Cream Tea Birding: Ortolan, Ibis and Eagle

Thursday, 17 September 2026

Ortolan, Ibis and Eagle

During the last couple of weeks I have been regularly checking the coastal fields for migrants near the East Devon Golf Course, where I was lucky to find an Ortolan Bunting back in September 2023. Highlights included the Cirl Bunting counts which seem to have had a good breeding season, plus Spotted Flycatcher and Wheatears. However, on the morning of 9 Sep, it seems lightning can strike twice, as I found another Ortolan Bunting, less than 600 metres from the one in 2023!

The bird was really vocal (see video below with sound) and similar to the 2023, it was with a Cirl Bunting. Having watched it for a minute, I then tried to take a photo, only to find my battery had died! So I called local birder and friend, Matt Knott, to see if he was nearby as his patch is adjacent to the area. Within a few minutes he arrived, but I was convinced the bird had since departed, as I heard the Ortolan calling and then saw a passerine head off high to the west. We searched the area for about 30 minutes and could not relocate it. That could have been the end of it, but luckily Matt returned in the afternoon to find it back in the original spot! I was literally just on my way back to double check the area when Matt rang with the good news! Phew! Thanks Matt! I returned and enjoyed some wonderful views with Matt and Clive as the bird fed in the newly ploughed field just meters away from us. Such a great bird!

Fast forward to 16 Sep and back on the Otter Estuary, a group of 9 Glossy Ibis spent just a couple of hours on site, having first been seen at Dawlish Warren. Thanks to a message on our local WhatsApp group, I was scanning the skies of the Otter as the message confirmed the birds had departed Dawlish and were heading east. Just 20 minutes later I picked them up flying over Big Marsh north. They settled briefly, before relocating to nearby Little Marsh where incredibly, just 10 minutes later, an immature White-tailed Eagle suddenly appeared and began circling above the Marsh before drifting off west. My first WT Eagle on the Otter and a very exciting 30 minutes!!