Tuesday 03 March 2020 – Clevedon to Dowlais Leader: Jane Cumming

A magnificent 42 people gathered at St Andrews Church, Clevedon on a beautiful if chilly morning. We headed out round the Pill and down to the sluice on the Blind Yeo, logging Stonechats and Rock Pipits on the saltmarsh. Telescope scanning of Blackstone Rocks produced 55 Wigeon scattered along its edge, as well as Shelducks, Oystercatchers and Curlews. The foreshore held its usual mixture of mainly Black-headed but also Lesser Blackbacked and Herring Gulls. We walked on across the golf course to the Dowlais shore where a couple of hundred Dunlin were swirling about low over the waves and down as far as the gate overlooking the River Kenn’s seaward exit. With the tide rising fast 30 Teal were sheltering in the creek and the wader roost held 50 each of Redshank and Curlew. Linnets bounced around over the saltmarsh, a couple more Stonechats were seen and Skylarks were singing. We retraced our steps to Dowlais Lane and walked down past the pools where unusually there were eight Mute Swans as well as a few Lapwings. Roadside fields held a big corvid flock, mainly Jackdaws. The scattered groups of walkers recorded Peregrine, Kestrel, Little Egret, Grey Heron, a Blackcap and seven
Redwings. At Strode Road bridge (just two Moorhens) we turned back down the Pill where three late Goosanders were seen by a lucky few (but sadly there was no sign of the Otter I’d watched the previous day.) Thanks to Nick as always for keeping the score; he recorded 50 species in total. (Thanks to Jane for leading, Ed). Jane Cumming