🕊Guided Bird Watching Review – Saturday 25th January🕊

Despite very grey skies and murky hilltops this afternoon, we were amazed by the spectacular numbers of birds on the estuary. In particular, over 1200 Black-tailed Godwits graced the mudflats around Turf – a nationally significant flock. These backed by hundreds of Avocets, Lapwings, Golden Plover, Dunlin, Curlews and Redshanks, with a few dozen Knot for good measure. A Kingfisher did a complete circuit of the boat at Topsham, where we saw a pair of Black Swans and had our best views of Red-breasted Mergansers. ‘Herbert’, our resident Slavonian Grebe, was eventually found at Cockwood, with a Little Grebe and the first few Great Cested Grebes nearby. As we returned to Exmouth, thousands of gulls (of 5 species) were gathering on the remaining mudbanks and sandbanks: quite a spectacle.

Dave Smallshire