Another week crammed full of incident at Ham Wall. Ok lots of the stuff is the same as the last couple of weeks ...but what stuff it is. Where else can you see Great White Egrets in abundance, Cattle Egret, Bitterns galore, Glossy Ibis, Marsh Harrier, Red Footed Falcon ... just to name a few. Maybe I should rephrase the question to where else in Britain can you see all this.
Let's start with the Red Footed Falcon. Still drawing people in and it's still a tricky one to spot. Not sure about today but was it definitely seen yesterday from the rail bridge. Often distant down towards the wind pump you can see (it looks like a windmill) it was also seen to fly up the channel someway too towards the bridge (again not close). You could also try scanning any of the dead trees in that area or the ones closer to the factory as it often perches there.
Thanks to Andrew Kirby for getting these shots to me - taken last week:
While you're no the look out for it keep your eyes open for Hobby too - often in the same areas. Guessing it's good for insect life down there.
Sticking with birds of prey we have some good news from the 1st of our Marsh Harrier nests. The one in front of the Avalon Hide seems to have fledged 2 youngsters. Adults are still coming in to feed them but as with the last couple of weeks there has been some conflict with the Bittern - which is nesting nearby. Marsh Harriers have been seen battering the Bitterns in the reedbed but have also knocked them out of the air on one occasion. A Bittern has also reared up and chased a Marsh Harrier at one point.
The Avalon Hide is also the place to see Barn Owl once again this week. Nest boxes either side of the hide are still active despite several days of high winds and rains in the last couple of weeks. Barn Owls elsewhere have suffered and lost entire broods so we should consider ourselves fortunate. Early mornings and evenings are obviously best but there have been several sights during the day too this week. Including on Wednesday when some volunteers and I were treated to close views. This was visible from the 1st platform.
Tawny Owls too have been seen in the wood behind the hide this week - using the owl box but also flying amongst the branches of the trees - keep your eyes open.
The Cattle Egret have also been seen in this area this week. The cattle are grazing the area left of the hide and distant areas in front of the 1st platform so look here for any small egrets - don't assume they are all Little Egret (although some are present). A Cattle Egret flew over Waltons this morning during my bird survey.
Bearded Tits to were heard from the Avalon Hide this week but also, as last week from the Tor View Hide also. This morning on a walk around the Waltons trail I encountered some myself. In the South West corner by the bench I saw several birds. A couple that I got good views of were certainly juveniles. Great to see - plenty are being seen across the reserve - fantastic news - they seem to be having a good year.
Another joyful sight - at roughly the same time was the sight of 2 Kingfishers flashing down the channels. After what seems like a long time with next to no sightings, the last week has seen several in this area and another flying to an old nest site - great stuff.
Waltons (& Loxtons) is also the place to hear (and hopefully see) Cuckoo. There were two males there this morning on the west side chasing each other - one has an unusual call according to John Crispin ( I heard this one myself this morning so I know what he means).
Meanwhile from the 1st platform we had the visit of a Common Tern. It was seen hunting for some time over the channels. Thanks to John Crispin for taking these shots and sending them in so promptly:
The Glossy Ibis is still being seen daily. The easiest place to spot it is the scrape on Shapwick Heath - always a good chance of Cattle Egrets and Great White Egret here too along with a few Black Tailed Godwits. There were 11 seen in front of the 1st platform today in flight - most likely from the 2nd platform area. If the Glossy Ibis isn't at the scrape it's probably here too. It's been sighted on several occasion this week. It's going into moult so appears to have some missing primary feathers. Thanks to John Crispin once again for the photos:
Great White Egrets appear to be everywhere still. Both platforms are favourite haunts plus there are regular flights over the car park too. Birds were also sitting in both Waltons and Loxtons this morning.
There are plenty of duck around - many birds now going into eclipse. In Loxtons this morning countless Gadwall were resting in front of the screen with some Shoveler nearby and a nice brood of Pochard and some well grown Gadwall & Mallard with parent birds. Several sets of Great Crested Grebes can be seen feeding youngsters - the Waltons screen offer great views of this while many young coot are visible too. Thanks for 2 great contrasting pictures of Coot sent in by John Crispin - Love & Hate?
So much activity to see at the moment - not just bird life of course. look out for the hundreds of Four spotted Chaser dragonflies around the Waltons and Loxtons trails. Joining them are the Emperor (our biggest dragonfly), Black tailed Skimmer and Scarce Chaser along with the very lovely Banded Demoiselle and several species of damselfly: Azure, Common Blue, Blue Tailed, Variable & Red eyed.
Butterflies are about too of course with my first records of both Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper this week. Look out also for Peacock, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell & Speckled Wood. You may also notice the Scarlet Tiger Moth pictured below:
Also of note this week for the non bird lovers: a Grass Snake swimming up the main drain of the reserve, several rabbits and a Grey squirrel spotted along the main path, a Roe Deer on the island in the section just behind and to the left of the Avalon Hide, several very small common frogs and of course the very noisy Iberian Water Frogs - making their usual racket - particularly when the sun is shining. I've used this one before but thanks to John Crabb for this shot:
If you want to build a good bird list a walk along the main track is a must: Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Goldcrest, Bullfinch, Garden Warbler & Blackcap all spotted daily along with all the more common species. Try also scanning the trees just past the rail bridge - Spotted Flycatcher has been seen here this week. Try the 1st platform for Whitethroat - nearly always there on the brambles. Thanks to John Crispin for this shot of a juvenile taken this week:
Also this week: Plenty of Buzzards gliding on thermals, Great Spotted Woodpeckers at several locations, Swifts and Swallows at the car park and over Waltons this morning, a Purple Heron spotted at Shapwick Heath (15th) from Noahs hide, Little Grebes with juveniles at Waltons, a group of 30 Lapwing flying over on Wednesday but several others still on site potentially with young and this Skylark snapped by John Crispin at Tinneys Ground - a plot we manage on the Sharpham road. Thanks John:
Finally, a nice shot of a sunset over Ham Wall taken by the Site Manager Steve Hughes last week:
That's it for this week - have a great weekend!