New Year's Day

On one of the coldest New Year's Days in recent memory (the thermometer read minus 6 Celsius in Kingsteignton at 07.00) Laurie and I covered separate areas of the patch and combined for an above average total of 88 species.

Rackerhayes contained a decent variety of wildfowl including 27 Tufted Ducks, four Gadwalls, three Shovelers, two Pochards and a completely unexpected party of 13 Mandarins. Birds in surrounding woodland were obliging with Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Nuthatch, Treecreeper and Siskin all noted although Marsh Tit could not be found today. Fieldfare, Chiffchaff and Bullfinch were also added to the day list there.

With the tide falling at Passage House late morning, four Avocets, two Lapwings and two Common Sandpipers showed up to forage and eight Wigeon were on the point. A male Stonechat in the reeds was an unexpected bonus. Another look during the afternoon produced a male Teal, Grey Heron and two Little Grebes.

Hackney Marshes was full of walkers and dogs but still produced a Snipe on some frozen mud and Cetti's Warbler, Reed Bunting and Water Rail were all heard in the reeds. A Kingfisher hunted from the railway bridge, a Firecrest was flitting about in the woods and a Buzzard flew over, this being the only raptor recorded today.

Decoy Woods was busy with birds, with several flocks of Long-tailed Tits moving around. A Treecreeper and Firecrest were both seen on the edge of Wolborough Fen, which it itself looked magical in the glistening frost. The lake only held nine Tufted Duck; well below the usual total of around 30. Raven and Stock Dove both flew over and a Mistle Thrush sang from a tree.

A walk around the ditches and flooded areas at Teigngrace failed to produce the hoped for Green Sandpiper, however, five Snipe were flushed and a few Meadow Pipits foraged on the wet fields.

A look over the sea from Teignmouth revealed six Great Northern Divers, one Red-throated Diver, at least two Razorbill and 15 Guillemot, a handful of Gannet and a couple of Fulmar perched on the cliffs at Holcombe. Two each of Harbour Porpoise and Common Dolphin were also seen.

Mandarins

   Stonechat

Gullwatching

While a juvenile Glaucous Gull was giving close views a few miles away at Hope's Nose yesterday, I was picking through the larids between Passage House and Coombe Cellars hoping to find a white-winger, unfortunately to no avail. There weren't actually that many gulls present, and only four species with just 32 Common Gulls and 29 Great Black-backed Gulls among the ubiquitous Herring and Black-headed Gulls. Otherwise totals of 16 Avocets and six Wigeon were both respectable counts for the Teign.

This morning at Rackerhayes there was little indication of a waterfowl influx ahead of the imminent colder weather, although Tufted Ducks had increased to 21 and the two Pochards remained. A pair of Great Crested Grebes, perhaps sensing the increasing day length, performed their courtship display briefly.

WeBS

A Dark-bellied Brent Goose mingling with 27 Shelducks on Flow Point was the highlight of yesterday's count. Wader totals were mixed, with 291 Oystercatchers, 63 Curlew and 27 Redshanks and just one Lapwing all below par for the time of year but 26+ Turnstones, 14 Dunlin, seven Ringed Plovers, seven Greenshanks, seven Avocets and two Common Sandpipers being around or slightly above average. Other totals included 26 Red-breasted Mergansers, 18 Mute Swans, 16 Mallards, three Wigeon, three Little Grebes and one Kingfisher.

Pochards

 An increasingly scarce winter visitor, this pair of Pochards was still on Rackerhayes this morning along with 16 Tufted Ducks, three Gadwalls and two Great Crested Crebes. 

Avocets

The Teign's usual handful of wintering Avocets has arrived, with seven roosting at Passage House this morning alongside c.50 Redshanks, three Greenshanks and 10 Little Egrets, with 28 Mute Swans and six Little Grebes in the channels. A check of Rackerhayes produced 18 Tufted Ducks, two Pochards, two Gadwalls, two Shovelers and two Great Crested Grebes.

Black Redstart

A female/first-winter Black Redstart was playing a game of cat and mouse with me at Teignmouth Port this morning, allowing just three brief views (and one photo opportunity) in almost ninety minutes. It seemed to favour buildings to the east of the weighbridge.

Black Redstart

Earlier, a check of several locations along the southern side of the estuary was fruitful. Passage House held eight Lapwings, six Dunlin, five Little Grebes, three Common Sandpipers and a Greenshank. Arch Brook (opposite Flow Point) yielded a further 11 Dunlin, two Greenshanks, three Wigeon (Laurie had five later at Passage House) and a female Teal. Farmland around Combeinteignhead contained 28 Linnets, half a dozen Skylarks and a couple of singing Cirl Buntings.

Greenshank

Lastly, four Red-throated Divers, a Great Northern Diver and a handful of Guillemots were off Teignmouth at midday.

WeBS

Some good numbers of birds on the estuary this morning following a very high tide just before dawn. Totals included 296 Oystercatchers, 79 Curlew, 18 Turnstones (11 at Teignmouth and seven at Flow Point), nine Greenshanks, eight Ringed Plovers, four Dunlin, three Common Sandpipers, 34 Mute Swans, 26 Shelducks, 12 Mallards, one Wigeon, one Great Crested Grebe, five Little Grebes, 15 Cormorants, 14 Shags, 13 Little Egrets, eight Common Gulls and two Kingfishers. On Thursday Laurie recorded c.70 Redshanks, 15 Red-breasted Mergansers and four Lapwings. 

Red-breasted Merganser

Hackney Marshes

A first visit to Hackney Marshes since the last day of May yesterday produced plenty of crests with one Firecrest and 12 Goldcrests dotted around, along with three Chiffchaffs, a male Blackcap, four Grey Wagtails, three Siskins, a Kingfisher, two Fieldfares and c.100 Redwings. 

This morning there was a bit of movement over a misty Bundle Head with 68 Chaffinches, 54 Goldfinches, 22 Meadow Pipits, five Siskins and three Redpolls noted between 07:15 and 08:00. Two Firecrests and two Chiffchaffs were around the Ness, with three Great Northern Divers on the sea near the mouth of the estuary.

From the viewing screen at Hackney Marshes this afternoon, a pair of Mandarins and two showy Water Rails.

Woodpigeon movement

Looking north from Bundle Head from dawn and with excellent visibility, great clouds of Woodpigeons soon started to appear from the direction of the Pebblehead Heaths, following the coast towards Teignmouth. Unexpectedly, the majority of birds then turned inland or followed the line of the estuary west, although some continued south where a couple of Peregrines were on the hunt and caused the flocks to swirl like murmurations of starlings. Overall, an estimated 30,000 Woodpigeons were recorded between 07:00 and 08:00 before passage abruptly tailed off. Few other birds were on the move overhead with just small numbers of finches and a couple of unidentified bunting-like passerines, and a thorough check of the Ness and northern end of the golf course failed to produce anything of note.

Diver fest

Teignmouth seawatching with Laurie this morning from 07:05 - 08:20 (when the sun glare became too strong) failed to produce any storm-driven seabirds but was surprisingly excellent for divers, with a remarkable 26 Great Northern Divers on the sea and flying south, including several summer-plumaged birds; 14 distant unidentified divers (most probably Great Northern) and three Red-throated Divers (including one calling bird close to shore). There was little else of note other than a male Common Scoter and a steady southbound trickle of Kittiwakes and Common Gulls.

Red-throated Diver

Great Northern Diver