The starlings just keep on coming

SOMERSET BIRDWATCHING HOLIDAYS TRIP REPORT:

February 2nd-4th 2023

Tour Leaders: Stephen Moss & Graeme Mitchell

Thursday 2nd February

Our first afternoon began with pretty good weather: mild and dry though a little windy, as we headed to nearby Tealham Moor. The stars here were two Great White Egrets – the first of many we would see – plus a large flock of Lapwings that were harassed by two Peregrines, who also tussled with one another; and the less dramatic, but still unusual, sight of ten Common Gulls feeding on the ‘Waterings’ (the flooded field by the road), and a flock of Canada and Greylag Geese, lots of Fieldfares, Buzzards, Kestrels and a Stonechat flying along the rhyne.

After this brief diversion we popped into Catcott Lows (a Somerset Wildlife Trust reserve), where we had excellent close views of Lapwing and Wigeon, plus Shoveler, Teal and about ten Pintails, all upending to feed in the shallow waters; we also saw one Golden Plover with the Lapwings when they flew.

We then headed to the RSPB showpiece reserve at Ham Wall, where almost immediately we saw a male Marsh Harrier over the car park. On a leisurely walk along the railway line towards Glastonbury we enjoyed views of more Marsh Harriers, Snipe and various ducks (including Gadwall and Pochard), a Kingfisher, and pairs of Little and Great Crested Grebes, both in full breeding plumage for the season ahead. A Great White Egret fed along the drain by the path, while a Little Egret was at the back of the main pool, which also held Pochard, Tufted Duck and a range of dabbling ducks; we also heard a Cetti’s Warbler singing and Water Rails calling, but they stayed hidden in the dense reeds.

Great White Egret photo by Pat Wilder

We had heard that the Starlings had mostly moved across the road to Shapwick and Meare Heaths (the Natural England reserve), so we followed suit. Several more Marsh Harriers and a Great White Egret were followed by the first of several Sparrowhawks for the trip, flying low over the reeds; the main lake had lots of Wigeon, Shoveler, Gadwall and Coots. We arrived in perfect time for the first Starlings, right over our heads with a whoosh at 4.43pm; plus, lots of Fieldfares and Pied Wagtails, followed by Buzzard and female Marsh Harriers. Several thousand starlings landed to roost in the reeds in front of us; we then walked back to the car where we were greeted by the sound of a male Tawny Owl hooting above our heads.

Friday 3rd February

After a short detour outside and inside the medieval church at West Huntspill (with a recital of Philip Larkin’s poem ‘Church Going’ from Stephen), and a quick look at the heronry next door (complete with a single heron on its nest in the holm oak), we drove through Bridgwater to the other side of the county, to the WWT reserve at Steart Marshes. By then the weather had really improved, and on the walk down to the hide we enjoyed views of a pair of Stonechats, and a splendidly huddled Brown Hare squatting in the field by the Quantock Hide.

From the ide itself we had excellent views of Teal, Wigeon and Shelduck, feeding Redshanks, and a single (mostly sleeping) Spoonbill, which did deign to raise its head briefly and show off its huge, spatulate bill; and about 1000 Lapwings. The Mendip Hide (‘the Gobi Desert’) was surprisingly good, with a female Marsh Harrier and Kestrel, and several Skylarks; on the way back, we heard a Cetti’s Warbler, and the Lapwings went up, followed by the Spoonbill, then about 30 Golden Plovers straight over our heads. As we got towards the car park we heard a Raven, which was perched near the top of a huge pylon.

We then headed back through Bridgwater and across the southern levels (via the site of the 1685 Battle of Sedgemoor in Westonzoyland village) to Burrow Mump, where we scanned the flooded fields and saw lots of Black-headed Gulls, Lapwings and Wigeon, five Little Egrets, Mute Swans, Starlings and two Fieldfares giving close views; and a Mistle Thrush and male Blackcap feeding on mistletoe berries back in the car park, where a Wren burst into song.

After our usual fine lunch and break at the King Alfred’s Arms in Burrow Bridge we headed down the road to Stathe alongside the River Parrett, where there was no sight of the flock of Cranes that Graeme had seen the previous week. Undaunted, we drove to the next viewpoint at the London-Penzance railway bridge overlooking the RSPB’s West Sedgemoor reserve, where after a Great White Egret flew off, Stephen spotted four very distant Cranes feeding; followed by views of three Roe Deer. We then drove up the road to just before the hill and fortunately got better views of three of the cranes (plus what looked like a fourth but might have been a plastic bag!)

From here we then drove to the RSPB Swell Wood reserve, famous for its heronry. The car park feeders produced Blue, Great and Coal Tits, while a pair of Nuthatches called us from the trees above. We walked along the path to the viewpoint (Goldcrest and Long-tailed Tits en route), where we had our best views of two pairs of Cranes feeding in the fields below, plus another Roe Deer, Great White Egret and brief views of a Stock Dove in flight; before a necessarily brief stay in the excellent hide, where at least four pairs of Grey Herons were already on their nests; we also saw a Treecreeper here.

Our final visit took us back to the Avalon Marshes – this time to the opposite end of the railway, where our friends (and friendly rivals!) from Naturetrek had given us a hot tip that the Starling roost would be closer than yesterday. We walked along the path (hearing Jay on the way) to a viewpoint south towards the Poldens. What followed was truly extraordinary: as with the day before, the first Starlings came in around 4.40 pm (sunset was 5.04 pm), but this time from the west, rather than the east.

Over the next twenty minutes and more we enjoyed seeing at least half-a-dozen (probably more) Marsh Harriers, with males as well as females, Buzzards, and at least two (perhaps four) Sparrowhawks, which harried and harassed the starlings, causing them to do their incredible flight aerobatics very closed to us, with other arriving flocks whooshing right over our heads. As dusk fell, the vast majority of the Starlings flew off towards Ham Wall, and we walked back to the car. Just as we thought the show was finally over, a ‘ringtail’ (young or female) Hen Harrier performed low over the reeds, showing off its narrow white rump; a fitting end to an excellent day’s birding. 

Hen Harrier ‘Ringtail’

Saturday 4th February

For our final morning we headed down to the coast, on the other side of Steart Marshes, to Stephen and Graeme’s ‘coastal patch’, on the three rivers: Huntspill, Parrett and Brue. At Sloway Bridge there were early signs of spring from singing Song Thrush, Dunnock and Chaffinch, and a passing Greenfinch; on the river Huntspill there were just the usual birds, including Moorhen, Mallard, Mute Swan and Cormorant, so we headed up to the Sluice where the tide was well out. Graeme spotted the resident male Kingfisher perched on the low branch of a willow upstream from the sluice.

Looking across the Parrett we saw at least 1000 Lapwings and 1000 Teal on the exposed mud, with much smaller numbers of Redshanks, Avocets, Curlews, Dunlins, Grey Plovers and 10 Bar-tailed Godwits, which were disturbed by the clay-pigeon shoot and flew off. There were six Canada Geese on the near side and a pair on the island, along with two Oystercatchers and a pair of Great Black-backed Gulls. Before then we briefly saw a Goldcrest feeding in the copse; while a pair of Ravens flew past us, calling. There were four Shovelers (three males) on the Parrett, and Common and Black-headed Gulls flying upriver; while we also saw a flying flock of about 30 Linnets, but no Skylarks.

After tea and coffee (and excellent biscuits!) back at the van we drove up the A38 to Cheddar Reservoir (via a toilet stop and unexpected browse of an antiques shop at the back of the petrol station). Before we were out of the car park at the Axbridge end we saw Treecreeper and Goldcrest in the trees; on the reservoir itself there were four species of gulls, loafing on the water. This gave us the opportunity to compare the sometimes-tricky appearance and plumages of, in order of increasing size, Black-headed (one or two with their dark brown summer hood), Common, Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls. There were also lots of Coots, Great Crested Grebes, Cormorants, Tufted Ducks, Mallard and a single drake Pochard. We then drove back to Walls Farm where we concluded an excellent tour, in which we had seen or heard no fewer than 85 species.