ITINERARY

DAY 1: Arrive Walls Farm by 2.00pm, settle in to your comfortable cottage accommodation.

After a cup of tea and settling in, we will head off for an afternoon visit to Somerset’s Avalon Marshes complex hopefully to view the spectacular display of Starlings in a murmuration prior to their roost in the reedbeds.

In the evening, a Welcome Dinner including canapes and wine will be served in Walls Farm with your hosts Stephen Moss, and Graeme and Kay Mitchell. There will be good birding chat and you will be briefed further on our planned birdwatching excursions.

DAY 2: Breakfast is in your cottage. Morning visit WWT Steart Marshes near Bridgwater. Many thousands of Lapwing and Golden Plover overwinter here along with many different duck species. A good place, too, for spotting Peregrine and Merlin.

We will continue to the coast at Wall Common to look for Curlew, Dunlin and other shorebirds. We will then return inland to West Sedgemoor to look for our Somerset Cranes. Light pub lunch will be included.

A stop at RSPB Greylake is always good in winter with thousands of ducks close up to the hide. Time permitting we may drop into the SWT reserve at Catcott, also good for over-wintering birds. Depending on our murmuration success the previous evening we may return for more starling action if conditions are better or alternatively visit one of the other bird reserves on the Levels. Return to Walls Farm by about 5.30pm by crossing Tealham and Tadham moors, looking for Barn Owls.

DAY 3: Breakfast is in your cottage. Morning visit Cheddar Reservoir for ducks such as Goldeneye, Goosander, Pochard and a huge number of over-wintering Coots. We then may visit Cheddar Gorge itself, for possible Dipper, Kingfisher and Grey Wagtail and an opportunity to purchase some genuine cheddar cheese, as an appropriate souvenir of your visit to Somerset. Return to Walls Farm by around 12.30pm when it will be time to depart and head for home.