Marsh Harrier

My first long-overdue patch Marsh Harrier, a 2cy, drifted over Passage House car park late this afternoon then proceeded to quarter the reedbed near Town Quay Bridge. One imagines if it wasn't for the A380 spanning the upper estuary this species would be a more regular visitor to the area...

Marsh Harrier

WeBS

Lower than expected numbers of birds on the estuary for this morning's count (postponed from last weekend when both high tides fell during hours of darkness), likely due to the recent turbulent conditions. Totals included 280 Oystercatchers, 49 Turnstones, 20 Snipe, 25 Redshanks, four Greenshanks, nine Avocets, six Ringed Plovers, two Common Sandpipers, 16 Shelducks, seven Mute Swans, five Little Grebes, three Great Northern Divers (two at Teignmouth and one at Flow Point) and one Great Crested Grebe.

Teigngrace, by contrast, was a hive of activity with the flooded fields holding a further two Greenshanks, a Green Sandpiper, six Mandarins, six Teal, two Shovelers, 100+ Mallards, 18 Mute Swans and a Bar-headed Goose with numerous Canada Geese. On the racecourse were two Lapwings (perhaps last winter's pair) and two Stonechats. At Teignmouth two Little Gulls continued to show around what's left of the pier.

Great Northern Diver

Little Gulls

One of the few upsides to this week's relentlessly wet and windy weather has been an arrival of Little Gulls to the region. Yesterday two appeared off Teignmouth seafront, and this morning up to four were present, so another lunch break dash was on the cards. I bumped into David Cope and we picked up several birds north of the yacht club; upon closer inspection there were seven adults getting blown about. I had to leave soon after arrival but David had another five adults and two first-winters at Sprey Point to go with the adult by the pier, so at least 15 Little Gulls were present along the stretch of coast for a time. Later Kev had an adult on the Salty with a remarkable 2250+ Herring Gulls.

Unusually, the wind has been blasting from a south-easterly direction for several days and is set to continue until at least tomorrow afternoon, so who knows what might turn up over the weekend. 

GNDs

A quick lunch-break look around Teignmouth revealed four Great Northern Divers sheltering from the elements in the harbour, with a further four birds opting for a more adventurous life on the stormy sea. No unusual gulls noted but there was a steady stream of Kittiwakes heading south offshore.

New Year's Day

An encouraging start to the year with 79 species recorded. The Yellow-browed Warbler put in another appearance along Whitelake Channel with a male Blackcap and several Chiffchaffs in the same area. At Arch Brook presumably the same Spotted Redshank is back for another winter, but there was no sign of the two Spoonbills reported a couple of days ago. In the Passage House area 16 Avocets, two Wigeon, one Common Sandpiper, one Black-tailed Godwit and a calling Cetti's Warbler were noted.

Rackerhayes provided all of the expected wetland and woodland species including 23 Tufted Ducks, two Mandarins, Siskin, Bullfinch, Mistle Thrush, Nuthatch and Treecreeper, plus one of four Firecrests recorded throughout the day (others were at Golvers Hill and Hackney Marshes). Off Teignmouth seafront there was pod of 10+ Common Dolphins and at least one Harbour Porpoise but few birds - just one Red-throated Diver, one Gannet and a handful of Shags, Cormorants and Guillemots. 

Spotted Redshank

Mistle Thrush

Yellow-browed Warbler

First reported yesterday, the Yellow-browed Warbler was still present along the Templer Way in Newton Abbot this afternoon. It favoured vegetation alongside Whitelake Channel between B&Q and the racecourse, only a hundred metres or so from where another YBW appeared in January 2021. 

WeBS

Another very wet day with poor visibility that hampered this morning's survey and cloaked the Oystercatcher and Curlew roosts in mist. What could be seen included c.40 Redshanks, nine Greenshanks, four Dunlin, two Common Sandpipers, 61 Mallards, 18 Teal, 15 Shelducks, 11 Mute Swans, eight Red-breasted Mergansers, six Little Grebes, two Wigeon, 14 Cormorants, three Shags and a good total of five Kingfishers. The congregation of large gulls in the Passage House area contained 380 Herring Gulls, 67 Great Black-backed Gulls, four Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 15 Common Gulls.

Avocet

Off Passage House this afternoon one Avocet (November records uncommon), one Common Sandpiper, two Greenshanks, six Little Grebes, one Mediterranean Gull (adult) and one Kingfisher noted. Another Kingfisher was at Polly Steps, Teignmouth along with three Turnstones. Not a lot of interest offshore other than a couple of Red-throated Divers and Great Northern Divers, and lots of auks.

Avocet

Turnstones

Late news from Teignmouth with a Dark-bellied Brent Goose on the Salty on 17 November.

Probable Pallid Swifts

An immensely frustrating morning on Saturday. After reports of at least one unidentified swift between Shaldon and Labrador Bay, I headed up to the high ground above Coast View holiday park - the same place where at least one Alpine Swift gave great views two years ago - and picked up two swifts high above the village (looking back towards Teignmouth). They looked good for Pallid Swift - apparent stockier structure, more deliberate gliding flight, paler brown colour (although this may have been accentuated by the low sunlight) - but they were just too distant to be 100% sure. They disappeared from view after a couple of minutes; I put the news out and several other birders soon arrived to look, but there was no sign of any swifts for the rest of the day.

Today's WeBS count featured a very high tide, and several species (notably Curlew and Greenshank) were not present at their usual roosts. Totals included 326 Oystercatchers, 54 Turnstones, c.30 Dunlin, just 26 Curlew, five Ringed Plovers, three Common Sandpipers, 15 Little Egrets, five Little Grebes, 22 Mute Swans, six Teal, four Shelducks, one Wigeon, 14 Cormorants, six Shags and two Kingfishers. It was good to see the first six Red-breasted Mergansers of the winter off Arch Brook. An influx of gulls to the Passage House area included a high count of 63 Great Black-backed Gulls along with 12 Common Gulls, two Lesser Black-backed Gulls and an adult Mediterranean Gull. On the sea three Great Northern Divers, seven Razorbills and a male Common Scoter were off Teignmouth seafront (a Black-throated Diver was reported on Thursday).

Triple Spoon

There was little overhead movement at Bundle Head first thing on Monday morning, so I changed plan and headed down to the estuary where presumably the same Spoonbill from earlier this month had been joined by a further two birds - my first multiple count of this species on patch. Thirteen Greenshanks was the only other notable tally.