Prawle 9th April 2006

Prawle 9th April 2006

On a pleasant day with a breeze - though the wind was not in the ideal direction - around 20 of us gathered in East Prawle village. After the initial talk we set off along the road out of the village. Not long into the walk, the first notable birds were Skylarks heard and seen circling above. As we came off the road and down into the lane towards Pigs Nose Valley we were delighted to see a flock of Yellowhammers in the trees. Some said a few Cirl Buntings were there too, though we didn’t get proper views of them until later on. John and a couple of us spotted a Sparrowhawk coming over, just above a hedge, just before we saw a flock of Linnets perched on a wire fence on top of a hilly field.

As we walked down Pigs Nose valley there were some Stonechats which were with us for the rest of the walk, with the odd Chaffinch, a Buzzard being harassed by gulls, Jackdaws and some very distant Cormorants and Oystercatchers. We had hoped to see some Spring migrants, though. We continued up and down the coast path, and one of the times when we stopped to scan the area, we had a good view of a Raven on top of a rock. And I managed to spot a Meadow Pipit in the grass, then some of us shouted “Peregrine” as one flew across. Then came the debate of the day: “was it a Siberian Stonechat?”. One male bird had more white than usual - though it was probably just a slightly unusual European Stonechat.

By then, we were hinting at lunch, which we ate watching the Swallows while we sat on a bank by the beach. Then we had an amble up to the coastguard lookout. A Pipit flew across, and when we reached the top, we could look down on Cormorants, Shags and an Oystercatcher on the rocks below. Then, we thought we saw a couple of Kittiwakes, but this turned out to be a false alarm - they were just two of the many Herring Gulls. Oh, well.

When we got down to the shoreline again, we started to see more of the star bird of the area - the Cirl Bunting. We had some excellent views, but they blended amazingly well into the stretch of ploughed field. There were charms of Goldfinches, with the odd Linnet, Pied Wagtails and Rock Pipit on the beach, with Stonechats always there. Plus a good view of a couple of Buzzards on the rocks with what looked like some prey. Finally, we began the steep walk back to the car park, with a cafe strategically placed at the top of the hill. It was, all in all, a good day with good exercise included, thanks to everyone.

Steve Mole

Birds seen, in BOU order or alphabetic order

BOU order

Mallard

Pheasant

Cormorant

Shag

Sparrowhawk

Buzzard

Kestrel

Peregrine

Oystercatcher

Herring Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Wood Pigeon

Sky Lark

Barn Swallow

Meadow Pipit

Rock Pipit

Pied Wagtail

Wren

Dunnock

Robin

Stonechat

Blackbird

Chiffchaff

Blue Tit

Magpie

Jackdaw

Carrion Crow

Raven

Starling

House Sparrow

Chaffinch

Goldfinch

Linnet

Yellowhammer

Cirl Bunting

Alphabetic order