Braunton Marshes & North side of Taw Estuary

First cycled around Braunton Marshes anti – clockwise on the inner marsh road.

Now 2 very easily spooked Cattle Egrets (spooked by a noisy motorcycle riding past on the road) in the field with the herd of black cows near Gallowell. 

Continued to the Tarka trail where I met Sue Bruce who arrived at the same time. With scopes deployed we both counted the Knot on the scrape. The Black tailed Godwits started leaving the scrape (not all at once) to fly to their feeding areas on the Taw Estuary (see photo),the Knot a little later, a total of 32.

The numbers of Black – tailed Godwits & Knot on the scrape were similar to the numbers foraging on the north side of the Taw Estuary on a falling tide so these were  were the same birds which were resting on Wrafton scrape around high tide.

At Pottington there were still 3 Curlew Sandpipers foraging with a small number of Dunlin