Pom Skua

A lingering Pomarine Skua was the highlight of a seawatch from Teignmouth yacht club from 07:00 - 08:30 this morning. It briefly hassled a passing Gannet, one of 430 logged going south which included a good number of immature birds; reassuring to see after the year the species has had. The hoped-for Great Shearwater failed to materialise but a late Balearic Shearwater flew past along with one unidentified distant shearwater. Also noted were five Great Northern Divers (four south, one on the sea), two Mediterranean Gulls, two Red-breasted Mergansers, one Common Scoter, c.300 Kittiwakes and c.100 auks.

Brambling, Redpoll, Firecrest

A terrific hour of vis mig from the top of Bundle Head yesterday morning, with an almost constant stream of passerines heading south from before sunrise. Goldfinches and Linnets dominated proceedings with 262 and 185 respectively; Redwing (138) and Meadow Pipit (136) were the other species to make three figures. A bit of quality was provided by eight Bullfinches, five Siskins, a Brambling and a Redpoll. Also noted were 49 Chaffinches, 22 Pied/White Wagtails, four Song Thrushes and two Swallows. Nearby a Firecrest was calling in The Ness. 

WeBS, Osprey

Totals from the estuary this morning included 314 Oystercatchers, 68 Curlew, c.40 Redshanks, 20 Turnstones, 19 Dunlin, 15 Greenshanks, three Ringed Plovers, 51 Little Egrets, 36 Mute Swans, c.30 Mallards, six Wigeon, four Teal, two Shelducks, two Little Grebes, 18 Cormorants, two Kingfishers and single Mediterranean and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. An Osprey flew north-east over Flow Point at 08:20, seemingly escaping the detection of most roosting birds before heading inland.

Forty minutes at the top of Bundle Head from sunrise yesterday morning produced 76 Linnets, 34 Goldfinches, 19 Meadow Pipits, 12 Pied/White Wagtails, eight Chaffinches, seven Swallows, six Siskins and three Starlings all heading south, with a Firecrest seen briefly in clifftop scrub.

Spotted Flycatchers

At least three, possibly as many as five Spotted Flycatchers were at Bundle Head this morning; birds kept dipping in and out of hedgerows making it difficult to confirm numbers. Also two Stonechats, two Blackcaps, c.10 Chiffchaffs and a Goldcrest, with three Grey Wagtails, 40+ Swallows and small numbers of Linnets, Goldfinches, Chaffinches and Meadow Pipits moving overhead.

At Flow Point the 40-strong small wader flock looked promising but turned out to comprise just Dunlin (26) and Ringed Plover (14). The immature male Eider was still present. Three Black Swans were an unusual sight at Passage House.

WeBS, Great White Egret

The recent mini-purple patch continued on Tuesday morning with a Great White Egret east of Passage House the highlight of a belated WeBS count of the upper and middle estuary. Unfortunately it remained distant and didn't linger, and was last seen flying towards Coombe Cellars at 7.50am. A good number and variety of waders were present, with 408 Oystercatchers, 60 Curlew, 16 Greenshanks, 12 Dunlin, 10 Common Sandpipers, nine Redshanks, eight Ringed Plovers and singles of Knot, Avocet and Bar-tailed Godwit all noted. The immature male Eider was still at Flow Point, along with a couple of early Teal, a Wheatear and a Kingfisher. Other totals included 45 Little Egrets, 34 Mallards, 16 Mute Swans, two Little Grebes and two Shelducks. On Sunday morning there were 21 Turnstones at Teignmouth.

The tide is high

A quick stop at Passage House on the rising tide initially appeared quiet with just two Common Sandpiper amongst 168 Canada Geese, until a shout announced the presence of an Osprey (and Pete Stevens)! The Osprey, a juvenile, made a failed fishing attempt and then was lost to view behind the reedbed, reappearing a short while later. 

Previously hidden waders were then revealed by the rising tide and over the next half hour two Curlew Sandpiper, the first since 2014, 11 Dunlin, two Green Sandpiper, a Knot, a Black-tailed Godwit and a high count of 22 Greenshank flew down the estuary to search out new roost sites. 

Also present at least three Water Rail, a Kingfisher and a Bar-headed Goose. 

On the Salty, a first winter Yellow-legged Gull and a juvenile Common Gull. 

Seawatch

Watching from Teignmouth yacht club from 06:30 - 09:15 yesterday morning was initially massively disappointing, with little except a steady stream of Gannets for the first hour or so (205 logged between 06:30 - 08:00 when they started doubling back). Eventually things began to improve, with six Balearic Shearwaters, five Manx Shearwaters, four unidentified small shearwaters, two Arctic Skuas, three Common Terns, 16 Sandwich Terns, nine 'commic' terns, seven Kittiwakes, six Fulmars and two Mediterranean Gulls making the notebook (all heading south); not bad but better was expected given the conditions and time of year.

On Saturday a single Sooty Shearwater flew south just after 4pm with 10 Balearic Shearwater between 3-5pm. Monday morning saw a Bar-tailed Godwit on the Salty with 262 Oystercatcher.

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.