An immensely frustrating morning on Saturday. After reports of at least one unidentified swift between Shaldon and Labrador Bay, I headed up to the high ground above Coast View holiday park - the same place where at least one Alpine Swift gave great views two years ago - and picked up two swifts high above the village (looking back towards Teignmouth). They looked good for Pallid Swift - apparent stockier structure, more deliberate gliding flight, paler brown colour (although this may have been accentuated by the low sunlight) - but they were just too distant to be 100% sure. They disappeared from view after a couple of minutes; I put the news out and several other birders soon arrived to look, but there was no sign of any swifts for the rest of the day.
Today's WeBS count featured a very high tide, and several species (notably Curlew and Greenshank) were not present at their usual roosts. Totals included 326 Oystercatchers, 54 Turnstones, c.30 Dunlin, just 26 Curlew, five Ringed Plovers, three Common Sandpipers, 15 Little Egrets, five Little Grebes, 22 Mute Swans, six Teal, four Shelducks, one Wigeon, 14 Cormorants, six Shags and two Kingfishers. It was good to see the first six Red-breasted Mergansers of the winter off Arch Brook. An influx of gulls to the Passage House area included a high count of 63 Great Black-backed Gulls along with 12 Common Gulls, two Lesser Black-backed Gulls and an adult Mediterranean Gull. On the sea three Great Northern Divers, seven Razorbills and a male Common Scoter were off Teignmouth seafront (a Black-throated Diver was reported on Thursday).
