Levels-birder

June 30th 2009

With Kay comfortably watching her TV soaps, I managed to get out birding this evening for an hour-or-so, to Walton Heath – my local patch. The male Little Bittern was still present and persistently calling. I was told that the previous evening, as night started to fall, he was seen doing a circling display flight on fairly stiff, butterfly like wing-beats. I watched a Sparrowhawk carrying prey into a nearby copse, and saw two broods of Pochard and one of Tufted Duck, then my attention was caught by this fishing juvenile Grey Heron. As I watched, it caught several small fish – nothing unusual in that – then suddenly dived headlong from its fishing-raft into the lake, almost completely disappearing, to come up looking slightly incongruous with several strands of weed over its head. In eighteen years of watching herons pretty much continuously on the Avalon Marshes I’ve seen them fishing normally many times and watched them swim across deep water, almost looking like some sort of pelican, but this is the first time I’ve seen one take a header!

 

 

 

 

 

June 15th 2009

Good news this afternoon: tomorrow my wife comes out of hospital to start 6-weeks convalescence at home. As this will be my last bird outing for perhaps a little while, I spent the evening at Loxtons’ Marsh and Walton Heath, part of Ham Wall RSPB. It had just finished drizzling with rain as I approached the eastern viewing-platform, to see a largish, dark, blackish-brown raptor flying slowly away from me. Although I had a suspicion, on my brief view I was unable to satisfactorily identify it. Luckily, very luckily, it re-appeared in full view about 20 minutes later (at 19:40), flying slowly past me going westwards over Loxton’s Marsh and then Walton Heath. It was a pretty obvious Black Kite, my first in Somerset (hoorah!) and only my second in Britain, although I’ve seen many 100s abroad, both in Europe and in Africa. With two Bitterns booming away and four sight views, plus seeing the male Little Bittern in flight, the evening had a distinct Southern Spanish feel to it. I also saw two Hobbies, two Cuckoos, and a hunting Barn Owl to finish this special day!

I’ve recently noticed that Bitterns can sometimes be seen in the late evening, perched up in full view on any of several small twiggy-willows pushing out of the reed-beds on the reserve (as these photos show) so they must be well worth looking out for.

 

 

 

 

 

June 13th 2009

Since my last diary entry I’ve been birding most days (in between hospital visiting) on Shapwick Heath NNR and adjacent Ham Wall RSPB Reserve. On the 9th a flock of 51 feeding Black Tailed Godwits, some in fine summer plumage, on Meare Heath shallow pool was a good sight. This dead Mole was found lying on the grassy edge of the track and maybe it had been killed and dropped by a predator? Barn Owls hunt the area, but I was shown this one at a nest-box in an open-sided barn, easily viewable from a public road without getting out of my car and causing any disturbance.

 

 

 

 

I also saw 24 Hobbies catching insects high over Noah’s Lake, where a Common Tern was the first I’ve seen here this spring. I’ve heard the male Little Bittern calling on most days and had the occasional sighting – mostly in flight, but twice briefly perched on the reeds. I’ve also had many Bittern sightings and finally managed to be in the right place to get these flight-shots – easily my best yet!

 

 

 

 

 

June 8th 2009

It’s been all about bitterns in the past two days! On the evening of the 6th, a birding friend found a male Little Bittern at Walton Heath, part of Ham Wall RSPB Reserve. I saw it here the next morning (yesterday) when it made four flights over the reeds and very briefly perched before disappearing from view. I also had six flight views of four different Bitterns and managed these distant photos of one bird standing among the reeds.

 

Original, uncropped photo - Bittern in the centre, neck and bill held vertically

 

 

two, heavily cropped enlargements taken from the same distance

 

Today, I made two further visits to hopefully photograph the male Little Bittern. I had two flight views in the morning, and then in the afternoon on Loxton’s Marsh I hit the jackpot, when after a period of constant calling it suddenly climbed up the reed-stems directly in front of where I was standing only about 30 metres away. It clung on to the reed-tops for almost two minutes before making a short flight to another part of the marsh.

 

 

While waiting I also had two flight views of the same Bittern and saw 2 Cuckoos and a Hobby. Nearby, on Street Heath shallow lake, a summer plumage Black Tern was a good sighting as it flew slowly back-and-forth catching insects.

 

June 6th 2009

Yesterday evening, on the way home from hospital visiting, I decided to try a stop-and-listen search for Quail in a huge area of rough grassland on the Somerset Levels. After half-an-hour, at 21:00 hours, I struck lucky and heard the insistent, repeated, ‘wet-me-lips’ whistled song of a fairly close male. This morning and early-afternoon found me at Bin Combe on the Quantock Hills. Here, among the many leafy oaks, I found my target birds, though it was difficult to get any good photos because of the heavily shaded dappled-light which meant a slow shutter-speed, This pair of Common Redstarts (bright-looking male first) was feeding young at their tree-hole nest...

 

 

 

 

… and this Wood Warbler was one of two that I saw, and also listened to their delightful trilling song. I was fortunate to find a pair of Pied Flycatchers, plus another male, and also a Spotted Flycatcher; the later bringing my yearly bird-total to 198 species.

 

 

 

June 2nd 2009

With my poor wife back in hospital yet again, after afternoon visiting I was able to get out for some evening birding. At Shapwick Heath NNR, on the partially drained Meare Heath pool, this Wood Sandpiper (distant record-shots) was an unexpected springtime addition to my year list, and I also watched a Bittern make a long flight over the reeds. Later, as the fine sunny day turned into a clear, moon-lit dusk, I was at a regular site on the Mendip Hills for Nightjars, and I wasn’t disappointed getting good flight-views of two churring males and at least 1 female, and also a brief but close view of one perched male – magical birds at a magical time of day!