Field trip reports

Eighteen keen birders with their various optical paraphernalia met at Snuff Mills car park. It was a gloomy but dry and mild day. We carefully ascended the semi-treacherous path above the river Frome valley, passing the UWE Glenside Campus on the site of the old Glenside Mental Hospital. We quietly passed this, unspotted, towards the Oldbury Estate. Most birds were either hunkered down out of sight or only seen as silhouettes high in the trees. More were heard than seen, and the high pitched sounds of Long-tailed Tits and Goldcrests were prominent. There were also several Grey Squirrel dreys and a leucistic Crow among other corvids and various gulls. We passed and admired the work of the College Road allotmenteers before stopping for coffee by a well sculpted tree stump in an old arboretum of specimen trees on the Oldbury estate. We then headed down to Frenchay Bridge to return along the River Frome. Here we passed the weir in spate and enjoyed the beauty of a Kingfisher which repeatedly fished and followed us most of the way back. There was also a Grey Heron, Moorhen and some Mallard. Our final treat was a good view of two busy Treecreepers across the river. A most enjoyable morning. Thanks to Graham and Caron for their leadership and everyone for their company and shared expertise. Bill Alexander

Forty-one members met at The Riverside pub car park on a mostly cloudy, but dry, day. One of many Song Thrushes we heard was singing but could not be seen. A band of Goldfinches was flitting between the trees which were also visited by many Redwings. In a field across the river was a flock of Common and Black-headed Gulls. A Kingfisher made a brief appearance darting across the river towards us and into cover. A cormorant flew down sharply to the river and immediately dived. We then moved on towards the Avon Farm Estate. At the coffee stop a Kestrel hovered over the water treatment works. Back at the river, a Red Kite flew over us and climbed high. The weir had almost disappeared under the flow of water and the riverside moorings were flooded, but this didn’t deter two Moorhens going about their business. As we walked back along the Avon the sun came out and we had second scan for the Little Owl. A Coal Tit was seen first and then, at the far end of the rock face, there was the Little Owl sunning itself on a ledge. Back at the Riverside for Christmas lunch a Heron was spied to take the species count to 40. Many thanks to Robert for leading the walk.Steve Clarke

This walk was also a BOC young person’s walk, in conjunction with the Avon Wildlife Trust. It was lovely to see so many young and enthusiastic birders come along and view the birds at the lake. Twenty-seven of us set off from Woodford Lodge along the trail to the dam. Great Spotted and Green Woodpeckers, Goldcrest, Jay, Redwing and Mistle Thrush were the highlights. We then spotted Goosander out on the lake. At the dam there were Chiffchaff, Grey Wagtail and several Meadow Pipits feeding in the channel as well as a nice comparison between Common and Black-headed Gull. We then scoped the lake from Woodford which gave us Little and Great White Egret, Teal and Wigeon. We noted the lake was much fuller due to recent rain. Moving onto Herons Green we saw Goldeneye, and some of the party then went to Herriots and saw a Mediterranean Gull. A lovely morning with lots of keen eyes and a real thirst for learning, we saw 58 species. (Thanks to Nick for leading) Nick Page

Nine of us turned up in defiance of the forecast and set off along Sandy Lane. Not a single bird was seen or heard for the first half mile or so, before a couple of distant Crows and a Woodpigeon, then sounds of Blackbird, Robin and Blue Tit were noted. Soon after crossing Markham Brook we joined a stony track into East Tanpit Wood. Calls of Great Tit and Nuthatch were somehow filtered out of the wind noise but sightings remained elusive. At the top of this track reward finally came in the form of four Redwings in the trees immediately above us. Our leader decided to avoid a well-known mud slide and the diversion took us down to a small pond, an ideal coffee stop. Emerging into more open country, we saw a Greenfinch and heard Goldfinches overhead. From the edge of a field of horses the twitter of Pied Wagtail was picked up and 40+ Starlings lined up on wires some way off. Another Pied Wagtail bounced across the adjoining sheep field and a Skylark ascended. By now we were quite keen to get out of Upper and back to Lower Failand. The rain was a bit less persistent than expected but the wind never let up. The species count of 16 doesn’t do justice to this very enjoyable and normally much more productive walk. Many thanks to Alan for leading and finding the best possible way round.Colin Hawkins

The meeting point for twelve of us was Station Road. We then walked over the footbridge to Sheepway. We peered over the bridge at the Portishead railway line, noting that the old rails have now been taken up – looks like progress. Once off the road we passed a distant field of corvids, pronounced by Alan with his faithful scope to be mostly Rooks (50) with a few Jackdaws. Crows were around too, high on trees, but in small numbers. Redwings and tits showed spasmodically, and a Kestrel appeared. Once out on the sea wall, sharp eyes spotted a line of Canada Geese (27) among the reeds bordering Royal Portbury Dock, and some Shelducks flew over the marsh. From the hides overlooking the North pool we could see 30 Wigeon clustered on the end of the island, some Shovelers at the back of the pool, a couple of Lapwing, and a solitary Little Grebe on the right hand channel. At the South hide the low winter sun brought out the colours and four sleek Roe Deer were seen quite close, blending in beautifully with the reeds. We lacked Snipe (maybe too wet?) but there were two pairs of Gadwall close to the bank. Walking back along the road we admired (!) a group of House Sparrows perched in the sunshine. Very many thanks to Alan for the count and the route/hiking information – 43 species. Judy Copeland

The day started with brilliant sunshine which lasted for most of the walk. 13 people turned up. A good number considering that most came from Bristol. Starting from the Steart Marshes main car park we crossed the road into the main part of the reserve and followed the pathway around the site including walking along the coastal path on the River Parrett. From a new viewpoint, looking across some scrapes that have been created, Shoveler and Wigeon were on view. At Otterhampton Marshes / lagoons a Little Egret was seen along with some Shelduck. By the River Parrett trail more birds were seen due to low tide including Curlew, Redshank and Dunlin. Redshanks were also visible and at the Parrett hide three Marsh Harriers were just glimpsed in the distance. The walk finished at the joint Quantock hide for lunch, where further Golden Plovers and Lapwings were seen along with a few Teal, and a Canada Goose with a possible broken wing (all reported to powers that be) and others. On the way around most of us heard then saw a Cetti’s Warbler amongst some reeds. Highlights of the walk were thousands of Lapwings and Golden Plovers that kept being disturbed by various raptors including two Peregrines (possibly a female with a juvenile – at least this was the general consensus after looking at some fantastic photography shots taken by members of the group). 50 species were noted including Avocets, four Snipe that initially looked like lumps of mud in an adjacent field, as well as Goldfinches and Goldcrests. (Thanks to Nick and Elaine for leading).Nick Jobson-Wicks

Seven of us gathered, to be ably led by Rich. A few common species started us off until Alan’s scope focused on a Peregrine plucking prey on the spire of Stapleton Church. A Goldcrest foraged the riverside trees. There was a Kingfisher checking out the murky water beneath following the heavy rain and a Grey Wagtail flashed past. Seven Redwing were in the highest tree tops and 40 Starlings and a Chaffinch were added to our list. The ivy clad trees yielded Long-tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Wren, and eventually, two Firecrests, and beyond those two Greenfinches played peekaboo with us from a leafy garden tree. At the lake we added eleven each of Mute Swan and Cormorant. Also present were Mallard, Moorhen, Coot, two Grey Herons and 40 Black-backed Gulls. True to form, the female Tawny Owl was keeping a watch on us from her box. Other noteworthy birds were a Sparrowhawk and four Jays, giving us a total of 38 species. Thanks to Rich for leading and to Alan for keeping the score. Mike Jackson

A grand total of 30 people assembled for the walk in the car park of the Druid Arms on a bright sunny morning. Setting off across the fields we first spotted a flock of Common Gulls with Crows dotted round and about. Moving on towards the coffee stop at Bye Mills, we surprised a couple of Roe Deer and then stopped to watch an everflitting family of Long-tailed Tits accompanied by a Goldcrest and a Chiffchaff. Leaving Bye Mills we were serenaded by a very showy Wren and then put up some Pheasants as we passed the Wild Things Farm reserve. Blue and Great Tits were seen amongst the trees with a brief glimpse of a Great Spotted Woodpecker. The river at Pensford was too high and fast for Dipper so we trudged back up the hill to find a Kestrel looking for lunch and showing very well. Chaffinch and a couple of Siskin were in some thickets by the side of the road. Coming out of Upper Stanton Drew we spotted a Raven flying by and heard a Green Woodpecker. 38 species in total. (Thanks to Alan for leading). Alan Craddock

This walk incorporated a club Young Person’s Walk and 29 members enjoyed an afternoon at Ham Wall. It is always a lovely place to visit and this time of year sees the return of more ducks, waders, Redpolls, Siskins and of course the stars of the show, the Starlings that come into roost every evening. We took our time walking along the main path seeing multiple Marsh Harrier, Great White Egret and duck species. Redpolls and Siskins were flying overhead and some of the group had nice views at various times. A probable Firecrest remained hidden away and a nice tit flock included Goldcrest, Chiffchaff and Chaffinch. We made our way towards the Avalon hide to wait for the Starlings to arrive and were not disappointed. They tended to not murmurate as much as normal due to the cold temperatures, but seeing that many birds arrive is aways breathtaking. The noise they made when all sitting in the reeds was something else. I am not quite sure how they estimate the official numbers but many of the party thought the numbers were more than 100,000. A Water Rail called away as we watched, giving us a total of 39 species. (Thanks to Nick for leading). Nick Page

Twenty-one people met in the car park at Cleeve on a bright morning. Although the temperature was only around 5°C at the start, the wind was gentle and it stayed dry. Our leader first took us past Walnut Tree Farm where, looking across an open field, we spotted a thrush-like bird perched in the distance on top of a tree. After some debate, it was confirmed as a Redwing by a member with a telescope. Later, a flock of these was seen. Alastair then led the walk up into the Combe which sloped very gradually upwards through a beautiful autumn woodland. The cloudy sky cleared to show patches of blue and sun highlighting the very tops of the trees on one side. This helped considerably to identify a small group of four Nuthatches showing gorgeous pink undersides. Groups of tits were marauding around in small numbers and could be heard, but not always seen, by everyone. Marsh Tits had been seen here previously, so we were on the lookout. However, only two were spotted. Emerging into bright sunshine at the top, we were greeted by a herd of goats relaxing and enjoying the excellent views. Continuing downhill through woodland, Goldcrest and various finches were heard before we returned to the car park. Thanks to Alastair for leading a lovely autumn walk and Alan for doing the bird list. Jan Murray Jones