Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Judah Baker

@wildweevils.bsky.social

34 followers 30 following 110 posts

Devon/Somerset birder & amateur naturalist. Bird lifelist 356 (UK 240) Species lifelist 1,459 Insta: judah.n.baker or Wildweevils for nature YT: JudahWildlife Torbay Wildlife Blog: https://torquaywildlife.blogspot.com/?m=1

torquaywildlife.blogspot.com

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 10h

I get why you get that impression but if u look at the beak its definitely red throated diver

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 1d

Do know how to ID between YLG and lesser black-backed? As they both havr yellow legs and darker mantles

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 1d

Alrighty, i will say that merlin picks up all juvenile gulls and some adult herrings as ylg so make sure you aren’t relying on merlin aha

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 1d

How did you ID yellow-legged gull of hearing it?

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 5d

Vismig 7-9 this morning from babbacombe produced 22 siskins, 13 redpolls, 2 sprawks, 7 swallows & 5 mipits all S.

Weds had osprey, 20 siskins & 250 swallows from berry head.

📷 - Kingfisher, Common Darter, Canada Goose, Meadow Pipit all by @kieope.bsky.social
#devonbirds

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 10d

@kieope.bsky.social and I visited dawlish warren and BGM today, we got our main target of curlew sand, plus a few other decent birds and total sp count 65 for the day. - 2 swallow & 10 mipit vismig, + 8 avocet, 2 whimbrel, 20 barwit, 6 greenshank, 3 ruff, 30+ pintail, 40 brent & 3 s tern
#devonbirds

1 9

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 11d

Tempting to go for it as a patch tick. Have tmr free for birding, trying to decide what to do, risk trying to find a casp/curlew sand at otter eatuary, risk BGM for curlew sand, or the something else. Unfortunately bad conditions for seawatching :/

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 13d

Not seen many birds since October started, just a few chiffs, fire and goldcrests, grey wags & siskins.
Found a couple of cool bugs tho

Pictured - Red Cabbage Bug, Wrinkled Snail, Door-snail, & my first White-striped Centipede

#devonbirds #entomology #bugs #wildlife #devon

2 8

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 14d

It is a BHG but it’s weird how small it looks infront of the med!

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 15d

Lovely photo! That’s actually a razorbill tho :)

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 17d

Trip to Topsham and BGM with @kieope.bsky.social this afternoon, not many waders or other birds of interest about - 3 ruff (year ✅), 1 avocet, 6 barwit, 1 greenshank, 1+ knot, 2 snipe, 10 pintail, 3 mipit, cettis, male marsh harrier, & yellowhammer heard.

#devonbirds #Exeter

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 19d

Vismig from babbacombe downs this morning 8-9:30 as i slept thru the alarms. Main highlight was a good passage of siskins, vismig totals included:

1 g heron, 2 swallow, 2 grey wag, 6 mipit, 25 linnet, & 138 siskins! All south.
Also 10+ lingering chiffs probably migrants & 4 firecrests
#devonbirds

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 20d

Little Stint frantically feeding at Bowling Green Marsh from Sunday in the evening light #devonbirds

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 21d

Not much at low tide on the teign estuary this afternoon, with gulls on the salty being 100+ herring, c5 GBBG, & 1 LBBG (📷)
plus a cool leucistic oystercatcher, flyovers of 2 little egret, 5 meadow pipit, buzzard & sprawk, and hundreds of little common gobies.
#devonbirds #estuary #PWC2025

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 21d

Visit to DW yday looking out to the bight didn’t produce much with 8 s martins, 2 brent, 150 curlew, 300+ oyc, + a few rshank, dunlin, & ring plovers. However further into the warren we had more luck - spot fly at the main pond, grey wag in DDW, and m eider & 40+ c scoter off the seawall
#devonbirds

1 8

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 22d

Had a nice evening with good views of firecrest, if slightly dodgy pics, and found an osprey between Newton Abbot and Kingsteignton!
#devonbirds

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 23d

#PWC2025

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 23d

Garden vismig from babbacombe 800-930 AM, pretty late morning for anything crazy.

Overhead passage - 25+ mipits, 1 siskin, 4 goldfinch, 6 cormorant, 4 grey wag, 180+ swallow, & 280+ house martin.

Grounded migrants - 3 chiffs, + resident birds but nuthatch & firecrest heard were cool!
#devonbirds

1 7

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 23d

Went exmouth, budleigh, and then BGM at dusk yday - Highlights uk lifer #240 bairds sand, 2 little stint, 5 glossy ibis, 7+ knot, green sand, wheatear, 2 firecrest, kingfishers, 3+ barwits, & 8+ greenshank. Plus rusty-dot pearl, forest bug, and finally lifered brickwork woodlouse!
#devonbirds

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 24d

Oooff

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 26d

Devil’s Coach Horse and Silver Y plus lots of other moths on the wing at Greenland Lake @warrenbirding.bsky.social whilst I and @kieope.bsky.social were failing to find the reported rosefinch
#entomology #devonbirds

1 7

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 27d

Bird pics by my gf

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 27d

BerryHead yday 1130-1530, quite calm conditions with mixed but mostly good visibility, so limited passage.

4 probable great shear, 42 balearic, 1 manxie, 3 arctic skua, 1 ad little gull, 4 c scoter, 4 sdwch tern, & 1k+ kitts. Mostly all heading south, + bluefin tuna, c dolphins & g seal
#devonbirds

1 8

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 27d

yday whilst seawatching at berry head was swarmed by mating ants, some of which were apparently Solenopsis fugax, which is quite scarce with only a handful of known sites in southern England. Can’t see any records at Berry Head so was wondering if anyone knew anything abt it. 📷 weevil
#entomology

1 5

Judah Baker @wildweevils.bsky.social · 28d

@clennonvalley.bsky.social does tmr look okay for seawatching from berry head? Probably gonna go for maybe late morning thru into the afternoon