There are various reserves and other places where wildlife can be seen in the local area:-

• Bowling Green and Goosemoor is just 15 minutes’ walk from Topsham station and the Exe Estuary Trail also passes close to it. If you visit at high tide in winter you should see hundreds of birds roosting, including avocet. There is a public hide where ducks and other birds can be seen at any time. There is also a viewing platform overlooking the rivers Clyst and Exe. This is best visited other than at high tide, where feeding waders and wildfowl can be seen on the exposed mudflats.
• Darts Farm is home to a large variety of birds, insects and other wildlife. The RSPB shop is part of a large shopping complex in beautiful farmland, with ponds and wetland areas. A branch off the Exe Estuary Trail brings you out opposite the farm.
• The Old Sludge Beds  and the Exe Reed Beds both lie within the Exe Estuary. The public has access to the Old Sludge Beds from the public path along the Exeter Ship Canal. There is no access to the Exe Reed Beds but there are good views from the Exeter Ship Canal path which can be reached from Topsham station via the ferry across the river – a walk of about one mile.  (Check ferry times before travelling!)  An alternative route is from Marsh Barton station – about two miles.
• Exminster and Powderham Marshes can be reached by going to Topsham and taking the ferry  across the river. Alternatively they can be reached on foot from either Starcross or Marsh Barton stations although it is approximately 2-3 miles.)  These areas are also important high tide refuges for birds in winter, and provide scarce breeding grounds for birds such as lapwing and redshank in summer.
• Matford Marshes on the west side of the Exe, on the outskirts of Exeter and halfway between the city centre and Exminster.This small site, located halfway between Exeter and Exminster, is an excellent place to watch wildfowl and waders. Cyclists, walkers and joggers regularly use the track that leads to it, sharing this quiet reserve with Green and Common Sandpipers, Mallards and Mute Swans.