Third and final visit to the Otter Estuary nature reserve on my last day in Devon - 19th March 2026

There was a group of Redshank feeding at the edge of the water in the Otter Estuary nature reserve

First time I had been to the nature reserve when part of it was still covered with water

Little Egret searching for food amongst the reeds

Four Oystercatchers on the mud as the tide went out

Shelduck hiding in the reeds behind a Grey Heron

Pied Wagtail standing on a pebbly island in the river Otter

Shelduck feeding in the mud at low tide

Rookery at the edge of the river

Peacock butterfly sunning itself on the path at the edge of the river Otter

There was a large hole in the path along the edge of the river Otter

Two male Eurasian Teal feeding on the river Otter

One final photograph of a lovely Little Egret in the Otter Estuary nature reserve

Such a great place - I only hope that I will be able to visit it again some time in the future

 

Spoonbills, Goosanders, Little Egrets, Godwits, Sandpiper and Greenshank (plus Parasitic Wasp) at the Otter Estuary nature reserve and along the river Otter - 17th March 2026

I visited the Otter Estuary nature reserve for the second time on Tuesday during my week in Devon

The two Spoonbills were feeding in front of a Little Egret

A Dunnock perched in a bare shrub

Group of Black-tailed Godwits feeding near the bridge in the centre of the nature reserve

I found a creepy Parasitic Wasp creeping around in one of the bird hides

I went for a walk along the footpath at the edge of the river Otter and came across a pair of Goosanders

a second female Goosander was in the water a little further upstream

Back in the nature reserve, a Black-tailed Godwit was feeding in the mud

Two Little Egrets were stepping daintily around in a shallow pool

A Common Sandpiper was standing in shallow water at the edge of the mud

A Greenshank was wading through the water while looking for food

Another Little Egret was walking around in shallow water near the coastal end of the reserve

 

Black Swans, ducks and geese in Dawlish - 16th March 2026

I was staying in Sandy Bay and walked down the hill to the bus stop for Exmouth.  I was a little early so wandered around the village for a short while.  This thatched cottage (actually a cafe) was for sale.

I went on the train to Dawlish, where I found some Chinese Water geese on the brook

and some hybrid geese - maybe Snow/Greylag mix or similar????

Dawlish is famous for its captive Black Swans, so I was not surprised to see the wonderful exterior of the public toilets!!!!

One of the Black Swans was asleep on a nest

I came across four Black Swans on the footpath at the edge of the brook

Another Black Swan was guarding a second nest in Dawlish

Three Muscovy ducks were resting on a pebbly island in the middle of the brook - I expect these were captive too at one time (or escapees).  I gather most of the captive wildfowl in Dawlish recently contracted bird flu and their wildfowl collection was closed down.

Hybrid Mallard on the brook

Two Black Swans near the weir - one showing off its pinioned wing

 

Birds in Topsham and the Exe Estuary towards the end of 2019

In November I spent a week on holiday with my camera in self-catering accommodation overlooking the Exe Estuary in Topsham, Devon.  We had a great time going bird watching at the local nature reserve, on boat trips along the estuary and travelling around the edge of the estuary by train.

On my first day it absolutely poured with rain, so I could not take many photographs.  Fortunately, it dried up in the late afternoon so I visited RSPB Bowling Green nature reserve.  At that time of day a large group of Redshanks had flown into the reserve to roost.

On another day I took the train round the estuary to Dawlish, passing through Starcross on the way.  There I noticed that there was a fantastic view of the estuary from the station platform, which was right on the edge of the river.  On my return journey I got off the train at Starcross and spent an hour looking at the birds wading about on the riverbed at low tide before catching the next train back to Topsham.

Here is a Turnstone standing in a pool of water at the edge of some seaweed.

There were also a couple of Curlew wandering around in the wet sand.

In Topsham itself, at low tide, Avocets were feeding on the riverbed near the Goat Walk - a high concrete path that ran along the edge of the river from the edge of the town to the road that led up to RSPB Bowling Green nature reserve.

I went on several boat trips along the estuary, but hard to take interesting photos as the weather was very overcast and difficult to get the birds in focus from a moving boat.  Also, they tended to fly off when the boat came near to them.  I was lucky with this Curlew.

Just along the road from the house where I was staying there was a ferry crossing that only ran during the summer or at weekends in the winter.  I saw a Little Egret on the ferry ramp at the other side of the estuary.  When I downloaded the photograph onto the computer, I discovered that there was a Kingfisher perching on the ramp behind the Egret - two birds for the price of one!!!

When I turned round I saw that a Pied Wagtail had landed on the ramp behind me and was able to get some photos of it before it flew off.

On one of the several boat trips along the Exe Estuary, I saw a large Black-backed Gull.

A beautiful Little Egret was standing on the riverbed in front of the Goat Walk in Topsham on another colourless afternoon.

On my last morning in Topsham, and just before I left the house, a Mute Swan was swimming along the river Exe.  The little courtyard looked directly over the river, so I went outside and got a photograph of it just as it decided to fly away.  Here it has just started running along the water in order to take off.

The sun was shining as I walked along the road at the edge of the river with my suitcase and bags on the way to the station.  I came across two black swans that had been sleeping near the stone jetty.  One woke up, while the other still had its neck curled into its body - though still with a beady red eye on show.

The alert black swan stretched out its wing and did some yoga exercises as I was standing there.  What a lovely end to my bird watching week in Devon.