The Exe Estuary Reserve Volunteer Work Party meet every Thursday during autumn and winter to tackle the hedge laying and brash clearing required on the reserves. We have been lucky with the weather and have experienced days of gorgeous sunshine and have enjoyed throwing off the fleeces and thermals to work in shirt sleeves. We did suffer one very wet day but the hardiest members of the team persevered despite getting soaking wet. We managed to get a fire lit and as well as using it to burn brash we warmed our wet gloves, watching them steam whilst we had a cup of tea.
We have made good progress laying the hedge along the Turf Path on Exminster Marshes. The volunteers, on occasions, have to rein in their enthusiasm for chopping things down in order to maintain some cover between the footpath and the marshes which are gradually filling up with water and wintering birds. We don’t get much time for bird watching but the binoculars always come out on our well earned tea and lunch breaks and from where we work we can see curlew, lapwing, canada geese and much more.