Starting below the Bird in Hand pub we went up to the cycle track, where the first arrivals caught sight of a Kingfisher. Walking west along the cycle track Chiffchaff and Goldcrest were found. After 400 yards we turned into the fields along a path with six rickety stiles. Large numbers of Blackbirds and a Redwing flitted along the hedgerows.…
Month: October 2017
Sunday 29 October – Clevedon – Leader: Jason Williams
Fourteen club members joined me on a dry but quite cool day with a brisk NW wind. We started by walking to the ‘viz mig’ spot of Wains Hill, but this produced only a few Chaffinch and Winter thrushes. The loop around the headland was generally very quiet with little of note. We spied a few Redshank, Curlew, Wigeon and…
Tuesday 26 September – Priddy
Twenty-three members turned out for this popular walk on a misty morning. We spent some time near the church at a very productive tree watching a Tree Creeper. Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Robin, Pied Wagtail were also seen plus Blackbird, Blue and Great Tit and a Song Thrush. Some more distant “thrushes” just might have been winter ones. Robins were singing…
Tuesday 24 October – Folly Farm, hedge planting
Thirty-four members gathered at Folly Farm on a warm October day to be briefed on how to plant the 1,100 new trees funded by the club as our main 50th anniversary conservation project. Some very experienced gardeners seemed a little surprised to be told that they had been using a spade incorrectly for too many years to mention, but the resulting…
Tuesday 17 October – Barrow Gurney
Eighteen members gathered at the village hall carpark on a warm October day. Our first Yellowhammers were seen along the cycle track heading towards the A38. Once we regained the fields a single Coal Tit showed briefly. We then had distant views of Barrow Tanks finding Herons, Cormorants and three Little Egrets (identity confirmed by a later visit to the…
Sunday 15 October- Migration watch – 07:00 to 11:00
Bird Aust NP/NW Portishead Wains Hill Sand Point Canada Goose 49 N Hobby 1 Golden Plover 4 1 flock Woodpigeon 15 49 Great Spot Woodpecker 4 2 Skylark 47 17 Swallow 4 House Martin …
Tuesday 10 October – Pilning Wetlands – Leader: Jane Cumming
Despite the light drizzle and general murkiness, 25 members turned out for the walk at Severn Beach. The tide was exceptionally high with the Pill well overflowing its usual banks. We saw little in the murk apart from a Chiffchaff fly-catching from a bush, until we reached the corner where the concrete walkway ends and we stopped to look out…
Sunday 08 October – Steart Marshes
28 members met at the WWT carpark on a warm day with sun and light wind. We were greeted by a Peregrine on a distant pylon that maintained its watch all day. Cetti’s Warbler (heard) and several Stonechats were among the reeds en route to the Mendip hide. The water level was high and there were many Little Egret with…
Tuesday 03 October – Portbury
A dry autumn day but traffic chaos caused by a lorry crash on the M5 delayed the arrival of the seventeen walkers who made it through. Along the lane to Portbury Warth Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, House Sparrow, Chaffinch and Pied Wagtail were seen in the hedgerows and fields along with a couple of Stock Dove. As we walked down the…
Sunday 01 October – Newport Wetlands
The forecast of torrential rain and gale force winds may have deterred some, but it turned out to be a worthwhile visit for the seven who set out and the weather was not really a problem. At the wetlands, the ponds had the expected Little Grebe, Wigeon, Gadwall and a Swan family with three largish cygnets. Cetti’s warblers and Stonechats…