Guided Bird Watching Cruise 12th Janurary 2025

Another great cruise today in pleasant broken sunshine with a moderate southerly breeze. A trio of Eider in the surf off Pole Sands started things very nicely and as we proceeded up the estuary we encountered most of the usual species including Curlews, Oystercatchers, Redshanks, Greenshanks, Bar-tailed Godwits, Grey Plovers and good numbers of colourful Shelducks. There were lots of Brent Geese too and the usual Gulls and Cormorants plus a bonus in the form of a Great Northern Diver, which eventually stopped diving long enough for us to see it well. Large groups of Avocet, elegant as ever, feeding in the shallows were lovely to see and we also enjoyed some great views of several smart Red-breasted Mergansers, good numbers of Pintail and a great skirling flock of Dunlin.

Up by Topsham several hundred Black-tailed Godwits erupted into the air and shot close by the boat in a dense flock before twisting and turning dramatically in tight formation. As we watched them we noticed a Marsh Harrier flying over the channel, perhaps the cause of the alarm. Certainly something was afoot, because, at the same time we also picked up a scattered flock of 300 or so Golden Plover high up against the clouds; classic alarm behavior from them. Finally, whilst turning the boat at Topsham we found a drake Goldeneye mid-channel, a handsome bird and a nice bonus to conclude things with before we headed back down river to Exmouth.

Andy Smith