WeBS

Totals from Passage House to Salcombe Dip yesterday morning comprised 77 Oystercatchers, 33 Curlew, five Redshanks, three Greenshanks,16 Mute Swans, 39 Shelducks, 11 Red-breasted Mergansers, three Mallards, two Cormorants, two Shags, 12 Little Egrets, 205 Herring Gulls, six Black-headed Gulls and singles of Common Sandpiper and Great Crested Grebe.

On Sunday afternoon the first Osprey of the year was reported fishing between Shaldon Bridge and Coombe Cellars.

Sand Martins

It was heartening to see three Sand Martins over the fields at Teigngrace this morning, battling against the hail showers. Five Little Egrets, eight Mute Swans and 85 Canada Geese were also present. Hackney Marshes produced two singing Chiffchaffs, a Blackcap in sub-song and overhead a Buzzard so pale that it had me briefly dreaming of light-morph Booted Eagle. Lastly an Eider, a Razorbill, three Great Northern Divers and 15 Common Scoters were off Teignmouth yacht club around midday.

Yesterday two Sandwich Terns flew south past Teignmouth and on Friday Laurie had another Green Sandpiper at Teigngrace.

WeBS

Still good numbers of wintering birds around the estuary yesterday morning. Totals included 215 Oystercatchers, 77 Curlew, 54 Redshanks, 27 Dunlin, 10 Turnstones, eight Ringed Plovers, eight Greenshanks, two Common Sandpipers, 15 Little Egrets, 14 Mute Swans, 13 Cormorants, 64 Shelducks, 21 Red-breasted Mergansers and a pair of Wigeon.

First migrants

Plenty of signs of spring around this morning including the start of Lesser Black-backed Gull passage, with 10 present between Passage House and Coombe Cellars. Normally only one or two are present on the estuary through the winter. Also noted during low tide the female Goldeneye, c.55 Common Gulls, two Wigeon, two Greenshanks and two Common Sandpipers.

Goldeneye - Passage House

Velvet Scoters

Two Velvet Scoters were with a small group of six Common Scoter off Spray Point this afternoon in fairly choppy seas. It looked as if there was one female and one 1st winter male, although it was hard to tell due to the distance and conditions.

Also on the sea were 12 Red-throated Divers, one each of Great Northern Diver, Eider, Guillemot and Razorbill, and two Great Crested Grebe.

Racecourse birding

There was little evidence of any cold weather movement around the racecourse and Hackney Marshes on Saturday morning, with the former producing 14 Lapwings, a dozen or so Fieldfares, three Skylarks and a female Stonechat, and the latter 13 Reed Buntings. The best news of the morning was the cutting of the hedge alongside the foot/cycle path, allowing clear views across the racecourse once more.

Turnstones in a row

Alan Ford captured these 13 Turnstones roosting off Polly Steps, Teignmouth last weekend.

WeBS

A fairly unremarkable count this morning with some wader numbers lower than average. Totals included 346 Oystercatchers, 70 Curlew, 41 Redshanks, 11 Turnstones, nine Dunlin, eight Ringed Plovers, five Greenshanks, three Common Sandpipers, the female Goldeneye, 20 Red-breasted Mergansers, 44 Shelducks and four Little Grebes. A look off Teignmouth seafront revealed the five Eiders, a couple of Razorbills and a pod of 6-7 Common Dolphins.

Firecrest, Goldeneye, Eiders and divers

A few bits and pieces from various sites today included a Firecrest and 16 Tufted Ducks at Decoy Country Park, the wintering female Goldeneye at Passage House, a Peregrine over Coombe Cellars and close views of a Water Rail at Hackney Marshes. A look at the sea off Teignmouth yacht club around noon was quite productive with the five Eiders, 13 Common Scoters, 14+ Guillemots, three Great Northern Divers and a good total of 13 Red-throated Divers, eight of which arrived in a single flock.

Decoy Country Park

Velvet Scoter

A Velvet Scoter was with 10 Common Scoter off Sprey Point this morning with singles of Great Northern Diver and Guillemot, with a distant feeding flock of Gannets and Kittiwakes far offshore.

On the estuary, 270+ Oystercatcher were roosting at Flow Point with eight Dunlin and a lone Red-breasted Merganser out on the water. At least 37 Curlew were at Passage House.

On Decoy Lake, the Tufted Duck count has increased to 15 with the Great Northern Diver having seemingly departed.

The Green Sandpiper was still present at Teigngrace in the exact same spot.

Green Sandpiper