I had a decent couple of hours' seawatching at Teignmouth this afternoon from 14:30 - 16:45, with the rain largely holding off and visibility remaining good. Totals were c.60 Balearic Shearwaters (almost certainly an overestimate since some birds were moving back and forth, but did include a group of 15 loafing on the sea together), 7 Manx Shearwaters, 8 distant unidentified shearwater sp., 4 Black Terns, 1 Arctic Tern, 12 commic terns, 6 Arctic Skuas, 1 Great Skua and 6 Common Scoters. Also a steady trickle of Sandwich Terns and Gannets and a handful of Kittiwakes. Apart from the circulating shearwaters, everything was heading south. The Arctic Tern (a juv) was nice and close to allow for positive identification, and the Black Terns and skuas also had the courtesy to pass relatively near to shore. From what I gather neither Dawlish Warren nor Portland could compete with these totals, so it's nice for a change that Teignmouth scored higher than other better-known watchpoints in the region.
Yesterday I only had time for a brief early morning look at Bundle Head. The bushes contained standard autumnal fare - 13 Chiffchaffs, 7 Blackcaps, 3 Whitethroats - but overhead there was an on-going arrival of Meadow Pipits in off the sea in small groups; I counted at least 70 moving inland in the hour or so I was there. Always good to see 'viz mig' in action.
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