Author Archives: Nature in Devon

NB: The following is reproduced by kind permission of Axe Estuary Birds. Full credit goes to the team that produces the newsletter (see the bottom of the post for specific details). Photographs are credited throughout the text although we are working to preserve the original layout wherever possible in the future.

Axe Estuary Birds No 149 31^st January 2011

The Birds

There was a Grey Wagtail at Seaton Hole 21/1, which Sue Smith managed to photograph.

Some good news about the Colyton Waxwing sightings over Christmas (One on wires above Rosemary Lane, Colyton   on Christmas Day and five in a garden by the river on Boxing Day:  Steve Waite has been in contact with the lady who saw them and has told me that her written description will be acceptable so we have a new species for the ‘patch’ !

Steve managed a look on the sea off Branscombe one morning, with Ian McLean. This showed 20+ Red-throated Divers, good numbers of auks, and a Velvet Scoter passed west. The next day off Seaton, he could see only seven Velvets, the week before he counted 11 – his highest count for the patch ever!

A couple of weeks ago in daylight after a wet night Ian Waite saw a Barn Owl fly across Musbury Road near Axmouth F.C. towards Lower Bruckland Farm chased by two Crows.

On 29^th a Jack Snipe flew from Salt Marsh in front of the Hide at Seaton to the Lagoon where it quickly disappeared in vegetation.

There are now approx. 90 Dunlin on the River.

Ian McLean also tells of 30 Common Scoter and Nine Red Throated Diver on the sea, two Pintail on 5^th, a Gadwall on the 14^th, a Great Skua on 24^th and ten Shag off Branscombe on 25^th.

From Colyford Common Log Book, Bob Olliver highlights the following:- An estimated 1,000 Wigeon (11^th) were spread across the marsh and into neighbouring Bridge Marsh near the A3052 with 200 Teal on the same day.

Two Buzzards on the 10^th were of interest, one being very dark and the other strikingly white about the head and breast; the latter was perched on a post close to the river looking for all the world like a distant osprey! A male Marsh Harrier was logged on 16^th.

Lapwing numbers were high on 10^th and 11^th with some 500 on Colyford Marsh and a further 1,000 on Bridge Marsh. A single Golden Plover was again picked out (11^th) and there were 40 Snipe around the scrape on the same day; c.60 Curlew were in the area.

The scrape sometimes attracts the smaller gulls, particularly at high tide; 100 Black-headed Gulls were noted on 16^th and a Mediterranean Gull on the same day, five Common Gulls were present on the 10^th.

The Barn Owl appeared at the entrance to the nest box across the river (11^th). Among the corvids, just 52 Carrion Crows were present on the marsh and a Raven flew over, mobbed by two crows on 16^th. Photo Sue Smith

At Seaton Marshes the notables were 74 Shelduck recorded and 50 Teal, nine Shoveler and a Water Rail.

There were 19 Mute Swans on the field near Stedcombe House on 30^th, and 32 Lapwing

News from Holyford Woods

Gradually there are more signs that spring is on its way. There is evidence of Badger activity everywhere. Beside my seat at the top of Holyford Coppice, the latrine has been dug out and used, the Badger track which crosses the Woods from North to South shows signs of use, and Paco spent some time deep-breathing down a freshly cleared sett. One Squirrel dashed across the path. The two Ravens are displaying and calling, as are the Buzzards. From my seat today I watched five Long-tailed Tits and two Goldcrests feeding through the trees. There was very brief singing from a Mistle Thrush in the top of an ash tree, and a longer and more confident one from a Song Thrush deep in the valley. Today I saw a total of five Blackbirds, and while watching the two Moorhens on Top Pool I had a cloud of midges round my head. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was hammering in an oak tree nearby. Catkins are lengthening rapidly, and the Gorse on and below The Hangings is about to burst in to flower. As yet no bluebell spikes peeping through the leaf litter.

I did visit Pratts Hill at dusk three further times and saw more flocks of Jackdaws dropping in to roost but not in such great numbers. Jean Kreiseler

Ringing

Not a bad catch on 22^nd which totaled 53 birds as follows: Shelduck 33(19); Wigeon 3; Mallard 7; Teal 2; and Shoveler 8(1). The number of Shoveler was a nice surprise especially as it is not one of our usual catches. Photo Karen Woolley

The Trivia

Thanks to all of you who explained why a Waxwing is so called, particularly Mike Dannat, who sent this photograph of the wing of a dead Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulous) as it shows the red waxy tips of some of the secondary feather tips common to both species.. Red waxy tips may be fewer and less distinct on females. We live and learn!

Imogen Thomas  writes “My great, great uncle, the Rev. C. A. Johns, who published ‘British Birds and their Haunts’ in 1862 writes that the Waxwing is so called because of ‘the appendages to its secondaries and tertiaries which resemble in colour and substance, sealing wax’.  He also says that it is sometimes called the Bohemian Waxwing, not because it comes from Bohemia, but because Bohemians, like Egyptians or gypsies, were thought to be a wandering people. He concludes his piece ‘It is a stupid  lazy bird, occupied only in eating and reposing for digestion’ which seems rather unkind.”

You will have seen on the news that the government plans to sell of all our National Woodlands. Please help to stop this outrage. You can sign by clicking this link: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/save-our-forests

Attached is a poster about the Volunteer Welcome Day next Sunday 6^th February. Do come along and find out more about this wonderful area. Being a Volunteer changed my life!

Now, here is a challenge for you all! Can you identify this bird, snapped by Simon Wakely? An unusual shot, and I admit it fooled me.

Another bit of nonsense. What is the most common Owl in the UK?

Answers below.

Peter Mason sent this photo of a Blue Tit by Gerry Bennett, of Colyford, which I forwarded to the BTO. The usual method of taking a seed, flying to a nearby branch, sticking it under a foot  to peck at it, is clearly not possible for this bird! This is the BTO response. “Thank you for forwarding the email about beak deformities in birds. I have passed it on, with the photo, to the organiser of the Beakwatch survey, Dr Tim Harrison. Comments about feeding methods are starting to emerge and it is interesting to speculate about how these birds adapt.

“Tim has received a big response to his request for more information, and I think it will take time to sift and examine all of the replies. Results will be sent to Big Garden Beak Watch survey participants via email if requested at the end of the survey form, and will also be published on the BTO website and in the BTO e-newsletter.”

This twice-monthly email newsletter is freely available to anyone who would like it, as is a periodic one about the activities of the East Devon Local Group of the Devon Wildlife Trust. Just send me an email with Axe Estuary Birds and/or East Devon DWT in the subject line. Also, for those without a computer, I will send a copy by post if you would like to send me some stamps.

Thanks to those who keep me informed. Please continue to tell me of any unusual, interesting or amusing sightings, and what is about locally, and send any photos you would like to share.

Mike, Jean, and David. (and many others!) davidwalters@eclipse.co.uk. tel. 01297 552616 Mobile 0779 1541 744.

FOR SALE

£200 o.v.n.o. for 20 x 60 zoom lens for Swarovski Telescope.  Contact Ian Waite:-  01297 20326

The puzzle bird? Male Chaffinch. The most common owl? TeatOwl. Is this the worst ever bird joke?

15^th January 2011

NB: The following is reproduced by kind permission of Axe Estuary Birds. Full credit goes to the team that produces the newsletter (see the bottom of the post for specific details). Photographs are credited throughout the text although we are working to preserve the original layout wherever possible in the future.

The Birds

2010 was a memorable birding year. Steve Waite may not be contributing to this newsletter direct any more, but his blog has recorded some of the highlights First, of course, the Solitary Sand-piper at Black Hole Marsh, which brought birders from all over the country, a first for Devon. The Long-billed Dowitcher at Boshill Cross, another patch first, the greyish Yellow Wagtail at the Colyton Water Treatment Works, a Bittern and two Bearded Tits at Colyford Common, an Alpine Swift over Musbury, a Dotterel at Axe Cliff, a “stonking” Glaucous Gull in November and both Whooper and Bewick Swans. Photo Brett

And Steve is still very active, as this extract from his blog shows. “ Five Velvet Scoters had been seen off the sea front earlier on 1^st January, so I headed here first. I was pleasantly surprised to see there were now eight Velvet Scoters loosely associating with the flock of 42 Common Scoter – all female-types (the Velvets not the Commons!). Two Brent Geese flew in from the east and landed with the Scoters, a Jan 1^st bonus! I also logged three Red-throated Divers and several Razorbills.”

In addition, Ian Mclean has seen up to seven Red-throated Divers, a Tufted Duck, two Pintail, ten Kittiwake and
15 Great Crested Grebe in Seaton Bay, and Peter Mason reports a Common Tern off Seaton Beach on January 3^rd.

Bob Olliver has sent the following snippets from the Colyford Common log book for the first week of the year:- Canada Geese numbers reached 50 but there were no large counts of wildfowl, and a Goose which turned out to be a Greylag, opposite Stedcombe House. Lapwing numbers reached 585, with one Golden Plover, and there was a high count of 71 Snipe on the Marsh, single Green Sandpipers were noted, and another on the Marsh. Two Rock Pipits were there on 7^th and also the first Water Pipit of the year.  The only record of winter thrushes was of ten Redwing on and elsewhere locally literally thousands of Lapwing have been seen. There were four Little Grebes on the reserve plus two on the river on 6^th and a Water Rail on the reserve on 1^st.

At Lower Bruckland Ponds Mike Lock saw up to 13 Tufted Duck, a pair of Pochard, four Little Grebes and several Coots. He also had no less than ten Greenfinches in his garden together with six Goldfinches.

Karen Woolley “Popped over to Seaton Hole today to see if the male Black Redstart which Bun found there on Tuesday was still around. He was. What a stunning little chap he is too.”

Photo Karen Woolley

Up to now, Waxwings have been elusive on our patch, although a small flock was reported in trees near the cemetery, and Rodney Gayer saw seven near the Cloakham Lawns sports centre SY300993, on 11^th January, and in spite of poor light Sue Smith took lots of photos on 12^th. They were still there on 13^th. Does any one know why they are called “Wax”wings?

Waxwings – Punk and Posh – Sue Smith

Pride of place for the first week of the New Year must go to the Bittern, seen briefly at Black Hole Marsh on 4^th January.

Rodney Gayer from Axminster also reports that on 10^th January, there was a female-type Goosander fishing on the river Axe between Cloakham Lawns and Weycroft Bridge. He thinks it may be one of the two birds that were present for much of December.

These Godwits were snapped by Sue Smith at Black Hole Marsh, and this Buzzard was there too, although continually harried by Carrion Crows.

Ringing

On 8^th January at the catching site at its peak only 14 birds could be found (including five Moorhens) whereas the day before there were c.60. Eventually after a patient wait we were able to fire on eight birds which included 2 Shelduck,
5 Wigeon and 1 Moorhen. What a contrast to the last session of 2010 when 191 birds were ringed.

The group had its best year last year with  787 new birds ringed and a total processed of 1,150 of 37 varieties.

News from Holyford Woods

Jean reports “ I was walking Paco along White Gate Lane late one dusky evening at the weekend, when I watched three huge flocks of what sounded to be only Jackdaws fly in from the North, West and East, converging over Pratts Hill. They swirled round for a while, calling loudly all the time, before suddenly swooping  down in to the Western end of Holyford Woods to roost.  There must have been at least 500 to 600 birds in total. An amazing sight and sound.

I have never seen or heard anything like it.  The sound of all that ‘jacking’ was really loud.  It was so like the gathering of the starlings. I have not had a chance to go there again to see if it is still happening.

The effects of the snow can be seen everywhere in the woods. The brambles and dead bracken was weighed down, and ferns, apart from the Hart’s Tongue, were broken off. This has given an unusual open view across the floor of the wood, so down by the stream and on the Hangings, 3 Roe Deer were easy to spot without Paco’s help. Sadly he found a freshly dead Doe just off the path, which had already provided a meal for a Fox. The overlapping of the seasons is very evident already. Spring is well on its way. There is a noticeable increase in small bird activity and calls, in particular Great Tits, and the Rooks have started inspecting last year’s nests. 2 Buzzards are floating on the thermals again and 2 Ravens are swooping and wheeling together. Hazel trees are loaded with catkins about to produce pollen with the pussy willow buds filling out and honeysuckle leaves well advanced. Underfoot primroses are throwing up fresh leaves, as are the foxgloves. Following the thaw there is a wonderful display of bright green mosses. Soon I should be doing a frog spawn count. The first few clumps appeared in the first week of February last year.” Jean Kreiseler.

The Trivia

Just a few years ago the sighting of a Little Egret would have caused considerable excitement, but now, as Sue Smith says, it is a somewhat neglected bird. She “just loves his feet !”

Another neglected but very fine bird is the Starling, this one snapped by Simon Wakely in his garden.

Have a look at this: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/save-our-forests The government is floating plans to sell off our national forests to private firms. Please consider signing the petition.

Don’t forget the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch on the 29^th and 30^th January. Just spend one hour counting numbers and species of bird landing in your garden, and fill in the form at http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch.

This twice-monthly email newsletter is freely available to anyone who would like it, as is a periodic one about the activities of the East Devon Local Group of the Devon Wildlife Trust. Just send me an email with Axe Estuary Birds and/or East Devon DWT in the subject line. Also, for those without a computer, I will send a copy by post if you would like to send me some stamps.

Thanks to those who keep me informed. Please continue to tell me of any unusual, interesting or amusing sightings, and what is about locally, and send any photos you would like to share.

Mike, Jean, and David. (and many others!) davidwalters@eclipse.co.uk. tel. 01297 552616 Mobile 0779 1541 744.

NB: The following is reproduced by kind permission of Axe Estuary Birds. Full credit goes to the team that produces the newsletter (see the bottom of the post for specific details). Photographs are credited throughout the text although we are working to preserve the original layout wherever possible in the future.