Trip reports
Field trip to Dawlish Warren - 17 February
Sunday, 17 February 2008
Having some time to spare before high tide it was decided to walk along the sea front to view the area around Langstone Rock. There was still quite a lot of exposed weed covered rocks at the base of the large sandstone promentary and first birds seen among the pools were a group of Brent geese. Other birds located included several gulls plus curlews, oystercatchers and a couple of turnstones.
Out to sea there were passing gannets in the distance while nearer to shore were several great crested grebes, mostly still showing a good deal of their winter plumage.
Walking back towards the estuary, views over the sea produced some close Slavonian grebes, readily recognisable by the distinct two-tone appearance of their heads, black above and white below. They were very active and continued to dive at regular intevals, but were readily visible among the troughs and peaks of the choppy water.
It was just off the dunes, where access is given to the hides, that the bird of the day was found. Acting upon information the group eventually picked out a dark form further out in the water. To the casual observer it could well have been a female eider, but closer inspection revealed the telltale, albeit very small, white face markings of a surf scoter.
Common scoters and velvet scoters are the norm for this part of the world but, occasionally, we are lucky to come upon this rare visitor that breeds in northern north America and normally overwinters down both coasts of that continent.
The surf scoter seems particularly prone to wandering and is seen regularly in Europe, but more often in north Norway and in north and west Scotland, so to see this particular bird was indeed a stroke of good fortune, and the opportunity of a life first for several of those present.
Other species seen on the sea included more Slavonian grebes and several red-breasted mergansers plus shags and cormorants.
Sitting in the shelter of the dunes overlooking the estuary gave more good sightings, first of which was a peregrine that sped across the sands towards the hide. Other birds located included little egret, dunlin, redshank, sanderling, many more Brent geese and other wildfowl including some distant wigeon.
Some members of the party then went off to Exminster in search of woodlarks. The search was fruitless, but walking across several fields in the afternoon sunshine gave superb views of large numbers of redwings and pipits and, in a distant tree in the company of chaffinches and linnets, some lovely colourful bramblings.