HAM WALL ( VP1 - AVALON HIDE, MAIN TRACK) - TEALHAM MOOR - CATCOTT LOWS - HAM WALL
WEATHER: overcast all morning with showers at lunchtime - sunny later, quite breezy all day. Top temp 21C
I met Jan and Gary in the car park at RSPB Ham Wall at 7am, they were my clients for a day out, paid for by their son Richard - a birthday present for Gary. Gary wanted to see Bittern and Hobby, he didn't mind which order they arrived in, but he wanted to see both!!!
my companions for the day - Jan and Gary
We set off towards VP1 noting several birds in the car parking area, Robin, Blackbird, Wren and Blue Tit all singing (a Green Woodpecker flew up from the gravel when I arrived at 6:40am). In the reeds along the path we heard Reed Warbler and the woodland gave us great views of a pair of Blackcaps, they showed well at eye-level.
Great Egret - we saw many of these all over the reserve
From the humped-backed bridge we watched Great Egrets and Gary found a Kingfisher perched nearby, we also saw Mute Swan, Gadwall and Mallards. The first major reedbed produced our first 'booming' Bittern, it was fairly close but we never saw it. Garden Warbler, Cetti's Warbler, Chiffchaff and Blackcaps all sang to us as we made our way along the track to VP1. We also saw a Red Kite and a Marsh Harrier.
Black-tailed Godwits
From the viewing point we added several new species for the list: Black-tailed Godwits, Tufted Ducks, Common Pochard, Great Crested and Little Grebes, Cormorant, Black-headed Gull, Coot and Lapwings.
We heard at least two more 'booming' Bitterns as we walked towards the Avalon Hide and a distant Cuckoo called. From the Avalon Hide we sheltered from the rain showers and found a few more new birds. Jan and Gary had the cheek to have a brief sighting of a Bittern whilst I was looking elsewhere at the other side of the hide! Jan then found a couple of Common Cranes whilst I pointed out a pair of Marsh Harriers.
a pair of Marsh Harriers
Common Crane - found by Jan from the Avalon Hide
Reed Buntings showed extremely well just outside the hide, a Common Whitethroat showed briefly just for me and out on the water we watched several duck species, a Grey Heron and more Great Egrets.
Reed Bunting
back at VP1 we heard that a rare Blue-winged Teal had be seen and after a short while I got a partial view of it. The bird was well hidden in the reeds and never came out for my two companions to see. We noted a few dragonflies including the very common Four-spot Chaser and also a Grass Snake at the bridge.
a Grass Snake
Foiur-spot Chaser
The sky cleared a little and it warmed up as we sat and ate our picnic lunch at the tables next to the car park, a couple of Robins joined us in eating our sandwiches. The sun came out, hooray!
Next, we drove to Tealham Moor in the hope of seeing a few extra species, including the Hobby. We saw Linnets, a couple of Skylarks, Jackdaws, Great Egrets and I got a Yellow Wagtail in my bins but it disappeared before I got it into the scope. We never saw a Hobby and the cold breeze drove us away.
wide open space at Tealham Moor
At Catcott Lows we drove the 'Lows' Hide and from there we enjoyed seeing a few Cattle Egrets with a Great Egret, a pair of Marsh Harriers were ducking and diving over the marsh.
two pictures of Cattle Egrets
At 3pm we drove back to Ham Wall, we had been out for 8 hours and that was enough for my two new friends. We said goodbye in the car park at Ham Wall, we had seen over 50 species between us, not a bad tally.