Wheatear showing well in a sheep field.

Monday 4th October 2021.

A room with a superb view! This is the view I have while updating my blog in the kitchen.

After the moths, I took to staring out of the back window overlooking the garden and the neighbouring fields, for flocks of Meadow Pipits and finches were swarming overhead along with a good number of Swallows, some flying very close to the window I was watching from. The garden was certainly attracting a lot of birds because the sun was shining brightly and though the wind was still blustery, the Cottage protected the garden from the worst of the wind.

Top photo, a Chiffchaff was exploring the garden thoroughly for insects by the garden wall. Bottom photo, a few Goldfinches came into the garden.  

There was a nice variety of birds within the garden which included Robin, a pair of Pied Wagtails, Dunnock, Goldfinch, House Sparrow and best of all, a Chiffchaff which was searching for food among the Ivy plants. A pair of Jays were seen flying over the fields to the west of our Cottage. A few Red Admiral butterflies were also attracted to the flowering Ivy, but did not take too kindly from the close attention of the birds. After breakfast, I decided to take Scruff for a walk and this time, I walked down the lane where we stayed here last year, by Welle House and checked out the neighbouring fields for anything of note.

Top photo: a couple of Pied Wagtails explored the back garden, including this male bird. Bottom photo: the juvenile Wheatear was a nice surprise in one of the sheep fields and relatively close too, which was a bonus. 

The corner field I came across first held Sheep and close to the roadside, I found a juvenile Wheatear, which was just yards from where I stood. The bird looked a bit tired and did not move around all that much and was still present on my return journey back to the Cottage. More and more Meadow Pipits flew over as did several Skylarks, but unlike this time last year, the variety of birds flying over have been limited. One of the fields held a large roosting flock of Herring Gulls, though among them, there were a few Lesser & Great Black-backed Gulls. 

A large number of Herring Gulls were joined by a few Lesser & Great Black-backed Gulls in one of the roadside fields.

I was hoping for an interesting Warbler or Shrike perched on the many hedgerows this morning, but all was pretty quiet until a noisy flock of 6 Canada Geese flew low over my head and landed in the neighbouring field! I didn’t expect that. Along the roadside verge, Red Campion flowers were still in flower as was Creeping Thistle, while the stone walls held Maidenhair Ferns sprouting out of them. I did get caught in a heavy rain shower and so stood my ground, protected by my thick waterproof coat, till the rain eased up. 

Red Campion plants were still in flower along the roadside verges.

Not a great deal else was seen along the journey back to the Cottage apart from quite a few Pied Wagtails on the rooftops. There is a large Starling flock in the Village which I have seen several times and I shall be keeping an eye on them. A few years back, a juvenile Rosy Starling was present one Autumn here among the Starlings. 

This toadstool species was growing down the lane by our Cottage. It is known as Suede Bolete.

Another photo of the juvenile Wheatear near the Village this morning.  

Becky and I decided to take a trip to Salcombe for a walk round and a bite to eat, but it turned into a big mistake. There was heavy rain again on the way there and though we managed to get to the town car park, it was totally full and another car park we have used in the past was closed! To make matters worse, we had to go down the one way system through the town and then got stuck behind a Bin Lorry for about 20 minutes! We eventually ended up having a nice lunch at the Winking Prawn restaurant by North Sands and sitting in the front garden overlooking the sea, though cold, it was pleasant enough. I even saw my first Common Buzzard of the trip drifting high over the inlet until flying back to the nearby woodland.

One of several Skylarks flying over the fields near Welle House this morning.

The female Pied Wagtail in our back garden this morning.

After chilling out in the afternoon, I took Scruff for another walk down the lane to the last Cottage and even walked down the slippery footpath to the track adjacent to the fields below. I was most surprised to see two Roe Deer grazing in one of the fields, for I do not think I have ever seen Deer here before. As I was taking photos of them, one of them soon saw me and they both headed off into cover and out of view. A scan over the sea produced a few distant Gannets and below by the rocks, both Grey Heron and Little Egret were seen flying, but apart from the many Carrion Crows and Herring Gulls, little else of note apart from the obligatory Meadow Pipits!

A couple of Roe Deer grazing in a field down the bottom of the lane was unexpected.

I am not putting the moth box on tonight for it's supposed to be heavy rain and strong winds for most of the night, though tomorrow is meant to be a lot drier, but windy. We shall see. Back in Hampshire today, I read this tonight that around midday, a Semipalmated Sandpiper was found roosting with Dunlins at Normandy Marshes, Keyhaven, but did not linger and flew off.