Blackhill Quarry, Exmouth, Devon
I was at my mum in laws when I heard news of 2 male Ring-necked Duck at the Quarry. I set off with no bins and hoped someone would be there. As luck would have it a chap was there and had one in his scope and he kindly let me take a peak. As we got chatting I discovered he was half Welsh and was a fellow Swansea City supporter and we had a brief footie chinwag. Hope to see him around again.
Stantywell Farm, Otterton, Devon
A late blog from Friday 11th. Ive been struggling with a bad back so I had a gentle couple of hours walk around the farm up to the Sewage works. The first bird I saw was a Common kestrel. I bumped into Dave Boult pretty much straight away amd he got me on to 2 Red-legged Partridge. Soon after I picked up a nice mixed Finch and Bunting flock that held a few Reed Bunting and Cirl Bunting. Further up the lane were Song Thrush and Mistle Thrush. There were also good numbers of Common Linnet and Common Starling.
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| Common Kestrel |
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| Reed Bunting (Male) |
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| Cirl Bunting (Male) |
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| Song Thrush |
Greylake, Somerset
Having only fluked some flight views of the Baikal Teal. I decided to give the bird one more go. I arrived at the left hide and was told it had not long been flushed but looked to drop to the left. After a little bit of scanning I stumbled upon the bird with it in full view. I excitedly shouted "Got it" and panic ensued with many in the hide. It was difficult to give directions with the hundreds of birds on view but with a bit of help from Dave Boult. We managed to get people on to the bird. It slept pretty much all the time we were on it bar another quick lift of the head so pretty rubbish record shots. However, if you look carefully (especially the second photo), you can see the vertical white strip on its breast and the darker head colour can be seen in both pictures.. Also on site were Western Marsh Harrier, Great Egret, Eurasian Sparrowhawk and Common Snipe.
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| Baikal Teal |
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| Baikal Teal |
Ottery St Mary, Devon
As I now live in an area with decent bird activity I decided I would take part in the RSPB big garden birdwatch. I opted for early morning on Saturday. I have seen all of these species at different times since moving in but I've been so busy with the house and work that I haven't really spent a good amount of time simply sat enjoying the wildlife. So it was really nice to fully appreciate what's on offer. This is my full list of birds just in the boundary of my garden in an hours watch.
Greylake, Somerset
I finally saw the Baikal Teal on my 4th attempt yesterday. Only a brief and very lucky to pick out flight view but a view non the less. Also good views of Western Marsh Harrier, Peregrine Falcon, Great Egret, European Golden Plover and Common Snipe.
