Ham Wall RSPB and Meare Heath NR - Sat 29 May

Despite the poor weather, Ellie and I headed up on to the Somerset Levels for a mid-afternoon walk. As we pulled in to the car park at Ashcott Corner the rain eased off and we walked out as far as the second viewing platform at Ham Wall RSPB. As we walked along there were several low flying Swifts whizzing around and as it had just stopped raining, there were lots of birds singing, including Common Whitethroat and Blackcap. We had hoped that we might get lucky and see a Little Bittern that had been seen the previous day, but there was no sign of the bird. We did see two Bitterns in flight though.
We then walked back to the car and on to Meare Heath, walking as far as the drained lagoon. On here we saw a Redshank, a couple of Lapwings and twenty or so Black-tailed Godwits. As we looked about we could see a bank of dark clouds rapidly approaching so we returned to the car just in time to avoid another heavy shower.

Meare Heath NR and Ham Wall RSPB - Tue 25 May

Another lovely day so I decided to pop up on to the Somerset Levels after work. I arrived at Ashcott Corner car park at about 6.15pm and walked out along the track on to Meare Heath. The drained lagoon produced a drake Garganey, my first of the year, and eight Black-tailed Godwits. Four Lapwing were also present.
I then walked out towards Noah's Lake and scanned across the area. A couple of Cuckoos were singing, one of which showed, if a little distantly. At least five Hobbies were in and around the trees on the western edge of Noah's Lake. I then retraced my steps and took the path to Noah's Hide. In the trees alongside the path I could hear a couple of Garden Warblers, but they stayed hidden in the vegetation. A Lesser Whitethroat was also heard singing and a small flock of nine Stock Doves flew other.
I then walked back to car park, over the road and on to Ham Wall RSPB. I walked out as far as the second viewing platform, but saw little of note. As I passed Loxton's Marsh I saw another Cuckoo singing atop a tree and a Bittern flew in to the reedbed. With not much else going on I returned to the car and headed off home after a good couple of hours birding.

Ilton Airfield - Mon 24 May

I decided to take a quick trip up to Ilton Airfield, just north of Ilminster, after my usual Monday night table tennis practice. It was a lovely evening and I could hear birds singing as I pulled in to the turning area at the south-western end of the airfield at about 8.30pm.
A couple of Chiffchaffs were calling away, and a Song Thrush was also in full song, but I was after a particular species tonight, and it was not long before I could hear a Nightingale blaring away from the undergrowth.
A Raven was also croaking from a nearby tree, and a Cuckoo was calling from the back of the airfield. The only other bird of note was a fly-over Great Spotted Woodpecker. With the light fading, I headed off home to catch the end of the England friendly.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 14 May

A brief thirty minute visit produced just four Tufted Ducks and a single Little Grebe on the West Pool. Whilst a Common Sandpiper was on the southern causeway. A single Reed Bunting and Sedge Warbler were both in song in the willows at the southern end of the reservoir.

Lesvos - Thurs 6 May to Thurs 13 May

A week out of the UK and away from local birding spots as I went to Lesvos for a birding trip with a few mates. We stayed for seven nights in self-catering accommodation in Skala Eresos, at a place called Heliotopos, and I would recommend it to anyone.
I had about eight or so target species for this trip to the Greek island of Lesvos, plus the hope of seeing a few eastern migrants. Unfortunately, the scarce migrants were not that forthcoming but I did manage to pick up the birds I was after with eight new Western Palearctic ticks.
My own personal highlights of the tour included Krüper's Nuthatch in the Achladeri pine forests:

Cinereous Bunting at Ipsilou Monestary:

Both Yelkouan and Scopoli's Shearwater's offshore, Olive-tree Warblers in full song in territory in the Napi Valley alongside some breeding Sombre Tits and several Western Rock Nuthatches across various sites in the north-west of the island.

Finally, a superb male Eastern Rufous Bush Robin which was holding territory:

We also managed to pick up a great supporting cast of birds, with great views of just about everything we saw. Birds such as Little Crake at Metochi Lake and Red-footed Falcon near Sigri were good finds, and breeding birds like Cretzschmar's Bunting, Rüppell's Warbler, Black-headed Bunting, and Rock Sparrow were a delight.

We were lucky enough to see large numbers of Red-backed Shrikes, particularly around the area south of Sigri, and several Subalpine Warblers with this individual showing very well at Kavaki:

Little Bitterns (below) seemed to be everywhere, plus a number of other species which would light up any birders day.

Our total trip list was 148 species, not bad for a week on the island, and we missed a few birds too!

Sutton Bingham - Mon 3 May

After being busy all weekend, I finally decided to get out and about for a couple of hours this afternoon and popped up to Sutton Bingham. I stopped off at the northern causeway first and scanned the main reservoir. Some eighty or so gulls were on the water, the usual mix of Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls, plus a couple of Black-headed Gulls. Over West Pool there were several Swallows and Sand Martins.
I then went down to the southern end and walked round the bottom half of the reservoir. Whilst there was nothing that unusual I did see a singing Reed Bunting and the Sedge Warbler I had heard on Saturday was still singing away. A couple of Common Whitethroats were also seen.
However, there was one surprise...I was shocked to see a Long-eared Bat in flight! I also saw a Red Fox and five Roe Deer.

On the butterfly front, an Orange-tip and a Green-veined White (pictured above) were noted.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 1 May

A very brief visit before work failed to turn up anything unusual. A Little Grebe was on West Pool and a Reed Bunting could be heard singing from some waterside vegetation.
At the southern end, a Sedge Warbler was singing but could not be located in the dense willows. Whilst a Peregrine was perched on one of the pylons.