Morning walk to Bowling Green Marsh, 9th December 2024

We started our walk with a chill in the air and grey sky, which reduced our expectations for a fruitful morning’s birdwatching. We put that to the back of our minds, spotting Magpie, Wood Pigeon and Starlings as we made our way to Topsham Quay.

From the quay we looked across the water and viewed a group of redshanks busy probing the mud for food. Around the edges of the estuary, there were other migratory birds including Teal, Wigeon, and Black-tailed Godwits. We moved on to the well-known local path called the Goat Walk, which produced many sightings like Little Egret, Golden Plover, a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers, Oystercatchers plus the RSPB emblem, the Avocet. We continued to the end of the Goat Walk, adding Knot and Turnstone to our growing bird list.

Carrying on towards Bowling Green Marsh, we observed a Spotted Redshank from the viewing platform, along with Dunlin scurrying around, as they do. At the hide we enjoyed a cup of tea whilst observing Canada and Greylag Geese, Lapwing, Scaup, Gadwall and Pintail. Despite the dull weather, we had a fruitful morning with a total of 56 species.

Richard Winfield

56 species identified (H – heard only):

Brent Goose, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Shelduck, Shoveler, Gadwall, Wigeon, Mallard, Pintail, Teal, Scaup, Red-breasted Merganser, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Moorhen, Coot, Oystercatcher, Avocet, Lapwing, Golden Plover, Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit, Snipe, Common Sandpiper, Redshank, Spotted Redshank, Turnstone, Knot, Dunlin, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Cormorant, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Kingfisher, Kestrel, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Wren (H), Starling, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Robin, Stonechat, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch.