Mud and Bar-Tailed Godwits
The Bar-Tailed Godwit, Limosa lapponica, is a large migratory wader. Calling them migratory is one of the world’s greatest understatements. One of …
Red-Breasted Mergansers
There’s something comical and slightly zany about Red-Breasted Mergansers. Just look at that feathered crest: There are a few birds on the …
The duck that says cryc
Isn’t this female Teal a stunner? The iridescent green colour of the speculum on the wing feathers is breathtaking in this sunshine. …
Eurasian Curlew
Here’s a big beautiful Eurasian Curlew flying past our cruise boat on the River Exe. Whenever I hear the word Eurasian in …
Avocet flypast
I find Avocets so exotic I’m still partially resisting the idea that they actually exist in my life. Just look at how …
Kingfisher on a boat
We had a wonderful time at the weekend on a Stuart Line Cruises guided birdwatching cruise out of Exmouth. The firm are …
Avocet
Avocets give me the same feeling I got when I first saw Greenfinches in the back yard of my terraced childhood home …
Great Crested Grebe flypast
You’ve probably noticed that I love a good flypast. Here are two Great Crested Grebes going at speed down the River Exe. …
Dark-bellied Brent Geese
Brent Geese are small Geese, only just bigger than a large duck. On the River Exe we have the dark-bellied Brent Geese …
Carry On Crow
There’s a piece of driftwood and a pool of water in the extended mud at the centre of the River Exe at …
Recurvirostra avosetta
There are Avocets on the River Exe and it’s a thrill to see them. Just look at that ridiculous curved beak. It’s …
The River Exe – Dunlin
Dunlin are one of the commonest shorebirds found around the UK’s coastline. They form glorious flocks which twist this way and that …
The River Exe – Grey Plover
We call the Grey Plover, Pluvialis squatarola, the Grey Plover in the UK because they are, most definitely, grey. They’re a beautiful, …
The River Exe – Spotted Redshank
Spotted Redshank, Tringa erythopus, are such elegant birds. I love their long necks, precision bills and patterned plumage. It was a thrill …
The River Exe – Red-Breasted Mergansers
Red-Breasted Mergansers are saw-billed diving ducks. They’re spectacular in flight. We’re on a River Exe Cruise with Stuart Line Cruises. It’s sold …
Egrets, I’ve had a few
I recently saw Little Egrets in Italy: Little Egrets Today I’m in Exeter and there’s one hunting on the Exe: Egretta garzetta …
Curlew wading
I recently saw a flock of over 100 Curlews on the fields at the side of the River Exe. They seem to …
Revisiting Black-Tailed Godwits on the Exe
It’s a week since I visited the Exe estuary and saw Black-Tailed Godwits in large flocks. They are very distinctive in flight, …
Avocets on the Exe
We once killed all the Avocets in Britain. We destroyed their habitat by draining their salt marshes and we killed them for …