As we all know we’ve had a huge amount of rain recently and it almost seems like it’s never going to end however when the sun does comes out there’s a real warmth behind it and all the wildlife down here at the Exe Estuary and elsewhere seems to know it too.

In my garden at home the snowdrops have been up for a while now and the daffodils are forging ever higher and the frogs are returning to the pond…

Following on from our previous blog posts, the continuing theme is still the extreme weather conditions; strong winds, high tides and storm surges causing severe flooding. Large areas of the UK have been affected by the flooding now and it seems there is more inclement weather forecast for this weekend.

The storm surges are caused by areas of low pressure out at sea effectively ‘pulling’ the water level up 1cm for every…

Hi everyone, just a quick post to say that due to some pretty serious damage to the sea wall at Bowling Green we've taken the decision to close the viewing platform until further notice. The wall has actually collapsed at one point, with several other sections suffering damage that will have weakened the structure, so the viewing platform would not be a safe place to be. We'll let you know as soon as the platform has…

We're on flood alert once more down here on the Exminster Marshes, and the water is already starting to cover the road. My double layer of waterproofs failed to keep out the torrential rain being swept sideways by the wind on the walk to work, and I noticed smashed tiles on the road from the rooftops of nearby houses as I left home. Most of us looked pretty bedraggled as we arrived at the office today, but we still h…

It’s business as usual here at Exminster Marshes, our efforts constructing the predator fence have been ratcheted up to a new level now the water levels have receded, so for the last month completing the final sections of fox proof mesh has been our highest priority. We are very much getting near completion though, as the lapwing breeding season is fast approaching. The winter flocks we have here will soon be breaking…

Hello once more from the Exe Estuary! As I sit here in the office there are grey skies outside, and rain once more creating ripples in the puddles in the car park. We don’t expect any more floods over the next week or so, though you never know as water levels are still high. That’s a good thing for this time of year though, as covered in the previous blog!

We have been treated to an extraordinary sight this…

Hello again from the Exminster Marshes! Last week Dan Mason wrote about all the flooding we’d had, and I’m pleased to report that that since then the water levels have dropped to something approaching normal for this time of year. It’s still very wet, but we don’t have to wade onto the site anymore (although I secretly quite enjoyed that, apart from the time I had to do it barefoot – it was COLD) and we’ve been able to…

I have just got back to the Exminster Marshes after a very nice break for Christmas and New Year to find the whole reserve is completely underwater! It’s been well reported in the media that the UK, and in particular the south west, has been hit by heavy flooding sadly damaging lots of homes and businesses.

The grazing marshes here, as well as being amazing for wildlife, act as a flood storage area for Exminster…

Our workload over the Christmas period has been mainly just keeping an eye on things. Staff and volunteers have visited the reserve daily for general checks along footpaths and for any damage to gates and fencelines. With the strong winds and heavy rain over the recent weeks we have also been looking out for fallen trees and flooded areas. In fact, this last week has brought water levels on the reserve to their highest…

With the extreme weather over the christmas period, Exminster and Powderham marsh have been heavily flooded.  Both visitor trails across the reserves are flooded and inaccessable, station road is also flooded in many places.  With heavy rain forecast for Sunday it is doubtful that the water levels will return to winter norms until middle of next week.  However on the East side of the estuary our Bowling Green and Goosemoor…

It’s time to fill you in on what’s been happening here on the Exe Estuary since our last update.

The weather has stayed pretty mild and we’ve not had a lot of rain, so that means we’ve been able to press on with our new predator fence. After we did some work clearing the ditches around the site we had to move a few of the predator fence straining posts (the ones that take most of the strain from the wire…

Winter hasn’t seemed to have taken full hold yet with mild, still mornings being common here at Exminster Marshes and many leaves yet to fall off the trees. Beautiful shades of russet, gold and brown cover the hedges and the late morning sunrises mean it’s a wonderful time to come and see the wintering waders and wildfowl on our reserve.

This last week saw our bi-annual regional meeting take place right here…

Hi everyone, this is my first blog for the Exe Estuary reserves, although I’ve now been here over six weeks. I joined the team as a long-term residential volunteer in October, though this is actually my second placement having spent the summer at the Mersehead reserve in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Like our previous blogger I gave up a job to gain experience for a career change, and also like our previous blogger…

The first two weeks of my six months residential volunteering have passed and what a fortnight it’s been. I had previously volunteered short term at Forsinard Flows in the north of Scotland and knew the long term residential volunteering scheme that RSPB offer seemed like a very good idea for six months.

Having completed my degree in environmental science a few years ago and ending up managing a busy pub since…

With the official end of summertime approaching I am sure we can all appreciate what a pleasant summer it has been. The good weather has also been a great benefit to the dragonflies and butterflies across the marshes after such a dismal display last year, 13 butterfly species were recorded this summer with high numbers of meadow brown a typical grassland species but also multiple records of woodland specialists such as…

A very warm, sunny day greeted us at the launch of our new pond-dipping platform attended by very enthusiastic adults as well as children. Captured specimens included: blood worm, water fleas, water boatmen, whirligig beetles, pond snails, pond skaters, water scorpions, a great diving beetle, young newts at different stages of development plus a young Perch.

There’s life in these waters and also a chance for everyone…

Yet another week of glorious sun here on the Exe, which continues to encourage the emergence of our many butterfly and dragonfly species. Those of you who might have ventured along turf path recently might have spotted the stunning Golden-ringed Dragonfly; with the female of this species being the longest dragonfly found in Britain. Other species recently seen around the reserve also include the Four-spotted Chaser;

Summer is bursting at the seams with ditch edges seeing vegetation reaching lush heights attracting a variety of hovering dragonflies: Black-Tailed Skimmer, Golden-ringed and Four-spotted Chaser. The flowers on the now dense bramble shrubs are providing the perfect habitat for nectar-gathering bees and sun-bathing butterflies including: Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, Small Tortoiseshell and Meadow Brown.

Whilst managing…

Summer at Exminster Marshes, Matford Marshes and Powderham has seen plenty of Mute swan cygnets, Canada Geese goslings, Mallard chicks, Lapwing chicks, Coot chicks and Oystercatcher chicks. Juvenile Starling, Goldfinch, Tits and Robins are now appearing.  The Summer migrant hirundines are aplenty, scooping up the available flies in their wake and Cirl Bunting has been seen and heard at Powderham Marshes.  Water levels in…

The end of this cold and snowy weather has been heralded by numerous sightings of Redwing and Fieldfare, and our bird feeders have been bustling with green and gold finches, chaffinches, robins and blue and great tits. On warmer days, the first Robins and Dunnocks can also be heard singing in our hedgerows. Goldcrests and Yellowhammers can also be spotted in the woods and hedgerows.

Bird counts in January revealed large…

Seasonal Change

Everything is changing down on the marshes and, I confess, the view from where I am sitting is very exciting and I am full of anticipation for the coming winter! The biggest change for the team has been the departure of our Site Manager, Sally Mills, to newer pastures: she will be sorely missed, but we wish her all the best in her new job.

Irrespective of internal changes to the RSPB team here, each of…

It almost feels like a relief that we finally approach the winter months for real, and we can stop pretending that the weather will improve, that it will stop raining and we will be drenched in sunshine. Unfortunately the latter never happened and we never got to achieve all our management ambitions, but I can safely say that it wasn’t for the want of trying!! Although wet conditions curtailed our efforts, the areas we…

A key element of managing RSPB wetland reserves is the cutting and removal of wetland vegetation. This management work is both labour intensive and creates large volumes of waste material. In most cases the disposal of this material is problematic to the extent that it can limit the management achieved. Due to the restriction of manual techniques, there is a danger that habitat quality is lost and compromised. At the…

Brambles laden with blackberries, small pockets of morning mist hanging over the water, large droplets of dew clinging on to the grass until mid morning and a small group of avocets in the high tide roost at Bowling Green Marsh are all signs that autumn is here. As we walk through the marsh at this time of year jack snipe rise silent from their muddy pools and teal nervously chatter as new arrivals they hide in amongst…

The works have started on the installation of the National Cycleway through Goosemoor. This new section of cycleway will link up with the existing route through Exton to Bowling Green Lane. This project has been on the cards for many years, as a Council initiative they are looking to undertake some of works over the next month and then again in April to September 2013 to avoid disturbance to the wintering birds which…