9th March 2018
After a number of days of showers and rain the day was mostly cloudy with a gentle breeze. There were 13 members at the field meeting which started at the Holman Way car park. From the car park the first stop was the Quay at Topsham for views from the over the river. This was followed by a slow walk from Quay car park, along the Strand to the Goatwalk to the hide at Bowling Green for the high tide roost . The water levels on the marsh in front of the hide were higher than expected as the sluice had become defective. This did not stop the group enjoying good views of a large flock of Avocet, over 15 snipe and distance views of a kingfisher. By early afternoon the rain had set in for the day so after lunch in the hide the group walked towards Goosemoor, where the rain shortened the meeting as we all agreed that we should call it a day.
Although the weather was not enjoyable the birding we all agreed was very good with a total of 57 species observed.
John O’Connell – Davidson
- Mute Swan
- Brent Goose
- Canada Goose
- Shelduck
- Wigeon
- Mallard
- Pintail
- Shoveler
- Teal
- Pochard
- Tufted Duck
- Red-breasted Merganser
- Little Grebe
- Cormorant
- Little Egret
- Grey Heron
- Peregrine
- Moorhen
- Coot
- Avocet
- Grey Plover
- Lapwing
- Dunlin
- Green Sandpiper
- Redshank
- Greenshank
- Black-tailed Godwit
- Bar-tailed Godwit
- Curlew
- Snipe
- Common Gull
- Herring Gull
- Great Black-backed Gull
- Lesser Black-backed Gull
- Black-headed Gull
- Feral Pigeon
- Wood Pigeon
- Collared Dove
- Kingfisher
- Pied Wagtail
- Dunnock
- Robin
- Redwing
- Fieldfare
- Blackbird
- Wren (heard)
- Great Tit
- Blue Tit
- Long-tailed Tit
- Magpie
- Jackdaw
- Carrion Crow
- Starling
- House Sparrow
- Chaffinch
- Goldfinch
- Greenfinch
