There was of course time to squeeze in a little birding. Having travelled down early on Sunday, we spent much of the day around Topsham, on the Exe Estuary. I had a look at Bowling Green Marsh and the adjacent estuary watchpoint for a couple of hours.
BGM was relatively quiet, however there was a reasonable flock of waders, mostly made up of c150 Black Tailed Godwit, along with a Whimbrel, a single grey Knot and a couple of Ruff coming into summer plumage. A male Pochard was about too, as well as a 2-3 Wigeon.
The Estuary Watchpoint & the Goatwalk provided several further Whimbrel, 11 smart Grey Plover, c150 Dunlin and a late Avocet.
We stayed at a perfect Airbnb overnight just outside Exeter. The next morning, on what was another glorious, hot day, we drove 20 minutes to Yarner Wood near Bovey Tracey, on the edge of Dartmoor, for a morning walk about.
It's a stunning, unspoiled wood, with a fantastic array of woodland species, some of which I don't get to enjoy back home in the Midlands.
Five or so minutes into our walk I heard the distinctive ki-ki-ki call of a Lesser-Spotted Woodpecker and after a bit of patience, revealed itself to be a male. We watched it busy around for a while, calling frequently and drumming a couple of times too. Great start to the morning!
A short way down the path I managed to get onto the first of many Pied Flycatchers, eagerly holding territory. I ended up seeing them constantly on our two our walk with the air filled with their song.
I also came across 1-2 singing male Redstarts, (however they were of course typically elusive) and I also heard the same or a second Lesser-Spotted Woodpecker drumming constantly some distance away.
After a good 2 hours, that concluded the birding for the weekend. We then went off to enjoy the rest of the day elsewhere before heading home.
No comments:
Post a Comment