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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JWN Andrewes" data-source="post: 3679116" data-attributes="member: 7131">February 12th: part IV & February 13thWe had one short detour just before getting to Ham Wall RSPB, down to the flat marshy fields just south of Pedwell where we easily located the half dozen Bewick’s Swans that had recently been reported there. This is a species we’ve not caught up with since the boys saw there first back in 2015, so one we were keen to catch up with. Once we’d arrived at Ham Wall we concentrated our time around Tor Hide in the hopes of catching up with the elusive Ring-necked Duck there, to upgrade our super distant Cotswold views from last autumn. No luck on that score, but we did manage to find the equally elusive (and recently absent) Ferruginous Duck, as well as year tick Kingfisher. The last year tick of the day was Marsh Harrier across the road at Shapwick, where we gathered to await the Starlings. These eventually gathered in huge numbers, currently estimated at half a million, so not even full strength for this site but quite the spectacle for all that, and seemed to be enjoyed by the sizable crowd that had gathered to watch, and certainly by the three of us; the Andrewes boys do love a good murmuration.The following day saw a marked deterioration in the weather. We’d overnighted in Glastonbury, planning a morning at Ham Wall before heading home, and saw no reason to change our plans just because of a bit of rain. We made it to Tor Hide without getting too wet and continued our search for Ring-necked Duck. Still no joy (wish it would take a leaf out of the Cannop Mandarins’ book), but Great White Egret was a year tick, and there were some nice views of Water Rails (whose squealings, along with the twittering of Dabchicks, provided a constant soundscape). Back to the car park for hot chocolates and coffee once the visitor centre was open, then off again. I had to head back just after setting off (I’d left something in the visitor centre) so sent the boys on to Tor Hide. On the way they managed to find a Redpoll feeding on the track; a nice self found year tick for them. By the time I caught up with them the rain had stopped and we could continue looking for the Ring-neck. Still no sign, so in the end we reckoned our time would better be spent on a walk round the reserve. Had a lucky break on the track back from the hide to the main trail when another birder located a couple of Cetti’s Warblers low in some pathside reeds, and we were able to obtain brief views. Other than that our walk yielded up a few more Redpolls, masses of wildfowl and a distant Peregrine which the, boys year ticked through another birder’s scope (I was having issues with mine, the quick release catch had crumbled away, meaning I was having to balance the scope on its quick release plate on top of the tripod head, which didn’t make for a terribly stable set up). One last unsuccessful attempt at the Ring-neck and it was time to start heading home, with a couple of stops planned in. First stop was at Barrow Gurney, recently host to a fine adult drake Long-tailed Duck. But in spite of this being a featureless stone banked reservoir I managed to fail to locate a Long-tailed Duck for the second time this year. Dang. Whether it had gone altogether or just relocated to one of the other local water bodies I don’t know, but I didn’t know the area well enough to mount a search. (There have been no reports on Birdguides since the day before we visited, so unlucky timing on that one it seems.)So it was on to our third target duck of the day, at Ashleworth Ham just north of Gloucester, where a Green-winged Teal had been putting in occasional appearances, none better, by all accounts, than the one we missed earlier that day. It was a lengthy stake out, but at least we had some sort of idea where the bird had taken cover, and it was here that it was eventually relocated. Our scope issues meant it was quite a challenge getting both boys onto it, and the bird didn’t help by returning to cover rather soon after it emerged, so although it scraped under the wire as the boys’ only tick of the trip it didn’t feel 100% satisfactory. Time to examine one at leisure in the future would be desirable. The 2 ½ hour drive home was made the wrong kind of interesting by car troubles (losing all power, including to the steering, at a busy motorway merge, three lanes from the hard shoulder, was a bit of a hairy moment), but we made it in the end. I had been fearful that car repairs may have compromised birding opportunities for the rest of the half term, but it seems now to be fixed (fingers crossed) and at least we’ve had a good couple of days out, even if rather too many Ducks decided not to play along.</blockquote>

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