Somerset Levels - Sat 6 Feb

We popped out after lunch for a couple of hours wanting to be back in time for the Six Nations match between England and Wales.
We drove straight to Meare Heath NNR, parking in the Ashcott Corner car park and walking straight out to the hide at Noah's Lake. As we approached the hide we saw a couple of Redpolls. We had been in the hide no more than a couple of minutes when we managed to get on the female Long-tailed Duck that I had missed a week or so earlier. We had great views of the bird and also got cracking views of the redhead Smew and a Bewick's Swan. I also managed to get on a female Scaup.
Leaving the hide we walked back to the car and were treated to a female Marsh Harrier hunting over the reeds.
Leaving Meare Heath we drove off to Catcott Lows NNR. Ellie decided to wait in the car whilst I popped in to the hide to see if I could find the three Glossy Ibises that had been in the area for several weeks.
Looking out from the hide there were large numbers of duck, primarily Wigeon and Shoveler, but also good numbers of Pintail. However, after about 20 minutes there was no sign of the ibises, so I returned to the car and we headed off home after a nice afternoon out.