A great morning during the calm and drizzly conditions with the highlights being a group of 4 beautiful Bar-tailed Godwits (including 3 summer plumage males), the presumed long staying Spotted Redshank, my first Swifts of the Spring and a calling Cuckoo. The Cuckoo being only my third record on the patch.
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| Bar-tailed Godwits and Dunlin. |
A surprise last night whilst leading a beaver walk was this lovely Pied Flycatcher along the River Otter. Always a treat to see one on the patch, as I think I have only seen 3 or 4 on the patch over the last 15 years! A great night for the mammals too, with 2 beavers and 1 Otter!
More migrants dropping in on the patch in recent days.
The highlights being, 5 Pale-bellied Brent Geese with 2 Dark-bellied Brents on the 11th April, an immature Spoonbill on the afternoon of the 13th April which literally spent around 5 minutes on site and today a spanking summer plumaged Spotted Redshank. This is a different bird to the long staying wintering bird which I last saw yesterday, but no sign today, so may have moved on to be replaced by today's bird. Also today my first Common Whitethroat of the year, 2 Egyptian Geese and a group of 16 Sandwich Terns off the seafront and 2 on the reserve. Finally, a new colour-ringed Shelduck - VC yesterday.
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| 5 Pale-bellied Brent Geese and 1 Dark-bellied Brent, Otter Estuary NR 11th April |
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| Eurasian Spoonbill, Otter Estuary NR 13th April |
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| Eurasian Spoonbill, Otter Estuary NR 13th April |
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| Eurasian Spoonbill, Otter Estuary NR 13th April |
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| The overwintering Spotted Redshank starting to show signs of summer plumage 14th April, Otter Estuary NR |
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| The overwintering Spotted Redshank 14th April with Black-tailed Godwits and Common Redshank, Otter Estuary NR |
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| The overwintering Spotted Redshank 14th April with Black-tailed Godwits and Common Redshank, Otter Estuary NR |
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| Full summer plumaged Spotted Redshank, 15th April Otter Estuary NR |
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| Full summer plumaged Spotted Redshank, 15th April Otter Estuary NR |
I am enjoying a good run of Ospreys at the patch this year with 2 birds so far. This bird flew down the Otter Valley and then headed west over Budleigh Salterton yesterday morning, the 8th April.
A nice surprise this morning on the patch was this drake Green-winged Teal and presumably the same bird from last May HERE and HERE that has returned. It would be great to know where exactly it spent the winter!?
Other highlights today were 45 Black-tailed Godwit and the long staying Spotted Redshank. Plus Swallows, my first House Martin of the year in Budleigh Town and a Lesser Moorhen wannabe! 😂
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| Drake Green-winged Teal - Aside from white vertical flank line and absence of broad white lower scapulars re: Eurasian Teal, note really bright green eye stripe, as opposed to dull more purple iridescence in Eurasian Teal. Sometimes an indicator for GWT. |
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| Nice comparison showing the difference in face markings and the subtle feature of a broader pale vent patch compared to Eurasian Teal |
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| The breast is sometimes richer in colour compared to Eurasian Teal |
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| A Lesser Moorhen wannabe! This yellow-billed Moorhen has been around since Feb 2024, but first time I’ve actually seen it. |
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| 45 Black-tailed Godwits and the long staying Spotted Redshank |
Spring is slowly starting for us here on the Otter Estuary. Local highlights over the last few weeks have been as follows:
Little Ringed Plover - Up to 4 birds with my first of the year on 13th March.
Sand Martin: My first of the year 20th March.
Sandwich Tern: My first of the year 21st March.
Osprey: A bird fishing briefly and headed north up river at 7.25pm on 30th March.
Willow Warbler: My first of the year in the garden on 30th March.
Northern Wheatear: My first of the year on 1st April.
Other highlights have included the loyal wintering Spotted Redshank and Greenshank as well as up to 18 Black-tailed Godwits through March. Shelduck numbers have started to increase again with my all time high count for the site on 23rd March with 67 birds.
Most surprising bird so far this year was a lone male Bearded Tit that I found today (3rd April). Amazingly in the same spot as the birds that were around in October: See HERE
Colour-ringed Shelduck A41: Exciting news that this bird I saw on 28th March 2025 is the first sighting since it was ringed at Seaton Wetlands on 11/01/2020. Thanks to Ian Stanbridge for confirming the history. More can be found on this project here: https://axeestuaryringinggroup.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html
Colour-ringed Dunlin YA: This Dunlin on the Otter was not quite as exciting! It was first ringed at Dawlish Warren in Jan 2025 and had been seen on the Otter previously, but not reported for a while. See: https://www.dcwrg.org.uk/recoveries/dunlin
Colour-ringed Curlew: OT has made it into April! It has remained loyal to the Otter Estuary NR since Rick and I first found this Dartmoor head-started bird on 16th Sep 2024. It will be interesting to see if it stays for the summer before hopefully breeding next year as a 2 year old. We will wait and see....
More: https://www.dartmoor.gov.uk/wildlife-and-heritage/wildlife/curlew-conservation
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| Black-tailed Godwits on the Otter Estuary NR |
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| Colour-ringed Dunlin on the Otter Estuary NR |
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| Colour-ringed Curlew on the Otter Estuary NR |
I visited Slimbridge Wetlands Centre (WWT) last week with the primary reason to have a way overdue meet up and some birding time with good mates Russ and James. Great to catch up on a very cold but enjoyable day wandering around the reserve and getting a fix of true wild swans and geese. Seeing the large feral flock of Barnacle Geese was also interesting, as were the presumed escaped Blue Snow Goose and a Ross's Goose. Ebird list: https://ebird.org/checklist/S208749082
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| Bewick's Swans |
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| Common Crane |
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| Common Cranes |
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| Eurasian Spoonbill |
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| Greater White-fronted Goose and Greylag Goose |
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| Water Rail on ice! |
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| Team Slimbridge |
Great to catch up with only my 3rd Velvet Scoter for the patch today off Chiselbury Bay - a jug bird with characteristic pale belly. My previous sightings were in Dec 2016 at the same spot and in Jan 2021 off Budleigh Cliffs.
Also of note on the patch in recent days was a Purple Sandpiper (27 Nov and 18 Dec) which I rarely see here! Despite always checking the rocks just off Otter Head, I think it is possibly my first sighting since Dec 2014!
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| Juv Velvet Scoter, Chiselbury Bay |
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| Juv Velvet Scoter, Chiselbury Bay |
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| Juv Velvet Scoter, Chiselbury Bay |
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| Purple Sandpiper, below Otter Head |
A great find by local Exmouth birder Glyn Vernall yesterday. My first in Budleigh since the birds I was lucky to find back in November 2011 and in the exact same spot!
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| One of two birds present |
Having recently returned from my annual pilgrimage to St Martin's, Isles of Scilly (more on that to come), I have been eager to get back on the local patch and was super chuffed to find at least 3 Bearded Tits (yesterday 14th October) on the Otter Estuary NR. First picked up by their distinctive "pinging" call.
This was a species that I had always hoped to see/find on the local patch as there have been previous records on the Otter Estuary, but before I moved here. It is still considered a rare bird in Devon with just 2-3 records most years, more often than not around the Exe Reedbeds.
The last documented record for the Otter was back in 2003!
Today 15th, I confirmed 4 birds present and despite being highly mobile and elusive, I got lucky with a photo of the male as it perched briefly at the top of the reeds before heading back into cover.
So far I have not been able to confirm all sexes/ages of the birds other than what appears to be an adult male and a juvenile.
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| Photo 1: Male Bearded Tit, Otter Estuary NR |
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| Photo 2: Juvenile (top left) & Male (bottom right): Bearded Tits, Otter Estuary NR |
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| Photo 3: This is the same bird (top left) as in Photo 2: Extensive black in tail and wing and dark lores, indicative of a juvenile. Possibly a yellow bill? would make it a young male |
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| Photo 4: Record shot when first discovered birds on 14th October |
