Sunday 6th August 2023.
Day 2 of our trip here down at Dawlish Warren was more of a family day, as we took a trip into Dawlish town, which is situated by the coast. Yesterday’s wind had dropped considerably and though there was a northerly-westerly wind blowing, it was a bright sunny day and occasionally very warm when the sun came out behind the large clouds.
Yes, I am still angry about my camera not working and so I had to take it on the chin and rely on some mobile phone photos and also my ‘chums’ on various media sites for their superb photos. Yesterday, I sent an email to the Dawlish Warren Latest Sightings website and they kindly gave me the exact area in where they seawatch from (I wasn't too far away on Saturday) and also where to watch the waders and Terns from the reserve overlooking the Estuary. Most helpful.
This holiday camp is huge and as we are staying in one of the more luxurious Lodges, I did some exploring yesterday and couldn't believe how many tents, caravans and other accommodation is actually on the site. Huge is an understatement; but with that comes a price as there are so many people here and going for a ‘quiet’ walk was not going to be easy. The site is full of Herring Gulls and their persistant calling young birds; Carrion Crows, Magpies and the occasional Swallow buzzing over and Robin by the Lodge!
However, from base camp (our Lodge), I have already noticed a few things that have kept me entertained. So, the trip into Dawlish was pleasant enough once we had parked the car and then taking a stroll into the main shopping area aligned with many gift shops and restaurants, it was nice to take a walk along the river (called Dawlish Water) where we encountered a variety of ornamental wildfowl including at least 8 Black Swans, which was a sighting ‘first’ for our Sinead (Isabelle’s mum). After a visit to the shops and nice coffee in one of the cafe’s, we took a stroll past the Railway Station and then overlooked Lyme Bay from the harbour wall. They run boat trips from here and so we might take them up on that later next week if the weather's good.
On the way back to the car park, on the wall of the local Toilet Block, I found a Jersey Tiger moth and quickly took a few photos, while a lady waited patiently for me to take the photos before she entered. Oops! Back at Base Camp (our Lodge), as the sun set in the west leaving behind a very calm still evening, out came the Bats; in fact at least half a dozen of them with some even flying just above my head, which was most entertaining. I also saw a very late Swift heading low over the Lodges and heading west. I am not sure what time I woke up during the night, but I could definitely hear a male Tawny Owl calling!
Last night, I got a text from both Geoff and Andy about their sightings today as they both went down to Farlington Marshes. Andy got three more ‘year-ticks’ to add to his excellent Hampshire total, which included a Whinchat, Knot and the summer plumaged Little Stint, which was on the Deeps area. Andy is now on 190 species for the year in Hampshire. Geoff went on to say that he also saw a moulting adult Curlew Sandpiper, 3 Common Sandpiper, 33 Greenshank, Marsh Harrier, Peregrine and a Ruddy Darter dragonfly. The guys here at Dawlish also had a few good birds too, according the their website, including 4 Arctic Skua, 2 Storm Petrel, 2 Manx Shearwater and a juvenile Pied Flycatcher, which was a first here since April 2019 and their 45th site record. What will Day 3 bring?
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