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We've experienced a range of weather this week on the reserve with cold winds, calm sunny spells, rain & hail. It's confusing for us so imagine how it is for the resident wildlife, nest building, incubating eggs or rearing young. It's been an interesting week again though with the...

We've had some great sightings of Bitterns and Marsh Harriers on the reserve lately - particularly from the 1st viewing platform. It would appear however, that they are not always as pleased to see each other. A Bittern obviously came a little too close for the Marsh Harriers liking and was told...

Together with all the partners in the Avalon Marshes we are holding our annual Avalon Marshes Open Day on Sunday 26th May from 10am til 4pm to celebrate what we all do for nature in this inspiring mosaic of reedbeds, open water, woodland & meadow within a working farming landscape. There will...

The weather was pretty dour early in the week and the blog was looking a bit lean a couple of days ago but the brighter weather has woken everything up again and the last few days has seen plenty more activity on the reserve. Last weekend saw a huge influx of Swallows and Martins and Swifts in particular...

May's always a good month for Bitterns at Ham Wall and this year is no exception. Males are still booming well and the chase is on for females. Birds can be seen chasing each other round in courtship displays and males often have disputes with each other over territories. It's not uncommon to...

Together with all the partners in the Avalon Marshes we are holding our annual Avalon Marshes Open Day on Sunday 26th May from 10am til 4pm to celebrate what we all do for nature in this inspiring mosaic of reedbeds, open water, woodland & meadow within a working farming landscape. There will...

The amazing weather of last week continued into the early part of this week and with it the interesting sightings continued to flow. The weekend saw a huge influx of Swifts over the Avalon Marshes, with 1000's seen and there were several hundred flying over the reserve today as well along with...

It's been quite a month at Ham Wall, I'm sure you'll agree with so much to see. 118 Species recorded in April was pretty fantastic, let's hope this continues. One of our volunteers Paul Marsh popped into the office to give me some info for my Friday Blog - just a few minutes too late...

Here's the full bird list for Ham Wall for April 2013: Barn Owl, Tawny Owl, Marsh Harrier, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Kestrel, Peregrine, Hen Harrier, Red Kite, Osprey, Hobby, Bittern, Little Egret, Great White Egret, Cranes, Grey Heron, Cormorant, Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, White Fronted...

Another great week nearly over, with once again plenty to report. The wonderful weather and the amazing variety of birds on show at Ham Wall & Shapwick Heath has proved to be a big draw for visitors and we have been very busy all week. The new car park for Ham Wall (work should begin in August) can't...

You may have seen an article in the latest 'Birds' magazine (RSPB Members magazine) about the Eel pass on Ham Wall. We trialled it 2 seasons ago and had it in between April and September last year with great success. Eels have suffered over the years through over fishing and the fact that many...

Explore the reserve with the Ham Wall Wardens in search of the enigmatic Cuckoo. It's call is one of the most instantly recognisable of all bird calls but a sighting can often prove elusive. Cuckoos used to be widespread in the countryside but have suffered from a 45% population drop between 1970...

Drop into Ham Wall on Thursdays in May and join the Wardens to watch Bitterns take to the air to perform their exciting aerial courtship displays. May is the best month at Ham Wall to catch sight of this often secretive bird. Several males are still booming on the reserve (at least 8) and by now the...

The Loxtons path and screen at Ham Wall have been closed for months now due to the high rainfall of last year. Some bank work has been done to prevent a repeat of this and there may be more to come in the future but we were left with some very wet trails - over wellington height at one point. Well, things...

Another bumper week of sightings on the reserve this week, with yet again plenty to report. In fact one of our volunteers and local birdwatcher Joe Cockram got over 90 species from Ham Wall and Shapwick Heath on his visits to the reserves on Monday. That's pretty impressive and shows just how well...

Here's a couple of late submissions (photos by John Crispin) for this week, which I though were well worth sharing. Thanks John. An Arctic Tern checks out our Tern Raft. (taken this morning) Common Sandpiper on one of the small rafts in Waltons (also taken this morning) When I said...

Spring has finally sprung for good this week and what a week it's been on the reserve, with an awful lot to report. The warmer weather of the last week to 10 days has made an amazing difference to the reserve. There are warblers galore along the treelines of the old rail path and the reedbeds...

You may have noticed a new raft floating in Waltons this week. It is a temporary Tern Raft made out of our pontoon blocks. We use this throughout the winter to build bridges to access the reedbed to undertake management work. This time of year the habitat management work ceases to make way for breeding...

Firstly, please accept my apologies for the missing blog last Friday, I was away from work for the whole week, so this week we have a bit of catching up to do. Overview of last week (30th Mar-5th April) Sand Martins and Swallows continued to arrive on the reserve and were greeted by some quite...

Here's the full bird list for Ham Wall for March 2013: Barn Owl, Tawny Owl, Marsh Harrier, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Kestrel, Peregrine, Merlin, Bittern, Little Egret, Great White Egret, Spoonbill, Grey Heron, Cormorant, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, White Fronted Goose, Mallard...

A very cold week on the reserve this week but spring is just around the corner. A number of Sand Martins have been seen on a daily basis. You got to feel for them though - they must be wondering what the hell they are doing here at the moment. As many as 20 have been seen daily from several locations...

Although there is a hint of spring on the reserve, it seems the winter is reluctant to release its grip for the moment. It's been a cold and wet couple of days on the reserve and wildlife has seemed more reluctant too to show its face - not surprising (I've felt the same way). There has been...

There will be another opportunity to purchase some of Ham Wall's peat free soil conditioner this weekend. Sunday 24th March 10am - 4pm It is produced from the waste vegetation obtained during the habitat management of the reserve for birds & wildlife. It's a great way to help your garden...

The last 2 days have been a bit of a contrast here at Ham Wall. A very cold start yesterday led to a gloriously sunny day and today the slightly warmer start has lead to some miserable and wet conditions this afternoon. It looks like they chose the right day to undertake the Bittern survey yesterday...

You may have noticed something new at Ham Wall recently. The Wednesday volunteers: Alan, Paul & Pete along with myself have constructed a dome like structure made from willow over the l;ast couple of weeks. It resembles the shape of an igloo with its entrance so has been dubbed 'The Twigloo'...