Ravens

A recent holiday with the family in North Devon proved to be very enjoyable, if just a bit frustrating as far as bird watching went.

I had great plans - a detour on the way down to see the Purple Heron and Red-footed Falcon, a trip to Lundy Island giving me a four hour sea watch and a chance to see the Puffins, and a couple of walks planned for locations with Wood Warblers. If I was really lucky and got a few hot days I might also get an early High Brown Fritillary.

Needless to say, it did not quite happen as planned. We were late leaving due to a hairdressers appointment that I had not factored in (not mine) and I had to abandon the detour. The trip to Lundy was great but I only saw a couple of Gannets and a few Guillemots on the boat trips and the Puffins were too far away for a photograph. I did one of the Wood Warbler walks without seeing any Wood Warblers and then when I went to my banker site at Watersmeet it was so crowded that I couldn't even get into the car park.

Still, there's always something to look at and in flight shots of the Ravens and Fulmars from the local cliffs proved to be one of the best attractions.

Raven

and with a tasty morsel of food!

Raven

Fulmar

Fulmar

Plenty of Grey Wagtails about

Grey Wagtail

and juvenile Grey Wagtails

and even younger Grey Wagtails

Linnet

Rock Pipits in the coastal steams

A Whitethroat

A juvenile Warbler - probably a Chiffchaff

and just for the record a very distant  and heavily cropped shot of a Puffin

It's not the raft of excellent photographs that I had hoped to come home with but it is the record of the birds seen on my holiday.