We left Weymouth around 9am and had a smooth journey to House of Marbles in Bovey Tracey where we had arranged to meet Andy for a slap-up brunch before commencing our birding week.
Suitably refuelled, we then drove on to Yarner Wood, where unfortunately it had just started drizzling. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was immediately seen feeding on a dead tree and Andy quickly got the camera out for some good shots. There was a lot of water flowing through the area by the car park and the hides were closed, so sadly none of the usual species were evident in this area.
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
We walked up onto the heathland, which was also rather quiet. Willow Warblers were heard singing, and I spotted what appeared to be a Tree Pipit perched at the top of a conifer, but it quickly disappeared before anyone else got onto it. A Yellowhammer was also heard asking for some ‘bread but no cheese’ but we could not locate it and Andy managed to note just a single Linnet.
As we entered the woodland, things started to improve and in an open glade we found a Pied Flycatcher, which although mobile was faithful to a small area, enabling good views with some persistence. A flash of bright red further back in the glade alerted us to a stunning male Common Redstart, but a couple of dog walkers arrived at just the wrong moment and we failed to relocate this bird. However, a female bird was much more obliging and we spent several minutes watching her busy feeding.
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| Pied Flycatcher |
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| Common Redstart |
By now the rain was becoming heavy, so we cut our walk short and headed early to our accommodation. Andy had chosen this with the bird feeders outside the decked seating area being a prime factor in his selection. It did not disappoint. The feeders were very busy with Nuthatch, Siskin and Yellowhammers the star attractions alongside the usual collection of tits and finches. Conspicuous by their absence were Starlings, apparently quite an unusual bird in the area.
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| Siskin |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Yellowhammer |
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