The Somerset Levels have changed greatly since Stone Age man first visited the area and laid bundles of hazel sticks to be able to cross the boggy ground.  Over 5,000 years later, drainage ditches, pumping stations and clyces have made a very controlled landscape where wildlife thrives and a number of nature reserves have been established.

In this talk we witness a typical year with the birds, flowers and a few of the insects as well as enjoying some of the Levels landscapes with its pollarded willows and rhynes.  In the spring and summer flowers add colour to the place as do butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies.  Birds include up to six species of the heron family, raptors such as marsh harriers, buzzards, peregrines and hobbies as well as huge flocks of wintering waders and wildfowl.  There is also a successful reintroduction scheme to bring back common cranes to the area and the marvellous spectacle of many tens of thousands of starlings flying in to roost in the reedbeds at sunset, their murmurations weaving ever changing patterns in the sky as hawks and harriers try to secure a final meal of the day.  This is a wonderful place to go wildlife watching at any time of year as this talk illustrates.

If you would like to book this or any other of my talks, please telephone me or send me an email.  Sending an email can be done via my 'contact me' page.