Browse by tags

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Checking out his talons! An Osprey at Shapwick Heath nature reserve yesterday in the Somerset levels.

Hi all! I went to Shapwick Heath nature reserve this evening to watch the starlings roost...they did fly past but went to a different roost site and I was wondering if anyone knows if it was at Ham Wall or Westhay Moor as I was going to go back at dawn and try to see them then. I hope someone out...