Blagdon Lake storage level was 53% on the 11th August, Bristol Water; cf. 42% in 2025
The storage level was 53% on 18th August, Bristol Water; cf. 40% in 2025
The storage level was 53% on 25th August, Bristol Water; cf. 39% in 2025
Cattle Egret, Holt Farm © Nigel Milbourne 2026
Sunday 30th August [Sunshine & showers]
I spent the afternoon at the lake with Chris P., and Andy M. joined us in the Top End hide for a while too. The Garganey was still at Top End, and Chris and I both counted ten Greenshank scattered about the shoreline from the hide. Today’s best effort with the Egyptian Geese was also ten, but I could only find nine of the Pintail and a single Wigeon. A Red Kite put in an appearance over the north side of the lake, but by the time we walked back to the Lodge from Top End the hedgerows and woodlands were very quiet. We had a look at some of the plant galls I’d found recently, and added Ram’s-horn Gall which we found on an Oak at Green Lawn. There were a couple more candidates for me to look up as well. An excellent few hours, even if the birding remains a bit slow. Looking at the nationwide bird news, migration is gathering pace, with lots of reports from up t’north and along the east coast, so the next few weeks should be more interesting.
Saturday 29th August [Thundery Showers]
I was at the lake for nearly two hours this afternoon. As has been the case for much of the summer so far, there were no waders on TIny’s Shallow, or the dam, but I did see a Red Kite drift over quite low. In Lodge Copse I watched some birds in the Elderberry bushes, among which was a Great Tit plucking berries and holding them between its feet on a branch to eat them. I don’t remember seeing Great Tits eating berries before, but that might just be down to my memory these days… At Top End hide, the light was perfect for going through the increasing number of wildfowl, and I duly spotted an adult female Garganey; perhaps the same one seen at the lake a few weeks ago, that may have moved to Chew and back? I counted the same eleven Pintail that flew in on Thursday, the Greenshank count had also gone up to eleven today and, by curious coincidence, I picked out eleven Egyyptian Geese scattered around at various points, though there may have been more of those hidden from sight. Finally, before I left the hide, two Cattle Egrets flew in to Top End, an adult and juvenile. There were the usual Great White and Little Egrets present, but I didn’t count them. 37 spp.
Friday 28th August [Showers]
I spent the morning on the conservation project I’m working on, so didn’t get to the lake until late afternoon. I only saw one of the two groups of eight Egyptian Geese, but saw a Cuckoo in flight at Green Lawn, and when I got to the Top End hide I eventually spotted seven Greenshank and a Snipe, but could only see ten Pintail. Otherwise, it was the usual birds one sees at the lake, with Teal and Shoveler numbers building, by the looks of it. 34 spp.
Thursday 27th August [Overnight thunder& rain. Dry & sunny by day]
After the overnight thunderstorm had passed and the mist lifted I drove down to the lake in the hope of finding something new. There were eleven Pintail at Top End, along with the usual seven Greenshank, and the same flock of eight Egyptian Geese along Burmah Road (I didn’t see the other group of eight at Cheddar Water today). I counted eight Little Egrets and four Great White Egrets, as well as 14 Great Black-backed Gulls (including Yellow D:EL) and the single Snipe still on Tiny’s Shallow. Sadly, that was about it. 36 spp.
I went back down to the lake this evening to do some runningat the dam, and while I was recovering from my efforts, I heard a Green Sandpiper and Tawny Owl calling at the south end.
Wednesday 26th August [Warm & sunny in the afternoon & evening]
I spent the last hour of daylight at the lake on a pleasant evening and saw 16 Egyptian Geese, 38 Little Grebes, three Snipe, six Greenshank, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, eight Little Egrets, five Great White Egrets, ten Grey Herons, and a Hobby, of note. At Top End, just before I left at dusk, there was an apparent family of four Buzzards running around in the vegetation growing on the dry lake bed catching food items. While I acknowledge they can often be seen in fields hunting for worms and other invertebrates uncovered by the plough, I’ve not really seen a number of them engaged in this behaviour so late in the day. Perhaps it’s a reflection of the difficulty in finding food in these drought conditions? 34 spp.
Tuesday 25th August [Mainly overcast. Warm.]
I spent an hour and a half at the lake this afternoon, and there didn’t seem to be too much new since my last visit. I saw seven Greenshank, and a Snipe, and, just possibly, two Green Sandpipers in Butcombe Bay, but couldn’t find them again after my initial sighting while scanning the shoreline. Seven Egyptian Geese were still present, and I totted up 31 Great Black-backed Gulls (including Yellow D:BK & Yellow D:EK), seven Great White and seven Little Egrets and two drake Tufted Duck. There were lots of Pied Wagtails around the lake, and six Grey Wagtails on the dam. 33 spp. It looks like an algal bloom has started with odorous scum washing up against the dam. Nick P. had a look around in the morning and reported seeing two Greenshank, 34 Little Grebes, 28 Great Black-backed Gulls, a Wigeon and 35+ Shoveler.
Saturday 22nd August [Warm & sunny]
I had the privilege of leading a group from BOC at the lake today over late morning into early afternoon. We birded from the Lodge to Top End hide and back. The passerines were certainly keeping their heads down and there were very few birds on the water, although significant numbers of Mallard were loafing along the North Shore during their moult. I kept a list of the sightings we made, the most surprising of which were 16 Egyptian Geese. Otherwise it was business as usual with very few waterfowl at Top End, and five or more Greenshank feeding at various points along the shoreline. I made it 41 spp. in total, without even recording e.g. Song Thrush or Wren, so it wasn’t too bad. We counted Clouded Yellow butterflies for a while, I got up to 14 before giving up, as they seemed to be on nearly all the meadows and patches of Water Mint. However, of particular excitement for me was a Clouded Yellow f. helice at Bell’s Bush, only the second I’ve seen at the lake – the first being on 6th August 2006. We recorded eight species of butterfly and three dragonfly species, and I showed the group several plant galls along the way too. It was an enjoyable walk in good company thanks to the participants. Nick P. was at the Lodge when we got back, and he texted me later to say he’d seen a Wood Sandpiper in Rugmoor Bay. Cheers Nick and nice to see you.
Friday 21st August [Sunshine & showers]
After putting an images page up on the website for Plant Galls & Causers this morning, I spent some of the afternoon at the lake. I saw seven Greenshanks, and a Common Sandpiper, plus the three usual Egret spp. and the juvenile Common Buzzard that I saw on Tuesday loosely associating with the the adult female Marsh Harrier. Andy Davis had a look at Top End this morning and reported two juvenile Marsh Harriers and a Whinchat, none of which I saw this afternoon, unfortunately. I noted 35 bird spp. As I was birding, I kept a look out for some of the plant galls that have been the subject of my attention over the last couple of days, and found Ash Key Gall, Oak Knopper Gall, Oak Marble Gall, Silk Button Gall, Common Spangle Gall, Willow Redgall, Rose Bedeguar Gall, Smooth Pea Gall & Alder Leaf Gall very readily.
Tomorrow, I have a Bristol Ornithological Club field meeting to host at the lake, so we’ll be hoping for some more migrants to drop in overnight – although it looks like a clear sky through until midday. Fingers crossed.
Thursday 20th August [Heavy rain showers at last!]
I’ve been busy and completed the Plant Galls & Causers page. It can be accessed from the Wildlife > Plants page. There are just 41 listed, so there’s plenty of scope to add to it. Let me know if you find any please. I will add a gallery to it in due course to illustrate as many of those listed as I can. There’s been no news from the lake in the last couple of days and I’ve been busy. I look forward to a visit in the morning and reporting back.
Wednesday 19th August [Damp overnight]
I realised this morning that having photographed plant galls caused by the Willow Redgall sawfly Euura proxima yesterday, I haven’t added the list of plant galls that I’ve recorded at the lake yet. So, that’s another little job to do!
Tuesday 18th August [Mainly overcast with some short sunny spells. Breezy.]
I enjoyed a chill-out afternoon at the lake today. There were a number of highlights, chief among which was a prolonged spell watching an adult female Marsh Harrier from the Top End hide. Rich M. texted me earlier in the day to say he’d seen two Wigeon there, which reminded me I’d seen them in Pipe Bay from Butcombe Bank during the WeBS count, but forgot to add them to my list! Anyway, that’s remedied, but there was no sign of them, or any ducks to speak of at Top End this afternoon, doubtless due to the harrier. I went through the few Teal I could see at Burmah Road, but couldn’t pick out a Garganey, even though the viewing was far better this afternoon than during the count yesterday, with its heat haze. Also noted from the hide were three Greenshank, a Swift and a Hobby. Yesterday’s, juvenile Little Ringed Plover had moved on, and I only saw a single Common Sandpiper on Tiny’s Shallow. The gulls were loafing there as usual, and today I spotted a ringed Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black A=N and Great Black-backed Gull, Yellow D:JA (first noted at BL in Sept. 2024). The adult Yellow-legged Gull was also present. Having written about the lack of diving ducks yesterday, what should appear today but a single drake Tufted Duck – you can’t make it up! On the way back to the Lodge I saw that two herds of cattle were back out in the fields at Holt Farm, and yes they had attracted at least 21 Cattle Egrets. Also counted today were six Little Egrets, fived Great White Egrets and six Grey Herons. My main reason for going to the lake was to spend some time checking the Little Grebe count for yesterday, because they were so hard to count then. Luckily, it was a good deal easier today, and I reckoned on there being at least 34 still on the lake. Three Clouded Yellows rounded off a very pleasant two and a half hours.
PS. Sean D. contacted me later and told me he’d had a record count of 535 Tufted Duck at Barrow Tanks today – so that’s where they are.
Monday 17th August [Sunny spells. A bit cooler than of late.]
Apologies for the lack of news, I’ve been away in the Midlands watching the European Athletics Championships, and did a Parkrun at Walsall Arboretum while I was there. After too little sleep, I did the WeBS count with Dave P. and Skip H. from 0940-1350 hrs. The water level was 53% on the 11th August. and probably a point or two lower today. A juvenile Little Ringed Plover on TIny’s Shallow was new in. The count details were as follows: Canada Goose 189, Mute Swan 58 (inc. 13 juvs.), Egyptian Goose 11, Shoveler 47, Gadwall 199, Wigeon 2, Mallard 441, Domestic Mallard 1, Teal 99, Moorhen 38, Coot 569, Little Grebe 18+, Great Crested Grebe 7, LRP 1, Lapwing 1, Common Sandpiper 2, Greenshank 4, Black-headed Gull c. 40, Herring Gull c. 5, Yellow-legged Gull 1, Great Black-backed Gull 11 (inc. Yellow D:EK), Lesser Black-backed Gull c. 25 (inc. Black A=C), Cormorant 5, Little Egret 17, Great White Egret 4, Cattle Egret 2 (adult & juv.), Grey Heron 8, Red Kite 1, Buzzard 1, Kingfisher 1, Hobby 1, Grey Wagtail 4+. Also noted were Clouded Yellow 7, Common Blue 5. It remains a mystery as to why there were no diving ducks present. Looking back at the count 20 years ago, on 12th Aug. 2006, there were 1131 Tufted Ducks and 150 Pochard present. Ten years ago, on 22nd August 2016, we counted 456 Tufteds and 47 Pochard, and in both years cited the July Tufted count was also high, as birds arrived to moult.
Sunday 16th August
Andy M. posted news of four Redshank, two Greenshank, an adult Yellow-legged Gull and juvenile Cuckoo at Blagdon Lake today. Thanks Andy.
Thursday 13th August [Hot]
Rich M. reported four Greenshanks and a Wood Sandpiper at Top End today. Thanks Rich.
Wednesday 12th August [Hot]
I spent the day with Naomi J. and Chris P. working on a conservation project. We worked from 0930-1700 hrs, then after a sandwich and the arrival of Ann and Trevor, I headed up onto Beacon Batch to watch the solar eclipse with a good few others at the highest point on Mendip. A group very kindly gave us a couple of pairs of glasses to watch it through – so we shared them with a few others around us who were struggling with home made pinhole viewing boxes and the like. We were surprised at how light it stayed even with 93-94% of the sun obscured by the moon. It did get cooler for a while, but quickly warmed up again afterwards as the sun reappeared.
Tuesday 11th August [Warm with a pleasant breeze until lunchtime, when it got a bit too hot]
This morning I met up with nine good folks from the Mendip Society for a birding walk at the lake. We met at the dam where we saw two Common Sandpipers and two Grey Wagtails. Moving on to the Lodge we looked through and identified the gulls, saw our first Great White Egret and Cormorants, then, as I was talking about Ospreys, what should happen but all the gulls went up and one flew almost overhead heading south towards the Mendips. Amazing! We made our way along the south side of the lake towards the Top End hide, looking at dragonflies (Common and Ruddy Darter, Emperor and Lesser Emperor, Migrant Hawker), butterflies, including three Clouded Yellows, and of course new birds. It was no surprise to find that the passerines were keeping their heads down in the sweltering conditions, but we looked at egrets and found our first Greenshank, discussed the bat work done at the lake over the last couple of decades, and were impressed by the hedge-laying (but worrying about how the lack of rain might have a serious impact on the new planting). When we got to Top End, I explained that up until the recent heavy showers there were probably 200-400 Gadwall there, but they seemed to have moved on leaving the Teal and Mallards behind. I also explained how, twenty years ago, I’d have expected to have seen a large flock of, mainly male, Tufted Duck gathering for their moult – today there were none. The waterfowl, in general, were pretty sparse for what in the past would be the month with the highest counts of the year. While we saw a moult flock of Little Grebes, a couple more Greenshanks and poor views of a Wood Sandpiper in the heat haze, Leyla came into the hide. She’s the new Bristol Water Conservation Ranger and I introduced her to the group. She showed us some video footage taken from camera traps of an Otter, and discussed some of the other sightings she’s captured since joining the company. Thanks Leyla. By the time we got back to the Fishing Lodge car park, I think we were all feeling the heat and glad to get back to some shade and, dare I say it, the air conditioning of our cars. It was a lovely walk in some very pleasant company, so thanks to you all. I made it 38 spp. seen – with the full list on BirdTrack.
Monday 10th August [Hot]
I didn’t visit the lake today, but Rich M. did and he saw the three Greenshanks and Wood Sandpiper. Thanks Rich.
Sunday 9th August
A report of a Whitethroat and female Marsh Harrier (M. Hunt per Avon Birds).
Saturday 8th August [Sunny all day]
I had a look around in the evening and saw nine Egyptian Geese, three Greenshanks, a Common Sandpiper, a Wood Sandpiper and two Lapwings, of note. I didn’t manage to pick out the Garganey in the evening light, but there was the usual scattering of Great White and Little Egrets. 29 spp.
Friday 7th August [Sunny & warm]
I spent an hour and a half at the lake late this afternoon and saw seven Egyptian Geese from the Fishing Lodge, three Greenshanks, a Clouded Yellow and at least three pristine-looking White Wagtails towards Top End. 30 spp. Nick P. reported a Cuckoo in flight at Green Lawn and Rich M. saw the Garganey.
In the evening, a small group of us ran a bat trap on Butcombe Bank, hoping to catch a Nathusius’ Pipistrelle or two, but they eluded us. We caught:
- Soprano Pipistrelle 7m 3f
- Brandt’s 1f
- Brandt’s/Whiskered 2f (forearm lengths suggest Brandt’s, but ID probably best left as either of this difficult pair – dentition not checked.)
- Natterer’s 1f
While we were there, we also saw a Glow-worm, and the other group, trapping around the Fishing Lodge, reported catching two Nathusius’ Pipistrelles.
Thursday 6th August [A little cooler & breezy]
I went walking with friends Ann and Trevor this morning, and decided to leave my lakeside visit until after tea, rather than try and squeeze it in beforehand. To be fair there was very little new to be seen, apart from a Common Sandpiper on the dam pipework, and many more Sand Martins at Top End than yesterday. The egret numbers were about the same as they have been for the last few days. 26 spp. Andy D. reported a Greenshank, a male Yellow Wagtail, 85 Cormorants, four Great White Egrets and four Swifts this morning.
Wednesday 5th August [Warm & breezy]
There were seven Egyptian Geese in front of the Fishing Lodge and a Hobby hunting over the lake this evening. I counted 32 Little Grebes, and saw the two juvenile Wood Sandpipers and a Redshank from Top End hide. It appears that the Sand Martins are already on their reverse migration with a few to be seen from the Lodge while I was there. 24 spp. A Snipe and four Lapwings were also reported per Avon Birds.
Tuesday 4th August [Warm, mainly sunny, with heavy showers late afternoon & overnight.]
A quick note that I saw the Garganey, a Curlew (thanks Rich M.), two juvenile Wood Sandpipers and three Lapwings at Top End this morning, and when two visiting birders joined me at the hide they told me they’d see a Whitethroat and Spotted Flycatcher in the copse as they walked towards the hide from the road. I saw the ‘spoffle’ but missed the Whitethroat, unfortunately. When I went back in the evening I saw seven Egyptian Geese at the Lodge, and counted 20 Little Egrets and 13 Great White Egrets. 41 spp. in the morning and 21 spp. in the evening.
Monday 3rd August [Warm & sunny]
Nick P. reported two Wood Sandpipers at Top End, but Andy D. didn’t see them this morning and, sadly, I didn’t see them this evening. I got home from Scotland in the wee small hours and didn’t get to the lake until the evening, but the only thing I picked out of special interest was the adult female Garganey at Flower Corner – it looks like the one I saw at the Lodge on the 14th July. There has been a large influx of Gadwall since I did the WeBS count, and I counted three Egyptian Geese, 24 Little Egrets, six Great White Egrets, eight Cattle Egrets and five Grey Herons in a list of 30 spp.
Avon Birds reported: Two Wood Sandpipers, 32 Little Egrets, 20 Cattle Egrets (inc. 3+ juv), eight Great White Egrets, a Common Gull, and a Red Kite
While I was away in East Lothian, I went to see the Scoter flock off Musselburgh Lagoons on three occasions. My word, they are so frustrating! I tried different heights of the tide, but the wind was either blowing too hard, the sun too intense and causing a haze, or, they were just too far away. I saw a close group of Common Scoter drakes, a few close-ish views of some of the 250+ Velvet Scoters, and even managed to pick out one of three drake Surf Scoters, but just didn’t get lucky enough to get unequivocal views of any of the three White-winged Scoters – again. I even tried leaving my camera behind on one occasion.
Sunday 2nd August
Nick P. reported the Garganey at Bell’s Bush, as well as singles of Wood and Green Sandpiper, three Black-tailed Godwits, four Dunlin, at least ten Great White Egrets, and a Hobby at the dam end.
Saturday 1st August
Nick P. reported two redhead Goosanders flying down the lake, and also saw a Wood Sandpiper and Garganey at Top End. Later, Andy M. saw the GLOSSY IBIS and Garganey, but not the Wood Sandpiper. Thanks guys. Also reported on Avon Birds were: nine Egyptian Geese, nine Black-tailed Godwits, and singles of Redshank and Green Sandpiper.