Wembury,
Saturday 30th October 2010Six of us drove down from Exeter and we were joined
by nine more at Wembury, eight of these being from a
U3A (University of the Third Age) group from Tavistock. The weather was
initially cool and cloudy with a fresh southerly breeze but the sun soon shone
and it became quite warm though the wind was incessant keeping the smaller
birds quiet.It was soon obvious, looking up into
the sky over the hill tops, that gulls and corvids were enjoying the updraft and later six Ravens
delighted us with their topsyturvy
acrobatics often turning completely upside down. A shout came from a U3A
member of an owl perched below us within the cliff, Little Owls often do this
but this bird turned out to be a fluffed up Kestrel, my telescope showing off it's large eye looking intently down into the vegetation
below. In fact this and another Kestrel spent most of the morning thereafter
hunting overhead as we walked. A Buzzard or two joined in while a Peregrine and
a female Sparrowhawk scattered the pipits and
Pied Wagtails that were evident throughout the morning, the female sparrowhawk was easily identified as it then flew
high and was harrassed by a similar sized
carrion crow. The only other birds of note high up were
three Skylarks one that gave a burst of song.Speaking of the lark, the expression ‘lark
about’ has varied definitions including one from an Anglo-Bengali dictionary of
1802 (mudlarks or skylarks being young children
playing on the shoreline). A naval version relates to young boys ‘larking
about’ in the rigging while several local English dialects take variations from
the aerial acrobatics of the skylark.On the beach side Little Egrets and
a Grey Heron were seen but it was the almost non
descript Rock Pipits that probably became the most watched bird as their
movements between the rocks caused some excitement among us. In all there must
have been about twenty all along the shore line. We perhaps could have
found a Black Redstart or two as a walker later informed us they were seen where
we observed a few Oystercatchers and a party of Turnstones that roosted on the
rocks, many huddled together meant they were difficult to count and the
initial estimates of ten or twelve later became thirty three as they very
obligingly allowed us to view them from closer quarters.Generally the birds this morning
were as expected so it was a little disappointing that only a handful of us
managed excellent close up views of a male and female Cirl
Bunting alighting from a nearby hedge to feed in the grass, where as is often
the case they vanished from sight. Many of our group seemed more intent on
doing the same as they had marched back to their cars for lunch.The afternoon session was short and
became more of a walk as the wind higher up meant the birds were scarce though
we did find Redwings and a Chiffchaff along with more usual chaffinches etc.The plant Stinking Iris, Iris foetidissimawould'nt normally be
of great interest but today it stood out due to it's
position being of scattered patches within a short cropped field, it's
bright scarlet seeds bathed in sunshine glowing brilliantly against
the carpet of green grass surrounding it. We wondered why it had'nt been cut down, do the birds eat the seeds?
Apparently not and they remain all winter. The stinking part of the plant comes
from the scent of the crushed leaves. It gives rise to one of its other common
names-the 'Roast Beef Plant'.We also saw Red Admiral and Speckled
Wood butterflies and a few Fox Moth caterpillars but there were also non wildlife
interests in the form of a navy frigate and a surfaced submarine.Thanks Lyndon for a good day, good
weather, good company and of course good birds.P.S. Ironically I saw a female Black
Redstart the next morning out of my kitchen window in Sidbury.Number of specied seen: 42.Alan
Salter