Martin's Bird Blog & Nature Photos

Tag: wildlife

  • 1st October 2024 – Avalon Marshes

    1st October 2024 – Avalon Marshes

    It doesn’t seem to have stopped raining in the last fortnight so I wasn’t too surprised to find, when I called in again at Cheddar Reservoir, that the water levels had risen. I’m sure that Bristol Waterworks, as well as the Almighty, had something to do with it. So no waders today. However, I was very pleased to see a northern wheatear which had popped in on its migration south.

    There were other small passerines flitting around to keep it company.

    Meadow pipit

    Goldfinches

    I then carried on south to the Avalon Marshes.

    I only had time for RSPB Ham Wall, but there was enough there to keep me occupied in the rather poor light. There were very few people around: perhaps they have all migrated too!

    An acrobatic shoveler

    Gadwall having a wash

    Great crested grebe about to dive

    Cormorant

    Kestrel

    Kestrel

    Kestrel

    Great crested grebe

    Gadwall

    Grey heron with gadwall as bodyguards

    Great white egret preening

    Great white egret the right way up
  • 31st March 2024 – Aust Warth, Severn Estuary, Gloucestershire

    31st March 2024 – Aust Warth, Severn Estuary, Gloucestershire

    It’s been so wet underfoot that birdwatching has not been my preferred pastime in the last few weeks.

    I’ve even been tempted to start a blog of other activities and had a go at a visit to a local church (see St Mary’s Berkeley, further up the Severn Estuary).

    However, I am probably on dodgy ground here as I know so little about ecclesiastical architecture and just as little about history.

    The only shelduck to come close enough for a photo opportunity

    We hit on a walk along the new flood defences along the Severn Estuary near Aust. We were hoping that the new path would not be too muddy, as turned out to be the case. The tide was very high and so there were no waders around but we did have distant views of lots of shelduck and a few Canada geese.

    Stonechat

    Stonechat

    However, we were rewarded in the early part of our walk with a a fairly close-up view of a northern wheatear and a stonechat; skylarks were with us all along the walk and certainly lifted our spirits.

    Northern wheatear

    Northern wheatear

    Northern wheatear

    Skylark

    Skylark

    Skylark

    Northern wheatear

  • 16th February 2024 – WWT Slimbridge, Gloucestershire

    16th February 2024 – WWT Slimbridge, Gloucestershire

    Another break in the rain and so we make a dash for Slimbridge. There’s not much doubt that these are currently wetlands.

    Northern lapwings and golden plover clearly enjoying the wet conditions

    There were a few rarities there today (spoonbill, dark-bellied Brent goose) but the only rarity (for Slimbridge) which we managed to see amongst the thousands of birds on view were two Whooper swans who have joined the visiting Bewick swans and the native mute swans.

    Bewick swan

    Whooper swan

    Mute swan

    Northern pintail

    A ruff and a shelduck either side of a pair of wigeon

    Black-tailed godwits were easier to pick out when they took to the air

    Lapwings

    Even the chaffinch had to negotiate the wet conditions

    We heard the curlews way before we saw them

    I only saw two oystercatchers

    There were rather a lot more golden plover

    The golden plovers regularly made splendid displays over the wetlands

    Northern shovelers

    Wigeon

    Whooper swan up close

    The Bewick swans are much smaller than the Whoopers (and the mute swans) and have proportionally more black and less yellow on their bills

    Male and female tufted duck

    A few of my favourites from the pens:

    Smew

    Goldeneye

    Common pochard

    Goldeneye displaying

    Slideshow of my photos from this morning’s visit: