Bath Birdwatcher

  Sidmouth (Bath Birdwatcher) My brother Bryan and sister-in-law Yvonne gave Mary and myself a short break in East Devon and today is the 1 st of a 4-day break. The plan was to drive to Cartgate for coffee then on to Seaton for fish and chip lunch. After coffee we set off to Seaton seeing a Buzzard sat on the top of a lamppost, we stopped at Seaton Wetlands for an hour and here from the 1 st lookout point Lapwing, Kestrel, Herring Gull, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Starling, Moorhen, Black Headed Gull, Teal and House Sparrow were all seen. Walking to the island hide a Robin flew down on the ground and a Woodpigeon flew over, and a Great Tit was in a bush. The hide is like an island out on the lake with a footpath leading to it and looking through viewing slots in the fencing we found feeding Redshanks and Bryan spotted a Kingfisher which I was able to get on. In the hide we found Little Egret, Black Tailed Godwit, Common Sandpiper, Grey Heron, Dunlin Shelduck, Gadwall and a single Cur...

  Another week and no 3 Amigos but this week Bryan and Tony plus our wives Yvonne and Mary had an awayday to Seaton and Beer. The day was a mixture of birding and a coastal visit. Setting off at 8.45 our first stop was Cartgate picnic area where we had a coffee break, and after it was off to Seaton while driving obviously we were spotting and the following were seen, Starling, Swift, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Magpie, Great White Egret, (unusual to see this species from a moving car) Blackbird, Swallow, Buzzard, Rook, Kestrel and Goldfinch. Seaton Wetlands was our next stop and here we started the visit with Blackcap and Great Tit and also a lovely singing Whitethroat.   From the viewing platform which had a Robin on the ground, we overlooked an open body of water where we noted Shelduck, Great Black Back Gull, and Herring Gull. Walking towards the visitors center a Dunnock was on the footpath and a Moorhen was on another small pond. We then stopped for coffee and wer...