It's the Little things

An increase in variety during the week as autumn arrived, the clear highlight an adult Little Tern at Passage House on the Saturday (20th) morning high tide. A very rare species on patch, mostly offshore, this may even be the first Passage House record.  Unfortunately there was no sign later in the day, but a juvenile Black-tailed Godwit was present.

The highlight at the east end of the estuary was a breeding plumage Cattle Egret, roosting with gulls, on the Salty early Wednesday morning (24th), whilst nocturnal migrants over Teignmouth included Green Sandpiper on the 21st & 27th and Black-tailed Godwit and Whimbrel on 22nd. A first winter Yellow-legged Gull feeding offshore on 22nd was an overdue first for the year.

Mid estuary the immature male Eider remained off Flow Pont throughout. 

Imm male Eider, Flow Point, Teign Estuary, 7pm. @ShiphayBirder @markrabailey @DevonBirder pic.twitter.com/YW56SVWn5a

— Chris Gladman (@AnchorBirder) August 22, 2022

A hint of autumn

The welcome change in weather provided some overnight movement with single Green Sandpiper and Little Ringed Plover calling over Teignmouth. Otherwise quiet, still waiting for the first autumn Yellow-legged Gull...

WeBS, Eider

It was nice to catch up with the juvenile/first-winter male Eider on Sunday morning, loafing with gulls off Flow Point. It has been present on the estuary for at least a month (photo on Devon Birds here). Good numbers of waders and other waterbirds were present despite the inevitable throngs of paddleboarders causing disturbance to roosts; totals included 263 Oystercatchers, 86 Curlew, 21 Ringed Plovers, 15 Common Sandpipers, 12 Greenshanks, four Whimbrels, eight Cormorants, six Shags, two Sandwich Terns, 31 Little Egrets, 67 Canada Geese, 29 Mallards, 21 Mute Swans, and singles of Redshank, Dunlin, Turnstone, Water Rail and Kingfisher.