12th May

Today was an exceptional day for Bittern sightings, on arrival at the 1st viewing platform at Ham Wall RSPB I saw 4 different birds in flight in less than 10 minutes, and another 2 were up at the 2nd viewing platform, 2 more at Shapwick Heath NNR made a very good days tally!

Although we mainly only get to see them in flight at this time of year, they are often prolonged flights, and as Bitterns are quite a slow flying bird, it is still possible to see the plumage detail in its glory. The birds often come close too, like the first one today that pretty much flew over our heads.

Bittern no.1

Bittern no.3

A male Blackcap, in a rare moment of not singing

Marsh Harriers also put on a good show today with 5 birds seen, and Cuckoo's are particularly easy to see at the moment, with each male having a favoured stand of dead trees to sing from in the morning.

The wader numbers have dropped off a bit lately, with just 1 Ringed Plover and 1 Dunlin with 25 Black-tailed Godwits on the Meare Heath scrape, hopefully with the wind dying down this week the passage will pick up again.

If you want to maximise your chances of seeing our reedbed specialties, book a guided tour of the Avalon Marshes with me, to use local knowledge to your advantage. SEE MORE, LEARN MORE!