South-east Devon - Sat 29 Oct

An early start as myself and some of the usual crowd set off at 7.00am and drove down to Orcombe Point near Exmouth to search for a Dusky Warbler. After a good search we drew a blank, hardly surprising as the weather overnight had been pretty clear and ideal for migration. We did see several hundred Woodpigeons fly over as well as a Peregrine but with little else about we headed inland.
Our next stop was Aylesbeare Common RSPB, we were hoping to find some Dartford Warblers, but the severe weather over the past two winters has decimated the population and we again missed out. We did see a couple of Siskin fly-over and heard a few Lesser Redpolls and Redwings also.
Continuing east we stopped off at Branscombe, parking in the village and walking down to the beach. Whilst it looked ideal for scarce migrants we again saw very little, with the pick of the few birds we did see being a Chiffchaff. A couple of Ravens flew over, as did a Peregrine.
We then set off for Seaton, and after a quick and unproductive stop (other than giving me a chance to get a very tasty bacon and sausage baguette) at Seaton Hole we drove on to Black Hole Marsh...where there were no birds! Technically not quite true, but there was certainly nothing out of the ordinary. A few Black-tailed Godwits were on the estuary and were about the pick of the crop.
So at 3.30pm we called it a day and headed on back home. A great day out socially, but a real dead loss with regard to birds!

Sutton Bingham - Fri 28 Oct

A brief afternoon visit to the reservoir was not overly productive. Two Little Egrets were on the exposed mud off the dam, and three Wigeon were grazing on the vegetation on the edge of West Pool.
At the southern end of the reservoir there were still two Mute Swans present, as were twenty-three Teal. A single female Tufted Duck was also seen and at least thirty Meadow Pipits were seen in flight, the majority of which were heading south.

Oldbury-on-Severn - Thu 27 Oct

A long drive in really dismal weather this afternoon as I set off up the M5 to Gloucershire and the small village of Oldbury-on-Severn. I arrived on site at about 2.30pm and then had a half mile walk in the rain to the yacht club where a female Pied Wheatear had been present for the last couple of days. As I neared the yacht club I could see a couple of birders scoping a bird that was on the roof, so a quick look through my scope reaped rewards as I got on to the bird.
Happy with the sighting I carried on to the club itself and over the next half an hour was treated to some cracking views of this delightful bird, at times as close as six feet away.
Pied Wheatear was a life tick for me, and I was lucky enough to manage a couple of semi-decent record shots with my mobile.

Also present, in pretty awful weather, a single Northern Wheatear and a few Meadow Pipits, but to be honest, I was not really looking around for much else as this was a simple twitch. At 3.00pm I walked back to the car and drove back home after a really profitable afternoon.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 22 Oct

A late afternoon visit today, and I spent a fair amount of time around the trees at the southern end of the reservoir. However, there was very little about and the pick of the few birds present was a Marsh Tit. One of the neighbouring fields held a single White Wagtail alongside five Pied Wagtails. Two juvenile Mute Swans had arrived overnight and were with the four adults that I had seen last night. A single Little Grebe was seen from the hide. The northern end of the reservoir produced a Little Egret and nothing else of note.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 21 Oct

A quick visit after work today and there was very little of note at either end of the reservoir. From the northern causeway I saw a Little Grebe, but that was about it. A walk from the hide produced four Mute Swans which were new arrivals, and thirty Teal. A couple of Meadow Pipits flew over and a Peregrine was perched on one of the pylons.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 16 Oct

Unlike recent weeks all the action during an hour long visit this morning, whilst Ellie was at church, was around West Pool. At least twenty Meadow Pipits were feeding on and around the area of earth that has been exposed due to the laying of some new piping. Alongside the pipits were three White Wagtails and a Little Egret was also present. A Chiffchaff was feeding in sallows and ten or so Skylarks flew over heading south. Wintering wildfowl look as if they are starting to return with a small party of ten Wigeon that flew in and landed on West Pool, whilst the number of Teal at the southern end had risen to twenty-three birds.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 12 Oct

I had a busy morning attending an Asbestos Awareness Course and as it went on into the early afternoon I ended up missing out on a fair portion of my half day, and I then had to take Ellie in to town and buy some tiles for the kitchen. So it was hardly surprisingly that I could only make a brief visit to the reservoir late in the afternoon today.
I started off with a walk along the water's edge from the hide to the Canoe Club, but other than a few Teal and the Yellow-legged Gull there was nothing about...and a couple walking a dog probably explained why. However, I was my diplomatic best today and instead of a rant I politely told them that dogs were not allowed on the site...which they took very well, something that dog-walkers don't always do when in the wrong!
A fairly short stop at West Pool produced a single Wigeon and two Little Egrets, and a Snipe flew up and circled above me for a while before flying south. There was nothing else much of note and as I was expecting a visit from a plumber I had to head back home after less than an hour on site.