The weather looked good around the 11th/12th July so we decided to take a trip to Somerset in our Camper van before the schools broke up before the end of July and August and also it is not the best time for wildlife watching then. Adult birds are exhausted after raising brood(s) and many go into moult and lay low, also they don’t look their best and the reeds are so high it’s difficult to see things. We only stayed overnight giving us a nice time to check out what was there.
I enjoyed my time just wandering and sitting in the hides and just waiting. The Grebes and the Great White Egret entertained us in the lake below the Avalon Hide while we waited for more wildlife. A Bittern flew past but unfortunately I didn’t get a sharp picture, more practice required! There plenty of Dragonflies but not as many as when we visited in May although they were the Four Spot Chasers this time there were Black Tailed Skimmers, Ruddy Darters and the Emperor Dragonflies.
We went back the Catcott reserve in the evenings from RSPB Ham Wall and there was plenty to see, lots of Cattle Egret but none too close to the hide, but there were Lapwing and Greylag geese and many other birds to see.
Not as much activity as other times but it was a nice relaxing couple of days.
- Great Crested Grebes with young 9
- Lapwing 1 image
- Coot fighting a duck! 1 image
- Black Tailed Skimmer Dragonfly 2 images
- Emperor Dragonfly laying eggs 2 images
- Ruddy Darter immature 1 image
- Great White Egret 10 images
- Moorhen 1 image
- Marsh Harrier 1 image
- Greylag goose 2 images
- Common Whitethroat 1 image
- Little Egret 1 image
- Gatekeeper Butterfly on Vetch 1 image
- Red Admiral on Bramble 1 image
- Speckled Wood 1 image
- Roe Deer