Today the EFRS lived up to its name...
My bike was all patched up and we were all geared up and
ready to roll. What a day to choose!
The weather was perfect, filled with optimism we were
off. However the creatures of the moor
were in an entirely different mood...
We sallied forth from Glastonbury and down to the enchanted
wood where Andrew hoped to finally defeat his Nemesis (see previous
entry). Silence ensued as Andrew drew is
camera. Not much actually happened. The Nemesis had long gone. Despite this, it was good to spend some time
in the enchanted wood. There is an air
of mystery and intrigue surrounding this place.
The tall trees are bound to hold the odd rare Warbler. The EFRS will have to check this place out
more thoroughly in the future.
Onwards to Ham Wall and we were serenaded by low flying
Swallows slicing through the air looking resplendent in the sunshine.
Stopping at VP2 Andrew grabbed a shot of a female
Blackcap. I am a big fan of these
birds. Not really sure why!
Female Black Cap
A Great White Egret was fishing in the distance and a female
Marsh Harrier was swooping low over the reeds (I am still waiting to see a
Marsh harrier actually catch something).
Then there was some loud screeching from behind (always a
disturbing experience). Looking up we
watched a Buzzard getting beaten up by a pair of over zealous Common
Terns. Buzzards are disappointing
birds. They are big and mean looking but
they eat worms and get knocked about by Crows (and Terns evidently). I bet this one had already been bullied half
a dozen times and it was only 10.30...
Tern Pair Harrying a Buzzard
After discussing the Buzzard’s misfortune we headed down to
VP1 and saw precisely nothing. So we
headed over to the viewing blinds where a number of baby Moorhens were milling
around. Cute (but a bit manky looking up close!).
I was in a bit of a pickle with my camera (the seller had
packed the wrong charger) meaning that I only had limited opportunity. So I wasted it with some landscape shots.
Onto the big hide in the reeds. Here Andrew flexed his photographic muscle
with these absolute corkers.
Common Tern
Common Tern
Grey Heron
Mallard Chicks having a race
Mallard Chicks having a race
Great Crested Grebe Chick
After advertising the virtues of an SLR (I might get him a
Canon T shirt). Andrew and myself headed
over to Shapwick. The scrape had one
bird on it. A single Great White Egret
(which can be affectionately abbreviated to GWE) and a hot crow who was wandering along the river bank.
He looks like he needs arms :-)
We tried Noah’s as we hadn't been there in ages. It always looks a bit prehistoric with the
old, dead trees sticking out of the water and Cormorants hanging out to
dry. A Kingfisher flashed by and a Reed
warbler was skulking about nearby.
Reed Warbler
Reed Warbler
Blue Tit
Then a brutal scene unfurled. A rather angry swan took great dislike to its
younger kin. A vicious assault ensued
with the larger swan repeatedly dunking the young un. Holding it down in an attempt to drown
it. The youngster weakened quite quickly
and things looked grim. This was going
to be a CSI crime scene. However just
when all seemed lost the victim dived into some reeds, hopefully to safety...
Mute Swan attempted drowning
Mute Swan attempted drowning
A little shaken up by these events we went over to Eco Bites
to gather our nerves. After a rest and some food. We tried the Canada lake hide. Except Andrew couldn't lift his bike over the
gate because it was heavy and there was also considerable risk of damage to his
(vast) array of equipment...
So we went to Westhay.
Then we saw this fella
Exmoor Pony
Exmoor Pony
You can take a horse to water...
It was a strange place to see a pony.
At the raised platform, Marsh Harriers were flying about
albeit rather distantly. We took the
opportunity to try out the variety of optical and camera equipment that we have
accrued of late. All good, honest fun.
Little Egret
Little Egret
Female Marsh Harrier
Cycling back I stopped to see the second crime scene of the
day. A large (Emperor?) dragonfly was
feasting on a smaller victim. There was
lots of angry buzzing. These are serious
beasts. Unfortunately he was able to
drag his victim into the sky and away from my equally hungry camera lens!
The day rounded off with a few relaxing pints at The
Sheppey. Except the EFRS is never off
duty. Andrew noted a Buzzard in the
field as we were drinking our pints. He
disappeared and re appeared again brandishing his lens! It did draw some attention from nearby
punters.
“Its the paparazzi “ was whispered from a nearby table along
with other things which are not suitable for a premium blog such as this. Anyway here are some shots taken from the
pub.
Buzzard
Buzzard / Magpie Face-off
The final murder happened.
The local cat caught and ate an unfortunate victim. It was summer time but the animals had murder
on their minds.
Cat and (dead) Mouse
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