Visit to RSPB Ham Wall 29th April 2013

Visit to RSPB Ham Wall 29th April 2013

We had a day off birding on the 28th as we went walking with the friends we were staying with. Even then we did see a Willow Warbler and a Rock Pipit. We left our friends on the 29th but we decided that we could afford another couple of hours visiting the RSPB reserve at Ham Wall and the adjoining Natural England reserve at Shapwick Heath. We hoped to see the Black-winged Stilts for a second time but when we got to the “second platform” they were nowhere to be seen. Still there were plenty of Gadwall and the flock of Black-tailed Godwits we had seen up at Shapwick Heath seemed to have moved over to the marshes here. We did see a drake Garganey however which was the first for us for the year.We walked back down the path and as we went the reeds and bushes were alive with Reed and Sedge Warblers, Cetti’s Warblers and Blackcaps were heard loudly and Chiffchaffs were everywhere and a couple of Swallows swooped past us and a large group of Swifts fed higher up in the sky. We reached the “first platform” and there was a great deal of excitement amongst the collected birders. We had apparently just missed a Bittern showing well in the air. We hung around for a bit but assumed we had dipped out on a Bittern again. Suddenly the excitement grew and from nowhere there were suddenly two Bitterns flying around in the air. The male was pursuing a female and they circled around for whole minutes giving us great views. As if that wasn’t enough a third bird joined in for a while. It was a good example of waiting for a bus and then three come along at once. For us, we had been waiting years to actually see a Bittern instead of merely hearing one and here we were looking at three Bitterns circling around in front of us.

If we had any doubt about the value of coming back here for a couple of hours before heading off homewards they fell away spectacularly now. We wandered back to the car park still marvelling at our good luck. Would we be able to see anything else over at Shapwick Heath ? We thought we would give it a try.

Bird Sightings : RSPB Ham Wall