Tuesday 2nd May 2023: Leusdon Common, Ponsworthy and beyond
We were up early for a pre-breakfast walk on the moorland at Leusdon Common, just a few minutes walk from our accommodation. It was a glorious morning, and the rich, yellow gorse glowed in the early morning sunlight against a clear blue sky. Birdsong was plentiful, and we were pleased to hear another Garden Warbler to follow on from yesterday’s success with this species. Whitethroats and Blackcaps joined in the early morning song fest from the trees. A Yellowhammer hidden in the canopy but calling softly drew us out onto the moor, and several Swallows swooped around the village hall. Both Tree Pipit and Meadow Pipit were located on the moorland, causing much debate around songs and trailing feet as they parachuted down to either ground or song post.
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| Early morning birding |
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| Tree Pipit |
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| Nuthatch |
After breakfast and some time observing the birds coming to the feeders, we set out again to the River Webburn at Ponsworthy. We were a little early for the bluebells, and there was a tricky, boggy area to negotiate at the start of the walk, but once through that it was a pleasant stroll beside the river, ever watchful for Dippers, our target bird. We had no luck on the way up the river, but on our return we spotted a pair dashing up and down below the footbridge at the top end of the path, giving brief but characterful views, as they called and chased each other upstream. Andy also found a bird further downstream, typically bobbing on a damp rock as the water cascaded rapidly past. A Grey Wagtail was also seen hawking for flies in this classic location for the species.
Our next stop, where we stopped for lunch, was at Sharp Tor. We watched Meadow Pipits and Stonechats flitting around the gorse and heather as we ate, then set off uphill towards the rocky tor. A Cuckoo called distantly, but remained elusive and we never managed to spot the bird as it moved around the valley. However, a pair of Wheatear foraging on the short grass were a new year tick for Andy, and we spent several minutes observing these before they disappeared from view.
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| Tim at Sharp Tor |
The temperature was a little chilly in this exposed area, so we headed back to the car and decided to drive to Dartmeet, a picturesque waterside location familiar to Jenny and Tim, but not visited by Andy. We ambled beside the car park scanning the river, but there was little activity, so we walked over the bridge towards the stepping stones across the Dart. The water levels were pretty high and some of the stones are slippery and uneven. I walked across the first two stones, before deciding it may not be sensible to proceed - balance is not my strongest point these days. Unfortunately Tim was more adventurous… he took a step too far, overbalanced, and fell on his bottom in the river! The camera in a bag on his back was fortunately not damaged, but his glasses somehow disappeared in the confusion, never to be seen again, and the mobile phone in his pocket also never recovered from its immersion so this proved an expensive adventure. We are clearly not as young and mobile as we used to be!!! Needless to say, that was pretty much the end of our day’s birding, but as we climbed up from the riverbank and checked Tim was OK, a stunning Redpoll appeared in a nearby tree, pausing just long enough for us all to admire its bright plumage, close enough even for Tim without any specs. Every cloud has a silver lining!
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