A few days in the south west

xxImmature Cattle Egret, Chew Valley Lake, Somerset

xxCattle Egret early morning

xx Little Egret, CVL

xxLittle Egrets, CVL

xxRed-crested Pochard (juvenile), CVL

xxGreen Sandpiper, Pennington Flash

xxCommon Scoters, Pennington Flash

xxSmall Tortoiseshell, Langley Burrell, Wiltshire

xxSmall Copper, Langley Burrell

xx Peacock, HGF

xxPainted Lady, Langley Burrell

xx Large White, Langley Burrell

xxComma, Langley Burrell

xxC-130 Hercules, Langley Burrell. RAF Lyneham is only a few miles away, xxconsequently the RAF's workhorse was over every few minutes or so!

xxx

Last Friday, at the end of a long week, I popped in to PF for half an hour just to see if the water levels had dropped any. It was still more like Loch Ness - and consequently no waders from Horrocks Hide. A flock of 41 Common Scoters were out in the middle but difficult to see in the heat haze and with the sun shining head on. The flock was very nervous and stayed bunched together with birds constantly diving - all down to the bloody yachts that kept sailing past. A single Green Sandpiper was on Teal Hide pool - otherwise very quiet and I didn't linger.

xxx

Saturday morning and a quick mooch down to HGF before heading down to the SW to stay with my brother in law Mark and his fiance Becky for a few days. Only the usual stuff present, however as I trudged back through the south field I suddenly looked up to see a Whimbrel fly low over, heading south. Superb for this place!

xxxx

Langley Burrell is a picturesque little village in Wiltshire with beautiful countryside all around. I didn't do much birding as the main reason for being there was a family birthday celebration. I did pick up Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a Coal Tit and 3 Buzzards from the garden though. Late afternoon and I took Billy for a wander down to the nearby River Avon - a slow moving and not particularly large river at this point. A Kingfisher fishing in a pool was a nice sight, by one pool a large school of fish consisted of many Roach, a couple of large Perch and a much larger Rudd. It was extremely pleasant sitting in the sun watching the fish with dragonflies and butterflies (mainly Small Coppers and Common Blues) buzzing around everywhere.

xxx

I heard a raptor calling and a female Sparrowhawk sailed into view with two squabbling juveniles following right behind. They hung around for around fifteen minutes and the juveniles engaged in some talon grappling. On the way back Buzzard, Green Woodpecker, Yellowhammer and Linnet were added to the bird list - I also found a badger sett with lots of discarded bedding outside. It was in the far bank of a ditch which ran parallel to the footpath near the river.

xxx

On Sunday morning I had a couple of hours free so I headed off to Chew Valley Lake in Somerset. I have been several times before, however the lake is very large and I have never had time to walk all the way around it. A good website for the place is CVLbirding.co.uk. A single birder was present when I arrived at Heron's Green Bay - one of the few places where you can park by the road and view some of the lake. A juvenile Cattle Egret was perched on some railings by Heron's Green Pool - a duckpond type affair across the road. Nine Little Egrets were also present on this pond. Two adult Cattle Egrets were present in fields somewhere up the road, however I am still largely in summer can't be arsed mode so I decided not to go looking for them or for the Great White Egret at nearby Mere Heath.

xxx

The other birder then set up his scope to scan Heron's Bay for the long staying Fudge duck. He plonked his scope down and looked through it to find himself looking at a Garganey. Even when he pointed out where the bird was I struggled to see it - the bird was obscured by a flock of Coots and we were looking straight into the sun. Total fluke! He left and shortly after the Garganey flapped its wings to reveal it was an eclipse drake. There was no sign of the Fudge -having looked for it here before (and found it) I know it can be a little bugger to find. A wader flew out calling from behind some bushes at the south end of the bay - a Greenshank. It landed at the north end of the bay, wandered around for a few minutes and then disappeared. Two Black-tailed Godwits wheeled around the bay and a Common Sandpiper appeared followed by three Snipe and a Kingfisher - it was all action now! A female Goldeneye was present in the bay along with four Ruddy Ducks, around 50 or so Tufted Ducks, 500 Coots and nearly the same number of Great Crested Grebes. The GCG's were everywhere! Suddenly a juvenile Red-crested Pochard appeared too at the north end and a couple of Green Woodpeckers began calling.

xxxx

Late on Sunday I took Billy and wandered down towards the river - mainly to see if any owls were around. As I approached the badger sett I noticed a dark shape in the field behind it - a badger was feeding there! I sat down quietly on the ditch bank with Billy beside me and in the descending darkness I watched a total of four badgers leave the sett and begin wandering around the field. It was a supremely warm, clear and still night and the nearest badger was no more than 50 yards away - it was amazing. I watched them for around twenty minutes and they never once gave any sign that they were aware of my presence. Without doubt my best wildlife experience of the year!

xxx

Back home on Tuesday and HGF still fairly quiet. A Ringed Plover and a Grey Wagtail dropped in while I was there early am. In the evening by Midhops a flock of at least 160 House Sparrows flitted along the hedge - brilliant to see them doing well. This evening I made a quick pit stop to Hope Carr. Three Green Sandpipers on the usual pool was about it. At Newton Lake on the way home five Teal were on the back pool with the Little Grebe family (mum, dad and youngster) also present.