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

 

Spoonbill family and Avocets in Cley Marshes nature reserve

A few months ago I visited Cley Marshes nature reserve on the North Norfolk coast where I was happy to see a family of Spoonbills together with some Avocets

 

Northern Gannets on Bass Rock, Firth of Forth, Scotland

In August I went with friends to the Edinburgh Festival.  I again took a day off while there in order to get away from the crowds of humans and instead see crowds of birds - thousands of Northern Gannets that cover Bass Rock in the summer in order to breed and have their chicks - guga.

This is a view of Bass Rock taken from North Berwick on the mainland.  The rock is white with the Gannets that cover it for a few months in the summer.  The photo was actually taken later in the day, after our boat ride, as the sun came out for five minutes.

It was actually a dismal rainy day and we were on an open boat!  We were very determined to go on the journey to the rock.  However, when we got to the rock, it stopped raining so I was able to get my camera out and take some photographs.  The building near the lighthouse used to be a prison many years ago.  The white blobs are all Gannets!

I managed to get a couple of close-up photographs of Gannets with fluffy guga chicks.  The guga in the photo below is all huddled up and looks a bit cold and miserable.

This guga looks nice and fluffy and is much happier.

The birds were everywhere.  It was a very impressive sight and very deafening!