Martin's Bird Blog & Nature Photos

Tag: Birds

  • 24th August 2026 – WWT Slimbridge, Gloucestershire

    24th August 2026 – WWT Slimbridge, Gloucestershire

    We have had to be much less adventurous with our holidays this year but nonetheless we have really enjoyed our trips away to the south coast of England. Although the distances travelled have not been very great I was very tired after our last expedition to East Devon (whether it be my health or just old age) and so it was great to relax this weekend and watch some sport and do a little gardening. That doesn’t mean that my camera was very far away and I share a few nature shots from the garden yesterday.

    Common carder bee enjoying the salvia

    Common carder bee on verbena

    £8 solar fountain from amazon.co.uk!

    Holly blue butterfly

    The common green bottle fly Lucilia sericata on achillea

    Also on the achillea a thick-legged hoverfly syritta pipiens

    Small white butterfly

    Green-veined white butterfly

    Holly blue butterfly

    After a mainly sedentary weekend by this morning I was chomping at the bit and we had a trip to WWT Slimbridge.

    The highlight of our visit was a common snipe (normally very secretive and well camouflaged) which made an appearance as soon as we arrived in the open right in front of us .

    Common snipe

    Common snipe

    Ruff and two greenshank

    Greenshank in flight

    Spotted redshank

    I was very pleased to recognise straightaway the spotted redshank from its feeding habits. I remembered what an old chap (probably younger than me) told me when I starting bird watching, on a trip to Titchwell Marshes in Norfolk, about how the spotted redshank feeds very much like an avocet with a sweeping action whereas the common redshank simply picks at food.

    Common redshank

    Little egret

    Little egret

    You can see the effects of the drought we have had from this shot of a group of common crane

    … and from further away

    It’s not only the farmers who are desperate for rain – the birds need it too – view of the Severn Estuary from the Estuary hide.
  • 19th August 2026 – Seaton Wetlands, East Devon

    19th August 2026 – Seaton Wetlands, East Devon

    We sneaked another morning visit to the wetlands but had to dodge a few showers (what a novelty!).

    From the tower hide the view across the river Axe

    Eurasian curlew heading down river

    Canada geese heading up river

    From the Tower hide the view across the reserve

    Oystercatchers and black-headed gulls

    Black-tailed godwit

    Common redshank

    Mainly black-tailed godwits

    In this muddy patch (caused by the tide!) there were a mixture of curlews, whimbrel and common sandpiper, but most beyond my range

    We ventured a little further (and got wet) only to have a view of these Canada geese feeding

    An inquisitive pheasant

    Back at our holiday rental there were butterflies and a hummingbird hawk-moth:

    Large white

    Hummingbird hawk-moth

    Clouded yellow

    A very tired peacock butterfly

    Comma butterfly

    Small white

    Red admiral

    Just for good measure a few of the beaches and other aspects of our visit.

    St Winifred’s Church, Branscombe

    St Winifred’s Church, Branscombe

    The Old Bakery at Branscombe

    Manor Mill, Branscombe. The only working mill to survive of the four originally operating in Branscombe.

    Branscombe beach and café

    Branscombe beach looking eastwards

    Beer Beach – still a working fishing port

    The beach at Beer

  • 17th August 2026 – Seaton Wetlands, East Devon

    17th August 2026 – Seaton Wetlands, East Devon

    We had another very enjoyable trip to this lovely reserve which features marshland and reedbeds alongside the River Axe just outside Colyford between Seaton and Colyton in the beautiful East Devon countryside. There are five bird hides and nearly 4km of level trails and boardwalks suitable for wheelchair, bike and pushchairs. Just right for us!

    We were blessed with some dismal weather for which we were most grateful after the series of heatwaves we have been enduring. At one point it started to drizzle and we nearly set back as we had left our waterproofs in the car, but we held our nerve and took the tram at the Seaton Wetlands Halt and explored Colyton.

    You could tell we were in the English countryside by the presence of this pheasant even though the grass was an unfamiliar colour.

    A real surprise – drizzle

    Oystercatcher

    Common kingfisher

    Common kingfisher

    Common kingfisher

    Common greenshank

    Common redshank

    Sand martins – the smallest of the European hirundines

    Peekaboo!

    Emperor dragonfly competing with the sand martins

    A pair of reed warblers

    Meadow brown butterfly

    One of the 14 trams on the Seaton Tramway. The trams are narrow gauge (2’9″), purpose built by the company with designs based on some of the heritage trams that served the UK’s towns and cities in the first half of the last century.

    I was looking forward to a trip on the tramway. I didn’t realise I was going to have to drive it (only joking)

    This driver certainly knew what he was doing

    Our tram

    At Colyton we visited the church of St Andrew
    The font in St Andrew’s church

    … and we had a spot of lunch – appropriately at the Kingfisher Inn

    Little egret on the Axe estuary

  • 16th August 2026 – Southleigh, East Devon

    16th August 2026 – Southleigh, East Devon

    Before this epic summer the hottest summer I remember was the summer of 1976. That summer is often referred to as the year of the ladybird as swarms of ladybirds infested towns and cities across the UK, with many people even reporting being bitten by them. 

    I shall remember this year as the year of the hummingbird hawk-moth. Before this year I can only remember a few sightings of them in the UK, but this year they have almost been a common occurrence.

    Recently “The Times” newspaper reported :

    “Big enough to be mistaken for a bird, the moths brought by warm air from the south have been seen everywhere from the Channel Islands to Scotland”.

    In the garden of the cottage where we are staying in Devon there is a buddleia which, as well as attracting numerous butterflies, has attracted several hummingbird hawk-moths.

    They are not easy to photograph as their wings beats at 80 times per second.

    And some of the butterflies:

    Red admiral

    Clouded yellow

    Comma

    Clouded yellow

    Painted lady

    I couldn’t resist a couple more hummingbird hawk-moths from later in the day:

    The Times reports:

    “Traditionally, the peak time for hummingbird hawk-moth sightings in Britain is August and September, so we’re only just coming into the peak now. We could end up with a lot more sightings before the summer is out.”

    … and a lot more photographs!

  • 15th August 2026 – Seaton Wetlands, Devon

    15th August 2026 – Seaton Wetlands, Devon

    As I am currently constrained from travelling very far (no I have not been subjected to a restraining order) we have spent our summer holidays exploring the south coast of England from Hampshire through to Devon.

    We are currently staying in a lovely cottage (recently restored from a dairy milking parlour) in the tiny village of Southleigh in East Devon (https://www.southleighholidays.co.uk).

    One of the reasons for choosing this area is the proximity to Seaton Wetlands which we have never visited and which looked quite attractive on the website.

    Our first visit this morning did not disappoint. The “Wild East Devon” website says of this area:

    “Seaton Wetlands is a countryside haven, home to an abundance of wildlife.

    The site is made up of four main areas: Seaton Marshes, Black Hole Marsh, Colyford Common and Stafford Marsh.

    This morning we visited Black Hole Marsh.

    Again from the “Wild East Devon” website:

    “Black Hole Marsh (BHM) was bought by East Devon District Council in 2008. Following planning approval, we created a saline lagoon on what was previously a drained agricultural field, with little wildlife interest. Islands were created on a large shallow scrape. The Environment Agency worked with a local engineering company to devise an innovative self-regulating tidal exchange gate, allowing water of just the right salinity to enter the lagoon.”

    Panoramic view of Black Hole Marsh from the Tower hide

    Breeding oystercatcher

    Mainly black-headed gulls with black-tailed godwits, a curlew and 2 grey herons

    Black-headed gulls and a Eurasian curlew

    2 grey herons

    Black-tailed godwit
    Kingfishers are common here but this was only an advert on the electric tram which runs from Colyton to Seaton alongside Seaton Marshes (and even has a halt at Seaton Marshes)

    Common redshank

    Another of the trams

    Common redshank with lapwing behind

    The dreaded impatiens glandulifera, “Himalayan Balsam”, which is very invasive

    Impatiens capensis, “Jewel weed”

    The sand martin cliff, installed in 2011

    Sand martin

    Sand Martin

    Sand martin waiting to be fed

    A curious reed bunting on top of the sand martin cliff

    Common redshank at the foot of the reed beds

    Reed warbler

    Willow warbler

    The island hide

    The Tower hide. At the other end of the reserve there is the Discovery hut where refreshments and toilets are available.

    From the discovery hide where we could enjoy our coffee and bird watch (and tram watch) at the same time

    Maybe a trip on the trams one day this week?

  • 9th August 2026 – WWT Slimbridge, Gloucestershire

    9th August 2026 – WWT Slimbridge, Gloucestershire

    The best thing about our visit to WWT Slimbridge on another glorious hot summer’s day (apart from the coffee and bacon roll on arrival) was the shade provided by the willow-lined walkway which stretched from one hide to another. We didn’t stay long because we knew the drive home would be very hot and we had seen enough to lift our spirits.

    Let’s start with a butterfly (Painted Lady) for a change

    Gulls don’t feature much on my blog but I’ll give some space to these two black-headed gulls which seemed a bit grumpy in the heat.

    This European herring gull looked quite serene

    Black-tailed godwit and spotted redshank standing in front of a northern lapwing

    Common chiffchaff

    Common chiffchaff

    Common chiffchaff

    Common chiffchaff

    Goldfinch

    Goldfinch showing a different profile

    Pied wagtail

    Green sandpiper

    Common tern

    … and its partner common tern

    Pied wagtails

  • 6th and 7th August 2026 – Avalon Marshes, Somerset

    6th and 7th August 2026 – Avalon Marshes, Somerset

    Cattle Egrets were first reported to have bred in Britain in 2008, with two pairs nesting in Somerset. We have just spent the last two days birding on the Avalon Marshes in Somerset and saw large numbers of these birds at Catcott Marshes and RSPB Greylake. The colonisation that is taking place is probably due to climate change and with the continuation of this wonderful summer it certainly feels like there is a massive shift in our climate.

    Cattle egret at Catcott Marshes

    Cattle egret at Catcott Marshes

    Cattle egrets often spend time close to livestock like sheep and cows and grab the insects and worms their hooves disturb.

    Cattle egret

    Cattle egret

    We also regularly saw great egrets and little egrets which not so many years ago were also rare visitors to the UK.

    Great egret at RSPB Greylake

    Little egret with great egret behind at RSPB Greylake

    Yet, once again, the star of our birding on these two days were kingfishers which we saw regularly flying in front of the hide at RSPB Greylake.

    Common kingfisher

    Common kingfisher

    Common kingfisher

    Common kingfisher

    Common kingfisher

    There were also good views of water rails at Greylake.

    Water rail

    Water rail

    From this small reserve we also saw marsh harriers (rather distant) and grey herons and a reed warbler.

    Grey heron

    Grey heron mingling with the egrets

    Reed warbler

    Marsh harrier

    At RSPB Ham Wall there wasn’t a lot extra for us to see except for a common chiffchaff, great crested grebes and plenty of dragonflies and butterflies.

    Common chiffchaff

    Great crested grebe with its off spring

    Red admiral butterfly

    Migrant hawker

    But the best of them all was my namesake in French – “Martin Pêcheur”.

    Common kingfisher – Martin pêcheur in French

    If you are ever in these parts we can highly recommend The Swan at Wedmore where we stayed overnight.

  • 2nd August 2026 – WWT Slimbridge

    2nd August 2026 – WWT Slimbridge

    As the beautiful summer continues we had a pleasant trip this morning to the World Wildfowl Trust’s centre at Slimbridge in Gloucestershire.

    There were a few pleasant surprises with a wood sandpiper that was a little reticent to perform at first but came close and displayed very well. We don’t often see spotted redshank so they too were a pleasant surprise. Common crane are quite regular here now and we saw 11 in total and two flew over very close. I managed to photograph a sparrowhawk in flight but it was a last minute effort and a poor photograph. Green sandpipers have been here for our last two visits and again came fairly close as did the ruff. We haven’t seen little grebe here for a while and there was also a pair of common terns to complete the morning.

    A greater flamingo was a surprise too but it was not a sign of global warming, simply an escapee from a zoo.

    Hope you enjoy the photos.

    Spotted redshank

    Wood sandpiper

    Little grebe

    Little grebe

    Common crane

    Common crane

    Common tern

    Little egret

    Pied avocets

    Wood sandpiper

    Spotted redshank (left) and ruff (centre)

    Ruff

    Common tern

    Sparrowhawk

    Common redshank

    Eurasian lapwing

    Wood sandpiper in flight

    Wood sandpiper

    Female and male ruff

    Ruff

    Green sandpiper

    Wood sandpiper

    Greater flamingo

    Greater flamingo

    Painted lady was the only butterfly on display

  • 20th July 2026 – WWT Slimbridge

    20th July 2026 – WWT Slimbridge

    We had to go to Cheltenham today (30 odd miles to the north of Bristol) and took advantage of the trip by calling in at WWT Slimbridge on the way home. We were really surprised how much there was to see from just a few of the hides.

    Here are a few of my photos from today.

    Oystercatchers mating

    Gadwall in flight

    Eurasian oystercatcher

    Mainly black-tailed godwit

    Northern lapwing

    Eurasian oystercatcher with something much smaller than an oyster

    Black-tailed godwit

    Ruff

    Ruff

    Ruff in flight

    Green sandpiper

    Green sandpiper in flight

    Green sandpiper

    Black-tailed godwit

    Northern lapwing

    Goldfinch

    Yellow wagtail

    Ruff and yellow wagtail

    Black-tailed godwit, black-headed gull and shelduck

    Black-tailed godwit and black-headed gull

    Hummingbird hawk-moth

  • 1st June 2026 – Middlebere Peninsula and RSPB Arne, Dorset

    1st June 2026 – Middlebere Peninsula and RSPB Arne, Dorset

    This morning we explored the Middlebere Peninsula just south of RSPB Arne. Rain was forecast throughout the day. It didn’t materialise until the afternoon but the light was not good. From the avocet hide we could see an osprey on a nest. On the estuary there were shelduck, black-headed gulls, several little egrets and a few common redshank but everything was rather distant and didn’t make for good photos in the poor light. My best opportunities were near some National Trust cottages where there was a pied wagtail and some barn swallows.

    Pied wagtail

    Barn swallow

    Barn swallow

    Barn swallow

    Osprey on nest at top of post

    Distant redshank

    Little egret

    Black-headed gull

    Barn swallow

    Barn swallow

    We had an early lunch at the visitors’ centre at RSPB Arne and then explored the Shoreline trail but the rain set in and, apart from a song thrush, a blackbird, geese and oystercatchers, there wasn’t a lot to photograph.

    Song thrush

    Song thrush

    Song thrush

    Blackbird

    Oystercatcher with small wader behind

    Oystercatchers

    Common carder bee

    The rain setting in

  • 31st May 2026 – Durlston Country Park, Dorset

    31st May 2026 – Durlston Country Park, Dorset

    Oh I do love to be beside the seaside ….

    This morning we discovered Durlston Country Park for the first time. 

    The coastline from Durlston Country Park

    Durlston’s Jurassic coast

    Durlston Country Park is a 320 acre National Nature Reserve consisting of beautiful clifftop walks with stunning views, a recently renovated Victorian Durlston Castle with its historic Great Globe, a visitor centre, cafe and Anvil Point Lighthouse. It’s located just 1 mile from Swanage and only 15 minutes from where we are staying. The Park, which is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site is owned and managed by the Dorset County.

    The Great Globe – constructed of Portland stone in 1887 – is one of the largest stone spheres in the world  and weighs about 40 tonnes and is 3 metres in diameter.

    On the circular cliff top walk we had good views of guillemots and razorbills in the sea below the cliffs and even better views of northern fulmar and herring gulls flying by and, along with the rock doves, settling on the cliffs.

    Northern fulmar

    Razorbill

    Mainly guillemots

    Northern fulmar

    Northern fulmar

    Rock doves

    Guillemot enjoying the wide open spaces of the sea after being jammed tightly together on the rock faces

    Anvil Point Lighthouse

    Cormorant or shag?

    European herring gull

    On the return part of the walk, back from the cliffs, the best of the birds we saw was a common whitethroat but the flora was interesting too.

    Buff tailed bumble bee

    Common whitethroat

    Common whitethroat

    Iris
    Roe deer

    Roe deer

    After our walk we dropped down into Swanage and had a lovely fish lunch alfresco at the Pier Café and Bistro located on the historic Victorian pier.

    Swanage

    What’s not to like?

  • 30th May 2026 – RSPB Arne, Dorset

    30th May 2026 – RSPB Arne, Dorset

    We have just arrived on holiday on the south coast of England, in the county of Dorset. The area we are staying is known as the Isle of Purbeck on the Jurassic Coast. Despite its name, it is not actually an island—it is a peninsula bordered by the English Channel, Poole Harbour, and the River Frome.

    Today we visited the RSPB nature reserve at Arne. Arne is situated on Poole Harbour and within the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The landscape of heathlands, ancient oak woodlands,  wetlands and mudflats is truly stunning and teeming with wildlife.

    When I visit such nature reserves I can’t help thinking about the thousands of hours that volunteers have dedicated to making them such phenomenal places to visit. On our visit today we met a number of such people who helped us by telling us about osprey and white-tailed eagle projects and even helped us to spot both of these birds.

    Some of the photos of our first day in this area showing the variety of wildlife:

    The ruins of Corfe Castle, close to Arne

    Tree pipit on the heathland

    Heather on the heathland

    European herring gull catching a crab

    Emperor dragonfly

    Four-spot chaser

    Cinnabar moth

    Foxgloves between heathland and wood

    Red admiral butterfly

    Painted lady butterfly

    Underside of painted lady butterfly

    Rhododendron, very attractive but quite invasive
    Oystercatchers on the mudflats

    Little egret flying over the estuary

    Black-headed gull

    Shelduck
    Grey squirrel in woodland

    Sikka deer in the woodland

    Common buzzard

    Osprey on nest

    White-tailed eagle being mobbed by another (smaller) bird

    Outdoor entertainment – a poetry and song event on a Jurassic theme at our local pub, The Square and Compass, at Worth Matravers.
    A great way to start our holiday – the local beers and ciders were good too.