Heading West - 6th-9th January 2023 - day 2

7^th January:

The crew assembled the following morning and by 9am we were all in the Ham Wall car park and donning the wet weather gear. It was already raining and the brisk south westerly was not helping matters.  We ambled down to the Hudwit Lagoon hearing a couple of Siskins, Treecreeper, Goldcrest and Chiffchaff on the way although I am not sure that we saw any actual birds and if we did almost everything looked black!

But at least the tower hide would be open and we could all escape from the now driving rain but alas it was firmly locked leaving us all to try and shelter underneath it to scan the pool.  The American Wigeon was swiftly found out in the middle with the other dabbers before it swan into the close corner and out of view.  At this stage none of us was gong to venture out into the open to try and get a better view!

American Wigeon and a Gadwall

Before too long it let up enough for us to move a little further along where the American Wigeon was on the same bit of bank as yesterday evening.  The sun even tried to peer through the gloom and briefly illuminated his head. 

American Wigeon

A Great White Egret appeared from nowhere and landed on the path between us and an oblivious birder while a chance glance the other way revealed a lumbering Bittern crossing the path between reedbeds.  Wisps of Snipe flew over high with a few Lapwing and several duck parties that included a few Pintail.  Water Rails called behind us and two Stonechats and a charm of Goldfinches were on he bank in front of us.

Great White Egret 

We retraced our steps and with slightly better weather actually saw a few small birds but I could not find the Firecrests of yesterday although at least six Chiffchaffs were seen feeding in the verge side vegetation.  One was a pretty good candidate for a Siberian but as usual did not call. A female Blackcap and calling but invisible Bullfinches were new additions and two Great Spotted Woodpeckers were around the old railway cottages.

The close Great White Egret was just where I left him but wit ha Little for company and at least three others were dotted around including one that came to feed in the main ditch alongside us.  The light improved further as we scanned through the Black-tailed Godwits, Lapwings and Snipe and Marsh Harriers were constantly on view and included several dapper males. 

The many shapes of Great White Egret 

A wisp of Snipe

Amazing how the weather and light kept changing

The rain started again and so we retreated to the lower screens where about 300 Gadwall were staying close to the Coots who they were using to bring weed to the surface.  A few Pochard and Tufted Ducks were amongst the along with both Great Crested and Little Grebes while only I was lucky enough to see a zipping Kingfisher. I can seldom go somewhere without bumping into someone I know and today was no exception and it was especially good to meet Nick Bruce-White and his family at the view point.  Nick was our Site Manager at Rainham Marshes for seven years during my tenure before climbing the RSPB ladder with some alacrity.

Glastonbury Tor

Gadwall and Coot

Gadwall and Coot

Lunch already beckoned and was taken in the car park, almost in the sunshine and certainly in the dry!  Something had disturbed the wildfowl off Noah Lake and skeins of Wigeon, Teal, Pintail and Shoveler passed high overhead before drifting back the way they had come.  A Common Buzzard was the first of the day and Ravens were also seen.  I had a look in some Teasel heads and found a couple of Endothenia moth larva.

Endothenia sp

Dabbling duck dots

Onwards towards Meare and the chance to find some Cattle Egrets.  I took us to the right spot and gleefully gesticulated out the window at the Egrets in a field. ‘Where are they from the Little Egrets?’ said Justin… ah… yep – oh well.  Seven Little Egrets feeding in a loose flock in a pasture!  Behind us a huge ball of Starlings were feeding around the neighbouring farmyard and momentarily distracted from the faux pas.  On again and up towards Wedmore ‘where Cattle Egrets are always alongside the road’ but the right fields once again only held Little Egrets and few Herring Gulls while a couple more Great Whites were also seen. I turned our mini convoy off onto the road that runs above the Westhay Moor reserve and thankfully spied three Egrets with some of the only cows we saw.  I popped the scope up and the first was a Little but thankfully the other two were both yellow billed Cattles!  One more of each species came into join them. 

Cattle Egrets

Vibrant Willows

There were lots of Corvids in the wet fields and a few Fieldfare and Redwings milling around.  I remembered that we could complete the square and get back to the main road and a few micro stops added more thrushes in the fields and duck on the fishing pits but I had nowhere to stop for the female Goosander that I saw – sorry folks.

Robin

Yet another Great White Egret was loafing in some snags and two Marsh Harriers were out on patrol. With more rain incoming we headed back to the Avalon Marshes visitors centre where the temporary café was ‘manned’ by the slowest, most unorganised young staff any of us (or the others in the queue) had ever come across.  We were scarred particularly by the phrase ‘Why would you want to go to Bucharest when you could go to Magaluf?

Anyway, we retreated into the lovely craft gallery to recover, drink coffee and stay out of the heavy cold rain.  When it let up we drove back around to Ham Wall for the grand finale and although we walked down in the light rain it cleared within 30 minutes leaving us with a glorious if somewhat chilly evening in which to appreciate the sheer wonder of the Starlings.  It started later than on Friday and as before, a huge number headed to the western roost but this time a couple of hundred thousand descended in swirling tornados of black triangles into the reeds just in front.   Having a coloured sky back drop of every shade of blue, pink and apricot with hints of green only added to the spectacle.

Curious mammatus cloud skirted around our position looking to drop their heavy load and the flocks of Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwits and Snipe were illuminated against them as they swirled around while flocks of Black-headed Gulls heading north towards Chew gleamed a brilliant white even at great range.

Mammatus cloud 

Black-tailed Godwits

Black-headed Gulls

As the light dropped and the Starlings continued to pour in the Water Rails once again became very vocal but we just could not find a Barn Owl.  Four Great White Egrets headed west to roost and a few Pied Wagtails were purposefully heading the other way.

The chattering hoard settling down

With more huge black clouds mustering in the south west horizon we decided to call it a night and head back to the cars before a fine evening meal in a pub in Glastonbury.