A very cold but bright sunny day gave us so much birdlife with clear views starting on the Shapwick reserve before crossing to the RSPB Ham Wall reserve. On Shapwick there were many duck including numerous Shoveler, Gadwall, Mallard, Teal, Pochard, some Tufted Duck, Coot and more! Of particular note was the male American Wigeon, … Read more
We started the walk from Wains Hill and headed towards The Pill where scoping produced a Curlew, two Common Gulls and an Oystercatcher. Three Rock Pipits and a Stonechat were seen well. We continued to the Blind Yeo and walked up to Lower Strode Road adding a Little Egret and a few common passerines on … Read more
Mud, glorious mud! We saw quite a bit of it and some areas were a challenge to negotiate. The walk started from the Fox Inn, leading past the church and across fields and areas of uncultivated rough pasture. Plenty of bird life was visible including Redwing, Fieldfare, flocks of Goldfinches and Blue Tit. We squelched … Read more
The forecast was for sunshine and showers throughout the day. Not ideal, but certainly good enough weather for a visit to the fabulous Westhay. So, eleven people met in the car park and ventured into the reserve. At the first hide, we had bright sunshine with dramatic grey clouds giving a beautiful light. This nicely … Read more
Eight intrepid walkers, appropriately suited and booted for the foul weather, met at the church. Our route down to Ripple Effect (formerly Send-a-Cow) was quiet for birds except for a fine flock of Goldfinch; similarly quiet along the wooded lane and the more open track to the waterfall. Maybe the persistent rain had something to … Read more
A group of approximately 25 met in the carpark for the traditional New Year visit to Slimbridge. We were fortunate with the weather, which stayed dry for the main part of the day. As we met up we were already seeing large flocks of Lapwing circling overhead, with their particular ‘floppy wing’ style, and flocks … Read more
Fourteen members wishing to undo the effects of too much Christmas food set out for Portbury Wharf on a dull and mild day. The railway bridge is a good viewing point and we had distant views of Great Spotted Woodpecker and Redwings. In Wharf Lane Goldcrest, Chaffinch and Goldfinch were seen, as were the new … Read more
What a lovely day for the last walk before Christmas. We trod the usual path up the south side of the River Frome. The first stretch of woodland was nearly silent but with plenty of tits and Goldcrest to be seen. The rear half of the 15 walkers managed to see Treecreeper and Great Spotted … Read more
An exceptionally rich walk round a still but very cold Oldbury Power Station ended with 60 bird species seen. 14 people met at 08.30 – early enough for the sun to be rising as we travelled there; and many eyes found many birds, including Shelduck, Teal, Wigeon, Tufted Duck, Gadwall and a handsome male Pintail … Read more
Ten intrepid and initially very cold members set off from the village hall car park. A quick trip across the main road for a peek over the bridges proved fruitless, unfortunately, so we pressed on to the Common where we saw floppy flights of Lapwings heading west. A Green Woodpecker gave us an undulating fly-past … Read more
