Autumn at Cotswold Water Park

We started off from the car park and visitor centre at Lower Moor Wiltshire Wildlife Trust reserve. In the first few bushes were the first of many robin and wren. 

Robin

We arrived at the first hide where we could see four wigeon on the far side and a confiding pair of mallard flew in and swam right up to the hide. Once we’d refilled the feeders, blue tit and great tit were in and out grabbing food. Kingfisher kept calling but managed to stay out of sight.  

We worked our way towards the next hide, on the way we checked out the main lake where a male  mute swan was busy evicting that year’s youngsters. Also present were a number of cormorant in the trees. Just after this we spotted an otter fishing out in the middle of the lake – great stuff!

Autumnal view from the hide

At the next hide the grey heron spotted us and was gone before we sat down, also present were more wigeon, mallard and mute swan. A pair of gadwall flew in to let us see their lovely plumage up close. 

We moved on past he impressive cattle shed to Clattinger Farm where we started seeing fieldfare and redwing in great numbers, perhaps 500 birds in total. We also had fleeting glimpses of long-tailed tit and goldcrest while walking round the fields. Flying over were siskin, lesser redpoll and yellowhammer.

It was then back to the hides to look for the elusive kingfisher, where the mute swan were still resting (NA).

A snoozing Penn

CWP was the place to be!

We started off from the Gateway Centre with a look at the lake there. We’d soon seen wigeon, coot, great crested grebe, mute swan and heard a Cetti’s warbler.

Great crested grebe

Along the canal we picked up the first of what was to be many robin. Other species found along here were blackbird, great spotted woodpecker, blue tit, great tit, wren, carrion crow, magpie, jackdaw and woodpigeon.

As we worked our way through the village, robin and wren were in good supply.

Along the lane we started adding more birds to our list, namely: chaffinch, dunnock, goldcrest, long-tailed tit, treecreeper and overhead was an elusive skylark.

As we headed along the old railway line, we had a brief view of a grey heron, as well as good views of rook feeding in a field.

The highlight for me was seeing the group of nine curlew drop into the gravel workings for a wash and brush up – brilliant! There were also a couple of teal and some black-headed gull here.

We then worked our way along the edge of a small lake where we saw tufted duck, lesser black-backed gull and a secretive little grebe.  

As we reached the main lake we saw a mass of Canada goose with a single greylag goose mixed in. We also had a great view of a grey heron and a young lapwing who managed to find and eat a worm!

Grey heron

From there we headed back through the village where we saw some impressive chickens, after a little research I think they were Brahmas.

Finally, we headed back along the first lake we passed where we had great views of cormorant with their wings out stretched. (NA)

Somerset Levels day tour

Today saw us on the Somerset Levels.

We headed into the RSPB’s Ham Wall reserve on a fine morning, stopping at the rail bridge we scanned around and found a couple of Chiffchaff and heard Cetti's Warblers calling, we headed on down the path to the first viewing platform (VP1) where we had a brief view of a Kingfisher sat on a post, next we saw a Marsh Harrier and a Buzzard also Great White Egrets. Little Grebes and Water Rails were calling. Next we heard the pinging calls of Bearded tits coming from deep within the reedbed, so a bit of patience was required which some paid off with a flock of 25 birds seen moving around the reedbeds some giving good scope views albeit brief ones.

We moved onto the next area and found several species of duck out on the water giving very close views, Gadwall, Mallard, Shoverler, Teal and a few Wigeon and Pochard also a couple of Marsh harriers were flying around in the distance. A Bittern was seen moving around in front of the reedbed but soon disappeared into cover typical behaviour!!

Moving to a wetter muddy area we found a flock of waders that consisted of Black tailed godwit and 25 Knot also Lawping and Snipe could be seen. 

Another few Bearded tit were seen along with another Kingfisher before returning to the car for lunch.

We headed out to Shapwick reserve in the afternoon with a light cool breeze starting to get up definitely cooler than this morning. En route we saw Linnets, Swallows and House Martins, and in the car park we glimpsed a female Blackcap and a very confiding Buzzard sat on the main gate post, while along the path Chiffchaff, Blackbird and Dunnock were all feeding on berries.

On the first reedbed pool there were a few Teal, Gadwall and a Little Grebe. Birdsong is almost over by now, but we heard a few snatches of a Cetti’s Warblers from time to time.

From Noah’s Hide we heard Water Rail calling, and saw over 100 Mute Swans, along with Little and Great White Egrets, Canada and Greylag Geese, and Great Crested Grebes, we also saw a Bittern fly in and land in the nearby reedbed all good sightings.

Later in the day we headed to Catcott lows to see if we could find any Cattle Egrets and was rewarded with around 15 birds feeding around the cattle. A good end to another wonderful wildlife experience on the Somerset levels.DT

Cotswold Waterpark half day

Today we visited the Cotswold Waterpark on a fine September morning.

First sighting of the day was the blue flash of a Kingfisher as it flew away up the Thames a good start.

On our first lake we found Tufted duck, Great Crested Grebe and a couple of Red Crested Pochard along with a single Cormorant.

Moving on several small birds could be heard it the bushes which turned out to be Blue. Great and Long tailed tits, also a single Chiffchaff.

Walking on we saw a Hobby fly over along with a Buzzard and several black headed gulls.

The bird of the day today was definitely the Robins singing from every area we visited.

Another Kingfisher was seen flying around the lake which had a few Wigeon and teal on a sign that winter is on the way.

Both Grey heron and Little Egret seen feeding around the edge of the lake along with several Gadwall and Mallard.

Latter in the day a Cattle Egret was found amongst the local cattle picking off the many flies that landed on the cattles faces.

With winter on its way we should start to see lots more wildfowl returning to the park.

A pleasant morning in the autumn sunshine.DT

Somerset Levels

A day on the Levels.

With the weather looking cooler than the past few weeks today saw us in Somerset.

Some good views of Marsh Harriers and Great White Egret as we entered the reserve with several groups of Gadwall in various stages of moult, sometimes making them very difficult to indentify for novices birdwatchers.

Several duck species around were Mallard, Gadwall, Tufted, Pochard, Teal all seen along with both Great Crested and Little Grebes. A few gulls loafing around on the water with Black headed, Lesser black backed and Herring Gull all observed.

Great white Egrets seem to have done well this year these birds can be seen at almost every area we visited, also Little Egret, Grey Heron and Bittern all putting in appearances.

Small birds were harder to find today may be the hot weather is having an effect on them, Reed warbler, Reed Bunting, Robin, Dunnock, Chiffchaff all around but keeping well hidden.

Butterflies and Dragonflies are still around with Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, Comma, all seen along with Brown Hawker Dragonflies and a few Blue tailed damselflies.

With the heat building we spent the afternoon around the hides keeping out of the strong sunlight, we saw a few Hobbies fly past hunting Dragonflies along with soaring Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk.

Despite the heat getting up in the afternoon this is still one of the best places to see wildlife at this time of year. DT.

Early summer on the Levels

Somerset Levels tour.

A little overcast for our tour today but still packed full of wonderful wildlife.

A single Cuckoo flying at the back of the reedbed the adults will soon be heading back to Africa leaving their young to find their own way there.

Lots of Herons out today with Little, Great white Egret, Grey heron and several Bitterns flying around, see images below.

A few Hobby seen catching dragonflies along with Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Buzzard and several Marsh Harries both male and females all seen well.

Not many small birds around today maybe just a bit to windy for them but we did find a nice male Blackcap sitting out in the open, also Whitethroat and several Cetti's Warblers blasting out their calls.

See below images all taken buy our client today paul (Great white Egret, Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, a very interesting day at my favourite Somerset reserve.DT.

Somerset Levels in early May

We did so many trips to the Somerset Levels in early May it seemed easier to do an edited highlight post rather than loads of individual posts!

Bittern were booming it seemed the whole time, we had varying views of them on most tours, although we did set a new CBC record for the most bittern seen at one time - five!

five bittern chasing around

These are most likely two females with three males in pursuit. Great white egret are the most common heron on the sites we visit at present. Its relatively straightforward to see over ten on any visit, amazing!

Warbler numbers have been relatively low this year, with adverse weather holding them up on their northern migration, so it was pleasing to hear ever increasing numbers of a variety of species including garden warbler, blackcap, willow warbler, chiffchaff, reed warbler, sedge warbler and whitethroat.

Birds of prey were evident with perhaps 50 hobby present on one visit, hawking low over the water and reeds, what a site! The marsh harrier have also been busily building their nests ready for the breeding season ahead.

Lots of duck around on the water and we were lucky enough to see garganey on two visits. Here's a male from Avalon Hide on Ham Wall RSPB reserve.

Male garganey

Perhaps my favourite sighting was a female great crested grebe carrying one of her chicks on her back.

Extra large photo so you can see the chick!

An osprey was seen hovering before plunging into the water on one visit. Cuckoo were seen on most visits also.

There's always something great to see on the Somerset Levels and its a great place to practise your birdwatching skills, so if you have not been there on one of our tours - get in touch and book one! (NA)

Durlstone Tour

Today saw us on the Dorset coast looking for migrants and sea birds.

Several Razorbills and Guillemots out on the water giving some close views for comparison.

Along the path a Raven flew past with a few Fulmars riding the wind, sat out on the rooks were Great black-backed gulls along with Herring gulls. Out over the sea several Shags flew low over the water with a couple of Sandwich terns and a small group of Manx shearwaters going past.

Further down the path a Peregrine flew low past us as it went off  looking for breakfast, the bird performed well for us throughout the day with one missed hunting attempt on a pigeon and a stunning view has it sat out on the cliff ledge.

Resting Peregrine Falcon

Small birds were found in the scrubby areas which included Whitethroat, Lesser whitethroat, Blackcap, Linnet, Mistle thrush, Meadow pipits, along with several Stonechats perched on top of the bushes.

Other birds seen as we moved on down the path were  Rock pipits, Skylarks, Dunnocks and Wrens.

Later in the day we decided to look for Puffin and where lucky enough to find two birds sat out on the sea before flying into the undercliffs and out of sight. 

A long day but some good quality birds seen at very close range. DT

Somerset Levels

Over the last week we have run four tours on the Somersetlevels with some fantastic wildlife highlights.

A total of 60+ Hobbies giving some very close views from just outside the hide, also an Osprey drifted over.

Marsh harries flying around along with several Bitterns 5 in one shot at the same time (magical to see)

Cuckoo’s  calling from within the reserve, Garganey on the marshes along with Shoverler and Wigeon.

Tufted duck, Pochard, Little and Great crested Grebe all on the water along with Coot and Moorhen.

The woodland being alive with several warbler species all in good voice. Great white egrets can be seen on nest along with Grey heron and several little egrets moving around.

A few butterflies around with small amount of Damselflies starting to emerge. DT/NA

Comma Butterfly

Small Blue Butterfly

Dingy Skipper Butterfly

Cotswold Water Park

May has turned out to be full of fine weather enabling us to run several tours around The Cotswold Water Park. 

Several warblers are with us for the summer which have included Willow warbler, Chiffchaff, Cettis warbler, Reed warbler, Sedge warbler, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Whitethroat, and Lesser whitethroat.

Lots of common birds around with Blackbirds, Blue tit, Great tit, Long tailed tit along with song thrush, Mistle thrush.

Some of the less common birds seen have included Nightingale, Cuckoo, Marsh Harrier, Hobby along with Green woodpecker and Great spotted woodpeckers.

Several butterflies are now on the wing seen so far are Brimstone, Orange tip, Speckled wood, Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Small White and Large white, Holy blue.

A great time to be out watching spring move through. DT

Spring on the Levels

We started on Ham Wall RSPB reserve with the last of the showers passing overhead.  

Before we had even left the car park we were listening to, blue tit, chiffchaff, robin and blackcap.

As we started down the track, we were finding new species and soon added  willow warbler and  Cetti’s warbler . 

A quick look at the first reed bed gave us our first view of great white egret this chap was stood behind some mute swan and looked every bit as big.  

We reached our first cover and were soon seeing a nice selection of waterfowl, including great crested grebe, as well as lesser black-backed gull, coot, cormorant, shoveler, moorhen, mallard, tufted duck, gadwall, teal, grey heron and little grebe. 

Great Crested Grebe

A  kingfisher was nice enough to pitch on the reeds opposite us so we could get a reasonable look at it. Perhaps my favourite bird of the day was the long-tailed tit who was a metre or so from us and completely oblivious to us watching – brilliant!

A few swallow, and sand martin were feeding over the lakes and our heads.  

As we worked our way along the footpath, we continued to pick up new species including great tit, blackbird, wren, dunnock, reed warbler, song thrush, chaffinch, goldfinch, lesser redpoll and brambling.

Male teal

At the second viewing point we had great views of a male marsh harrier and a pair of bittern flying around and around like a couple of WW1 fighters in a dogfight!

On our way back to the car park we heard a distant tawny owl hooting and picked up great spotted woodpecker for our every growing list. We were also able to compare the great white egret to the much smaller little egret.

After lunch we worked our way around Shapwick Heath where we saw a few extra birds from Noah’s Hide such as  wigeon as well as snipe, herring gull, Canada Goose, greylag goose and black-headed gull.

At the last little hide we had fantastic views of another male marsh harrier, as well as one of his females and a male reed bunting singing from a willow.

The last bird of the day was an elusive Treecreeper in the wet woodland.

All-in-all a great day! (NA)

A trip to Arne

Today saw us at the RSPB  Reserve of Arne on the Dorest coast.

Behind the small information centre they have a feeding station which attracts several species into feed. Several chaffinch, blue tit , great tit are the main birds but nuthatch, siskin and coal tit were all seen.

Both green and Great spotted woodpeckers were heard and then seen flying around the treetops.

On our walk to the marsh several Chiffchaff were seen and heard singing along with a single willow warbler all newly arrived for the summer breeding season. We also had a fine view of a treecreeper feeding in the trees.

Out on the marsh several Curlew were found along with oystercatchers, shelduck, teal, little egret and Great Crested Grebe out on the water. Before we moved on a Fox ran across the marsh putting up a few birds as it went.

Moving onto another area we saw a couple of Sika deer hiding in the foliage very common here at Arne.

From our next viewpoint around 600 black tailed godwits were feeding on the mud all in various stages of plumage with some showing off their fine rich red bellies.

A couple of buzzards drifted slowly along the back tree line making the godwits fly up giving a fantastic view as the wheeled around in front of us.

On our walk around the Heath we picked up a single wheatear along with a few displaying meadow pipits.

Looking out again over the marsh a few swallows and martins moved through at a fast pace not looking at stopping, also a few sandwich tern were plunge diving out in the bay. Several gulls were loafing around on the sandbanks which included black headed, lesser black backed and a couple of greated black backed gulls picked out.

With the weather closing in we returned to the car and called it a day.

Not the best of conditions for a spring day but still a lot going on and well worth being out and about at this fantastic reserve.DT

Final Winter Duck Tour

Today we had our final Winter Duck tour of the season.

With the harsh weather still around it would be interesting to see what is still with us.

On our first lake we found a small group of Red Crested Pochard along with Tufted Ducks and a Great Crested Grebe.

Moving on down the path we found in total 6 Chiffchaff all busy looking for food on the ground and low in the bushes, in the treetops 2 Great spotted Woodpeckers chased each other around.

Scanning one of the larger lakes we found a large raft of gulls mostly Black headed along with Common and a few Lesser black backed mixed in, also 5 Sand martins flying low over the surface hawking for insects. A small group of duck on the far bank turned out to be Wigeon on closer inspection.

Two of the smaller lakes both had a pair of Great Crested Grebes on them which gave a little bit of their head shaking display as we moved on by.

A few Redwing and Fieldfare were flying around along with a small group of Goldfinch, also seen a tiny Goldcrest searching for insects within the Ivy and a couple of Song Thrush.

Next stop we found a few different duck with Common Pochard found along with Gadwall and Mallard, moving onto our next view point we found the highlight of the day a fine red head Smew along with 2 female Goosander great to catch up with the two species.

On our walk back we found a couple of male Goosander along with several pairs of Goldeneye also seen a Little Egret fishing along the river.

A good mix of both summer and winter birds around today making for a very enjoyable tour.DT

First Spring Tour

Our first spring tour and we are greated with snow flurries and cold wind!!!!

Leaving the car park the first bird we found was a fine Great spotted Woodpecker moving its way up the trunk of a large tree also a single Robin sat on a low branch.

Looking out over the lake a male Goosander was found along with several Red Crested Pochard and a few Tufted duck, further round a Great Crested Grebe sat on the water keeping out of the wind.

In the lower bushes several Long tailed Tits, Blue Tit and a couple of Great tits were seen.

Moving onto a larger lake we found both male and female Goldeneye along with two pairs of Wigeon    and several small groups of gulls on the water, both Black headed and Common Gull in them. Other birds seen around the lake were Grey Heron, Cormorant and a small group of Sand Martins feeding low over the water.

Looking over one of the smaller lakes we found a pair on Great Crested Grebes which put on a wonderful display for us showing their weed dance, great to see this and now is the time to be looking out for this on the smaller lakes around the park.

Smaller birds were a little hard to find today but we did find Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Bullfinch, Goldfinch,

Further on another chiffchaff this time singing from the tree tops and a Red Kite drifted overhead.

Other birds seen included Reed Bunting, Collard Dove, Rock, Crow, Jackdaw and a small group of Redwing.

Just goes to show that the birds are still around even when the weather is not as expected for this time of year.DT

March walk cancelled

WALK CANCELLED.

We have cancelled the walk on the 3rd March due to the weather conditions.

A chilly Somerset Levels

We started our walk on RSPB Ham Wall, heading to Shapwick Heath NNR in the afternoon.

One of the first things we saw was the pair of stonechat along the large drainage ditch.

Male stonechat

Many of the berries had long been eaten, but there were still a few blackbird and song thrush foraging around the bushes. Other species seen at the start included blue tit, great tit, robin, wren and dunnock.

At the first viewing point we picked up a nice selection of waterfowl: coot, great crested grebe, gadwall, teal, wigeon, tufted duck, pintail, shoveler, mallard, mute swan and cormorant.

We were lucky enough to catch some of the display of the grebes too – brilliant!

Other birds seen here included the first two of many marsh harrier, as well as a grey heron and a rather splendid glossy ibis. 

Great crested grebe not carrying a feather!

We had a brief detour to look for a kingfisher that proved elusive. But we did see little grebe, moorhen and pochard.

Just along the path and we bumped into a little egret next to a great white egret, perfect for comparisons!

As we carried on, we heard a few blasts of some well-hidden cetti’s warblers. As we worked our way along the scrub and bushes, we saw chaffinch and long-tailed tit as well as goldfinch feeding on the seeds and insects.

A brief check from the second viewing point provided more marsh harriers, then onto the return path from which we had great views of a male bullfinch feeding on buds.

We carried onto the Avalon hide where we had excellent views of waterfowl and more marsh harriers, some of which came very close to us.On our way back for lunch we picked up the slightly less elusive kingfisher in the same area as before.

The afternoon started with an even closer view of a male bullfinch. We heard more Cetti’s warblers and had brief views of a goldcrest moving through the vegetation. We headed for Noah’s Lake where we had very close views of a great crested grebe, grey heron and a common snipe. Out on the lakes there were 1000s of duck, included in their number was a male goldeneye.

snipe

A great day! (NA)

Winter tours

With winter drawing to a close we are looking back over our monthly tours which we started in 2017/2018.

Winter can be a fantastic time for Birdwatching in the Cotswold Waterpark with many thousands of waterbirds around, along with a few rearer species on show.

Some of the highlights of our recent tours have included Bittern, Marsh harrier, Peregrine falcon, Short eared owls, Smew, Ring necked Duck, Great northern diver to name a few.

Also large groups of Redwing and Fieldfare can be seen around the park feeding in the bushes along with groups of Siskin and Redpoll.

On the water several duck species can be seen and this year we saw large numbers of Pintail in the waterpark always nice to see these elegant ducks.

Our most commented on bird by our clients was the tiny Goldcrest that we had some very close encounters with, incredible to see them this close.

If you would like to come along on these tours we are thinking about runnng them again in 2018/2019, please email us and we can add you to our list, these trips are incredible value for money and you really don't know what you might see.

Looking forward now to our spring and summer tours.DT

Otmoor trip

A trip to Otmoor.

Today we visited Oxfordshire at the RSPB Reserve of Otmoor.

Weather conditions today a little gloomy but still a good selection of birds to see.

A walk to the first hide produced Treecrepper, Nuthatch, Marsh tit, Coal tit, Great spotted woodpecker and a Green woodpecker flew from the tree tops ahead of us.

At the hide around 300 small birds were feeding on the grain that is being put out for the birds over the winter months these included 100 Reed buntings, 80 Linnets, 40 Goldfich, 40 Chaffinch, 10 Yellowhammer along with 4 Bullfinch 2 Greenfinch and a single Brambling. With the arrival of a Sparrowhawk all the birds took flight and disappeared returning after about ten minutes.

Moving off to the first screen we had close views of Teal, Wigeon and Tufted duck out on the water along with around 6 Snipe hiding at the edge of the reeds.

Here we had our first view of Marsh harrier along with a single Kestrel and a fly past Bittern always a good bird to see.

We returned at the end of the day to the first screen to watch the Starlings coming into roost around 100,000 birds what a noise when you are so close to them, we saw a couple more Marsh harriers on the look out for an easy meal as the starlings moved over the top of the reedbed.

Another good day out in the field with some wonderful birds seen. DT