Run by Avon Wildlife Trust, Natural England.

Located 5-10 minutes away from the M5 Gordano Services, this is one of those places where you never know what you might see next.

Hide pictured from the front, look closely and the M5 motorway can be seen rising up the hill from Gordano Services.

Within 5 yards of the front of the hide a bird table and several other feeders have been placed to bring the small birds in, these include many species of Tits, Long Tailed and Coal being regular visitors. Many other types of finch can be seen all year round and we also enjoyed the visits of Brambling last spring. The grassland areas are kept wet by water level control structures in the rhynes, allowing the site to maintain a high water table during the summer months - important for the breeding waders and wetland plants. During the winter the reserve is deliberately flooded to attract flocks of wildfowl and waders.

Another view of the frontal area of the hide, the hedgerow is patrolled by barn owls and other birds of prey, because of the abundant rabbits. You therefore get regular fly-pasts, but you have to be quick on that shutter.

Roe deer are very often seen as well as Rabbit and Hare. The hide itself is fairly new and has room for about 10 people at a push, although I think at it’s busiest I’ve only ever seen a maximum of 6 people being sat down. Identification boards are situated on the back wall and the bench seating is movable, there is also a window specifically for disabled wheel chair users.

Access to the hide is very good generally and it’s less than 200 yards from the off road car park.  

Info board on hides back wall

During the summer months it’s always worth having a look around the rhynes (water ditches) as many different dragonfly and butterfly species can be found, although be aware many of the rhymes are very deep. Kit wise, as long a lens as you have for the distant species, I usually manage to capture most things with a 50-500mm.

However a good day can still be had capturing all the different small birds that come into the table and feeders with much shorter lenses. I always take a macro lens in the summer just in case I get bored and decide to chase the dragonflies.

The hide is also tripod friendly, although a bean bag would suffice on brighter days. 

Looking out from the left of the hide, here are some of the dead trees that birds of prey regularly perch on.

Pros- A well maintained hide with a very good array of different wildlife. 

Cons-Can be a bit bleak in the winter. Access to the hide can sometimes be a little tricky due to the Wildlife Trust not keeping the overgrowth on the access path in check. The fields in front of the hide sometimes contain cattle, although this doesn’t seem to put off any of the wildlife

A general view from inside the hide across the moor, as you can see on a wet October day as when this shot was taken it can be very bleak to say the least, but don’t let that put you off. The rewards can be had for those who are patient, especially if the feeders have been filled a few days beforehand and the small birds are feeding well.

Probably my best shot of a wild barn owl in flight taken from this location, on this occasion I was actually hidden in the hedgerow waiting for her to return to one of the many nestboxes on the site.

The very rare brambling, which visited the area over 4 weeks during the spring of 2006

Roe deer, which are often seen walking across the moor, this shot was taken in the summer when all the wild meadow flowers were in bloom.