tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41576695725744885732024-03-12T21:28:25.603-07:00The Cotswold Birdwatching CompanyCotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.comBlogger159125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-85519439559199861832023-06-18T12:59:00.000-07:002023-08-13T12:59:50.692-07:00Nightjars, Quail and Barn Owls<p>An early start listening for Quail, A lay-by in wiltshire and I could here 2 Quail calling only a short stop but well worth the early start to hear these birds.</p><p>This evening a trip to hopefully see and hear Nightjars. We arrived early and was surprised by the total lack of any type of birds. As the sky became darker we started to hear the faint churning of a Nightjar but very distant. We decided to sit under a tree and wait and see if the birds would come to us, we where not disappointed. First a Barn Owl hunted close by then 3 Nightjars performed right in front of us and to cap it off a bird landed in the tree above us and started churning, what a wonderful end to the day in the company of these wonderful birds.</p>Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-70497615089098657742023-06-16T12:46:00.000-07:002023-08-13T12:47:43.603-07:00In search of the Large Blue Butterfly<p>Today a visit to a Gloucestershire hillside in search of butterflies.</p><p>On the road leading up to the reserve a pair of Redstarts where seen darting around the tree tops.</p><p>Out in the meadows a large number of butterflies were out on the wing which included Marbled Whites, Large Skippers, Small Heath, Meadow Brown, Small White, Red Admiral and around 15 Large Blues the butterfly we were looking for. </p><p>I spent a few hours watching these wonderful butterflies some offer very close views.</p><p>A very enjoyable time spent watching these tiny but magical insects.</p>Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-78867501054592849932023-06-14T14:07:00.000-07:002023-06-20T14:11:12.028-07:00Local wildlife sightings<p> Over the last few days I have been staying local to home observing some of the local wildlife on offer,</p><p>Some nice views of the local Water voles along with Otter and a Stoat are all great to see, my first Swift and hobby of the year seen today along with the local Red kites and Buzzards.</p><p>A quick trip out to a local wood produce several Pearl boarded Fritillary Butterflies such a stunning orange coloured butterfly. Other Butterflies seen included Marsh Fritillary, Duke of Burgundy, Dingy Skipper, Grizzled Skipper, Green Hairstreak, Small Blue, Common Blue, Painted Lady, Red Admiral along with several large Whites.</p>Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-32507884057322606052023-05-20T13:53:00.000-07:002023-06-20T14:09:24.913-07:00May’s Highlights<p>Today we visited Somerset one of my favourites places.</p><p>We had an amazing day today spotting around 70 species of bird and a few Butterflies.</p><p>Highlights from today included several Marsh Harriers patrolling the reed beds on the lookout for an easy meal, several Great white Egrets and a few Little Egrets out on the edge of the water fishing.</p><p>Several Duck species around today with the best find of 4 Gargany out on the water, also a few Bittern flying in and out of the reeds.</p><p>A few waders around with Snipe, Black tailed Godwits, Redshank, Ruff, Spotted Redshank, Lapwings and a nice Glossy ibis found.</p><p>Several Warblers species around and a couple of Cuckoo calling in the distance, also a couple of Water rail were head squealing in the reed bed.</p><p>The final highlight of the day was a nice fly over by 3 Common Crane calling as they flew past.</p><p>Butterflies seen today included Comma, Brimstone, Orange tip, Speckled Wood and Peacock.</p><p>Another wonderful day in Somerset.</p><p><br /></p>Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-48637063997937906662023-04-28T13:37:00.000-07:002023-06-20T14:08:45.362-07:00April’s Highlights<p> A couple of local tours and one further afield tour produced some wonderful wildlife moments.</p><p>With most of the migrant birds now back with us we soon managed a good number of Warblers species.</p><p>Chiffchaff, Willow warbler, Whitethroat, Blackcap, Reed warbler, Sedge warbler, Garden warbler all seen well, also a pair of Cuckoo’s chasing each other around at close range was a real highlight.</p><p>Another area produced several Sand Martins along with a few House Martins and Swallows too.</p><p>A barn owl sat on a roadside fence allowed close up views also a distant flight of a Bittern was nice to see after hearing one booming close by.</p><p>A weasel ran across the track in front of us also a few butterfly species are on the wing now with Brimstone, Tortoiseshell, Comma and Orange tips all seen.</p>Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-84770585563486087992023-04-01T05:44:00.003-07:002023-04-01T05:53:38.060-07:00March Highlights<div class="separator"><p style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></p></div><div class="separator"></div><p> lots of wildflowers now out in flower.</p><p>The first reports of migrant birds arriving back in the uk. Sand Martins, House Martins, Swallows, Little ringed Plover, Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers and Wheatear all reported alongside with a few Ospreys.</p><p>A Bittern heard Booming was nice to find.</p><p> Both Brimstone and Red Admiral butterflies seem also.</p><p>Still the occasional Barn owl seen on my early morning drive.</p><p>A trip to an upland moorland site produced both Black and Red grouse, and a visit to a coastal area produced several species of waders.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik36HqEoKX3keHpz4tIltRZhZ-f7HGJzskdmy-xY8syHm-NUWOXPF781sbmSt3XJQjb97FwiQTNmrSJP9Z2PFS446bOftl_kBZd11TSCYj__Tf4T4dVrenOaF10ksAxqG0QtRa0dAJYWhkCTwMGN2w7kj9AhG56mxgh0ehbQCWINq0ub6b67IH4GDLSg/s1507/2E6B0175-3AC1-46E2-A288-D25265F9EB95.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1122" data-original-width="1507" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik36HqEoKX3keHpz4tIltRZhZ-f7HGJzskdmy-xY8syHm-NUWOXPF781sbmSt3XJQjb97FwiQTNmrSJP9Z2PFS446bOftl_kBZd11TSCYj__Tf4T4dVrenOaF10ksAxqG0QtRa0dAJYWhkCTwMGN2w7kj9AhG56mxgh0ehbQCWINq0ub6b67IH4GDLSg/w200-h149/2E6B0175-3AC1-46E2-A288-D25265F9EB95.jpeg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV684oTRqSpRT_FagcCQk8Ax-GWTPPN94pwc0_3w2ANpdOCXazrOYUP7tOkBAZ7yqPv-U3YZRq6GDwjjohS_MWxxnGSUQbDGRjcYDo836yQEkC8JMEP80kyHhqsuSViPasT20Azx-s7EAqfHhcaWnCGjVMecdqY8IwLf_vFcit35QvTO_NBKLz5k8EaQ/s1533/6EA32EDF-9067-44AD-AC04-5D22809BCB54.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1113" data-original-width="1533" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV684oTRqSpRT_FagcCQk8Ax-GWTPPN94pwc0_3w2ANpdOCXazrOYUP7tOkBAZ7yqPv-U3YZRq6GDwjjohS_MWxxnGSUQbDGRjcYDo836yQEkC8JMEP80kyHhqsuSViPasT20Azx-s7EAqfHhcaWnCGjVMecdqY8IwLf_vFcit35QvTO_NBKLz5k8EaQ/w200-h145/6EA32EDF-9067-44AD-AC04-5D22809BCB54.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxCe3Jr2NmDcp_65-thO4M-_JyEEzi3PC5dcMGj5f76ssi66aK4c_V4FIOQIGtS0wqW8ABLzyyDQWL6STiWqxorF9MhTWoe0zOOHqMvpPhidvu-3rI1DPU7FDKcNM3OW56li0eBmHnR8G63FfhlYPTsAp3_J08GH04Dff3wivA7DoLN6g0dxQEQAbsUQ/s1499/69353BB2-2303-42D3-91E7-29714B2E6D4D.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1359" data-original-width="1499" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxCe3Jr2NmDcp_65-thO4M-_JyEEzi3PC5dcMGj5f76ssi66aK4c_V4FIOQIGtS0wqW8ABLzyyDQWL6STiWqxorF9MhTWoe0zOOHqMvpPhidvu-3rI1DPU7FDKcNM3OW56li0eBmHnR8G63FfhlYPTsAp3_J08GH04Dff3wivA7DoLN6g0dxQEQAbsUQ/s320/69353BB2-2303-42D3-91E7-29714B2E6D4D.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-88078491054186929162023-03-17T13:51:00.002-07:002023-03-17T13:51:50.809-07:00February Highlights<p>With the very different weather that when saw in February I managed to do a couple of local walks.</p><p>Nice to see the Snowdrops out in force along with a few Lesser Celandine also shooting up. Again a lot of the common birds where singing Blue tits, Great tits, Wren, Robin, Blackbirds, also a nice Song Thrush.</p><p>The local Magpie’s have built a nest in the tree at the bottom of the garden so I will keep an eye on that, don’t think they have eggs yet.</p><p>I did see a Woodcock on my early morning drive this week always nice to see one of these birds albeit a brief view.</p><p>Several reports of a few migrants arriving at the moment with Wheatear, Sand Martins and Little ringed plover all reported locally.</p><p>No butterflies seen yet but hope to see some in the coming weeks as the temperatures rise.</p><p><br /></p>Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-4259788547264767952023-02-01T13:13:00.002-08:002023-02-01T13:13:33.105-08:00January Highlights <p> An unexpected invitation of a day trip to Norfolk made for a very enjoyable start to the birding year.</p><p>So an early 03:00 start to the day, but the sight of thousands of wildfowl out on the marshes along with several Raptor species made great viewing and the early start was soon forgotten.</p><p>This area is absolutely superb for wildlife and on the right day you can really see some wonderful sights.</p><p>A couple of highlights of the day include a Juvenile Pallid Harrier and a Humes leaf warbler, and with a total bird list of over 90 species the day turned out to be a very enjoyable one.</p><p><br /></p><p>Making the most of a glorious sunny day I did a local woodland walk, it was nice to hear the more common species of birds like Robins and Both Blue and Great tits starting to sing. Also Great Spotted Woodpeckers drumming away in the treetops.</p><p><br /></p><p>Looking forward to seeing what February bring some us.</p>Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-87130788152293932232023-01-21T04:13:00.003-08:002023-01-21T04:13:55.150-08:00Barn Owls<p> Look out for Barn Owls.</p><p>I have been lucky enough to see several Barn Owls on my early morning drives.</p><p>Saw this beauty a couple of weeks back.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8k_BfU0tCA-6y_Lu3ZxxIlZQk9OyUTI_36fWxXCrjH9c7wjXjcR6Mu2EjywhJMWDzBPerKEJLhfXOPeoHT18h7G6PIgS6WB735_9FGj05iqHapwHYk3Lx3-CBRSYjL5kxHCqwGFgNYbbPlsq545wC5y_yTrYvOU6L83gjna2dWlvQAGSeijE2AOp3Q/s1600/315572B1-EB74-41B5-83EC-EA1A7702DD2E.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1396" data-original-width="1600" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8k_BfU0tCA-6y_Lu3ZxxIlZQk9OyUTI_36fWxXCrjH9c7wjXjcR6Mu2EjywhJMWDzBPerKEJLhfXOPeoHT18h7G6PIgS6WB735_9FGj05iqHapwHYk3Lx3-CBRSYjL5kxHCqwGFgNYbbPlsq545wC5y_yTrYvOU6L83gjna2dWlvQAGSeijE2AOp3Q/w200-h174/315572B1-EB74-41B5-83EC-EA1A7702DD2E.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-23795014424249311432023-01-02T07:02:00.001-08:002023-01-02T07:02:34.465-08:00First day of January <p> Just a local walk today to blow away the cobwebs.</p><p>25 species on an hour walk highlight a Little Grebe and 6 Common Gull on the floods.</p><p><br /></p>Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-58131474713996343562023-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:002023-01-02T06:57:52.694-08:00Tour Dates<br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Somerset Levels Tour Dates 2023</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Dates available throughout the spring and summer months </span><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">call for details.</span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_n7xNg0WOgA/WygWSLQ191I/AAAAAAAAB00/K7kN_TTgmrYU7xdwcJVjlGG4Uf7ZS8XGACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/IMG_0736.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1016" data-original-width="1565" height="207" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_n7xNg0WOgA/WygWSLQ191I/AAAAAAAAB00/K7kN_TTgmrYU7xdwcJVjlGG4Uf7ZS8XGACPcBGAYYCw/s320/IMG_0736.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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</span><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Cotswold Water Park Winter Duck Tour</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Dates available throughout the winter months call for details.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Please call us as we may be able to arrange tours at short notice at this time of year.</span>Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-33579760591406043022022-01-08T13:36:00.001-08:002022-01-08T13:36:32.568-08:00Looking Forward to 2022<p> With 2022 now underway we are looking forward to a bird filled year ahead. </p><p><br /></p>Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-3626128169327447432021-05-04T23:27:00.007-07:002021-05-04T23:29:34.896-07:00<p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Update May 2021</span></b></p><p>We are now running private tours form 01st May.</p>Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-16436320084474310492021-01-09T14:12:00.008-08:002021-01-09T14:20:28.415-08:00Update January 2021We have now cancelled all tours until further advise from the goverment. <div><br /></div><div>Darren</div>Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-15678723023883629382020-09-06T12:46:00.002-07:002020-09-06T14:12:24.439-07:00August tours information and sightings.August saw the resumption of ours tours at the Cotswold Water Park.<br />
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See report below.<br />
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Walking up to our first lake we could hear Chiffchaffs all around us along with Blackcaps, the Lakes are attracting more Water birds now as we move nearer Autumn.<br />
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The sight of three Common Cranes circling above us was a highlight but they soon dropped down out of sight.<br />
A single Hobby was seen along with Kestrel two Sparrowhawks and a couple of Buzzard high up on the thermals.<br />
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Checking from the side of the lake we soon saw a large flock of Lapwing along with a couple of Dunlin and a Redshank flying around, out on the lake we found 50+ Red Crested Pochard and around 25 Tufted Duck along with 40 Coots and 8 Common Pochard. Around the lake edge both Little and Great White Egrets were found.<br />
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Several Swallows and House Martins were flying low over the water with the odd Sand Martin mixed in with them.<br />
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Both Green and Great spotted Woodpeckers were heard along with two Cettis Warblers.<br />
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On the walk back we found Robin, Wren, Common Tern, Grey Heron, Whitethroat, Reed Warbler and a small tit flock which included Blue, Great and Long Tailed Tits.<br />
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Still nice to see several species of butterfly on the wing including two migrant Painted Ladies.<br />
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A nice way to get back to running our tours again.DTCotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-43143093393754199792020-08-02T14:15:00.007-07:002020-08-02T14:18:02.298-07:00Covid Update All tours will resume from 03 August 2020Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-69404177543411461152020-06-20T09:19:00.000-07:002020-06-20T09:19:29.884-07:00COVID 19 UPDATERegarding the current Covid 19 pandemic we would just like to let our customers know where we are regarding our tours.<br />
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We are looking at resuming our half day tours at The Cotswold Water Park around July/August time.<br />
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Our full days tour are still an issue for us as a lot of the venues we use are still not fully up and running regarding the toilets facilities and bird hides, also some are asking that you book a time slot to visit, so with this in mind we do not feel we can put a date on it at the moment.<br />
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Obviously the government guidelines are changing week by week so we may be able to start tours sooner if things change.<br />
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Please contact us if you have a voucher and would like to discuss options.<br />
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Kind regards<br />
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Darren & Nick.Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-79145953358095958732020-02-22T12:32:00.000-08:002020-03-05T12:33:04.316-08:00Otmoor in February <br />
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Today we visited Oxfordshire and the RSPB Reserve of Otmoor.<br />
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Weather conditions at the start of the day very wet but this some turned into wonderful sunshine although a stiff breeze persisted all day.<br />
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A walk to the first hide produced Coal tit, Great spotted woodpecker and a Green woodpecker flew from the tree tops ahead of us. Plenty of Fieldfare were sat in the trees and a few Redwing flew over.<br />
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Looking out over the first area we found 2 common cranes flying low at the back of the trees some to disappear out of sight, latter we would have some fantastic views of these birds on the ground.</div>
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Heading out towards big Otmoor we saw several large groups of Lapwing and Golden plover well over 5000 birds, as we watched them we saw all the Lapwing and plovers take to the air and soon found out why as a female Hen harrier heading towards them, we watched the bird move through them as it heading away out over the surrounding countryside. A magical sight to see on this lovely winters morning.</div>
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At the hide around 100 small birds were feeding on the grain that is being put out for the birds over the winter months these included 30 Reed buntings, 30 Linnets, 10 Goldfich, 25 Chaffinch all feeding on the ground great to see so many birds taking advantage of the food.<br />
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Moving off to the first screen we had close views of Teal, Wigeon, Pochard and Tufted duck out on the water along with several Moorhen.<br />
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Several large groups of duck flew over us giving some time for duck ID in flight, the Pintail are easy to pick out with their long bodies, also several Wigeon flew over.<br />
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Here we had our first view of Marsh harrier along with a single Kestrel sat on the telephone wires with several Red kites drifting around.<br />
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Out side the hide a Muntjack deer gave a close view as it walk right passed the window also a Chinese water deer ran off down the path and keeping with the mammal theme a hare was found out on the marsh imitating a mould of earth!.</div>
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On our way back to the car park we saw a Redwing drop into the bush in front of us.</div>
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Buzzards were seen briefly out over the reserve.<br />
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Latter in the day a fly by Bittern put in an appearance very briefly.<br />
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Another good day out in the field with some wonderful birds seen in some interesting weather conditions. Total species seen 56.DT</div>
Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-83203585999958839082020-01-28T13:36:00.001-08:002020-01-28T13:36:26.581-08:00Winter in The Cotswold Water ParkWinter tours.<br />
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Our first tours this year have seen us at The Cotswold Water Park, with all the recent rain the rivers and lakes are at bursting point with some areas under water and impassable even with wellies.<br />
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Two contrasting days one with strong winds and rain the other beautiful sunshine all day, but still several good sightings of all the species on offer. A few fly by Kingfishers with one sat in a small bush just above the Thames waiting for a fish. Large number of duck are around the park at the moment with Wigeon, Teal, Pochard, Gadwall, Mallard, Tufted duck, Shoveler, Pintail, Goldeneye, Goosander and Red Crested Pochard all seen in good numbers. Smaller birds are harder to find but several sightings of Chiffchaff, Goldcrest and Firecrest make scanning the tit flocks worthwhile.<br />
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Several birds of prey are about with Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Red kite and Marsh Harrier all seen along with groups of Lapwing.<br />
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Woodpeckers can be heard calling and drumming always nice to hear them, along with groups of Redwing and Fieldfare feeding on the berry trees.<br />
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There are a few rarer species about with a Black necked Grebe and Scaup out on the Lakes.<br />
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With the large number of birds around the winter can be one of the best times to visit the Water Park there can be over 25,000 birds out on the Lakes!.<br />
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A good start to the year and looking forward to the coming seasons, just get out there and enjoy our countryside. DT.<br />
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<br />Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-8106317873041263752019-11-22T13:44:00.000-08:002019-12-02T13:58:37.512-08:00Somerset Levels Starlings.<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Starlings galore today!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px;">An early start to see the Starlings lift off which did not disappoint, getting on for 100,000 birds coming out in quick succession is a wonderful sight and sound and all to myself too.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The main path itself can provide lots of interest. 3 bullfinch, treecreeper, 7 goldcrest, 10 chiffchaff, 50+ goldfinch and 6 reed buntings (from the old rail bridge) all recorded. Stop off at the 1st viewing platform (VP1) to see the lovely groups of black tailed godwits and Lapwings using the area. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px;">A Bittern dropped into the reeds in front of VP1 Also in Loxtons,kingfishers spotted from the screen, plenty of little grebes both here and around the reserve, a great crested grebe also seen from the screen and the usual group of cormorants sitting on the raft.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Great white egrets are usually fairly easy to spot around the Avalon Marshes. we found several fishing in front of the Avalon hide giving close views. You may also see the odd little egret. Bizarrely, unlike most sites, these are harder to come by at Ham Wall than great white or cattle egret and perhaps even bittern these days.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Wildfowl numbers are building slowly but as many as 270 teal were counted in front of VP1 and VP2. Look out also for wigeon, shoveler, mallard, gadwall, tufted duck, pochard and shoveler. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Other winter visitors include the Redwing and Fieldfare. As many as 100 redwing were seen in the car park trees and we had numerous sightings of both redwing and fieldfare throughout the reserve. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We found Stonechats in front of VP1, Grey wagtail, Sparrowhawk seen from the car park and the Avalon Hide, kestrel seen hovering beyond the bottom of the car park.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Marsh harriers have been really easy to spot today up to 5 have been seen using all parts of the reserve. They are particularly evident after the starling roost has left. They quarter over the roost site looking for any dead starlings for a nice easy meal.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">On Shapwick Heath 2 Whopper swans on Noah's lake along with a group on 20 Pintail and several water rail calling, duck numbers are starting to build up also.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We finished off watching the Starlings coming back into roost for the evening, this is a great way to end a goods days Birdwatching on the Somerset levels. No doubt we will be back a few more times before the winter ends.DT.f</span></div>
Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-39912000887981119052019-11-11T13:07:00.000-08:002019-12-02T13:48:57.539-08:00Otmoor visits in November<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.199999809265137px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">The leaves on all the trees and in the hedgerows are flaring with last blaze of autumn colour making for a lovely sight on a clear morning.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.199999809265137px;">Once again the moor is a proper wetland. The rain of the last few weeks has transformed many fields into lakes with just hedgerows, bunds and banks standing clear and they are attracting huge numbers of birds. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.199999809265137px;">We estimated that there were in excess of one thousand Lapwings in several different flocks that erupted from separate parts of the moor when flushed by one or other of the attendant raptors. The Lapwings were accompanied by flocks of Starlings that were not feeding far from their reedbed roost site. There were also large numbers of Golden Plovers that were more difficult to count, but certainly their numbers are in excess of 500.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.199999809265137px;">As is to be expected with such a high biomass present on and around the moor we have been seeing lots of raptors and seeing them more frequently. Where initially the Starling roost was their prime attraction, in addition it is also the flocks of larger prey species feeding out on the floods. There were four different Buzzards around the reedbed and there are still two Ring-tailed Hen Harriers roaming across the moor. </span><br />
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The resident Marsh Harriers are also likely to be seen as well as Kestrels and Sparrowhawks. Peregrines are now being seen regularly. We also had the bonus of seeing a Short eared Owl from the bridleway today.</div>
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Duck numbers across the moor have gone up very significantly but they are not being seen on the lagoon in front of the first or second screens. They have plenty of other places to be at the moment and undoubtedly the continuing presence of a family of three Otters in the reedbed is keeping them away for now. </div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">The Otters are being seen almost every day and seem quite used to being watched from the screen. Sometimes the youngsters can be seen rolling and tumbling in the water, at other times hunting and feeding and once today out on the edge of the bank. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">A few smaller birds are staring to come onto the reserve now so hopefully the winter feeding program will start soon which should attract several different species.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">There is a substantial Starling roost taking place but as yet there have been no spectacular displays. The birds have been arriving and going straight down to roost without producing a shape shifting spectacle. This roost has been attended by Marsh Harriers and by at least two Barn Owls.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Over the coming months I think that this could be a very exciting place to visit which should provide a great days wildlife watching. Just get out and enjoy it DT.</span></div>
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Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-74337070671604371362019-11-09T13:17:00.000-08:002019-12-02T13:49:29.218-08:00Cotswold Water Park in NovemberToday we visited the Cotswold Water Park.<br />
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With winter arriving duck numbers are on the rise, several species encountered today on our short visit.<br />
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Wigeon numbers are going up all the time with Shoveler, Gadwall and teal rising too.<br />
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We have a few Goosander back with us also a small number of Goldeneye were found.<br />
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Several small flocks of tits are building up now, we did find a couple of tiny Goldcrest mixed in with them.<br />
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Both Green and Great spotted Woodpecker were seem along with Buzzard and Sparrowhawk.<br />
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Over the coming months the number of birds should increase which should make a visit to the park worthwhile.<br />
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A total of 56 species encountered today in around three hours.DT.Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-26906432269551869882019-10-10T05:44:00.001-07:002019-10-10T05:44:31.830-07:00Weekend tour to Somerset Levels<br />
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We started on Shapwick Heath NNR this time. Before we had
left the car park ten <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/cattle-egret/">cattle
egret</a> flew over heading east – a good start! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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As we started down the track, we soon heard several <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/bearded-tit/">bearded
tit</a> calling from the nearby reedbed, despite a rapid detour we couldn’t
find them. We soon added <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/c/cettiswarbler/index.aspx">Cetti’s
warbler</a>, <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/blue-tit/">blue
tit</a>, <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/great-tit/">great
tit</a> and <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/long-tailed-tit/">long-tailed
tit</a>. A quick look at the first reed bed gave us our first view of <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/great-white-egret/">great
white egret</a> chugging over the reeds and <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/marsh-harrier/">marsh
harrier</a> were immediately evident too. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male marsh harrier</td></tr>
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We reached our first pool and were soon seeing a nice
selection of waterfowl, including <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/c/coot/index.aspx">coot</a>,
<a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/mute-swan/">mute
swan</a>, <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/c/cormorant/index.aspx">cormorant</a>,
<a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/s/shoveler/index.aspx">shoveler</a>,
<a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/moorhen/">moorhen</a>,
<a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/m/mallard/index.aspx">mallard</a>,
<a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/g/gadwall/index.aspx">gadwall</a>,
<a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/teal/">teal</a>,
<a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/g/greyheron/index.aspx">grey
heron</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"> </span>and <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/little-grebe/">little
grebe</a>. A couple of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/k/kingfisher/index.aspx">kingfisher</a>
were zooming around the pool and another great white egret was popping in and
out of the reads. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coot having a good wash</td></tr>
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A few <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/s/swallow/index.aspx">swallow</a>
were zooming over on their way of South Africa for the winter. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As we worked out way along the footpath, through the woods
to the next hide we continued to pick up new species including, <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/wildlife-and-the-law/wildlife-and-countryside-act/">blackbird</a>,
<a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/wren/">wren</a>,
<a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/dunnock/">dunnock</a>,
<a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/chaffinch/">chaffinch</a>,
<a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/goldfinch/">goldfinch</a>,
<a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/siskin/">siskin</a>,
<a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/robin/">robin</a>
and an elusive <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/goldcrest/">goldcrest</a>.
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Onto the next pool where we saw a number of <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/herring-gull/">herring
gull</a>, <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/black-headed-gull/">black-headed
gull</a>, <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/greylag-goose/">greylag
goose</a> and <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/great-crested-grebe/">great
crested grebe</a>. Here we watched a young marsh harrier try to catch a wigeon
on the water with almost disastrous consequences. Having plunged osprey-like
into the lake it just managed to get free from the grip of the water and slink
off to hide in a bit of cover in the middle of the lake. Lesson learnt
hopefully. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After lunch we headed over onto Ham Wall RSPB.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We picked up a <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/little-egret/">little
egret</a> at the first viewing point. As well as some great views of mixed flocks
of waterfowl. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8RX-6QUc2oo/XZ8nOqNw2xI/AAAAAAAACS0/SZZPVWqL0YUlTUfNtzehH_ZTxO-OWrtAACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_2656.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1199" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8RX-6QUc2oo/XZ8nOqNw2xI/AAAAAAAACS0/SZZPVWqL0YUlTUfNtzehH_ZTxO-OWrtAACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/IMG_2656.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great white egret</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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At the next viewing points we had great views of <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/snipe/">snipe</a>
and <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/lapwing/">lapwing</a>
as well as more teal, wigeon, shoveler and gadwall. <o:p></o:p></div>
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At the final hide we a marsh harrier master class from a
splendid adult male. <o:p></o:p></div>
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All-in-all a great day! (NA)<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-42486126858994882532019-09-08T08:19:00.004-07:002019-09-08T08:53:26.990-07:00<div style="color: #454545; font-family: lato; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.44999998807907104px; word-wrap: break-word;">
Some of the highlights form our recent tours on the Somerset Levels.</div>
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We Normally run our tours at the RSPB’s Ham Wall reserve, so on one 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 soon paid off with a flock of 25 birds seen moving around the reedbeds some giving good scope views albeit brief ones. We have had a lots of success with the Bearded tits the last few tours and had some of the best sightings of this difficult to see bird.<br />
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With all the water around you always see a lot of duck species we have encountered Gadwall, Mallard, Shoverler, Teal and a few Wigeon and Pochard on our tours. also Marsh harriers are a common sight and if you sit tight in the main hide you get some very close views of them, we have seen a few food passes taking place this year always nice to see this taking place. Bitterns too are a lot easier to see here than other place and we have been very lucky in seeing several birds in the air together, with some coming very close to the hides at times.<br />
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On some of the wetter muddy area we found flocks of waders that consisted of Black tailed godwit, Knot, Wood and Green sandpipers also Lawping,Snipe and Redshank.</div>
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Butterflies are encountered all over Ham Wall with a good list of them seen on our tours, a couple of good places to look are around the flower beds in the car park and along the main track where there are a few buddliea bushes. On our last visit we saw Painted lady and a Clouded Yellow both of these are migrants that visit us over the summer months.</div>
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We sometimes come across Roe Deer when out early but as soon as more visitors arrive they seem to disappear and hide.<br />
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We did find some tiny baby Harvest Mice out on the path so cute but very vulnerable.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">We also visit Shapwick Heath which has a large body of water so you always get a few different birds here.</span><br />
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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. Also we have seen a few Black Tern from here this summer.</div>
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An Osprey normally stops off here on route back to Africa and this year we were lucky to be around when one showed up, again some wonderful close views from the hide on Noah's lake. This lake has been a good place this year with a great sighting of over 50 Hobbies on one not so good spring morning a truly unforgettable experience.<br />
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We sometimes come across Otters when out and about but you do need to be out early for these, all though you do sometimes come across them in the middle of the day.<br />
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We sometimes visit a small reserve called Catcott lows, this year Cattle Egrets have been common here with over 100 birds around at different times. Over the summer months we have seen some wonderful wildlife experience on the Somerset levels, now looking forward to the approaching winter which will bring in many thousands of wildfowl..DT</div>
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Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157669572574488573.post-72638272699464170312019-08-31T07:37:00.000-07:002019-09-08T07:39:31.603-07:00Today we visited the Cotswold Waterpark on a fine August morning.<br />
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With the weather still warm we encountered several different butterflies today with Red Admiral, Small and Large Whites, Speckled Woods and several of the beautiful Pained Ladies.<br />
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Moving on several small birds could be heard in the bushes which turned out to be Blue, Great and Long tailed tits, also Blackcaps and a single Chiffchaff could be heard singing at the top of a tall tree.<br />
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On our first lake we found Tufted duck, Great Crested Grebe, Red Crested Pochard, Shoveler, Teal along with a few Cormorant.<br />
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Next we saw the blue flash of a Kingfisher as it flew away up the lake always nice to see albeit a brief view.<br />
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Walking on we saw two Hobby fly over along with a Buzzard and several black headed gulls.<br />
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Both Grey heron and Little Egret seen feeding around the edge of the lake along with several Gadwall and Mallard.<br />
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On our return route we saw several small groups of House and Sand Martins along with a few Swallows hawking over the lake picking up the tiny insects just above the water.<br />
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Other birds seen included Whitethroat, Green and Great spotted Woodpeckers along with a couple of Jays and Kestrel.<br />
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With winter on its way we should start to see lots more wildfowl returning to the park soon which is always an enjoyable time to visit here<br />
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A pleasant morning in the autumn sunshine.DT<br />
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Cotswold Birdwatching Tourshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15126321590589144239noreply@blogger.com0