ABBOTSBURY SWANNERY - LYM REGIS (RIVER LIM AND 'THE COBB' ) - AXMOUTH, RIVER AXE - SEATON WILDLIFE CENTRE - FLEET LANE, CHICKERELL
WEATHER: another superb day with plenty of sunshine and some overcast periods. No wind! Temp 9C all day.
We couldn't have asked for a better week of birding-weather, I can't ever remember having 7 consecutive days without wind or rain during January in the UK. Today was just the same as the previous 6 days, no wind (inside or outside of the car now that Guy Campbell has left us!) and a bright sunny morning, full moon a-glowing and a reddened sky at dawn.
Our birding was pretty good too, we found nearly all of our target birds as we enjoyed a lovely trip into neighbouring Devon. We took the coastal road from Weymouth heading towards Bridport, after 9 miles we stopped at the side of the road at Abbotsbury where, from the roadside, we had a panoramic view of the large lagoon of Abbotsbury Swannery. The Swannery is inexplicably closed to visitors during the winter so we had some long-distance birding to do.
Along the way we had seen several Buzzards, at least 3 Kestrels and countless Pheasants which had obviously been reared and released, ready for shooting!! Within minutes of setting up our scopes we located two LONG-TAILED DUCKS, not spectacular males, but female types without the long-tails. We had sifted through hundreds of ducks, swans, coots, grebes and cormorants to find them, but it was worth it.
From the Swannery we drove to Lyme Regis making our way the River Lim about 1/2 mile inland. I wasn't optimistic about finding our target bird, the Dipper, this was because I had visited this same place 6-7 times recently and not seen a single bird on the river.
the River Lim at Lyme Regis, the Dipper was seen on those rocks in the picture
My pesimism was short-lived because after just 5 minutes we found a Dipper, showing really well! It flew up river and we followed it for more viewings before it finally flew way up river and away. Job done, we now wanted to see Grey Wagtail I knew the perfect place and directed the others down river towards the outlet into Lyme Bay. From a raised footpath we gazed down onto a pair of Grey Wagtails feeding exactly where I said they would be, don't you just love it when that happens?
Grey Wagtail seen on the River Lim
Moving to the beach area we parked in the main car park near 'The Cobb' and walked to the marina. From the cobbled walkway we noted that the tide was high and just starting to ebb. A couple of dozen Turnstones flew just in front of us and came running to our feet, hoping to be fed. They were joined by a couple of Pied Wagtails which came close by, as did two very tame Rock Pipits.
a flock of some 24 Ruddy Turnstones joined us on the Cobb at Lyme Regis
Ruddy Turnstones in winter plumage taken at Lyme Regis today
We were after Purple Sandpipers and I knew we had to walk to the end of the Cobb (the old breakwater protecting the marina) to find them. Sure enough, just as we arrived a flock of about 20 Purple Sandpipers flew in and landed on the rocky breakwater extension. We had superb views of this uncommon winter visitor, I filled my boots taking my digi-scoping pictures, I love this bird. My wife, Dawn, can never understand why I have to take pictures of them everytime we go there, I just have to do it, some of you will relate to that.
Purple Sandpiper one of my favourite waders
Purple Sandpipers settled down now after a short altercation
the rocky breakwater extension at the Cobb, Lyme Regis - there are at least three Purple Sandpipers in this picture and a bunch of Cormorants at the very end of the breakwater
looking back to the seafront at Lyme regis from the Cobb
From Lyme we drove to the next town along the coast, Seaton, we entered the area from the east and followed the route of the River Axe to the village of Axmouth. The whole area was engulfed in a thick shroud of fog/mist, a complete contrast to Lyme Regis which was as clear as a summer's day. We stopped a couple of times to scan some of the river and found Oystercatcher, Redshank, lots of Wigeon and Teal with Mallards, Shelduck and a large number of gulls.
The River Axe in the fog at Axmouth Village
We gave up fairly quickly and moved to the sea-front at Seaton, there we scanned the bay and found.........not a lot. A single Razorbill floated across the bay and a large flock of Wigeon (150+) sat out on the sea. Several Cormorants, and Shags flew past and a Gannet was seen flying much higher than usual. Behind us we found a Black Redstart, it was a female type, catching flys on a sun-drenched roof which was covered in solar-panels.
Black Redstart seen at Seaton Sea-front
A coffee was next on the agenda, we drove to the main supermarket, drank a nice coffee and bought some lunch supplies. Our final venue for this excursion into Devon was the Seaton Wetlands Centre. We arrived around 1pm and spent a good hour watching the brackish lagoons and a section of the river Axe from two of the main hides.
Black-tailed Godwits with a Lapwing in Black Hole Lagoon
The Island Hide in the 'Black Hole' was the most productive, there were lots of birds in and around the Black Hole lagoon. I counted 52 Common Snipe, 23 Black-tailed Godwits, a single Dunlin, a single Avocet and countless Lapwings. Shelduck, Teal, Wigeon, Shoveler and Cormorants were also present.
record shot of a Dunlin surrounded by Common Snipe
the symbol of the RSPB - Pied Avocet
From the Tower hide we had excellent views of the river now that the mist had cleared. There we saw a good number of Redshanks (30+), a single Curlew, a single Greenshank, several Oystercatchers and dozens of Lapwing. Mike spotted a KIngfisher which landed on a metal post close to the hide and remained there for the duration of our stay.
Kingfisher taken from the Tower Hide overlooking the River Axe
The Gulls were impressive too, I sifted through them just in case there was a Glaucous Gull, which I had picked out a couple of winters ago. There was a good number of Great Black-backed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Black-headed Gulls and Common Gulls but no Mediterranean or lesser Black-backed Gulls or a Glaucous Gull.
Common Redshank on the River Axe
We left Seaton Wetlands just after 3pm and drove back to Weymouth, we had a date with a Glossy Ibis (or so we thought)? The Ibis had been seen most days for the past week in a particular field along Fleet Lane in Chickerell. So that is where we found ourselves some 40 minutes later. We found the correct field and found..........nothing! Not an Ibis in sight. We did see a few Curlews and a couple of Oystercatchers in the correct field but nothing else.
a fog-less view of the River Axe from the Tower Hide
Scanning the water of the 'Fleet' we noted Brent Geese, Shelduck, Tufted Duck and Great Crested Grebes and a large female Sparrowhawk flew over the fields but the flipping Ibis refused to show itself.
We left at 4:30pm and drove back to our Guest House in good time for our Fish and Chips evening, which went down well with a bottle of beer and a wee drop of Aberlour single malt whiskey supplied by our host Chris. A last night salutation I presumed.
Tomorrow is our last day and we only have the morning available for birding, if that blinking Ibis dosn't show up tomorrow I'll gonna give up birding for good!!!