Meare Heath at midday. 3 Green Sandpiper, 2 Blackwit, 60+ Lapwing, 3 GWE, 3 Hobby.
Noah’s Lake. 2 Common Terns.
Quite a few newly minted Butterflies and my first Brown Hawker of the year.
( P.M. visit,) Now A bit of one-upmanship ! by 1430 this afternoon there were Nine Green S’Pipers on the scrape, far and away the most I’ve seen together here.
Also present were 52 Blk. Tld. G’Wits and around the same number of Lapwing among which were at least two of this years young that must have come from a fairly local breeding site! The Glossy Ibis also appeared and a couple of Cattle Egrets flew past
A moulting Red Kite circled around for a few minutes just south of 70 Acres behind the tower hide
On a very wet morning little has changed from yesterday.
3 Green Sands, 32 Blackwits, 2 Lapwings 1 Glossy Ibis, 4 GWE, 5 Little Egret plus numerous Coot, Moorhen and ducks. One very wet looking female Marsh Harrier over Meare Heath reedbeds.
Eventually 5 Green S’Pipers together on the scrape this afternoon ( started with 3 at 1130)! the Ibis is back and 29 Blk wits.
26-June-2017 (evening 18:00/19:45)
2 Green Sandpipers (my 1st this year - thanks Allan), 26 Blk-t Godwits, 2 Cattle Egrets and the Glossy Ibis which appeared late-on from the back channel.
Spent from 20:00 to 22:10 on Walton’s (Ham Wall) but no sight-or-sound of a hoped for Night Heron.
3 Green S’Pipers on the scrape this morning , initially NO Godwits but a dozen Blk.Tld. G’ Wits.flew in midday, presumably from Ham Wall?. usual sprinkling of Large and small Egrets ( no cattle) and 50+ lapwing. no sign of the Ibis up until 1400 when I left.
More mud exposed on the scrape this morning. Species seen.
Green Sandpiper 2 (my first in Somerset this year)
Glossy Ibis 1
Great White Egret 17 of which most were yellow beaked.
Little Egret 20+
Blackwit 15
Lapwing 4
A Green Sand Piper was on the scrape this morning, my first of the year; also present one Glossy Ibis, 30 Blk Wits and a similar number of Lapwing.Three Juvenile Grey Herons plus an adult . 5 G.W. Egrets together ( 2 of which were ringed young from 2016 namely AAC and AAF ) together with with 4 Little Egrets and a single cattle egret all standing together when I arrived. No sign of a Purple Heron! 3 Bittern flkybys and another 3 Cattle Egrets passed by one of which landed and stuck around for a while. There were a couple of Bearded Tits on 70 Acres behind the Tower Hide and on an early visit to Westhay this morning 6 were seen near the North Hide there.
I met some visitors who saw 2 Glossy Ibis in Ham Wall this morning.
The Glossy Ibis still spending most of it’s waking hours on the scrape but often hidden in the vegetation that now covers the edges surrounding the reed beds, very occasionally appearing on the near island. Two Cattle Egrets here this afternoon as were 38 Blk Wits that seem to have taken up redsidency. usual attendees included 3 Little Egrets, 4 G,W. Egrets and flyovers by a couple of Bitterns that included one that i thought was coming into the Tower Hide! N.E. told me earlier this week that there will be no more pumping from now until the late Summer
A single Common Tern was over Noah’s mid-day but No sign of the Purple Heron but I did manage distant views yesterday.
A ringed Black Tailed G’Wit I reported on 19th April 2017 as present here was ringed on the Axe Estuary Devon on the 18th. Jan. 2015 and has spent most of it’s reported time over the last two years in Poole Harbour Dorset.
A four hour Bittern feeding flight watch from the Tower hide precincts produced only four Bittern flights but the Highlight was for me the only Tern, a Common, that I’ve seen on Shapwick NNR so far this year! in addition the Glossy Ibis was as always recently present as were 38 Black Tailed Godwits and two passing Cattle Egrets.
Just 38 Blk Tld. G’Wits of note on the Scrape today. The pump has been put on today and N.E. intend to keep the level down for another two weeks or so
Three drake Garganey on the scrape today plus 1 Glossy Ibis and the usual 25 Blk Tld. G’Wits. Water level has come up and very little mud is now exposed. Presumably N.E. will let it fill up now until the Autumn migration season.
1 Glossy Ibis present on the scrape this morning. Also 1 male Garganey and the usual Godwits. 6 Cattle Egrets flew across Meare Heath towards Ham Wall at around 11.00.
Just 35 Blk Wits and one drake Garganey this morning, Nothing seen on Noah’s! 2 single Cattle Egrets passed by around 1230 and 2 Hobbies braved the rain that had started by then. 2 Bittern flights seen over Meare Heath.