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
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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
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