RSPB HAM WALL (VP1, VP2) - SHAPWICK HEATH (NOAH'S LAKE) - CATCOTT LOWS
WEATHER: dull and overcast with thick patchy mist and later clear sky with sunshine. Very cold all day with minimum wind.
At 8am I collected David from his BnB Farmhouse near Westhay we had a quick look in the surrounding fields along Burtle Road hoping to see Cattle Egrets but it appeared that it was too early for Egret activity, we saw a few Mute Swans, corvids and Starlings.
We drove round to Ham Wall via Meare and along the way a Water Rail dashed across the road in front of the car. At Ham Wall we searched the bushes and trees around the car park for some species, specifically Firecrest, but we didn't find any. We did see a pair of Bullfinches, also Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Blue and Great Tits, Robins and Dunnocks.
At the small Bridge along the main track towards VP1 we scanned Godwin's Pool for the reported RING-NECKED DUCK, in fact two had been seen there yesterday! We found no sign of them, however we did see Gadwall, Wigeon, Common Pochard, Teal and Tufted Ducks. Also seen there was a Great Egret, Great Crested Grebe and Cormorant.
We found the first of several flocks of Long-tailed Tits and from the track we added Lapwing, Common Snipe, Shoveler and Marsh Harrier. Both Great and Little Egret fed out on the marsh and along the main canal which runs parallel to the main track. Niether Pintail nor Goldeneye were seen from VP1 but just before we left we saw two Glossy Ibis flying over the marsh, they were quite high up but easily recognisable, a great bird for our day list.
Great Egret
A few more species went onto the list as we walked from VP1 to VP2. We searched the Alder Trees for flocks of Siskins but all we found was Goldfinches, Goldcrest, Treecreeper, Song Thrush (heard singing) and more common species.
Watching the activity from VP2 we enjoyed views of all the common ducks, more Common Snipe and small numbers of both Greylag and Canada Geese. At least 5 Marsh Harriers were in the sky at the same time, it was quite a show.
Little Egret with partial Great Egret
A few birders were searching for a YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER so we joined them for a while, we never had a sniff of the warbler but we did see Goldcrests, Chiffchaff, Long-tailed Tits, more Goldfinches and we heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker.
We crossed the canal and walked back towards the car park finding, Jay, a small group of about 20 Redwings, a very confiding Song Thrush, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a couple more Chiffchaffs. We heard Cetti's Warbler, Jay and another Song Thrush singing.
After a comfort stop in the car park, (we never had a chance for a hot coffee because the shop was closed)!! We set off for Shapwick Heath walking along the main canal and although we stopped a lot and searched the bushes we saw very little. We added Stonechat and I can't remember anything else new until we entered the wooded area at Noah's Lake.
a view near VP2 at Ham Wall
We eventually found a small group of Siskins with Goldfinches but no Redpolls were with them. The large Noah's lake was covered in the birds, thousands of them! Our target bird was the elusive RING-NECKED DUCK, we had to sift through dozens of Tufted Ducks to find it, but, it wasn't there!!
David found a single Whooper Swan and an Otter was fishing in the water immediately below the hide, we had great views of it. Many Pintail Ducks were also seen with Wigeon, Teal, Shoveler, Gadwall, Mallard, Pochard and Tufted Ducks.
As we walked back through ther woodland we found even more Siskins and Goldfinches and another Goldcrest. As we watched them a BITTERN 'boomed' from the reedbed behind us. Marvelous, that was just what David wanted to hear.
Nothing else turned up on the way back to the car park. It was approaching 1:30pm when we sat down to eat our picnic lunch, a Robin, a Great Tit and a Blue Tit took it in turns to land our table to pick up crumbs. As we ate, a Red Kite flew over us and a few minutes later a second Red Kite flew over heading in exactly the same direction.
Catcott Marshes - at the far left hand end of the line of trees, seen on the right of the picture, there is a Peregrine Falcon sitting there. Zoom in, can you spot it! Your're a fool if you tried!
News had reached us that a RING-NECKED DUCK had been seen in the nearby Godwin's Pool, so we finished our lunch and walked to the hump-backed bridge for a second look. Very few ducks were on the pool and unfortunately none of them was the Ringo! We added Grey Heron and Moorhen to our a day list but we left without a rare duck sighting.
David was due to leave for home at 3:15pm so we decided to make a brief visit to Catcott Lows reserve. Along the way we saw three Cattle Egrets in a field with Mute Swans and Little Egrets. At Catcott we watched the antics of huge numbers of Lapwings, at least 1000 were out there, that is the most I've seen in one flock for a long time. We added a new species for the day list in the shape of a Peregrine Falcon which was pointed out to us by the guys in the hide.
We got back to the Farmhouse at 3:15pm, Pied Wagtail went onto the list making a total of 58 species for today's list. I said goodbye to David and we both headed off for home. I saw Common Pheasant and a Common Buzzard near Shapwick Village, that took my day total to 60 species.