A four hour (10:30 - 14:30), 10km walk from home in Kingsteignton produced a below-par 57 species, although the late start and low tide conditions combined with the absurdly mild weather did not help the total. Hackney Marshes was pretty quiet bird-wise although it was nice to hear two Song Thrushes in full voice and a Nuthatch showed well. Passage House produced three Lapwings, two Wigeon, a Kingfisher, a Common Sandpiper and a distant group of Red-breasted Mergansers. Waterfowl at Rackerhayes included singles of Gadwall and Shoveler, four Great Crested Grebes but just 10 Tufted Ducks, and the surrounding woodland held Chiffchaff, Redwing, Jay and Great Spotted Woodpecker.
At the other end of the patch, Keith Birchall recorded an impressive 18 Great Northern Divers off Teignmouth along with two Red-throated Divers, a single Brent Goose and small numbers of Gannets, Guillemots and Common Gulls.
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Great Northern Diver (Alan Ford) |