Thursday 16th February

A quick low tide visit saw 65 Dark-bellied Brent Geese on the mudflats, 21 Great Crested Grebe offshore and three Shoveler on the Main Pond. In Greenland Lake, 25 Meadow Pipit were a welcome sign of the advancing season, backed up by many resident species now in song.

Linnet - Alan Keatley

Tuesday 14th February

A visit on the dropping tide saw just 470 Dunlin feeding on the mudflats, the remainder having already departed to feeding areas further upriver, also present the two immature Spoonbill, 182 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 84 Common Gull, 47 Teal, 37 Wigeon, two Avocet and a Greenshank.

Elsewhere the two Eider and a Red-throated Diver were offshore and seven Shoveler were on the Main Pond.

Wildlife News: The rise in temperature together with a sunny afternoon prompted an increase in insect activity with two very early solitary bees - a Yellow-legged Mining Bee Andrena flavipes and a Furry-claspered Furrow Bee Lasioglossum lativentre sharing the one and only Dandelion in flower at Langstone Rock. February records are not unprecedented and are increasing as the climate changes. 

Yellow-legged Mining Bee - Alan Keatley

Other species emerging for the first time this year included 24-spot Ladybird, the ground bug Peritrechus geniculatus, Lined Froghopper Neophilaenus lineatus and the weevil Trichosirocalus troglodytes.

Lined Froghopper - Alan Keatley

Trichosirocalus troglodytes - Alan Keatley

Sunday 12th February

WeBS count day for the Exe, so numbers were much reduced from yesterday with 56 Redshank, 28 Sanderling, five Greenshank and single Golden Plover and Black-tailed Godwit the more notable additions, along with the two immature Spoonbill again on Finger Point, but there was no sign of yesterday's bird. Other counts included 2,400 Dunlin (post WeBS), 196 Grey Plover, 185 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 118 Curlew, 70 Knot, 66 Bar-tailed Godwit, 42 Ringed Plover, 42 Teal, 37 Wigeon, four Red-breasted Merganser, two Avocet and a Peregrine.

Elsewhere much reduced numbers offshore with 14 Great Crested Grebe, nine Common Scoter, five Red-throated and four Great Northern Diver, two Redwing and two Goldcrest were in the bushes and the Shoveler count on the Main Pond climbed to nine, with five male and four female.

Saturday 11th February

A grey, overcast day but at least the fog was gone by first light. The sea was like a millpond and for once there was some good feeding offshore with hundreds of birds present across the bay. The highlight was a Red-necked Grebe moulting into breeding plumage, arriving with a winter high count of 52 Great Crested Grebe. Also present at least 585 Razorbill, with two Guillemot, 58 Common Scoter, 12 Red-throated and five Great Northern Diver, six Red-breasted Merganser and the two Eider. 

Spoonbill - Lee Collins

In the estuary a Spoonbill roosted around the Bight at high tide until being flushed by two circling paragliders, these also kept the waders airborne with many settling on the estuary wall north of Cockwood. Counts on the dropping tide included 2,290 Dunlin, 193 Grey Plover, 169 Bar-tailed Godwit, 145 Curlew, 89 Knot, 53 Teal, 42 Ringed Plover, an increase, 38 Wigeon, 37 Redshank, 23 Turnstone, 13 Sanderling, three Greenshank and two Avocet. Disturbance further upriver flushed 358 Dark-bellied Brent Geese from Oak Meadow, Starcross into the Recording Area, within the flock 63 juveniles, showing good overwinter survival.

Elsewhere five Rook overhead and two male Stonechat in Greenland Lake were signs of spring with 10 Cirl Bunting, three Goldcrest and a Chiffchaff on site.

Wildlife News: At least three Harbour Porpoise and a Common Seal were offshore with a Grey Seal in the estuary. Invertebrates remained well hidden with a few rove beetles and springtails recorded as well as the pseudoscorpion Moss Neobisiid Neobisium carcinoides, the second site record.

Moss Neobisiid Neobisium carcinoides - Alan Keatley

Thursday 9th February

The first Red Kite of the year, the earliest ever, flew west over Warren Point just after 1pm, the late morning start missed the high tide waders, but the two Spoonbill back on Finger Point were more tardy, waiting till mid tide before departing north.

Spoonbill - Dean Hall

Elsewhere 93 Dark-bellied Brent Geese were feeding on the beach, a Red-throated Diver and 17 Great Crested Grebe were offshore, three Snipe were in Greenland Lake and three Shoveler and a Chiffchaff were at the Main Pond.

Chiffchaff - Elizabeth Mulgrew

Green Woodpecker - Dean Hall

Wednesday 8th February

The first Short-eared Owl of the year was on Warren Point, with four Shoveler, three males and a female, at the Main Pond.

Shoveler (female) - Elizabeth Mulgrew

Mallard - Elizabeth Mulgrew

Wildlife News: The first Wood (aka Long-tailed Field) Mouse of the year was watched feeding on the nectar-rich Gorse blossom in the afternoon sun.

Wood Mouse - Elizabeth Mulgrew

Tuesday 7th February

A day of two halves with dense freezing fog most of the morning, clearing to a bright sunny, if not warm, afternoon. By the time the fog had lifted the tide had gone out, so it was not possible to make any meaningful estuary counts although at least one Greenshank was particularly vocal.

Elsewhere 105 Dark-bellied Brent Geese were feeding on the beach at low tide, 19 Great Crested Grebe were offshore, four Shoveler were on the Main Pond and in Greenland Lake, 16 Skylark, three Redwing and a Snipe.

Wildlife News: Insects were more active than of late in the sunshine, with the first butterfly of the year on the wing, a Red Admiral. Other species new for the year included Seven-spot and Pine Ladybird, several Gorse Shieldbug, a Sea-spurrey weevil Hypera arator and new for the Recording Area, the rove beetle Actocharis readingii. This minute, flightless species, (less than 2mm) is confined to coastal areas of the south west so its presence here has presumably been long-overlooked.

Hypera arator - Alan Keatley

Gorse Shieldbug - Alan Keatley

Pine Ladybird - Alan Keatley

Sunday 5th February

The Dartford Warbler reappeared by the Visitor Centre briefly with 11 Skylark and single Redwing, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk on site, four Teal, three Shoveler and two Little Grebe on the Main Pond and three Red-throated Diver and the two Eider offshore.

Skylark - Elizabeth Mulgrew

Saturday 4th February

Offshore first thing a roosting flock of just 11 Red-breasted Merganser, this winter's peak count (cf. 204 in Dec 2000), also present five Red-throated and three Great Northern Diver, 36 Great Crested Grebe (cf. 132 in Jan 2018), five Common Scoter and the two immature male Eider.

Elsewhere 143 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 32 Wigeon and a Greenshank were in the estuary at low tide, with 319 Black-headed, 70 Common and a Mediterranean Gull. In the bushes three Great Spotted and a Green Woodpecker, three Goldcrest, two Redwing and a Chiffchaff, with two male Shoveler on the Main Pond.

Thursday 2nd February

A low tide visit saw 99 Dark-bellied Brent Geese on the mudflats with another 28 feeding at Langstone Rock with a Greenshank in the estuary and offshore a mobile flock of 61 Common Scoter, 15 Great Crested Grebe and three Red-throated Diver.

Elsewhere four Shoveler were on the Main Pond with 15 Greenfinch, 12 Long-tailed Tit and 10 Redwing in the Entrance Bushes and a flock of 51 Goldfinch west overhead.

Oystercatcher - Alan Keatley