Sightings

Main sighting: Fieldfare

A resident reports having seen about a dozen Fieldfares near Newchurch most evenings over the last week.

Main sighting: Shearwaters

Common Scoter; Oystercatcher (10); Kentish Plover; Whimbrel (4); Turnstone; Sanderling; Little Tern (3); Black Tern (4); Common Tern (5); Sandwich Tern; Kittiwake (10); Black Headed Gull; Mediterranean Gull; Herring Gull; Yellow Legged Gull (17); Great Black Backed Gull (12); Lesser Black Backed Gull (7); Arctic Skua; Great Skua (6); Razorbill; Storm Petrel (11); Fulmar (6); Cory’s Shearwater (33); Sooty Shearwater (7); Great Shearwater (21); Manx Shearwater (2271); Balearic Shearwater; Gannet (42); Cormorant (6); Shag (6); Grey Heron (1); Willow Warbler (3) on ship; Reed Warbler on ship; Pied Flycatcher (2) aside ship; Great Tit; Magpie; House Sparrow.
Also seen: Common Dolphin; Striped Dolphin; Cuviers’s Whale; Bottle Nosed Whale; Blue Shark; Blue Fin Tuna.

Main sighting: Yellowhammer

40 minute visit to Haldon Forest en Route to Plymouth for Sea Watch:
Blackbird, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch (6), Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Crossbill, Dunnock, Goldfinch
(3), Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch (3), Nuthatch, Pied Wagtail, Siskin (17), Stonechat, Swallow (5), Treecreeper, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer 93).

Main sighting: Osprey

The returning adult male Yellow-legged Gull was with the moulting gull flock for at least its fifth summer, also 2 ad GBBG, c.350 Herring//LBBG and c.50 BHG. An Osprey flew around for a few minutes. 1 or 2 fledged juv Little Ringed Plover and an adult still present on the north shore, also a Common Sandpiper, 2 Little Egret, a Little Grebe and a juv GC Grebe.

Main sighting: Buzzard

After high tide, the lagoons now totally dry with no surface water left. One very pale Buzzard sitting on a fence post and dropping to the ground to feed. Looked largely white, with white face and cheeks, white breast and white rump. On the mudflats as the tide dropped, good numbers of waders, couple of hundred Black-tailed Godwits, at least 100 Curlews.

Main sighting: Curlews

At high tide this morning (high forecast at 11.9metres at 10h03), small Curlew roost of 60 birds, including one colour-ringed here in winter 2015/16. Also 6 Shelducks (one adult and five flying juveniles), 16 Little Egrets (on inland fields), 22 Oystercatchers, 5 Ringed Plovers, 7 Dunlin, 1 Whimbrel, 1 Black-tailed Godwit. 1 Redshank, 1 Common Sandpiper.

Main sighting: Cetti’s warbler

Single adult in garden

Main sighting: Whimbrel

Whimbrel (2)
Knot (1)
Black-tailed Godwit (9)
Curlew (10)
Oystercatcher (15)
Redshank (200)
Dunlin (6)
Ringed Plover (8)
Little Egret (1)
Grey Heron (1)
Kestrel (2)
Wheatear (2)
Shelduck (300)

Main sighting: Yellow Wagtail

Highlights of today’s WeBS count: Great White Egret 7 Little Egret 15 Grey Heron 4 Ringed Plover 40 Dunlin 12 Whimbrel 1 Curlew 1 Great B/B Gull 2 Buzzard 4 (2pale phase) Wheatear 2 perched on yellow digger Swallow 30 House Martin 20 Sand Martin 3 Sedge Warbler 1 Chiffchaff 2 Yellow Wagtail 10 Pied Wagtail 6 Stock Dove 1 Raven 2
Other: Small Copper 14 feeding on fleabane

Main sighting: Water Rail

Only water now is visible from hide 3 and will likely evaporate within a week. En-route to hides: crows, woodpigeons, herring gulls, greylag goose, chiffchaff, swallows, jackdaws, collard dove, linnets and a fly-over great white egret. Hide 3: black headed gulls, 4 more great white egrets, 13 grey herons, 1 gadwall, cettis, stonechats, meadow pipit, water rail calling and lesser black-backed gulls. Seawall: (high tide) shelduck, 2 curlew and 3 oystercatchers. Hide 1: Canada geese, buzzard, female sparrowhawk, stock dove and female kestrel. Other: fox in the long grass by snipe platform, gatekeepers and meadow browns.

Main sighting: Little egret

Little egret, two buzzards, three ravens, great spotted woodpecker, juvenile song thrush, nesting house martins, thirty cormorants, 70 Canada geese.

Main sighting: Kingfisher

Afternoon stroll, quiet on bird front but nice to be out – crows, swallows, buzzard, great tit, herring gulls, woodpigeons, mallards, little grebe catching fish, chiffchaff contact call, kingfisher, moorhens and bullfinch.