February 28, 2009
Firecrest
This morning I was driving across the Haldon Forest & 3 Fallow Deer ran across the road in front of the car , in the afternoon I went down to my local patch Bowling Green Marsh in Topsham to look for the FIRECREST that has been reported there & after about an hour a small tit flock went through & the bird was in with them but they had no sooner showed themselves when they all went back into the Riversmeet House & wasn`t seen again .
Then a look at the Clyst Estuary produced 10 COMMON REDSHANK , 3 GREENSHANK , a SPOTTED REDSHANK & 2 GREY PLOVER
February 26, 2009
Wednesday 25th February . 2009
A day out birding today with Andy Bond with our first stop at Splatt Bridge near Frampton On Severn for a LONG EARED OWL that has been roosting there for a few days & we got views of the bird but it was a bit obscured , we then went to Slimbridge WWT & we saw 4 SPOTTED REDSHANK , 450+ WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE , 100+ BEWICK`S SWAN , 100+ BARNACLE GOOSE , PEREGRINE FALCON & SPARROWHAWK .
The next stop was at Cirencester where we got a GREAT GREY SHRIKE & Andy was happy as he missed the Dartmoor one , on then to the Cotswald water park in Wiltshire & we are in luck & see 3 male & 7 female SMEW & 11 RED-CRESTED POCHARD so a good end to a good day !!!!
February 25, 2009
Monday 23rd February . 2009
Down to Dawlish Warren today for a look around & it didn`t turn out to bad as I got myself a Warren tick in the shape of a BLACK-NECKED GREBE that was off of the sea wall along with 12 GREAT CRESTED GREBE , a GREAT NORTHERN DIVER , a RED-THROATED DIVER & the female SURF SCOTER .
There was also a NUTHATCH calling from the wood the other side of the railway line near the car parks , a GREEN WOODPECKER & 2 GOLDREST in Dead Dolphin Wood & a WHIMBREL flew in off of the sea .
February 20, 2009
American Herring Gull
This morning I got a call telling me that the 1st winter AMERICAN HERRING GULL was on the Otter Estuary again & as I couldn`t get to the bird last week I was soon dashing along to there as fast as I could go ! I arrived to find the finder Mathew Knott & he was soon putting me on the bird , the light was not very good but you could still see that the bird was a lot darker than our Herring Gull of the same age & the bird had a darker rump & tail !!
From there the next stop was the Axe Estuary where a juvenile ICELAND GULL was showing well , also seen was a MEDITERRANEAN GULL & a COMMON SANDPIPER & over in Seaton itself was a female BLACK REDSTART & a GREY WAGTAIL .
AMERICAN HERRING GULL . THE OTTER ESTUARY . DEVON . 20 / 2 / 2009
February 18, 2009
Cattle Egret
Today I was up in Somerset so I dropped into Noah`s Lake to look for Otter again & as usual I was told that I had only just missed them ! one of these days I will get lucky & manage to get good views of them , but the good news was that there was a distant CATTLE EGRET showing & I managed this shot of it as it is my first one seen in Somerset !!
February 16, 2009
Great Grey Shrike
This morning I went out to the Bellever Tor on Dartmoor with a mate to look for the GREAT GREY SHRIKE that has been reported there & when we got up on the tor we found the snow quite deep in places ! but after a short search we were soon getting good views of the bird but it was very mobile , while we were there also seen was a COMMON CROSSBILL , 5 LESSER REDPOLL , 2 MISTLE THRUSH & a GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER , also seen in the village of Bellever were 3 STOCK DOVE & at Postbridge there was around 10 SISKIN .
GREAT GREY SHRIKE . BELLEVER TOR . DARTMOOR . DEVON . 16 / 2 / 2009
February 15, 2009
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
This morning I went for a look at Steps Bridge on the edge of Dartmoor & as soon as I entered the reserve I had a DIPPER near the bridge , I then walked up the path beside the river getting GREEN WOODPECKER , GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER , 2 NUTHATCH & a LESSER REDPOLL , I then walked back along the back path & found a flock of LONG-TAILED TIT & GOLDCREST & in with them was a female LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER my first one of the year ! I carried on walking along the path & then found this male bird & got these shots of it & I was over the moon to get them as these birds are hard to see let alone get a photograph of ! & this is the first time that I have managed to get a shot of this species .
February 11, 2009
Merlin
An early morning look at Bowling Green Marsh in Topsham got me numerous WIGEON , SHOVELER & PINTAIL , a male & a female GADWALL , a male POCHARD & around 200 AVOCET .
The next stop was at the Exminster Marshes that was hit by flooding to the main road through the marsh but the following birds were still seen , a male & female TUFTED DUCK , 10 GOLDEN PLOVER , a few SNIPE , a KINGFISHER , a GREY WAGTAIL , 4 REDWING & this juvenile/female MERLIN that gave good views hunting over the marsh , 3 CATTLE EGRET were also still showing well in fields near to Powderham .
February 5, 2009
Wednesday 4th February . 2009
Cornwall was the destination today for Ken Montandon & myself with our first early morning stop at the harbour in Newlyn & we started throwing bread out to entice the gulls & after a short while we got one of the birds that we had come for the juvenile ICELAND GULL but the rain was falling quite hard by now & we were getting soaked !!! but we carried on looking & after about half an hour it payed off & we found the other bird we had come for the juvenile GLAUCOUS GULL , also in the harbour were 5 GREAT NORTHERN DIVER with another 2 also seen in Mounts Bay along with a BLACK-NECKED GREBE .
We then looked for the Firecrest at Helston but dipped them & we also dipped the Rose-Coloured Starling at Newquay , so we headed home & on the way we stopped for a look at Fernworthy Reservoir where there was deep snow on the ground but it payed off with my best ever views of WOODCOCK as one walked across the road in front of the car & showed up very well a few feet away in the snow , magic !!
February 3, 2009
Barn Owl
A trip over to the Axe Estuary today to look for the Iceland Gull that has been seen there for the last couple of evenings but we couldn`t see it today & then the heavy snow started falling so that was that , but an EGYPTIAN GOOSE , numerous COMMON GULL , 2 MEDITERRANEAN GULL & a COMMON SANDPIPER were seen , the next stop was at Otterton where there was a BARN OWL showing in the top fields a bird that I never get tired of seeing .
February 2, 2009
Black Brant
Before the snow set in today I had a look for the BLACK BRANT that has been seen around the Exe Estuary & found it in the fields Near the Turf Hotel in with a flock of 100 + ( Dark Bellied ) BRENT GOOSE , also seen was a male & female RED-BREASTED MERGANSER , 100+ DUNLIN , 2 GREY PLOVER & 3 AVOCET , & on the Exminster Marshes there was a large flock of WIGEON , 2 male & a female PINTAIL & a few SHOVELER .
I then drove around to Powderham where there was 11 LITTLE EGRET , 3 CATTLE EGRET & a SPARROWHAWK .
