Tuesday 31 July – Bath Racecourse Leader: Robert Hargreaves

A group of 20 set out from Bath Racecourse on a pleasant summer’s morning. There was a cool breeze that made for ideal walking weather. As we left the car park and walked along open countryside we soon saw some common species that included Carrion Crow, Swallow and Goldfinch. Wren and Skylark were heard and, as we walked through a very nice wood, we added Blue Tit, Blackcap and Long-tailed Tit. As we left the wood some of the group saw two Kestrels – an adult and a juvenile. On the next part of the walk we saw or heard Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Nuthatch, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Blackbird and Dunnock. We had our coffee break at a spot that gave excellent views towards Wales, with both Severn bridges visible. Two Ravens flew over giving us all excellent views. We walked on to a second viewpoint where we had good views of a female Sparrowhawk as it flew over the woodland beneath us and four more Ravens flew past. We also saw a party of ten House Martins making their way south on migration and a field in the distance contained a good number of corvids, including Jackdaw and Rook. As we approached the end of the walk we saw four Linnets drinking in the puddles and finished with a flock of 27 Starlings, giving a total of 28 species. Many thanks to Nick for keeping an excellent record of species seen. It was a very enjoyable morning with part of the walk following the Cotswold Way and there were information boards giving some interesting details of the Battle of Lansdown that took place in 1643. We are very grateful to Robert for devising and leading the walk. Mike Landen