At last, six months after looming ominously into view, the MSC Napoli is afloat once again. At the time of writing it is not known if she will be able to float off to whence she came, but it is certainly a step in the right direction.
From Exmouth, the impact of the Napoli has been minimal. We had a little flotsam jettisoned onto the beach in the early days, way back in March, but there was no visual impact and fortunately no significant amount of oil came our way either. However, venture round a couple of headlands and the sinister presence of the hulk was an inescapable reminder that there are vessels afloat in our seas that shouldn't be.
There were calls for inquests, heads on sticks and explanations of why a World Heritage Site was chosen as her temporary (let’s be positive) resting place. But the truth is that way before the January storms which forced her ashore, permission should not have been granted for the Napoli to so much as leave dock. In so many ways we were incredibly fortunate.
Firstly we experienced a period of extended fine weather, anecdotally unprecedented in a 'normal' February. And secondly, once the dregs of humanity were barred from scavenging the beaches, the impact of errant cargo was dealt with extremely quickly by the ships on-shore contractors.
Some 700 volunteers put their name forward to help in the aftermath, but in reality such was the scale of the litter from Napoli, that it was the efforts of the teams of contractors which meant that East Devon's beaches remained clear of rubbish for all but the fleetest of moments. My hat goes off to them.
So she's up; hopefully there is no reason not to attempt a tow to dry dock for decommissioning, especially as she is now empty of cargo and dangerous fuel oil. As much as she has become a feature of the maritime view, I for one will not miss her for a moment, and can't wait to see only passing pelagic seabirds once again.
Speaking of marine litter, the Exmouth Local Nature Reserve got its second late spring clean of the year a couple of weeks ago, and, thanks to our unseasonal weather, this was carried out in ludicrously spring-like conditions.
You may have read about the valiant attempts by the Exmouth Guides and Friends of Exmouth Local Nature Reserve to rescue litter from the estuary sand and mud. We were thwarted by an unpredicted high tide which made our going rather dangerous.
Well, the Exe Wildfowlers Association would seem to be made from tougher stuff, and they braved not quite hell and high-water to remove an entire skip full of weird and wonderful stuff. The normal collection of tyres, traffic cones and timber was this year accompanied by bags of broken glass, a traffic barrier and a child's bicycle. As you can see from the accompanying photo, they braved a real hoolie to recover this junk, and the estuary is a better place for it.
Just in time too, as the winter* birds are already on their way back, and this week I would advise you all to go for a wander up the estuary-side and see what you can see.
Black-tailed godwits have already been seen feeding on the estuary mud, resplendent in their summer breeding plumage. It is a magnificent sight to see, a blaze of orangey-red chest and head, with bronzed wing feathers flowing across their backs. However, it is a slightly troubling sight also. The early return of birds from their breeding grounds normally suggests a poor breeding season, with the failed breeders cutting their losses and making their way home. There are no statistics yet published to bear this out, but I will be interested to see breeding figures once they are produced.
One way you can tell how well or otherwise some of our most important winter birds have done in the summer months is to count returning brent geese. They will not appear in any number (with luck) for a couple more months, but this seems as good an opportunity to tell you as any.
When the first dark-bellied brents start arriving back in a month or two, look for the individuals that lack the reverse 'dog-collar' on their necks - a pale stripe running around the back of their neck. The juvenile geese lack this marking, and it is a useful way to estimate a rough figure of breeding success. An interesting bit of local knowledge that pertains to the Northern Siberian wetlands!
As well as returning winter birds, migration is getting under way for the species that only linger for a few days in our estuary. Osprey have already been seen from Exton station, a couple (not necessarily a pair) being the peak number so far.
Many people do not appreciate that these amazing birds can be seen in our local area, but the Exe is one of the best places to see ospreys on migration. I remember the first osprey I saw in East Devon. I was amazed by how small it looked, and at distance how difficult it was to distinguish from the gulls.
Rather than scan the sky aimlessly for a long-winged silhouette, you need to look for their effects on the local birdlife. Gulls in particular will go ballistic when an osprey is moving through. Look for clouds of gulls making a racket - even more so than usual - and scan below this gaggle. With any luck your osprey will be there, trying its best to meander nonchalantly down-stream in search of a fishy meal.
It always baffles me how much of a commotion amongst birds a fish-eating bird of prey can cause but, if natural history was easy to interpret, it wouldn't be half so intoxicating!
* Still July and I've already printed the word 'winter' to depress us all.