Bundle Head on Friday morning produced one Spotted Flycatcher, three Whitethroats, eight Blackcaps, two Stonechats, c.20 Swallows, c.50 House Martins and one Sand Martin. At Passage House 31 Little Egrets, seven Whimbrel, six Common Sandpipers and the first two Kingfishers of the autumn.
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| Spotted Flycatcher |
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| House Martins |
I usually manage to catch at least one Osprey on the Teign Estuary each year but it's taken a decade to finally see one succeed in catching a fish. Today's bird (an adult) spent about 20 minutes hunting between Coombe Cellars and Ringmore before finally succeeding and carrying its prey off inland over Bishopsteignton at 10:00. Prior to this the WeBS count revealed good numbers of waders on the estuary, with 317 Oystercatchers, 57+ Curlew, 21 Ringed Plovers, 13 Greenshanks, 11 Dunlin, 10 Common Sandpipers, five Whimbrels and three Turnstones present between Teignmouth and Passage House. Also noted 131 Canada Geese, 31 Mute Swans, 15 Mallards, 38 Little Egrets, seven Cormorants, two Sandwich Terns, c.450 Black-headed Gulls, c.250 Herring Gulls, five Great Black-backed Gulls and a Mediterranean Gull.
A Tree Pipit was the highlight of a fairly quiet ninety minutes on Bundle Head this morning. It pitched up in a patch of bramble scrub that also held two Whitethroats and a male and juvenile Stonechat. Otherwise just three Blackcaps, one Willow Warbler, 6+ Bullfinches, a juvenile Green Woodpecker and a handful of Chiffchaffs in the hedgerows.
Another fairly productive seawatch (by Teignmouth standards) from 06:15 - 08:00 on Saturday morning. Small groups of terns were heading south, with totals of 54 Sandwich Terns and 18 Common Terns logged; some of these may have roosted at Dawlish Warren on Friday evening. Gannet and Kittiwake were also moving in good numbers especially during breaks in the rain, estimated at 300+ and 400+ respectively. Also noted 30 Manx Shearwaters, six Common Scoters, five Mediterranean Gulls (four adults and a juvenile), two Arctic Skuas, two Turnstones, a Guillemot and a Fulmar.
