The 'Levels' & Cheddar Reservoir

WEATHER: dull and overcast, brighter later. Top temp 12C no wind.

It was a very still morning, nothing stirred, the trees were perfectly still when Guy picked me up at 7:30am this morning. We drove straight to Ham Wall on the Somerset Levels which is 18 miles away.

The walk to Viewing Point No. 1 (VP1) took a short while, we stopped to look at several species of ducks, we saw Kingfisher from the hump-backed bridge and a Cetti's Warbler burst into song as we walked past Loxton's Marsh area.

Great Egret with Common Snipe and Shoveler

Guy hadn't seen a Jack Snipe for a couple of years, so this was our target bird for our Ham Wall visit. One had consistently turned up at VP1 over the last few weeks, so that is where we concentrated our efforts.

I guess we spent nearly an hour scanning the 'reed-islands' in the main pool where at least 50 Common Snipe were sleeping or feeding. We picked out 3 Dunlin and a single Black-tailed Godwit amongst the multitude of Lapwings. Great and little Egrets searched for fish in the shallows whilst Gadwall, Mallard, Wigeon, Teal, Shoveler and Tufted Ducks spent their morning either sleeping, loafing or feeding.

Black-tailed Godwit sleeping with the Lapwings

It was fitting that Birding Guru, Guy, found the JACK SNIPE, it was distant, of course, but showing well. A difficult find, so well done Guru. The bird wasn't doing much, sleeping mainly, it did perform its clockwork-toy motion of bobbing up and down several times, but it never actually moved from the position we found it in.

the Jack Snipe showing behind the Coot's head

Marsh Harriers flew over, a Common Buzzard landed in bush quite near and a Stonechat flitted about in the reeds. We saw a second Kingfisher dash by, Goldfinches, Chaffinches and a probable Bullfinch were seen as we made our way back to the car park.

After a quick warm drink at the kiosk in the car park, we drove across to Cheddar Reservoir, a fifteen minute drive. We discussed our four target species as we approached the car park. 

The water level at the reservoir has risen since our last visit in September, but it was still amazingly low. A large sandy island still existed in the northern section and sandy margins were visible for most of the perimeter. 

Whooper Swan at Cheddar reservoir

Despite there being several thousand birds in and around the water it took us all of five minutes to locate a single Whooper Swan amongst about 20 Mute Swans. We then found a single Dunlin, a single Common Snipe, at least 6 Pintail Ducks, Guy found a pair of Goldeneyes and we both saw a few dozen Common Gulls which were notable because they were our first of the winter.

A thorough search failed to produced a pair of Red-crested Pochards, we sifted through countless Common Coots, accompanied by large rafts of Teal, Shoveler, Common Pochard, Wigeon and small numbers of Tufted Ducks.

We concentrated on the Tufted Ducks as we searched for two Greater Scaups, they were supposed to be first year males, so they did not stand out too much. Eventually we spotted them and after a short walk we had reasonable views of them.

Greater Scaup at Cheddar

Further scrutiny of the water failed to produce the Red-crested Pochards, but our enjoyment was enhanced by a clearer sky with broken sunshine and much better light.

It was 1pm when we left, we drove straight to the outdoor cafe at the Avalon Visitor's Centre where we both enjoyed a toastie! 

It was 3pm when we left, we had discussed visiting one more site, but the light was already beginning to fade, so off we went home.