A look offshore late afternoon saw a good number of birds feeding across the bay with counts including 58 Common Scoter, 57 Great Crested Grebe, both winter peaks; 40 Red-throated and 14 Great Northern Diver, 20+ Guillemot, four Eider and two Red-breasted Merganser.
Elsewhere single Chiffchaff and Firecrest were again by the Main Pond, with three Shoveler still present. There was no news from the estuary.
Other Wildlife: The first Harbour Porpoise of the year was offshore.
Late afternoon saw 22 Red-throated and five Great Northern Diver offshore along with 22 Great Crested Grebe, eight Common Scoter, the four Eider and four Shoveler.
Eider - Dean Hall
Counts from the evening high tide included 400 Dunlin, 17 Grey Plover and a Bar-tailed Godwit, with 105 Redshank, 14 Teal, eight Greenshank, seven Red-breasted Merganser and a Sparrowhawk also in the estuary, the latter hunting Dunlin.
Elsewhere a pair of Shoveler were on the Main Pond with single Chiffchaff and Firecrest in the surrounding scrub.
Firecrest - Dean Hall
Other Wildlife: The first Common Lizard of the year, an immature, was basking by the Visitor Centre with half a dozen Buff-tailed Bumblebee around the first flowering sallows.
The regular early morning dispersal of Red-throated Diver from an unknown roost site further east, saw 28 south in a 45-minute seawatch from 8:30, no doubt others would have passed earlier. Also from the seawall several Kittiwake from the Straight Point colony were feeding offshore with a few of the 20 passing Gannet joining in, the four Eider were off the estuary mouth and a Great Northern Diver.
Counts from the estuary included 305 Dark and a Pale-bellied Brent Geese at low tide with just 200 Dunlin on the evening tide, along with 88 Redshank, 32 Grey Plover, 20 Shelduck, 16 Teal, eight Greenshank, five Knot and two Red-breasted Merganser.
The woods were given a miss with increased floodwater following more overnight rain. A pair of Shoveler were still on the Main Pond and the lone female Mute Swan remains.
Other Wildlife: Between the showers flies were active on the Alexanders with several Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax and a few Hairy-eyed Syrphus S. torvus were joined today by a couple of Small False-greenbottle Neomyia cornicina.
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| Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax and Hairy-eyed Syrphus S. torvus - Alan Keatley |
Counts over the late afternoon high tide included 770 Dunlin, 188 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 132 Curlew, 62 Grey Plover, 13 Knot, 13 Sanderling, 12 Shelduck, six Greenshank, four Red-breasted Merganser, a Bar-tailed Godwit and a Red-throated Diver.
Elsewhere 28 Great Crested Grebe, another seven Red-throated and a Great Northern Diver were offshore.
Counts from the late afternoon tide included 680 Dunlin, 82 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 32 Turnstone, 26 Grey Plover, 15 Knot, 10 Sanderling, 10 Wigeon, five Red-breasted Merganser, three Greenshank, a Bar-tailed Godwit and a Kingfisher.
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| Kingfisher - Kevin Rylands |
Elsewhere two Great Northern Diver were offshore, a Firecrest was by the Main Pond and a Tawny Owl called from the Golf Course.
Year list addition:
107. Tawny Owl
Other Wildlife: There sunshine brought out a few more insects with an early Early Bumblebee Bombus praetorum in Skipper Meadow.
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| Early Bumblebee Bombus praetorum - Alan Keatley |
On the Alexanders were plenty of Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax and a few Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus and Hairy-eyed Syrphus S. torvus. Other flies included Phaonia subventa and Feverfly Dilophus febrilis.
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| Hairy-eyed Syrphus S. torvus - Alan Keatley |
Several beetles were blown on to the beach in the breezy south west wind. These included a few Grooved Water Scavenger Beetle Helophorus brevipalpis, the ground beetle Amara aenea and under driftwood the water beetle Hydroporus planus.
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| Hydroporus planus - Alan Keatley |
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| Grooved Water Scavenger Beetle Helophorus brevipalpis - Alan Keatley |
Another water beetle, Colymbetes fuscus, was recorded to light, along with a single Hebrew Character.
The highlight from a 3 hr 15 minute seawatch this morning was a record count of 137 Red-throated Diver, eclipsing the previous best of 76 on 2nd March 2014.
Also heading S, 1958 auk sp, an estimated split of 85% Guillemot, 15% Razorbill, 223 Kittiwake, 67 Gannet, 20 Common Scoter, three Fulmar, a Great Northern Diver and a Tufted Duck, the first since July.
Year list addition:
106. Tufted Duck
Other Wildlife: Also offshore single Bottle-nosed Dolphin and Atlantic Bluefin Tuna.
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| Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax - Kevin Rylands |
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| Glass-winged Syrphus S. vitripennis - Kevin Rylands |
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| Scarlet Elfcup - Kevin Rylands |
A late afternoon visit after another grey, wet and windy day saw 266 Dark-bellied Brent and 57 Canada Geese on the mudflats at low tide with 48 Teal, 22 Shelduck, 11 Red-breasted Merganser, the winter peak; seven Greenshank, six Great Crested Grebe, four Wigeon and a Great Northern Diver also in the estuary.
Elsewhere four Siskin were in the Entrance Bushes and despite the conditions a couple of Cirl Bunting and Song Thrush were in full song.
A low tide afternoon visit on another grey overcast day, saw 400 Dunlin, 10 Ringed Plover and five Knot in the estuary along with 13 Shag, seven Great Crested Grebe, five Wigeon, three Greenshank, two Red-breasted Merganser and single Mediterranean Gull and Pale-bellied Brent Goose.
Elsewhere four Eider, two Great Northern and a Red-throated Diver were offshore, two Lesser Redpoll and single Firecrest, Goldcrest and Chiffchaff were in the Entrance Bushes and a Rook flew north.
Other Wildlife: Despite the mild temperature it was too dull and damp for most insects with only two Spotted Meliscaeva M. auricollis noted on the flowering Alexanders.
On a grey foggy day, the only news received was of a Firecrest alongside the Golf Course at the end of the reserve.
Wader counts from the high tide included 800 Dunlin, 125 Grey and 20 Ringed Plover, 105 Curlew, 68 Snipe, 42 Knot, 39 Redshank, 27 Bar-tailed Godwit, 20 Turnstone, five Sanderling, three Greenshank and two Jack Snipe, the latter pushed from the saltmarsh by rising waters.
Also in the estuary 157 Black-headed and 14 Common Gull, spring passage of the latter has either peaked or been delayed, and 104 Dark-bellied Brent Geese.
A low tide visit so little to report from the estuary and the bushes were similarly quiet. On the choppy sea the four Eider were near estuary mouth, and four Shoveler (three males), two Little Grebe and the lone Mute Swan were on the Main Pond. This is presumed to be the regular breeding female, the male, ringed DDN, has not been seen since late autumn.
Other Wildlife: Continuing invertebrate inactivity in the grey conditions, but a few species can always be found. On the beach were Dune Scarab Aegialia arenarius, Red Marsh Ladybird Cocciluda rufa and a Dune Jumper Marpissa nivoyi, with the spider Neriene montana and the bug Issus coleoptratus in the scrub.
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| Dune Scarab Aegialia arenarius - Alan Keatley |
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| Neriene montana - Alan Keatley |
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| Issus coleoptratus nymph - Alan Keatley |
Early morning seawatching saw 38 Red-throated and a Great Northern Diver off the seawall along with 10 Kittiwake, eight Common Scoter, three Gannet and three Fulmar.
Counts over the high tide included 132 Grey and 18 Ringed Plover, 85 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 72 Bar-tailed Godwit, 54 Redshank, 44 Teal, 44 Turnstone, 30 Shelduck, four Wigeon and three Greenshank.
Elsewhere 114 Lesser Black-backed Gull north overhead was welcome a sign of spring, three Little Grebe were at the Main Pond and two Firecrest, two Goldcrest and single Chiffchaff and Coal Tit in the bushes.
The high tide left space at a premium around The Bight with roosting waders including 1,460 Dunlin, 135 Grey, 20 Ringed and a Golden Plover, 119 Knot, 93 Bar-tailed Godwit, 35 Turnstone and 22 Sanderling. Also in the estuary, 232 Dark and two Pale-bellied Brent Geese, 36 Teal, seven Wigeon and three Red-breasted Merganser.
The four Eider remain off the estuary mouth with six Common Scoter, five Red-throated and a Great Northern Diver also offshore.
Elsewhere a male Goshawk flew towards the Entrance Bushes just before 8am, and then seen later over the Crocus Compound, the Cetti's Warbler and two Shoveler were at the Main Pond, the bushes held four Bullfinch and twos of Chiffchaff, Firecrest and Goldcrest.
105. Goshawk
Ringing News: At total of 42 ringed Dunlin were recorded including another new bird from the January catch, the 90th of 99 now resighted. Sample counts suggested a ringed bird is present amongst every 20-25 individuals.
Large numbers of waders around The Bight on the large high tide including a winter peak of 115 Knot, alongside an estimated 1,400 Dunlin, 101 Bar-tailed Godwit, 96 Grey Plover, 32 Shelduck and a Great Northern Diver.
Elsewhere three Shoveler, two Little Grebe and a Snipe were at the Main Pond and an adult Mediterranean Gull offshore.
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| Snipe - Jim Summers |
One of today's birds was the German ringed individual, colour-ringed in Jan, with Polish and Welsh ringed birds still here for at least their third winter.
Other Wildlife: A Grey Seal was in the estuary and the Grey Squirrel remains on the Golf Course.
Another grey day with a cold easterly wind counts from the estuary included 950+ Dunlin, 82 Grey and 13 Ringed Plover, 57 Redshank, 24 Sanderling and seven Knot around The Bight at high tide. At low tide the Spotted Redshank was again in Cockwood Harbour.
Elsewhere the Cetti's Warbler and two Shoveler were at the First Pond, with four Common Scoter and three Red-throated Diver offshore in choppy conditions.
Phacidium lauri - Kevin Rylands
A low tide look off Cockwood Steps saw 167 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, a Greenshank and a Great Northern Diver in the estuary with the wintering Spotted Redshank a few metres outside the Recording Area in Cockwood Harbour.
Elsewhere 32 Great Crested Grebe, four Red-throated Diver and two Razorbill were offshore with two Shoveler on the Main Pond and three Chiffchaff and a Goldcrest in the bushes.
Tough going today in the grey and chilly weather. Offshore 41 Great Crested Grebe, 21 Red-throated Diver and the four Eider.
Elsewhere two Goldcrest and a Chiffchaff were on site, three Shoveler and two Little Grebe were on the Main Pond, two Rook and two Stock Dove were overhead and 175 Dark-bellied Brent Goose were in the estuary on a low tide visit.
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| Blue Willow Beetle Phratora vulgatissima - Alan Keatley. One of very few invertebrates in the conditions |
The Water Pipit was again in the saltmarsh (no general access) with the Avocet, 121 Teal and seven Wigeon feeding in Shutterton Creek on the rising tide. Also in the estuary 226 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 95 Curlew, 57 Redshank, 22 Ringed Plover, 12 Sanderling, seven Greenshank, two Red-breasted Merganser and a Peregrine.
Elsewhere 36 Great Crested Grebe and four Eider were offshore, four Shoveler were on the Main Pond with three Siskin and a Chiffchaff in the bushes.
The spring like conditions saw the first two Buzzard of the year drift over site with six Lesser Black-backed Gull, two Peregrine and a Stock Dove overhead.
Counts around the estuary over the high tide included 1015 Dunlin, 60 Redshank, 51 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 26 Shelduck, seven Greenshank, two Red-breasted Merganser and an Avocet.
Elsewhere nine Red-throated and a Great Northern Diver, four Eider and two Common Scoter were offshore, four Shoveler and three Little Grebe were on the Main Pond, a Water Pipit was in the saltmarsh, a Grey Wagtail was by the seawall and three Bullfinch and single Chiffchaff, Redwing, Great Spotted and Green Woodpecker were in the bushes.
103. Buzzard
104. Redwing
Early morning a Greylag Goose past the sea wall was the first since October 2023, it appeared to be heading up the estuary, on the sea were the four Eider, three Common Scoter, two Great Northern and a Red-throated Diver.
Elsewhere the Cetti's Warbler made another rare appearance, this time in the Buffer Zone, with 12 Long-tailed Tit and a Goldcrest in the bushes and two Little Grebe at the Main Pond.
102. Greylag Goose
A grey, overcast day with a stiff northly wind adding a rare wintry feel. Some Oystercatcher have however already left on spring migration with just 189 birds present today. Numbers were also reduced by the low neap high tide, with other counts from the estuary including 380 Dunlin, 115 Teal, 35 Shelduck, 20 Sanderling (19 remaining on Bull Hill throughout), 14 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, eight Greenshank, five Grey Plover, two Red-breasted Merganser and a Knot.
Elsewhere single Common Scoter and Great Northern Diver were offshore and five Teal, three Shoveler and a Little Grebe were on the Main Pond.
Ringing News: In the conditions 19 Dunlin reads was a good effort, a similar number of Oystercatcher included singles first ringed in 1997 & 2004.
Other Wildlife: Larval mines of the fly Agromyza nigrescens were noted in crane's-bill leaves, a scarce/under-recorded species.
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| Agromyza nigrescens - Kevin Rylands |
A low high tide reduced the number of waders in The Bight, with the Peregrine again present and making a couple of attempts to capture one of them. Counts included 700 Dunlin, 175 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 27 Ringed and 25 Grey Plover, 23 Bar-tailed Godwit and a Sanderling.
Elsewhere four Red-throated Diver flew south offshore early morning, two Little Grebe were back trilling at the Main Pond, four Pheasant were by the Visitor Centre and two Chiffchaff were on site.
Other Wildlife: Today’s good weather encouraged more insects to be active, including some first appearances of the year, although the first Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax was one of few insects on the wing.
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Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax - Alan Keatley
Bugs in sheltered areas included a few Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina, the leafhopper Mocydia crocea and the groundbug Peritrechus geniculatus.
Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina - Alan Keatley 
Peritrechus geniculatus - Alan Keatley 
Mocydia crocea - Alan Keatley
Beetles on the beach included the ground beetles Bembidion lunulatum and Demetrias atricapillus, with the tiny clover weevil Ichnopterapion virens hiding under cover.
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| Bembidion lunulatum - Alan Keatley |
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| Demetrias atricapillus - Alan Keatley |
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| Ichnopterapion virens - Alan Keatley |
Counts from the high tide included 265 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 152 Curlew, 144 Grey Plover, 101 Knot, 62 Redshank, 34 Ringed Plover and seven Greenshank.
Grey Plover - Lee Collins
Elsewhere six Great Northern Diver, 36 Great Crested Grebe, four Eider and two Common Scoter were offshore, seven Rook were overhead and three Chiffchaff were on site.
Ringing News: A total of 48 Dunlin reads over high tide included two new birds from the January catch, 87 of the 99 birds rung have already been resighted. Other recoveries today included the regular Swedish ringed Turnstone and Welsh ringed Knot and four Exe ringed Grey Plover.
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| Dunlin - Lee Collins |
One of today's Dunlin, YA, was recorded for the 10th time since ringing on 4th January. This is also the only bird so far recorded away from the Exe, interestingly it has also visited the Otter Estuary. Would be great to know if this was a regular feeding movement.
Other Wildlife: A Common Seal was on Bull Hill, with two Grey Seal hauled out on a pontoon further up river outside the Recording Area.
Common Seal - Kevin Rylands
A seawatch early morning saw some movement offshore with 188 Guillemot, 41 Razorbill, 22 Kittiwake, 12 Gannet, four Red-throated Diver and a Fulmar heading south in just 30 minutes.
Elsewhere six Red-breasted Merganser were in the estuary, four Shoveler and a Little Grebe were on the Main Pond and five Long-tailed Tit, two Chiffchaff and a Bullfinch in the bushes.
Ringing News: Details have been received on two recent metal ringed birds, both read in the field. An Avocet present on 30th January had been ringed on Brownsea Island, Dorset in 2011, the first Warren recovery for this species.
The second was a Redshank present on 1st February which had been ringed at Exminster Marshes on 25th February 2023, the ninth Warren recovery overall, but the first since 1986.
A late morning visit on the dropping tide saw the usual mix of waders and wildfowl well dispersed on the estuary, including 92 Teal, three Greenshank, two Red-breasted Merganser and two Wigeon. A gathering of at least 320 Black-headed Gull showed a marked spring arrival.
Elsewhere three Shoveler and two Chiffchaff were around the Main Pond with Cirl Bunting, Greenfinch and Song Thrush amongst numerous species in full song.
Other Wildlife: The sunny conditions saw beetles more active with Common Springtail-stalker Notiophilus biggutatus and the darkling Phylan gibbus amongst those on the beach, with two weevils, Hypera meles and Trichosirocalus troglodytes in the dunes.
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| Common Springtail-stalker Notiophilus biggutatus - Alan Keatley |
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| Phylan gibbus - Alan Keatley |
Other first appearances of the year included Turtle Shieldbug Podops inuncta, Zebra Jumping Spider Salticus scenicus and a Nursery Web Spider Pisaura mirabilis.
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| Nursery Web Spider Pisaura mirabilis - Alan Keatley |
The low temperatures however still limited numbers of flying insects although the first few Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria of the year were on the wing along with single Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus and Migrant Field Syrph Eupeodes corallae.
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| Migrant Field Syrph Eupeodes corallae - Kevin Rylands |
Early morning nine Common Scoter, seven Red-throated Diver and the four Eider were offshore, with one of the latter roosting an sandbars at low tide.
In the estuary 22 Teal and five Red-breasted Merganser with the usual waders around The Bight at high tide, disturbance of the Finger Point roost unfortunately keeping them flighty.
Elsewhere 25 Linnet and the nine wintering Skylark were on Warren Point, a pair of Shoveler were on the Main Pond, and in the bushes, five Long-tailed Tit, four Chaffinch, two Bullfinch and a Goldcrest.
Other Wildlife: On a cool overcast day the single Alexanders in flower attracted the flies Spotted Meliscaeva M. auricollis and Suillia variegata.
Suillia variegata - Alan Keatley
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| Pterostichus vernalis - Alan Keatley. One of several ground beetles found on the beach today. |
Counts over the high tide included 133 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 132 Grey and 27 Ringed Plover, 130 Curlew, c.100 Bar-tailed Godwit, 82 Knot and 30 Cormorant.
Elsewhere two Eider were off the estuary mouth in choppy conditions.
Ringing News: A total of 61 colour-ringed Dunlin were recorded, including two ringed last night on Exminster Marshes, a Grey Plover from the same catch was also present.
