The Somerset Levels February 2026

The view from Burrow Mump

The Somerset Levels in winter provide an exceptional setting for birdwatching, offering some of the most striking wildlife spectacles in southern Britain. During this tour, the extensive lowland landscape of flooded fields, marshes, and peat ponds—lying south of the Mendip Hills and the Quantocks—supported a huge concentration of wintering wildfowl, creating superb viewing opportunities throughout the trip.

This February tour with Naturetrek coincided with a period of exceptionally high water levels across the region. A succession of winter storms moving through south-west England resulted in widespread flooding, saturated landscapes, and at times challenging travel conditions. However, these conditions also enhanced the wildlife experience, spreading birds far and wide and emphasising the dramatic character of the Levels in winter.

Starling roost activity proved to be a major highlight of the tour and was considered the best of the entire winter season. With the birds returning to roost at RSPB Ham Wall in exceptional numbers, our clients were treated to truly spectacular murmuration displays.

A few of the reserves were inaccessible due to high water levels, RSPB Greylake was one of them but we explored new areas and found a lot of good wildlife.

RSPB Greylake

The path to the hides at Greylake

 

Here are a few photos from our time on the Levels.......

 

 Greylag Geese

Starling

Great Egret

Northern Shovelers 

The path to Decoy Lake

Glastonbury Tor from Shapwick Heath

Near Decoy Lake

Replica of the Sweet track

Redpoll feeding on Alder

Some of the 500+ Cattle Egrets at Westhay 

A screenshot of the Starling display at RSPB Ham Wall.

 

Checkout my movie clip of the Starlings on my Youtube channel by clicking the following link.......  

https://youtu.be/NThByqn2Las 

 

Team photo
 

 

 

 

Cornwall birdrace January 2026

 

Lesser Yellowlegs

This was the first Naturetrek Great British Bird Race, with tours taking place across eight counties in Britain. Our Cornwall group was based at the Marazion Hotel in Marazion, near Penzance — a charming traditional hotel with excellent rooms, a welcoming lounge, and first-class food.

The winter weather in Cornwall was challenging, with recent storms bringing heavy rain, flooding, and strong winds. Despite this, the group embraced the competitive spirit of the Bird Race, enjoying spectacular coastal, estuarine, and woodland habitats. Highlights included North American Lesser Scaup, Lesser Yellowlegs, Avocet, Spoonbill, Ring-necked Duck, Bonaparte’s Gull, and excellent sightings of seals and other wildlife. By the end of the tour, the group recorded a total of 94 species.

We had been allotted 48 hours to see how many bird species we could see, from 2pm on the Wednesday until 2pm on the Friday. It was a fun event although we all got immersed in the competition despite knowing we would be competing with the county of Norfolk, with its many reserves!

Here are a few of the sights and species we saw on our travels around Cornwall......

 St.Michael's Mount Marazion. 

Black-tailed Godwit

Greenshank

Redshank 

Gwithian

Godrevy island and lighthouse 

Ring-necked Duck (female)

Lesser Scaup (female)

Lesser Scaup (drake)

Bonaparte's Gull

Bonaparte's Gull

Team Cornwall 

Team Cornwall at Walmsley