Somerset Wild Walks: Bearded Reedling

Wednesday, 1 November 2017

Somerset Levels - after the Starlings 27/10

After watching the starlings we spent the rest of the day wandering around Ham Wall and then walked over to Shapwick. On the way to the Avalon hide we had a lovely view of group of Roe deer. The Avalon hide itself was a little un productive except for a Pheasant and the usual Coot, Gadwall and a few Wigeon. Bearded Reedlings were seen and heard all around the hide.

The walk past the screens towards the second platform revealed Teal, Lapwings and other duck species. The path from the second platform back to the first platform is a great area for spotting the 'little' birds amongst the trees and undergrowth and here we saw several Goldcrests, Goldfinches, Dunnocks, Jays and a Treecreeper.

At the Tor View hide area we had great views of Bitterns, Marsh Harrier, Kingfishers and a couple of Sparrowhawks. The familiar sound of 'pinging' was heard and it wasn't long before we had closer views of some Beardies. Great to show them to other folk who had never seen Beardies before. Back at the first platform another star of the day showed the Glossy Ibis.

Walking down towards the Scrape on the Shapwick side we had a quick glimpse and fly by of a large group of Cattle Egrets. The Scrape itself is now flooded so no area for any waders. Just a few Tufted, and Gadwall plus a beautiful Great Egret here.

At Noah's hide good numbers of Wigeon and Coot are now assembling. The Kingfisher whizzed by many times and a massive Pike was entertaining us with its hunting skills.

Another brilliant day spent on the Levels all starting with the Starling dawn. 53 species of birds seen and 5 butterfly species Red Admiral, Comma, Painted Lady, Speckled Wood and even a Brimstone.

We really love the Levels!

Roe deer near the Avalon hide

Pheasant from the Avalon Hide

Wading through the water a Great Egret

Juvenile heron

Stalking for prey

Success but not for the frog!

Still hungry

Wigeon numbers starting to build up on the levels

Sunny days and Ivy flowers a magnet for this Red Admiral, one of many seen.

Surprised to see this Painted Lady

Comma

Speckled Wood

Bittern

Great Egret coming into the reeds

Flasher!

Bearded Reedling

Glossy Ibis seen from the first platform

Common Darter

Massive Pike lurking just below the water at Noah's hide

Falcon whiz by, Sparrowhawk or Merlin?

Great Egret, reflective pose

Tuesday, 15 November 2016

Westhay & Greylake 15/11 Beardies to Merlin

The weather forecast wasn't good, dull and overcast with possible rain afternoon. So once again we left in the dark to travel across the Somerset Levels to arrive at Westhay at 07:30. Our main aim was to try and see Otters so we set ourselves up at the Island Hide as we had heard that they had been seen in this area. Unfortunately after a couple of hours we saw no Otters however being based at the Island hide the area didn't disappoint. Bearded Reedlings once again appeared on the boardwalk for their grit, their 'pinging' alerting us to their arrival. From the hide itself we had great views of a Snipe, Water Rail, a couple of Grey Wagtails, Gadwall, Teal, Marsh Harrier, Kestrel, Reed Bunting.

We took a walk to both the Virador and Tower Hides and there was absolutely nothing to be seen. The reeds need to be cut back to form islands and we were surprised to see that they had not been cut.

Next stop Greylake and the cloud was even thicker! Good to see the area start to flood and bringing in more duck species. The highlights had to be spotting a Merlin and watching it 'zoom' across the reeds, a Peregrine hunt and eat its kill, not forgetting the female Marsh Harrier sat still on its post the whole time.

All in all not a bad mornings birding despite the heavy cloud, not too good for photography but the memory of a Merlin whizzing over the reed tops will live with us forever.