Sightings Diary

October 2011

Wheatear
Exeter Canal

01.10.11 - 25 degrees, sunny, 10am to 5pm



Exe Estuary

Birds - Wood Pigeons, Crows, Jackdaws, Blackbirds, Great Tits, Goldcrests, Pied Wagtails, Black-headed Gulls, Mute Swans, Grey Lag Geese, House Sparrows, Dunnock, Magpies, Herring Gulls, Cormorants, Robins, Starlings, Little Egrets, Kingfisher, Mallard Ducks

Wild Flowers - Germander Speedwell, Hemp Agrimony, Cats Ear, Hedge Woundwort, Prickly Lettuce, Ivy Leaved Toadflax, Valerian, Herb Robert, Ragwort, White Dead-nettle, Yarrow, Himalayan Balsam, Dandelions, Daisies, Hogweed, Wild Carrot, Red Campion, Bramble Blossom, Meadow Buttercups, Hedge Bindweed, Sneezewort, Sloes, Service Tree Berries, Hawthorn Berries, Selfheal, Red Clover, Prickly Sowthistle, Common Mallow, Purple Loostrife, Groundsel, Black Medic, Tansy, Lesser Stitchwort, Chamomile, Comfrey, Cinquefoil, Tufted Vetch, Meadow Vetchling, Field Bindweed, Doves-foot Cranes-bill, Knapweed, Bedstraw



Himalayan Balsam



White Dead-nettle




Bee on Meadow Vetchling

Other - Squirrels, Speckled Woods, Wasps, Honey Bees, Red Admirals, Bumble Bees, Crane flies, Hover Flies, Emperor Dragonfly, Common Darters, Migrant Hawkers, Large Whites



Common Darter


Sidmouth, Budleigh Salterton, Otterton

02.10.11 - 25 degrees, sunny, 10am to 4pm

Birds - Skylarks (appear to be congregating), Kestrels, Herring Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, Cormorants, Stonechats, Chaffinch, Pheasants, Jackdaws, Crows, Ravens, Wood Pigeons, Rooks, Robin, Pied Wagtail, Wheatears, Linnets, Canada Geese, Blackbirds, Cetti's Warbler, Moorhens, Mallard Ducks, Heron, Kingfisher catching and eating fish, Nuthatches, Long-tailed Tits, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Mute Swans, Grey Wagtails, Buzzards, Meadow Pipits



Meadow Pipit



Nuthatch



Blue Tit


Other - Small Copper, Wall Brown, Small White, Red Admirals, Meadow Brown, Commas, Common Darters, Migrant Hawkers, Southern Hawker, Hornet



Small Copper



Red Admiral



Common Darter


Topsham RSPB Bowling Green Marsh Hide

07.10.11 - 12 degrees, sunny/cloudy, 3pm to 5pm, high tide 4pm, Windy




Birds - Heron, Little Egrets, Dunlin, Curlew Sandpiper, Redshanks, Curlews, Lapwing, Shelduck, Shoveler, Teal, Mallard, Pied Wagtails, Dunnocks, Robins, Buzzard, Wood Pigeons, Crow, Magpies, Chaffinch



Grey Heron



Chaffinch

Butterflies - Comma, Speckled Wood, Red Admiral



Speckled Wood

Exe Estuary Area

09.10.11 - 16 degrees, sunny/cloudy, 7am to 11am, low tide 10:30am, light wind

Birds - Black-backed Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail, Cormorants, Crows, Wood Pigeons, Little Egrets, Herons, Mallard Ducks, Teal, Blue Tits, Little Grebes, Wren, Long-tailed Tits, Canada Geese, Mute Swans, Teal, Pheasants. Chaffinch, Robin



Cock Pheasant

Mammals - Fallow Deer, Stoat



Stoat



Fallow Stag

Butterflies and Other - Red Admirals, Speckled Woods, Large Whites, Small White, Hornets, Wasps, Hover Flies, Migrant Hawker



Autumn Reeds



Migrant Hawker



Fallow Stag



Rutting Fallow Stag



Rutting Fallow Stag

Yarner, Dartmoor

16.10.11 - 16 degrees, sunny/cloudy, 10am to 3pm, light wind

Birds - Jays, Greater Spotted Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, Dunnocks, Great Tits, Long-tailed Tits, Blue Tits, Blackbirds, Wrens, Crows, Pigeons

Fungi - Some about but not the variety there was mid/last week of September (when I didn't have my camera!)



Birch Polypore



Mushroom Gills

Wild Flowers - Devil's Bit Scabious, Tormentil, Cats Ear



Tormentil



Devil's Bit Scabious

Other - Plenty of Beetles :-)



Beetle

Dawlish Warren

17.10.11 - 16 degrees, sunny/cloudy, 9am to 3pm, light wind, High Tide 10am

Birds - Oystercatchers, Little Egrets, Crows, Herring Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, Black-backed Gulls, Dunlin, Curlew, Brent Geese, Canada Geese, Wigeon, Pipits, Long-tailed Tits, Dunnock



Oystercatchers



Brent Geese



Wigeon

My Patch

21.10.11 - 15 degrees, sunny/cloudy, 9am to 5.30pm

Nest box maintenance. Removing old nests, cleaning out then adding new wood shavings.

Of the 6 "hole type" nest boxes I added this time last year, all had been used by Blue Tits and Great Tits. None of the 4 "open type" boxes had been used. Both Owl boxes had been used, one by a Stock Dove and one by a Squirrel. My Woodpecker box had been used by a Great Tit and one of my 2 Tree Creeper boxes had been used by a Blue Tit. My Kestrel box was unused. Of the 6 "hole type" boxes added March this year, 2 had been used by Blue Tits. I think the Tawny Owls nested using an old Buzzards Nest.

I added 4 new "hole type" boxes and 2 "open type".



Great Tit



Blue Tit

River Otter - Newton Poppleford to Otterton

23.10.11 - 17 degrees, sunny, moderate wind, 10am to 4pm

Birds - Collard Doves, House Sparrows, Jackdaws, Buzzards, Wood Pigeons, Crows, Blackbirds, Kestrel, Little Egret, Jays, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Cormorant, Dunnocks, Wrens, Skylark, Long-tailed Tits, Nuthatches, Grey Wagtails, Blackcap, Kingfishers, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits, Dipper, Malllard Ducks, Song Thrush, Robins, Magpie, Black-headed Gulls, Sparrowhawk, Herring Gulls, Pied Wagtails, Chaffinches, Goldfinches



Grey Wagtail



Blackcap

Wild Flowers - Bedstraw, Oxeye Daisies, White Campion, Green Alaknet, Wild Strawberries flowering and fruiting, White Dead-nettle, Cornflower, Germander Speedwell, Field Pansy, Redshank, Field Poppies, Scarlet Pimpernel, Lesser Stitchwort, Spear Thistle, St John's-wort, Valerian, Comfrey, Tansy, Bramble Flower, Creeping Thistle, Hedge Woundwort, Dove's-foot Crane's-bill, Honey Suckle, Red Dead-nettle, Common Mallow



Redshank



Field Pansy

Other - Comma Butterfly, Many (30+) Red Admirals, Speckled Woods, Common Darters, Hawker (Southern or Migrant), 3 different types of Ladybirds, Hornets, Many Wasps, Grey Mullet.

Exe Estuary Area, Stover

28.10.11 - 13 degrees, sunny, light/no wind, 8am to 3pm

Birds - Nuthatches, Bullfinches, Greater Spotted Woodpeckers, Coal Tits, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Robins, Wren, Black-headed Gulls, Great Crested Grebes, Mallard Ducks, Kingfisher, Wood Pigeons, Jays, Magpie, Chaffinches

I was hoping for a bit more Autumn colour today for these backgrounds, hopefully I will have the same luck in a week or two's time when the leaves have changed.



Greater Spotted Woodpecker



Nuthatch, this chap was very distressed at the presence of the Woodpecker and was really giving it some stick.

Other - Beech trees really starting to colour-up, Bracken looking superb, hornet, squirrels, Fallow Deer



Autumn Beech Leaves



Autumn Bracken



Fallow Doe and Offspring



Great Tit

Topsham RSPB Bowling Green Hide

31.10.11 - 165 degrees, windy, cloudy and showers, 8.30am to 11am, high tide 9.30am

Birds - Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Magpies, Crows, Rook, Wood Pigeons, Pied Wagtails, Grey Wagtail, good number of Wigeon and Teal, Mallard Ducks, Heron, Little Egrets, Many Curlew, Many Bar-tailed Godwits, some Black-tailed Godwits, Dunlin, Redshank, 3 Spotted Redshank, Turnstone, Sparrowhawk, Shoveler, 3 Greylag Geese, Small flock of Brent Geese, Canada Geese, Black-headed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Greenfinch flock, Goldfinch flock, Great tit, Blue Tit, Cormorants flying over, Black Swan flying over, Greenshank.



Wigeon



Wood Pigeon



Little Egret



Greenshank



Redshank



Black-tailed Godwit



Canada Geese



Black-headed Gull