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Bowling Green Marsh
Bowling Green Marsh is a nature reserve located on the confluence of the River Exe (at the top end of its estuary) and the River Clyst, near the town of Topsham in Devon. It is managed by the RSPB. Migratory birds including Siberian brent geese, come to the marsh in the winter to feed. It is a major point of interest for birders across South West Britain, with many rare species present at any one time. Other visitors include osprey, wigeon, teal, avocet and black-tailed godwit, and many other waders. Several fish species inhabit the marsh's many pools. Otters have been sighted here, as well. There is a wheelchair-accessible bird hide on the marshes and a viewing platform, reached by steps, with views down the estuary. Occasionally, very rare vagrants, such as Barrow's goldeneye or king eider, stop at the marshes on their migration. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Topsham, Devon
Topsham (, also ) is a town in Devon, England, located on the east side of the River Exe, immediately north of its confluence with the River Clyst and the former's estuary, between Exeter and Exmouth. Topsham is a historic port and was designated a town by a 1300 royal charter granted by Edward I; it was formally amalgamated into the City of Exeter in 1966. The town is served by Topsham railway station, about midway on the branch line from Exeter Central to Exmouth, now called the Avocet Line; 2011 saw the 150th anniversary of the railway coming to Topsham. The electoral ward of Topsham had a population recorded at 5,519 in the 2011 census, though this ward extends further northwest and includes the east half of Countess Wear as well as the new suburb of Newcourt. History The native Celtic settlement of Topsham became the port of the Roman city of Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) in the first century AD, and continued to serve it until the Roman occupation of southern Britain cea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Osprey
The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown on the upperparts and predominantly greyish on the head and underparts. The osprey tolerates a wide variety of habitats, nesting in any location near a body of water providing an adequate food supply. It is found on all continents except Antarctica, although in South America it occurs only as a non-breeding migrant. As its other common names suggest, the osprey's diet consists almost exclusively of fish. It possesses specialised physical characteristics and exhibits unique behaviour to assist in hunting and catching prey. As a result of these unique characteristics, it has been given its own taxonomic genus, ''Pandion'', and family, Pandionidae. Taxonomy The osprey was described by Carl Linnaeus under the name ''Falco haliaeetus'' in his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Broadcasting Corporation
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King Eider
The king eider (pronounced ) (''Somateria spectabilis'') is a large sea duck that breeds along Northern Hemisphere Arctic coasts of northeast Europe, North America and Asia. The birds spend most of the year in coastal marine ecosystems at high latitudes, and migrate to Arctic tundra to breed in June and July. They lay four to seven eggs in a scrape on the ground lined with grass and down. Taxonomy and etymology When he first described the king eider in 1758, in the 10th edition of his opus Systema Naturae, Carl Linnaeus assigned it to the genus ''Anas'', along with the rest of the ducks. In 1819, William Elford Leach moved it and the other large eiders to the genus ''Somateria'', where it has remained since. It is very closely related to the other members of its genus, and is known to hybridise with the common eider. Despite its very large range, it is monotypic. The genus name ''Somateria'' is a combination of the Greek words ''sōma'', meaning "body", and ''erion'', meanin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barrow's Goldeneye
Barrow's goldeneye (''Bucephala islandica'') is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus '' Bucephala'', the goldeneyes. This bird was named after Sir John Barrow. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek ''boukephalos'', "bullheaded", from ''bous'', "bull " and ''kephale'', "head", a reference to the bulbous head shape of the bufflehead. The species name ''islandica'' means Iceland. Taxonomy Barrow's goldeneye was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the ducks, geese and swans in the genus ''Anas'' and coined the binomial name ''Anas islandica''. Gmelin based his description on the "Hravn Oend" that had been briefly described in 1776 by Danish naturalist Otto Friedrich Müller. Barrow's goldeneye is now placed with the common goldeneye and the bufflehead in the genus '' Bucephala'' that was introduced in 1858 by American naturalist Spencer Baird. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bird Hide
A bird hide (blind or bird blind in North America) is a shelter, often camouflaged, that is used to observe wildlife, especially birds, at close quarters. Although hides or hunting blinds were once built chiefly as hunting aids, they are now commonly found in parks and wetlands for the use of birdwatchers, ornithologists and other observers who do not want to disturb wildlife as it is being observed. A typical bird hide resembles a garden shed, with small openings, shutters, or windows built into at least one side to enable observation. However, because birds do not recognize humans as predatory threats unless the human is standing in the open, a bird blind can be little more than a large shed open on one side in which birders stand, and motor vehicles are effective blinds even with the windows open. Variants Types of bird hide include: * tower hides, which have multiple stories and allow observations over large areas. * bird blinds, which are screens similar to one wall of a ty ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black-tailed Godwit
The black-tailed godwit (''Limosa limosa'') is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the godwit genus, ''Limosa''. There are four subspecies, all with orange head, neck and chest in breeding plumage and dull grey-brown winter coloration, and distinctive black and white wingbar at all times. Its breeding range stretches from Iceland through Europe and areas of central Asia. Black-tailed godwits spend (the northern hemisphere) winter in areas as diverse as the Indian subcontinent, Australia, New Zealand, western Europe and west Africa. The species breeds in fens, lake edges, damp meadows, moorlands and bogs and uses estuaries, swamps and floods in (the northern hemisphere) winter; it is more likely to be found inland and on freshwater than the similar bar-tailed godwit. The world population is estimated to be 634,000 to 805,000 birds and is classified as Near Threatened. The black-tailed godwit is the national bird ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pied Avocet
The pied avocet (''Recurvirostra avosetta'') is a large black and white wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae. They breed in temperate Europe and across the Palearctic to Central Asia then on to the Russian Far East. It is a migratory species and most winter in Africa or southern Asia. Some remain to winter in the mildest parts of their range, for example in southern Spain and southern England. The pied avocet is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. Taxonomy The pied avocet was one of the many bird species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', where it was given the binomial name of ''Recurvirostra avosetta''. This species gets its English and scientific names from the Venetian word ''avosetta''. It appeared first in Ulisse Aldrovandi's ''Ornithologia'' (1603). While the name may refer to black and white outfits once wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Teal
The Eurasian teal (''Anas crecca''), common teal, or Eurasian green-winged teal is a common and widespread duck that breeds in temperate Eurosiberia and migrates south in winter. The Eurasian teal is often called simply the teal due to being the only one of these small dabbling ducks in much of its range. The bird gives its name to the blue-green colour teal. It is a highly gregarious duck outside the breeding season and can form large flocks. It is commonly found in sheltered wetlands and feeds on seeds and aquatic invertebrates. The North American green-winged teal (''A. carolinensis'') was formerly (and sometimes is still) considered a subspecies of ''A. crecca''. Taxonomy The Eurasian teal belongs to the "true" teals, a group of small ''Anas'' dabbling ducks closely related to the mallard (''A. platyrhynchos'') and its relatives; that latter group in fact seems to have evolved from a true teal. It forms a superspecies with the green-winged teal and the speckled ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurasian Wigeon
The Eurasian wigeon or European wigeon (''Mareca penelope''), also known as the widgeon or the wigeon, is one of three species of wigeon in the dabbling duck genus ''Mareca''. It is common and widespread within its Palearctic range. Taxonomy The Eurasian wigeon was described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Anas penelope''. ''Anas'' is the Latin word for "duck", and ''penelope'' refers to a duck that was supposed to have rescued Penelope when she was thrown into the sea. Her name derives from Ancient Greek πήνη ''pene'', "braid" and ὤψ ''ops'' "appearance", from the ruse she used to deter suitors while her husband Ulysses was absent. Description This dabbling duck is long with a wingspan, and a weight of . The breeding male has grey flanks and back, with a black rear end, a dark green speculum and a brilliant white patch on upper wings, obvious in flight or at rest. It has a pink breast, white belly, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brent Goose
The brant or brent goose (''Branta bernicla'') is a small goose of the genus '' Branta''. There are three subspecies, all of which winter along temperate-zone sea-coasts and breed on the high-Arctic tundra. The Brent oilfield was named after the species. Description The brant is a small goose with a short, stubby bill. It measures long, across the wings and weighs . The under-tail is pure white, and the tail black and very short (the shortest of any goose). The species is divided into three subspecies: * Dark-bellied brant goose ''B. b. bernicla'' (Linnaeus, 1758) * Pale-bellied brant goose ''B. b. hrota'' ( Müller, 1776) (also known as light-bellied brent goose in Europe, and Atlantic brant in North America) * Black brant goose ''B. b. nigricans'' (Lawrence, 1846) (sometimes also known as the Pacific brant in North America) Some DNA evidence suggests that these forms are genetically distinct; while a split into three separate species has been proposed, it is not wid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is a coastal county with cliffs and sandy beaches. Home to the largest open space in southern England, Dartmoor (), the county is predominately rural and has a relatively low population density for an English county. The county is bordered by Somerset to the north east, Dorset to the east, and Cornwall to the west. The county is split into the non-metropolitan districts of East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge, Torridge, West Devon, Exeter, and the unitary authority areas of Plymouth, and Torbay. Combined as a ceremonial county, Devon's area is and its population is about 1.2 million. Devon derives its name from Dumnonia (the shift from ''m'' to ''v'' is a typical Celtic consonant shift). During the Briti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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