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 |
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