Happy Ney Year Everyone and I hope you’ve all had a jolly Christmas

I’m a brand spanking new addition to the Exe Estuaries team coming from a year’s stint at Coombes Valley reserves which is ancient oak woodland in Staffordshire, and am looking forward to working on the very different habitats and species here at Exe Estuaries. I am a Devonshire boy though, originating from the bright lights of Bideford, and am…

Hello everyone!

This will be my final blog from Exe Estuary Reserves, as I move onto pastures new in 2016. True to form, the south-west has given me a fantastic send-off with some brilliant bird sightings on the reserves this week:

Last Friday Tom and I all but trod on a Short-Eared Owl as we attended to the outflow pipe on the lagoon. More astonishing is the fact that we must have walked passed it minutes before, as…

Well, I knew it had to happen. As we have relentlessly marched through the months, weeks and days, I’ve arrived at that once distant point on the horizon. Perhaps, given the inevitability of this moment, I should be better prepared to write my final blog as a residential volunteer with the Exe Estuary team, but I’m not. Perhaps it is because it is difficult to write a blog which does justice to the experience without…

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There is still time to defend nature!

If you haven't had a chance to find out about the campaign, or are unsure of how you can get involved, head to the RSPB website at rspb.org.uk/joinandhelp/campaignwithus/defendnature.

Join the conversation and Ask Rory to Defend Nature.

After a brief frosty spell the weather has turned milder again. That being said, we only linger on breaks so long as the tea…

My steel welly encased, and exceptionally cold, toes can vouch for the fact that this week the strap line changed from ‘Winter’s Coming’ to ‘Winter’s Arrived’.   At least on Monday at any rate, but there is still a noticeable chill in the air and woolly hats are now are key part of the outdoor ensemble.

It was therefore with no small delight that I spent Tuesday tending a bonfire as…

Good morning to all,

It is with a heavy heart that I share the news that today is not only my last blog, but also my last ever day as a Residential Volunteer here on the Exe! I shall be trading these clay wetlands, abundant with bird life, for the chalky hillsides of Wiltshire where I grew up. It is only half past eight in the morning, and already Laura, Phill, and I, have had a number of poignant moments of ‘this is…

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After a few weeks cosy in the office with a foot injury, I was finally able to get back into the field this week. I can attest that it takes two weeks to scrub out the ingrained dirt but only about a half hour to get it back.

Once again we were at the mercy of the Clyst Estuary mud, clearing the outflow of the pipe that comes from Bowling Green hide lagoon.

Work has continued on the Exminster predator…

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With Tom away on a tree health course for most of the week and the office team away for SWARM (south west area regional meeting – yes, perhaps a little too pleased with that acronym) and a Devon Birds Conference the residential volunteers have been left to their own devices... what could possibly go wrong?

It has been a rather wet week – or so I have observed through the window of our cosy office…

Hello everyone!

I’ve been out of action this week and office bound with a foot injury. This period of captivity has made me appreciate all the more my role as a residential volunteer: the constant activity, the satisfactions of working with your hands, the tranquillity of eating lunch with the birds and breathing fresh air all day long. The tropical rains that passed over this week have, on the other hand, put me in…

I feel very fortunate to be able to write the blog this week. The Residential Volunteer house has been a biohazard risk with the lurgy doing the rounds and after being struck down by a serious bout of man-flu, certainly something that would have seen off anyone of less stout heart, I am grateful to be fighting fit once again.

Illness aside, this week has introduced us volunteers to a new lifestyle and survival skill…

It’s been three weeks since I have moved from my previous job with the RSPB working as Community Engagement Officer in the Brecks, so I thought it was time to introduce myself to you all!

I’m from Devon originally, and grew up on Dartmoor, and now several years later I have managed to move back to my home county for a new role with the RSPB as Devon Visitor Experience Manager.

As part of this role I will…

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And a warm welcome to Devon’s new Visitor Experience Manager, Sammy Fraser, who has recently joined the office team. Pete now has a full panel to score his electro-swing dance moves.

With the breading season now passed, over the last few weeks we have been busy clearing the paths around the reserve. Armed with every cutting tool in the shed, we have taken the opportunity to cut back the hedges…

The last of the September sun has been out and shining down on everyone on the Exe estuary this week before the inevitable Autumnal wave comes in. This has meant a few important changes for the wildlife around us.

We’re fortunate enough in this area to see some of the magnificent Osprey as they pass through on their way to sunnier lands in Africa for the winter. After feeding up for the trip, they will wait for…

I made jam last week and it was a delicious revelation! Inspired by the sweet blackberry flavour of success, I’m now agitating my jars of blackberry brandy with as much tender loving care as a thorough shaking can allow. It should be ready for Christmas and, if we get a frost in the next couple of weeks, I also have grand plans to be sipping sloe gin in the New Year.

If you are wondering why I am quite so pleased…

After bracing for the remnants of tropical storm Henri it has been a surprisingly dry and pleasant week on the reserves. An added bonus is that I have managed to avoid the worst of the bad weather with some opportunely timed office based work; nothing like pouring rain to focus the mind on health and safety risk assessments!

The drier than expected weather has been a real bonus in terms of cutting, baling and removal…

A week of glorious weather here on the Exminster Marshes has seen a spate of activity out on the fields, with the contractors working full pelt to cut and collect the grass whilst the fine weather holds.  This has inevitably led to more ditch edging for the volunteers. As Laura explained last week, this involves wielding large strimmers and rakes to ensure the edges of the ditches are sufficiently short to allow waders…

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Autumn is here and the cooler weather heralds the coming migration season. As such, we are working hard to get the reserves tidied up in time for our overwintering guests, in other words, grassland management.  This management is integral to the creation of suitable habitat for waders and waterfowl, which require an open plain, so that they can see predators from a distance, and plenty of mud, in which…

This past week has been a mixed bag of weather for the volunteers on the Exe Estuary reserves, with blazing sunshine to torrential rain it has been a tough decision whether to pack suncream or heavy waterproofs in the morning!

But, come rain or shine, Exminster has seen the beginning of the long process of cutting and baling of the excess grass across the fields. The reserve takes on a whole new look when it has had…

It is hard to believe that it is August already and while summer may not be over yet, it will not be long before we are talking of changing seasons and bird migrations. In fact, I have already been party to a speculative conversation over whether a high flying raptor heading south may have been an Osprey making an early run for Africa. I hope on arrival he or she gets their towel on the sun lounger first.

So, just as…

Good morning from the Exe Estuary! My name is Justine, but please call me Jay.

I can’t believe my second week here as the new residential volunteer here is coming to a close, and boy, doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun.

The absolute highlight of my time with the team so far has been seeing my very first Grass snake. On the reserve you can find corrugated iron sheets on the floor (there’s one near…

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And a big hello to our new residential volunteer, Justine, who arrived at the beginning of the week. We introduced J to the role with a full day of pulling ragwort at Labrador bay... welcome to the team!

Just like that, Phill and I are in the daunting position of showing someone else the ropes. It comes as a big surprise, to none more than me, that after two and a half months I might actually have…

Hello everyone, and also goodbye as this is my last full week and final blog post as a residential volunteer here at the Exe Estuary Reserves.

It’s been a fun, although hard work at times, experience. I’ve seen the reserve change from a winter haven for ducks, geese and waders to a spring breeding ground for passerines. The fields have changed from a sea of green to a patchwork of colour, butterflies and dragonflies…

After three weeks I know you will all be desperate to hear news of the reserve (apologies for the delay!) needless to say, we have been busy as usual.

Over the last weeks we have spent a fair amount of time at Labrador Bay, tidying up paths and pulling ragwort in anticipation of an auspicious event – the south west regional meeting of the RSPB. The morning was hosted in the beautiful and quaint village of Stokeinteignhead…

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Keep a look out for the next rspb advert, coming to a television near you on the 12^th of June. More than just getting the word out about the importance conservation, this advert has a specific message. The aim is to encourage people to work together within their community, in order to create networks of breeding populations, and as such, help improve the community of wildlife in their area.

And to news…

Last week I had some time off the reserve to attend my sister’s wedding. Not only was this a great celebratory day, but also an aptly timed opportunity for me to update the family on my venture into residential volunteering.

It turns out I had rather a lot to say on the matter. Perhaps I should have stopped when I saw people’s eyes rolling into the back of their heads and, with hindsight, my introduction to the…