Steps Bridge and Fernworthy 23rd April 2005

Steps Bridge and Fernworthy 23^rd April 2005

Twelve of us assembled in the ”drip”; well kitted out in wet weather gear, but in the event we hardly needed it, as as the walk progressed it got drier and warmer. In fact by the end we were stripping off; don’t get too excited, we mostly started off with 4 or 5 layers! The light was poor for most of the walk, so there was a lot of identification by shape and sound.

Steps Bridge is a lovely place at any time, as there is a path meandering along beside the river Teign, with mature deciduous woodland on the other side. The Wood Anemones were in full bloom, the Bluebells were about to come out, and the Daffodils were over.

I saw 24 different species, some were unexpected. We started off with a bang, as it were, with a Common Sandpiper and a Dipper both playing in the rocks near the bridge, mostly going in and out of the water, and never staying still. Clear views were had, but nothing that could be photographed. The other water bird we saw was a Grey Wagtail, which was much further up the river, in fact we had almost given up hope of seeing one when two appeared bobbing their tails in the sun while going from boulder to the muddy edge. We got the full range of resident Thrushes, and good views, which is encouraging, as they are getting fewer around.

We saw several Nuthatches, one was either gathering mossy nesting material, or feeding its young, we could not quite work out which as it was in silhouette. We also saw a pair of Treecreepers creeping up some old tall trees. Is it just my opinion, or are they getting rarer? We saw lots of Goldcrests, those busy little birds, which just will not stay still enough for me to get into focus in my binoculars. They were, as ever, hunting for small grubs and move around in fits and starts. The best way of identifying them is by their piping call.

There were quite a number of Blackcaps, and we had some good sightings. They have several songs so can be difficult to identify by that alone. They are usually found in thickets and hedgerows, where they also nest. Some are resident in the South of England, but most are summer visitors, and arrive in April, and nest in May. They usually have 4-5 eggs, which take 10 days to hatch. Occasionally they manage a second brood. They eat insects, caterpillars and beetles, but be wary of them in your garden in July as they just love Raspberries!

Despite the numerous nest boxes we only saw one Pied Flycatcher. It is a little early in the season, so I hope that was the reason. People are putting up lots of nest boxes for them, as they arrive later than most of the other migrants, and find that the best homes have already gone.

All is all it was a lovely morning out, and I was sorry that I did not have time to stay the full day.

Ann Crawford

While Ann and a few others went home, the rest of us drove off to Fernworthy for lunch and our afternoon birding. As we ate our sandwiches, we could hear a chorus of Willow Warblers singing, while Swallows flew overhead. We first did a short circular walk which took us through some young willows where we saw some of the many Willow Warblers, as well as one or two Chiffchaffs and some excellent close-up views of Siskins feeding in the trees. The return leg took us down to the lake shore, but there wasn’t much on the water apart from a few Canada Geese. When we got back to the car park, we met up with a family from Plymouth Local Group, who came with us for the remainder of the afternoon.

For the second half of the afternoon walk, we drove up to the top end of the lake, by the hides. There wasn’t much to see in the trees (if we’d been there a couple of weeks earlier, we might have caught the Great Grey Shrike). But a slow amble along the lake side brought us to a really striking male Redstart. Then a walk through the trees brought yet more Willow Warblers. We returned by the road, in the hope (rather than expectation) of catching a glimpse of some Crossbills. As we had nearly got back to the cars, we saw a group of birds feeding in the tops of some Spruce trees. At first, I thought they were some more Siskins (my excuse is the poor light), but on closer examination, we found they really were Crossbills. We spent some time admiring them - a brilliant end to a good day’s birding.

Richard Swinbank

Birds seen, in BOU order or alphabetic order

BOU order

Canada Goose

Mallard

Pheasant

Great Crested Grebe

Buzzard

Coot

Common Sandpiper

Wood Pigeon

Cuckoo

Green Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Barn Swallow

Grey Wagtail

Pied Wagtail

Dipper

Wren

Dunnock

Robin

Redstart

Blackbird

Song Thrush

Mistle Thrush

Blackcap

Chiffchaff

Willow Warbler

Goldcrest

Pied Flycatcher

Long-tailed Tit

Marsh Tit

Coal Tit

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Nuthatch

Treecreeper

Jay

Magpie

Rook

Carrion Crow

Raven

Chaffinch

Greenfinch

Siskin

Crossbill

Alphabetic order