Hobby, butterflies

An afternoon stroll through Kingsteignton was enlivened by a Hobby chasing Swifts and House Martins over the centre of the town. 

There has been an increase in butterflies in the 'wilded' front garden recently, including Gatekeeper and Common Blue.

WeBS

Totals from Sunday morning included 70 Mute Swans, 60 Canada Geese, 14 Mallards, 53 Little Egrets, 108 Oystercatchers, 37 Curlew, 11 Greenshanks, five Turnstones, three Whimbrels, three Common Sandpipers, two Sandwich Terns, two Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a Common Gull and a Moorhen. 

Turnstone (Alan Ford)

Returning waders, swan-fest

A nice selection of waders at Passage House on Sunday evening confirmed that return passage is well underway, with two adult Little Ringed Plovers, five Common Sandpipers, four Greenshanks, three Redshanks, 47 Curlew and a Whimbrel noted. The annual summer buildup of Mute Swans is reaching its peak with an impressive 71 recorded; based on WeBS data this appears to be the highest estuary count since 1983/84.