THURLESTONE BAY BIRDS

APRIL 2014

Weather wise a fairly innocuous month no heavy rain (apart from 6^th and 26^th) few gales but a couple of good SE blows (16^th and 26^th) F 6/7 which always brings the birds into the Bay.

Having been well down on previous years in the total species recorded this year this was the month which brought everything up to date and a new record total of species in a month of 134 with 33 new species added this month to a years total of 153 (and still no Feral Pigeon!)

Outstanding year records were VELVET SCOTER, GREAT WHITE EGRET, SPOONBILL, PECTORAL SANDPIPER, POMARINE SKUA, LITTLE TERN, CUCKOO, SHORT-EARED OWL.

Significant sightings for the month:-

MUTE SWAN – Pairs on both marshes completed nest building –first time at South Huish Marsh for a few years.

GEESE

BRENT GOOSE – A single record of 2 flying north on 14^th.

EGYPTIAN GOOSE – the 4 birds finally left South Huish Marsh on 7^th.

DUCKS

Some spring passage noted, however numbers low on the marshes.

SHELDUCK – present all month usually 8 on South Huish marsh with passing birds totals of 14 on 9^th and 17 on 28^th.  

GADWALL – having not been recorded since January, 2 on South Huish Marsh on 16^th increased to 7 on 17^th and finally 3 on 18^th.

TEAL – numbers well down on the marshes from 12 on 13^th, to a single by 29^th.

MALLARD – lots of broods hatched – probably around 10, very few manage to survive beyond a week.

SHOVELER – 6 on South Huish Marsh on 16^th.

TUFTED DUCK – A male on South Huish Marsh on 1^st (now recorded in every month this year a patch record)

VELVET SCOTER – First record for a number of years on 14^th when a male flew east with 2 COMMON SCOTER.

COMMON SCOTER – recorded in small numbers on 6 days – max 19 east on 21^st.

DIVERS – Again all 3 common species recorded.

RED THROATED - a single on 16^th,   BLACK THROATED – 1 on the sea on 19^th.

GREAT NORTHERN – recorded on 3 days, singles 10^th and 18^th and 3 together on 26^th.

FULMAR, GANNET and SHEARWATERS – S/SE winds on 16^th and 26^th resulted in some good sea passage.

FULMAR – 34 on16th and what is a recent record of 82 in 7 hours on 26^th.

GANNET – 26^TH recorded 725 mostly in east.

MANX SHEARWATER – numbers built up from 8 on 21^st, 77 on 24^th and 310 on 26^th.  

BALEARIC SHEARWATER – Eric W had 2 east on 26^th.

GREBES – None recorded!

EGRETS etc. – The place for rarities this month was Nick T’s Garden.

On 3^rd a GREAT WHITE EGRET tried to land on his neighbour’s pond (only our 3^rd site record) and on 16^th he and Vic T watched a SPOONBILL fly up the valley.

LITTLE EGRET numbers the same with a max of 6 on the marshes.

RAPTERS

No change in status although only 1 SPARROWHAWK recorded. Alan D had a SHORT EARED OWL over South Huish Marsh early evening on 23^rd.

TAWNY OWL pellets on my balcony on 2 mornings.

WADERS

17 species recorded – maxima and highlights were:-

OYSTERCATCHER – 21 on 18^th and 26^th.

LITTLE RINGED PLOVER – After last years invasion a very poor spring – only record of a single bird on South Huish Marsh on 20^th.  

RINGED PLOVER – max 4 on 8^th.

GREY PLOVER – singles on 16^th, 17^th, 19^th and 22^nd (bird on 19^th almost in summer plumage – looked fantastic).

SANDERLING -2 on 24^th.   DUNLIN – recorded on 8 days from 13^th with a max of 17 on 20^th.

RUFF – Single bird from 15^th-17^th

PECTORAL SANDPIPER – Not only a patch spring first but also a mainland Devon Spring first. On morning of 10^th picked up a bird in the grass on the island at South Huish Marsh – initially thought it was going to be a RUFF, but as soon as it moved in to full view realised it was a PECTORAL SANDPIPER. Staying until 13^th – quite a number of visiting birders came to view. Ironically there was another UK spring record at the same time – the other was on North Ronaldsay which is at least 600 miles NW from us.

SNIPE – max 4 on 12^th.   BLACK TAILED GODWIT (scarce this year) single on 19^th and 2 on 20^th.

BAR TAILED GODWIT – expected late, April passage did not materialise – after a good start of 27 on 15^th up to 3 only on 5days. WHIMBREL – again lower numbers than previous years – passage from 15^th with 31on 16^th, 76 on 24^th and 43 on 26^th.

CURLEW – 2 on 15^th and 17^th.   COMMON SANDPIPER – Nick T found the first on the rocks on 19^th, next day a spring record of 5 on South Huish Marsh.

GREENSHANK – an irregular spring migrant so singles on South Huish Marsh on 20^th and 22^nd were unexpected.

REDSHANK – surprisingly the first of the year over the Bay on 20^th.

TURNSTONE – max 3 on 9^th.

SKUAS – A total of 26 birds between 15^th and 26^th made this a very good spring passage (hopefully to be continued in May). A single POMARINE SKUA flew east early evening of 25^th. ARCTIC SKUA started with 3 on 15^th, 4 on 23^rd, 1 on 24^th and 4 on 26^th (a mix of both light and dark phases).   First GREAT SKUA was on 23^rd followed a superb total of 12 on 26^th.

GULLS

GLAUCOUS GULL – the 1 cy bird still coming to South Huish Marsh with local HERRING GULLS.   Reported throughout the month.   Will this bird do a Budleigh Salterton and summer?

LITTLE GULL – An adult flew through with a TERN flock on 6^th.

MEDITERRANEAN GULL – singles on 8^th and 29^th.   COMMON GULL – small passage from 22^nd to 30^th with a max of 15 on 27^th.   Only small numbers of KITTIWAKE recorded, also very few BLACK HEADED GULL by the month end.

TERNS – First LITTLE TERN on 19^th and a total of 3 on 23^rd.

SANDWICH TERN – 21 on 6^th, 14 on 15^th, 48 on 23^rd and 18 on 26^th were the main passage days.

COMMON TERN – 12 on 23^rd.

ARCTIC TERN – 2 on 23^rd and 22 on 26^th.

COMMIC TERN – a single flock of 155+ moved east early on 26^th – too far out to fully ID.

AUKS

A few GUILLEMOT and RAZORBILL on the sea, only large passage were 50+ on 26^th.   PUFFIN – 1 flew east close inshore on 23^rd.

HIRUNDINES

First SWIFT was not recorded until 26^th when I over Thurlestone Marsh (only 1 more recorded by 29^th).   SAND MARTIN – 20 on 7^th and 45 on 17 only significant numbers.

SWALLOW – With a max of 70 on 7^th nothing exceptional until the morning of 22^nd – birds started moving north on a wide front over land and sea in just over 2 hours a total of 2000+ recorded (actual numbers must have been much higher, it was impossible to count over both land and sea at the same time).

HOUSE MARTIN after 1 on 11^th max was 30 on 21^st.

A CUCKOO heard by the ringers at South Milton Ley early morning of 18^th (not an annual passage bird now).

WARBLERS

-No exceptional falls this year firsts were – LESSER WHITETHROAT – male on 21^st, WHITETHROAT – 13^th. GRASSHOPPER – bird reeling at South Huish marsh on 23^rd SEDGE – 11^TH (but 20+ by 27^th).   REED – 1 on 8^th.

CHATS and WAGTAILS – A REDSTART caught and ringed at South Milton Ley on 21^st.

WHINCHAT – Eric W had 1 at South Huish Marsh on 23^rd.   WHEATEAR – very low passage numbers this year – a max of 5 on both 18^th and 25^th.

YELLOW WAGTAIL – first on 17^th, 3 on 20^th and 21^st singles thereafter.

BLUE HEADED WAGTAIL – A male recorded from 16^th to 21^st (3^rd consecutive year of spring records).

GREY WAGTAIL – Only record from AJL, 1 at South Milton Ley on 10^th.

ALBA WAGTAIL – A roost of 40 at Thurlestone Marsh on 9^th many PIEDS moved through, WHITE records were 3 on 15^th and 4 on 21^st.

PIPITS, LARKS and BUNTINGS

MEADOW PIPITS – no big passage movements recorded but present throughout the month, WATER PIPIT – 1 reported by a visitor on 11^th.

TREE PIPIT – 2 flew over the car park on 11^th.

ROCK PIPIT – pairs displaying – up to 20 birds on the rocks.  

WOODLARK – a single bird over the car park on 10^th.

FINCHES

A few more GREENFINCH around this year otherwise nothing exceptional to report.

Finally – A NUTHATCH singing in pine tree behind the houses near the car park on 9^th. AJL had 2 JAY fly in off the sea and over the Golf Course (an unusual sighting for Spring)

Early May can still bring some good sea passage particularly if S/SE winds.