Cheddar Reservoir, Somerset
I had the day off so decided to pop to a few places I’ve not visited for a good while. This was my first stop, with my main target of Red-crested Pochard. After a good search I drew a blank but the following notable species were logged. Common Loon, Greater Scaup, Common Pochard, Grey Wagtail a Male Mandarin Duck and Great Spotted Woodpecker.
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| Greater Scaup (Male) |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker (Male) |
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| Mandarin Duck (Male) |
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| Common Loon |
Chew Valley Lake, Avon
I always struggle to bird this place, especially without a permit.
Targets here were the Lesser Scaup (not reported for a while but could still be on site) and Long-tailed Duck. I stoppped off at a couple of spots. The best I could muster were 4 Male Common Goldeneye, a Female Greater Scaup at the lay-by at Herons Green Bay, a few Mew Gull at the dam and several Common Pochard and a white Eurasian Coot at Herriotts Bridge. I always struggle with birding this place due to the size of the site so feeling a tad deflated, I moved on.
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| Goldeneye (Male) |
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| Mew Gull |
Steart Marshes,
Somerset
A final site before heading home. The main target heat was Short-eared Owl. I started off at Otterhampton Marsh where 3 Eurasian Spoonbill showed distantly. I moved to Steart Gate for the target species and wasn’t disappointed, with 2 individuals on show. Also a major surprise was a Twite. I had heard that there had been a few reports of this bird but I wasn’t expecting to see it. It was rather flightly and skulking (not surprising with 2 Short-eared Owls on the prowl.
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| Short-eared Owl |
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| Short-eared Owl |
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| Short-eared Owl |
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