Diary: Click on the main menu to bring up this page, which will show news and sightings for the current month (below) and progress with bringing the website back up-to-date. This section reflects notes and observations made in my diaries, although these are supplemented with information kindly provided by others, many of whom have become friends over the years. To see archived news, click on the year from the drop down to access news month by month. I hope it provides a valuable resource to those of you interested in the birds and wildlife of the lake. Have fun exploring, there are nearly 500 pages and over 2000 photos.
Updates: The Lake – I hope to put a ‘nicer’ interactive map on this page to help with site names; Diary – news is archived back to 2011 currently; Birds – I’ve been working through species pages, standardising format and uploading photographs. Text will be built on in time with some historical data brought up-to-date; Birds – I have just added a new section on the identification of the subspecies Icelandic Redwing Turdus ilicaus coburni, which we ought to look for locally; Wildlife – another huge section, which I have partly populated and will continue with over time. I have just finished moths & butterflies and started to populate other galleries; Links – copied from the old website and needs to be checked for broken links and new additions; Blog – a new feature that will be populated with occasional news items that I feel are worth sharing; Slideshows – another new feature to showcase some of the thousands of bird, wildlife and travelogue pictures I’ve taken away from the lake over the years. These will also be added to as I sort through my images. About me and Contact pages are what they are. Enjoy!
Last update: 1st December 2024
December 2024
Thursday 5th December [Pleasant enough morning then wet & windy by dusk]
Marc H. reported the drake Ring-necked Duck as still being in Long Bay today. I didn’t get to the lake, unfortunately.
Wednesday 4th December [Quite a pleasant day. although it clouded over late on.]
I went for a look at lunchtime and saw 2 Common Sandpipers on the dam wall, went through lots of Aythya ducks, and found the drake Ring-necked Duck back in Long Bay! I spent a while at Rainbow Point, scanning Top End, and noted that lots of the ducks were starting to get spooked. It was going to be one of two things… but I couldn’t see a Marsh Harrier and, as expected, it turned out to be an Otter. It swam across Top End and appeared to be carrying something in its mouth, but I couldn’t see what it was. I was about to leave, when a Shelduck flew into my scope field of view. I ran for my camera hoping to get a fly-by picture, but it landed in the middle of Top End. It swam right down the middle of the lake but didn’t really come close enough for a decent photo opportunity. Still, it was a long-awaited year tick, so I mustn’t complain. Also noted from Rainbow Point were seven Lapwings in flight, a Red Kite, eight Goldeneye, 70+ Pochard, and three each of Great White Egret and Buzzard.
Drake Ring-necked Duck, Long Bay © Nigel Milbourne 2024
Tuesday 3rd December [Misty early morning, clearing to sunshine by midday]
I didn’t get down to the lake yesterday, but this afternoon I birded on foot from the Lodge to Top End gate and back. However, I didn’t see the Ring-necked Duck either around the Lodge, Long Bay, Holt Bay or at Top End. The temperature inversion in the valley this morning would have made viewing very difficult, but if it’s not repeated tomorrow, I’ll go down and have a good look around with my scope for it. At the dam, I saw a drake Goosander way down at the end of Butcombe Bay, but forgot to look again on my way home to see if it had been joined by any others at dusk. Doh! I saw two Great White Egrets, the Common Sandpiper on the dam, a Bullfinch in the hedge by Long Bay pines, but nothing else out of the ordinary in a list of 42 species, although the corvid and Starling roosts are quite impressive.
Sunday 1st December [Overcast, clearing to sunny spells.]
This morning I have added a section to the Redwing page of the website, that I hope might encourage local birders to be on the lookout for Icelandic Redwings a subspecies with, so far as I know, just one accepted record in our area in 1899. Perhaps, those of you with cameras might be able to capture a photo or two of some candidates that you might come across this winter, or, have already got pictures of in the past, that might be worth submitting to the AOG Records Committee?
A visit in the afternoon that included a birding walk from Green Lawn to Top End gate and back, produced the drake Ring-necked Duck in Long Bay, the Common Sandpiper on the dam wall, and three Great White Egrets, that were worthy of note. There were a good number of Pochard that must have arrived overnight, probably between one and two hundred, although I didn’t count them, and I also saw several small groups of Redwings and Fieldfares roaming around close to dusk, looking for somewhere to roost I guess.
Saturday 30th November [Overcast with occasional sunny spells]
This afternoon the Ring-necked Duck was just off Home Bay Point before swimming into Long Bay. I heard a Cetti’s Warbler at Home Bay and counted seven Little Grebes in Long Bay and three Great White Egrets around the lake, of note.
Friday 29th November [Mainly grey & overcast. Easterly breeze turned from east towards south.]
The strong easterly breeze this morning saw waves crashing up the dam wall. I checked out the ducks in Pipe Bay, Home/Long Bays and from Green Lawn, Rainbow and Wood Bay Points. I saw just the one adult drake Ring-necked Duck in Long Bay, and I heard there was one back at ‘t’other place. I met Alan B. who told me he’d seen a Red Kite at Top End, and I saw two at Long Bay, my first for a wee while. I counted 55 Canada Geese, three Great White Egrets, and heard a Chiffchaff calling in a day list of 41 species.
Thursday 28th November [Frost & fog in the morning then brightening through the day]
I didn’t get to the lake today, but news from Marc and Jan of the Ring-necked Duck this afternoon in Long Bay was supplemented by Jack L. who also saw a RND sleeping in Pipe Bay. Marc told me later that he also saw the Pipe Bay individual and thinks it was the other bird. So it sounds like there were still two present today. Also, the guys reported a Water Rail, four Great White Egrets, a Pintail, a Bullfinch and four Siskins, of note. Thanks for the news. Hopefully, I’ll be able to visit tomorrow morning, if the weather plays ball, and will look out for both ‘Ringers’ and anything else that may have turned up.
Wednesday 27th November [Sunny & bright]
I drove to Green Lawn late morning and birded on foot from there to Top End gate and back. The drake Ring-necked Duck was still in Long Bay when I arrived, then when I got to Wood Bay Point I spotted another one. To be sure there were two, I checked for both of them on the way back and they were still in the same places I saw them for the first time – so definitely two birds. I’m told the individual that was at t’other place hasn’t been seen for a couple of days so we’re presuming the new arrival is from there. I watched a Marsh Harrier (female/juvenile type) in flight over Rugmoor briefly and caught up with the Common Sandpiper on the dam too, in a list of 41 spp in just under an hour and a half.
Finally, after lots of hours on the laptop we have the new website up and running! I would like to thank HeklaDesign very much for the help they have provided me in getting to this point and enabling me to keep the news service going. They are going to host the site going forward and help this old buffer who is trying to keep up with the IT… and failing, most of the time.
Tuesday 26th November [Mainly sunny]
I saw the Ring-necked Duck in Long Bay again today, as did Marc and Jan who kindly texted me. Aside from the RND I also noted the Common Sandpiper on the dam wall in the half hour I had before dusk. I re-filled the feeder as well, something I have to do every 2-3 days at present. Hopefully, I’ll have more time for a proper look tomorrow.
If all goes well tomorrow morning (sorry posted yesterday by mistake), you will be reading the revised and updated version of the website later in the day, instead of this one, which I’ve been trying to keep going for the last few months while we make the switch. Fingers crossed.
Monday 25th November [Mainly sunny]
After the deluge of Storm Bert over the weekend it was nice to get out again. The lake has certainly risen, I reckon from about 80% to 90% full, give or take. I saw the Common Sandpiper and two Egyptian Geese on the dam wall, and the drake Ring-necked Duck in Long Bay close to Home Bay Point. I walked from Green Lawn to Wood Bay Point and back and saw a Marsh Harrier over Long Bay, a Great White Egret and most of the usual birds, although I didn’t see any Shoveler, and the same or another juv. or female-type Marsh Harrier over Paradise trying to rob Cormorants as they were fishing, and one fly from Burmah Road across the lake to Indian Country. Having put the news out about the RND, a few came to see it, but despite searching for half an hour when I got back to the car we could not find it again. I guess it is doing what it has done in previous winters and is feeding close to the bank on its own and resting in marginal vegetation, making life difficult for those birders who just roll up and expect it to be in full view all the time. I did get a couple of pictures of it yesterday, but they’re not worth sharing. Two Little Egrets flew west down the lake, and Martin K. told me, when I arrived, he’d seen 36 Cattle Egrets fly down the lake earlier while he was in the Top End hide.
Saturday 23rd November [Storm Bert. Wet & windy.]
I spent an hour or more at the lake this afternoon using my car to get around because it rained the whole time I was there. I scanned from various points with my scope and bins, including the dam, Lodge, Green Lawn, Rainbow and Wood Bay Points, but I couldn’t find the Ring-necked Duck. He may have been in Home Bay where I saw him heading yesterday (viewing of that bay is difficult though). I went through the various groups of Coot, Tufted Duck and Pochard without any joy, and couldn’t see any Scaup either. I think there were probably two Great White Egrets, but they were highly mobile in the difficult conditions, and others may have been sheltering unseen. I got back home at 1555 hrs and it was almost dark!
Friday 22nd November [Sunny & cold]
I received a message to say a Ring-necked Duck had been found in Heron’s Green Bay at t’other place this morning, so as soon as I could, I went down to the lake to fill the feeder and take a look in Long Bay. One of the first birds I saw was the adult drake Ring-necked Duck near the bridge. I got a couple of snaps and had another quick look around before going home to change and get out for a run before dark. There were three Great White Egrets today. I met Martin K. on the way home, and he told me he’d seen a drake Scaup off the dam this morning, but couldn’t find it again just before we met. With the weather expected to be pretty bad over the weekend, as Storm Bert makes landfall, we could get some more interesting arrivals, either wind-blown from the south-west, or coming south to escape the snow and freezing conditions further north.
Ring-necked Duck, Long Bay © Nigel Milbourne 2024
Thursday 21st November [Sunny & very cold]
I had 40 minutes to spare before an afternoon exercise class, so I popped down to the lake. As I drove along Long Bay I saw the Ring-necked Duck feeding nearby, so tried to photograph it from the car. However, my dear old Canon 1D Mk.3 mirror was playing up, so I drove on to Green Lawn to park and get it going again, which took about 15 minutes. Having achieved that, I walked back to try and get a shot but I couldn’t find the duck for the life of me! I saw two Great White Egrets while I was there, before dashing away.
Great White Egret preening © Nigel Milbourne 2024
Wednesday 20th November [Sunny & cold]
I birded on foot in the sunshine this afternoon from Home Bay to Flower Corner and back. I spotted the, presumed, returning adult drake Ring-necked Duck back in Long Bay, feeding on his own, and an adult male Marsh Harrier flying along north shore that looked stunning in the low sunshine. I think there were three Great White Egrets around the lake, and the usual cast of other waterfowl. At Flower Corner I had a quick chat with the contractor who was just finishing off the boardwalk over the stream at Bell’s Bush barrier, and thanked him for a great job. It is possible that the kissing gate at the end of the boardwalk that has replaced a stile, could be standing in water on occasions, but that should be easily remedied with a couple of bags of stone chippings. I shall look forward to using it myself when I’m out for a run in the winter along the footpaths and byways.
Monday 18th November [Overcast, then drizzle came in & turned to light rain.]
Phil, Rob, Skip and I did the WeBS count this morning and, thankfully, finished before the light rain started. There were no real surprises, although two adult female Marsh Harriers were nice. None of us saw yesterday’s Scaup though. The counts were as follows: Canada Goose 20, Mute Swan 19 (inc. 3 juvs.), Shoveler 11, Gadwall 48, Wigeon 130, Mallard 95, Pintail 1, Teal 53 (u/count), Pochard 142, Tufted Duck 999, Goldeneye 13, Moorhen 20, Coot 1286, Little Grebe 5, Great Crested Grebe 67, Common Sandpiper 1, Black headed Gull c. 30, Common Gull c. 25, Herring Gull c. 10, Great Black-backed Gull 1, Lesser Black-backed Gull c. 5, Cormorant 22, Grey Heron 9, Marsh Harrier 2 (adult females), Grey Wagtail 2. The Teal undercount was because we heard more in the trees at Top End that we couldn’t see, and I knew there were many more present yesterday.
Sunday 17th November [Overcast, then drizzle set in during the afternoon.]
I didn’t get to the lake yesterday I’m afraid, but met Mark this morning to check some bat boxes we put up in Ubley churchyard in 2022. We found a Soprano Pipistrelle in one of the boxes, the first bat to use the scheme, so that was a good start to the morning. From there we drove to the lake where we spent the rest of the morning building the base for a reptile and amphibian heap using the RAVON recipe, primarily for Grass Snakes to use for egg-laying, but something that will, hopefully, be used not only by frogs, toads, newts and slow worms, but also by small mammals and all manner of invertebrates – in a bid to maintain and improve local biodiversity. Just before we started building the heap, we disturbed a Frog in the grass. I hope it was a sign of good things to come. During the morning I received a message from Andy M. to say he’d found a 1st-winter Scaup off Green Lawn. I didn’t have the chance to have a look for it until 1400hrs, but despite a look around the area he saw it, I couldn’t find it again. I did count circa 110 Teal in Holt Bay though and also spotted the presumed drake hybrid Ferruginous Duck x Pochard that has returned for another winter. Tomorrow, we will be doing the monthly WeBS count during the morning so perhaps we’ll see the Scaup then.
Friday 15th November [A glorious, sunny, afternoon.]
It was flat calm when I arrived at the lake before lunch, and I birded on foot from the Lodge to Top End hide and back, glad to be out in the sunshine. I saw the usual wildfowl, with the dabbling ducks concentrated at Top End, and heard two Water Rails ‘chipping’ at one another in the reeds at Home Bay as I went past. The usual four Little Grebes were under the near bank at the corner of Home Bay and Green Lawn, but the big surprise when I got to Rainbow Point, was the sight of seven Great White Egrets – most of them just ‘catching some rays’. At Burmah Road I spent some time watching a Common Chiffchaff in a sallow that kept being chased by another bird, which also turned out to be a Chiffchaff (I saw another in Long Bay on the way back later too). At Hellfire Corner a Nuthatch was calling, and with some of Egrets in a tree at Flower Corner there was a Marsh Harrier (probable adult female, but facing me and partially hidden). It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon, and I put together a list of 43 species in three and a half hours.
Thursday 14th November [A misty start turned to sunshine]
A quick 40 minutes mid-afternoon turned up 37 species but nothing out of the ordinary. Lots of gulls were dropping in to bathe, but I didn’t have time to go through them. I did, however, count 148 Teal hauled out at Peg’s Point standing in the sunshine, I also counted a single Great White Egret, 7 Little Grebes, 7 Grey Herons and just 2 Canada Geese.
In the evening I received a phone call that I’d been dreading, but expecting, to tell that my great friend ‘Blackburnian Jack’ Willmott had passed away at 4pm. He had been diagnosed with MND just a couple of months ago, and it quickly took its toll. I wasn’t with him when he found the, then first, Blackburnian Warbler for the UK in a geo on Fair Isle (hence the nickname), and I have still to see one, even with my trips to the New World, but we travelled many thousands of miles together in pursuit of birds all over the UK, Finland, Lesvos and twice to Spain and the USA. We had a few dips, but also saw lots of fabulous birds and other wildlife, and had so many laughs along the way. We worked together for many years until he retired, and it was he, and Alan B., that encouraged me to go out with them birding when I moved to Blagdon. Latterly, we’ve stood on the touchline of several non-league football clubs around the south-west, but he was really a long-suffering supporter of Cadbury Heath FC with his great mate Sid M. Jack, I’m going to miss our trips out together – RIP buddy.
I took hundreds of photos of Brown Bears in Finland but there was only one Willmott’s Bear.
Wednesday 13th November [Sunny, but cool out of the sunlight.]
I have been busy on the update of the website and getting myself fit again this week, so I got to the lake for the last hour of daylight. I spent some time going through the 1000+ gulls that were roosting and bathing when I arrived. I would guess that about a third of the throng were Common Gulls, the biggest flock of the autumn that I’ve seen so far, most of which started to fly off to t’other place to roost, while I had a look at the rest of the lake. I counted 44 Great Crested Grebes as they gathered to roost, two Great White Egrets, and a female Great Spotted Woodpecker on the the feeder at Lodge Copse. Most of the little passerines were already hiding with heads under wings…
Tuesday 12th November [Sunny spells. Cold.]
I didn’t manage to get to the lake yesterday, but spent two and a half hours there this afternoon, birding from Green Lawn to Top End gate and back. It immediately became apparent that there were a number of winter thrushes on the move, with groups of Fieldfares going overhead, the first I’ve seen this autumn. I noted two drake Goldeneye from the Lodge, and a 2nd-winter Mediterranean Gull with a small flock of Common and Black-headed Gulls just off the dam wall. As I checked Lodge Copse, I thought it strangely quiet, that is until I put a male Sparrowhawk up. As I walked along the south side, I saw at least 10 Buzzards, including two feeding on worms in the stubble field behind the Top End hide as it was being ploughed. I also heard at least one, probably two, Chiffchaffs calling in the sunshine. IN the hide, I was extremely fortunate to scan the edge of the Top End trees just as an Otter swam into view, it dived showing it’s tail and went back into the trees. A little later, all the waterfowl panicked along the shore line at Indian Country, which I thought would be the Otter again, but it turned out to be a Marsh Harrier – an apparently all-brown one, without any distinguishing features that might give a clue to its sex or age. I think it’s probably the same bird Mark saw a couple of days ago at Holt Bay and texted me about.
Sunday 10th November [Mild. We nearly saw the sun today too.]
I birded on foot from Rainbow Point to Top End gate and back and enjoyed my visit, albeit I saw nothing new or out of the ordinary apart from a Hornet still on the wing and buzzing around me in the Top End hide. I thought I’d see more passerines in the mild and still conditions. The Starlings are building in number at the Home Bay roost, and I shall have to take a closer look one evening.
Saturday 9th November [Anticyclonic conditions still hold sway – has the sun gone out?]
I nipped over to Cheddar this morning to do the Parkrun, my first in about eight weeks, and was pleasantly surprised how well I went after the lay-off. I’m planning to do some Yeofit classes over the winter months to maintain and, hopefully, build core strength and balance in a bid to slow the age decline! Later, I went down to the lake in the car and spent an hour having a look around. ‘Phil’ the pheasant ambushed me at the entrance gate as soon as I pulled up for a handful of sunflower hearts, as he does frequently. However, I didn’t see any Cattle Egrets, probably because I haven’t seen any cattle out in the fields on Holt farm for the last couple of days. I saw 5 Little Grebes in Long Bay, and a Grey Heron and Great White Egret together at Rugmoor, but little else of significant interest.
Friday 8th November [Overcast & grey]
I checked the dam end of the lake using my car for transport then birded on foot from Rainbow Point to Top End gate and back in a couple of hours after lunch. I saw the Common Sandpiper on the dam, 4 Pintail, 5 Goldeneye, 24 Cattle Egrets, a Great White Egret, 50-60 Redwings at Top End, and Mark reported seeing a female/juvenile Marsh Harrier on his way to work. Teal and Tufted Duck numbers have started to increase again as the wildfowl are on the move again, but I couldn’t find anything exotic among them.
Thursday 7th November [Misty & turning colder during the day]
The flock of 19 Cattle Egrets were present this afternoon, and roosted at Top End again, as did two Great White Egrets that appeared to fly in from the west. Teal numbers had gone up to 32 today, among which were the flock of 14 I saw yesterday, and there was just a single Pintail sitting on the water from the Lodge when I arrived. I met Mark in Top End hide and we heard a Water Rail squeal, plus a possible second bird when we could hear some rail -like chattering. Mark also heard a Cetti’s Warbler from the hide that escaped my hearing. Even though there was a breeze blowing waves up the dam this afternoon, I saw the Common Sandpiper on the wall when I arrived. I managed 38 spp. in 3 hours, birding on foot from the Lodge to Top End hide and back.
Wednesday 6th November [Fog on the hills & mizzle in the valley all day.]
I didn’t spend very long at the lake (just an hour), but I searched hard for the Red-crested Pochards, however, they seem to have moved on. There were fewer waterfowl today and I was wondering if this was due to Guy Fawkes night and fireworks? I saw 19 Cattle Egrets that appeared to roost at Top End, and noted them feeding with the Holt Farm cattle earlier. Nine Pintail were sitting on the water in the middle of Top End, as if they’d just dropped in for a rest on their way to somewhere else, four Goldeneye were feeding in front of the Lodge and a small flock of 14 Teal were in Holt Bay.
Tuesday 5th November [Fog on the hills & mizzle in the valley all day.]
With the boats off the lake now, the waterfowl have spread all over, although there are some concentrations of Tufties, Pochards and Coots, especially in front of the Lodge, between Green Lawn and Rainbow Point and between Wood Bay Point and Rugmoor Point. So, if you enjoy looking through a scope at Aythya ducks Blagdon’s the place just now! I arrived late afternoon and birded on foot from the Lodge to Flower Corner and back. I saw 13+ Cattle Egrets on the west end of Green Lawn, that had moved on by the time I got there. In the mouth of Holt Bay I came across four Red-crested Pochards (3 adult drakes) which was a very welcome sight. From Rainbow Point I could see a flock of Cattle Egrets in a tree at Flower Corner and reckoned on there being at least 18. There wasn’t too much else to report apart from Starlings flying in to roost in Home Bay reeds, and lots of corvids flying into lakeside trees to roost. I think the Cattle Egrets may also have roosted because they were still in the tree at Flower Corner as I headed back to the Lodge at about 1630 hrs in the drizzle and damp conditions.