Wednesday 6 March 2013

Cornish bird trip - Day 1

I was lucky to get the chance for some winter birding with friends down in Devon and Cornwall this last weekend. We started off well. Just after picking up my friends in Weston Super Mare, I decided to fill up with diesel for the long journey down to Cornwall. In the petrel station forecourt were 13 Bohemian Waxwings sitting in a tree! I was busy getting the diesel and also the light was awful, so no photo, but the good start boded well for our 4 day trip. 

Our first stop was in Devon, close to Exeter. Steps Bridge at Dunsford is a well known area to try for Lesser-spotted Woodpecker. It also has a lovely River which very often has Dipper.
 We did indeed find a Dipper along the river. The light was poor and I couldn't get very close, so these are record shots only. 

Here are my birding friends, Jane, Emma and Louise. Ready to find that elusive Woodpecker!
 There were being very diligent in their task! (-:
Eventually we were rewarded with excellent views of this very hard to find bird. It has declined badly in recent years and not enough is known as to why. Although the views were good, they weren't good enough for a photo. So, this obliging Robin will have to do instead.
 It was lovely to see signs of Spring well on the way with wild Daffodils dotting the woodland floor.
 After finding our target species here, we enjoyed the lovely walk back along the river to the car.
 We had a couple of other stops on the way down to where we were staying, but no scenic ones, so the next post will start with our first full day of birding in Cornwall.

7 comments:

Roy Norris said...

Lovely to see the Dipper Jen, I have never seen one yet.

Pix at Under the Oaks said...

I love that plumpie little Robin and the yellow Daffies! Nice to see the pictures of your birding friends Jenny.. :) Love the shot of them all looking up with their bins!

Jenny said...

Hi Roy, are they sparse in the east? I think there's a black-bellied one at the BTO headquarters at the moment.

Jenny said...

Hi Pix, yes I like that one of them working hard to find that Woodpecker. I'm glad we were successful in the end. It's not a bird you see every year!

ShySongbird said...

I can already see you had a great time Jenny. Very envious about the Dipper, we don't see them here at all. Lovely photo of the Robin!

Jenny said...

Hi Jan, yes I always feel lucky to see a Dipper. I don't ever take them for granted.

Mary said...

I like the Dipper! So nice to see a daffodil. I hope we get them soon. Looks like a good day for a walk, but cold.