Axmouth - Sun 27 Mar

This afternoon Ellie and I set for Axmouth and managed to successfully miss a Hoopoe by less than five minutes on two seperate occasions during a ninety minute visit to the village. The bird had been seen a couple of minutes before we pulled up. As Ellie was recovering from overindulging the night before we popped in to Seaton to get her something to drink and on returning to Axmouth were told the Hoopoe flew out of the garden we were parked alongside just after we left!! Unfortunately there was little else of interest in the village and as I walked around I only saw what I would call common garden birds. On the way home we stopped off at what has always been a reliable Little Owl site, but our bad luck continued as there was no sign of any present. To round off a disasterous afternoon with regard to birds, I ran over a Pheasant!

Sutton Bingham - Sun 27 Mar

An hour at the reservoir whilst Ellie was at church produced my first Sutton Bingham Swallows of the spring, with at least three present at the southern end. A couple of Mistle Thrushes were feeding in a sheep field, whilst on the water at least two Teal and a Wigeon were still present. A Reed Bunting was heard calling from the waterside vegetation and a Marsh Tit was also present. West Pool held seven Tufted Ducks but little else.

Meare Heath NR and Ham Wall RSPB - Sat 26 Mar

After an early lunch Ellie and I popped up to the Somerset Levels for a walk as it was another lovely day. Parking at Ashcott Corner we took a quick walk at Meare Heath where I had a look over the drained lagoon whilst Ellie sat in the sun and read her book.
The pick of the birds here was an adult Little Ringed Plover, and other waders included a couple of Redshank and five Black-tailed Godwits. There were still a few wintering duck around, including a pair of Pintail. Two Bitterns could be heard booming deep in the reed beds.
Returning to the car we continued across the road and out on to Ham Wall reserve where we walked as far as the second viewing platform. A Great White Egret was viewable from the first viewpoint. Overhead a few Sand Martins were whizzing around and we also had a couple of Swallows fly through.
Before we realised it was 4.00pm so headed on home after a nice afternoon out.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 25 Mar

End of term at school today, so I was able to get away a bit earlier than normal and as at it was such a lovely afternoon headed up to the reservoir for an hour or so. I drove straight down to the southern end of the reservoir and parked by the hide, then set up on the bank to watch and wait.
A drake Wigeon was present briefly before flying down to the far end and disappearing from view, and a pair of Teal flew up the reservoir. There were at least five Common Buzzards soaring overhead, and a Grey Heron flew north.
Some obvious visable migration too this afternoon, a flock of at least twenty Meadow Pipits flew over north and another flock of small passerines also passed over, but were too distant to identify. Two Stock Doves also passed over, but these were almost certainly resident birds.
My first Sand Martins of the year today, with six passing by heading north and another surprise in the form of a Red-legged Partridge which was calling from the far side of the reservoir but failed to show to itself.
Leaving the area in front of the hide I drove back up to West Pool, but it was extremely quiet, just three Tufted Duck present and nothing else of note.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 23 Mar

Although it was my afternoon off, I had agreed to take part in the Staff vs Pupils Hockey Match at 4.30pm, so I took the opportunity of spending a couple of hours at the reservoir to see if any migrants had arrived...they hadn't! In fact, the only summer migrants on offer were six of so Chiffchaffs that had set up territories and were singing away.
West Pool was pretty quiet, though there were still four Tufted Ducks present and what appears to be a pair of Little Grebes were again present and will hopefully nest. The large gulls contained a Herring Gull of the Scandinavian race, argentatus. Four Black-headed Gulls were also present, and a male Reed Bunting was singing.
I then moved on down to the southern end of the reservoir and took spent well over an hour wandering about. Two Fieldfares were feeding in one of sheep fields and a further four were hopping around in trees. A single Mistle Thrush showed well in the top of another tree.

The Cormorant flock contained a bird which appeared to be the Continental race, sinensis.

There were still half a dozen Teal and a pair of Wigeon present on the water, and four Snipe were flushed from the water's edge. A couple of male Pheasants were also seen, a bird which is more often heard than seen at the reservoir.

A few butterflies were on the wing and I saw singles of Comma and Small Tortoiseshell, and a couple of Peacocks were also seen.
At 4.20pm I headed back to work and scored a goal as the staff beat the pupils 4-3 in the hockey...all in all a good afternoon.

Cogden Beach - Sun 20 Mar

Ellie and I set off for the coast after an early lunch for a walk in the wonderful spring sun. We arrived at Cogden Beach at about 1.30pm and walked down to the beach, overhead there were several Skylarks in full song, and this accompanied us throughout our walk.
After such a clear night and morning, I didn't expect to see any migrants, and this was indeed the case. Despite the lack of birds we enjoyed a wonderful afternoon in the sun.
Whilst sitting on the beach in the sun, I took the opportunity to see if there was anything on the water, and a lone female Common Scoter was all I could locate.
We returned to the car, along the way a Meadow Pipit flew overhead and several Common Gulls passed by out to sea. Not a lot in the way of birds this afternoon, but it was great to get out in the fresh air.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 20 Mar

Back to routine today and after dropping Ellie off at church I spent an hour up at the reservoir in glorious sunshine. West Pool produced nothing more than two pairs of Tufted Ducks and a couple of Little Grebes, so I headed on to the south of the reservoir for a decent stroll.
Despite the onset of Spring, there were still half a dozen Fieldfares present, and the waterside vegetation held eight Snipe. A single female Wigeon was seen and four Teal were also present.
Chiffchaffs seem to have arrived in numbers over the last few days, with at least five singing males heard and as many as nine individuals counted.
Before I knew it, it was time to head on back...doesn't time fly!