A birding walk along the River Lim by Sue Murphy, a local birdwatcher

On one of the last days of September, I followed the River Lim corridor from Lyme Regis to Cannington Lane, Uplyme to see how many birds I could find.  The weather conditions were not too promising, with winds of 28mph gusting 47mph, causing many birds to lay low.

I started at the river mouth where several Feral Pigeons and a Mallard were the only birds. 

Not a very inspiring start!

However, things picked up in Coombe Street where I was surprised to see a Grey Wagtail fly up from the pavement. Checking out the river from the wooden footbridge by the Town Mill, another (or maybe the same!) Grey Wagtail was in its more usual habitat beside the river and I had another sighting  beside the Higher Mill flats. They are stunning birds with their bright yellow underside, and always lovely to see.

Walking along the lane that leads to the sewage works,  I could hear a lot of twittering, which was quite impressive considering the amount of noise being made by both the wind blowing through the trees and the fast flowing river. I could hear Long-tailed Tits, and after a while, managed to find them flitting about high above me in the canopy. It’s always worth checking out a flock as they often contain several species, and I did see at least two Chiffchaffs and a Blue Tit.

I also happened to be looking up as three Canada Geese flew over, visible for only a few seconds between a gap in the trees. Maybe not an exciting species, but it was the first time in 9 years that I’ve seen them whilst walking along the river. 

Crossing from Dorset into Devon on the footbridge by Uplyme Mill, I came across another flock of roving Long-tailed Tits, which this time were accompanied by a Goldcrest and a singing Chiffchaff. A flock of noisy Jackdaws flew past and a Raven ‘cronked’ briefly overhead. 

I’d spent quite a lot of time looking for Dipper along the river, a bird for which the Lim is famous, but they seem to have been keeping a low profile this year. I checked the river from the bridge at the Talbot Arms, the only place I’ve seen one this year back in March although I understand others have spied them down near Jericho.

King George’s Field beside the Uplyme Village Hall revealed several Pied Wagtails, a Herring Gull and a small flock of Goldfinch. Another Grey Wagtail flew over in Cannington Lane. 

So that was my bird walk! I had seen 20 bird species* in one and a half hours which was more than expected in the conditions. 

*Apart from the above, also spotted Carrion Crow, Great Tit, House Sparrow, Magpie, Robin, Wood Pigeon and Wren

Credit Sue Murphy.