You asked why was my blog was a bit early last week. Saturday 10th February, I took the Managing Editor for a
relaxed week at Exmouth (again), and with coughs and colds, and my bandaged
arm, it was meant to just be a chance to….chill. Wrong word…it was very chill.
The Imperial Hotel, Exmouth
But the Imperial was as expected, warm and comfy, but unexpected - full with 50 retired policemen + partners!!! Security was
tight!! Mary and I tend to chat to
other guests, and one guest from Weston Super Mare transpired to be a Traffic
Warden. That was a first!!
We discovered that another guest used to work at the BBC
Bristol alongside a sadly no longer with us cousin Roger Bennett, a very well
known local radio presenter. We found we had all been at Rogers memorial
service, as had Kate Adie, Michael Buerk and Acker Bilk. What a small world.
What else??
Can you help….We went to see The film The
Darkest hour… why was it 2 hours long?
Saturday February 10 and an
insignificant drive to Exeter. We were in time to drop in at a good antique
Fair on it’s first day. Bad idea. Yes, I bought a small leg shaped comb, but I
then had 24 hours pondering whether I should have bought a very tactile
Mahogany nut cracker. Result – I went back on Sunday and bought it!
Monday, we drove east to Seaton Marshes, well worth a visit if you are in the area. Several hides and a good
wetlands. As you can see below, one good hide overlooks the tram track, and
when I tried to take a picture incorporating a tram, nothing happened. When I
moved from the window, a tram ran past.
Reminds me of an occasion many years ago at
the Carsington Wildlife Centre, when a photographer opened the window
overlooking the feeding station, erected a gauze screen and popped his camera
lens through, waiting for Tree Sparrow photos.
After getting impatient, he went to the other end of the building, at
which point a Sparrowhawk flew straight past his unattended camera!
I was told the Glossy Ibis was still somewhere at the marshes but I settled fore a good view of a quartering Marsh Harrier.
You will not be surprised to know that our
stay at Exmouth coincided with one of 3 River Exe birding cruises, and true to
annual habit, I was suitably multi-clothed on the ice-cold Tuesday, along with
119 fellow enthusiasts on “The Pride of Exmouth”.
Hot Cornish pasties and
warming spiced lentil soup were not only a temptation to “go below” to sample,
but “go below” to get the hell out of the wind. The upperdeck was
supplied with blankets, but not of the tog that I needed. I apportioned the ratio of birders
above;below of roughly 40:80… until it rained!
My favourite spot on the boat has always been outside the saloon, at the stern, and I can move to and from between Port and Starboard as species are called. It has a loudspeaker and a
roof. So a good place to spot. Ed I didn't know you could talk nautical?
And on good spots, we soon ticked off the
regular gulls, Cormorants and Shags, and the
gorgeous
Mergansers, many in pairs. The resident Slavonian
Grebe was seen, but not in his regular spot at Cockwood, Grey
Plovers, Sanderlings and Avocets were seen
in good numbers, and the Commentator Ian Waite was very adept at explaining the
differences between the Black Tailed and the Bar Tailed Godwits., as well as going into raptures over the sizes of some of the flocks.
God knows how many Godwits!
The jury is still out on whether the dot on
the gargoyle on the Exmouth church spire was the Peregrine Falcon.
Next day (wed) the weather was so inclement
that the same bird trip was cancelled, the Dawlish Wall rail line closed and we
went nowhere.
(To be Continued….next week.)
.,.., and finally
Trivia No 7.
Reference the Carsington Jack Snipes covered
last week, made me wonder how “Jack” came about. Little info on the net, but
the best I could find was that one meaning of a Jack is “a smaller version” (of
an animal or bird). So in this case, a smaller version of a Snipe.
Latin only helps a bit. Common Snipe = Gallinago gallinago; Great Snipe = Gallinago media; Jack Snipe = Lymnocryptes minimus.
Happy Birding
It sounds like a good week - the southwest of England is always a brilliant place to visit. I must say I'm jealous - many of the birds you saw, especially Marsh Harrier and Avocet, are still waiting to be ticked off my life list. My 200 Year count reached 44 during the walk yesterday, then went up again to 45 an hour or so later, when a lovely pair of grey wagtails showed up just outside Markeaton Craft Village. A look around the lake also revealed three male and two female Goosanders, along with two or three Cormorants in their breeding plumage. However, still no sign of the Great Crested Grebe pair that inhabit the lake.
ReplyDeleteA shame about the Dawlish rail line - we had much the same problem on holiday, although we were fortunately not present for the line's destruction by a storm in 2013! We have much the same debate about peregrines in Derby city centre - we can never quite decide whether the lump on one of the ledges is a bird or not. (Although, a tip - if ever you pass the Jury's Inn, take a look at the large letters of the sign on all faces of the building - you are almost guaranteed to find one perched atop the sign. For some reason, our peregrines seem to favour sitting on the letter "I"?)
Ed: I have been aware for some time that the Bird Man of Allestree can speak nautical, not all terms he uses are printable....
ReplyDeleteIf you think this was cold, wait for what's coming in a few days' time!
Seaton Marshes and The Exe River cruise are both on my 'to do' list.
Here in Lynton birds are returning in increasing numbers including good numbers of Pheasants, a rarity in Duffield. Sadly, I think our resident Nuthatch has been got by a Sparrow Hawk. Male Stonechats are becoming increasingly evident on the path up to the cliff.
Like you, Onyx Opteryx, I have seen Peregrines several times on Derby Cathedral and Jury's Inn. The webcam on the Cathedral is worth a look.