Devon Birding (1 Viewer)

[metal.birder]

Sherlock that sounds like a very good day!!:t:

Went down Exeter canal this morning near to Double Locks ponds, saw this Water Rail had to stalk it and patiently wait for it to come out for a snap!

Worth the frost bite!

Cheers all.
B

 

[sherlock]

[QUOTE
Went down Exeter canal this morning near to Double Locks ponds, saw this Water Rail had to stalk it and patiently wait for it to come out for a snap!

Worth the frost bite!

QUOTE]

Yes indeed well worth the frostbite and a great shot metal.birder :t:

Goosey Pool Northam Burrows and Westward Ho! beach

2 Sanderling, 2 Buzzards and a good visual this time! 1 Raven, 1 Cormorant, 3 Skylarks, 1 Snipe, c90 Golden Plover, plus Redshank, Curlew, Turnstone, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Herring Gull, Black headed Gull, Rook, Crow, Jackdaw, Magpie, Starling, House Sparrow, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Wren, Magpie, Goldfinch, Pied Wagtail, Pheasant

along to Skern

Report of 2 Snow Bunting & 2 Short Eared Owl close by

8? Pintail 3m and 5f, Bar Tailed Godwit, plus Grey Plover, Knot, Lapwing, Shelduck, Wigeon, Brent Geese, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Redshank and usual Gulls

 

[sherlock]

Coast path area west out of Westward Ho! & Cornborough hill

1, Bullfinch, 1 Green Woodpecker, 2 Raven with some good views from below alongside and from above looking down,

plus Oystercatcher, Curlew, Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Goldfinch, Wren, Robin, Chaffinch, Rook, Crow, Jackdaw, Starling, House Sparrow, Pigeon

 

[monoglypha]

Westward Ho! to the Appledore slipway

Good couple of hours birding today inc, med gull, purple sandpiper, short-eared owl, Little owl, peregrine falcon, g. bb gull, b. headed gull, common gull, herring gull, brent geese (inc pale bellied), redshank, grey plover, ringed plover, turnstone, knot, dunlin, wigeon, teal, pintail, shelduck, heron, oystercatcher, lapwing, curlew, snipe and meadow pipit.

 

[sherlock]

Good couple of hours birding today inc, med gull, purple sandpiper, short-eared owl, Little owl, peregrine falcon, g. bb gull, b. headed gull, common gull, herring gull, brent geese (inc pale bellied), redshank, grey plover, ringed plover, turnstone, knot, dunlin, wigeon, teal, pintail, shelduck, heron, oystercatcher, lapwing, curlew, snipe and meadow pipit. View attachment 306187

A good couple of hours indeed! We have yet to see the Owls

Today an hour round Goosey Pool Northam Burrows

2 Redshank, 2 Snipe, several Oystercatcher, 3 Lapwing, plus Herring Gull, Black headed Gull, Rook, Crow, Jackdaw, Starling, House Sparrow, Song Thrush, Rock Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Skylark

Is this picture a Skylark or Woodlark? The stripe over the eye looks very white

 

[davercox]

That does look like a Woodlark Sherlock.

 

[sherlock]

That does look like a Woodlark Sherlock.

Thanks for the encouragement. :t: It was only by looking at the camera image that my partner wondered if it was not a Skylark. I hope to get some better pictures next time.

Today 3 Rock Pipits and 14 Turnstones just over the sea wall at Westward Ho!

 

[sherlock]

Tarka Trail somewhere between Bideford and Torrington

2 Goldcrest, 2 Treecreeper, 2 Buzzard, 2 Bullfinch, This is getting too much a bit like Noah`s Ark! so I will say 1 Jay,1 Raven, several each of Nuthatch, Coal Tit & Marsh Tit

plus Cormorant, Grey Heron, Lapwing, Curlew, Redshank, Black Headed Gull, Mallard, Woodpigeon, Pied Wagtail, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Long Tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Magpie, Jackdaw, Rook, Crow, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Goldfinch

A very enjoyable time especially so for seeing Chaffinch close up.

Treecreeper seen today

 

[cwpbirder]

Might be in Devon tomorrow, weather permitting. I'd be grateful for info on where Broadsands marsh is (for Firecrest etc) in relation to the car park for Cirl Buntings ??thanks in advance

 

[devon.birder]

Might be in Devon tomorrow, weather permitting. I'd be grateful for info on where Broadsands marsh is (for Firecrest etc) in relation to the car park for Cirl Buntings ??thanks in advance

Most people at this time of the year park in the road outside the car parks rather than pay. Go in to the car park and the marsh is at the far side of the left hand car park. If you then go in to the car park where the Cirls are then you can also view the other side of the marsh. You should also check the ditch and trees between the first car park and the Cirls car park. Best of luck. Roger

 

[cwpbirder]

Thanks for info....

 

[Staysee]

Brent Geese


I was travelling home from london today on the train and got past exeter where you got the water one side and greenery the other....my head was spinning! haha but then a whole load of birds caught my eye, looking online it was brent geese....but rspb site says they dont really come down devon....but im guessing they can, its not impossible.

I know it was brent geese, but i dont remember where exactly, just along the train track and on the grass beside the water hahahha

 

[TwoDipsfromAmsterdam]

Brent Geese are regular winter visitors to the Exe Estuary so you're probably correct.

DiP

 

[sherlock]

Today 08.30 Westward Ho! beach high tide and nearby area

Once more we were very pleased to see -

5 Purple Sandpiper, 2 Rock Pipit, 19 Turnstone plus Goldfinch, Dunnock, Blue Tit, Blackbird

 

[devon.birder]

Brent Geese


I was travelling home from london today on the train and got past exeter where you got the water one side and greenery the other....my head was spinning! haha but then a whole load of birds caught my eye, looking online it was brent geese....but rspb site says they dont really come down devon....but im guessing they can, its not impossible.

I know it was brent geese, but i dont remember where exactly, just along the train track and on the grass beside the water hahahha

Pick any spot on the Exe Estuary in Winter and if you can't see Brent Geese then you you aren't looking!!!. There are small numbers of Brent Geese around Kingsbridge and also a few in Cornwall. Roger

 

[Jon Turner]

Pick any spot on the Exe Estuary in Winter and if you can't see Brent Geese then you you aren't looking!!!. There are small numbers of Brent Geese around Kingsbridge and also a few in Cornwall. Roger

And I counted at least 277 near Barnstaple yesterday too! There's a small flock here on the Taw/Torridge every winter.

 

[devon.birder]

And I counted at least 277 near Barnstaple yesterday too! There's a small flock here on the Taw/Torridge every winter.

This is from the RSPB site when you do a search on Brent Goose:


Where to see them
Estuaries and saltmarshes. Main concentrations of dark-bellied birds in the Wash, the North Norfolk coastal marshes, Essex estuaries, the Thames Estuary and Chichester and Langstone Harbours. Most light-bellied birds are found at Strangford Lough and Lough Foyle, N Ireland and at Lindisfarne, Northumberland.


With the numbers that now winter in the South West perhaps it is time they updated their site. Sorry I forgot about the North Devon birds Jon. Roger

 

[cwpbirder]

Roger, didn't make it to Broadsands on Sat, but thanks for info for next time.

 

[Cornish Chough]

Brent Geese


I was travelling home from london today on the train and got past exeter where you got the water one side and greenery the other....my head was spinning! haha but then a whole load of birds caught my eye, looking online it was brent geese....but rspb site says they dont really come down devon....but im guessing they can, its not impossible.

I know it was brent geese, but i dont remember where exactly, just along the train track and on the grass beside the water hahahha

I counted c200 on Exminster Marshes on 8th February. They were first on the golf course near Cockwood Harbour then later moved into a field just north of Turf by the canal. They then commuted briefly onto the Estuary before returning back into the field. No sign of the White Fronted Geese.

 

[devon.birder]

The Crossley ID Guide to Eastern Birds of North America is due to be published in a couple of weeks time. I wondered whether any older Devon Birders remember a young Richard Crossley that lived near me in Tiverton back in the late 1980s early 1990s. Whilst he was a student in Plymouth he was a regular on the birding circuit but I last saw him over twenty years ago. I understand that he left Devon to go to the USA and he has lived at Cape May since then. I look forward to seeing his book which is the subject of another Bird Forum thread. Roger