A visit to Ham Wall invariably starts at the car park. But why not loiter for a while here and see whats lurking in the tree lines, around the pools or passing overhead. There have been a number of great sightings here this week. Yesterday a Bittern flew over heading for Shapwick Heath, while on Wednesday a flock of Lapwing and a Marsh Harrier added to the list. Great Spotted Woodpeckers still visit the feeder cam quite regularly along with Great Tit and Blue Tit but also a rat has discovered how to get itself on camera. Groups of Goldfinch regularly perch and call in the trees, Chiffchaffs call regularly and many a Swallow has passed over this week. A Sparrowhawk also flew over late yesterday.
Perhaps the best sighting (for the car park at least) was that of Bearded Tits seen feeding on the reed stems at the back of the pond that the new shelter faces. I've been saying that they seem to be everywhere at the moment but I didn't expect them here I must say. As mentioned last week, Staff and volunteers undertook the first of our Bearded Tit surveys for this year. It was a perfect morning for it - warm, sunny and still and it produced an amazing result. After studying all the records adding up all the totals, we've come up with an brilliant 236 birds and this is a minimum figure as we were very conservative with the data. This is by far the highest total we've ever had and really welcome news.
They've been spotted this week in every section of the reserve except for one plot (over at the area known as Long Drove). So if you are at Waltons, Loxtons (c10 spotted here on both Tuesday and Wednesday) or walking to the Avalon Hide then keep your eyes and ears open. The total above would have been one higher if not for a Hobby which took one out of the air in front of 2 of our surveyors by the Avalon Hide. A Sparrowhawk was also seen making an unsuccessful attempt yesterday too.
It's a good time of year to see them in groups of flying up high in numbers of feeding at tops and bottoms of reeds.
Bearded Tit (male)
Bearded Tit (female)
We have now finished the reed cutting work in front of the 1st platform and we will now slowly bring up the water levels. The Glossy Ibis has been seen here frequently this week as well as the 2nd platform too. Great White Egrets have been seen hunting here too along with a few Cormorants (there's a roost of 43 on land beyond Waltons to the south to give you an idea of local numbers) and groups of Mallard. As the waters rise it should bring in a larger variety of species and provide more interest.
The 2nd platform is still the place to watch at the moment. A good selection of birds again but not always easy pickings due to the clumps of vegetation. 4 Ruff were seen here this week along with a few Black Tailed Godwits. Add to these 8 or more Snipe seen in flight, a Green Sandpiper and varying numbers of Lapwing and it's helping to build a nice list. 5 Wigeon were present for much of the week until c20 dropped in yesterday morning giving their whistling calls - a sign that winter is on its way! Numerous Teal are present too and around 5 Shoveler have been recorded but also 2 Water Rails seen out feeding. John Crispin captured this shot of a young water rail on a misty morning this week. Thanks John!
Great White Egrets and Little Egrets are a regular feature here - also reports of Cattle Egret flying over the reserve yesterday (2 were spotted flying over Shapwick Heath yesterday too - so nice to have this confirmed). Look out also for flocks of Gadwall (often seen in groups of 6-10). John Crispin captured these shots this week of Gadwall in flight, one with a Green Sandpiper for company and one looking resplendent in the morning sun! Listen out for their soft quack and whistle to help with your ID Thanks again John!
The sunny spells in the week have seen good numbers of butterflies around the reserve - particularly Red Admiral. Ivy will be coming into flower now and this provides a good late nectar source for these insects. There is a particularly good clump of Ivy on the main track near Waltons. It faces south and was covered in Red Admirals last year. Look out also for Ivy Bee - a recent coloniser to the south of England. They have been seen locally but not on Ham Wall yet - this could be a good place to look. They come out now in time for the flowering Ivy.
Other butterflies this week include: Comma sen on the main track, Small Copper seen at the car park, Green Veined White and Speckled Wood. Look out also for Migrant Hawker dragonflies along with both Common and Ruddy Darter. I also spotted Common blue damselfly around the car park pools yesterday as we cleared the meadow area. Many Common Frogs and Toads were also seen here.
The oddest report this week came yesterday when 8 Grey Partridge were seen out on the north of the reserve. Perhaps not as odd as you may first think though. I was talking to a local farmer last year who said he had hand raised several Grey Partridges and had I seen them on the reserve. Of course I said no and have never yet seen any and had since forgotten all about them. So perhaps these are some of those birds.
Also further to the 2 Otter sightings of last week we have had a further 2 this week. On Wednesday one was spotted from the Loxtons screen during the afternoon and yesterday another was spotted from the Tor View Hide. Great to be picking up so many sightings - lets hope they stay and become even more visible.
Also this week: 6 Raven seen over the reserve yesterday with a further single bird seen over the car park in the afternoon, Green Woodpecker heard close to Waltons yesterday morning, Hobby seen this week at Loxtons, Avalon Hide and the 2nd platform, Bitterns from the same locations as well as the Tot View Hide, large numbers of Greylag Geese seen flying over the reserve yesterday - I saw several small groups but c60 reported, lots of Chiffchaff singing around the reserve including one near the old rail bridge where a particularly vocal Cetti's Warbler is making his presence known and Marsh Harriers seen on a daily basis.
Finally some great pics of Grey Heron sent in by John Crispin this week. It's a bird you would see and hear on most visits. In fact there is a young heron seen in the car park area frequently (including this morning). It's quite small - needs to get feeding on all those frogs and toads I mentioned but it does let you get quite close. Perhaps a bit naive as a youngster. Also this week 5 were seen together at Waltons which flew up and over a hunting female Kestrel. Thanks to John for the following photos of a Grey Heron playing with his food!
That's it for this week. Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend!