Guided Bird Watching Cruises

Birdwatching cruise, 27 November 2019 This afternoon’s cruise was perhaps most notable for an amazing succession of rainbows! That aside, we began with an immature drake Eider off Exmouth and a Peregrine had a go at a Stock Dove over Warren Point before flying off over Exmouth. ‘Herbert’, the resident Slavonian Grebe was off Cockwood as…

A dry cruise! Following a very wet Saturday there was plenty of floodwater in the estuary which had an impact on the number of birds on show around the Topsham area of the Estuary. There were none of the large numbers of Black Tailed Godwits that normally frequent this area of the Estuary. It was…

This afternoon’s cruise yielded really impressive flocks of wildfowl off Dawlish Warren and especially between Exmouth and Lympstone. These were mostly Brent Geese and Wigeon, but off Lympstone included 11 Pale-bellied Brents, 2 Black Swans and some 230 Pintail. However, the best was perhaps the female Common Scoter off Powderham. The Slavonian Grebe again had…

After an early morning frost, heavy frontal rain came through to mark the first birdwatching cruise of the 2019/20 season – not the best start! Fortunately, the rain eased off and much of the cruise was spent in nice sunshine and calm conditions. Almost the first bird we saw was a Red-throated Diver just offshore…

Guided Bird Watching cruise on 24 November 2018 Our afternoon cruise started with a Common Scoter in the mouth of the estuary and a Peregrine sitting on the top of the church in Exmouth. Off Cockwood we found the ‘resident’ Slavonian Grebe and then the Great Northern Diver first seen on the 22nd. About 15…

This afternoon saw the last birdwatching cruise of the season, after yesterday’s exceptional cancellation due to snow and ice on the roads. There was still the unusual sight of Lapwings and Golden Plovers feeding on the sandy shore of Warren Point, otherwise the tides and drizzle had rendered the intertidal areas free of snow. There…

So much for the Met Office’s ‘first day of spring’! With the temperature below zero, the ‘Beast from the East’ met with warm air from storm Emma heading up from the south, and the result was a blizzard of fine snow that covered the intertidal areas and brought in large numbers of Lapwings, Golden Plovers…

Today’s cruise was a bit challenging, with the ‘Beast from the East’ bringing a chilling easterly wind (the temperature barely rose above freezing) and occasional light snow flurries. We saw the Great Northern Diver off Cockwood, where the Slavonian Grebe had retreated eastwards, presumably to get out of the wind. No doubt for the same reason,…

Tuesday 13th, Weds 14th, Thursday 15th February Three successive trips and as always each one different. On Tuesday water was high and there was a strong Northerly wind which pushed the majority of birds up river where it was more sheltered. This did not apply to the Slavonian Grebe as it showed just a few yards away…

Tuesday 30th January Large numbers of birds today particularly Golden Plover and Lapwing. Between Turf and Topsham, on either side of the boat, there were large flocks of both species. Total recorded, 1,100 Golden Plover and 1,300 Lapwing. Certainly the most I have noted. Plovers were close enough to see the coloration Very low water…