Wolves Wild

Birdwatching from the beer garden of the Bridge Inn at Topsham. A little egret standing by the River Clyst, preening itself while waiting for the tide to drop a little before starting fishing.

Much excitement. The feathers on its plume, and some on its head, were reddish / brownish. Could it be a cattle egret, rather than a little egret? There are birds from all three egret species around in the Exe estuary area, though little egrets are by far the commonest.

The excitement didn’t last. Cattle egrets don’ have plumes. Perhaps the darkened feathers are from the bird getting estuary mud on itself – it’s about the right colour.

The Bridge Inn at Topsham is a prime spot for nature watching. Apart from its many qualities as a watering hole, it has a beer garden which overlooks they weir which forms the tidal limit of the River Clyst, a tributary of the Exe. Downstream along the river, there are RSPB reserves on both sides. Visible up the hill a further reserve in association between the RSPB and Darts Farm, a farm shop of supermarket dimensions on the outskirts of Exeter.

At the time of our most recent visit, the tide was too high for there to be much bird activity. But a wandering dock bug landed on this glass, and proceeded to walk around the rim a couple of times.

The glass, with its tap water, wasn’t mine!

I arrived at the wrong time to see any of the bird activity on the soft mud left when the tide was out in the Exe estuary. The mass of webbed footprints suggests that a few mallards may have been very busy.

A full moon rising over the cathedral close at Exeter – a grab shot taken on a mobile phone.

Low tide in the Exe estuary, with lots of mud exposed. A lone godwit was making the most of the opportunity, sifting the silt, finding plenty to eat.

A pair of black swans preen at low tide on the Exe estuary at Topsham. The main flock, introduced from Australia, are at Dawlish. Some of the birds wander for a distance up or down the coast. On the Exe, they can sometimes be seen at least as far upstream as Exeter Quay. But, in our limited sampling, they are more likely to be spotted in Topsham.