29th June: The South Drain

I finally saw a Little Bittern at Ham Wall RSPB today, getting a reasonable flight view this morning, I happened to be scanning the reeds with bins when it popped up so got a relatively prolonged look. There seems to have been a significant increase in activity, with at least 6 sightings today, much more than before, so maybe the eggs have hatched. The best bet for seeing them is to stand at the marked viewpoint and simply wait, try and find out from others where a bird was last seen dropping into and scan that area with binoculars as much as you can. Be prepared to wait several hours without any luck, and be aware that the bird flies so quick and low that often half the people at the watchpoint won't get onto the bird before it drops in.

On my way back, I noticed the South Drain looking particularly nice, and peering over the bridge I could see that it was absolutely chock full of wildlife:

The South Drain

Loads of Rudd

I had a bit fo fun trying to photograph Dragonflies in flight. An Emperor was holding territory on a short section of water so gave plenty of opportunities as it cruised back and forth, awesome beasties!

Emperor

Emperor

While watching the Dragons, a big old Grass Snake swam a short distance along the bank on the far side before disappearing down a little side channel

I'm away from the Marshes for the next 6 weeks or so, so I won't be able to post any of my own sightings or photos. I'll try and update on any particularly interesting news I hear from the area though, and if anyone gets any photos they would like to share on here, feel free to e-mail them to me at joe@avalonwildlife.co.uk, and i'll post them up (fully credited of course).

Unfortunately this also means that I won't be running any guided walks or tours for the time being, but if you are interested in joining me from early August onwards, do get in touch and i'll see what I can do.

Happy Marshing!