A quick visit only, early afternoon today, 2VP, which has all its excellent margins back!

2 Ruff, 1 Greenshank, 1 Blackwit, 4 Green Sand, 2 Snipe, 50 Lapwing, 4 Egy Geese, 2 Wigeon.

Hi Robin, I’ll keep chat to a minimum on here but yes, great to meet you today. Any Garganey photos…?

Hi Andy, Yes there were 2 Ospreys a bit later on, see my other posting here on this forum.

Was that you with the scope this morning that pointed out the Garganey in front of where we were standing?

cheers, Robin

Shapwick rather good this am: a juv Osprey perched up for a long time down low at the back of Noah’s. I read that two were seen later on…
A juv Black-necked Grebe with the Tufted Duck flock on Noah’s.
2 Garganey in the NW corner viewed from the main track.
4 ad Egy Geese and 1 Hobby.

Disappointing on Ham Wall where water levels have risen on the 2VP lagoon and nearly all the lovely margins have gone. 1 Green Sand seen.

1 Garganey on HW 2VP lagoon this am. Also a few Green Sand and Blackwit, 1 Common Sand and 2 Snipe. 2 Egy Geese! Adults - with no young in tow unfortunately.

3 Wigeon on Meare Heath; and Wood Sand reported from 2VP viewing screens by someone I met on site.

Just on the Garganey, I usually see them close to the main peat spit looking from the grass footpath (of course); and occasionally from the viewing screens. They often magically appear as if from nowhere, and disappear just as mysteriously. There is a striking Mallard out there with a massive white super. If you’re just looking with bins, don’t be fooled by that aberration.

1 Garganey this evening on 2VP lagoon - eventually. A crisply marked bird, and almost monochrome compared to the last 2, which were much warmer and smudgier. Otherwise, 1 Common and 4 Green Sand, 1 Blackwit, 3 Snipe.

2 Garganey on the 2VP lagoon this evening, also a Common Sand, 4 Green Sand, 1 Blackwit, 35 Lapwing, 1 Snipe and 2 juv Water Rail.

Wood Sand and Garganey on 2VP lagoon this evening.
Took a while but also teased out 1 Hobby, 7 Blackwit, 6 Green Sand and 2 Snipe. Modest Teal and Lapwing numbers.

This am:
2VP, 1 Garganey, 2 Blackwit, 4 Green Sand, 2 Snipe
Shapwick, 1 Eg Goose, 1 Hobby

This evening:
2VP, 30 Blackwit, 1 Green Sand, 50 Lapwing.
3 Hobby on Shapwick still.

Thanks for the tip off, Mike. Could easily be the same bird although I’d like to have seen the tail spread in the photos and my recollection is that the body barring was even more extensive. I’d still bet on it being the same.

Someone just posted some nice pics of a honey buzzard on the Somerset levels, 4 days ago, on FB (UK bird identification page), it was also missing some tail feathers & heavily barred below.

Ham Wall today:

At 3pm an imm Night Heron was showing nicely on the 2VP lagoon (would not have been visible from the platform). Preened for a while next to the main mud spit then flew east to a large dead tree. Two other birders saw it with bins while it was in the tree. Flew further east (and perhaps north) a few mins after that… Tricky to age but I think 1st summer (2CY). Had a red eye, quite distinct dark crown, quite plain ash-brown upperparts with no spots, and dusky streaked underparts. Plenty of yellow on the bill and largely yellow legs.

At 4.30 a Honey Buzzard appeared pretty close over the platform and put on a bit of a show circling for a couple of mins before drifting off south. Was on view long enough for Matt Doyle to run 50m, retrieve his camera and run back – but not long enough for a shot! I think adult female – the tail had just about every other feather missing, it was large and not compact, and the body was whitish below with very heavy dark barring.

Otherwise, 1 ad Dunlin, 5+ Green Sand, 2 Blackwit, 50 Lapwing (no LRPs or Garganey).
1 Hobby Ham Wall, 3 Shapwick.

A tweeted photo from yesterday shows a probable imm Night Heron on the 2VP lagoon, viewed from the screens, with the bird stalking through the shallows. Nice.

This evening, 2VP: 1 Garganey, 2 LRP (someone else had seen 3), 5 Green Sand, 45 Blackwit, 70 Lapwing, 20 Teal.

Birdguides has a report today of an adult Purple Heron on Shapwick at 10.30. Thought I’d mention it seeing as it’s not been posted on SOS yet.