Birdwatching Trip Report - 28th September 2024
28th September, 2024
The weather gave us a beautiful morning to be out and about on the Axe Estuary, with just a gentle breeze and plenty of sunshine. A good crowd of Curlews feeding on Sheep's Marsh got us off to a fine start. On the estuary we were entertained by more waders: Oystercatchers and Redshanks, a few Black-tailed Godwits and a single Common Sandpiper.
Kingfishers are always a highlight, but today's two sightings were frustratingly brief.
The first bird we encountered - perched on railings by the Seaton Marshes hide - vanished the moment we stopped to look at it! And the second wasn't much better, just a turquoise streak flying away...and gone! We always see plenty of elegant Little Egrets from the birdwatching tram, but
Cattle Egret is much less reliable. However, we had excellent views of a Cattle Egret on this trip, and it was with cattle too!
Jay is quite an unusual bird to see from the tram, but it is the time of year when they begin to stock up their acorn larders and they are often more visible as a consequence; we were treated to at least two sightings. It is also the time of year that many of our winter visitors begin to arrive, including Wigeon and Teal, both of which are present in good numbers already.
Black Hole Marsh is still in great condition, with many Black-tailed Godwits and Redshanks feeding there. Our wader list was boosted by four Ringed Plovers on the estuary, as well as two Ruff and a Greenshank on the Colyford Marsh scrape.
It was nice to see a few small birds in the tram-line bushes, including the migrant warbler species, Blackcap and Chiffchaff, though it was not easy to get good views as they flitted through the foliage.
A fly-over Great Spotted Woodpecker was an unexpected bonus bird!
We also saw at least two Foxes and two Roe Deer.
The final tally was 56 species seen and/or heard, all listed below...
Mute Swan
Common Sandpiper
Cetti's Warbler
Canada Goose
Greenshank
Blackcap
Shelduck
Redshank
Chiffchaff
Wigeon
Black-headed Gull
Blue Tit
Teal
Herring Gull
Great Tit
Mallard
Great Black-backed Gull
Jay
Pheasant
Feral Rock Dove
Magpie
Little Grebe
Woodpigeon
Jackdaw
Cormorant
Kingfisher
Rook
Cattle Egret
Green Woodpecker
Carrion Crow
Little Egret
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Starling
Grey Heron
Swallow
House Sparrow
Buzzard
Meadow Pipit
Chaffinch
Moorhen
Grey Wagtail
Greenfinch
Oystercatcher
Pied Wagtail
Goldfinch
Ringed Plover
Wren
Reed Bunting
Lapwing
Dunnock
Ruff
Robin
Black-tailed Godwit
Blackbird
Curlew
Song Thrush