Weather is definitely on the turn, although the temperature is still warm.
There's an Autumn feel in the air, and some leaves are starting to fall.
The sun stayed mostly absent, giving little light for decent nature photography, but I managed some pics during my travels, despite the far from ideal conditions.
Early one morning I photographed the now famous Bearded Tits of Westhay. Ironically on this particular morning there was a little sun, and the Bearded Tits stayed to the suns side of the boardwalk that I was standing on, meaning I was shooting into the sun, getting mostly silhouetted pictures! A little frustrating, but with some editing I could rescue the pics a little bit, showing that they were definitely Beardies and not Long Tailed Tits!
I popped to the Shapwick Moor for the first ever time on another day. This is a Hawk and Owl Trust Reserve and I didn't have much time to investigate it all, but I did enjoy seeing a Great Spotted Woodpecker using the feeders in front of one of the hides. In the distance I saw a Jay in flight, and a Marsh Harrier.
On the walk back to the car park I saw groups of Tits moving through the hedgerows, together with Goldcrests and Chiffchaffs...another Autumn sign! A Rook above mobbed a Kestrel, not giving it a moments peace!
I saw a Whinchat for only my second ever time at Steart Marshes, and also saw Wheatears, Stonechat, Linnets, Ruff, Dunlin, Ringed Plovers, Kestrel and Shelduck. Even with the tide way out, and the reserves pools pretty dry, there's still quite a few birds about on this great coastal reserve!
Below are pics of some birds mentioned above, plus shots of Reed Bunting, Mistle Thrush, Heron, Buzzard and more;
^Above^ - Bearded Tits at Westhay.
^Above^ - Female Reed Bunting at Westhay.
^Above^ - Flock of Greylag Geese at Westhay.
^Above^ - Whinchat at Steart Marshes.
^Above^ - Female Stonechat at Steart Marshes.
^Above^ - Linnets at Steart Marshes.
^Above^ - Ruff at Steart Marshes.
^Above^ - Shelduck and Ringed Plover at Steart Marshes.
^Above^ - Shelduck, Dunlin and Ringed Plover at Steart Marshes.
^Above^ - Male Mallard at Steart Marshes.
^Above^ - Wheatear at Steart Marshes.
^Above^ - Great Spotted Woodpecker at Shapwick Moor.
^Above^ - Rook harassing a Kestrel at Shapwick Moor.
^Above^ - Chiffchaff at Shapwick Moor.
^Above^ - Goldcrest at Shapwick Moor.
^Above^ - Great Tit at Shapwick Moor.
^Above^ - Robin at Shapwick Moor.
^Above^ - Juvenile Goldfinches at Shapwick Moor.
^Above^ - Buzzards at Panborough in Somerset.
^Above^ - Young Mute Swans at Burtle in Somerset.
^Above^ - Heron near Mark in Somerset.
^Above^ - Buzzard at Burtle.
^Above^ - Kestrel at Tealham Moor in Somerset,
^Above^ - Mistle Thrush at Tealham Moor.
^Above^ - Meadow Pipit at Tealham Moor.
^Above^ - Woodpigeon in my Somerset garden.
^Above^ - Magpies at Bishops Palace in Wells, Somerset.
^Above^ - Carrion Crow at Bishops Palace.
^Above^ - Moorhens at Bishops Palace.
^Above^ - Robin at Bishops Palace.
^Above^ - Cow giving me the eye at Stathe in Somerset.
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