UPDATE (Dec 2021): Travel Somerset have announced that from 4 January – 1 April the road between the reserve and Ashcott will be closed. This means that access to the reserve will only be from the Meare side. The road is narrow with limited turning places or passing spaces. Please DO NOT park on the road – be considerate of our neighbours, the need for emergency vehicle access at all times and other road users.…

Well, it's been many weeks since I wrote a blog (August in fact). We have been extremely busy on the reserve and also short staffed since Michael left the team. It has meant that reserve staff have been helping out to cover weekends at the car park and we also had the Canoe Trail events over 3 weekends in September which we also covered. Working weekends has meant taking days off in the week meaning we are also getting…

This week we have a guest blog from Alison Morgan, (Project Coordinator for the Avalon Marshes New Colonist Monitoring Group), to provide us with the latest news on the great white egret ringing project. This is an update from a previous blog in 2019.

Just quickly before I hand over to Alison, a reminder that our popular canoeing events are back for 2021 and start next weekend.

Paddle around the reedbed channels with an…

As Steve mentioned last Friday he is taking a well deserved break this week, so just a very brief blog from me in his absence to cover some important notices, plus of course a few stunning photos from the past week.

Canoeing!
We’re very excited to say that our popular canoeing events are back on for 2021 and booking has opened! Paddle around the reedbed channels with an experienced instructor and expert wildlife guide…

Wow! August already - not that it really felt like it for much of the week with some dull and rainy spells. Quite a heavy downpour on Saturday from what I hear and windy at times. We had to close the Avalon Hide briefly this morning to deal with a tree which had fallen and was suspended over the track  it all went smoothly thank goodness and the hide was soon open again.

We had a quick peep in this morning, before starting…

It certainly doesn't feel like the summer holidays this morning with high winds and bursts of rain but that hasn't stopped the slightly reduced numbers of visitors coming back with smiles. One couple were very happy to see a kingfisher perched at the Avalon Hide, with a supporting cast of little egrets, great white egrets, marsh harriers and great crested grebes - very nice.

 The great crested grebes with young…

An absolute scorcher of a week this week. The weather that is, although the sightings are pretty good as well. It's certainly been a little quieter in terms of visitor numbers with soaring temperatures the most likely factor. The wildlife has unsurprisingly also been less active although visitors are returning with smiles after their trips out. 

Bitterns are less busy than they were although a couple reported seeing…

It's been a slightly unusual week for me. I was at work on Monday and then found out that my daughter needed to isolate for the rest of the week due to a classmate testing positive for Covid. It means I haven't been in much at all this week so I am flying slightly blind today but I will do my best.

Perhaps one of the most obvious spectacles you will see at Ham Wall at the moment will be the fledged marsh harriers…

Welcome to this week's sightings blog. It's been another busy week - not only for birds but for staff and volunteers too. Survey season is now pretty much at an end but there is always plenty of maintenance work to do to keep the site looking good and access open to all users. Bear with us if some views are becoming slightly obscured eg Tor View Hide or in front of the 2 viewing platforms (VP2 in particular). By the end…

Another week has flown by on the reserve and staff and volunteers are as busy as ever. Work at this time of year generally consists more of maintenance and keeping access open and the visitor areas looking tidy, but not too tidy - it's a fine balance as we are a nature reserve and not a garden of course. Some areas we have to leave until we are certain that birds have finished breeding. It means in some places reeds may…

We finally said goodbye to the river warbler this week. After just over 2 weeks with us. The last confirmed sighting was on Saturday morning. It was great to have such an obliging rarity on the reserve in a good location for visitors too. We've had lots of happy punters and many new visitors to the reserve to see it and all the other wonderful wildlife Ham Wall has to offer.

Bitterns have featured highly on peoples…

An earlier blog post than usual this week, I'm going camping in Shropshire with friends and our children - lets hope it doesn't rain too much. I'd also like to get there in plenty of time to set up the tent and not miss the England v Scotland match tonight. 

It's not been Euro20 football fever just yet but a bit of river warbler fever on the reserve recently, with it being present for 2 weeks today. It was…

Firstly, apologies for the lack of blog last Friday. I've been taking a few days off lately what with arrangements and attendance of my father's funeral early this week. I hadn't checked my e-mails all week until this morning (bliss for most people) so it's meant I have a lot of catching up to do and working out which photographs I have to use etc. So please Accept further apologies if you have sent me something in and…

You can never predict when a rare bird will turn up at the reserve and while we are always delighted to find rare species on site, it is particularly frustrating for both us and our visitors when they appear during a time like this!  

Some of you are probably wondering the best way to see the river warbler safely during Covid-19 as well as where to go when you arrive, and some may be wondering what a river warbler looks like. This…

Good to be back in the swing of things this week after taking some time off last week. Thanks to Ali for filling in with an excellent blog. 

Last week was a difficult week for me as my father sadly passed away on the Monday. Taking some time off really helped but I also find the solace and wonder of the reserve and company of my colleagues and volunteers a real comfort too. 

I also seemed to notice more how life and death…

What a week for weather!

Thank goodness the hides have re-opened – even if just to provide shelter from the downpours and strong winds. While the weather is annoying for us humans it’s a critical time in the breeding season. I’ve watched birds being buffeted to and fro trying to get food and fly back to feed hungry chicks, who might be getting cold and wet in the meantime as well as being hungry if food…

 Welcome back! Following further easing of lockdown restrictions on Monday 17^th May here is a summary of what is open.

Car park (5 am- 10 pm)

Outdoor, staffed Welcome Point (10 am- 4 pm, weekends guaranteed)

Nature reserve trails (dawn - dusk)

Toilets (5 am – 10 pm)

Take away refreshments (10 am- 4 pm). Weekends and during the week when we have a volunteer. Card payments only.

Picnic Area

Hides (dawn – dusk)…

Not the best week, weather wise on the reserve it has to be said. Fewer visitors, not surprisingly and a little less activity as wildlife hunkers down out of the rain. During rainy spells though insects are flying lower and this brings swifts and hirundines (swallows and martins) much lower too. Yesterday, at around 10am the skies over Waltons and around the first platform (VP1), was full of birds - swooping, soaring…

It's the first blog of May - surely one of the best months of the wildlife calendar for Ham Wall and many other places. Birds are still pouring into the country and many ending up at the reserve - even if many are just passing through. Ham Wall acts as a big feeding station for many birds arriving in Britain after a long journey.

Large numbers of martins and swallows have been seen on many days this week with well…

Well, Spring has most definitely sprung and it keeps on springing. Lots of active wildlife on the reserve this week once again including new arrivals and busy parents. 

Reserve staff and volunteers have been busy too and starting to get things right back up together after the strange and difficult year we've had. Being so busy, it's not left me much time for a blog this week so it might be a bit shorter than normal - just…

It's been a wonderfully sunny week on the reserve and good to see so many people out enjoying the weather and the wildlife. it's always a very interesting time of year with many new arrivals, a couple of hangers on from the winter and a whole host of birds already well into their breeding season.

In terms of new arrivals , confirmation that cuckoos are here, with several sightings over the last couple of days…

Yes, your eyes do not deceive you. It is a sightings blog from Ham Wall. I'm delighted to be back writing to you after more than a year since the last sightings blog from the reserve. Being a single parent I spent 9 of the last 13 months furloughed away from our wonderful reserve unable to work apart from a 3 month respite between September and Christmas but the sheer volume of work to catch up with meant the blog took…

 Welcome back! We’re delighted to have some of our facilities OPEN for your visit!  

  Car park (5 am- 10 pm)

  Outdoor, staffed Welcome Point (10 am- 4 pm, weekends guaranteed)

  Nature reserve trails (dawn - dusk)

  Toilets (5 am – 10 pm)

  Take away refreshments (10 am- 4 pm). Weekends and during the week when we have a volunteer. Card payments only.

  Picnic Area (dawn - dusk)

The following facilities continue to be…

With #Easter #BankHoliday approaching, a reminder that the following facilities at Ham Wall are OPEN for local exercise and recreation 

  Car park (5 am- 8 pm*)

  Outdoor, staffed Welcome Point (10 am- 4 pm, weekends guaranteed)  

  Nature reserve trails (Dawn - Dusk)

  Toilets (5 am- 8 pm*)

  Take away refreshments (10 am- 4 pm). Weekends and during the week when we have a volunteer. Card payments only.   

* 10 pm from 1 April

 The following…