Well, I certainly picked the right week to have off work last week. The warm weather has pushed that feeling of spring right to the front and the reserves wildlife is responding. More butterflies are being spotted - I've had four species on the reserve so far: peacock, small tortoiseshell, brimstone and comma all enjoying the early flowering plants such as celandine after a winter of hibernation. Thanks to Mike Pearce for his shots of both peacock and small tortoiseshell taken on Saturday (26th):
Other invertebrates have also emerged with an increase in insect life including bumblebees, beetles and ladybirds being seen more frequently - still awaiting the emergence of the first dragonflies and damselflies with hairy dragonfly and large red damselfly usually the first to be seen.
Bird life too has responded further with an increase in birdsong. Perhaps the most noticeable is the blackcaps (which seemed to be everywhere last year) - several being heard in song along the main track. The first willow warbler has been heard too and chiffchaffs have been in song for a while.
In the reed beds bitterns are booming loudly, water rails are squealing and cettis warblers are belting out their songs. We await the arrival of the first reed and sedge warblers when the noise in the reed beds really begins to crank up.
Nesting activity is well underway already for birds such as grey herons. I could hear them squawking in the Waltons reed beds yesterday. Great white egrets have also been seen in one of their usual nesting spots . Magpies, long tailed tits and great tits have also been seen carrying nesting materials.
Great crested grebes have been seen mating once again (a different pair to those in the last blog). Mike Pearce took these shots of the mating pair who then proceeded to build up the nesting platform further. Thanks Mike:
This pair was in the Waltons section whilst these, weed dancing, seen by Graham Wagner were over at the Avalon Hide last week. He also took this lovely picture of one that looks like it's almost walking on water. Thanks Graham:
Lots of birds are pairing up at the moment. Courtship between pairs often shows differences in behaviour, much of it really fascinating - the great crested grebes are a fine example of this. These mute swans, photographed by Sandie Andrews this week, seemed to mirror each others behaviour - guessing this is a way of reinforcing pair bonds. Thanks Sandie:
The Avalon Hide is one of the best places to catch up with some other popular pairs - the marsh harriers. They have nested in front of here for the last few years. 6 were seen here earlier this week. Plenty of sightings of pairs of birds interacting and carrying nesting material recently. You may also be able to see them distantly from both viewing platforms (VP1 and VP2). Thanks to John Crispin for his shots. The first showing 2 females in a dispute followed by the right hand bird in the first shot carry nesting material:
Graham Wagner also took this lovely shot of a great white egret from the Avalon Hide last week too. It's flying so low, its wing tips appear to touch the water . They are a fairly easy spot when you are out and about on the reserve - being big and white (and not a swan) helps enormously. Thanks Graham:
Little egrets are seen too, although in very low numbers compared to their larger cousins. To show the size contrast John Crispin has managed to take this shot this week of them stood side by side. He also took the wonderful shot of a great white egret preening and showing off its impressive plumes. Thanks John:
The Avalon Hide can also be a good area to find bearded tits - their pinging calls often the best way to start tracking them down.
Cattle egrets are also being seen locally still although in much lower numbers - they can generally be seen sharing fields with cattle or sheep, although 40 were seen over Ham Wall on Sunday, perhaps heading to a roost site and they have on occasion been spotted in the field right next to the car park.
Another heron species being seen quite regularly (including today) is the Glossy Ibis. Often spotted at VP1, 3 photographers have sent me contributions for the blog. Thanks to John Crispin, Sandie Andrews and Mike Pearce for sending in their shots:
Our most famous heron is of course the bittern. As I've already mentioned they are booming loudly and in good numbers. We also begun to see birds chasing each other - this could be a male chasing off another male, or a male chasing a female - in this case you can often get multiple birds in the air at the same time. Groups of 3, 4 or 5 are not uncommon. My record is 7, although one visitor did boast 12 one time a few years back.
This week it's been twos with VP2 giving a good view on at least two occasions this week, with birds dropping down into the reeds together rather than fighting, suggesting it was a potential pair. Thanks to John Crispin who took this chase shot this week (not sure what happened at the end of this chase though):
Garganey were also spotted from the first platform this morning, as well as VP2 and Loxtons - at least 7 different birds have been reported so far. Thanks to John Crispin for his photos taken yesterday. The first shots showing the male with his distinctive stripe and then the female:
Plenty of other ducks are around at the moment: mallard, tufted duck, shoveler, gadwall, pochard and these pintails spotted from VP1 yesterday. There have also still been reports of wigeon and teal - not left yet for their breeding grounds. Thanks to John Crispin for his pintail photograph:
From the same location at around lunchtime today a pair of barn owls were spotted - one sat on the barn owl box (just visible), with a second bird flying around towards the Avalon Hide. In other owl news, a tawny owl is again in our camera box. When the Welcome Building is open in the car park we can beam pictures back to the TV screen. She seems to be on eggs - we will keep you posted.
Other birds of prey have been spotted this week with red kite over the car park on Sunday, a male hen harrier on Monday, buzzards daily and a peregrine flew close to VP1 on Saturday. Thanks to Mike Pearce who sent in shots of both buzzard and the peregrine taken this week:
Some other local peregrines are also busy. Thanks to Steve, who is following and filming the progress of a pair on top of St Johns Church in Glastonbury - so not far from the reserve at all. He's sent in this image not long after the laying of a third egg yesterday. If you are wondering why the eggs look pink it's because Steve is using and Infra-red camera (they are of course a creamy brown colour in reality). Thanks Steve:
He's also sent me a link so you can see the latest postings and pictures from this pair.
https://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/0G8eCER3Rtgp3Q0SNeOa9
Another bird really interesting people this week has been the brambling. There have been several sightings of birds along the main path over the last couple of weeks with numbers of up to 20 being recorded (including this morning near Loxtons). Can't remember ever having this many around before - it's a real treat. Thanks to John Crispin who did manage to take this shot this week. If it makes you feel better, I've only seen one myself so far:
We popped out to Loxtons this morning to tow out the second tern raft in front of Loxtons screens. They are pretty old now and took a battering in the recent storms. We've fixed them up best we can for this season and will have to make new ones for next year. Hope to see some common terns passing through soon and taking a liking to them.
We will also be looking forward to perhaps sand martins using the artificial bank we installed in the summer. This is the box like structure in front of VP1, if you were wondering.
Sand Martins have been seen in small numbers - a group of around 30 were seen this morning along with a group of around 6 house martins and 3 swallows - so it's all starting happen out there.
We've been seeing a few waders throughout the week despite a lack of muddy areas. Black tailed godwits x6 were seen from VP1 on Saturday, snipe too along with the odd lapwing and a redshank was spotted this morning on the cut island over in Waltons. Look out in this area or in front of the Tor View Hide also for water rail. Been a few sightings in this area lately. Thanks to John Crispin for his shot of a bird more often heard than seen:
Also seen this week: great spotted woodpeckers at a few locations, treecreeper on the main track and out towards the Avalon Hide, a weasel spotted at VP1 and an otter spotted on two consecutive evenings and again the following morning over last weekend from VP2 (another seen at the Avalon Hide early this week), 4 little grebes seen from the Tor View Hide, Ravens seen flying over the reserve and bullfinch spotted around the car park.
I think I'd better leave it there for the sightings. I'm already publishing later than usual and am finishing this off at home. A wardens work is never done!
To finish I've been asked to share some information about some upcoming events on the reserve. Details below:
Upcoming events:
On Friday 8 April we have Little Bitterns – Nature Tots at RSPB Ham Wall from 10:15 am – 11:30 am. An event for 2 – 5 year olds and their grown-ups! We’ll be enjoying and exploring nature through games, songs and stories. Booking essential as places are limited. £4.50 for member child and £5.50 for non-member child.
Over Easter we’ll be running an egg-citing Easter trail from 9 – 24 April. Come join us at Ham Wall to see how many different eggs you can spot while following the trail. Can you work out the code word to collect your prize? Trail packs are £2.50 sold from the Info Point between 10:30 am and 3 pm with a small non-chocolate prize.
And on 23 April we’ll be running a guided walk focusing on the star of the show at this time of year the booming bittern! Join us for an early morning walk from 6 am until 9 am listening to the booming call of the male bittern and trying to spot them skulking in the reedbeds or if we are lucky flying overhead! Booking essential as places are limited. £8.50 member adult, £10.50 non-member adult, £4 member child, £5 non-member child. Suitable for ages 10+.
To book your place or for more information on any of these events visit: https://events.rspb.org.uk/hamwall
If you’ve ever considered volunteering at Ham Wall why not pop into our volunteer open day tomorrow (Saturday 2 April) . Drop in any time between 10 am and 2 pm to find out more about the visitor and education roles that we have available. Please note we currently have no practical or survey volunteering opportunities available. Members of our friendly team will be on hand to answer any of the questions you have about becoming a volunteer with us. Our current volunteering opportunities can be seen here https://volunteer.rspb.org.uk/opportunities. “
Right, that's it for this week. Apologies for some of the photos people sent that didn't get published this week. I think I may be short of them next week so I will save them for then. This blog is long enough I think. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend