Summer at Pagham Harbour

Today saw us at Pagham Harbour nature reserve in West Sussex.

A quick check on the ferry pool produced 2 Avocet 2 Shelduck 1 Redshank and a Lapwing.

Moving on down towards the estuary several Reed and Sedge Warblers showed well giving great comparison views as the flew in and out of the reed beds on feeding flights.

Both Reed Buntings and Linnets showed well sitting out on top of the small bushes.

On the small pools both Little and Great Crested Grebes were seen with the latter having two small chicks in attendance which kept jumping up onto the adults back showing off their stripy heads, other birds on the pool included Moorhen, Coot, Mallard, Gadwall and a pair of Tufted duck.

A distant Cuckoo called and was then spotted flying across the estuary.

Further down the track the landscape opens out to look across farmland and here we saw and heard Skylark giving fantastic views through the telescope. Also out in the middle of a field an Oystercatcher sat tight on her nest with the male bird in close attendance.

Both Common and Lesser Whitethroat were seen along with a couple of Stock Doves and a fine female Roe Deer moved across a gap in the hedge line.

We decided to stop for lunch and sat out on the shingle watching the waders out on the mud, we could see Curlew, Ringed Plover, Little Egret, Turnstone and a small group of Dunlin.

After lunch we headed towards the shingle beach and sat looking out to sea watching Little, Common and Sandwick Tern fishing just off shore, some of them very close plunge diving for fish.

A walk along the shingle beach produced a good range of coastal plants including Sea Kale, Yellow Horned Poppy, Sea Campion and the lovely pink Thrift.

With time fast moving on we headed back to the car park finding a few more of the common birds species on the way, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Blackbid all seen.

Our final experience was photographing the Bee Orchid that was growing just by the pathway.

A very pleasant and relaxing day with a total of 60+ species of birds seen. DT.

Somerset Levels-Bitterns Everywhere

Today can only be described as Bittern day.

Everywhere we stopped we saw or heard them. At one view point we saw three birds chasing each other around two large male birds pursuing the smaller female.

Several food flights are now underway this being the females as the male birds play no part in rearing the young.

At one particular point there is a male bird that seems to call all day long and if you stand there you can feel the ground shaking with the tremendous noise coming from the bird this is known as booming.

Support cast came from the Marsh Harriers again showing very close to our viewing point, in total around eight birds were seen thoughout the day a splendid sight.

There are still a few warblers singing with Reed warbler, Willow warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Whitethroat and the ever present Cetti's warblers all heard and seen.

After a fantastic morning we headed back for lunch.

Birds seen in the afternoon included both Little and Great White Egrets also Grey Heron along with four Hobbys catching the many dragon and damselflies that are now starting to emerge.

Further along the path we could hear two distant Cockoos calling with a brief sighting of one of them.

Out on the water pool we found several Black tailed Godwits some in their fine summer plumage of red chests, checking through the duck we found a single male Gargany and a female Pochard with six ducklings along with Tufted duck, Shoveller and  several Gadwall.

On our way back to the car park our guest found a female Adder basking out on a log a great find to finish off our tour.

Birds seen later in the day included a Barn Owl sat outside its nest box in the late afternoon sunshine, also Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Reed Bunting and Buzzard.

The RSPB have done a great job here in creating the correct habitats for the animals it always produces great days out.DT

Wildlife trip at Cotswold Water Park

As soon as we started our walk we were listening to garden warbler, whitethroat and chiffchaff singing. 

A brief stop in the hide provided views of a pair of mute swan with their cygnets, greylag goose and a great crested grebe. On the feeders there were lots of blue tit and great tit, including the pair of blue tit nesting in the box right by the entrance to the hide.

As we headed along the walkway we saw a dragonfly exuviae which I think was from a downy emerald. We soon saw a number of damselflies including red-eyed, azure, large red and common blue.

Large Red damselfly

As we continued along the lake edge, we started to find more warbler species, with blackcap, cetti’s warbler and willow warbler all being heard but not always seen. Other birds singing included dunnock, wren, robin, bullfinch and song thrush.

After some more damselfly watching we found a showy whitethroat and a skulking reed warbler by the roundhouse-shaped cowshed.

Next we arrived in Clattinger farm – what a special place!

Amongst the plants we saw were cowslip, adder’s-tongue fern, green-winged orchid, early marsh-orchid, marsh valerian and common spotted-orchid. 

Marsh valerian

Then the ones tasted were sweet vernal-grass, pepper saxifrage, common sorrel and salad burnet.

Finally, we saw a dapper reed bunting singing and heard a lesser whitethroat chuntering from the hedge!

A brilliant few hours watching and enjoying a variety of wildlife.

Full day at the Cotswold Water Park

Today we were greeted by glorious sunshine for our tour.

With Spring well underway the trees are starting to become thick with leaves making it a little harder to see the birds, so today we used our ears to find them.

Several Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers could be heard along with Whitethroats, Garden Warblers and wrens, all giving fine views after a little searching through the branches.

Moving onto a different area we found 3 Black Tern hawking over one of the larger lakes always nice to find these birds on their migration passage.

Scanning the edges of the lake we found several waders which included Oystercatcher, Whimbrel, Redshank, Lapwing, Black Tailed Godwit and a couple of Little Egrets.

Several birds of prey but in an appearance Common Buzzard soaring on the thermals also Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and up to 5 Hobbies.

Moving on we explored a scrubby area and found Reed Warbler on the lake edge along with Sedge Warbler and Cetti's Warbler, a Cuckoo called and flew passed.

Moving further around this area a Lesser Whitethroat called and we found the first of 3 Nightingales.


After lunch we moved onto a smaller nature reserve and found both Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers along with Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Goldcrest along with Song Thrush, Robin and Dunnock.

A final scan over the lake added Tufted Duck, Red Crested Pochard, Gadwall, Mallard, Wigeon along with a Grey Heron fishing along the edge.

In Total 68 Species of bird seen and heard throughout the tour and the sun stayed out all day.DT

Early May on the Somerset Levels - no snow!!

We started on Ham Wall RSPB reserve and were soon listening to warblers! The first ones we encountered were blackcap, willow warbler and chiffchaff, all of which we eventually heard and saw very well. The next warblers along the footpath were a splendid garden warbler and a showy whitethroat. We had also heard and seen robin, chaffinch, wren, blackbird, song thrush and great tit.

Great white egrets seem to be all over the place, sometimes we could see four or five in the air at the same time! As we reached the reedbeds there was a change in tempo as the relentless beat of the reed warbler and classical-style blast of the Cetti’s warbler were heard regularly. On the first few bits of open water we were lucky enough to see mute swan, coot, moorhen, mallard, tufted duck and pochard. Then came a funny noise from the drainage ditch – it turned out to be this little chap!

male Marsh Frog

We then walked down through the reed beds where we had a great view of a reed warbler.  At the first hide we were treated to a spectacular show of agility in a blustery wind by a male marsh harrier!

male marsh harrier

After that we headed onto the second viewing platform, on the way however we were distracted by the flying antics of several hobby over the reedbed, mixing in with the swifts. We could see them catching insects in their feet and passing them to their mouths – great stuff!

Accompanying the reed warbler now was the deep booming bass of the many male bittern calling from the reeds.

At the viewing platforms there were many more new birds for us! The mud was exposed here, so waders were plentiful with whimbrel, ruff, ringed plover, lapwing and wood sandpiper all being seen. There were also several new duck species for us – gadwall, wigeon, shoveler and three garganey. A glossy ibis was asleep with the mute swan, but he soon woke up and started flying round with all the other birds when a chinook helicopter flew low over us!

We carried on to a couple of viewing screens where we had closer views of the garganey and brilliant views of the glossy ibis! We were now also hearing cuckoo regularly and it wasn’t long before one flew across out path.

We walked down to the new Avalon hide, passing a sedge warbler who was hidden in the reeds, only his fast buzzing song giving him away.

At the hide we saw a great crested grebe, some distant buzzard as well as another male marsh harrier. Star bird however was the juvenile tawny owl sat in the owl box entrance in the wood!

On our way back to the track we saw a great spotted woodpecker briefly in a tree before it flew off.

At lunch a kestrel was hovering over the carpark.

Hovering kestrel

The afternoon was spent on Shapwick Heath. The top target was a kingfisher, which we saw well going in and out of his nesthole. There were lots more chances to listen to and compare various warblers and blackcap seemed to be everywhere!

We picked up a common sandpiper from Noah’s Hide, saw another fine male marsh harrier and had brief views of a male reed bunting before the rain set in. A memorable marsh harrier day!

May visit to the Cotswold Water Park

We started our morning walk at the wets end of CWP West and were soon listening to and seeing a male blackcap as well as listening to a male willow warbler weeping away in the bushes. Next on the warbler list was a chiffchaff singing, quickly followed by the first of many garden warbler. Other species encountered at this early stage included blue tit, great tit, blackbird, robin and wren.

male blackcap

We reached our first lake and saw a pair of tufted duck busily feeding, indeed so busily it proved very difficult to get a good view of them in the telescope! A mute swan, a male mallard and a pair of coot were also seen.

As we carried on along the side of the lake we had perhaps the best view I had ever had of a garden warbler – what a stunning chap he was with his beautiful song! Next came a pair of long-tailed tits busily collecting food for their chicks. Common tern and black-headed gull were flying overhead regularly, as were swallow, house martin and our first swift of the year.

As we crossed the Thames we were blasted by a male cetti’s warbler singing from the nearby bushes, as well as a male song thrush.

Looking over the next lake we saw many common tern and black-headed gull on the rafts put out for them to breed. The same mix of waterbirds were present, plus some pairs of great crested grebe. We continued to compare garden warbler and blackcap along the river and tried in vain to see a couple of goldcrest that were singing. A kingfisher put in an all too brief appearance as it shot along the river Thames.

A great spotted woodpecker was the next bird heard and a stock dove flew out of a tree as we passed underneath, as we reached the next crossing point of the river Thanes we saw a number of sand martin busily catching insects near their nestholes. A better view of a pair of tufted duck was finally obtained at the same site.

We crossed the river and had great views of a pair of great crested grebe and a number of cormorant sat in nearby trees.We carried on and were soon listening to more garden warbler and blackcap! A pair of gadwall were found feeding on the next lake where we saw various bits of signal crayfish, courtesy of the local otters.

Next we reached a large area of scrub, which despite being the middle of the day was still fairly busy with warblers. Star of the show was a nightingale, who put on a brief show followed by some calls and growls! Other warbler present included chiffchaff, willow warbler, whitethroat and sedge warbler.

singing male whitethroat

After lunch, with the forecast not looking too great we headed to Lower Moor Wiltshire WT reserve where we sheltered for an hour or so from the rain. At this time we saw a fine male bullfinch and several male reed bunting. In between hides we had amazing views of two treecreeper, one in particular that was sat still for a minute or so – brilliant!

Having decided to risk the weather, we headed onto Clattinger Farm Wiltshire WT reserves where we spent a very pleasant 90 minutes wandering from field to field soaking up the colours and numbers of plants. Highlights included snake’s-head fritillary, cowslip, green-winged orchid, adder’s-tongue fern and primrose.

Green-winged orchid

Somerset Levels in late April

For this visit we started on Shapwick Heath NNR so the sun was behind us. We were soon watching and listening to blackcap, willow warbler, song thrush and bullfinch in the first few metres. A great start!

As we worked our way out into the reedbed we saw a pair of gadwall quietly feeding in a pool by the track-side. Next on our warbler list were reed warbler singing from the reed beds, with cetti’s warbler and whitethroat singing in the scrub reed-side habitat. One male whitethroat in particular was particularly showy.

A check on the muddy area produced a large flock of black-tailed godwit as well as teal, more gadwall, mute swan, lapwing, tufted duck and mallard.

Onto the hide looking over Noah’s lake where we saw a mix of swift, swallow, house martin and sand martin. On the water we watched two pairs of great crested grebe displaying in the same view and added pochard to our list of duck species.

Male pochard

Next was a look from the viewing screen by Noah’s hide where we had fantastic views of marsh harrier and the splendid male in particular. We also watched a couple of male reed bunting chasing around the area.

Male marsh harrier

While walking to the next hide we picked up treecreeper, long-tailed tit, blue tit and great tit in the bushes. Not to mention three species of butterfly: orange tip, brimstone and small tortoiseshell.

At Heath Meare we were lucky enough to see a male kingfisher heading into his nesthole. There were further marsh harrier as well as great white and little egret flying around. As we made our way back to the car park for lunch we stopped to listen to a booming bittern, he was so close you could feel the booms resonate in your chest – amazing!

Having failed to see a bittern before lunch, two decided to fly over the car park while we were eating! It was obviously the time to be there as a great white egret and marsh harrier also flew low over us.

After lunch we headed onto Ham Wall RSPB reserves where we were soon listening to garden warbler and more whitethroats. A swiftish trip down to a hide to avoid what can only be described a slush storm with spectacular lightning produced great views of pochard and little grebe, as well as further views of marsh harrier.

We quickly carried onto the next viewpoint where we had an all too brief encounter with bearded tit, but this was compensated for by a flyby of four bittern! From the viewing platform we managed to see some new species, amongst the ducks there were shoveler, wigeon and a fine pair of pintail. There were also some waders with more black-tailed godwit, snipe, dunlin and more lapwing.

We worked our way along the drainage ditch and were rewarded with brilliant views of the glossy ibis that had been tucked away.
We then headed to the new hide, hearing more cetti’s, reed and our first sedge warbler. From the new hide we had more great views of marsh harrier as well as a flyby bittern and a confiding great white egret.

Great white egret in breeding plumage

We then headed back to the carpark – all in all a great day on the Somerset Levels! (NA)