Somerset’s Autumn Migrants - Trip Report 27-30 Sept
SOMERSET BIRDWATCHING HOLIDAYS TRIP REPORT:
27th -30th September 2021
Tour Leaders: Stephen Moss & Graeme Mitchell
Monday 27th September
As we arrived on Tealham Moor the afternoon was bright with strong westerly winds
sweeping somewhat ominous dark clouds behind Brent Knoll towards the Mendip Hills. At
first there seemed not much about, but soon we were joined by a large flock of Linnets and
a hovering Kestrel, its head motionless even in the gusty wind.
On a bramble bush were two different chats – Stonechat and Whinchat – and
adjacent to the bush was yet another bird sheltering from the strong winds by flattening
itself on the top of a gatepost: a Wheatear. We had seen all three chats at our first stop - a
good start to a birdwatching trip in anyone’s book!
Jack’s Drove, further along the moor, was quiet with just a few Meadow Pipits, more
Linnets, a large flock of Jackdaws and a distant Grey Heron. There was a bright flash of
lightning over the Mendips as we headed the short distance to Somerset Wildlife Trust’s
flagship reserve at Westhay Moor.
Soon we had seen our first egret of the trip, a Little Egret, and a good collection of
ducks, mostly Gadwall, Mallards and Shovelers (in eclipse plumage) along with Coot and
Moorhen. From deep within the reedbeds a Cetti’s Warbler let rip with its explosive burst of
song. Our hope of missing the passing showers was short-lived as a sharp downpour started;
however, we managed to shelter from the worst of the rain in the Tower Hide whilst
watching a female Marsh Harrier and a disappearing Great White Egret.
A bright rainbow was our sign to continue our walk round the reserve joined most of
the way by Long-tailed Tits. At the ‘new’ wet corner of the reserve made from re-claimed
peat diggings we watched Little Grebes, another Little Egret, dabbling ducks and, to much
excitement, a Bittern flew in, quickly disappearing into the reeds – sadly only seen by half
the party.
Walking back to the van, our main concern was keeping out of the way of a
continuous procession of huge tractors and trailers which were on constant loop as they
harvested a vast maize field adjacent to the nature reserve. In a nearby field was a cock
Pheasant, a couple of Buzzards looking for an easy meal and another group of 5 Little Egrets.
Mealtime was calling for us too, and back at Walls Farm, Kay had prepared a lovely evening
meal, and with Stephen joining us for supper, we all enjoyed a wonderful evening talking
birds, and laying out plans for the next few days.
Tuesday 28th September
With the weather forecast promising heavy rain later on, we decided to head down to
Graeme and Stephen’s ‘coastal patch’ – the ‘three rivers’ of the Huntspill, Parrett and Brue.
We stopped briefly at Sloway Lane, where Cetti’s Warbler was singing, while a male
Kingfisher perched on a willow upriver, giving brief but good views. Four young Ravens flew
overhead, calling and generally ‘messing about’ as they often do!
Down at Huntspill Sluice, the rising tide produced only a few Teal and Mallard, and a
distant Curlew; but we then caught sight of a smart little Common Sandpiper feeding on the
exposed mud. We walked along the ‘sea-wall’ by the River Parrett, which burst into life with
little flocks of Dunlins and Ringed Plover flying upstream; and a huge flock of at least 200
Black-tailed Godwits (incredibly, the first here this year) flying upriver on far side, revealing
their black-and-white wing-pattern, and then landing briefly. On the far side there were also
the usual Shelducks, Oystercatchers and gulls, while we also noticed several Avocets.
Then a female Peregrine appeared, landing several times by the new hide, and then
flew upriver and attacked the wader flocks (including the godwits, which tightened into a
ball in the air), but as often happens, without success. On our side, the grassy area above
the sea wall held a Wheatear, Meadow Pipits, Pied Wagtails and a flock of about 20 Linnets.
With the rain interrupting our morning tea and coffee break, we swiftly headed east to
Catcott Lows, one of our favourite reserves, managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust. We
diverted briefly to look at 16 Cattle Egrets (complete with accompanying cattle) hunched up
miserably in the rain, perhaps wishing they had stayed around the Med!
The first hide at Catcott was full, and there was very little happening (as is often the
case here, at least at first!), so we drove back to the entrance, where by then the flock of
egrets had been provoked into action by a tractor cutting the vegetation along the banks of
the rhyne. Joined by others (30 in all) they were feeding very close to the road, giving great
views; along with a single Little Egret nearby.
We then walked down to the second hide, where again very little appeared to be
going on, until first a brief flypast from a Hobby and a second from a male Marsh Harrier
seemed to kickstart the action, followed by lovely views of a Great White Egret thinking
about catching a fish! A male Sparrowhawk appeared from beside the hide, flew across to
an island in the lagoon, grabbed an unfortunate Meadow Pipit and headed straight back to
devour it out of sight. Meanwhile a male Mute Swan became quite aggressive towards what
looked like a female (but was perhaps a young male), sailing across the lagoon with its wings
held out to catch the breeze, and then chasing the other bird off. By now, despite the bird
action, we were rather cold and wet, so we headed down the road to the Duck at Burtle,
where we dried out and enjoyed a welcome lunch.
The rain showed no sign of stopping, but fortunately the RSPB Ham Wall reserve has a
rather splendid hide (the Avalon Hide), which gives great views from its elevated position
above the marshes. As well as numerous Coot and Gadwall, we spotted several Shoveler in
eclipse plumage, and had brief views of a Kingfisher, which called as it whizzed across in
front of the hide.
As the rain beat down on the wooden roof, Stephen jested that it was “good
weather for otters”. A few minutes later, as if on cue, Graeme spotted one in the shallow
water in front of the hide. For the next few minutes we watched as it repeatedly surfaced,
dived and resurfaced again – we could follow its trail of bubbles and the slightly panicky
responses of the various waterfowl! Then it grabbed the biggest eel we’ve ever seen, dived,
surfaced for a final time and then disappeared, presumably to feed on its booty somewhere
in the reeds. A great sighting of a very elusive animal, which Stephen and Graeme have only
seen half a dozen times over our years here. Then a swift return to the warmth and comfort
of Walls Farm, for another lovely meal prepared and cooked by Kay.
Otter
Wednesday 29th September
Our third day dawned sunny – a relief after yesterday – but very windy, with a moderate
breeze from the north-west. After good views of a Grey Wagtail picking the crane flies off
the roof at Walls Farm, we headed down to the WWT reserve at Steart, a relatively new
reserve that has produced some great birds over the years.
Today the emphasis was on quality rather than quantity; the highlight being first
one, then two, three and finally four Ruff; migrants on their way south from Scandinavia or
perhaps the Low Countries. They were distant but easily recognizable by their short bill,
buffish plumage and very fast feeding action. One – the male – was clearly larger than the
others. We also saw several Kestrels, 20 Lapwings, Wigeon and Shoveler, some of which
went up with the gulls. When we left the hide we discovered why: a male Peregrine flying
low over the field to the south, swooping down but not apparently catching anything.
We then headed over to our favourite local lunch spot, the King Alfred Inn at
Burrowbridge, pausing only to take a quick look at the memorial to Alfred the Great (and
the famous burnt cakes) at Athelney.
After lunch, we went on the great crane quest. We began at Stathe, where we crossed the
bridge over the River Parrett and scanned the surrounding fields of Aller Moor; with no
success there, we drove the short distance to Oath, to the railway bridge over the London to
Penzance rail line. Here we enjoyed good views of a Great White Egret and female Marsh
Harrier, and four Roe Deer, when one of our party spotted a large flock of Cranes in the far
distance, in a corn field above the marshes where we had been scanning. The final total was
27 – our record count here of Europe’s tallest bird!
We then drove up to RSPB Swell Wood, where before we left the car park we had
enjoyed good views of Nuthatch and feeding Great and Blue Tits. We then walked the short
distance to the viewpoint over RSPB West Sedgemoor, where we found a flock of 10 more
Cranes; and then another two, making around 40 in all. Our final stop was at the rather
splendid open hide overlooking the heronry, where after a few minutes we saw Coal Tit,
Marsh Tit and Treecreeper. We always enjoy good views of common birds, and we were
delighted to see a Robin and Wren that came down to the small pool in front of the hide,
giving us intimate views of these familiar but very beautiful birds.
cranes
Thursday 30th September
On our final morning, we headed back to the ‘three rivers’ – this time from the other end,
the Brue – and despite the weather forecast, which had predicted rain, we stayed dry
throughout. At first, not much was going on, but as often happens here, the birds did finally
appear: first, a few Mallards and a Little Egret along the Brue, then four Redshanks (one in
odd plumage with white showing on the wing). Three Curlews were in the field opposite,
two Skylarks called as they flew overhead, while there were lots of Pied Wagtails and a few
Linnets, and flocks of Starlings gathering on a wire to the south. A single Grey Wagtail was
on the muckheap, and then flew overhead calling – a sharp, single note as opposed to the
Pied’s more familiar two-note call.
Further along we saw more Little Egrets and Redshanks, and a single Greenshank –
incredibly, the first here since 2016 – flying upriver, calling. Two Swallows flew low south,
and there were about 300 Redshanks and a few Turnstones either heading upriver or on the
far bank of the Brue, while six more Turnstones came over our heads, followed later by 12
more (and we saw a flock of 20 near the Clyce as we walked back).
On the far side, there were mostly gulls and Shelducks, and as the gulls flew up,
Graeme spotted two Peregrines, one of which conveniently landed on the southernmost
point of Stert Island. We also heard a single Spotted Redshank (giving its “chew-it” call), and
saw Meadow Pipits and a single Rock Pipit on the sea wall. As we returned, 20 Goldfinches
fed on teasels and we also saw a single female Kestrel; but we could not see the wader
flock, which was probably hiding beneath the bank.
Osprey
For our final stop, we enjoyed tea, coffee and biscuits at Cheddar Reservoir, where the
waters were very low following draining. There were lots of ducks hauled out on the mud or
in the water: mainly Teal and Mallards, but a few Shoveler, Wigeon and Gadwall.
There were also plenty of Coots, Canada Geese, Great Crested Grebes (mostly now
in non-breeding plumage), Cormorants, gulls, Mute Swans and a pair of Black Swans over
the other side by the Cheddar Tower. We were disappointed not to find the Pectoral
Sandpiper which had been reported, but ample compensation came in the form of an
Osprey which appeared from the east, was mobbed by gulls and crows, flew down, and
grabbed a fish. A fine end to an eventful tour, during which we tallied no fewer than 7
raptors and 6 long-legged waterbirds! To put this in perspective, if we had done the same
tour 30 years ago, we might have seen just two: Kestrel and Grey Heron.
TOTAL: 86 species