It was not far above freezing when we went for breakfast and the decision as to whether to give New Fancy View a final shot before heading south was taken by the travel news suggesting a three hour journey due to a serious accident on the M5 at Portishead so we ate and checked out and poodled down the road.
It was worth a shot and certainly better than sitting in
traffic but although it was brighter and clear it was bitterly cold and no self-respecting
raptor was going to have rolled out of bed and said ‘oh go on then, I’ll have a
little fly round just for them’ I was without
doubt a raptor duvet day and with our faces going numb with the biting breeze
we politely stuck two fingers up at the local Accipiters and walked back down
for the fourth time. Not even a dashing
pair of Goosanders or a male Crossbill that flew by singing could warm the spirits
but we were all glad to have given it a go!
A convoy to Steart was a non-starter so I gave the other
three cars the meet point and off we went.
The M5 accident briefly held us up and they were still trying to extricate
the small domestic oil tanker from down the bank where it had seemingly flipped
over the barrier and this was followed by a tractor and trailer in Bridgewater
that had tipped into a ditch on a roundabout and taken out a lamppost.
My sat nav took me on a new route and we then encountered
the traffic headed back into town from Hinkley but did not know what had
happened but the rest of the crew had got held up by an oversized load that had
grounded on a small roundabout, also taken out another lamppost and blocked all
routes!
At last we all reconvened and set out for a walk around the
reserve. It had warmed slightly and a pair of Stonechat were up flycatching
from the Willows and Reed Buntings were playing chase. I had a vague hope of finding the wintering
Least Sandpiper but there were no small waders on the Quantock Scrapes until we
left and a lovely Welsh chap pointed out three pristine male Little Ringed
Plovers blending into the mud with gleaming gold eye wear. Pied Wagtails were everywhere along with a
single Meadow Pipit and I heard a Water Pipit flying around. Three Ravens saw off a local Buzzard.
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| Little Ringed Plovers |
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| Gloria and her friendly Reed Bunting |
There were 30 noisy Avocets and three Oystercatchers but
strangely no Redshank or Black-tailed Godwits.
All the dabblers were there with a single drake Pintail amongst them and
Shelduck loafed around doing not much as is the norm. Little Egret and Grey Heron were added but
there were no Spoonbills this year.
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| Grey Heron |
I educated the group as to the wonders of looking for moth
grubs in Teasels and Lesser Reedmace and showed them last years Cigar Galls caused
by the fly Lipara lucens in the Phragmites where Cetti’s Warblers shouted invisibly.
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| Gall of Lipara lucens |
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| Lesser Reedmace |
We sat and scanned the saltmarsh for a while but this time
there were absolutely zero raptors and just a few Carrion Crows and Great
Black-backed Gulls which was very disappointing. A late lunch in the car park beckoned and
with the tide low and wind getting up I abandoned the visit to check the
foreshore and took us back inland to the Somerset Levels.
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| It was warm inside! |
The stuck lorry had been removed and chaps were working on
the lamppost while the roundabout looked a bit worse for wear but at least we
were not held up and in 45 minutes were pulling into Ham Wall.
A much needed coffee for everyone and then a walk down to
the Avalon Hide and back. Bitterns were
booming everywhere and I reckon we heard at least seven but not one graced us
with a fly by. Great Egrets were far
more obliging with over a dozen seen in slow lazy flight and stalking the reedy
margins with several Little Egrets while some of the group saw about 50 Cattle Egrets
flying over but I missed them!
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| Great Egret |
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| Glastonbury Tor |
There were Snipe, Lapwing and a Redshank from the main
viewing platform as well as the usual ducks but both Pochard and Great Crested
Grebes were new for the trip. The two
Glossy Ibis eluded us at first but on the way back one flew in and showed well
in the last of the sunlight and gleamed vibrant green with the first hints of
summer burgundy.
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| Glossy Ibis, Great Egret and ducky friends |
There were Goldcrests and Chiffchaffs in the Sallows and
Brambles and the expectant Robins followed us all the way along the trail. There were some raptors at last with Marsh
Harriers of both sexes sparring and quartering the reedbeds while Sparrowhawk
and Peregrine dashed through.
There was one last little snippet of springness with four Sand Martins hawking over the lakes before we had to pack up and wend our way to Wells for our first night at the Swan Hotel passing several unseasonably vast flock of Starlings.
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| I am always rather taken with my short walk from where I have to park the van to get back to the Swan which passes the Bishop's Palace and the Cathedral on the way. |
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