Somerset's and Gloucestershire's Wildlife

I recently went to the Avalon Marshes in Somerset which is a fantastic place for wildlife and home to many amazing species as you will see.

Reedbeds carpet the marshes where people have lived and worked ever since the Neolithic era, over 5000 years ago. Until the 1990's, vast quantities of peat were extracted and during the 1960's, over 65,000 tonnes were being taken out every year. Although peat extraction is still happening it is on a much smaller scale and much of the area is now a superb mix of habitats, such as reedbed, lakes, woodland, mires, and large wet meadows, the soil black with peat.

My favourite photo of the trip was this one of a Cattle Egret, one of 8 individuals which were feeding around the cows feet in a meadow. 

Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis) are native to South East Asia, north and tropical Africa and mainland Europe. The first time Cattle Egrets were reported in the UK was in December 2007, when over 200 birds were recorded in Somerset.

They are still an un-common breeding bird and Somerset is a good place to see them.

Cattle Egrets in Britain feed exactly as they would in their native habitat - following cattle and feeding on the insects and other invertebrates that they disturb.  It is a lovely sight to see as they walk around the cattle's feet, prodding away at the ground.

Now to Shapwick Heath, a brilliant reserve which is part of the Avalon Marshes.

As I walked past a small, spindly Alder tree,  I noticed a few Migrant Hawker Dragonflies perching on its branches - then I spotted another, and another until I had counted 13 Migrant Hawkers on a tiny tree only a couple of meters tall! I'm not sure what they were doing, at first I thought they were roosting, but then I realized it was only 1pm, which is much too early. 

The first bird hide overlooked a large lake where many Gadwall, Coot, Cormorant and Great Crested Grebe all were feeding. Suddenly, a male Marsh Harrier flew into my view and I quickly took a few shots before it disappeared out of sight. 

I could tell it was a male as it had grey wings, black wingtips and light brown plumage; the female has very dark brown plumage all over with a creamy white head.

A few minutes later, an extremely fast bird of prey flew past the hide - a Hobby. Hobbies are quite amazing raptors and are only slightly larger than a Swallow. 

They will eat all members of the hirundine family (Swallows, House Martins, Sand Martins and Swifts) other small birds and, most famously, dragonflies, all of which they will eat on the wing.

As I walked along one of the many paths that criss-cross the marshes, I noticed a Great White Egret hunting along the reedbed's edge looking for fish and other things to eat.

A perfect end to a brilliant few nights away on the Somerset Levels - but wait...there's more!

On the way back from Somerset, I stopped off at WWT Slimbridge in Gloucestershire. As always, I bypassed the captive birds and headed for the bird-hides. Once at the first hide I scanned the lake in front of me, watching Gadwall, Moorhen, Coot and Mallard swimming around as well as this Greenshank feeding very close by. It was probing around in the mud, feeling for worms and other mud-dwelling creatures, before wandering off. I've never been able to see a Greenshank this close before, so I was really pleased to have seen it.

A few moments later this Ruff landed very close to where the Greenshank had been, it was soon scared off by a Herring Gull flying over.

Ruff are passage birds; they travel through the UK from their breeding grounds in Scandinavia, stop off for a short while here, then migrant on to Africa to overwinter. When the male birds are on their breeding grounds during Summer, the males have a large 'ruff' - the bigger the ruff, the more females he will attract!

I was just about to leave the hide when heavy rain suddenly started to lash down so I decided to stay in the shelter a little longer!!

Of course, the birds weren't affected too much, for this Avocet it was business as usual.

Once the rain had ceased, I continued my walk toward to next hide. On the way, I noticed a large group of juvenile and adult Swallows, perching on fences, posts and trees. I spent a little while photographing these, watching their antics as the older ones learnt how to catch flying insects and as the younger ones got fed by adults. 

A lovely sight, even though it had just started to rain again!

Once I had reached the hide I immediately saw a medium sized wader, walking along in the middle of the lake, feeding, it was a Spotted Redshank, the larger and rarer cousin of our Common Redshank, which is a very common sight on wetlands all round the country. I think they are gorgeous wading birds, probably one of my favourites.

I watched it for a while, until it wandered off further away - lovely!

I had been told there was a juvenile Black Tern flying around one of the lakes at Slimbridge, and I was pleased to see that this bird was really close to the hide, giving me lovely views. It was an amazing bird to watch while it performed its brilliant aerobatics - turning on a sixpence, diving, ducking before snatching an insect from the water, making it rather tricky to photograph!

Like the Ruff and Spotted Redshank, Black Terns are passage migrants, though no where near as common. They will occasionally pass through the UK, usually in September, from their breeding grounds in western Asia, on their way to Africa to overwinter.

A fantastic bird to finish off a brilliant trip away!