Proper Gander

Today was a walk down from home and along the estuary to Shelly Beach as the tide was falling. Here is an obliging Wren seen on the way through the top of town. Two Great Spotted Woodpeckers were active in the mature trees between the 'wibbly wobbly' path and Lympstone Manor, chasing each other around and drumming. There were 9+ Great Crested Grebe out on the estuary along with Brent Geese , Wigeon and a small group of Pintail . At Mudbank, there was a flock of 20+ Turnstone , Oystercatchers , a few Redshank and this Greenshank . In the brook were Grey Wagtail , a couple of Mute Swans and two Redshank . There was a lone female Red Breasted Merganser at some distance out from the Duckpond area of the estuary. There was the usual mix of Turnstone , Oystercatcher and Brent Geese in the corner of the Duckpond plus one Dunlin . There are still four Cirl Buntings on the Imperial recreation ground. A Great Northern Diver was loafing and preening on the outgoing tide off She...

The poor weather and some commitments have prevented me from getting out for a few days, so today, I decided to get some exercise and do a loop of the commons walking from home. A walk to Blackhill Quary first. Little of note on the water there, but a flock of 5+ Bullfinches in the woods on the path down   was nice to see, though tricky to photograph! A walk from the quarry across the common produced a distant skulking Dartford Warbler  and small flocks of Redwing ,  Goldfinch , Siskin and Linnet . A pair of Raven were displaying over Bystock Woods. Bystock was quiet, though I found at least two (possibly three) Firecrests in the holly and ivy at the western edge of the reserve. They were very difficult to photograph; below is a terrible picture of one, but if you squint and use your imagination, you can see a supercilium! A few Great Spotted Woodpeckers were active, and I found another skulking Dartford Warbler in some gorse on the reserve, as well as a couple of Go...

I hadn't seen a diver yet this year, so I was on a mission to see one today; I do like a diver! I walked down to the estuary from home. It was a beautiful day, lovely bright winter light. On my way down, just close to home, I passed by the brook, and I was just thinking that I hadn't seen a Grey Wagtail there for a while when one flew up from the brook and landed on the roof of a house nearby. Unfortunately, despite the excellent light, it was a bit flighty, so it didn't pose for a great photo! There was another Grey Wagtail at Mudbank in Withycombe Brook. The tide was high, so there was little of note off Mudbank. A Kingfisher was along a bit today, closer to the duck pond. The high tide had pushed a group of Dunlin (4), a Ringed Plover and 20+ Turnstone into the strand line right in the corner of the duckpond. Pied Wagtail and Rock Pipit were also feeding on the strand line. I didn't find any buntings on the Imperial Recreation Ground today, but there were a f...

On Thursday this week, Siân had a course in Exminster, so, after a few errands in Exeter, I walked from the RSPB car park to the Turf Hotel and back. The tide was out, so most waders were out on the estuary. There were plenty of Lapwing  on the marsh along with Curlew . Groups of Shoveler , Pintail , Widgeon and Teal , along with a flock of a couple of hundred Dark-Bellied Brent Geese were spread across a wide area. The female Marsh Harrier was quartering the marsh at some distance (so no photos). I came across three Cetti's Warblers along the canal path. Tried to photograph one, but... The Avocet flock (400+) was spread far over a large area. There was one Egyptian Goose in the field by the Turf Hotel; there used to be two? One Snipe walked out of cover as I returned to the car. I wonder how many more were spread across the marsh? I found a Greenshank on a quick look from Starcross steps, but as the tide was low and I only had my binoculars with me, most birds were too far ...

Now I have retired from full-time work and have the precious resource of time to play with, the point of doing this blog is to get me out and about birding regularly, to get me to take the time to look (have a 'proper gander') at the world around me.  ' What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare'  (H. Davis, 1911) . Today was another beautiful winter's morning, so I decided to head out and see where I ended up! I took my usual route down to the estuary. There were about 40 Rooks on the field by the 'wibbly-wobbly' path, most paired up and getting ready to breed. A Chiffchaff was calling in the hedge on the road between Lower Halsdon farm and Mudbank, but too elusive for a photo! Practically the first bird I saw on reaching Mudbank was this female Kingfisher (below) on the wall by the train bridge. The tide was almost at its lowest by the time I arrived at Mudbank, and Little Egret ,  Wigeon , Brent Geese ,  Curlew , Redshank , ...

A beautiful morning today, so no hesitation to get out for a walk in the local area. I regularly walk an area north of Exmouth (primarily arable fields and some woodland) along Exe View Road, and then I head down to Lympstone and the Exe estuary. A few images here to give a flavour of this area... I'm not sure if I would call this area 'my patch', but I certainly walk a loop here regularly. My walk this morning was not particularly exciting bird-wise, but recording a few of the things I saw will be a bit of a baseline for future blogs. Roll on spring! The day started well with a New Year 'tick' as there was a Blackcap in a tree bordering a garden on Hulaham Road. Much of my walk was dominated by Great Tits  and Robins singing, no doubt setting up territories for the breeding season to come. Passing by the woodland on Exe View Road, I heard at least two Song Thrush singing and a small flock of Long-Tailed and Blue Tits were feeding in the oaks on the side of the...