Backwater Birding - Seaton, Devon (10 Viewers)

[KarenWoolley]

Colyford Common this morning had a very similar collection to yesterday. One of the Green Sandpipers made a short foray onto one of the teeny pools on the new scrape, prompting me to attempt to digiscope it. The intense glare from the early morning sun ensured much naffness!! :king: It would be nice to see a Wood Sandpiper on here soon!

One Black-tailed Godwit was again visible from the Farm Gate, with another five at Coronation Corner.

Mike - I hadn't heard of that one, I've looked it up, Dictyophora indusiata I presume. Bizarre! |=)|

 

[Gavin Haig]

Actually got our birding this afternoon after a few abstemious days. A Hobby was teasing the hirundines over the estuary. It was nice to see the 5 Black-tailed Godwits at Coronation Corner (I didn't see any from the Farm Gate), and with 4 Common Sands and 3 Green Sands at Colyford Marsh it's really feeling like stuff is beginning to get moving now. The tide was pretty low, so there may have been more on the river.

 

[Steve Waite]

Hi folks! Nice to be home!

Have spent the week in Cornwall with Kym, staying at a 'happy clappy' camp site on the Lizard. All good fun, soaking up the sun in the outdoor pools, playing crazy golf, watching five over active youngsters doing all different kinds of singing/dancing routines every night - you know, all those fun holiday things! Still managed a little bit of birdie time, saw a (or I suppose THE) family of Choughs on two occasions, and a seawatch from Lizard Point early Wednesday produced masses of Gannets and Manxies, 2 Stormies, a nice Puffin and a close Sunfish - my first for several years. Infact my last Sunfish drifted past Phil and I whilst we were watching all those Great Shearwaters loafing about off Hartland Point several years back.

Just had a sweep of the river at low tide, nice to see the Redshank have moved down the estuary and are now hanging around infront of Seaton Hide. A good number of Black-headed Gulls included 19 juvs and from the farm gate the six Blackwits could be seen feeding on the estuary mud. Nice to see the scrape water levels have risen, much needed otherwise August would have been a total wash-out, well dry-out!

 

[KarenWoolley]

I spent another couple of hours at Colyford Common this morning mainly in 'The Box' though I did venture to the new reedbed for a quick look first. I flushed a single Greensand from here, I don't seem to be able to get through the small gate without them hearing my approach!! I took a snap of an adorable fluffy little Moorhen chick begging to mum.|=)|

The scrape was jam packed with birds 200 plus BHG's, 30 plus Redshank, 6 Blackwits, 5 Common Sandpipers, 4 Green Sandpipers and a Lapwing.

Both scrapes now have plenty of water in them, after last nights high spring tide and the smaller scrape was much more popular today. Three Greensands spent a fair time on it, feasting on flies and allowing me to have another go at digiscoping them, with better results I'm pleased to say!! :king: Also a short video clip HERE. It was really nice to see 8 Little Egrets on here too, including SEVEN juveniles (Ian M had seen NINE here earlier in the morning). I've attached a pic, the juveniles are the seven birds to the left.|=)|

 

[Steve Waite]

Spent an hour at Colyford Common tonight, bloody glad that 'box' is there because it stopped me getting VERY wet! Same stuff on show but a few more Sandpipers with 7 Common and 6 Green (2 of which flew off high west - and away!). Also 38 Redshank (7 juvs), 5 Oystercatchers and 3 juv Little Egrets.

Attached is a pic of a Green Sand from tonight, one of some cornish cliffs and another demonstrating the difficulties of cornish seawatching! Being a mainly deep-in-the-bay seawatcher I tend to aim my scope far far out, this is a very bad idea in Cornwall as everything goes below it at ultra close range (or above it - as these Gannets did!).

 

[Colin Bushell]

Actually got our birding this afternoon after a few abstemious days. A Hobby was teasing the hirundines over the estuary. It was nice to see the 5 Black-tailed Godwits at Coronation Corner (I didn't see any from the Farm Gate), and with 4 Common Sands and 3 Green Sands at Colyford Marsh it's really feeling like stuff is beginning to get moving now. The tide was pretty low, so there may have been more on the river.

Hi Gav,

Just bookmarked your blog - another insight to the Backwater. Nice one.

CB.

 

[Gavin Haig]

Hi Gav,

Just bookmarked your blog - another insight to the Backwater. Nice one.

CB.

Cheers Colin. I've been tuning in to yours from time to time as well - I notice Dumfries and Galloway is as much your patch as the Ribble Estuary! Very nice!

Wet and windy today. Seawatching was a fairly obvious enterprise, but the rewards were slim. Storm Petrels wouldn't play, and the highlight for us this morning was a group of 3 Med Gulls flying W together (2 ads and a 2nd-summer). I had another go mid-afternoon between deluges and was surprised by a (rather early?) juv Arctic Tern. Ian M joined me this afternoon. I took this snap as we sat through a downpour together - he's just celebrating another fine Gannet.

 

[MKinHK]

Mike - I hadn't heard of that one, I've looked it up, Dictyophora indusiata I presume. Bizarre! |=)|

Hi Karen

You were right with your identification of my stinkhorn - I've attached a couple of pics on my patch thread here

Cheers
Mike

 

[Steve Waite]

Have spent a bit of time seawatching before work. Very little and very hard work! The only highlight being a dark phased Arctic Skua west at c05:35. Why is everywhere getting alot more than us???

My additions to yesterdays sightings include the 6 Blackwits and an adult Common Gull on the estuary.

 

[Gavin Haig]

Why is everywhere getting alot more than us???

Geography, Steve! |=)|

 

[KarenWoolley]

Have spent a bit of time seawatching before work. Very little and very hard work!

I know what you mean Steve, I spent a while seawatching early yesterday morning too. Very little result for a truly massive expenditure of effort!! I had to make a cup of tea and everything!

I was going to rough it some more after work at 8ish, but when I got home there was a bit of a drama unfolding at the yacht club. A pontoon berthing around twenty or so yachts was breaking free of its moorings!! The large excavator in the picture was parked over the last anchor point on the land (a massive buried concrete block) which was pulling out of the ground, it had already pulled one into the water. Fortunately it remained more or less in place through the night tied to a variety of makeshift anchor points. Could have made a right mess!!

Not bird news I know, perhaps I'll see some worth mentioning today.....|=)|

PS: Gavin - that is a comfy, warm, travel rug I see next to your scope isn't it? Does this mean you're older than I thought?!!

 

[Gavin Haig]

PS: Gavin - that is a comfy, warm, travel rug I see next to your scope isn't it? Does this mean you're older than I thought?!!

Oi!!

I brought it along in case Ian needed it.

Actually, it's one of those waterproof picnic rugs, stops me getting wet bum from rain-covered bench, and doubles as cushion for my tired old bones (not having the luxury of centrally-heated seawatching hide with tea on tap). I'm only slightly embarrassed that I feel the need to explain its presence, but guessed that someone would see the opportunity for some fun-poking and I would probably wind up having to! |:$|

Love the photo - any chance you could widen the window and install a bench?

No birding for me yet today - perhaps I'll go and have a look at our empty sea later...

 

[Simon Wakely]

Evening All,

As you will be aware, birding has been very difficult due to the horrendous weather conditions. A brief break in the weather tiday was amazing, a female Goshawk flew across Corvid Hill.

Tonight a Hobby landed on one of our fencposts at 9:30pm. Racing to grab my camera but it flew off, yet still a wonderful report from our reserve. We visited the farm gate am, loads of egrets on show, but no Catle Egrets for us unfortunately.

Where's our Egyptian Goose, any locals seen it lately? Checked all the wires on the reserve in hope of finding a Cuckoo, without much luck. Our Coly Common family was a wonderful sight, it made Sue's day.

Happy Birding,

Simon & Sue Wakely. :t:

 

[Steve Waite]

Alarm went off at some un-earthly hour this morning, but as all I could hear from my nice warm cosy bed was rain rain rain and rain, I drifted off to sleep again....

Woke up a few hours later and looked out, a bit windy, no rain....time to go seawatching. Well, when I say a few hours later - I rolled up at the seafront at about 09:50! Sea looked good for a Stormie or two (a calm day after a day or two of big waves and gales invariably gives the best oppotunity to see these little 'sea-dancers'). It didn't take long for a Stormie to dance into my scope view and spend a few mins feeding offshore before heading off west. Ian M turned up shortly afterwards, and about c20 mins later we started noticing Stormies again. Most I managed were three in one scan, so a final tally of 4-10 would be about right. Always nice to see these awesome little beauts, and I understand a couple hung around for the hardcore year listers to see too.

Other sightings during this seawatch (which lasted an hour and half) included: 44 Manxies, 1 Kittiwake, 26 Black-headed Gulls, 1 Shoveler (east, notable), 6 Common Scoters (on sea, 3 of each sex), a frustrating prob Puffin which only gave a couple of nano-second glimpses as it zoomed east between the waves and a surprise 3 Sand Martins in/off!! A look along the river afterwards gave 6 Common Sands but little else.

Now, time for dinner....

 

[KarenWoolley]

I was thrilled to see a couple of Storm Petrels off the yacht club this morning (thanks for text Steve :t and NOT just because they were a yeartick either!

Also added Stormie to my house list a while later, after hearing from Gav that two were lingering just beyond the flags off the yacht club (thanks :t. I knew I could see the flags from my window, so popped upstairs for a look. Even though the house is a fair way off the seafront (probably 100m), I got a great view of one from here. I think the extra height helps as I'm looking out from up in the attic.

Worryingly I was seawatching for about the same time as Steve and Ian and while they saw 44 Manxies I saw a total of ZERO !! I'm off to the opticians now.....

 

[Jos Stratford]

Love the photo - any chance you could widen the window and install a bench?

Go the full hog and install a bed, then offer bed and breakfast, naturally with discount to those you conned out of a prize in past i.d. quizzes

I would like to request milk, no sugar in mine thanks.

 

[Gavin Haig]

Yes, it was Dancing Sea Fairies a-go-go yesterday, thanks to Steve's prompt texting for the benefit of hardcore year listers like me t. I watched one for 3 or 4 seconds before rushing on to the next tick (which I haven't quite reached yet...). Storm Petrels are always a delight - just wish they were a lot closer though.

A Whimbrel came in off the sea with a couple of Curlews yesterday evening - my first since the spring. Not much else to report though.

 

[Steve Waite]

A Siskin in the garden this morning was a bit of a surprise! I guess Couchill Woods could be a potential breeding site mind.

A look along the estuary at hide tide showed a Blackwit on Colyford Scrape plus two more (in summer plumage) with the Curlew flock on the marsh. I would have gone to Colyford Common but both the box and platform were JAM PACKED with 'birders'!

 

[KarenWoolley]

An early morning visit to Colyford Common showed 9 Black-tailed Godwits on the scrape, almost all of them in brilliant orange summer plumage!! I've attached a snap of them, just managed to squeeze all nine in the shot!:king:

 

[Simon Wakely]

Evening all,

At last a birding evening on the reserve without rain until 9:45pm and fabulous would be an understatment! A barn owl literally flew no more than 6 feet above my head as i was sat on my chair. Mind you, i was expecting an early sighting due to the crap weather lately!! But this was supassed by the next sighting of not 1, not 2, but 3 barn owls flying around the fields opposite our bungalow. We have recorded 2 before, but 3 is a patch record and a sight i will never forget, probably the best birding spot of my career! Tried to take some picture but light was against me as it was now 9:30, a pixelated blur was my reward!

Thanks to all the birders who liked our cuckoo.

Happy days!
Simon:t: