Spring Highlights

Well that was one of the best springs I can remember for a long time.

A couple of local tours and one further afield tour produced some wonderful wildlife moments.

With most of the migrant birds now back with us we soon managed a good number of Warblers species.

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.

Another area produced several Sand Martins along with a few House Martins and Swallows too.

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.

A weasel ran across the track in front of us also a few more butterfly species are on the wing now with Brimstone, Tortoiseshell, Comma, Pearl Boarded Fritillary, Duke of Burgandy and Orange tips all seen.

February Highlights

 February Highlights

With such a great start to 2025 it is not surprising that February was a somewhat quieter affair with wind and rain making the headlines. That being said, the first signs of the arrival of spring and a changing of the guard came throughout the month. After those first intrepid first arrivals in late January, the first half of February saw Oystercatchers arrive back on breeding grounds.  The arrival of the years first passerines though, not waders, typically heralds the arrival of spring for most birders and that came on the 24th with the seasons first Sand Martin. 

The mornings are still producing regular sightings of Barn owl. a trip to the Cotswold Water Park gave some good views of Siskin, Treecreeper, and Goldcrest with a good variety of Duck species still around including some nice male Goldeneye and Goosander.

marsh Harrier, Merlin and Tawny owl all seen this month, along with groups of Fieldfare and a few Redwing.

Towards the end of the month the weather improved and a walk around a local area produced 3-4 singing Chiffchaff.

January Highlights

Some January Highlights

A bit of time this month spent looking for Short Eared Owls, this is the best time to look for these beautiful birds.

I certainly struck lucky on the three afternoons I went looking finding 4 birds on one hill, what a great way to end a cold winters afternoon.

Also lots of Raptors seen this month included Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier, Buzzards, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and 2 Peregrine Falcon Displaying over my head. Also a single Merlin, Barn Owl and Tawny owl not a bad selection.

This is also the best time to check out some of the larger bodies of water as there is usually big numbers of wildfowl around. All species seen in high numbers included Pintail, Wigeon, Teal, Gadwall, Pochard, Tufted duck and Shoveller along with smaller numbers of Goosander, Goldeneye, Red Crested Pochard and a surprise male Mandarin mixed in with a flock of Tufted duck. Other birds seen included Great white Egret, Little Egret the odd fly past from Kingfishers and both Green and Great spotted Woodpeckers where seen.

Most of our common local birds have started singing on sunny days with the highlight being a nice Song Thrush belting out from the treetops.

I did venture out on one particular cold and frosty morning to look for Water Rail as the lakes had frozen over in the night, not disappointed I managed to see 5 of this very secretive bird some given very close views.

Nice to see big groups of Snowdrops out in flower also.

Looking forward to seeing what delights we can find in February. 

Tour Dates

Somerset Levels Tour Dates 2025

Dates available throughout the spring and summer months call for details.

Cotswold Water Park Winter Duck Tour

Dates available throughout the winter months call for details.

Please call us as we may be able to arrange tours at short notice at this time of year.

Nightjars, Quail and Barn Owls

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.

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.

In search of the Large Blue Butterfly

Today a visit to a Gloucestershire hillside in search of butterflies.

On the road leading up to the reserve a pair of Redstarts where seen darting around the tree tops.

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. 

I spent a few hours watching these wonderful butterflies some offer very close views.

A very enjoyable time spent watching these tiny but magical insects.

Local wildlife sightings

 Over the last few days I have been staying local to home observing some of the local wildlife on offer,

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.

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.

May’s Highlights

Today we visited Somerset one of my favourites places.

We had an amazing day today spotting around 70 species of bird and a few Butterflies.

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.

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.

A few waders around with Snipe, Black tailed Godwits, Redshank, Ruff, Spotted Redshank, Lapwings and a nice Glossy ibis found.

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.

The final highlight of the day was a nice fly over by 3 Common Crane calling as they flew past.

Butterflies seen today included Comma, Brimstone, Orange tip, Speckled Wood and Peacock.

Another wonderful day in Somerset.

April’s Highlights

 A couple of local tours and one further afield tour produced some wonderful wildlife moments.

With most of the migrant birds now back with us we soon managed a good number of Warblers species.

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.

Another area produced several Sand Martins along with a few House Martins and Swallows too.

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.

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.

March Highlights

 lots of wildflowers now out in flower.

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.

A Bittern heard Booming was nice to find.

 Both Brimstone and Red Admiral butterflies seem also.

Still the occasional Barn owl seen on my early morning drive.

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.

February Highlights

With the very different weather that when saw in February I managed to do a couple of local walks.

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.

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.

I did see a Woodcock on my early morning drive this week always nice to see one of these birds albeit a brief view.

Several reports of a few migrants arriving at the moment with Wheatear, Sand Martins and Little ringed plover all reported locally.

No butterflies seen yet but hope to see some in the coming weeks as the temperatures rise.

January Highlights

 An unexpected invitation of a day trip to Norfolk made for a very enjoyable start to the birding year.

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.

This area is absolutely superb for wildlife and on the right day you can really see some wonderful sights.

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.

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.

Looking forward to seeing what February bring some us.

Barn Owls

 Look out for Barn Owls.

I have been lucky enough to see several Barn Owls on my early morning drives.

Saw this beauty a couple of weeks back.

First day of January

 Just a local walk today to blow away the cobwebs.

25 species on an hour walk highlight a Little Grebe and 6 Common Gull on the floods.

Looking Forward to 2022

 With 2022 now underway we are looking forward to a bird filled year ahead. 

Update May 2021

We are now running private tours form 01st May.

Update January 2021

We have now cancelled all tours until further advise from the goverment. 

Darren

August tours information and sightings.

August saw the resumption of ours tours at the Cotswold Water Park.

See report below.

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.

The sight of three Common Cranes circling above us was a highlight but they soon dropped down out of sight.
A single Hobby was seen along with Kestrel two Sparrowhawks and a couple of Buzzard high up on the thermals.

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.

Several Swallows and House Martins were flying low over the water with the odd Sand Martin mixed in with them.

Both Green and Great spotted Woodpeckers were heard along with two Cettis Warblers.

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.

Still nice to see several species of butterfly on the wing including two migrant Painted Ladies.

A nice way to get back to running our tours again.DT

Covid Update All tours will resume from 03 August 2020

COVID 19 UPDATE

Regarding the current Covid 19 pandemic we would just like to let our customers know where we are regarding our tours.

We are looking at resuming our half day tours at The Cotswold Water Park around July/August time.

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.

Obviously the government guidelines are changing week by week so we may be able to start tours sooner if things change.

Please contact us if you have a voucher and would like to discuss options.

Kind regards

Darren & Nick.