The best sighting of the week has to be the 2 glossy ibis. Seen daily but sometimes briefly for several days. Today, however they seemed more settled, spending quite a bit of time in front of the first viewing platform (VP1) this morning amongst the Canada geese. They then got in amongst the lapwings before they all took off and circled around for a minute or so. They then settled again on the cut island in Waltons in…

Another week has flown by and it's Friday blog time again already. Time certainly seems to pass quickly and looking at some of the behaviour of birds on the reserve you'd think spring was already here (although it certainly hasn't felt like it at times this week).

This morning from the Tor View Hide, the pair of great crested grebes, who were last week head bobbing and weed dancing, were seen mating and have…

Thank goodness for a drier week - we really needed it didn't we. Our pumps have been on full time since Sunday morning and the level in the ditch that runs through the reserve is higher than when it started BUT it has dropped about 2 inches since yesterday so it should now start to draw down much more noticeably over the next few days.

The roads in to the reserve have been accessible - although the ice has caused…

Firstly, I ought to wish everyone a belated Happy New Year. There should have been a blog last week but something came up (apologies) so here we are almost 2 weeks into January already. Well, I think the theme for the new year so far is Wet Wet Wet!! 

The reserve is a touch on the moist side to say the least. This morning the Avalon Hide path was just about passable in wellies but with more rain on the way, waders may…

The cold snap hit hard last week during my week off. Temperatures plummeting down into minus figures and often holding there throughout the day. Much of the reserve was iced over with little open water left. Only where larger numbers of birds gathered did their movement keep it open. 

Much more mild this week, which has of course brought rain and quite high water levels in the drainage channels, but no doubt, some relief…

The colder weather has continued this week with a thin layer of ice now formed over many parts of the reserve. Groups of birds have started to gather together in tighter bunches as space on the water becomes reduced. A group of around 20 coot were standing proud on the ice on the way to the Avalon Hide today, whilst the family of around 8 mute swans were far too heavy but were happily taking short swims around and keeping…

It's now meteorological winter apparently and it has definitely felt like it this week. Temperatures have plummeted and this week has seen very foggy conditions making bird watching a little tricky. It seems that the mist hasn't lifted from the reserve for around 3 days, whilst a visitor told me it was warm and sunny up on the Mendips looking down on the blanket of fog.

We do have some sightings to report though…

There has certainly been an influx of birds onto the reserve since my last blog. Much of this helped by rising water levels in front of VP1 after the reed cutting was completed. There's a much wider range of species to get acquainted with. 

Perhaps the most obvious is the throng of lapwing which are in residence daily. At least 200 are being spotted regularly, feeding on the ground or up in the air when unsettled.…

Firstly apologies for the missing blog last week. We decided that I should concentrate on getting reed cutting finished in front of the first viewing platform (VP1) and so I did the extra day to try and catch up. You'll be pleased to hear that we have now finished the work and will be slowly raising the water levels in here - it may take a little while before you see the difference though. It should then be more inviting…

It's good to be back after a week off but it was straight back into work and a very busy week. We've had an RSPB film crew in for a couple of days, mainly focussing on reed cutting work to get some footage for future use. 

Progress has been a little slower than I would have liked with the reed cutting this week - just have 2 islands to go in front of the first viewing platform (VP1). Then we can start getting some…

A mixed bag of weather this week but on the whole some lovely sunny spells, although we did get our first frost of the season on Tuesday. Yesterday saw a very misty start followed by some lovely sunshine - it meant a slightly better second half to the bearded tit survey for the volunteers and this morning was a but miserable in all fairness.

It was typical, as this morning was the bearded tit walk - hoping to be armed…

Well it definitely feels like autumn now - darker mornings and some gloomier days and a bit of a chill in the early part of the day. 

It's been a quieter week it feels for wildlife and indeed for visitors with the resurfacing works on the road from Meare keeping some people away. You'll be pleased to hear that they have now finished and the road should be open by the time I have posted this blog. 

I may say it seems…

It's been great to be back on "home soil" after 2 days away last week helping out the Wildlife Trust at Westhay and Monday and Tuesday over at RSPB Greylake this week doing some reed cutting for them. Now my machine is back here I can concentrate on clearing the reeds in front of the first viewing platform (VP1). The 3 islands on the right have now been completed, just the 4 on the left to go and some of the front plateau…

Time seems to be zipping away recently. We are well into September and autumn is well and truly here - although the warm weather this week may suggest otherwise. There will be some colder spells ahead I'm sure and a drop of rain wouldn't go amiss with some low water levels in a couple of places on the reserve. 

It has added some interest though with a few waders being spotted from the second viewing platform (VP2…

It was great to get out and have a walk about part of the reserve this morning. The sun was out with just a hint of a cool breeze in the air reminding me that Autumn is here. I was undertaking a butterfly survey which took me around some of our woodland and the western part of the reedbeds. Not surprisingly my list wasn't extensive but there were plenty of speckled wood - must have seen 50 throughout my morning. Also…

Firstly, apologies for the lack of blog from me for over the last 3 weeks - I have been on annual leave with my family and then back in working at the weekend helping to run our popular canoeing events meaning more time away from these updates. 

Secondly, I couldn't possibly overlook the sad news which we all heard yesterday. We were all deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our patron, Her Majesty The Queen. We offer…

The hot weather is continuing throughout the UK. It's making some work quite difficult for staff and volunteers in such hot conditions but we are doing what we can. As I've mentioned before visitor numbers have dropped off quite significantly with people opting to stay out of the sun or perhaps hit the beaches. I think it's a similar story at many visitor attractions at the moment.

The wildlife has to cope…

Wow! Into August already - time really does fly. It won't be long before we begin the seasons reed cutting - starting with the area in front of the first viewing platform (VP1). Got a few teething problems with the machine to sort out first plus I'm likely to have around two weeks off over the school holidays too - so it might be slow progress to start with. 

It will certainly open the area back up again as we…

On Monday 22 August we are resurfacing the entire car park at Ham Wall.

This means that the whole car park, toilets, Info Point and take-away refreshments will be closed and there will be no access to the car park or the Mini Marshes, so that we can all work safely with large machinery and we can ensure we have clear access to all the areas that need work.

This resurfacing work is weather dependant so may need to be…

Much the same story as the last couple of weeks really. Hot, dry weather, no real rain to speak of and fairly quiet on the reserve in terms of birds - much of this to be expected at this time of year of course. It might mean just a little more patience is required when searching out some of our star birds. 

Bitterns are still being seen - maybe not quite in the numbers seen just a few weeks ago, where you'd just turn up…

Some very hot days earlier in the week led to some very quiet days on the reserve in terms of visitors. Those that did visit were desperately seeking some shade. I did venture out on Monday for a short period but spent Tuesday catching up with some office tasks and having a bit of a sort out in our workshop. 

Thankfully it cooled off slightly for Wednesday and Thursday  and this morning, finally, a decent drop of rain …

There seems to be no end to the hot and dry weather at the moment. Not surprisingly, visitor numbers have been very low over the last couple of weeks. It's also traditionally a quiet time for bird life throughout July and August as temperatures rise and breeding season comes to a close, with many birds in a moult stage.

Some parent birds are still busy such as a whitethroat - still active at the first viewing platform…

I'm off work tomorrow (Friday 8th) so I'm writing this a day early this week - lets hope I don't miss anything too spectacular. Although things in terms of bird life are quietening down a bit (as is quite traditional at this time of year) there is still plenty of weird and wonderful things going on at the reserve at the moment.

I'll start with more of a weird thing. This character was spotted on the Avalon…