White butterflies: I thought they were all small whites, but didn’t get clear enough views to be sure, feeding on roadside flowers in the Exe estuary area.
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Whites feeding by Devon roadsides
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Kingfisher, Clyst weir
Kingfisher on a fence post overlooking the weir on the River Clyst at Topsham. The bird is tiny in the photo above, but stands out because of its bright colours. That picture is a cropped version of the full-frame one below.
It could be a hedgerow almost anywhere at this time of year. As it happens, it was beside a busy road near Exeter that the blackberries on these brambles were ripening.
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Egret fishing River Clyst, Bridge Weir
Another little egret fishing, this one on the River Clyst, directly below the beer garden of the Bridge at Topsham. A pair of swans also feeding in the vicinity.
The tide was near its height, with just traces of the weir in the river poking out of the water. The egret following the line of the weir, looking for fish.
Once it had crossed the river, almost to the bank with the pub, it took off. It then flew across to rest briefly on a reed bed on the far bank, before returning to its original station.
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Devon reds, Devon
Devon red cattle, beef cows. These are part of the herd of Darts Farm, by the road from Exeter to Exmouth.
The Bridge at Topsham carries a fast-rotating selection of local real ales, served from barrels at the back of the bar. Opening times are limited to those imposed in the wartime restrictions just over a century ago.
The beer garden overlooks the River Clyst, a tidal tributary of the River Exe, where a weir often disappears underwater at high tides. Downstream from the pub to its confluence with the Exe there’s a series of RSPB reserves, with others nearby.
My first glimpse of the river on the morning this picture was taken came when I passed it on the bus. There had then been a heron and a lesser egret, quite close together, fishing at the weir.
By the time I had walked (slowly) back from the bus stop the heron had disappeared. The egret had moved upriver, and could just be seen, close to the bank, by a distant bend.
Views did get better later (to be continued …)