I stopped off at Cheddar Reservoir on my way to the Avalon Marshes in Somerset but a heavy shower sent me scurrying back to my car; and so my only photo of my brief walk was of a pied wagtail.

I made another stop by the roadside after Wedmore when I saw a flock of 22 cattle egret. I even managed some shots of a pair of buzzards in the same area.

When I arrived at Catcott everyone in the hide was in a state of excitement having seen a hen harrier, marsh harriers and red kites in the last few minutes. Before too long the hen harrier flashed right in front of the hide. I had wonderful views of it but, even though I have a photographic record of it, my photos were rather disappointing.

It was great to see much more water on the levels and the number of shoveler, wigeon and lapwings is beginning to increase.

A female marsh harrier also appeared. I could see distant great white egrets and my full collection of egrets was soon completed with the arrival of a little egret.

On my way back I had another look for the cattle egrets and found that the flock was more than twice as big as I had seen earlier.

Slideshow of today’s photos: