Friday 03 – Sunday 05 November – South Devon Weekend Leader: Jane Cumming

Seventeen BOC members braved the aftermath of Storm ‘Ciaron’ which had passed through on the previous day.
Friday: Our first stop on the way down was at Steps Bridge, about ten miles south west of Exeter. Unfortunately, not many birds were around, but we saw three Goldcrests together in the trees. Goosander and Magpie were also seen. Undeterred, we continued to Bowcombe Creek near Kingsbridge. There we saw Redshank, Mallard, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Black-headed and Herring Gull, Cormorant in the creek and Coal, Blue and Long-tailed Tit in the trees as well as a Raven overhead. But the highlight for many of us was a Kingfisher fishing on the far side of the creek and for others a Greenshank on the creek’s sand bank. So, satisfied with the day’s birding, we set off to the Cottage Hotel in Hope Cove with its splendid views of the sea and coves.
Saturday: We set off early to Slapton Ley and walked round the nature reserve at the far end. There we saw Tufted Duck, Coot, Moorhen, Great Crested Grebe, one Gadwall, Mute Swan, Grey Heron and Collared Dove. A Water Rail was heard but not seen. Many gulls out on the water, Black-headed, Common, Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls were busy washing and preening themselves in the fresh water of the ley. To everyone’s delight an otter was seen swimming on the far side. We proceeded to the Torcross end of Slapton Ley and looked out over both the sea and ley. Gannets were gliding in graceful sweeps overhead, their black wing tips and large beaks clearly visible. Crows mobbed a Short-eared Owl quite close to us, the highlight of the day. Little Egret and a Great White Egret were seen on the ley. From there we went to Beesands and watched the Gannets again, also Stonechat, Meadow Pipit and Pied Wagtail. We continued on to Thurlestone Sands, first stopping at a car park on the northern headland. The sea was quite wild, with huge waves breaking across the rocks. Turnstone and Rock Pipit were spotted there and a Kestrel hovered in the strong wind overhead. Further on by the reeds towards South Milton Sands, Buzzard, Chiffchaff, Cetti’s Warbler (only heard), Skylark, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Goldcrest, Wren, Dunnock, and Goldfinch were seen. Our last stop was at South Milton Sands at the southern end of Thurlestone Bay. There were Wigeon, Mallard, Canada Geese and Teal around the lagoon. A flock of about 20 Starling swooped several times before landing to roost among the reeds.. Six Oystercatchers were counted bobbing away, calling plaintively, on the rocks on the beach. Cormorant and Shag were also seen. We headed back to Hope Cove to our lovely hotel and another first-rate five course dinner.
Sunday: We headed to Prawle Point with the intent of seeing Cirl Bunting and amazingly found two straight away. A Short-eared Owl was mobbed by Crows again and two Peregrine were seen. A Kestrel was spotted far away on the cliffs and Stonechat and one more Cirl Bunting in some of the bushes. Several flocks of Woodpigeons totalling at least 320 were passing overhead, migrating, probably to northern France. Our next stop was the breakwater at Brixham. Almost immediately we saw a Great Northern Diver quite close to shore which stayed near the breakwater as it swam further offshore. Three Purple Sandpipers were near the far end, and about 20 Turnstone were spotted en route. I thought I had missed these, but found one had interloped into my Sandpiper photos. A Common Seal was sunning itself near the sandpipers and several others were out of the water near the marina. Two or three Gannet were around, one feeding so we could enjoy its spectacular diving skills. Rock Pipit dabbled around the shore when we got back to the car park. Finally we headed towards the Labrador Bay RSPB Reserve, set up to attract Cirl Bunting. Two Great Northern Divers were seen down in the bay. Unfortunately our luck with the weather ran out and it started to rain very heavily. The light was also fading. Time to go home.
Thank you to our leader, Jane who organized the trip. We saw some brilliant birds and we managed to miss the rain nearly everywhere. The highlights for me were seeing the Short-eared Owl and the otter (not a bird I know but still a wonderful sign of thriving wildlife.) It was a very enjoyable trip with a total of 72 species. Alison Hooper