SHARPHAM PARK - NOAH'S LAKE (SHAPWICK HEATH) - RSPB GREYLAKE - BURROW MUMP - RIVER PARRATT (STAITH) - RSPB SWELL WOODS (CURRY RIVAL)
WEATHER; cloudy with a lot of sunshine, no wind what-so-ever, still very cold.
The morning sky at sunrise was absolutely gorgeous, bright peach fading into pink and then magenta, the Glastonbury Tor looked magical in the foreground. We had a great day and listed just under 70 species.
sunrise over the Levels
We left the Guest House at 8am and drove directly to Sharpham Park, which has a small pool with reedbed fringes and open meadows nearby. We were after seeing three White-fronted Geese that had been reported yesterday. The pool was covered with geese, mostly Greylag, with a few Canada Geese. We found the three White-fronted Geese partially hidden at the back of the flock. After a short while all geese flew off and landed in the nearby grass meadow where, after moving a hundred meters, we had good scope views of the W F Geese in the field.
if you look under the left-hand wing of the right bird in flight, you will see one of the White-fronted Geese
another shot of a White Fronted Goose
In the adjoining meadow we found six Little Egrets and then a small flock of Cattle Egrets flew over, in a ditch near the pool we saw Great Egret, Grey Heron and on the main pool there was a quite a few Tufted Ducks. As we got ready to leave Lorna spotted another group of about 12 Cattle Egrets in flight. Along the lane not far Sharpham Park we found more Cattle Egrets (50+) in a field with sheep.
Greylags with another shot of the W F Geese
We were well pleased with our start to the day even though it was in sub-zero temperatures, the light improved dramatically as we drove round to Ham Wall. After a quick cuppa in the car park (where we saw Great Spotted Woodpecker and two Reed Buntings) we walked to Noah's Lake on Shapwick Heath. Very few birds were seen during the walk, fly-over birds included: Cormorant, Marsh Harrier Redwing, Great Egret and small groups of ducks.
The pool at Meare Heath was almost completely frozen over, a small patch of water held Wigeon, Gadwall, Shoveler, Mallards and Tufted Ducks. The strip of woodland that follows the footpath to the raised hide was also devoid of birds. A Treecreeper near the hide was our highlight.
From the hide we had a wide panoramic view of Noah's Lake, the fringes were frozen but the main body of the water was ice-free and aboslutely covered in birds. Thousands of ducks, with Great Crested Grebes, Gulls, Cormorants, Geese and Swans. It was swans that drew our interest and attention, we scanned the swans for Whooper Swans and found one! There was supposed to be three but one was all we saw.
a Whooper Swan with a Mute Swan for size comparison (more or less the same size)
Sifting through the ducks we found a single female Goldeneye and then I came across a RING-NECKED DUCK!! I had missed this species on several previous visits, unfortunately this rare duck swam out of sight before I could get the others onto it! It never re-appeared whilst we were there. The exquisite light enhanced the colours of the winter ducks, the whole lake was a birder's dream. A Kingfisher dashed past the hide as we sat there and Great Egrets popped into view in several places including the top of a dead tree.
Next we drove around to the Avalon Visitor's Centre where we ate our lunch and drank more hot drinks, we notched Pied Wagtail, a few Redwings and House Sparrows.
Greylake was next on the itinerary, the whole area was frozen over, there wasn't a single duck in sight from the hide but we had a fantastic hour-long visit watching several coveted species.
Greylake Marsh, devoid of birds, taken from the Tree Top Hide
One piece of excitement was that of a Grey Heron catching a water vole! Before he had a chance to eat it, two Crows tried to steal it and whilst they distracted the Heron a Buzzard flew in and nicked the vole!
Looking perplexed! The robbed Grey Heron, precariously standing on the ice
We had extremely good views of a Cetti's Warbler that worked its way through the reeds right in front of the hide, at least three Water Rails walked around very close to us, they slipped on the ice a few times. A Merlin was the best bird of the visit, we saw it perched several times, but it was distant. A gang of Bearded Tits called from behind the hide but they never showed themselves and we picked out a few Common Snipe on the peaty soil around the reedbeds.
well camouflaged Common Snipe
a record shot of the Merlin
Flocks of Lapwing spread across the fields, seen from the car park as we left the site. Our stop at Burrow Mump was brief but rewarding. We quickly found a group of 20+ Common Cranes, boy were they distant, but unmistakeable.
Water rail seen at Greylake
At the River Parratt in Staith we scanned the moor and hedgerows for very little reward. Lapwings, Egrets, Geese, Cormorants and only a few small common passerines.
Our visit to Swell Woods was also very short, but that was because we saw our three target birds within minutes of our arrival, in fact, we never got out of the vehicle. Nuthatch, Coal Tit and Marsh Tit were in the bag within two minutes, how's about that?
those distant grey lumps are in fact Common Cranes!
It was now approaching 3pm so we headed back towards Westhay, but we decided to go via Catcott Lows to look for a Barn Owl. Standing outside the hide we scanned the dry fields behind the marsh. We saw a few birds and noted many ducks near the hide but we never saw an owl.
Just before we left, Lorna found our undesputed 'bird of the day'. She called out that she found a bird of prey, a white bird with black wing tips. On closer inspection it turned out to be a stonking full adult male HEN HARRIER! Wowza!! The bird stayed in view for a few minutes as it quartered the marsh, it only flew off when a Marsh Harrier swooped down to mob it. Well done Lorna, I nearly kissed her!
Great Egret at Catcott