Taunton to Topsham, American duck waits.

Monday 11th January Light to fresh S Sunny intervals with drizzly showers 7C

Barbara has a whole wall of her dining room devoted to world travel. Coloured flags denote where she has been and white flags are stuck on where her bed & breakfast clients live. She is obviously adventurous as the photographs of her with friends atop various European mountains show. What a great bed & breakfast, Heather Croft Taunton; she deserves a plug.

The day is spent heading south which is mostly along the A38 until I make a mistake and lose it. The next five miles are spent negotiating a country lane with very questionable tarmac. Finding the A38 replacement I reach Exeter and get to the excellent RSPB reserve, Bowling Green at Topsham. Into the hide, the nearest flock of wigeon has my target bird, an male American wigeon. There is also a lone oystercatcher, another new year tick surprisingly late addition.

With light fading fast I head for the platform where one can see the length of the Exe Estuary. It is low tide and amongst a small group of redshank stands a lone spotted redshank.

The Green Year list now stands at 106.

40.25 miles 1798 feet elevation up 1863 feet elevation down