Starlings of biblical numbers

Wednesday 4th December 2020

A beautiful crisp and sunny afternoon were set before us as we headed off to RSPB Ham Wall on the Somerset Levels.

En route tucked under Mudgley Hill we had a quick sighting of a group of around a dozen cattle egrets doing what cattle egrets do, picking at the ground, looking for insects and grubs stirred up by some fine Dexter heifers.

We met up with Stephen and his friend and radio colleague Brett Westwood at the busy reserve carpark. It is amazing to see so many people gathering on a mid-week afternoon in early December – such is the draw of Somerset’s starling murmurations.

We had good sightings of several chiffchaffs in the birch trees alongside the old railway line. Many of these birds now over-winter in southern England such are the milder conditions.

A beam of low sunshine was like a spotlight on a radiant kingfisher as it sat motionless on the edge of a reed bed giving all a splendid view through our telescopes.

Overhead a fine male marsh harrier patrolled his territory, again, the perfect light conditions gave excellent views. From the first viewing platform, there was a large flock of black-tailed godwits along with lapwings and a few snipe. Shoveller, gadwall, teal, and wigeon made up the large collection of ducks with a couple of little grebes popping up and down under the water like little cork decoy-ducks.

We slowly strolled along to the second viewing platform followed by a flock of long-tailed tits, robins and great tits. By a muddy reedbed, we were joined by a male and female stonechat and some pied wagtails.

From the second viewing platform, the setting sun caught the seed-heads of the reeds and there was another fine collection of water birds – a few greylag geese and Canada geese added to our tally, with a fly-past from a chocolate coloured female marsh harrier and a perched male sparrow hawk patiently waited for the first starlings to arrive.

We returned to the first viewing platform, which had swollen in visitor numbers all jostling for position just as the first small groups of starlings arrived.

It was perfect conditions for good murmurations, and Somerset’s starlings did not disappoint. The numbers grew and grew in long thin flocks, coming in from all directions. The birds would then merge into larger flocks, and swirl and dance in mesmeric shapes before landing on their chosen block of reeds. Soon the reeds flattened and blackened with the sheer volume of birds. The show went on and on, getting better and better, and the ‘Oohs and Aahs’ from the crowd were reminiscent of a circus performance.

By 4.20 pm the show was over and so was the light.

We all enjoyed a lovely supper prepared by Kay along with some wonderful excellent banter and birding stories from Stephen and Brett.

Thursday 5th December 2020

Oh dear… Stephen’s ‘man flu’ had taken hold through the night and he was ‘hors de combat’ for the rest of the tour.

Not put off, we headed west to Bridgwater and Steart Marshes, where we met with another friend of Somerset Birdwatching Holidays, Mike Copland, who joined us for our morning’s visit to Steart’s busy lagoons.

A kestrel met us above the carpark and hovered in the breeze while redwings and stonechats were in the hedges as we walked to the Quantock Hide. Mike was quick to spot a soaring peregrine passing overhead. Its presence unsettled the whole of the lagoon, and skies filled with golden plover and lapwings.

Once we were behind the screens at the hide, we were able to get the telescope onto a single spoonbill. This wasn’t the usual distant white blob, but a rather active bird swinging its massive bill to and fro as it sieved the lagoon looking for a few crumbs.

There were many golden plover and lapwings in large flocks. Shelducks and teal were close to the hide, so we got great views, and in the distance, we picked off dunlins and redshanks, grey heron and little egrets. Skylarks flew above and pheasants and a family of roe deer were in the neighbouring fields.

Back at the van, the coffee bar opened from the boot, and we all enjoyed a warming cuppa and some posh biscuits.

We said goodbye to Mike and headed inland to West Sedgemoor passing the last battle site on English soil (Battle of Sedgemoor 1685) – our task was to look for some cranes near the River Parrett but sadly, today they were not showing – it was just as well we had seen the largest crane in Europe at Hinkley Point Power Station construction site. (Boom Boom).

An appreciated lunch stop was followed by a bracing walk down to the bird hide at RSPB Greylake. Walking through the reeds Pam spotted movement at the edge of a small pond, and a beautiful water rail appeared in full view and sat in the open for several minutes, giving everyone the opportunity to see this usually most elusive bird. About the size of a moorhen, the rail had a quite purple sheen to its back and had a long curved red bill.

the rarely seen water rail

Just as we were all congratulating ourselves for our luck, another bird appeared right above the water rail – it was a Cetti’s warbler – another skulking bird of the reed beds, which like the water rail, we often hear, but very rarely see. To have both birds in our binoculars at the same time is simply unheard of.

 From the hide, we enjoyed a large collection of ducks of different flavours and good close views of four or five snipe.

 As it was not as bright conditions as we had enjoyed yesterday, we headed off a bit earlier to Ham Wall for another starling spectacular – this time, rather than standing on the viewing platform we decided to walk down to the end of the boardwalk to the small hide much closer where we hoped the birds would roost.

 Andy was on fire now and walking into position he picked off another kingfisher perched pretty much where we had seen it before.

 The first starling outriders arrived just as we reached the hide, and we had definitely hit the jackpot with our positioning, as after a couple of circles around our heads they landed in the reeds just a short distance away. More and more birds came in, the gentle sound of their flight getting louder and louder. As the birds filled up block after block of reed beds, we noticed that many were bathing vigorously at the edge of the water, as if doing their ablutions before bed.

Thousands of birds streamed past, cramming onto the reeds looking for a spot to rest. The difference from the previous night was, rather than the flock split between two main roosts at different parts of the reserve, all birds came into the one location. It was biblical.

It is hard to say for sure, but we heard various figures mentioned of the total number of birds, ranging between 250,000 to 500,000 – take your pick. The reeds bent double then were blackened by the sheer density of birds. In the end, I spent more time looking at the broad grins of incredulity across the faces of our guests. You had to be there.

Through the passing flocks on a distant tree was a gathering of up to 70 cattle egrets settling down to roost for the night.

 After 30 minutes, it was virtually dark, and the show was over once more.

 To celebrate our day’s achievements, we headed off for a unique Somerset cultural experience by visiting Roger Wilkin’s cider barn to enjoy a little tipple of ‘the real deal’ and to buy some excellent mature cheddar.

 Kay had laid on another splendid supper and good company and chat were enjoyed into the night.

 Friday 6th December 2019

 We headed down to the coast by the meeting point of three rivers – the Huntspill, the Parrett, and the Brue. It was a blowy morning, however, after an initial shower, we were lucky to miss the worst of the weather.

Tide was rising as we arrived and we soon saw a good collection of waders, including redshanks, dunlin, curlew and distant views of avocets on the Steart side of the Parrett.

Skylarks and meadow pipits followed us along the coastal footpath, while mallard and wigeon groups dabbled in the shallows. Larger flocks of passing lapwings and curlews flew overhead and a single grey plover showed well on the foreshore.

On our return, we noticed a substantial flock of around 100 Canada Geese grazing on the rich pastures out of the wind. A single greylag goose was amongst them. Back at the van, we enjoyed much closer views of an elegant avocet with two cronking ravens disappearing into the distance.

Our last stop was via the medieval village of Axbridge to Cheddar reservoir.

There was a large group of ducks, mostly pochard, tufted ducks, many coots, with a sprinkling of great crested grebes and cormorants. Again, Andy was on red-hot form, as he picked out our local brightly coloured male red-crested pochard with its drabber mate and lighter coloured juvenile.

We tried to get excited with a collection of gulls, mostly black-headed, and a few herring – but only Stephen can make gulls interesting, although we did get a little tingle at a single great black-backed gull sitting looking mean on the sailing club jetty.

Another happy group of birders headed for home early afternoon.