Spot the Spoon and Sniff the Spraint

On Tuesday I paid a visit to local RSPB reserve Exminster Marshes to meet with the Site Manager, Sally Mills, to talk about some volunteering opportunities.

There were reports of a Bittern on the reserve first thing, so I was going to have to keep my eye out for that.

It was a wet day but I decided to bus-it into Exeter and walk down the river to the RSPB office.

I arrived at Countess Wear at lunchtime, munching on a soggy sandwich as I walked down to the canal. To pass the time I first decided to walk up towards Double Locks. I was investigating various mammal droppings along the way, and it wasn't until my return walk that I finally managed to positively ID some otter spraints on the verge.

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I was getting fairly wet by this point, but was committed to the walk! I crossed the main road and headed down the canal. I passed many fishermen under their cosy tents and giant umbrellas, getting a few odd looks - my hair was dripping wet by then! Even the M5 motorway bridge didn't provide any respite from the rain, as it was coming in sideways! My jeans had turned from a pale blue to a damp shade of navy, the rain was somehow getting around the umbrella and into my hood, but at least my feet were dry and cosy in my wellies!

I heard my first Cetti's Warbler as I neared the reserve (at least someone was undeterred by the appalling weather!) and saw plenty of Grey Herons, but no sign of the Bittern. I walked down Station Road to the RSPB office, where I was warmly welcomed by the staff, a heater, and a cup of tea!

We chatted about the project, designed to place volunteers at the Turf pub to represent the RSPB and talk to visitors about the work being done, the wildlife and the history of the Exe Estuary. They seemed very keen to get somebody with bird knowledge on the team, so I felt especially welcome on the project!

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I asked about the Bittern, which hadn't been seen since that morning when one of the staff flushed it from a roadside ditch. But there had been an unconfirmed report of a Spoonbill from a member of the public, and a female otter with two cubs had been seen the day before. Sally and I walked out onto the reserve and stood on the path with our backs to the canal, scanning the scrapes for our quarry. There were no signs off otter or Bittern, but plenty of ducks - Pintail, Shoveler, Wigeon, Teal and a few Black-tailed Godwits feeding out on the grass. A Cetti's was called at us, and I spotted my first Chiffchaff of the year in the scrub.

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Its a great time of year to be spotting the migrants returning - only last week, while undertaking the otter survey at Stover, I spotted my first (and the Park's first!) Sand Martin, later there were four over the lake.

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As we were returning to the office (I was beginning to get pretty chilly as the wind was getting up) we noticed a white bird in the field and simultaneously raised our binoculars. It had its head tucked under it's wing, so we could not confirm its identity, but the shape looked just right for a Spoonbill! It was too big for a little egret, and we could just make out its steeply sloping forehead. After about 10 minutes of watching and waiting, it briefly rose to preen - that beak is unmistakable! Though we did wonder how it manages to preen with a beak the shape of a spoon!

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The bird went straight back to sleep - typical! We returned to the office for another cuppa, one last warm-up before braving the journey home. I was kindly offered a (much appreciated) lift back to the bus stop, and spotted a small, dark, low-flying raptor sneak across the road and over a field - could have been a Merlin, but didn't get a good enough look to confirm! I returned home to a hot shower, then a nice Devon Mammal Group talk on the Deer Initiative (accompanied by a much needed gin and tonic!)

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I'm looking forward to a dryer day on Sunday when all the recruited volunteers will meet on the reserve to work out logistics and rotas for the project - and have a nice lunch down at the Turf.

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Exminster Marshes