Avalon Marshes migrants
8 ringed plovers on the flashes at Tealham Moor Drove this afternoon in heavy rain. Wellingtons useful. Unfortunately mine are back in the Cotswolds!
Ham Wall at 12.30, good views of an Osprey over VP1. Plus Marsh Harriers, Bitterns, GWEs and a single Hobby. Cuckoo heard but not seen.
Back on the Levels after 4 days away and well worth a visit to Ham Wall this morning 4th. One Whimbrel, one male Garganey and 3 Glossy Ibis the best from VP1 with distant views of Hobby and Sparrowhawk. A male Pintail still hanging on at VP2 which has been there for at least 2 months and shows no sign of moving. Back in Westhay, one Swift over my house and 4 Swallows still visiting nest sites.
Pair of cranes flying south over tealham late yesterday afternoon and I haven’t posted about oystercatcher roosting on moor back on 14th April (when 2 whinchat were also there)
From a very blustery Tealham Moor Drove this afternoon, 2 whimbrel, 2 dunlin, 7 wheatears (4 males) and 3 white wagtails.
Six hobbies hawking over Noah’s Lake this afternoon. Two high flying swifts. A few wigeon and pintail remain.
24-Apr-2024
An Egyptian Goose on roadside pools just prior to the Peat Works on Burtle Road driving from Westhay.
Channel Wagtail, male Yellow Wagtail and a Sedge Warbler on Tealham Moor - short stop-over near Rattling Bow bridge, also 5 Skylarks.
My first hobby of the year, at Westhay. Hawking around Tower hide. Reed warblers everywhere but no sedge warblers!
Pretty sure I saw the Garganey in flight when it was flying from VP2 area to VP1 this afternoon. It had a rattle call that I didn’t recognize and the timings seem about right.
Also saw a Red Kite fly north over the Avalon Hide at 15:30. 4 Glossy Ibis at VP1 at 14:30 with another bird SE over Loxtons at 16:00. Greenshank showed distantly at VP1.
At VP1: four glossy ibis, garganey and greenshank.
Tealham Moor, Four Yellow wagtails seen yesterday evening with Dan & Karen , Karen photographed one at the top of a tree which proved to be a Channel Wagtail, last years returning bird perhaps. All fairly near the bridge over the North Drain on Totney Drove
Yellow Wagtails very active this morning and showing quite nicely; possibly four, or more, birds seen.
Jack’s Drove closed to vehicular traffic; a couple of days back the surface was in very poor condition.
10-Apr-2024
Never been sure of where the boundary between Tealham & Tadham Moors actually is?
The way they appear on OS map suggests that the road down from Heath House is the boundary.
Mike
No sign of wheatear on Tealham/Tadham today. But 2 male yellow wagtails back in the usual area there.
Reed Warbler and Common Whitethroat heard and seen well from the old rail track at Shapwick NR this morning. Swallow back on regular territory at Burtle.