Posts by Lauren

29th December 2016 Thankfully, the fog lying in the estuary cleared and we had a pleasant cruise in the afternoon. Two Slavonian Grebes were again off Cockwood, though we had better views of them off Starcross on the return journey. A total of 13 Great Crested Grebes and about 20 Shags were also in the…

Wednesday 30th November – Dave Smallshire One of the features of today’s cruise was the abundance of gulls throughout the estuary … and not just the usual five species! Soon after heading into the estuary we saw the adult Bonaparte’s Gull that has wintered in the area for several years, showing off its pale underwing…

Wednesday 16th November   What a highlight on this trip, a Spoonbill, Wow! We were virtually stationary close to the shore at Powderham watching the Spoonbill feeding amongst a group of Mute Swans.  It wasn’t concerned about our presence and it carried on feeding with its wonderful bill until we moved off. The supporting cast…

Birdwatching Trip Sunday 13th November A cracking first trip of the season. I have never seen so many Wigeon and Brent Geese on the river. There were thousands of these two species, in flight, on the water and in the mud. I should imagine that the early season abundance of Eel Grass was a factor. …

The last of the season’s birdwatching cruises proved to be a good one with reasonable weather and good range of species, especially waders. With high pressure keeping the tide low, we progressed rather slowly up the estuary, as we waited for sufficient water to keep us from grounding.   Shags and Cormorants sporting their respective…

Good light for today’s birdwatching cruise, though a cool northerly breeze stopped it feeling very spring-like.   I glimpsed the wintering adult Bonaparte’s Gull briefly off Exmouth as we left the marina, but failed to find it again later. Amongst the Brent Geese near Exmouth there were at least four birds of the Pale-bellied race.…

A lovely sunny day for my last trip of the year. The sunshine was appreciated by all but it does make it difficult when looking at the waders at Powderham where at least two Spotted Redshanks and four Greenshank were seen with the first Avocets. Towards Topsham wader flocks in the sunshine were impressive even…

Three excellent trips this weekend with high numbers of wading birds seen every day including spectacular views in the air and on the mud.   Knot even showed well amongst the Bar-tailed Godwits and Grey Plovers and Ringed Plovers in double figures were at Turf, a species not usually seen this far up river.    …

I hardly know where to start to describe what a wonderful day it was, so I’ll go with this: Avocet Cruise is a misnomer. Not because there weren’t avocets – there were hundreds and hundreds of that most glamorous bird: vast flocks doing all the F’s – flying, feeding, fighting. It’s a bit early yet…

Guided Bird Watching Review – Tuesday 9th February 2016   Another much improved day, with lovely afternoon light for the cruise. The highlights were a Great Northern Diver at Exmouth, 2 Slavonian Grebes off Cockwood and an adult Mediterranean Gull with hundreds of other gulls gathering to bathe and preen on the river between Topsham…