I am sure there must be many people who like me are thinking blimey where has the summer gone. As the days start to draw in and the mornings get darker the dew on the ground is heavy and wellingtons are a must for walking across the marsh. However it is not just the dew, the effects of the heavy summer rainfall are still taking their toll. The marshes are particularly wet, and whilst that will help with bringing the water…

On the reserve the month has been dominated by moving animals to attain the correct level of grazing, followed by weed-wiping with low ground pressure machinery, hopefully to be concluded with cutting and removal – conditions permitting. The amount of rush in the fields is now getting to the 10% that is preferred by our wetland wildlife, however the tufted hairgrass is keeping us on our toes as it relishes the wet conditions…

Finally normal service is being resumed and the good old British weather is more akin to what we are used to. Typically our busiest time, July is the beginning of the small window of opportunity that we have to undertake our main grassland management. Surprisingly what is largely a farmed landscape demands a considerable amount of attention to control the less palatable and invasive species. However our enthusiasm has…

I sometimes think Britain wouldn’t be the Britain we love if the weather wasn’t so erratic and of course what would we talk about! But for the management of a nature reserve it does pose its challenges. However against all odds our breeding waders overcame the spring floods and had a very successful season. Breeding waders on the RSPB Exe Estuary reserves have been struggling for many years, this together with holding…

The predator exclusion fence is doing its job and the breeding waders are making good progress. Many nests have now hatched and the grazing animals are back in an attempt to create short turf and poached areas to increase feeding opportunities. Several young are visible and very mobile as they feed on the wet edges and then scurry under the protection of mum’s wing at times of inclement weather. Birds are still sitting…

It has been an unusual May, with a real mix of weather, as the flood water receded and the reserves started to return to the splashy wet grassland typical of this time of year. The high rainfall gave the vegetation either a lush lime green appearance or the flooded brown look which will take a while to recover. The grazing animals returned to the marshes as soon as the conditions allowed, so as not to cause poaching but…

What a difference a month makes, it made me smile when I looked back to read last month’s report, especially the sentence ‘the water starts to recede in front of our eyes’, particularly as I had to pass through several sections of floodwater to get into work today. Exminster and Powderham reserves look more like they do in a typical winter, but more extreme and since I have worked on the reserve I have never seen such…

By the end of the month everyone should be able to say they’ve seen a swallow. Last year the first sightings at Darts Farm were on the 2^nd. Exminster marshes is a great place to visit in spring, most of the trees are still yet to bud, so spotting returning birds is much easier. Willow and Sedge warblers will be in full song come the end of the month along with a rarer relative, the Grasshopper Warbler. On the 1…

Preparations for the coming season continued with the arrival of the cattle back to the marshes meant all estate infrastructure needed to be up together. The warm weather has produced a flush of new growth so we are a few weeks ahead and the cows have returned a little earlier as a result. It is great to welcome them back; I always feel that the marshes look so empty without them. The animals over in Powderham have already…

March must be one of the most exciting months at the Exe Estuary, it is that time of transition when many wintering birds leave and the spring migrants start to arrive and most importantly when the breeding waders begin their display. The recent warn sunny weather makes both us and the birds feel that spring has well and truly arrived, the blossom is in full bloom, the cuckoo flowers peep up through the sward and we see…

Thanks to Pennon Environmental Trust we have been able to continue our work to improve and enhance the visitor experience across the sites. This month saw the installation of a new viewing screen at Exminster Marshes, along the turf path which will enable people to get views into the etland, which previously have not been available.

The screen is located in an area that we are improving for family groups and young…

Thanks to money from Pennon Environmental
Trust the visitor facilities at Exminster Marsh have had an injection of cash.
The money has enabled the RSPB to give the site a facelift, through the installation
of new signs and bicycle racks and in the next week a new viewing screen, which
will greatly enhance the reserve and improve the visitor experience. Located on the National Cycle
Route 2, both Exminster and Matford reserves…

It was a warm and sunny day today on Exminster Marshes and the first signs of spring could be seen on the turf path and the hedgerow running alongside it.

Willow                                                                                        

Blackthorn

Hazel                                                                                          

A primrose

Preparations continue for the arrival of spring, which includes catching up with all the estate work on site, from hanging gates to repairing rails. This is a constant job and we rely heavily on both local and residential volunteers to ensure that the reserves are safe for the arrival of the grazing animals. The wildfowl, particularly the Canada geese and wigeon have provided excellent grazing pressure through the winter…

As I walked along Station Road to do the penultimate winter bird count at Exminster Marshes today, I listened to the explosive song of the Cettis warbler and the simple but proud call of the reed bunting, both enjoying the warm weather. If we threw our forms of communication and time keeping away I am sure we too would be fooled that spring is here. Whilst the reserves still hold excellent numbers of wigeon and curlew…

Conservation is often a very long process where you may not see the results for years. Renovating the hedges on the Powderham Reserve is one of these. Last year we laid about one quarter of the hedges and this year we completed a bit more. As the hedges have not been maintained for a while there are not many trees mature enough to lay. So this year we planted 200 small trees on the hedge banks around one of the fields…

It might be freezing cold on Exminster Marshes in February and you'd be forgiven for thinking it is not cold enough to build an igloo but you'd be wrong. There may be no ice but there is an abundance of willow and last week Gemma, David, Steve, Roy and I built the foundations of a willow igloo which will be transformed into all its glory at the end of the summer by local children and adults.

We were very lucky…

This was a job that has been on the to do list for over a year and finally we've done it. We have generated a lot of brash over the past year or so and it's been building up and up but the other week we actually got around to burning it. We had two fires going and we spent what was a freezing but beautifully sunny day in shirtsleeves feeding the fires.

Ready for the growing season we are now making plans for the arrival of the grazing animals working with the local farmers to ensure that the plans work for them as much as they work for us. After we have undertaken a lot of management work to knock back the invasive species such as rush, the improved grass sward provides them with better grazing as well as hopefully providing improved habitat for our breeding warders…

This time of year on the reserve is an important catch up time as we prepare for spring, which as I write this despite the cold temperatures is only 12 weeks away. Many new signs are being installed together with improvements to visitor facilities such as bicycle racks and repairs to gates and stiles. It is also a busy time for managing hedgerows and maintaining footpaths. The hedges at Powderham are managed particularly…

What a brilliant time of year it is, the reserves are amazing and alive with wetland birds. Every pool and ditch edge are stuffed with whistling wigeon or feeding black tailed godwits, dunlin scurry in between their legs, grey and golden plover give our their soft sad call and there is chance to see the iridescent purple plumage of the glossy ibis stroll across the path in front of you. If you need to be inspired or to…

Here are a few photos that Steve E took whilst hedgelaying at Powderham Reserve last Thursday. They show a very small part of the diverse species that a hedgerow supports. A harvest mouse was also spotted but was far too quick for the photographer to grab a shot. Did you know that the harvest mouse is our smallest rodent and has a prehensile tail.

If you have been down to Bowling Green Marsh reserve Topsham over the last few months you may have noticed that the reserve facilities are looking a lot smarter. Thanks to money from Pennon Environmental Trust the RSPB has been able install new and upgrade existing facilities.

The installation of the new disabled parking space has been very well received and it is excellent to see that it is very well used. There is…

David and I were the only volunteers to turn up last Thursday so we thought we'd tackle a short bit of hawthorn hedge on the Powderham reserve.  

The trees had been been planted some years ago and were now tall enough to lay. They were not planted on a bank so strictly speaking it is not a Devon hedge but we applied the same techniques. It meant working very low to the ground and the most difficult part of the day…

Exe Estuary Reserves are fortunate enough to have accommodation for volunteers. The house in Exminster is constantly inhabited by up to four volunteers. Placements last six months and attract people of all ages from all over the country. The placement provides the opportunity to increase practical conservation skills and bird and other wildlife knowledge. The RSPB also fund the training that is required to work on the reserve…