Levels-birder

Birds and other wildlife, mostly in Somerset, UK

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March 31st 2009

Yesterday evening I went with my wife and a friend to North Moor, where we had distant views of two hunting Short-eared Owls; a good first for the year, but too far for any photos. Today, at Meare Heath, part of Shapwick Heath NNR, I saw three more year-firsts: a Little Ringed Plover (my library photo), a Green Sandpiper and a White Wagtail. This small male Adder was also a first, curled up, warming itself in the grass alongside the main track.

 

 

 

March 28th 2009

The Huntspill River, about 100 mtrs up from the sluice: After well over an hour of hide-and-seek (mostly me hiding) I finally managed to fool this Common Scoter into appearing in a small open gap in the 8ft high phragmites reeds fringing the river bank. I didn’t fool it for long, just long enough to fire off a few shots before it quickly swam away. The small patch of orange-yellow on its bill shows that it's a 1st-winter drake, an adult drake would show a much larger colour patch. This is its 3rd day here, and from its demeanour (not flying off) I guess it’s storm-blown and very tired, or possibly a sickly bird?

 

 

March 25th 2009

My first birding (due to a rotten cold!) since my last diary entry; I went to Cheddar Reservoir and braved the strong wind to walk half-way round to where two Little Gulls, a 1st-winter and a winter-plumage adult, were feeding with some 20 Black-headed Gulls. Eventually, after a little patience, the adult Little Gull came in close enough for me to take these photos.

 

 

 

 

March 17th 2009

Almost a catastrophe for breeding birds at Shapwick: Early this afternoon, scrub-clearing and burning by contractors at Shapwick Heath NNR got out of control and fire quickly spread to 70 Acres reedbed, destroying about half of it. The fire – pictured below – was attended by five fire appliances, a fire control-centre vehicle and an ambulance car. Luckily, the nesting season for reed-dwelling birds is several weeks away and the phragmites should eventually re-establish themselves with new growth.

 

 

 

While the fire raged, I crossed the bridge over the South Drain to Meare Heath hide. It was fairly quite except for this adult Grey Heron that was stalking the near margin of the pool. Eventually it caught and ate two very small fish and then flew to a very shallow reedy area. Here it stood, unmoving, for several minutes then suddenly ran five metres and stopped, peering intently in front. A long pause and then it plunged its bill downward and came up with a small prey item covered in bits of weed.

 

 

 

Enlarging part of this photo (below), I could see it had caught a small newt. What amazed me was that among all the reedy debris in the shallow water it had noticed this small amphibian from five metres away, while through 8x binoculars I couldn’t even make out what it was!

 

 

March 15th 2009

Yesterday afternoon I went to Shapwick Heath NNR where a drake Garganey had been seen in the morning, sleeping in front of Meare Heath hide. No luck with the Garganey (an early returning summer visitor from West Africa), but I did see about 200 Sand Martins and also got these flight-shots of a Little Egret, against the pale-brown hues of the reed background, as it flew fairly close to the hide.

 

 

 

This morning, having failed here on the 13th (a bad date!), I returned with Kay and two birding friends to the large grass-fields alongside the main A358 road at Halsway Manor near Williton. This time success! We saw the first-winter Iceland Gull before the car had come to a halt. And although it looked good through a ‘scope it was very distant (150 metres) for my camera lens, so I was surprised to even get these much-enlarged photos that show its white primaries and long folded wing-point.

 

 

 

Later, in the afternoon, on a walk through the wooded valley of Bin Combe on the Quantocks we heard all three species of woodpecker drumming: Green, Great Spotted and Lesser Spotted, but couldn’t manage to find the as ever elusive lesser.

 

 

March 11th 2009

 

I spent this morning birding, not too far from home. My first stop was at Sharpham, just a 10 minute drive from my house, where a flock of 22 Little Egrets was feeding around the longhorn cattle, and nearby was the same family group of 6 Whooper Swans, together with the extra adult bird, that I last photographed here in early-January. The 4 juveniles, now in their 2nd calendar-year, showing varying amounts of yellow on their bills but still separable from the adults by bill colour and plumage.

 

 

 

 

Later, my short stroll around Westhay Moor saw a pair of Ravens at their nigh impregnable nest – high-up on a high-voltage electricity pylon; also 3 Goosander and a small flock of Siskins among other commoner birds, and this male Reed Bunting that was particularly confiding as it fed on the main track.

 

 

 

March 8th 2009

Yesterday morning found me back on the Quantocks, where I was lucky to find a Red Kite (my second of the year in the County) flying slowly SW over Triscombe Stone and Wills Neck; also 3 Ravens and, surprisingly, a high flying Curlew. A brief stop at Hawkridge Reservoir failed to turn up a Mandarin Duck, but I did grab this photo of a Carrion Crow – normally too wary to allow close approach – and one of the breeding plumage Great Crested Grebes with its crest raised.

 

 

 

This morning I was birding in the east of the County, where on a fast flowing river I had a good view of a pair of Dippers and despite the rather gloomy light managed to take this photo of one of them.

 

 

 

March 6th 2009

This morning I went with fellow birder Ash Warne to look for the Great Grey Shrike that has been present on Wilmersham Common, Exmoor for most of this winter. Shrikes are always good to see and for once I struck lucky and saw it almost immediately! It looked good through my ‘scope but was a bit distant for the camera as this photo shows. Apart from 6 Ravens and a few Buzzards it was fairly quite.

 

 

Later, in the afternoon, a walk through part of Horner Wood didn’t turn up a hoped for Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, but these crocuses were a pretty sight and this tame Christmas Card Robin almost begged to have his photo taken as he sang his cheerful song to us.

 

 

 

Later still, on our return drive, a quick stop at Dunster Beach turned up a nice summer plumaged Mediterranean Gull that gave good 'scope views among the distant gulls loafing along the tide-line.

 

March 4th 2009

Taking advantage this morning of a couple of hours of broken sunshine before the forecast grotty weather arrived I paid a visit to woodland in the west of the County to search for hawks, but not a sign, just two pairs of displaying Ravens, at least 10 displaying and soaring Buzzards and a single adult male Peregrine. On my return journey, I stopped off at Hawkridge Reservoir for a picnic lunch, but still couldn’t find a Mandarin Duck, elusive or what! My third attempt here this year. I did see a drake Goosander, 5 pairs of Great Crested Grebes, and this adult winter Common Gull was one of three coming to bread with the local Mallards, one of which I photographed – he looked so smart with his curly-whirly tertials in full breeding plumage.

 

 

After lunch, I called in at Greylake RSPB Reserve (not far from home) and was rewarded with a ring-tail Hen Harrier (probably a juvenile in worn plumage) that was scattering large flocks of dabbling ducks and 100+ Snipe as it quartered low over the wetland; also a fine immature Merlin that flew in and sat on a distant gate-post before trying, unsuccessfully, to catch one of the Snipe, although it did create some mayhem among them in the process. Distant photos of both these raptors.

 

 

 

The now regular flock of c.1500 Golden plover were present, as was the flock of c.30 Black-tailed Godwits and c.50 Dunlin, plus 4 Curlew and single Redshank. Some of the duck were feeding close to the hide, allowing me to take these photos of a drake Shoveler (my favourite dabbler) and a drake Wigeon, and also this running Moorhen and one of the 10 or so Little Egrets that are regular here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 1st 2009

I called on a birding friend, John Hansford, this afternoon and spent an hour-or-so with him looking for finches around the feeders in his neighbour's back garden at Coleford and also in a nearby stand of tall trees. My target was Brambling, of which I saw six and although they kept high-up in a tall bare tree I managed these photos of two males and a female.

 

 

 

 

I photographed this male Chaffinch to show how different it is compared to a Brambling, and also this singing Goldfinch and male Greenfinch. More than a dozen Siskins kept flying in and out of the trees, but always on the opposite side from me, and because the feeders were now practically empty (they were full early morning) they didn’t hang around for long. Thanks John, it made a nice change from wetland birds, to be able to easily watch a good selection of finches.