Trip reports
Trip to Dawlish Warren
Thursday, 20 November 2008
It was a warmer day than recently when 13 members met in the car park and we were pleased to find winter parking charges at £1.10 for the day in operation.
We set off for the hide looking over The Warren with our target to be inside by noon as it would then be high tide and the best time for waders.
On route we found 2 little grebe in a pool by the information centre and further on recorded greenfinch, various tits and a brief glimpse of a chiffchaff but no sign of a cirl bunting reported the previous day.
Arriving at the sand dunes we scanned the sea for birds but it was very quiet and on the wooden barriers on the beach we did note dunlin, grey plovers and also oystercatchers.
The hide was pretty full in the top tier so some of us had to stay below to watch the wonderful display given by dunlin, knot and sanderlings taking off and returning to the beach in front of us to be joined later by grey plovers.
We also amongst the great numbers of oystercatchers found a few bar tailed godwits and redshanks but the ringed plovers did not join these waders staying on a remote sand spit
Enjoying our sandwiches we were able to record brent geese, red breasted mergansers, curlew, turnstone,
little egret, grey heron, shag and cormorants and brief glimpses of linnet, meadow and rock pipit.
As the tide receded it was time for us to go Langstone Rock along the promenade and do some sea watching and we met a bird watcher with telescope at a view point by the pub who had a surf scoter and common scoter in his sight.
Soon we with our equipment were also able to see the birds and also record great crested grebe and further on rock pipits and gannets but alas no divers.
As the group had an indoor meeting tonight we finished early and for the day we had recorded 50 species. (note the surf scoter was a female bird sitting up higher in the water with tail held high and a pale patch by the beak and more pronounced outline than the common scoter)
Report Don Cotton