The Natural History of Slapton Ley | Birds

Sightings

LL = Lower Ley; HL = Higher Ley; SB = Slapton Bridge; TX = Torcross; SG = Strete Gate; SW = Slapton Wood; NT = Nature Trail; LW = Loworthy; IB = Ireland Bay; MC = Memorial Car Park; SR = Shingle Ridge; (s) = sea; OP = On passage; FC = Field Centre

2008

Tuesday 6th February

HL - 6x Snipe. IB - Ring-billed Gull. LL - 12x Goldeneye. MC - Slavonian Grebe (s).

Thursday 24th January

8x Velvet Scoter, 2x Black necked Grebe, 3x Scaup (one male, 2 female), 10x Goldeneye, 75x Dunlin, 6x Siskin

Wednesday 23rd January

IB - Great Spotted Woodpecker. TX - 2x Black-necked Grebe, 7x Goldeneye. MC - 8x Velvet Scoter.

Saturday 19th January

HL - Short-eared Owl. SW - Firecrest. MC - 300x Dunlin, 20x Gannet.

Thursday 17th January

MC - 8x Velvet Scoter, 2x Puffin (s). NT - Green Woodpecker (Southgrounds coppice).

 

2007

 

Wednesday 18th July

LW - Marsh Harrier (f), 2x Hobby, Marbled White, Small Skipper, Clouded Yellow, Wall, Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Brown (100+), Gatekeeper (100+), Golden-ringed Dragonfly, Emperor Dragonfly, Black-tailed Skimmer. HL - 5x Badgers emerging from sett.

Friday 22nd June

LL - 2x Ruddy Duck, Marsh Harrier (f)

Wednesday 9th May

MC - 7x Sanderling, 2x Turnstone

Monday 7th May

TX - 17x Sanderling, (s) Cory's Shearwater. NT - 9x Common Blue butterfly, Green-veined White butterfly, Holly Blue butterfly, Hairy dragonfly, Beautiful Demoiselles

Friday 4th May

TX - 3x Wheatear. NT - 2x Common Sandpiper. HL - 6x Swift, 2x Whimbrel, 2x Sparrowhawk, Cirl Bunting. LW - 10x Wall butterfly, 3x Small Tortoiseshell butterfly, 100x Red Admiral

Thursday 3rd May

HL & SB - Kingfisher

Tuesday 1st May

HL - Writhing nest of Lackey caterpillars - click here for video (not filmed with time-lapse photography, despite how it may seem!). LW - 100x Red Admiral.

 

To view sightings from across Devon, please visit the 'wildlife in Devon' website.

 

Monday 30th April

TX - Adder (adult male removed from Post Office store room)

Monday 23rd April

TX - 10x Swift (1st of the year)

Tuesday 17th April

LL (backslope) - Grass Snake, Adder, Slowworm, Common Lizard, Wood Mouse, Dormouse, Orange Tip butterfly. LL - Scaup (f).

Badger - caught on 'Otter' surveillance camera! - click here for video.

Monday 16th April

HL - Marsh Harrier (f), Common Sandpiper. TX & LL - Chironomid midge spirals. MC (s) - Scoter (2 groups; 1 of 3, 1 of 30+), 3x Razorbill (between TX & MC). LL - 2x Ringed Plover (flew from beach over Lower Ley).

Saturday 14th April

LL - Snipe, Reed Warbler. SB - Lesser Whitethroat.

Friday 13th April

LW - Grasshopper Warbler. SR - Wheatear. LL - 2x Sandwich Tern.

Thursday 12th April

HL - 6x Swallow, 2x Little Egret (OP). LL (& (s))- 5x Sandwich Tern, Great Crested Grebe pairs in courtship.

Wednesday 11th April

LL - Goldeneye, Sand Martin. NT - Yellowhammer, Swallow, Slowworm. LW - Great Diving Beetle larva (feeding on tadpoles in pond. HL - Green-veined White butterflies (mating).

Otter - caught on wildlife surveillance cameras - click here for video.

Tuesday 10th April

HL - 10x Small Red damselfly, 2x Orange Tip butterfly, Cirl Bunting, 4x Willow Warbler (and NT). SB - Great Crested Grebe (nest building), Roach & Rudd shoal (few thousand)

Monday 9th April

MC - Sandwich Tern. LW - Clouded Yellow butterfly. NT - Comma butterfly. FC - Brimstone butterfly.

Thursday 5th April

Otter - caught on wildlife surveillance cameras - click here for video.

Tuesday 3rd April

HL - Bittern.

Thursday 29th March

TX - Sand Martin.

Wednesday 28th March

LW - Brimstone butterfly. SB - Little Grebe, Roach shoal. HL - Cirl Bunting. SR - Wheatear, Common Lizard.

Tuesday 27th March

SB - Little Grebe, Water Rail (pictured below)

Monday 26th March

SW - Nuthatch (nest building), Treecreeper, Roe Deer buck. SR - Wheatear, Common Lizard. NT - Whimbrel (field above NT), Holly Blue

Saturday 24th March

Black-throated Diver (off Torcross), Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Goldeneye, Ruddy Duck, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Gadwall, Shoveler, Kingfisher, Marsh Harrier, Bar-headed Goose (escapee grazing with Canada Geese), Shelduck, Raven, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Cetti's Warbler, Reed Bunting