It was a trip over the bridge today, as the damp dark weather early on saw us skip a visit to Goldcliffe and head over to Barrow Gurney, Chew and Shapwick.
1st up, Barrow Gurney and it didn't take long for the Great Northern and Black-throated Divers to be located, with a bonus year tick in the shape of a single Meadow Pipit. Across the road and the Long-tailed Duck, in the resplendent adult male winter plumage soon followed, along with a bonus Common Sandpiper.
Next up, Chew, a site none of had been to for a number of years. A quick stop at the causeway resulted in a number of year ticks coming Rob's way. Star birds of the south side were a female Pintail and a group of 9 Snipe that flew round a couple of times before settling.
Across the road and it didn't take long to locate the Black-necked Grebe, which gave great, if somewhat distant, views. A couple of Great White Egrets were also noted, before a Kingfisher showed briefly. Up to Heron's Green and a single Goosander was the only addition to the day's burgeoning list. 6 Great White Egrets were noted, probably different birds to the two seen from the causeway. It's amazing just how numerous this species has become in the past few years.
Next up was Shapwick/Ham Wall. As we arrived there were a couple of birder in the road loking for the Firecrests that have been reported recently. It took about 20 minutes, but eventually we all had great looks at this great looking little bird. Making our way into the Ham Wall reserve, a small tit flock produced a Chiffchaff. From the first view point several snipe showed well along with a good size flock of Lapwing, along with the rafts of duck. A total of 9 Great White Egrets were located in one reed bed, along with a single Grey Heron.
Making our way to the Avalon hide, Martin Bevan quickly located the wintering Yellow-browed Warbler which proceeded to show well for the next few minutes. From the hide, up to 4 Marsh Harriers were seen in the air at any one time, with at least 5 different birds being noted. A Water Rail showed briefly,a relief after hearing several both here and at Chew.
Heading back out, we eventually located the female Scaup before making our way, across the road, to Shapwick Heath. Another Marsh Harrier was the first decent bird, before a brief Bittern was picked up by Bevan, quickly followed by a fly over Peregrine. At Noah's Lake we were greeted by a lake covered in wildfowl. Whilst we couldn't locate the 2 Whooper Swans that had been seen earlier today, a pair of Egyptian Geese were located on the roof of the old tin shed that sits out in the middle of the mere/lake.
We finished the day watching the natural spectacular of over 500,000 starlings coming into roost as Ham Wall. Whilst they didn't put on a vintage murmeration, the size of the spectacle was impressive. Whilst we don't normally like to see to many people around, the crowd that had traveled to watch this show was equally spectacular and it was great to see not just your children but also some teenagers awed by the sheer scale and beauty of the show.
1st up, Barrow Gurney and it didn't take long for the Great Northern and Black-throated Divers to be located, with a bonus year tick in the shape of a single Meadow Pipit. Across the road and the Long-tailed Duck, in the resplendent adult male winter plumage soon followed, along with a bonus Common Sandpiper.
Next up, Chew, a site none of had been to for a number of years. A quick stop at the causeway resulted in a number of year ticks coming Rob's way. Star birds of the south side were a female Pintail and a group of 9 Snipe that flew round a couple of times before settling.
Across the road and it didn't take long to locate the Black-necked Grebe, which gave great, if somewhat distant, views. A couple of Great White Egrets were also noted, before a Kingfisher showed briefly. Up to Heron's Green and a single Goosander was the only addition to the day's burgeoning list. 6 Great White Egrets were noted, probably different birds to the two seen from the causeway. It's amazing just how numerous this species has become in the past few years.
Next up was Shapwick/Ham Wall. As we arrived there were a couple of birder in the road loking for the Firecrests that have been reported recently. It took about 20 minutes, but eventually we all had great looks at this great looking little bird. Making our way into the Ham Wall reserve, a small tit flock produced a Chiffchaff. From the first view point several snipe showed well along with a good size flock of Lapwing, along with the rafts of duck. A total of 9 Great White Egrets were located in one reed bed, along with a single Grey Heron.
Making our way to the Avalon hide, Martin Bevan quickly located the wintering Yellow-browed Warbler which proceeded to show well for the next few minutes. From the hide, up to 4 Marsh Harriers were seen in the air at any one time, with at least 5 different birds being noted. A Water Rail showed briefly,a relief after hearing several both here and at Chew.
Heading back out, we eventually located the female Scaup before making our way, across the road, to Shapwick Heath. Another Marsh Harrier was the first decent bird, before a brief Bittern was picked up by Bevan, quickly followed by a fly over Peregrine. At Noah's Lake we were greeted by a lake covered in wildfowl. Whilst we couldn't locate the 2 Whooper Swans that had been seen earlier today, a pair of Egyptian Geese were located on the roof of the old tin shed that sits out in the middle of the mere/lake.
We finished the day watching the natural spectacular of over 500,000 starlings coming into roost as Ham Wall. Whilst they didn't put on a vintage murmeration, the size of the spectacle was impressive. Whilst we don't normally like to see to many people around, the crowd that had traveled to watch this show was equally spectacular and it was great to see not just your children but also some teenagers awed by the sheer scale and beauty of the show.
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