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!

The search for grubs...

Just a quick post from the holiday cottage here in Somerset. Over the last couple of days, a pair of mistle thrushes have been seen hopping around on the lawn looking for worms almost constantly. The rain we've had over the last day or so has obviously made the ground softer, which has been very popular with the thrushes, and also blackbirds and robins as well. And each time they come, they fly off with a beak filled with grubs. Every time they fly off, they fly in the same direction. So I've come to the conclusion that they are feeding a nest of  chicks quite nearby.

The frequency of the visits has been quite incredible really. About once a minute at times, the mistle thrushes were coming back and forth from the lawn. The photos below were all taken throughout the course of yesterday. They were all taken through a window, so they could have been better, although I'm happy with how they turned out considering.

That's all for now, I will probably post at the weekend about a visit to Hestercombe gardens here in Somerset. Have a great day and lets hope this weather improves! :D

Walking in Somerset & Fyne Court

So yesterday, given the continuing sunny weather, and the warmer conditions than we are getting today, we decided to walk in the countryside to and from a National Trust property called Fyne Court, near to our holiday house here in Somerset. The conditions were pretty much perfect for walking, with temperatures around 13/14 degrees and low wind.

We started off the walk at the top of Lydeard Hill, where we parked the car. The view from this spot was incredible...



We then set off on the way to Fyne Court. The habitats around here are so varied that all sorts of wildlife can be seen. One of the first birds I saw on this walk though was a rather more common one, a blue tit hiding at the back of a tree...

Great tits have been one of the more common birds I have seen on the holiday so far. The "teacher, teacher" call has been heard frequently all week.

The walk involved walking on bridleways, footpaths, through fields and short parts on minor roads. The rapeseed fields are now a brilliant yellow colour and was quite a sight in the sun...

Eventually, after what was a fairly long walk, we got to Fyne Court. After a bacon sandwich and a much needed drink, we headed around the grounds, which is more a nature reserve/nature trail than anything else. Find out more about Fyne Court here. Once again, the sound of great tits could be heard when we got there. I stopped for a few moments to take this video of a male great tit performing the classic "teacher, teacher" call which I have become so used to in the holiday so far. The video is really shaky and I wish I had brought my tripod now, but you can really hear the sound of the call very clearly. 

Blackcaps have a lovely call, not dissimilar to the robin, which could be heard at several points throughout the trail... 

After finishing the trail, we stopped for a much needed cream tea. But even as we were sat outside, the wildlife action didn't stop there. A rather tame pair of chaffinches came in to eat the crumbs around the tables, and allowed me to take some pictures that I was pretty happy with. I was surprised that they came in so close to allow me to take the pictures. They are one of the more tame birds, but its not that common that you get as good a view as this... 

The female chaffinch showed a fungal growth on its left foot, something which is so common in chaffinches these days. It didn't really appear to be affecting her too much though, and it was only hopping around on the ground that looked uncomfortable. 

And then the male chaffinch returned for one more photo...

And the female retreated to a nearby branch for a while... 

... Only to fly down from her perch for one more meal... 

And that was that, all in all a very good day out. I still have a couple more posts for this holiday to come yet, but one of them is likely to be quite long, so it could be a little while before that one is posted. Anyway, hopefully the weather warms up a bit over the next couple of days ready for Easter Sunday :D