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 I am called Dan. In a bid to avoid confusion I asked the team to start calling me ‘Maverick’, but I’m afraid for some reason they don’t seem to be going for it.
I wanted to spend a winter on a wetland reserve, and Exe seems like a great place for it – there are loads of wintering birds here now, plenty of interesting and challenging work, and the reserve looks truly spectacular in the early morning sun.
Speaking of challenging work, a major project here this winter is a new anti-predator fence on the eastern side of the railway line which separates the Exminster Marshes and Powderham reserves. This will more than double our existing protected area, which has already yielded great results for breeding lapwing. The main part of the fence went up last week, and now we have to work on plugging the gaps, securing all the infrastructure (fences, gates, ditch crossings etc.) and making sure everything is shipshape in time for the breeding season. New fence posts have to be driven into the ground, gate hinges replaced and wire mesh dug into the soil. It can be cold, muddy and wet out there, and hard work, but it’s very rewarding to see the new area coming to life with all the fences and gates looking as good as new. Fingers crossed the birds think so too come the spring!
Last week we went out and did one of our regular counts on the Exminster Marshes reserve in conjunction with other counts taking place on neighbouring sites. We recorded over a thousand wigeon alone, never mind all the teal, shoveler, curlew, black-tailed godwit, golden plover and many more species besides. The golden plover were a particular highlight for me, having never seen them before, and I’m looking forward to hearing their calls over the coming months. These counts are always a joy to perform, but obviously they have a purpose too, helping us to monitor and compare the population and behaviour of birds using our reserve over the winter.
We’re starting to see plenty of Fieldfare and Redwing now, thrushes who flock here from northern Europe in large numbers once it starts to get cold, so we know winter is finally on its way after a very mild October and November. No longer can we get away with a jumper and t-shirt out on the reserve, and flasks of hot drinks have started making their way into our day bags. But the crispness of a cold winter morning brings its own rewards, and the spectacle of hundreds of waders and wildfowl feeding round the scrapes and filling the air with their atmospheric and varied calls can always make the spirit soar.
Dan Snowdon
Long-term Residential Volunteer
RSPB Exe Estuary