Unseasonable Redwing

A juvenile Redwing was a surprise during an early morning visit to Bundle Head on Monday. It was associating with a group of 5-6 Song Thrushes so it may have arrived with them. Five Tree Pipits moved through, with three dropping into the top of an ash tree briefly before moving on, and a Spotted Flycatcher showed briefly by the coast path. Also noted were 15+ Blackcaps, nine Chiffchaffs, three Goldcrests, two Whitethroats, a Willow Warbler and a Stoat.

Wheatears

Four Wheatears were on the racecourse this morning, which is unfortunately becoming increasingly difficult to view from the foot/cycle path due to vegetation growth. Also six Mistle Thrushes and several mixed flocks of Swallows, Linnets and Goldfinches.

WeBS

An enjoyable late afternoon and early evening counting over the high tide. Wader numbers were up with a good mix of passage and returning birds: 363 Oystercatchers, 48 Curlew, 19 Redshanks, 14 Dunlin, 10 Greenshanks, nine Common Sandpipers, four Ringed Plovers and two Whimbrel. Other totals between Passage House and Flow Point included 33 Mute Swans, 26 Little Egrets, five immature Shelducks, five Little Grebes, two Water Rails and two Kingfishers.

Ringed Plover (juvenile), Passage House

Black-tailed Godwits

Two juvenile Black-tailed Godwits and a Whimbrel were with the Curlew flock at Passage House yesterday morning. Other waders included five Common Sandpipers and five Dunlin, and the first Kingfisher of the autumn was at Flow Point.

Juvenile YLG

No sign of the reported Great Northern Diver that has been present around Shaldon Bridge for tthe past two weeks, however the second juvenile Yellow-legged Gull of the autumn was on The Salty. Six Sandwich Tern were are fishing by the bridge with a Black-tailed Godwit and a juvenile Lesser-black Backed Gull the best of the rest of the estuary.

Stormie, Balearic, Pom...

Seawatching this morning from 05:50 - 09:05 featured up to five birders huddled under the yacht club, a Teignmouth record. The birding didn't quite reach the highs of 11 days ago, with a grand total of just six (small) shearwaters, but there was a good number and variety of other seabirds with the majority of passage occurred between 06:30 and 08:00 (bar a late flurry of skuas):

European Storm Petrel - 1 (fairly close but frustratingly brief)
Balearic Shearwater - 1 (excellent close views)
Manx Shearwater - 5 (!)
Pomarine Skua - 1 (again close, probable 3cy)
Arctic Skua - 6
Unidentified skua sp - 2
Arctic Tern - 1
Common Tern - 22
Sandwich Tern - 245
Kittiwake - 118
Common Scoter - 79
Mediterranean Gull - 1 juv.
Fulmar - c.10
Gannet - c.200
Dunlin - 3
Turnstone - 1

Late news for July 31st - a good count of 90 Shags on the sea off Teignmouth.

Composite photo: Arctic Skua (top), Pomarine Skua (bottom).