Forest of Dean & Somerset Levels for Oriole Birding - Day 4 & 5: 12th - 13th March 2025

12th March:

I was a cruel leader today and we had breakfast at 7am in The Swan and were walking around the van in Silver Street by just after 8am passing a Wren singing from the top of the Palace walls and a pair of Grey Wagtails on the way.  It was a short drive to Greylake where the usual assortment of Wigeon, Teal, Shoveler and Mallard were on display just outside creating a patchwork of largely cryptic patterns on the bund they were sleeping on. 

Teal

Wigeon

Wigeon

The only Snipe was put up from the track as we walked down and a handful of Lapwings were the only other waders we saw.  Great Egrets in various stages of breeding plumage dotted the vista but there were no Cranes to be heard or seen and juts the odd Marsh Harrier and Buzzard about so we walked back past many calling Water Rails and Cetti’s Warblers – our two daily invisible species.

Great Egret

I took us south to Oath where we got lucky with a pair of roadside Cranes as they fed along the banks of a ditch and with our target in hand we looped back round and back over the A39 to Shapwick and the flatlands around Westhay Moor beyond.

Crane

Cattle Egrets were the quarry and we found them in four spots totalling about 250 or so birds strutting around the dark peaty fields like plump white chickens.  Some were with livestock but most were just out foraging and seem to operate like Starlings do with an albeit much looser rolling wave with back birds flying to the front as they push across a field.  It was fascinating to watch.  Some had a hint of buff on the mantle and crown and a few even had paler looking legs.  I still find the explosion of this species in the UK and delight much as I did with the start of the Little Egret colonisation back in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Cattle Egrets 

We looped around and back to the Avalon Centre for lunch where I was delighted to bump into another ex RSPB employee, Graham White, who was a key influence on the habitat management of Rainham Marshes back in its exciting formative.  He was in fine form and it was good to have a catch up.  He is down in the Avalon to help with Bittern monitoring.

Billy Bloodworm and the Blue Eyed Birder

The rest of a chilly afternoon was spent back at Ham Wall on the same walk to the Avalon Hide as yesterday.  It began well with Trish finding a Kingfisher from the road bridge that actually perched up and allowed itself to be scoped.  Smiles all round.

Kingfisher

In the meantime I was scanning the other side and found the male Ring-necked Duck although it was in and out of the reeds and it was difficult to get everyone onto this dapper Atlantic waif.  I think I have seen one on almost every one of my visits down here over the years.

Goldcrests, Chiffchaffs and Long-tailed Tits were again noted and I was fortunate enough to see an Otter cross one of the major cuts but it did not come back out. Down at the viewpoint the two Glossy Ibis were in close and gleaming in the temporary sunshine and there seemed to be a few more duck too.  The Robins and Great Tits were mumping.

Glossy Ibis

Robin

Stigmella aurella

Sallow

Bitterns boomed all around in roughly the same spots as yesterday but despite our best efforts we still never saw one (or the pair of Cranes out from the hide that were lurking on the obscured back pool.  However, the Marsh Harriers put on a great display and two Sparrowhawks dashed through while Great Egrets moved between nesting areas in exaggerated display manoeuvres.

Marsh Harrier

Great Egret

A flock of 65 Cattle Egrets had already gone north over us and we picked up a large roving flock in fields on the other side and I counted 135 as they moved between fields.  These are no where near the Westhay birds – simply crazy.

Cattle Egrets

Water Rails were noisy and a Cetti’s Warbler even popped up on some brash and flipped us the tail before dropping back out of view again.  It was still cold and inside the hide it was even colder and so we abandoned once again and walked back.  I was at the back and so missed the group’s interaction with two American Mink on the path in front but a little further on one of them was in the main channel and it swam for several hundred metres before clambering out and bounding over the path.

Eristalis pertinax - the only Hoverfly seen on the whole trip!

Mink watchers

We had another short session at the viewpoint where a male Marsh Harrier put on a show before a successful final ten minutes getting everyone to see the now vaguely visible Ring-necked Duck!  Energy levels were waning so we called it a day and headed back to Wells.

Marsh Harrier

I dropped them off and then the van round in Silver Street once again and with sudden late evening sunshine I walked through to the Cathedral to marvel at its grand facade before remembering to go and take a picture of the newsagent on the high street that Pegg & Frost buy their Cornettos from in Hot Fuzz.  I did not go in and ask for one…

City News - don't go in and ask for Cornettos...

13th March:

A final walk to pick up the van after breakfast gave me a chance to have my usual look at the wall with its funky mosses, Ivy-leaved Toadflax and Maidenhair Spleenwort.  I was chuffed to find four Rusty-backed Ferns too having first found one on a roof from room in the Swan three Marches ago!  I also saw Kingfisher, the pair of Grey Wagtails and chuckling Redwings on the way.

Maidenhair Spleenwort

Ivy-leaved Toadflax

Rusty-backed Fern

It was a bit of a wiggle to get through to Catcott Lows but I did manage to find the stunning Giraffe mural by John Minshull in Meare on the way.  The Acacia is the drainpipe and it even has shadows!

Giraffe mural by John Minshull

It felt quite bright as we drove along but once out of the car it was once again bitterly cold and the inside of the hide was even more of a cool box.  The Wigeon were just outside and making wonderful noises with the females making that weird little growling whoosh to accompany the whistling drakes.  There were the usual other dabblers along with four pristine Pintail. A single Snipe was preening amongst the sedges and Lapwings were gleaming in the pretend sunshine and a couple where even tumbling.

Common Snipe

Lapwing

Four Great Egrets were dotted around and a buck Roe Deer with his antlers in velvet grazed below the only visible flowering Sallow along the Alder belt.

 Roe Deer 

 Great Egret

We walked down the lane, regretting extra layers and were accompanied by singing Chiffchaffs, Robins and Wrens the whole way.  The track into the carr was muddy and you could see Roe Deer tracks and what I think are the hind feet of an Otter.  The peaty path took us past the fenced deep peat cuts which rippled and quaked at our passing but it was far too cold for any Great Crested Newts this time although there was a large heap of Frog spawn.

 Hemlock Water Dropwort

 Otter tracks?

Frogs Spawn

There were more Chiffchaffs and singing Treecreeper and Goldcrest while a drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker started up once the sun briefly reappeared.  We clambered up to the tower hide where I was some tiny hope that we might see Bearded Tits and amazingly two pair appeared just outside on the Phragmites where they softly called before being chased off to the next patch by a Cetti’s Warbler.  Everyone was very happy and Trish did a happy dance of delight!

Ravens played chase and popped and rolled with the larger male trying to get his prospective partner to pay him attention while a male Marsh Harrier cruised back and forth. Although warmed by the Beardies we were all frozen and decided to walk back before anything else dropped off.  We bid our farewells after a challenging but ultimately enjoyable and successful venture and went our separate ways.  I dropped Alison and Gloria back off at Bristol Parkway before wending my way back across country to Norfolk seeing just a few Kites and Buzzards and late afternoon glowing Brown Hares on the way.