Torbay Wildlife

Invertebrates Paington Zoo Area - Large + Small Whites Wheatlands Rd, Paignton - 1 Wall Brown, 2 Large White, 1 Small White, 1 Common Blue S Paignton - Carder Bumblebee, 2 Square-spot Rustic, Small Dusty Wave, The Snout, & Willow Beauty. Vicarage Hill, Paignton - Dusky Thorn, Bright-line Brown-eye, Common Wainscot, Light Brown Apple Moth, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Pale Mottled Willow, Large Yellow Underwing, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Frosted Orange, Orange Swift, & Square-spot Rustic. Oyster Cove, Paignton - Turnip Tigress Roundham Gardens, Paignton - Small White Wellswood - Coastal Pearl St Marychurch - 25 Common Rough Woodlouse, 2 Southern Pill Woodlouse. Wall’s Hill - a very large passage of white butterflies over the last couple days, estimate of probably 100-300 butterflies in 2 days. Most of this congregation was made up by Large Whites and Small Whites, but also joined by Green-veined Whites. Plus c3 Meadow Browns, 15+ Vespula wasps, 22-spot Ladybird ...

Invertebrates South Paignton - Brown House Moth & Canestrini’s Harvestman Fleet Street, Torquay - Hornet Mimic Hoverfly Hope’s Nose - Painted Lady Barton - Eyed Hawkmoth caterpillar Coffinswell - Small Copper W Brixham - Common Blue Wellswood - Dull Four-spined Legionnaire Haytor Avenue, Paignton - Orange Swift Lots of Red Admirals and Small Whites around Torquay. Vertebrates Yesterday morning - the 27th, I did a small seawatch from Wall’s Hill, which was always going to be difficult as all seabirds pushed up by the southwesterlies get pushed past Hope’s Nose and then go out more distantly into Lyme Bay, so for me to see shearwaters from Wall’s Hill I had to scope over a mile down to Hope’s Nose. In the end a small total of 1+ Manx Shearwater and c5 Balearic Shearwater was the best I could manage. These were joined on the sea by 10+ Kittiwake, 100+ Gannet, 2 Mediterranean Gull (1 adult + 1 juvenile), 3 Lesser Black-backed Gull, & an egret flying far out. Plus overhead were 3 ...

Invertebrates St Marychurch - 1 Thick-legged Hoverfly, furrow bee species, 3 Common Dronefly, 4 Honey Bee, 2+ Buff-tailed Bumblebee, masked bee species, 2 Carder Bumblebee, 10+ Common Rough Woodlouse, Garden Snails, 1 Common Green Capsid, 1 White-shouldered House Moth, 1 Cream-streaked Ladybird, 2 Red Admiral, & 5+ Small White. The Willows Retail Park - Syrphus sp , 2 Carder Bumblebee, 1 7-spot Ladybird, 6+ Small White & 1 Holly Blue Torquay train station - 1 Clouded Yellow  this morning + Small Whites & Red Admirals South Paignton - Common Grass-veneer Paignton Zoo area - Elephant Hawkmoth (caterpillar), & 1 Speckled Wood Brixham - Meadow Grasshopper & Giant House Spider Berry Head - Wall Brown, Painted Lady, &  Chrysotoxum sp Vertebrates Paignton Zoo - 1 Grey Heron Berry Head - 1 Kestrel Torquay Seafront - 1 Coal Tit, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 3 Black-headed Gull, 25+ Herring Gull, & 2 Cormorant St Marychurch - a small vismig watch from 6-8 AM p...

Invertebrates St Marychurch - Common Grass-veneer & Small Dusty Wave Ilsham Rd - Garden Snail Vertebrates Clear highlight of the day was a scarce migrant  Wryneck found at Hope’s Nose by Paul (@shiphaybirder on BlueSky) at 10:25 AM which showed a couple more times in the morning. It then wasn’t seen from 11:05 until about 1:30 PM when it was refound in flight far away, and then flew in pretty close to myself, Paul and the two other birders with us. https://bsky.app/profile/wildweevils.bsky.social/post/3lwr5wrpuis2t Other migrants at Hope’s Nose included 3 Willow Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Whitethroat, & 2 Blackcap. Plus 4 Oystercatcher and singles of Great Black-backed Gull, Shag, Raven, Buzzard, Song Thrush, & Greenfinch. Ilsham Marine Drive - Blue Tit & Great Spotted Woodpecker ———————————————————————— Notable sightings near Torbay Black Terns at Seaton, Dawlish Warren & Exmouth White Stork still at Matford Marsh Osprey still over Exe Estuary Quite a bit fur...

Invertebrates Berry Head - 6+ Common Blue St Marychurch - Common Plume, Large White, Meadow Brown Torquay train station - Straw Underwing, & Red Admiral Torquay Harbourside - Black Mining Bee, Snakelocks Anemone, & Lime-speck Pug Torre Abbey Sands - washed up Compass Jelly Fleet Street, Torquay - Double-striped Pug St Luke’s Road, Torquay - Painted Lady Wellswood - Beautiful Plume South Paignton - Silver Y Brixham - Garden Pebble, Garden Spider, & Giant House Spider Vertebrates Torquay Harbour - Grey Seal, 1 Cormorant, 15+ Herring Gull, 5 Great Black-backed Gull, 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Black-headed Gull, & 1 Raven Babbacombe - Sparrowhawk St Marychurch - 8 Feral Pigeon, 7 Woodpigeon, 5 Swift, 17 Herring Gull, 1 Great Black-backed Gull,  1 Sparrowhawk, 6 Magpie, 4 Carrion Crow, 1 Wren, 1 Blackbird, 5 Long-tailed Tit, 1 Goldcrest, 1 Swallow, & 4 Goldfinch Brixham - Common Wall Lizard Berry Head -  300+ Kittiwake, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 13 Mediterr...

Unfortunately had lowered motivation to keep up the blog recently, not that there has been too much of note in Torbay recently. Invertebrates East Brixham - Harlequin Ladybird Clennon Gorge - Carder Bumblebee & Common Blue Clennon Valley Lakes - Lesser Emperor Kents Cavern - Old Lady moth in the caves  Torquay Seafront - Yellow-barred Brindle, 1 Common Rough Woodlouse Torre Abbey Sands - 10+ Shore Crabs (1 decent size), plenty of Purple Topshells, Lined Topshells, Common Periwinkles, & Atlantic Beadlet Anemones Fleet Walk, Torquay - Bathroom Moth Fly Central Paignton - Common Darter St Marychurch - Small White, Speckled Wood, & Garden Snail Combe Pafford - Painted Lady Vertebrates Berry Head - 6 Fulmar, 2 Guillemot, 2 probable Artic Skua , 1 probable Puffin , 2 European Storm Petrel , 1 Manx Shearwater , 8 Balearic Shearwater , 1 Sooty Shearwater , 3 Sandwich Tern, 1 Yellow-legged Gull , 2 Mediterranean Gull, 25 Kittiwake, 7 Shag, 14 Gannet, Turnstone, 5 Cirl Bunting, 2...