There has been much activity on the Exe Estuary of late- whilst tempestuous storms have stripped away many of the autumn leaves and left everything sodden, still frosty nights have left the marshes an ephemeral frozen wonder. The water levels across Exminster Marshes have been increased too which has brought in the spectacle of large numbers of overwintering birds whose numbers will swell further as the weather gets colder. The sight of these birds along with the shorter hours of daylight makes it an ideal time for watching wildlife on the Exe as these animals will be more active in the fewer hours of daylight in their quest for food.
Exminster Marshes is teeming at this time of year- skeins of silhouetted geese noisily pass overhead, ducks such as teal, wigeon or mallard flock en masse as solitary hunters such as peregrine falcons pass through the skies. A hungry barn owl may even be spotted in the middle of the day. Waders such as curlew or godwits can be seen close to the water efficiently probing the softest mud for nutritious invertebrates before settling down for the night- often they will tuck their heads into their wings, face into the wind and stand on one leg in a bid to keep warm. Of course there are many other species besides this (hunting kingfishers seem to be everywhere for me for some reason) and there have even been a few excitement inducing rarities occurring of late on the reserve such as the American robin, the glossy ibis and the even the Autumnwatch team.