Devon

Whilst driving to our holiday cottage I bagged my first Raven of the year over Dartmoor and then on arrival found my first Dipper of the decade in the cottage river which as you can imagine is very high and flowing very fast making life difficult for the Dipper who's found a small pool under the bridge to his liking.

Cirl Bunting at Broadsands

I ventured out away from the family yesterday for a couple of hours and found first the Cirl Buntings in the car park at Broadsands and they were very busy feeding despite the presence of some of the travelling community and their dogs. A local put me onto a Siberian Chiffchaff and I walked to the headland to scan the sea for Great Northern Diver finding just the one when seventeen were reported yesterday. A few Gannets fished in the bay but otherwise the sea was quiet.

Blue-winged Teal roosting at Man Sands

My last point of call was Man Sands were the Blue-winged Teal is wintering. I drove down the track stopping to give a another birder a ride and on arrival found a couple of Cornish birders had the teal in their scopes and they kindly put us on the roosting bird. We enjoyed good scope views before the heavens opened and we rushed for the car and the journey back to the family ready for a fun day at a local leisure park.

Broadsands headland

Mansands duck asleep in those far reeds

Mansands (another beautiful place visited in Devon)

Year list now 181