Desert Wheatear

This morning I went and had a good look at the long staying Thurlestone Desert Wheatear having previously seen it only fleetingly a couple of weeks ago. I went down to Leasfoot Beach where it has taken up residence and immediately found it. Despite the cold, drizzly weather it was showing very well. It did look a little damp and bedraggled, not quite as pristine in appearance as shown in the many superb photos published on the Devon Birds site and elsewhere. Its right wing appeared to be drooping slightly. It seemed to coexist amically with the resident Rock Pipits and Pied Wagtails. There must be plenty of food on the beach for these birds as they search the beached seaweed for inverterbrates. A nice male Black Redstart was also showing well. Offshore was quiet except for a lone Great Northern Diver.
On the way home I stopped of at the slip road for the South West Water pumping station on Embankment Road in Kingsbridge. This is a great little spot for setting up a scope and checking the top part of the estuary. It can be especially good in autumn on the rising tide for waders as they seek the last bits of mud before the tide claims them. It was quiet this morning but one highlight was an adult Pale-bellied Brent Goose amongst a flock of 23 Dark-bellied Brents near Gerston Sewage Works. There was some antagonistic behaviour so perhaps it was not welcomed by its commoner cousins. Pale -bellied Brent Geese are unusual on the Kingsbridge Estuary in winter.

Desert Wheatear records in the Charleton 10k patch.

Two of the previous five records of Desert Wheatear in Devon have occurred locally, ( one could argue three of the previous six as you will see ).
The first for Devon was found in Horseley Cove east of Prawle Point on 26th October 1987. It remained until 30th October. It had been ringed at Languard, Suffolk where it had been present earlier in the month from 20th-24th so made pretty good time getting to south Devon. October 1987 was an amazing month for rarities around Prawle with Black Kite, Red-eyed Vireo, Black and White Warbler and Little Bunting also recorded.
Devons second record was a very obliging bird around the small car park near the bird hide at Beesands on 25th-26th October 1997. The following month what was said in the 1997 Devon Bird Report to be probably the same bird was seen in fields near Prawle Point on 29th-30th November. It is of course virtually impossible to say with certainty whether these two birds were the same or not. 1997 was however a record breaking year for this species nationally with almost 20 seen across the country.
The arrival time of the Thurlestone bird in early November is classic for Desert Wheatear. Birds have been found elsewhere in the country in January before and were most certainly newly discovered wintering birds. It would be great if the Desert Wheatear on Leasfoot Beach remains into the new year.