Dave Helliar
Local patch birding in Somerset, Devon & Dorset & anything to do with natural history. Retired & now trying to do my little bit to help the natural world.
- Greylag Goose NFY at #ChardRes today. Nearby at Chaffcombe I watched 6 Great Tit & at least 4 Blue Tit 'actively anting' along this kerb. @somersetbirds.bsky.social
- 2 Shelduck were NFY at #ChardRes this morning. Pair Wigeon also present. #PWC2026 @somersetbirds.bsky.social At the Dorset patch a flushed Woodcock was also NFY. Drake Gadwall, 12 Teal, 30+ Tufties also present here. @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social
- Pair of displaying & singing Dipper on The Blackdown Hills today. My first Frog Spawn seen. Nearby 42 Snipe, 14 Golden Plover, 3 Skylark (inc singing) & 4 Stonechat @somersetbirds.bsky.social
- A few more photos of #ChardRes taken yesterday after #StormChandra had finished dumping at least 2" of rain. Anyone who knows the hide, I reckon the water level is at least seat height! @somersetbirds.bsky.social
- Reposted by Dave HelliarPlease spread this far and wide, as stories don't get much bigger than this. When the government blocks even the intelligence services from telling us we're heading for environmental catastrophe, you know we have a problem. A very big problem. Thank you. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
- #ChardRes is well & truly flooded at present, the highest level I've seen for decades & that's before tonights deluge from #StormChandra Many birds seem to move on when it's like this! @somersetbirds.bsky.social
- A rare day off patch today to see the Killdeer at Ripley, Hampshire, always distant & with the sun behind, but nice views thru scope! Had to wait for the Great-tailed Grackle at Holbury to appear, but what a character 'Bluey' is! #HantsBirds
- Reposted by Dave HelliarDespite more than 86,000 people backing the fourth most signed petition in the Scottish Parliament’s history, the Scottish Government has confirmed it will not change the law to outlaw the Guga hunt.
- Reposted by Dave HelliarAn across-government technical assessment published today recognises that "nature is the foundation of national security" and that "every critical ecosystem is on a pathway to collapse". A rational response to this would be to get very serious about nature recovery. www.gov.uk/government/p...
- Reposted by Dave HelliarSign here to voice your disgust at the annual Guga slaughter. Gannets are magnificent and this old ‘tradition’ needs to end. petitions.parliament.scot/petitions/PE...
- Patch gold with this superb drake Goldeneye at #ChardRes today (less than annual here) Bit of waterfowl movement with 5 Wigeon & 5 drake Shoveler also present + 9 'local' Tufties. #PWC2026 @somersetbirds.bsky.social
- A few hrs spent on the Devon/Somerset border today & pleased to find a couple Brambling in a Chaffinch flock, also 140+ Linnet & 955 Lapwing. No GP with them today, but 75+ seen recently. Good to see several fields sown with winter bird food crops & supplementary seed feeders #DevonBirds #PWC2026
- Watched & listened to this Dipper in full song for several minutes as it perched above a very swollen River Axe near my Dorset patch this afternoon. @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social #PWC2026
- Red Kite over my house in Chard at 13:00 today in overcast weather. The local Starlings didn't like much! @somersetbirds.bsky.social
- The thaw in the weather had a few things moving today. Pair Pintail & a GWE at the Dorset patch & 7 Wigeon at #ChardRes @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social & @somersetbirds.bsky.social
- Fluffed-up Stonechat on a frosty morning at the Dorset patch today. 90% of the lakes are still completely frozen, meaning most waterfowl have moved on, just 6 Teal, 8 Tufties, pair Mandarin & a Little Grebe braving it out. 12 LT Tit seeming to find food in the willows. @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social
- A new trade deal with South America called the EU-Mercosur deal would bring more food grown with banned pesticides into Europe, threatening our health and the livelihood of European farmers. Act NOW to protect Europe’s food standards #StopMercosur action.wemove.eu/sign/2025-02...
- Reposted by Dave Helliar[Not loaded yet]
- Adult Mediterranean Gull at #ChardRes this morning. NFY #PWC2026 Also GWE still present, 15 Tufties, 30+ Mandarin & GC Grebe are slowly returning after the freeze, now 22 from a low of just 5 (39 present before freeze) @somersetbirds.bsky.social @patchbirding.bsky.social
- GW Egret at #ChardRes for its' forth day. At least 4 Blackcap feeding on Mistletoe berries in this impressive tree near Donyatt. Exploring Dowlish Wake STW gave at least 19 Chiffchaff & set-a-side fields held 2 Stonechat, c.100 Linnet, 40+ Chaffinch, Greenfinch & Siskin @somersetbirds.bsky.social
- A couple hours spent at my Dorset 3km #PWC2026 patch gave a cracking Firecrest & Redpoll (both NFY). Teal have increased to 63; a flock of 16 Lapwing over; Water Rail heard & Marsh Tit very vocal, also this Fox seen in a still frozen landscape. @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @patchbirding.bsky.social
- 80% of the lakes at my Dorset 3km #PWC2026 are frozen over & covered by overnight snow grains, looks pretty but all wildfowl are crammed on the last open water inc 44 Teal, 4 Gadwall, 2 Shoveler, 11 Tufties, 4 Lt Grebe & 21 Canadas! @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @patchbirding.bsky.social
- Nice afternoon spent on the South Levels, with 4 Tundra Bean Geese at Curry Moor; 5 Bewick's Swan, 17 Egyptian Geese & a Ruddy Shelduck at Muchelney Level; 52 White-fronted Geese & Marsh Harrier at West Sedgemoor & a few Cranes at Southlake Moor. @somersetbirds.bsky.social
- Reposted by Dave Helliar[Not loaded yet]
- Redhead Goosander at the Dorset patch yesterday (only the 3rd record here this year) & what was probably the same bird, seen briefly just over the border in Somerset at Perry Street Pond the day before. #PWC2025 @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social & @somersetbirds.bsky.social
- Sunrise over Chard, South Somerset today. #sunrise
- A rewarding day of #LocalPatchBirding visiting several sites all within 5 miles of home gave 2 Jack Snipe & 12 Common Snipe; 2 female Blackcap; a Firecrest & a total of 15+ Chiffchaff at two WWTW. @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social & @somersetbirds.bsky.social @patchbirding.bsky.social
- A couple of hours spent on The Blackdowns, Somerset today, gave close views of Dipper & Grey Wagtail, also Kingfisher & a pair of Wigeon, but only 4 Teal. Nearby 2 Stonechat, 6 Skylark & a good count of 34 Snipe, but no Golden Plover or winter thrushes seen! @somersetbirds.bsky.social
- Reposted by Dave HelliarAn important read for anyone who cares about nature in the UK!
- Labour seem determined to wreck what’s left of our natural world. So many broken promises. www.wildlifetrusts.org/news/nightma....
- youtu.be/LVLhbtVVVTk Spectacular Starling murmuration over my Dorset patch after Storm Bram cleared through. Anyone care to estimate numbers? #PWC2025 @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social
- Decided to try the moth trap last night (7/12) as it was so mild, but only a Rusty-dot Pearl & 2 December Moth for the effort! South Somerset VC5 #Teammoth
- The photos not going to win any prizes, but the Dawlish Warren Lesser Crested Tern was my first British tick since the Baikal Teal in 2022 (I don't twitch much these days!) #DevonBirds
- Lesser Crested Tern still at Dawlish Warren, settled on mud, best viewed from hide 10:50 @birdguides.bsky.social
- Now two Redhead & a drake Goosander at #ChardRes Photo taken at dusk this evening. @somersetbirds.bsky.social
- A rather tatty Red Admiral in my garden in Chard today 3rd Dec! @savebutterflies.bsky.social
- A rather dapper Peregrine enjoying the sun after the earlier frost at the Dorset patch today. #PWC2025 @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social
- The drake & Redhead Goosander showed quite well from the dam at #ChardRes early this am, shame the light was so poor! #PWC2025 @somersetbirds.bsky.social
- Red Kite over the Dorset patch this am, also Brambling heard inflight. Dipper on a Somerset stream near Chard late this pm. @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @somersetbirds.bsky.social
