25th February 2025 – Catcott Lows, Avalon Marshes, Somerset

It was very wet on the Avalon Marshes today and there was a fresh wind but, thankfully, the light was very good. I couldn’t face getting muddy so I hunkered down in the hide at Catcott Lows and enjoyed seeing a variety of birds at quite close quarters.

The rarest bird was a spotted redshank and it was a toss up between lapwings, wigeon and shovelers for the most prolific numbers.

The spotted redshank was difficult to see at first

… and then it took to the air

… and was almost showing off

There were distant marsh harriers, a red kite and a peregrine which caused constant consternation and allowed me lots of opportunities to take photos of birds in flight.

My favourites, however, were the great white egrets which are quite common here.

Great white egret

Great white egret photo bombing a little egret

Northern shoveler

Wigeon having a snooze

Wigeon

Lapwing up close

Lapwing in flight

Wigeon taking to the wing

Northern shoveler in flight

The peregrine was responsible for all of this

Great white egret

Great white egret

Great white egret

Not very often you see a single starling in these parts. I did see huge flocks of them as I drove here.

Just had to get a silhouette of Glastonbury Tor in somewhere

I won’t bore you with the other 900 photos I took during the day!

Comments

4 responses to “25th February 2025 – Catcott Lows, Avalon Marshes, Somerset”

  1. chrisbrewster2013 Avatar

    Fantastic shots Martin, lovely weather for it too. GWE wow!

    Sent from my iPhone

    Liked by 1 person

  2. rogerrees2 Avatar
    rogerrees2

    Great place to visit Martin. But don’t forget to tuck your trouser legs into your socks. It’s where I picked up Lyme’s Disease. Ticks in the grass.

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    1. martintayler Avatar

      It certainly wasn’t the day for shorts yesterday despite the sunshine! Worth noting though. I saw plenty of deer who spread it.
      Martin

      Martin Tayler
      Martin’s bird and nature blog: https://martinsbirdblog.com/

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