WeBS

Spring felt a long way off this morning with a cold north-easterly wind tempering any warmth from the sun. Two Black-tailed Godwits at Passage House were new for the year, but there was not a lot else of note (some species may have already begun their migration towards breeding grounds). Totals included 186 Oystercatchers, 58 Curlew, 53 Redshanks, five Ringed Plovers, three Greenshanks, one Common Sandpiper, 50 Shelducks, 21 Mute Swans, nine Teal, just six Red-breasted Mergansers, 17 Little Egrets, seven Cormorants, six Shags (including one at Passage House) and three Little Grebes.

Firecrest

 A Sunday morning stroll from The Ness to Bundle Head, then back inland behind Coast View holiday park, in glorious weather produced one Firecrest, 5+ Bullfinches, two singing Skylarks and, most unexpectedly, two Greylag Geese flying north. A handful of Chaffinches and Goldfinches also moving north perhaps hinted at some very early spring passage. 

On Wednesday Alan had two Rock Pipits along Teignmouth seafront.

Rock Pipit (Alan Ford)

Babbacombe Bay from Bundle Head

Water voles?

I was intrigued to see this sign by the reedbed at Coombe Cellars yesterday. If anyone knows anything about it I'd be interested to learn more!

A family walk around Decoy CP on Saturday morning produced a female Mandarin, 11 Tufted Ducks, two Great Crested Grebes on the lake with three Stock Doves, Nuthatch and Great Spotted Woodpecker in the woods. Despite a completely flat sea just two Great Northern Divers were all that was noted off Teignmouth, but the Hooded Crow was seen again on the Salty.

Hooded Crow, Black-throated Diver

The discovery of a Hooded Crow on The Salty this morning by Rob Murphy was an unexpected but welcome addition to the patch list. It had the courtesy to stick around until mid-afternoon giving me a chance to catch up with it (and let Kev add it to his house list). Unfortunately it remained distant from Polly Steps; hopefully somebody on the Back Beach or elsewhere managed to get better shots than those below. 

Yesterday a Black-throated Diver was on the sea between Teignmouth and Holcombe from 11:30 - 12:00 at least; this was even more distant than the crow but the calm sea enabled reasonably good views. Also one Red-throated Diver, five Great Northern Divers, three Great Crested Grebes and eight Razorbills. Prior to this a visit to Wear Farm produced three Chiffchaffs, two Ravens and c.50 Redwings, and elsewhere a female Mandarin was on the river at Teigngrace.

Hooded Crow

Black-throated Diver

WeBS

A high tide well before sunrise on core count day didn't make for ideal counting conditions, and numbers of some species (larger waders in particular) were down this morning compared with what are expected for January, although there was a reasonable variety on show. Totals included 297 Oystercatchers, 24 Curlew, 23 Turnstones, 22 Avocets, c.50 Redshanks, three Greenshanks, 16 Dunlin, 10 Snipe, two Ringed Plovers, two Lapwings, one Common Sandpiper, 33 Shelducks, 17 Red-breasted Mergansers, eight Teal, four Mute Swans, 22 Little Egrets, two Grey Herons, two Great Crested Grebes, four Little Grebes, 12 Common Gulls, one Lesser Black-backed Gulls and one Kingfisher. A very brief look off Teignmouth seafront revealed four Razorbills and another Great Crested Grebe offshore with six Fulmars back on the cliffs at Holcombe.

New Year's Day

A 3.5hr morning walk taking in various Kingsteignton sites, plus a lunchtime scan from Teignmouth seafront, produced a healthy 71 species to start the year. Hackney Marshes provided a Firecrest, two Buzzards, a female Bullfinch and close views of a Water Rail. Three Kingfishers were present in the Passage House area, where 17 Avocets were feeding and a Chiffchaff called from the reeds. Rackerhayes was quieter than expected but did hold three Mandarins, 26 Tufted Ducks and various woodland species including Sparrowhawk, Nuthatch and Great Spotted Woodpecker. Off Teignmouth, 6+ Great Northern Divers (with a probable Black-throated Diver reported), several Gannets, Razorbills and single Kittiwake and Fulmar. Twelve Turnstones were roosting on a boat off Polly Steps. 

Kingfisher

Buzzard

Goosander, Green Sandpiper

 A low-tide visit to the Passage House area this afternoon produced a redhead Goosander (the 150th species of the year), three Greenshanks and 46 Dunlin. Goosanders are barely annual visitors to the estuary despite regularly occurring (and breeding) on the River Teign. A check of the flooded meadows at Teigngrace revealed this Green Sandpiper.

WeBS

Totals from around the estuary across a bitterly cold weekend included 342 Oystercatchers, 87 Redshanks, four Greenshanks, 61 Dunlin, just 38 Curlew, 24 Turnstones, 10 Avocets, eight Ringed Plovers, three Knot, two Common Sandpipers, 27 Little Egrets, 18 Red-breasted Mergansers, 15 Mallards, 12 Shelducks, 10 Teal, seven Wigeon, eight Mute Swans, three Little Grebes and singles of Kingfisher, Lapwing and Snipe. The Knot, and increased Dunlin and Little Egret numbers, probably point to a slight influx from the freezing conditions.

Spot Red again

The Spotted Redshank was at Passage House on the dropping tide with 42 Redshank, 14 Curlew and 10 Oystercatcher. Also present three Red-breasted Merganser, two Kingfisher and a Common Sandpiper. 

At Decoy Lake another Kingfisher and eight Tufted Duck.

Black Red again

Teignmouth Port has traditionally been the most reliable place to find Black Redstart around the Teign, and on Sunday morning one duly obliged after a short search - possibly the same bird seen on the roof of the Jolly Sailor a couple of weeks ago. A quick scan off the seafront produced two Common Scoters, at least one Great Northern Diver and a very close Kittiwake foraging along the shore with Black-headed Gulls.

Black Redstart