Four seasons in Devon

Wind battered Dawlish Warren

 Slavonian Grebe

 Shags enjoys rare sunshine

 

 Great Northern Diver

 Turnstone

 Teign Estuary

 Maidencombe

 Berry Head

Brixham Harbour

A family break to Devon was the next destination for my blog.  The hotel sat on the mouth of the Teign estuary so a late Sunday afternoon walk was rewarded with a wintering Green Sandpiper, 4 Avocet, Curlews, Oystercatchers, Little Egrets and Shelduck.

Sadly the rain arrived on Monday morning as forecast which made the couple of hours at Dawlish Warren very restricted due to it blowing an absolute howlie with driving rain just to increase the displeasure. Despite wearing water proofs I was soaked to the skin within an hour !  Despite the conditions I noted 20 Red-throated Divers, 3 Great Northern Divers, 40 Kittiwakes, 6 Fulmars and 3 Great Crested Grebe. 4 Great Black-backed Gulls. I had hoped to bag a few extra target species but the weather ended those hopes.

After picking the family up we headed down the coast and stopped at Maidencombe. A Shag fed by the rocks off shore at this secluded beach. More divers and Great Crested Grebe were viewable through the scope however the real find was 3 Velvet Scoter. I watched them closely however it was difficult in the increasing wind. Needless to say I bounced up the steep steps with joy as I'd never seen this duck before.  This was the only birding possible for the day as the weather closed in completely but I did have a scan around Torquay Harbour where a Slavonian Grebe was taking refuge.

Thankfully the the following morning was more like spring and a short drive to Broadsands was rewarded with Cirl Bunting and an off shore Great Northern Diver. A lovely place but it did seem to be the dog walking capital of Devon some what ruining the impression of a beautiful place.

Next destination was Berry Head, a stunning area of natural beauty. There were a large number of Shags and Guillimots on the Brixham side of the head whilst Fulmars and Raven soared off the cliffs. We then headed down to the harbour where a Slavonian Grebe was swimming alongside more Shags and many Great Northern Divers giving great views.  A walk along the sea wall found more Divers and 20 Purple Sandpipers roosting. A delightful find and probably taken for granted by the local birders. A Turnstone appeared at my feet and was clearly comfortable with the interest before heading for the car (us not the Turnstone!).

It was interesting to note on the BTO email this week that there was a large increase in reported divers. Clearly the stormy weather has forced to Divers to feed much closer to shore allowing great viewing.

Year List moved to 161 on UK400 spreadsheet and 160 on Birdtrack.