Devon Birding (1 Viewer)

[alicephoebe]

Geese and Egrets on the Exe Extuary

Just found this website. I am often around Cockwood, Dawlish, Powerderham. There are flocks of Brent and Canada Geese around and the Brent Geese are here every winter. Also I am wondering if there might be some Great White Egrets. Little Egrets are now very common and I know how big (or small!) they look against the sedge and grass. However 3 weeks ago we saw 2 large white birds in a field very near to Dawlish Warren. Yesterday I looked out of my window and saw a grey heron and something whaich really grabbed the attention - another of the big white birds. The BWB had a circle of rather bemused looking Canada geese around it and in comparason to the Canada geese and the Heron it looked their equal or bigger in size. I could not see the colour of the beak and legs. Are there any other sightings of the large egrets?

 

[sherlock]

Holsworthy viaduct area

2+ Goldcrest, 2+ Treecreeper, 1 Marsh Tit, Long Tailed Tit plus maybe a Kestrel

must return in better weather

 

[sherlock]

Coast path area west out of Westward Ho! plus Northam Burrows Goosey Pool

1 Buzzard (please check thumbnails below though) 1 Raven,

plus Oystercatcher, Curlew, Turnstone, Little Egret,Redshank, Lapwing, Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Rook, Crow, Jackdaw, Starling, House Sparrow, Pigeon, Dunnock, Meadow Pipit, Skylarks singing so very delightful

 

[sherlock]

Chivenor to Barnstaple 9.30 to 1200 hours

Spent more time looking in the bushes than looking out to the estuary!

1 Bullfinch, 1 Greenfinch, 1 Grey Wagtail, 11 Magpie in a group in a field - very interesting to watch, plus Chaffinch, Long Tailed Tit, Wren, Great and Blue Tit, a fantastic inline display flying low downstream of c200 Lapwing, 3 Mute Swans in flight

noticed the Gadwall, but missed the Smew, Little Grebes, Goosander and Goldeneye that were there

 

[sherlock]

Goosey Pool area Northam Burrows

2 Buzzard circling high towards the Tor, 1 Little Egret, c25 Canada Geese overhead in 3 groups, 8 Skylarks, c55 Wigeon, 3 Teal, plus Redshank, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Herring Gull, Black Headed Gull, Great Black Backed Gull, Rook, Crow, Jackdaw, Starling, House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Pigeon, Chaffinch

 

[sherlock]

A superb specimen of a Male Black Redstart near the Waterfront Inn Westward Ho! today at 10.00 hours :t:

 

[sherlock]

A walk round the edge of Northam Burrows and Skern today

Skern - a quick glance at low tide revealed only 3 Shelduck and the sound of a Redshank.

Goosey Pool & Northam Burrows area

2 Buzzard, 1 Kestrel -we think plus Redshank, Skylark including 2 doing some singing high up there towards the clouds, Herring Gull, Black headed Gull, Rook, Crow, Jackdaw, Starling, House Sparrow, Blackbird, Pied Wagtail, Goldfinch, Pigeon, Dunnock

forgot the c45 wigeon taking flight and perfoming many flying displaying before landing pretty close from where they originally took off from.

 

[socksitis]

Sherlock, I always enjoy reading your reports, thankyou.
Up around Widicombe yesterday - a few skylarks about on the moor singing, spring must be close

 

[revmike]

Exe Estuary in a day

Hi

Visiting Exe on Tuesday 22 Feb for first time.

Advice on best places to go at best times much appreciated. Happy to watch waders, hides preferred.

Thanks in advance!
Mike

 

[davercox]

Mike

With high tide around 9-10 this isn't the ideal day I'm afraid.
If you can get there early enough then try Bowling Green Marsh RSPB (Topsham) - the only place with a hide - best at high tide. Brent Geese can also be found at Topsham (east of the village, towards Dart's Farm) or Starcross (golf course just south of the village), but they do get around !

On a falling tide both Powderham (west side) and Exmouth (east side) are good.

Regardless of tide there should still be plenty of dabbling ducks at Bowling Green Marsh RSPB, Exminster Marshes RSPB, and Powderham Park (view from the railway line side).

I hope others will chip in here !

Good luck anyway.

 

[revmike]

Thanks, Dave.

 

[Jon Turner]

Bishop's Tawton this afternoon:

36 Mute Swans
6 Little Egrets
1 Cattle Egret
1 Grey-lag Goose
1 Pink-footed Goose
4 Goosander

A well-spent hour!

 

[sherlock]

Bishop's Tawton this afternoon:

36 Mute Swans
6 Little Egrets
1 Cattle Egret
1 Grey-lag Goose
1 Pink-footed Goose
4 Goosander

A well-spent hour!

Yes indeed Jon! We must try to get there ourselves in a week or two.

A walk over Northam Burrows and Skern today.

Enjoyed the Rock Pipit by the slipway at Westward Ho! and the 2 very friendly Rooks at the entrance to Northam Burrows. Have you noticed how confiding the Rooks, Jackdaws and Crows are in this area - it`s magical.

Goosey Pool was quiet with 2 Shelduck, 2 Wigeon, 3 Redshank, plus Black Headed Gulls and Herring Gulls in attendance.

The Burrows on our route anyway showed c20 Oystercatcher, 28 Curlew, 1 Little Egret, 1 Buzzard (and later the same bird? being mobbed by 3 Crows), 5 Skylark, 5 Lapwing amongst the scrubb, 2 Moorhen, 2 Mallard, plus Rook, Jackdaw, Magpie, Starling, House Sparrow, Blackbird, Pied Wagtail, Pigeon, a Song Thrush singing, Dunnock, and the sound of a Wren deep inside of a clump of rushes

Skern

Brent Goose, Shelduck, Wigeon, Little Egret, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Dunlin or Knot but knot sure as about a mile away, Turnstone, Bar-Tailed Godwit, Curlew, Redshank, Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Pied Wagtail, Crow, Starling

A delightful Grey Plover for the record

 

[SANDYMERE]

Anyone know where the Barnstaple Lesser Scaup is?

 

[Jon Turner]

Anyone know where the Barnstaple Lesser Scaup is?

No idea we had one! If you find out, do let me know!! :-O

 

[monoglypha]

New bridge

5 Little egrets, 1 cattle egret, 1 pink-footed goose, 1 Bean goose 30 + Canada geese 3 shelduck and a treecreeper in the adjacent wooded area

 

[sherlock]

Yesterday the coast path area west out of Westward Ho! & Cornborough hill

On the promenade as the main star of the day was the sweetest Pied Wagtail you could ever wish to meet. It chattered non stop which just endeared us to it all the more. Several Long Tailed, Great and Blue Tits, Curlew, Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Wren, Robin, Chaffinch, Rook, Crow, Jackdaw, Magpie, Starling, House Sparrow, Pigeon and Dunnock were viewed either up close or from afar.

Today a walk from Barnstaple centre to Bishop`s Tawton and back. 0900 to 13.30. The 1 mile? footpath that followed the river towards New Bridge from the butchers shop was deserted and as we approached the railway line again there was barbed wire over the enbankment. Just to the left were two locked galvanised gates with stop look listen for the train etc on. At that point we thought that maybe the section from the 1st railway bridge that you have to go under to view the River Taw was a private path so we retraced our footsteps back to Tawton centre.

1 Snipe, 8 Mute Swan, Group of c80 Canada Geese, 1 mystery goose? plus several Cormorant, Curlew, Mallard, Magpie and the sound of a Woodpecker drumming.

Mystery Goose? Could it be a White Fronted Goose?

 

[SANDYMERE]

Lesser Scaup

No idea we had one! If you find out, do let me know!! :-O

It was on the map (on this site) on Saturday.

 

[The Kerreran]

Mystery Goose? Could it be a White Fronted Goose?

Hmm, with the [in no particular order] way it seems to be 'holding it's bum up' in the water, the dark running up the back of the neck and onto the upper head, the size and position of the eye, the bill shape and colouring, the tiny bit of white at the bill-base {ie. immature} vs the neck fluting {ie. adult}, and the 'off' tone to the overall plumage, I'd say it looks like one of those 'orrible Hybrids you get knocking around...

It looks like it's got Swan Goose in it, maybe a Swan x Greylag [though I've seen pictures of a putative Swan x Bar-headed that bears a resemblance]?

 

[sherlock]

Many thanks The Kerreran for Goose i.d.

We had this reply on another Forum from RoyW

"Not a White-fronted Goose, this is a hybrid between a Greylag Goose and one of the domestic breeds of Swan Goose (either Chinese Goose or the bulkier African Goose).

The 'chunky' appearance of the bird suggests that either African Goose, or one of the larger breeds of domestic Greylag is involved in its parentage".

Today Westward Ho! 0800 hours

2 Canada Geese flying from Barnstaple direction heading over the Tor and on towards Hartland direction, followed by 15 Canada Geese 20 minutes later approx.

17.30 hours 2 Canada Geese flying from Hartland direction and the Tor and on towards a Barnstaple direction, followed by 15 Canada Geese 20 minutes later approx.

The same 17 birds - we wonder?