A mixed bag

I'm playing catch up again after a week of varied birding activities.  This is also my first post on my lovely new MacBook. I've never used one before so I'm trying to figure out how to use it as I go.

I started off on Tuesday 4th with a twitch to Portworthy near Plymouth in search of a Green-winged Teal. A chap that I'd met a few days earlier at Dawlish Warren had been trying to find it for a while without success. As there was a small area of water out of view, I stayed for a couple of hours just in case it appeared, which it didn't.

Portworthy Dam, viewed from Fernhill Cross. 

I decided to explore Burrator Reservoir whilst I was in the vicinity. The scenery on approach was impressive, I loved the mossy lanes, and found a car park that was alive with birds including a pair of Nuthatches, numerous Coal Tits & Marsh Tits. Views of the reservoir itself were restricted by trees, but I did see 6 female & 2 male Goosanders.

Mossy lanes

An obliging Nuthatch....my digiscoping is gradually improving!

On Wednesday 5th I went along to the last DBWPS meeting of the year at Escot. We had a nice walk, although didn't find anything particularly interesting. Twenty four of us then indulged in an early Christmas dinner.

There's a Bullfinch in there somewhere...

I spent the afternoon of Thursday 6th getting very cold in Ide near Exeter trying to find a Hawfinch. I'm not sure if I was in the right place, but there were certainly lots of seed-laden trees to watch. No Hawfinch, but I did find a rather nice flock of 8 Bullfinch & a large flock of Redwing.

Friday was our penultimate trip to the Blackdown Hills for a Devon Bird Atlas survey. In the first Tetrad we had 19 species, which amazingly didn't include Wood Pigeon, but we did see 3 Nuthatches, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers & a Treecreeper.

The second Tetrad contains quite a large area of orchards, so we were inundated by Fieldfares. It was difficult to count as the flocks kept moving about. I suspect that our 105 is a gross under-estimate. We had some fantastic views of them perched in the tops of the trees in the sunlight...  even Simon was impressed!

Simon in action

We had lunch on the hoof as we headed to Steart in Somerset in search of the Temminck's Stint. I was a bit confused by the directions on Birdguides but luckily a couple of chaps turned up who knew where to go, so we followed them. We then met a couple on their way back from seeing the Stint who gave us some extra directions, including the fact that it was the only bird in the field! It was quite a long walk which was very boggy in places. As soon as we climbed up onto the sea wall the wind hit us. It was blowing a hooley. There were 2 chaps scouring the flooded field who hadn't found the bird, but with the extra directions we'd been given, we found it straight away. In fact Simon spotted it first! (I'll make a birder of him yet!). It was really quite close, but the wind made it really difficult to watch & almost impossible for me to digiscope. I managed the usual 'record shot'.

Simon stops the scope blowing over. The Stint was in the front channel

Temminck's Stint, another UK first for me (and Simon!)

I then spent Saturday (8th) afternoon up on Bicton Common unsuccessfully searching for Jack Snipe & Woodcock.  Simon joined me for another attempt on Sunday (9th) on Aylesbeare Common. The birds were very few & far between, but it's a lovely place for a walk. I'm determined to at least find a Woodcock before the end of the year.

Year List now on 214.

A nice round number

Two new birds yesterday have taken my Year List to 200 species. I started off with a brief visit to Orcombe Point in the hope of finding a Manx Shearwater. I've never seen one, which is a bit of a disgrace when people are seeing hundreds if not thousands flying along the coast. I didn't get there until 9am, so it was a bit late, but I saw 4 birds flying west soon after arriving. They were very distant, and although they were definitely shearwaters of some sort judging by their low 'flap & glide' flight, they looked all dark. I don't know whether they were too far out to be able to pick out the white underside, or if they were one of the rarer shearwaters. Still, a short while later 9 more birds flew by, this time a bit closer & I could clearly see the white underside & the white 'notch' behind the wings on some of them.

Other birds included Gannets, a couple of Guillemots, lots of Sandwich Terns & Common Scoter & a few Oystercatchers that flew past.

That put me on 199. I couldn't leave it there, so in the evening we headed up to Mutters Moor just outside Sidmouth in the hope of finding a Nightjar. I wasn't expecting to hear any 'churring' as I thought it was a bit late in the season for that, but I was hoping to see them flying. We arrived at about 8.30pm & walked to the open area of moor behind the car park. There were lots of crows about & they were making a real racket. As it was getting dark, Simon said he thought he'd heard 'churring', and sure enough shortly after I thought I heard it myself. It was difficult to hear above the crows, but as they quietened down when it got darker the 'churring' became much clearer. A bird also flew backwards & forwards low over the heather, and although I didn't get a good look as it was a bit dark, it was the right size and shape and I can't think what else it could have been.

Simon tried a bit of hanky wafting, something I vaguely remembered Bill Oddie doing to mimic a male Nightjar. It didn't attract any more birds but at least it gave me a good laugh!

That took my Year List to the 200 (plus 2 sub-species)