Exmouth!! My annual coastal pilgrimage.. "And its all been worthwhile!!"

Well I don’t know what the weather has been like with you, but for our 6 days in Devon, it has been wind, sleet, rain and everything you don’t want beside the seaside. Yes, Mary and I were once again at our favourite coastal resort, Exmouth, which trip you will know is planned to include my annual bird watching trip on the River Exe.

It got off to a good start, arriving in pleasant weather, ticking Great Black Backed Gull and Brent Geese (dark bellied) en route, and greeted at the Imperial with the news that we had been upgraded to a superior room with a sea view. I guess that was either a reward for being a regular customer, or due to positive comments on my blog.

This is the view from our room, overlooking Dawlish Warren.

One of our regular entertainments was watching the Herring Gulls worm charming. Whatever the weather, a pair could be seen close to our window paddling away to try and get worms to surface. If they were supposed to be replicating rainfall to encourage worms to emerge, we though the heavy rain would do that anyway!!

Tuesday was the scheduled 3-hour trip from Exmouth to Topsham, but as we did not weigh anchor until 1.30, this gave me time for a pre-sailing snack   Coincidentally, on the same boat trip were Rob and Janet, a couple I know from the Carsington Bird Walks. They had come down from Derby just for the trip, so it was equally disappointing for them that the visibility was so poor restricted what we would see. They were fortified and consoled by the hot Cornish pasties that they had ordered, and I found the parsnip soup, both hot and tasty!!

We had a new commentator, and whilst most of us were used to David Smallshire, who I gather was leading a tour in warmer climates, sightings were called by Derek Carter. With the weather limitations he did a good job, but it took Rob and I to pick up the resident Slavonian Grebe at Cockwood!! 

Amongst the goodies and year-tick birds were plenty of Mergansers, Shags, Grey Plovers and of course the Avocets. 3 Eider in the river was out of the ordinary.

The beauty of a chartered boat is that the captain will go where the birds are, so we loitered around the sand bank to get close to the Eiders, and he took close to an area near Powderham castle where waders are often good**.     Both Godwits were spotted, and Curlew and Dunlin helped the wader list.

Purple Sandpipers were not in evidence, but the next day Mary and I spotted a good number on an outgoing tide near the Marina.

Thursday, we visited a favourite area, Seaton Marshes.   A tram on the tram preservation track, passing the tower hide windows was a nice surprise and we also had good sightings of Knot on the falling tide of the river Axe. The full rainbow was very clear

Friday was wet!! Armed with a take-away snack we sat in the RSPB car park at Labrador Bay, hoping to see Cirl Bunting. Clearly the Cirl Buntings did not want to be seen, no doubt tucked up in the dry.

But Friday was my good day for birding planning. We drove through some lightly flooded roads to Dawlish and Teignmouth to try and see the Powderham castle grounds water outfall into the Exe **, but the tide was still too high.  After dining alfresco at Labrador, we returned to Powderham, and having walked across the Plymouth main rail line, it was possible to see the exposed mud and two Greenshanks near the outfall. Worth the planning!!

Made up for it on Saturday when we went to a new site for me, Haldon forest, best known for its raptor viewpoint. My target was the feeding station, and in accordance with the web reports, I duly found a large range of bird feeders, absolutely teeming with Siskin, Even and as I watched a couple of Bramblings dropped it.

So as Janet Webb said on the Morecambe and Wise show, “It’s ALL been worthwhile!”

A good birding week..58 species, of which 19 were new for 2019, and I move on to 98 YTD.    How close to the 100 barrier......."If only……….",  but we all say that.

I’ll leave you with a birding thought for the upcoming Valentine’s Day. Folk lore has it that a girl looking for a life-mate, will marry a millionaire if a Goldfinch flies over her on Valentine day,  a sparrow will signify marriage to someone who works on the land, and a Robin, a naval officer husband..

Happy Birding

A White Nun and a Barn Owl - what a combination.

Sorry there was little to report from Charante last week. I did have a news report from Napoleon Birdapart, but the news was not as exhilarating as previously.

Barney has not been seen and is rumoured to be in the hills looking for a mate. But a contra-suggestion that it may in fact not be Barney, but Betty confuses everyone.

Trouble at ‘ome suggests that Sparrows are campaigning to oust the Blue Tits from the birdhouse with a sheer show of numbers around the surrounding bushes. In turn the Sparrows are getting spooked by a large pecker that is carrying out recces on holes in the nearby Oak trees. Could this be a Middle-spotted Pecker?   More views needed + a photograph to help positive i.d.

As I write this, Wednesday 30^th January at 18.45, it is not unreasonable to say that the challenging 100 species by midnight tomorrow, is now very much a non-goer, alas. A combination of distinctly iffy weather and pressure on me to find a Tax adviser to clarify a difficult issue, has meant that Slimbridge is off the visiting list tomorrow.  I’m not letting Chris down, because she does want to be at home with John who developed a mobility problem whilst stumbling in Scotland. (Stumble? Scotland? Whisky?   Q.E.D.)

But the 100 is not the end of the world -  like the annual 200, a January 100 is just something to aim for. And of course, one can do one without the other.  I do still have high hopes for 100 by my next blog (10^th February)

I had my second Volunteer Librarian duty this morning; good job I made it through the snow and ice, because the other 2 volunteers did not make it. Baptism of fire as they say!

Saturday February 2^nd, as in 2018 I went on the DOS walk at Witches Oak. This is a working Derbyshire quarry site on the south of the A50. What is a DWT site, is only accessible to DWT and DOS authorised people, so 3 DOS members were escorted by Rod Key of the DOS and Vic from the DWT.

-1.5C was on my car thermometer at the start and it did feel like it. Wellies were the wrong decision the cold easily penetrating the rubber. However, we were all well rewarded for our endurance

with plenty of Goldeneyes, Shovellers and a pair of Goosanders.

Martin a volunteer from Willington gravel pits picked up a two Smew on one of the many lakes. A superb male with a red-head (female) and we added another redhead on the Trent later on. 

It was this tree that was the highlight  of the day………..The Witches Oak.

But it was not just the tree…… as all 5 of us neared the old tree, a Barn owl obligingly flew out of top branches and after a short circuit to decide where to go, set off South East. Rodney proclaimed it his first Barn Owl on this site, and it will no doubt be included in his DOS web site column.

… and the end of the week, Sunday 3^rd February, was to be announced that the previous night was the coldest in this spell, temperatures being well in the minuses!!

As a result, and with the road conditions being somewhat iffy, I sent Amanda my apologies that I would not be at the Carsington Bird walk, as did some 9 others of the 23 people booked. She did persevere with the stalwarts, seeing 34 species.

It did however mean that whilst pondering on life, in my study with a cup of coffee, I was able to wonder at and enjoy the sight of some c35/40 Fieldfares that decided to patronise 4/5 trees at the bottom of the garden. Very mobile, and a brilliant sight.   …and a lone Raven flying over quite high allowed me to end the week with a count currently of 78.

To-day was a special day to remember for Mary. 100 years ago, on 3^rd February 1919, her Grandparents married and started what we call the Ellis family dynasty!!

Happy Birding