We had considered going for
the Hudsonian Godwit yesterday but as it had disappeared for several days
before showing again on Wednesday and we had decided to hold fire to see if it
became more reliable and go to Blacktoft Sands yesterday. It was present again yesterday and as it was
a new bird for David and Roger and the forecast for Saturday was not too good,
David, Roger, Ken and I set off at 06:30.
David was driving and we went via the M69, M6, M42 and M5 before coming
off at junction 23 and heading east to Ashcott and then turning left to the
reserves.
The godwit was being seen at
Meare Heath on a small lagoon that was fairly shallow and provided a good
feeding area. We had received news on
route that it was still present this morning and we walked the short distance
from the car park alongside the south drain to view the lagoon. The godwit was still present but walked into
the corner and at of sight just as we arrived however it wasn’t long before it
reappeared and we had some nice views.
As I was thinking of taking a shot of the bird all of the godwits got up
and flew around and I half expected them to leave but they didn’t but they did
land a little further away. I took some
shots of the birds in flight hoping that the Hudsonian Godwit would be found in
the flock, which it was on when the upperparts were visible, although partially
obscured by other birds, but not in the shots showing the underparts. When they landed most were in a fairly tight
flock but the Hudsonian was away from the flock with a few Black-tailed but it
soon merged with the rest and became quite difficult to see as it was directly
behind one of the Black-tailed. It
eventually preened for a while, when I tried taking a few record shots, but as
it was still behind the same godwit most just showed part of its back although
one did show a little more.
Hudsonian Godwit showing behind a Black-tailed Godwit
Black-tailed Godwits
Hudsonian Godwit amongst the Black-tailed Godwits
We spent quite some time
waiting for the birds to either start feeding or fly again although the cold
eventually got to me and I went back to the car with David. However whilst we were waiting we had a drake
Garganey, a Little Egret, a Ruff and two Redshanks on the lagoon and a Bittern,
Great White Egret, male Marsh Harrier, Buzzard, Hobby and a couple of Common
Terns flew over and we also heard a Water Rail.
On the way back to the car we
had a Garden Warbler and heard Cetti’s Warbler, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and
Blackcap. When we got back to the car I
went over the road to Ham Wall hearing a Cuckoo but hadn’t got too far when
Roger called to say that there was a Hairy Dragonfly alongside the path. I returned and joined then on the bank where
the dragon was resting.
Hairy Dragonfly
When we got back to the car
David, Roger and I decided to go and take a look at Ham Wall, while Ken decided
to go back to try and see the godwit better.
As we reached the bridge over
the south drain we counted at least seven Hobbies feeding over an area of reed
and there were several Swifts flying higher above the area. We stopped again further along the track to
view the Hobbies again and I also picked up a Red Kite. As we continued to walk along the track we
heard quite a few Cetti’s and Reed Warblers and single Sedge Warbler and
Whitethroat. Two Bitterns flew over as we
reached a track off to the right and a few minutes later a Great White Egret
flew over, this one supporting an all dark bill. We walked a little further exploring two of
the tracks off to the right and were rewarded with two more Bitterns and
another Great White Egret in flight. Approaching
the south drain as we walked back David had gone on but Roger and I counted at
least seventeen Hobbies over the reeds.
Bittern
Bittern
Bittern
Bittern
Bittern
Great White Egret
When we got back to the car
for lunch Ken joined us and informed us he had seen the godwit a little better
a couple of times but it had spent most of the time roosting.
After lunch we drove the short
distance to Greylake where a very enthusiastic lady gave us instructions and
information as to where the Green-winged Teal might be seen and what else was
about. We walked along the track from
which I managed to actually see my first Reed Warbler of the year and on
reaching the first hide and another birder informed us the teal could be
partially seen to the right of the hide.
The view was pretty poor as only part of the head was showing, although
the white vertical stripe was visible.
The area in front of the hide was a fast area of wet meadow and I could
see a distant male Marsh Harrier and a couple of Roe Deer. There were also several Lapwing and Redshank
and we eventually found one of the two reported Ruff. When we had been looking for the Green-winged
Teal we had also seen a couple of Teal and so it was a surprise when about
twenty took to flight and fortunately when they landed the Green-winged Teal
could be seen much better. We added a
couple of Yellow Wagtails before we went back to the car to return home.
Grey Heron
Reed Warbler
Reed Warbler
We had discussed our options
of getting home without just using the motorways and decided to go to Bristol
on the M5 and then take the M4 east to the A46 and heading north to Cirencester
before picking up the Fosse Way back to Leicester, which was very pleasant
journey but we saw very little just a Red Kite and a few Buzzards.
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