Hi there! This is my first blog after two months of volunteering in Exe Estuary Reserve. Before I was volunteering with the Ulster Wildlife in Northern Ireland and it was there that started my passion for ornithology. I thought this would be a great opportunity to improve bird identification skills and knowledge about their habitat, so far I’ve really enjoy my work and learnt a lot of things about wetland area management and its wildlife.
This week we’ve maintained predator fencing around parts of the reserves and started some fires to burn woody waste material.
Last Thursday we had a RSPB South-West England Christmas meeting. It was a good occasion to meet other RSPB volunteers and staff with the opportunity to discover the goals and achievements for this year.
Furthermore, this week we carried out our November wetland bird count and passerine survey. Friday was the Powderham passerine survey and the good news is we spotted an amazing Barn Owl and also some juvenile male and female Cirl Bunting. This means that the great work that RSPB is making happen to protect this lovely Bunting in the South-West begins to give the first positive result.
Cold and wet weather is perfect for our waders and so we’ve spotted hundreds of Lapwings, Dunlins, Bar and Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank the beautiful ducks Wigeon, Teal and Shoveler and the fantastic Canada and Brent Geese.
If you love bird watching this is the best time to see plenty of wetland birds all around Exe Estuary Reserve, but don’t forget to put your wellies on!
Ezechiele Squarcina
Good to read that the Cirl Bunting are still present and that the Barn Owl is still in the area