Sunday 19th March 2023
Leaders: Amanda Acland and Steve Chorley
The day was bright and sunny, with a light breeze and temperature of 13C.
A group of twenty members gathered at 10.00 in the reserve car park and we split into 2 groups to avoid overcrowding the hides and reduce disturbing the birds. This strategy was successful, as there were other birdwatchers wishing to share the hide space and they could be accommodated.
There had been sightings reported in the previous week of wheatears, sand martins, chiffchaffs and other migrating birds and there were indeed many chiffchaffs sighted and heard.
From Black Hole Marsh island hide we spotted many pairs of shelduck, resplendent in breeding plumage, vociferously defending their territories. On consulting a bird guide book we learned that the male shelduck is larger than the female and sports a bright red beak with prominent knob. The shelduck has its own scientific classification of Tadorna, being somewhere between a duck and a goose. In addition to the many shelduck, there was a group of 5, well camouflaged snipe at the base of a reed bed, whose preening movements gave them away. A group of novice bird watchers shared the hide space with us and we helped them to spot and identify the various birds.
Colyford Common was quite dry for the time of year. Meadow pipits were spotted, but not the rock pipits that had been reported earlier in the week. It was nice to see a group of 5 curlews. One lapwing lingered from a larger flock, which had left on migration over the last couple of weeks. A green finch and a circling kestrel were spotted on arrival at the entrance to the common.
The Discovery Hut hid gave good views of the heronry across the valley, which was very busy with nest building.
After lunch, we visited the tower hide above the Axe estuary. The tide was at about half way state, so there was plenty of mud for waders to feed. There appeared to be plenty of food available. In a group of common, black headed and herring gulls, a splendid Mediterranean gull stood out in the sunshine. It posed long enough for everyone to see it through a scope. A greenshank, feeding at some distance, was also a pleasure to watch.
There were not a large number of birds around, but it was an enjoyable visit and we saw 48 species and heard green woodpecker, cetti’s warbler and a song thrush.
Amanda Acland
The Birds
Blackbird
Black headed gull
Blue Tit
Buzzard
Canada goose
Carrion Crow
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff
Common gull
Coot
Collared dove
Cormorant
Curlew
Gold crest
Goldfinch
Dunnock
Great tit
Greenfinch
Greenshank
Grey heron
Herring Gull
House sparrow
Jackdaw
Kestrel
Lapwing
Lesser black-backed gull
Little egret
Long –tailed tit
Magpie
Mallard
Meadow pipit
Mediterranean gull
Moorhen
Mute swan
Oyster catcher
Pheasant
Redshank
Reed bunting
Robin
Rook
Shelduck
Snipe
Stock dove
Stonechat
Teal
Wigeon
Wood pigeon
Wren
Heard but not seen: Green Woodpecker, Cetti’s warbler, Song thrush
Mammals: Rabbit, deer (too far away to identify species)
Insects: Brimstone and Peacock butterflies; Bumblebees.