Although
Dawlish Warren is rightly famous for its birdlife, it can appear a very ‘quiet’
site and if timed wrongly, trips may be rewarded with little of interest. The following notes aim to outline the best times
and conditions to see certain bird-groups.
Wading
birds: purchase an Exmouth
tide-table, viewing around one or two hours either side of high tide is
best. Waders are best viewed from the
hide when they are on The Bight and surrounding mudflats on a mid-ranging tide
(3.1 to 3.3m). During spring tides (3.3 to 4.6m tides) many waders roost on the
beaches of Warren Point. If these birds are on the beach they are only to be
viewed from the dune-ridge from where they are rarely disturbed, however,
problems by other visitors may arise.
The beaches are popular with walkers and a Bird Warden is employed from
September to March to ‘police’ and ‘educate’ visitors about the roosting flocks
of waders. At other times of the year
it is best to view waders on the rising tide before they get disturbed. August and September are good months for
variety, mid-December to early-February is a good period to see impressive
numbers.
Storm-blown
sea-birds: if a storm is
threatening to provide interesting seabirds, you do not want to be seawatching
here unless you are keen on your Dawlish Warren list! The Torbay headlands or even Dawlish seafront tend to produce
larger numbers. However, injured or
exhausted seabirds will often concentrate here during or shortly after severe storms because this is the
most sheltered location in Lyme Bay.
Saying this, storms from the southeast quarter often do produce interest
throughout the year, particularly in August and September.
Wintering
seabirds: the sheltered waters off
Dawlish Warren can support many divers, grebes and seaduck from mid-November to
February. It is best to find these
birds on an overcast day in calm, flat-sea conditions. The shallow, tidal-waters here are prone to
becoming choppy and the aspect of the sun makes viewing these birds difficult
in bright sunshine. If very few birds
are present, try looking off Dawlish seafront, ‘our’ birds regularly drift
around Langstone Rock depending on the tide-state and wind-direction.
Migrant
land-birds: the trees and bushes
here, more often than not have a peculiar eeriness about them, apart from the
ever present Dunnock, Dawlish Warren does not have an abundance of resident
birds. Those situations when the bushes
are abounding with birds are very rare, these are known as ‘falls’. ‘Fall’ conditions occur when certain weather
conditions force large numbers of migrants to land in a small area. April and May, August to mid-November are
months which receive ‘falls’. Light
south’ or easterlies with either fog or overnight drizzle have produced
‘land-falls’ and clear nights with easterlies, early morning in October can be
good for heavy ‘visible migration’.
Winter
land-birds: do not as a rule winter
at Dawlish Warren. Large numbers of
thrushes, finches and some waders however, do rarely occur here as
‘cold-weather movements’. Such events
occur from early-December to late-February, either during a rapid deterioration
in conditions e.g. a snow blizzard,
or a rapid and then prolonged decline in temperature caused by a dominating anti-cyclone.
Birds of ‘interest’ often only occur during
erratic climatic events, birds do not tend to linger here and the high level of
(unintentional) disturbance throughout the day and throughout year, are all
factors which can be perceived as making one anxious about attempting to
birdwatch here. Despite these problems,
noteworthy birds occur practically every day (see Rare
birds Day by Day) but to optimise seeing them, a birdwatcher should
follow this advice.
·
assess the state and
height of tide (mid or spring tides are best)
·
visit at least in the
early morning (the first few hours after first light are best)
·
watch local weather
reports (overcast, still conditions or storms or snow are best)
·
keep updated with regional
bird-news (birds which appear elsewhere nearly always relate to what birds
appears here)
·
patience (owing to its
characteristics, simply shear number of hrs in the field count)
Birding
‘do’s and dont’s’ at Dawlish Warren
Dawlish Warren’s
unenviable attributes of supporting wildlife susceptible to damage and
disturbance and equally being a very popular and busy place, have partly led to
the inclusion of this section. It is
not without some reservation its inclusion is also in part owed to infrequent
‘situations’ in recent years whereby birdwatchers, and particularly twitchers
need to be reminded of their obligations as representatives of their
‘interest-group’. Please follow the
following advice:
·
follow the ‘Birdwatching
Code’ (Birdwatchers Year-book etc.)
·
adhere to all NNR bylaws
(displayed on noticeboards and within the Visitor Centre)
·
do not abuse other users
of the site (educate, do not confront; find a Warden if necessary)
·
provide the Wardens with your
records, if the Visitor Centre is closed, slip your notes under the garage door
(any records passed to the website will be forwarded to the wardens)
·
do not disturb birds,
particularly roosting waders and rare migrants (this is a nature reserve,
people come second to wildlife here)
·
access is limited, observe
signs, do not go on the Golf Course, mudflats or the saltmarsh