15th April: More migrants

Had an excellent morning down on the Avalon Marshes with a great variety of birds.

First up was a quick look at the Hoopoe that was still on the track to Honeygar Farm

Dodgy photograph in the early morning light

Moving on to Shapwick Heath NNR, we soon saw and heard our first Whitethroat of the year, and a Common Swift appeared overhead almost immediately after.

Swift

The resident flock of Goldfinches in the car park were particularly tame today

At Ham Wall RSPB, Bitterns and Beared Tits were making a lot of noise in the reeds but we only got a brief view of a male Bearded Tit before it suddenly flew up high in the air, circled around 'pinging' for a while and then plummeted back into the reeds.

Bearded Tit

 The Pied-billed Grebe was still on view from the 2nd viewing platform, and was singing occasionally.

Pied-billed Grebe

Just as we were about to leave, an Adult Little Gull flew in and started hawking for insects over the water.

Little Gull 

Back on Shapwick, Reed and Sedge Warblers were singing next to each other, giving us a good opportunity to compare the different songs. A Yellow Wagtail flew over calling, and the same Little Gull had followed us over to Noah's Lake. 4 Redshank, 31 Black-tailed Godwits and a Ringed Plover were on the Meare Heath scrape.

Why not book one of my Guided Walks to join me for a mornings birding on Shapwick Heath. SEE MORE, LEARN MORE!