Somerset Ornithological Society - Bird News
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Exmoor

This morning between Horner and Poole bridge 6 Wood warblers 10 Pied Flycatchers 2 Garder warblers plenty of Blackcaps 2 Marsh tits 2 Treecreepers jul dipper reported but no redstarts but their a nice few around in the hill country

Re: Exmoor

Redstart, pied flycatcher, garden warbler, cuckoo, bullfinch, tawny owl, nuthatch and displaying tree pipit all a at Cobblestone, quantocs

Re: Fantastic Day on Exmoor

Around the Dunkery area I saw 2 Pied Flycatchers, 3 pairs of Redstarts, Wood Warblers, a Garden Warbler, lots of Willow Warblers, a pair of Grey Wagtails, a Dipper, a Whinchat, and Wheatears, as well as a lot of Red Deer. A lovely day out.

Re: Day on Exmoor

14-5-2014
East Water: 2 Grey Wagtails, 6 Pied Flycatchers (4 males), 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Wood Warblers, pair of Great Spot W’peckers feeding young at nest-hole. Couldn’t find any Redstarts.
Also had 3 tantalising glimpses thro’ the foliage, at around 10:15 hrs, of a large raptor, buzzard size, that rose up above the tree-tops, circling in the rising warm air, then going off south towards Dunkery Hill. The wrong way!! If only it had gone north we would have seen it properly. It had the jizz of a Honey Buzzard: small protruding head, longish, slightly spread tail with rounded end and longish wings with a noticeable curved shape to the trailing edge of the secondaries. Didn’t manage to note any plumage detail in these very briefest of views so can only say it was a probable.

Cloutsham/Sweetworthy: 3 Cuckoos heard.

Exford Common: adult Red Kite, slowly drifted NW over the road in the direction of Alderman’s Barrow.

Chetsford Water: 2 Whinchats (m&f), pair of Stonechats, 1 Cuckoo seen.

Stopped off at Hodder’s Combe, Quantock’s, on the way home, walking only as far as where the wide track enters the stream and the narrow track goes onwards, and found one Wood Warbler, but still no Redstarts.

Re: Day on Exmoor

I walked up Hodder's Combe on Sunday. Heard several wood warblers, but didn't see any. Redstarts seemed to be higher up the slope, we had good views of a male where the trees were thinning, and heard two more when entering the woods on the other side of the top, heading down towards the hotel, which had a very obliging grey wagtail in the garden. No sign of any pied flycatchers.

Re: Day on Exmoor

I didn't see much at Hodder's Combe a fortnight ago, though Holford Combe was full of wood warblers and redstart, plus a couple of pied flys.

Re: Day on Exmoor

I have done my usual walks around both Hodder's and Holford Combes incl. the small combes off these and there have been pleasing numbers of most summer visitors. The totals for the 'big' three, these are singing males: Pied Flycatcher, 34; Wood Warblers, 23; Redstart, 19.

Re: Day on Exmoor

There was a Wood Warbler building a nest in Horner Wood on Sunday. This bird was ringed on the left leg. A passing birder from Essex with a tripod and camera with an enormous telephoto lens attached inquired as to what we were looking at. I explained and told him that the bird was ringed. He stayed at the spot and took lots of pictures and sent me 4 of his shots. From these I was able to identify some of the details on the ring. It was a female which I ringed as an adult in June 2009 and so was a 6 year old bird, a good age for a Wood Warbler, the oldest under the BTO scheme being 6 years 11 months.
Another Wood Warbler was found building near Stoke Pero yesterday. Numbers of Wood Warblers appear to be down in the Horner Woods compared to previous years.

Re: Day on Exmoor

I walked from Pool Bridge to Granny's Ride in Horner Woods on Friday and only heard 3 singing Wood Warblers whereas I counted 11 last year on the same stretch.