SOMERSET LEVELS AND CHEDDAR RESERVOIR
HAM WALL - VIEWING POINT 1 (VP1)
& AVALON HIDE
WEATHER: a clear sky to
start with, bright sunshine until midday then cloud and showers. Temp 12C with
a light wind.
It was a beautiful morning and
Ham Wall delivered the 'goods' once again, albeit over a long morning of
searching.
My two target species were Jack
Snipe and Water Pipit, both of these species had been reported from VP 1 and
the Avalon Hide this morning, so my expectations were high and the weather
was perfect. However the roads were not. I set out at 10:30am, it is usually a
40 minute drive to Ham Wall, but not today!!
A road accident neared Somerton
blocked the road in both directions and I had to double back and take an
alternative route, this added 30 minutes to the drive time. Then as I
approached RSPB Ham Wall the road from Ashcott was closed in both directions for
road repairs!! Doh!
I doubled backed once again and
travelled through Shapwick and Meare, a 10 mile detour, to get to Ham Wall
Reserve.
By the time I reached VP 1 at
11:45 both of my target birds had disappeared! I spent an hour trolling
through at least 100 Common Snipe, looking for the Jack Snipe, to no
avail. I couldn't find the Jack Snipe and there was no sign of a Water Pipit
either.
The view from VP1 - I was
photographing the Great Crested Grebes when a flock of Golden Plover flew past
News came in of both species
being seen at the Avalon Hide, but I perservered and spent even more time
searching from VP 1. I saw Green Sandpiper, Redshank, lots of the common Duck
species, Great and Little Egrets, Marsh Harrier and I heard a Bittern making
that frog-like call from the reedbed.
Eventually I succumbed to the
temptation of seeing my target speices at the Avalon Hide and so I walked
over there. Along the way I saw Cetti's Warbler, Reed Bunting, a flock of
Long-tailed Tits with at least three Chiffchaffs following along.
It was 2pm when I reached the
Avalon Hide, I didn't bring lunch or a drink!! Dumb move! However, The visit
was exciting with plenty to see which distracted me from my hunger pangs.
the view from the Avalon Hide -
note: the Jack Snipe and the Water Pipits were in the light brown vegetation in
the distance!
The hide was practically empty
and I had to search long and hard to find the Jack Snipe, which I did. It was
distant of course and very hard to see. The Water Pipits (3) were showy and
obliging, although they were mainly distant too!
can you spot a Jack Snipe here??
my best view of the Jack Snipe
A Glossy Ibis dropped in, I saw
three more Green Sandpipers, a few more Common Snipe, a Water Rail, Great and
Little Egrets and plenty of Teal, Shoveler, Gadwall and a few Wigeon.
Glossy Ibis
Green Sandpiper
Water Pipit - this one came much
nearer than the other two
Walking back to the car park I
bumped into a 'flock' of Chiffchaffs!! At least four 'chiffys' were feeding
together. I paused breifly at VP1 and took a quick scan, and lo and
behold, there was the Jack Snipe!! The little blighter was hunkered down, but
bobbing like a clockwork toy!
the second Jack Snipe is shown
here (its not the one fast asleep on the left). Hint, look in the reeds in
front of the feeding Wigeon.
I got back home, via the
road-works diversion, at 4:30pm. It had been a long, 'quick' visit to Ham Wall,
but well worth it.
