I was out today exploring the Somerset Levels with my friend Paul Coombes, getting a dose of "Bird Therapy". The weather was glorious, blue skies with puffy white clouds and sunshine for a change. Whilst it was a lovely spring day, it was bitterly cold - especially early on in the morning.
We had been to Grey Lakes hoping for a Merlin or Hen Harrier. Unfortunately, neither showed, but we did see a pair of Marsh Harriers at a distance. The best we got was hearing the "Ting Ting" of Bearded Reedlings at the back of the hides, but they remained very elusive.
Our next stop was Catcott Nature Reserve. It was quiet here on the bird front, although we did get to see a Fox hunting the borders of the Marshland.
After Catcott, we headed for Westhay. En route, we found a flock of Cattle Egrets accompanied by guess what -? A herd of Cattle :)
When we eventually reached the Westhay reserve, it was really quiet. Paul and I enjoyed a wander about and had got chatting to a friendly birder who suggested to us that there was a report on Bird Guides of three Black-Necked Grebes at Cheddar Reservor and one of them was in breeding plumage.
This sounded like a good idea, so we decided to travel to Cheddar and give it a go.
On arrival at Cheddar, we were greeted with quite a fierce cold wind blowing across the reservoir, but the sun was shining, and the warmth of the afternoon sun stopped us from freezing.
There were Coots all over the place on the water. Great Crested Grebes, Pochard, Mallards and the odd Cormarant made up the numbers. Neither Paul and I could find the Black-Necked Grebes.
The reservoir is quite large, so we persevered and carried on walking towards the South end of the waters. Up ahead, I noticed the friendly birder we had met at Westhay - he waved and pointed at the water, and I realised he had found one of the Black-Necked Grebes.
We caught him up, and indeed, there, quite close to the shore, was a Black-Necked Grebe.
The light was fantastic, and in between the birds' dives, we had good views. After a few photos, we began to continue our journey around the reservoir. After a short distance, we saw a Great-Crested Grebe, turned to take a picture, and the birder excitedly shouted, "Good spot!" Surprised at this, we both looked up and noticed that two different Black-Necked Grebes - one of which was in breeding plumage were paddling past us!
The grebes were stunning, especially the male in breeding plumage. Black-Necked Grebes (Podiceps nigricollis) are a rare Schedule 1 Species, and only about 55 pairs breed in the UK each year. They feed on a diet of insects, crustaceans and small fish that they catch when diving.
In summer, they are easily recognised by their golden ear tufts and black necks, though they are darker and less colorful in winter.
I felt refreshed, well dosed up with fresh air and Vitamin D. and really enjoyed the days birding with Paul and twitching the Black-Necked Grebes was a really amazing way to finish the trip.
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