GREYLAKE – BURROW MUMP – ALLER MOOR – WELL WOODS – TRANSFER TO YEOVIL JUNCTION RAILWAY STATION
WEATHER: overcast but dry- very cold but no wind.
Our last morning had arrived and so did the dull, cloudy weather conditions, however, it was dry and remained so for the rest of our birding time.
It was near freezing as we emerged from the hotel, but the minibus windows were frost free and the roads were in good condition. After checking out of the hotel at 9am we drove down to the RSPB Reserve at Greylake for a second attempt at seeing the rare Baikal Teal. But the weather soon put a stop to our optimism, because nearly all of the marshes were frozen over, just a small channel of unfrozen water remained. This channel was covered in birds whilst the rest of the marsh was total barren and devoid of anything alive. We logged Wigeon, Teal, Shoveler, Gadwall and Mallard.
All was not doom and gloom because we all had excellent views of a very close-up Water Rail, the regular Merlin dropped in for a while and a large flock of Lapwings could be seen from the car park. We stayed for 40 minutes or so but then gave up and moved on.
my group - frozen but happy to have watched a very close-up Water Rail
the empty marshes at Greylake - this area is usually teaming with duck of all shapes and sizes
the Merlin at Greylake, it was very distant and in very poor light
Our stop at Burrow Mump was quite productive even though the usual flooded meadows viewed from the Mump were practically dry. We saw some Roe Deer dotted over the meadows, some Crows and Magpies. Then Frank called out some large birds with black wing-tips, they came towards us and landed, they were Common Cranes!! Very distant but unmistakeable, we counted five of them.
Birds around the car park and on the steep sided grassy hill of the Mump produced a number of species, we logged Mistle Thrush, a lot of Redwings, Chaffinches, Blue and Great Tits and a Robin.
Driving around to the River Parrett near the village of Staith we stood on the raised embankment and scanned the surrounding fields and hedgerows. So many birds were dashing about or feeding on the ground, we listed about 15 species which included: Long-tailed Tit, greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Stonechat, Redwing, Fieldfare (our first of the trip), Mistle Thrush, Great Spotted Woodpecker and several common garden species.
A little further out we saw a pair of Ravens feeding on the carcass of a Mute Swan, soon they were driven off by a Marsh Harrier and later when I checked again a Common Buzzard stood on the carcass with a single Raven and a Magpie looking on. A pair of Goosander flew over us as did both Herring and Black-headed Gull.
Mute Swan carcass with a Marsh Harrier and a Magpie
the same carcass with a Buzzard, a Raven and a Magpie in attendance
Our very last venue just before lunch was the RSPB Reserve at Swell Woods, we never left the car park! Bird feeders attracted all the birds we wanted to see, the star bird being the Marsh Tit with a supporting cast of Nuthatch and Coal Tit. With our last remaining target birds in the bag we left the woods and drove into Langport where we bought our picnic lunch.
a Robin in Swell Woods
Eiurasian Nuthatch
Marsh Tit - our bird of the day at Swell Woods
I then drove the Group back to Yeovil Junction Railway Station for their departure back to London, I was sad to see them go, we had had a great time with plenty of laughs and lots of bird sightings, our list finished on 85 species.