On 9th October, on an early Autumn day which, for a change, was dry, 16 members of the birding group met up at the new White Bridge car park for a short circular walk around the mouth of the River Otter, and only a year after the river was breached to re-connect it with its flood plain.

The River Otter Estuary covers an area of 33 hectares and, along with the cliffs of Otterton Point, is designated a site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) because of the fine saltmarsh habitat it supports and the adjacent Triassic sandstone rocks which are of considerable paleontological interest.

The Pebblebed Heaths Conservation Trust manages and maintains the estuary, which contains a wide range of saltmarsh communities together with additional areas of reed bed, tall herb and scrub. The area supports high numbers of breeding and overwintering bird species, with over 120 species of bird recorded on the site, including a number of particular conservation interest, especially the whimbrel and black-tailed godwit. We saw neither. But we were lucky enough to see a Great White Egret at the very beginning of the walk and a further 37 species during the walk, including curlews (now sadly listed as Red under the Birds of Conservation Concern), a magnificent grey heron and a mediterranean gull.

Lunch was at The Holt, the bar/restaurant in the new pavilion of the relocated Budleigh Salterton Cricket ground. Worth a visit if only for the superb views of the estuary.