scoter flew west, and I may have let a point-scorer slip by east, very distantly. In the murk a distant elongated duck-type thing was showing white secondaries, yeah it probably was a RB Merg, but I couldn't totally rule out a large Grebe (either GC or RN) on the view I had...it was virtually a speck! And I'm not Gav, so I ain't claiming it!

Then to Colyford Common, where I got two very wet feet.....but I wasn't alone, Karen was as brave/silly as me, but also ended up with two wet feet!
On the Common, 2 Green Sands were flying about, a group of 8 Rock Pipits included 3 pink summer plumaged littoralis, which were nice, and adult Med and intermedius Lesser Black-backed Gulls (the latter sat on a post by the hide door!) were both Colyford Common ticks. Out on the marsh, which looked more like a small ocean, sat the 1st-winter (or should I say 1st-summer) Iceland Gull and another adult Med. I then retired home....

Pics: two of the Iceland Gull, one of the flooded Common, and my favourite - a pic of Karen making her way towards the hide....slowly....

 

[Steve Waite]

And now for some rubbish photos of some littoralis Rock Pipits.

First 2 really bad photos show one individual sat on the wires, although it can't be seen in the pics - its breast was showing a hint of pink.

Pic 3 is in all ways awful - infact probably the worst photo I have ever thought about posting in my entire life, but as you can make out the pink breast of a summer plumaged littoralis I thought I'd post it!! This bird was a different individual to the bird in the first two pics. Yes, it is crap, but it does kinda show what I want it to!!

 

[Simon Wakely]

Thought i'd post a pic of my uncle's Ostrich egg, and it made mega pancakes!!

 

[Simon Wakely]

Farm Gate am, the most birds we have seen on the common this year, Shellducks now 118, Lapwing everywhere, 13 Canada Geese, A great count of 29 Mute swans, between the axe Bridge and coly road Bridge. Green woodpecker calling, Great spot flew past, Skylarks Singing.A stop at road bridge, Greylag with swans, Egyptian Goose flew in gulley left of the pond. Look out back window at 5.15 just got up, Greylag flew over our house hope turns left, or its proberly by now at, bowling green.

 

[John o'Sullivan]

Nice find with the Ring billed Gull and lovely instructive photos.
I was reminiscing yesterday with the wife about the time I was feeding Ring Billed Gulls with chips outside of a Mcdonalds in Orlando whereas yesterday I was feeding ? Russian Black Headed gulls with chips outside of a Mc Donalds in Cardiff. Today I saw a probable Iceland Gull fly past my office window in Cardiff whist last year there was a Waxwing sat on top of a tree outside of the same window. It is a very small world to a bird (or a person able to travel on a plane).

I am still following this thread on a daily basis and enjoying the way it has transformed into a Seaton forum rather than a list of dedicated (obsessive) patch watchers' list of birds seen.I recently read through last years spring the other evening and am looking forward to how you do this year. I'm particularly looking forward to Simon Wakely finding his first BIG bird and Karen her first MEGA. Good Luck to all of You. John O'

 

[Simon Wakely]

Thanks John , nice to know you enjoy our Thread. John I dont know if handel a big bird but willing to give it a go.

 

[Gavin Haig]

....yeah it probably was a RB Merg, but I couldn't totally rule out a large Grebe (either GC or RN) on the view I had...it was virtually a speck! And I'm not Gav, so I ain't claiming it!

I'm sure this is libellous - my solicitor suggests I sue, but be willing to settle out of court for 200 Bonanza Points. It is well known that specks are almost always identifiable - especially if they are a big points jobby, fly far, far away, and nobody else sees them but me.... |=)|

No time for birding today, so just thought I'd comment on one or two things:

Some more interesting photos, Steve - nice one. Glad you got some shots of our third (or fourth, or fifth, or tenth....) Iceland Gull. I've had a go at collaging a blow-up from the Jan 6th bird with a blow-up of this one. The bills look rather different to me. What do you think? Don't know if there are any good shots of the Jan-Feb stayer lurking out there?

Thanks for very encouraging comments on the thread, John O'. Interesting how it has evolved. You're not the only one looking forward to the spring. More photos this year, I reckon, and LOADS more posts!

Finally - Simon, there was I thinking you were winding us all up about the Ostriches....

 

[Steve Waite]

Got stressed out at work this afternoon, so in my lunch break (at 17:00) I went to look at my favourite Little Owl. Eye-Eye (see post #1801) was sat out proud on arrival, but the really exciting news is that a few minutes later, up popped what must be Mrs. Eye-Eye! She seemed to be a tad smaller than Eye-Eye, oh, and she has two bright yellow eyes! Hopefully they are a well established pair and will have many babies in the future!!!

I'm working 9-5 tomorrow, and I can't see me getting up any earlier to have a look about either...so maybe a birding-less day coming up for me...

 

[Phil Abbott]

I arrived back in England yesterday morning then went straight to work so i havnt had time to post,Nice find steve your on a roll this year,no local birding for me at the moment but it is getting a bit lighter in the evenings so you never know.

 

[Gavin Haig]

Managed a late morning spell at the 'farm gate' viewpoint, where I bumped into Simon and Sue. Another big tide, so marsh well flooded. 2 Med Gulls on offer, both 1st winters (one with green ring on L leg) - presumably yesterday's birds. Surprisingly no adults among the mass of gulls present. 15 Shoveler was a good count for Colyford Marsh, plus the Greylag on Bridge Marsh. A quick look at Lower Bruckland Ponds had me counting Moorhens for some reason - 21.

More counting antics at Colyford Common during an afternoon visit - 260 Wigeon and 725 Lapwings. At least you get to sift through them all that way. Fairly tiresome, though. You get up to 500 or so and find yourself willing them NOT to fly around! A smattering of Pied Wags in the distant short grass were accompanied by a smart White Wagtail (and possibly 2 more, though not advanced enough into adult plumage for me to be confident). Not the first I've seen locally in February, but not migrants I'll bet - doubtless been around all winter.

 

[Silvio Davison]

Hi Steve and hi to all of you!

I'm the Italian juvenile who comes to Colyford every summer.
Brilliant photos Steve!
I've recently been to Venice to see an adult Ring-billed Gull among Common ones. Shouldn't the Ring-billed be slightly bigger than the canus?
Hope this isn't a silly question...

 

[Simon Wakely]

Hello Forum, popped to kilmington and found the whooper swan, and also on a fence post, well fanastic!!

 

[Simon Wakely]

Farm Gate am, Gavs report sums it up, Pics of Kilmington posted, Happy Days. A great asset to our patch. And also Greylag still with us.

 

[Steve Waite]

Hi Steve and hi to all of you!

I'm the Italian juvenile who comes to Colyford every summer.
Brilliant photos Steve!
I've recently been to Venice to see an adult Ring-billed Gull among Common ones. Shouldn't the Ring-billed be slightly bigger than the canus?
Hope this isn't a silly question...

Hello, nice photo of an adult Ring-billed. Some/most are a tad larger than Common Gulls, but not all. To my eyes, your bird does like slightly larger bodied than the Common Gulls, but note its posture, very upright with breast out, thats a good feature of Ring-billed.

No birding for me today really. But did see a new bird for the oiled list - an Oystercatcher on the estuary. I see the boom has gone...brave move.....

 

[Steve Waite]

Well, only sneaked out for a short while late morning, I have to be at work soon.

Lots and lots of water again, but nothing new bird-wise. The Iceland Gull was on Bridge Marsh (I have attached this poor photo to show how white it is now, the feathers are well faded) as was the Greylag, and there were about 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls on show.

 

[Silvio Davison]

Thanks for the tip! Here's another photo of the ring-billed in Venice...
Is that second winter ring-billed the first for the Axe?