Winter on the Somerset Levels (contd). 31st Jan - 2nd Feb 2024.

 

Common Snipe at RSPB Greylake

Once again I had an amazing 3 days last week leading a short tour on the Somerset Levels for Naturetrek tours with Chris Wilkinson.

The weather was dry for most of the tour with little or no wind and the temperatures quite mild.

Water levels had dropped a lot since my last visit 2 weeks ago although the Avalon hide at RSPB Ham Wall is still unreachable due to flooding of the access path.

We visited several different reserves and open areas including RSPB Greylake, RSPB Swell Wood, West Sedgemoor, RSPB Ham Wall, Shapwick Heath, Sharpham Drove etc. and ticked off 82 different species including many classic Somerset Levels specialities such as Common Crane, Cetti's Warbler, Marsh Harrier etc. There were vast numbers of wildfowl with Teal & Wigeon far outnumbering ducks such as Gadwall, Shoveler, Pochard & Pintail. Sadly we couldn't pin down a Bittern although we did hear one "booming" on and off for most of the Friday afternoon at Shapwick Heath.

The Starlings flooded into the reserves at sunset and we had great views of their vast numbers. Murmurations were better on the first evening although we had ringside seats to watch the arrival of the huge flocks on the 3rd day when we accessed the site from the Shapwick end.

Here are a few  photos from the trip and for those clients that couldn't update their daily list I include a list of our 3rd day birds for you to add to your Species checklist.

There are several more 3 day tours to come at the end of the year and some summer tours as well so if you're interested checkout the Naturetrek website at...

https://www.naturetrek.co.uk/tours/the-somerset-levels

All are based at the Swan Hotel in Wells directly opposite the cathedral. 

The extras to add to our list were:- Glossy Ibis, Whooper Swans, Greater Scaup, Reed Bunting, Cattle Egrets (an incredible 93 of them!), Redpoll, Kingfisher, Bittern, Stock Dove, Greenfinch, Hen Harrier, Fieldfare, Merlin, Jay, Grey Wagtail & Sparrowhawk.

Here are some miscellaneous images from the tour.......

The rare Baikal Teal which I saw on day 1 but couldn't relocate again.

The rare Baikal Teal which I saw on day 1 but couldn't relocate again.

Starlings at Shapwick Heath

Starlings at Shapwick Heath

Starlings at Shapwick Heath

Starlings at Shapwick Heath

Starlings at Shapwick Heath

 

 

Starlings at Shapwick Heath

 

Glossy Ibis near South Drain at Sharpham

Drake Wigeon at RSPB Greylake

Drake Shoveler at RSPB Greylake

The church atop Burrow Mump

The plaque outside the Swan Hotel in Wells...modified to suit!