18th March 2010
Edith Piaf Je ne regrette rien
Two Spoonbill greeted me at Greylake RSPB Reserve, after I had pushed the bike along the footpath crossing the marshland near to the site of the last battle to occur in England.
I had visited the memorial at Westonzoyland to the Battle of Sedgemoor, where the rebels under Monmouth, were defeated by King James' army. I had also been in the church with many excellent display boards detailing the event.
https://www.zoylandheritage.co.uk/
Strangely whilst walking along a public footpath over the marshes, pushing my heavily laden bike, I had a Stoat
charging at me along the footpath. Well, it did until it saw me. Then it reared
up and turned to abruptly and rushed off the other way. Close encounters of the
nature kind are always thrilling and this one brought back memories of sitting
in long grass beside a woodland ride at Trench Wood in Worcestershire many
years previous and having a badger come right up to me. Having not seen me, his
panic was intense as he grunted and reversed before shuffling along the
pathway.
At Greylake RSPB reserve there were twenty one Little Egrets, definitely not as per the famous Edith Piaf song - no, no egret. Non je ne vois pas egret! A Marsh Harrier and two close and the continually active Spoonbills entertained me. How wonderful to watch Spoonbills using their spoons instead of standing with head tucked into their wings sleeping.
Speaking of sleeping, I had spent the night nearby! Thinking of a Spoonbill's spoon, my dearest of friends, the late Gordon Barnes, on coming back from a birding holiday in the Algarve, Portugal he gave me a skull and a Spoonbill’s bill that he had found at a reserve out there. It seemed so small in my hand, fascinating.
19th March 2010
Dead Ringer For Love [Meat Loaf & Cher]
Early morning and a Peregrine, a Merlin [154], two Marsh Harriers, a Kestrel and three Buzzards were all seen.
Nowadays Merlin is the name given to the fantastic bird identification tool . . .
https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/
The Spoonbills came in again at around 7:20 a.m. and luckily for me, the rain forecasted had not arrived. In fact it never did.
I visited the Willow and Wetland Centre before cycling along a 'déjà vous' road. I had been here before and suddenly remembered when. It was in order to see a Black-throated Thrush a few years ago. Curload. I remember it well.
Black-throated Thrush - Birdguides
I
then found the RSPB reserves at Swell Wood and West Sedgemoor. The former not what I had
expected; it turned out to be an oak woodland atop a long, high ridge that
overlooked the expansive Somerset Levels. Grey Herons were in their nests on view
from a hide and various titmice and Nuthatch were seen. A Chiff Chaff was also here.
24.9 miles
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