Long-tailed tit, possibly a male, displaying by carrying a feather which was almost as long as it was, and trying to impress two other birds. All just a few yards from the bridge over West Park lake a couple of days ago.
Set of views at different states of the tides and the weather from different points on the lower Exe estuary, and from the two sides of the mouth of the river. All photos in portrait format.
Darts Farm outside Exeter must be a contender for being the most upmarket farm shop in the country (including a fair amount of space devoted to an RSPB-branded Cotswolds Outdoor outlet.
The farm’s facilities include an RSPB reserve which regularly features in reports. But at the time of our visit this pied wagtail, haunting a rubbish disposal area for the shopping complex, was the star attraction.
Red breasted mergansers fishing in the Exe at Topsham.
The birds seemed to come around low tide, hunting when the channel was at its narrowest.
One day there was a group of eight directly off Topsham Quay, with another group of seven visible a couple of hundred yards further upstream.
On other days they were in pairs, seemingly engaged in synchronised swimming, diving together and surfacing at the same time and still the same distance apart.
The leaves are round(ish). They are quite a bit bigger even than an old penny. But that’s what the plant’s name compares them to.
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Exe estuary 201602 – Sea shells ashore
Shells near the sea. The whelk shell in the main picture was a minute’s walk from the shoreline, carried inland by a gull or wader wanting a tasty snack.
The other pictures in the slideshow are of shell left behind on the beach at Exmouth by the retreating tide. The currents had left the razor clam shells in particularly artistic arrangements.