A morning walk around Exminster Marshes
This walk around Exminster Marshes was the first Exeter RSPB outdoor event for 2022 and there was a good turnout, even with a very cold frosty outlook. We made our way out of the car park along the road towards the canal with many stops along the way to view the marsh. We saw Canada geese, wigeon, mute swans, and large flocks of lapwings in the air and in the fields. As our group neared the canal path in and around the scrapes we spotted pintail ducks, redshanks, and a common sandpiper playing hide and seek amongst the vegetation.
Once we reached the canal path, the higher ground looking towards the scrapes gave us a better view. There were large groups of wigeon, and smaller groups of curlew, black-tailed godwits and a great view of a ruff and a grey plover with a little egret in the distance. We moved further along to Turf Locks, which gave the group excellent views across the Exe estuary. From there we saw black-headed gulls and a couple of hundred avocets – the RSPB logo bird. We checked out hundreds of Brent geese and Canada geese, looking for a pink-footed goose that had been reported, but to no avail.
We made our way across the fields for the return walk to our starting point. After crossing some muddywaterlogged fields, the pink-footed goose was spotted from a secluded open hide. We continued walking back to our start point where an extremely close glossy ibis came into view. With the earlier sight of the pink-footed goose our day was a great success despite the cold. Thank you to Richard D and Mark for leading the walk.
Richard Winfield
42 species recorded: Brent Goose; Canada Goose; Pink-footed Goose; Mute Swan; Shelduck; Shoveler; Wigeon; Mallard; Pintail; Teal; Wood Pigeon; Moorhen; Great Crested Grebe; Avocet; Lapwing; Grey Plover; Curlew; Ruff; Black-tailed Godwit; Knot; Dunlin; Common Sandpiper; Redshank; Great Black-backed Gull; Herring Gull; Glossy Ibis; Grey Heron; Little Egret; Marsh Harrier; Buzzard; Kestrel; Magpie; Rook; Carrion Crow; Blue Tit; Starling; Blackbird; Robin; Stonechat; House Sparrow; Greenfinch; Goldfinch