A couple of hours out and about initially at haytor in and around the quarry revealed the usual residents, several wrens, blue tits, pied wagtails. No sight or sound of cuckoos yet! Amongst the less common visitors I spotted a single willow warbler who was frightened off by dog walkers. A single female Siskin was also in the quarry. On the walk back to the car there was a flock of medium sized birds I was unable to positively identify. There were approx. 50 birds in a loose formation fllying with no real direction again put up by dog walkers. The usual suspects were in abundance including lots of male blackbirds establishing territories. Several stone chats were showing well as were a couple of wheatears. More obvious were the number of skylarks and meadow pippets one allowed me to get quite close with the camera. Finally just before the car park a pair of yellow hammers were chasing each other around.
On the Teign at the passage house in there was very little of interest with a trio of grey lag geese on the embankment two egrets and a possible sighting of a single redshank. Back in Ogwell on the outskirts of Newton Abbot I spotted a house Martin which normally nests in the same spot each year so hopefully they are back to breed.
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