A Southerly Blow

A family celebration has led to us being in South Devon for a few days. With a particularly unpleasant weather system moving north through the English Channel last night, I got up at dawn and spent 2 hours at Prawle Point, hoping that some seabirds may be pushed closer to shore. The hope of a large shearwater passing was not fulfilled, but there was a constant stream of Manx Shearwater streaming past and a dozen or so Balearic Shearwater mixed in. 

The seawatching was accompanied by the constant song and calls of the local resident Cirl Buntings, once very rare but their numbers have been steadily increasing in recent years, thanks to conservation efforts:

Shearwaters, Cirl Buntings and Egrets? It must be Devon!