I've been looking at the species that pair for life and Jackdaws are amongst them. I took this at Slimbridge on Saturday; looking very relaxed and enjoying the spring sunshine...

My last Devon post :-

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You cannot go to Devon without seeing Branscombe (a pretty little village with lots of flowers and birds!), after which we went to Beer; then Seaton (where we should have gone with friends a few weeks ago, but I was working, and hopefully we will do that soon). Seaton was great. The hide is perfect for an all round view and great for seeing Kingfishers. We then went to Powderham, Cockwood and then finished the evening at Dawlish Warren. It was a beautiful evening and having chased a Kingfisher around the pool, and then a Wheatear around the beach we decided we were too tired to go looking for waders (although it would have been a perfect time as the tide was low and the light was fabulous). Instead, we sat on the beach and watched the sun set. These are the last of my pics (I think!)...

Wheatear on the beach at Dawlish Warren...


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Robin at Seaton...

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Robin at Dawlish Warren...

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Carrion Crow - Dawlish Warren...

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Stonechat (It was acting very strange - I thought it may be a Whitchat at first)...

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Llamas (I think). We passed a gateway and I spotted them and summoned the Abbot to turn the car around and go back :-)

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Dragon Fly at Seaton...

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I think this may be the result of a hatched Moth or Butterfly. Spotted at Dawlish Warren. I do find some strange things - I was intrigued by it :-)

Another quick post as I have to prioritise membership work as opposed to sorting out my pictures from the day. My day list for Butterflies seems to be increasing with the warm weather (8 today), but the bird day list is declining at 39!
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A delightful place to pose for a piccie...
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Rook
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Not my best Wheatear, but I do like these lively birds and cannot resist taking lots of pics!
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I wish I could have done this one more justice, but I think the car was still moving (that's my excuse anyway!)...
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Wall Brown

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Not sure which Grasshopper or Cricket this is. By the way it was hopping around I would go for Groundhopper!... He was livlier than the company he was keeping... In a churchyard!
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Red Admiral (I think)
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Another Silver Y - There seems to be a lot of these about at the moment...
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Spider - I just don't have the time to ID!
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A good day list considering the time I’ve had…

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Having worked all weekend (as we are moving offices from one side of town to the other and I had to cancel a day out today to accommodate it) I really had to get out this evening. Finished work at 3pm and visited my friend, Molly where I saw a Jay in the garden. This gave me hope, having also seen a Goldcrest and Long Tailed Tits this morning (when I went to get a coffee from McDonalds on the way to work – as we had not unpacked the coffee machine yesterday!). We had a scout around at Par, Manoa Valley and Pentewan this evening. I’ve not been to Pentewan for a while so it made a nice change and I didn’t bother too much with the camera – just relaxed and enjoyed watching.
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My day list, including the garden morning head count (as always):-
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1. Fulmar
2. Gannet
3. Cormorant

4. Shag – 4 at Pentewan and not too far from the shore so I had a fabulous view.
5. Grey Heron
6. Mute Swan

7. Mallard
8. Kestrel
9. Moorhen
10. Coot
11. Oystercatcher
12. Ringed Plover
13. Dunlin
14. Black Headed Gull
15. Mediterranean Gull (if I ID’d correctly)

16. Herring Gull
17. Lesser Black Backed Gull

18. Great Black Backed Gull
19. Sandwich Tern

20. Woodpigeon

21. Collared Dove

22. House Martin

23. Swallow

24. Rock Pipit

25. Pied Wagtail
26. Wren

27. Dunnock

28. Robin

29. Blackbird

30. Sedge Warbler

31. Chiffchaff (heard – I hope!)

32. Goldcrest
33. Great Tit

34. Blue Tit

35. Coal Tit
36. Long Tailed Tit
37. Magpie
38. Jay

39. Jackdaw
40. Rook

41. Carrion Crow

42. Starling

43. House Sparrow

44. Chaffinch

45. Goldfinch

46. Greenfinch

Taken at Dawlish Warren...

Sunday...

I went to Staples in Truro to get some supplies for my membership work (where we had a quick look along the estuary), and with every intention of returning back home early to get on with said work! I took my bins and camera just in case, as you do! I did say to the Abbot this morning that I’d like to see a Yellowhammer again, on a hedge along the roadside maybe (as I’ve only ever seen one) and so I was determined to look out for them on the journey. Heading home I decided to stop and have a wander… found a lane for a stroll where we saw lots of Butterflies (which I am not good at ID‘ing). Headed towards home again, but ended up touring around Tregony and surrounding area, Polmassick and Portholland (where I saw 2 Kestrels together and near Potholland a YELLOWHAMMER, which made my day!), and Pentewan. We also tend to call at Churches as they are great places to spot birds - had a Spotted Flycatcher in a Churchyard today, if I‘ve ID‘d it correctly!
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I think this is a Ringlet...
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Ringlet?
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Meadow Brown?
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My day list for Sunday:-

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1. Fulmar
2. Gannet
3. Little Egret
4. Mute Swan
5. Mallard (flying over a field!)
6. Buzzard
7. Kestrel
8. Pheasant
9. Curlew
10. Black Headed Gull
11. Herring Gull
12. Greater Black Backed Gull
13. Woodpigeon
14. Collared Dove
15. Swift
16. Swallow
17. Skylark
18. Wren
19. Dunnock
20. Robin
21. Stonechat
22. Song thrush (heard)
23. Blackbird
24. Spotted Flycatcher
25. Chiffchaff (heard)
26. Great Tit
27. Blue Tit
28. Coal Tit
29. Magpie
30. Jackdaw
31. Rook (and lots of them)
32. Carrion Crow
33. Starling
34. House Sparrow
35. Chaffinch
36. Goldfinch
37. Greenfinch
38. Yellowhammer

Saturday

Went out last night with Derek, Sam, Ben & Poppy… and yes, I had another life tick! Thanks go to Derek again. There is no substitute for experience. It was a good night again. Amongst others we saw around 200 Kittiwake mingling with Fulmars, lots of Manx Shearwater (the life tick, which I must make a habit of looking for so that I can ID them in future), Rock Pipits in abundance, Nightjar (1 seen and 2 males heard) and heard Grasshopper Warbler x 3.


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I took this when we were listening to Nightjar... it was a lovely evening...

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My day list for my memorable Saturday:-
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1. Fulmar
2. Manx Shearwater
3. Gannet
4. Little Egret
5. Grey Heron
6. Mute Swan
7. Mallard
8. Buzzard
9. Sparrow Hawk
10. Kestrel
11. Pheasant (heard)
12. Curlew
13. Kittiwake
14. Black Headed Gull
15. Herring Gull
16. Greater Black Backed Gull
17. Stock Dove (only the second sighting of one for me)
18. Woodpigeon
19. Collared Dove
20. Tawny Owl (heard)
21. Nightjar
22. Swift
23. Swallow
24. Skylark
25. Rock Pipit
26. Wren (heard)
27. Dunnock
28. Robin
29. Song thrush (heard)
30. Blackbird
31. Grasshopper Warbler (heard)
32. Chiffchaff (heard)
33. Great Tit
34. Blue Tit
35. Coal Tit
36. Magpie
37. Jackdaw
38. Rook
39. Carrion Crow
40. Raven
41. Starling
42. House Sparrow
43. Chaffinch
44. Goldfinch
45. Greenfinch

There are a lot of juveniles in the garden… Robins, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Dunnocks, Blackbirds. The Starlings are quiet though. Mornings are not the same without them causing a frenzy! I've not been using the camera in the mornings either, as it takes a while to get my hands working.
Out again this evening, as I will be dedicating tomorrow evening to the dog. Mind you, she gets two walks a day, but tomorrow I shall take her for a hike!

The Canada Geese were in a bad mood tonight... this one reminds me of myself in the mornings!





To get this Pheasant and the Corvid below (as that flew by in the process), I walked through a churchyard, climbed a fence and perched on a very unstable Cornish Hedge next to a bunch of Foxgloves, which were buzzing with Bees. I'm just glad there were no Wasps - Don't like them! Getting down was tricky and I ended up face down and covered in bird poo, as it was near a good perch! Was it worth it I asked myself, but being so short there was no other way!

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Bindweed I believe...

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My day list:-

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1. Little Egret
2. Heron
3. Mute Swan
4. Canada Goose
5. Mallard
6. Pheasant
7. Moorhen
8. Herring Gull
9. Lesser Black Backed Gull
10. Woodpigeon
11. Collared Dove
12. Swift
13. Swallow
14. Skylark
15. Pied Wagtail
16. Wren
17. Dunnock
18. Robin
19. Stonechat
20. Songthrush
21. Blackbird
22. Chiffchaff
23. Great Tit
24. Blue Tit
25. Magpie
26. Jackdaw
27. Carrion Crow
28. Starling
29. House Sparrow
30. Chaffinch
31. Goldfinch
32. Greenfinch
33. Linnet