As a keen bird-watcher I am lucky to live on the Somerset Levels where the young cranes of The Great Crane Project were recently released. However, I am drawn to Exmoor for the sharp contrast of landscape and different type of birds and wildlife and I have taken the hour and a half drive over the years and never felt disappointed. The journey down takes me over the Quantocks always a pleasure to see the landscape of Exmoor approaching.

The White Horse Inn is my base whether to stay or on a day visit and a lunchtime or evening Carvery is a welcome time to organise or reflect upon my day and pick up any local knowledge of recent news and sightings.

My last visit was on a beautiful Sunday the 24th October. I drove over the Dunkery road from Wheddon Cross to Porlock noting that a herd of deer I like to watch were in a field across Easter Hill at Cloutsham. On my way back across to Exford for lunch and passing the Magnificent 7 trees near Horner I checked the deer which had moved up to the hill near Sweetworthy Combe. After lunch I walked up to Dunkery Beacon to get a closer view of the deer and had a lucky sighting of a male Wheatear just off the road. A handsome chap darting amongst the heather and back on a low fence post long enough for me to get a picture. Who knows he might have stopped off en route from Greenland to Africa.

At the Beacon with telescope and camera loaded I managed to get some shots of the deer very much in the same place, mostly hinds and a few young stags. I thought how good they looked in the sunshine and took heart that some may carry the genes of The Emporer.  There was a walker in the background facing away which I hadn’t noticed at the time but the deer obviously had.

NuthatchesI have been pleasantly surprised on most of my walks in and around Exford.  Whilst hoping to see Dippers walking along the River Exe towards Court Farm I came across a family of Nuthatches with adults feeding young.  Another occasion on the Porlock road out of Exford I had to stop whilst a number of Red Legged Partridges caused a road-block and one in particular gave a lovely view beside me on a fence post long enough to set up the camera.

Looking forward to my next visit and recalling my previous.

By Sherryl Woods

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