The weather has improved, well at least it’s stopped raining but we are still a bit on the cold side with temperatures around 9C. Amongst our garden visitors today was a pair of Wood Pigeons. Notice how well marked these birds are. They are probably another one of those species that gets ignored and rarely gets a second glance, unless of course they are eating from your vegetable garden which they are inclined to do.
Out and about in other parts of Devon today we visited the seaside town of Teignmouth. A little walk around the inner harbour revealed a couple of surprises in the shape of a Wheatear and a few Rock Pippits. Both were feeding around the shore line debris and the insects that are attracted to the rotting process. The Wheatear can be viewed here, This is a male, they are the first of the species to arrive from Central Africa, Kenya for example. They spend the winters perhaps on the Serengetti plains amongst the herds of Zebra and Wildebeast. It mist be quite a change to arrive at the coast of Devon in March with the temperature under 10 degrees. A local Boatman told me that he had been seeing this bird for a few days so it was certainly taking advantage of the feast before continuing further inland, perhaps Dartmoor, to breed.
The Rock pippits are not unusual in Devon and Cornwall, I was a little surprised to see them in the harbour too as they are more normally found on rocky shores as their name implies. have a look here.