Axe Estuary

Axe Estuary

Sunday 11^th September

We were told we would have wind and rain, but in fact it was a most beautiful sunny day, with a light breeze. It was a day when it is a joy to be out and about. This area (comprising Black Hole Marsh, Colyford Common and Seaton Marshes) has been made into a wonderful set of nature reserves. There are five hides with views over the marshes, plus several wooden fences with oblong holes cut into them at different heights. There are many board walks to stop us getting stuck in the mud. A lot of thought must have gone into this, and the designers should be congratulated. It has made it an excellent day out for birders and people going out for a walk.

The first bird we saw was a Magpie on the back of a sheep, presumably looking for ticks or something similar. We went to the marsh, on the way we passed a shrubbery with a lot of small birds in it, particularly Goldfinches. In fact all day we had flocks of them flying overhead and chatting to each other. It was a delight to listen to them. Overhead there were gulls, lot of them, but most of them Black-headed and Herring.

We saw about five Ruffs, very close up. They were very busy pecking in the mud. In breeding plumage they are very dramatic, with the male having a shield-like ruff, “ear” tufts and yellow warts on a bare face. Sadly it breeds in Scandinavia and Russia, so we do not see this display, instead we see a rather drab slightly pot-bellied brown wader with a surprisingly short down curved bill for the length of its legs. They eat insects, beetles, crane flies, caddis flies and water boatman and similar species that live in marshes.

We had a superb view of a Greenshank, with the light on it, it looked rather ghostly. They are very much paler than I think of them. There were several Ringed Plovers. We only had only had one or two Common Sandpipers bobbing at the water’s edge. There was a group of Curlews and a few Whimbrels. The Whimbrel is a summer visitor, and is smaller than the Curlew. They are very similar, the Whimbrel has a pale stripe on a dark crown, and a decurved not down curved bill. As they were together the different size was a give away.

We had excellent views of Kingfishers. Their blue flashing in the sunlight, was a sight to behold. We saw a Wheatear on a post, which then took off and went straight for the hide, dodging off at the last minute. There were several Buzzards in the sky, soaring in the thermals. All in all an excellent day, over 40 birds were sighted by me 51 by the group.

Ann Crawford

Birds seen, in BOU order or alphabetic order

BOU order

Mute Swan

Canada Goose

Shelduck

Teal

Mallard

Pheasant

Cormorant

Little Egret

Grey Heron

Little Grebe

Sparrowhawk

Buzzard

Kestrel

Moorhen

Coot

Oystercatcher

Ringed Plover

Lapwing

Dunlin

Ruff

Black-tailed Godwit

Bar-tailed Godwit

Whimbrel

Curlew

Common Sandpiper

Greenshank

Redshank

Black-headed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Herring Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Stock Dove

Wood Pigeon

Kingfisher

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Heard only)

Magpie

Rook

Carrion Crow

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Swallow

House Martin

Chiffchaff

Blackbird

Robin

Wheatear

Dunnock

Meadow Pipit

Chaffinch

Greenfinch

Goldfinch

Alphabetic order