Tag: Chew Valley

  • 3rd October 2023 – Chew Valley Lake, North Somerset

    3rd October 2023 – Chew Valley Lake, North Somerset

    I spent most part of the day in the Stratford hide at Chew Valley Lake and managed to narrowly miss 5 spoonbills and an osprey: the spoonbills minutes before I arrived and the osprey when I went for my picnic lunch and a quick visit to Herriots Bridge. I’m clearly not dedicated enough!

    The lake was teeming with coots (c 1900 according to someone who counts). I could pick out small numbers of shoveler and pintails, a juvenile garganey and a kingfisher hovering over the reeds. Most of my effort was spent trying to photograph the larger birds including a female marsh harrier, a juvenile great crested grebe, 3 great white egrets, 3 grey herons and lots of cormorants.

    For some reason or another I found the photography difficult and today I had no excuse with the light.

    You will have to believe me but these are some of the thousands of coots on the lake

    Female marsh harrier

    Great white egret

    Great white egret

    Juvenile great crested grebe

    Grey heron

    There were three grey herons squabbling for territory at Herriots Bridge

    This grey heron was very wary of the other two

    Cormorant

    Juvenile garganey in the water in the middle of the photo

    Slideshow of photos from today: