Lankham Bottom - Sun 8 May

After a late night as we had some friends staying over, Ellie and I had a relaxing morning and after watching the Turkish Grand Prix decided to head out for a bit of fresh air as it was a lovely afternoon. After parking the car we walked out on to the hillside and were surpised by the force of the wind, in fact Ellie decided it was too windy for her so she returned to the car whilst I went for a walk.

Despite the wind I was surprised to see loads of butterflies around. I walked to the bottom of the valley where there were a couple of Common Blues, several Small Heaths and one or two Small Coppers:

As I continued up the other side of the valley I noted lots of Grizzled Skippers:

And a few Dingy Skippers:

However, the real treat was the sight of several Marsh Fritillaries, a species of butterfly I had not seen before: 

I then retraced my steps and walked back to the car, a few Linnets were singing and I also heard a Yellowhammer, but there was little else about on the bird front.

Pen Wood Trail - Sat 7 May

I'm on call this weekend, so couldn't venture too far from home and as Ellie had gone off shopping with a girl friend I decided to head up to a site that I had not previously visited, Pen Wood near Pendomer. I arrived soon after 4.30pm and within seconds the heavens had opened! Despite the heavy rain I set off for a walk around the wood, opting for the shorter of the two trails which was about a mile in length.
A few "typical" woodland birds were still singing away despite the weather with a Song Thrush being most audible above the constant falling rain. Following the way-markers I walked down a path with thick conifers on the right making quite a tunnel of vegetation. I nearly had a heart-attack as a Roe Deer leapt out in front of me and bounded down the path, at the same moment a Tawny Owl flew straight towards me at eye level before veering off to the right above my head...what a sight!
As my heart rate returned to normal I rejoined the main trail and completed the circuit back to the car, seeing only a Jay and hearing a couple of Chiffchaffs. So not a lot seen but it was certainly worth visiting this site which looks like it could produce a few good birds in the right conditions.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 7 May

Ever the optimist I again tried my luck at the reservoir before work, hoping that the overnight rain would have brought something interesting in. It hadn't! Other than a Little Grebe in front of the hide and a Common Sandpiper on the edge of West Pool there was nothing of note. Whilst it's great having a local patch, it's frustrating when visit after visit fails to bring something different...oh well, there's always next time!

Sutton Bingham - Fri 6 May

More of the same today during an early morning visit before work. Three Common Sandpipers were on the northern causeway and from the hide another Common Sandpiper was seen in flight and a Lesser Whitethroat again heard singing. A couple of Swallows were also present, but again nothing out of the ordinary.
A return visit after work was equally unrewarding, with just two Common Sandpipers just north of the hide and a pair of Mandarin seen in flight.

Thurlbear Quarrylands - Wed 4 May

I decided to try for butterflies rather than birds during my afternoon off as it was another lovely sunny day. I set off to Thurlbear Quarrylands just to the south of Taunton only to arrive under overcast skies and somewhat cooler temperatures. This put pay to seeing any butterflies, I failed to see any during the hour I walked the site. However, I did hear at least four Nightingales blaring away from the undergrowth, so it was not a completely wasted trip and it did mean I was home earlier than normal!

Sutton Bingham - Wed 4 May

With some good passage over the past few days I thought it might be worth making a quick early morning visit to the reservoir before work. However, it failed to pay off with anything out of the ordinary.
A couple of Common Sandpipers were on the northern causeway and a pair of Stock Doves flew over.
Another Common Sandpiper was just to the north of the hide as were two Mute Swans. A Lesser Whitethroat could be heard singing opposite the hide and a Sedge Warbler was also in song in bushes next to the road.

Meare Heath NNR - Mon 2 May

Having worked most of the extended Bank Holiday weekend I was fortunate enough to have the day off today. We had spent Sunday up in Twyford in Berks where I had been given the honour of becoming Godfather to the daughter of some very close friends...and we were also lucky enough to see several dozen Red Kites and a Montagu's Harrier during the day!
So after a relaxing morning we popped up to Meare Heath for a late afternoon walk which ended up being rather productive with regard to birds. We walked out along the path and had a look over the drained lagoon where we saw single Ringed Plover and Little Ringed Plover as well as a couple of Redshank and several Black-tailed Godwits.
We then walked out to the hide and for once found it empty, so we settled down and spent an enjoyable half an hour or so in looking out over Noah's Lake. Several Swifts were whizzing around overhead, as were a few Hobbies. A Whimbrel flew up from a clump of vegetation and headed off north and a Bittern was seen in flight. The highlight was a small flock of six Black Terns that were hawking insects over the water and showed really well from our vantage point.
We then retraced our steps back to the car and managed to see a couple of Wood Sandpipers on the drained lagoon, we had missed them on the way out. A Marsh Harrier was seen briefly over the reed beds to the south of the path and we also saw another two Bitterns.
Before we realised it was gone 5.00pm and so it was time to come on home for dinner.
UK list for 2011 now at 220 species.