Having heard news of 4 Eurasian Dotterel on the runway first thing. I decided to take a look as (weird as this sounds) I am yet to see one. I spent a few hours there with no joy and there were several other birders all doing their best not to see them too. A few birds of note though were, several Northern Wheatear, Northern Raven and Eurasian Skylark.
Undisclosed site, Exmouth, Devon
Later in the day I popped to a local site (twice) that has Common Firecrest and Spotted Flycatcher. I didn’t have my equipment on me to take photos but 2 Common Firecrest and a single Spotted Flycatcher showed beautifully. Both species bred here last year too so it’s great to see them return. I also picked out a Sparrow call at close range. It’s not the sort of habitat I would expect to see a Sparrow in so the call stopped me in my tracks. Now here’s the interesting part as the call sounded as though it was a Tree Sparrow. I doubled checked the calls of all the other species in the area (just in case I was just hearing an odd call of another species) and at one point, walked away so I could double check the call on my Collins app without disturbing the bird. After all this, everything still pointed to Tree Sparrow! Try as I might I couldn’t locate the bird for a view of any sort. I will need to keep an eye on this area I think.
I seem to be taking an interest in wild flowers this year and snapped a few photos with my phone today.
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| Three-cornered Leak |
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| Ivy-leaved Toadflax |
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| Common Grape Hyacinth |
