SLIMBRIDGE AGAIN

The clocks have gone back so it will soon be darker evenings and therefore less time to be out and about in the afternoon enjoying nature. With this in mind, I made the trip over to Slimbridge to make the most of the autumn sunshine. The sky was cloudless and there was no breeze.
 The numbers of ducks are increasing now, with the arrival of pintail and wigeon although I was informed today that it'll still be at least a week before the first Bewick swans arrive, as we need an easterly wind and cold air in Europe to tempt them back to the UK! 

Although I saw nothing new or exciting, it was a pleasant afternoon to be out. Species of note included: crane, wigeon, pintail, snipe, curlew, little egret, heron, lapwing, teal, buzzard.
A few photos below give the flavour of Slimbridge at this time of year.

 buzzard

grey heron

lapwing

little egret and snipe

pintail

Rushy Pen gathering of birds

shelduck

wigeon grazing

BEARDED TITS AT WESTHAY MOOR

A few weeks ago someone showed me some photos of bearded tits that they'd taken at Westhay Moor reserve in Somerset, and I thought I'd like try and get down there in the next few weeks if I could. 

Today was the only Saturday I had free and with a reasonable weather forecast  - warm with some cloud and sunshine - I left fairly early for Glastonbury. It was an easy trip via M4/ M5 then ten minutes of country roads the other end, and I arrived at about 20 past 9. 

Having been told exactly where to look, I headed for the boardwalk leading to the island hide, approx 500 metres walk.  I noticed a couple of bird watchers waiting there with cameras at the ready, and yes, they were on the same mission as I was. We waited around for 15 minutes or so, we could hear the bearded tits 'pinging' from the reed beds, and once a couple of them flew across the board walk straight into the reeds on the opposite side. We could also hear  a cetti's warbler and water rails squealing. 

After a further wait, first one  or two, then up to 6 birds flitted through the reeds onto the board walk,  pecking  at the grit that was put down for them ( I must check out why!)  After a few minutes they all disappeared, reappearing at a different spot about 5 minutes later. This happened several times, and the last time, we were able to get with in two or three metres of them. I've never seen bearded tits at such close quarters before, and it was a joy  to watch them. 

boardwalk to the Island hide

bearded tits 

My next stop was  the RSPB Ham Wall reserve, where I spent the next few hours visiting the various hides. seeing a few more bearded tits, a couple of great white egrets, and a marsh harrier, and various other species  noted below:


bearded tits, marsh harrier, great white egret, little egret, shoveler, mallard, gadwall, coot, moorhen, little grebe, swan, greylag goose, cormorant, heron, kingfisher, kestrel, stonechat,
wren

bearded tits Ham Wall

With the mild weather, there were also good numbers of butterflies around, including speckled wood, red admiral, peacocks and a number of whites. 

SLIMBRIDGE IN AUTUMN SUNSHINE

Now that I no longer work afternoons, I thought I'd try and fit in a trip to Slimbridge, going straight from work. The journey took a little longer than on a Saturday morning, but this might have been partly due to the diversions in and around Slimbridge due to road works.
It was mostly cloudy on my arrival, but the clouds gradually cleared to leave a fine afternoon. 

There were ruff, black tailed godwits and redshanks seen from the Rushy Hide, along with little grebe and little ringed plover. 
From other hides I saw green sandpiper, curlew sandpiper, knot, and a party of eight cranes close to the Discovery hide. 

Main species seen included:
lapwing, buzzard, green sandpiper curlew sandpiper, black tailed godwit, grey wagtail, pied wagtail, little grebe, mallard, gadwall, teal, wigeon, shelduck, shoveler, coot, moothen, redshank, ruff, knot, crane, herring gull, blackheaded gull, cormorant, greylag goose, canada goose, barnacle goose, dunlin.

redshank

little ringed plover

cranes

autumn at slimbridge

another crane

black tailed godwit

more autumn colour

outside the visitor centre

swans galore