Somerset Levels and Moors Nature Calendar

Starlings - Credit: Dion Warner

Starlings

Watch as hundreds of thousands of starlings flock together to form amazing murmurations before plunging into the reedbeds to roost.

Where: Ham Wall nature reserve

Wigeon in flight - Credit: John Crispin

Winter Ducks and Waders

Thousands of ducks and waders visit the Levels in the winter. Large flocks of teal and wigeon are often joined by shoveler, pintail and gadwall and can often be seen out on the open water whilst golden plovers and lapwings feed in huge flocks in the surrounding fields.

Where: Greylake & Ham Wall nature reserves

Heronry - Credit: Pam Donovan

Heronry

Swell Wood is home to one of the largest heronries in the South West with a record 150 herons nests in 2014 and nearly 20 pairs of Little Egrets. Take in the incredible sights and sounds from the RSPB hide just a short walk away from the car park off the A358.

Where: Swell Wood

Bluebells

Bluebells

Take a walk around the Swell Wood ‘Scarp trail’ and see the stunning bluebells that carpet the woodland floor in early spring along with celandines, early purple orchids, and wood anenomes.

Where: Swell Wood

Flower meadows

Wild Flower Meadows

In the spring and summer many of the traditional hay-meadows on the moors are alive with wild flowers. In the wetter areas species like marsh marigold, cuckoo flower, lesser spearwort, black knapweed and southern marsh orchid thrive – whilst purple loostrife and yellow flag iris line the ditches. Some of the dryer meadows around the edges of the moors are also alive with flowering plants and insects.

Where: View from droves and tracks below Swell Wood. Park in Swell Wood car park

Four spotted chaser dragonfly - Credit: Dion Warner

Dragonflies and Damselflies

The Levels are a great place for dragonflies and damselflies. During the summer months they can be seen buzzing around the rhynes (drainage ditches) that criss-cross the landscape. Dragonflies to look out for include emperor, black-tailed skimmer, scarce and four-spotted chaser and common darter. Blue tailed and variable damselflies along with the banded demoiselle are also typical of this area.

Clouded yellow butterfly - Credit: Nick Edge

Butterflies

The woods and meadows are alive with butterflies in the spring and summer. Look out for silver washed fritillaries, speckled woods and ringlets in woodland glades and marbled whites, small tortoiseshells, and clouded yellows out on the grasslands.

Where: West Sedgemoor - access by public footpath just below Fivehead. ST 347 239

Grass snake - Credit: Dion Warner

Grass Snakes

The UK’s largest reptile is as much at home in the water as it is on land. It feeds on frogs and toads and can often been seen swimming across open water in search of these.

Where: Greylake & Ham Wall nature reserves

Hobby - Credit: Nick Stacey

Hobby

Watch this acrobatic little falcon as it hunts for dragonflies at Ham Wall in the spring and summer. On exceptional days over 50 have been seen in the sky at once. They have also become a regular breeder in the woods along the Fivehead escarpment and can often be seen in August and September when their chicks have fledged around the edges of West Sedgemoor.

Where: Ham Wall nature reserve & Swell Wood

Crane on the levels - Credit: John Crispin

Cranes

Between 2010 and 2014 nearly a hundred common cranes have been reintroduced back on to the Levels after an absence of over 400 years. They can be seen all year round but the best chance of seeing them is during the winter. We also run special crane safaris with expert guides. We are hoping for the first wild cranes to hatch on the levels in the next couple of years.

Where: Visit the Great Crane Project’s sightings pages for more details...

Marsh Tit - Credit: Nick Stacey

Woodland Birds

The woodlands of Somerset are alive with birds through out the year. Great spotted woodpeckers, nuthatches and starlings nest in holes in trees and marsh tits and chiffchaffs flit through the canopies. In the spring look out for spotted flycatchers and nesting buzzards and in the autumn look out for jays collecting acorns for there winter larder.

Where: Swell Wood

Marsh Harrier - Credit: Nick Stacey

Marsh Harrier

This majestic bird of prey has made a remarkable come back in recent years. Extinct in the UK by the end of the 19th century there are now over 400 breeding females across the country. They can be seen gliding over reed beds all year round.

Where: Greylake & Ham Wall nature reserves

Great White Egret - Credit: Nick Stacey

Great White Egret

Lots of more unusual birds are visiting the Levels including little bitterns, spoonbills, night herons and we even have breeding great white egrets at Hamwall. Who knows what will turn up next.

Where: Ham Wall nature reserve

Hare - Credit: John Crispin

Hares

Hares are a common sight on the Levels and a great place to see them is Greylake. Look out for the frenzied courtship displays in March when males and females race around after each other and engage in bizarre ‘boxing matches’.

Where: Greylake nature reserve

Kingfisher - Credit: Nick Stacey

Kingfisher

One of the most colourful British birds, look out for a flash of iridescent blue as it goes darting by. Kingfishers have favourite perches they use before diving into the water to catch small fish.

Where: Greylake & Ham Wall nature reserves

Roe Deer - Credit: Nick Stacey

Roe Deer

Although a shy and secretive deer, roe deer can often be seen grazing in the long grass over the levels. Best seen in the early morning or evening the most usual sight is of a white rump bounding off in to the distance.

Where: Greylake & Ham Wall nature reserves

Bittern - Credit: Nick Stacey

Bitterns

Restoration of reedbeds has helped this secretive heron enormously. With over 40 booming males in 2014 the Avalon Marshes are becoming the place to come and see bitterns. Listen for the incredible boom of the male from February through to May and watch out for them flying between nest sites and feeding areas from May onwards.

Where: Greylake & Ham Wall nature reserves