The birds of Somerset

I thought I would just use this post as a record of the bird species I saw throughout the week in Somerset, and also an opportunity to upload a couple of record shots of birds which I haven't got around to uploading in other posts. I was originally going to finish the post about Hestercombe gardens first, but this will definitely take a little while so I thought I would use the opportunity to quickly share some of the stuff which will otherwise end up not being posted.

We didn't go out of our way to go to nature reserves during the week, and all birds we saw were all just spotted on countryside walks, and around the house itself. We didn't visit any wetlands or marshlands throughout the week, so species of that variety weren't seen. But considering this, the number of birds I came across was actually quite impressive and just shows the habitat diversity of the area.

Now just to warn you, these next set of photos really aren't very good, but I'm still going to upload them as a record of what I have seen. I'd rather this blog was more of a way of recording and sharing what I have seen out and about as opposed to just a show of the better photos I have taken. The couple of photos below show a nuthatch that I saw in a woodland not far from the house we were staying in towards the end of the week. Despite the fact they are relatively common, its not actually that often that you see them. Hearing them is quite easy though as they have quite a distinctive call.

Remember that clicking on the photos will enlarge them :D

Pretty much all week, chiffchaffs could be heard almost everywhere we went. Again, its one of those birds that's actually quite difficult to spot, and tends to stay at the backs of trees rather than showing itself. Annoyingly, I did still have several opportunities to take some good photos of them but I missed all of them. As a result, I have quite a large number of record shots. Its quite annoying really because I was hoping at least one of the images might have turned out well. Ahh well, always next time, eh! The montage below shows a collection of my incompetent efforts.



The list below shows all the bird species I saw/heard throughout the week. I have counted birds that I have seen on the car journey there and back as well.

Mute swan
Mallard
Pheasant
Grey heron
Red kite (seen in car on way there and way back around where we live in the chilterns)
Sparrowhawk
Buzzard
Kestrel
Common gull 
Herring gull
Woodpigeon
Collared dove
Great spotted woodpecker
Skylark
Rock pipit 
Pied wagtail
Dipper
Wren
Dunnock
Robin 
Redstart (April is when they are supposed to be in the UK, so its just about early enough to see one. Also the warmer March weather may have brought it here slightly earlier)
Blackbird
Song thrush
Mistle thrush
Blackcap
Chiffchaff
Coal tit
Blue tit
Great tit
Nuthatch
Jay 
Magpie
Jackdaw 
Rook
Carrion crow
Starling
House sparrow
Chaffinch
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Yellowhammer

Also a possible hen harrier sighting but I really can't be sure as it was seen from quite a distance. Anyway, 41 species are listed above, not bad considering I didn't visit a proper reserve for the whole week. Urgh now I sound like a twitcher- which I most definitely am not (not that I have anything against twitchers). Hmm maybe I should just leave it there :D

Will post about this garden visit as soon as I can :) Other than that, happy Easter (for those who celebrate it) for tomorrow, and don't eat too much chocolate!