The Salcombe-Kingsbridge estuary is a unique environment that provides a variety of habitats, attracting many different species of birds.

At high tide, with the creeks full, they are home to resident birds such as cormorants, mute swan and duck such as mallard and shelduck, all of which breed here. In winter, they are joined by great crested and little grebes, goldeneye, red-breasted merganser, an occasional great northern diver and the ducks wigeon, teal and a few pintail. A non-breeding population of herring gull is present throughout the year and these are supplemented in the winter with adult and first-year birds, together with large numbers of black-headed gulls, greater and lesser black-backed gulls and common gulls. Gannets can often be seen diving for fish just beyond The Bar and are best observed from the coastal paths either side of the mouth of the estuary.

The best time to see and hear the bird life of the estuary is as the tide falls and the mud is exposed within the creeks of the upper estuary. The bubbling call of the curlew and its evocative ‘curlew’ can be heard frequently, which, together with the piping of oystercatcher and the alarm call of redshank, make a shore-edge walk a rewarding experience. You will certainly see grey heron and little egrets, which are resident and breed in heronries in woods adjoining the estuary; little egret first bred here in 2002.

Golden plover are returning to the estuary in increasing numbers in the winter months and are best observed in Charleton Bay; also on the mud at that time will be grey plover, dunlin and brent geese. Migrant waders use the estuary during the spring and autumn passage periods to rest and to regain the weight lost during the migration; typical of these are whimbrel, smaller cousin of curlew, also found in Charleton Bay, and common sandpiper. A spectacular bird now seen fishing in most autumns is the osprey, and a wonderful place to see them is from the new wildlife hide, constructed in 2004 partly from local community funding, on the sea wall at the southern end of Charleton Marsh; with windows on each side, it provides an excellent view of Charleton Bay and estuary from one side and the marsh from the other. Access is via the public footpath alongside the marsh. With quiet patience, you could be rewarded with close views of the kingfisher!