Field trip reports

Only six braves turned out on what was a very dull morning with rain forecast for later in the day. The rain, or rather fine drizzle, came on a little after we had passed Old Sodbury Church and spoiled what is normally a splendid view towards Chipping Sodbury and beyond. Despite the poor visibility up till then we had counted 13 bird species, including a mass of Lesser Black-blacked Gulls and Herring Gulls riding a thermal at the foot of the hill. Swallows and House Martins were abundant, a Kestrel, a Raven and a Green Woodpecker also ‘played’ the fine drizzle. However, after we had had a refreshment break under the cover of the trees on the climb up to Old Sodbury Fort, things improved; the drizzle stopped and there was brightness all about. We decided not to do the full walk, with picnic on the high view-point above Horton, because of the likelihood of further rain but, while on the short cut, we were rewarded with sightings of Red Kite, Meadow Pipit, Greenfinch, Swift, Yellowhammer, Whitethroat, and Blackcap. At the ‘pond’ we saw Moorhens, Little Grebes, and Mallards then, as we returned to the footpath, a Grey Herron rose up above the trees, bitterly complaining at something. Our total species count was 38. Thanks to the ‘brave six’ for coming, for despite the weather, we had a good walk (Thanks David for leading). David Tombs.

The Tuesday walkers who joined our annual visit to the Avon Gorge to see the Peregrines were well rewarded. Two juveniles were sitting on a bare tree stump when we arrived. When the brief shower of rain passed they took off, joined their sibling and the three of them presented us with a beautiful aerial display. They practised their passing techniques, before one of them broke away to chase a Carrion Crow, which appeared most surprised to be the pursued rather than the attacker. After watching the Peregrines, we walked past the wildflower meadow, with its Common Spotted Orchids, and on to Sea Walls. A family of Kestrels entertained us here, flying on to a ledge in the cliff face and into a garden, where one of them sat in the bird bath for quite a while before deciding he had better make the most of the opportunity to have a wash. Since we had spent so long enjoying the raptors, we decided not to go on to the Nature Reserve but instead visited the Gully where six feral Kashmiri goats from the Great Orme have been introduced to manage the scrub, allowing us to enjoy the rare limestone-loving plants. As we left the Gully, a Buzzard put in an appearance, bringing the total number of birds seen and heard to sixteen – Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Cormorant, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Lesser Black- backed Gull, Magpie, Nuthatch, Wood Pigeon and Wren. Brenda Page  

Eight members and one guest from Costa Rica, who had decided that the delights of an evening’s birding in the Forest of Dean was sufficient to attract him away from his ornithological paradise, met at New Fancy View on a warm early evening. From the viewing point we observed two Goshawks circling over the distant trees but a good enough view to note the slower and more powerful wingbeat than its Sparrowhawk relative. Song in early summer is beginning to die back but Song Thrush, Blackcap and Chiffchaff were prominent. We moved on to Cannop Ponds where Swallows, House and Sand Martins swooped low over the water feasting on the abundant supply of flying insects. A family party of Grey Wagtail worked along the shoreline and four Common Sandpiper rested on a stump protruding from the water before giving us a flyby display. A Kingfisher flashed by and a Siskin was an unexpected bonus on a nearby feeder. Several juvenile Mandarin Duck loafed on the water. We then moved on to Crabtree Hill to station ourselves for the possibility of Nightjar. A Garden Warbler started up its prolonged babbling and Stonechat and Linnet were present on the heathland. We waited patiently until 9.50 and then a “churring” was heard. What followed was a magical display of several Nightjars, some flying overhead, with just sufficient light to observe the white wing and tail patches. At one point there were three in the air together. A real bonus was the flight of a Woodcock calling with its shrill flight note. 44 species had been recorded and we felt our way in the twilight back to our cars contented. (Thanks to Mike for leading.) Mike Johnson  

A group of 23 set off from The Compton Inn at Compton Dando on a beautiful summer’s morning. This was a new walk, although parts of it are shared with other walks that we do in this area. There were a good number of common birds around the village including House Sparrows, House Martins and Swallows with a Blackcap heard. After a very short walk to the bridge over the River Chew we were rewarded with a good view of a Dipper feeding in the fast flowing water giving ideal conditions for this rather special bird. It was a very nice start to the walk. We then walked through some pasture land bordered with woodland where a Buzzard was seen. The next part of the walk took us away from the river up a quite steep path through the woods where we added Great Spotted Woodpecker, Treecreeper, Song Thrush, and Nuthatch. We crossed a beautiful meadow where we saw a large number of Meadow Brown butterflies and a quite a lot of Marbled Whites. We reached Woollard and made a very slight diversion for another view of the River Chew from the road bridge. We had good views of an adult and juvenile Grey Wagtail and a pair of Bullfinches flew over, heading for a cherry tree. We followed the river upstream and saw a Mistle Thrush, a Grey Heron and an adult Moorhen with three juveniles. We had time to walk towards the church at Publow and at the third bridge over the Chew some saw a second Dipper and we all had good views of four or five Grey Wagtails. We turned round to head back, this time on the south side of the river and some had views of a Kestrel. Those at the front of the group had fleeting views of a Kingfisher and those at the rear also saw a Kingfisher. Those of us in the middle saw neither! Our final species of the day was a Redstart. Thanks to Nick for keeping his usual accurate bird list and we finished with a total of 41 species. (Thanks to Mike for leading) Mike Landen

This was a joint meeting with Bristol Naturalists’ Society and eight of us met in the new RSPB carpark at Ham Wall on a bright warm morning. The air was full of the song of Blackcap, Blackbird, Wren, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff and Song Thrush. We walked down to the first viewing platform and viewing screens and amongst the usual variety of ducks saw a Pochard with a young brood, not a common sight in this area. Cetti’s Warblers were very vocal with their explosive song and some were lucky to see a Kingfisher flash by. On to the new Tor Hide where we were treated to a prolonged view of a Bittern in flight. Somerset is now the leading County for breeding Bitterns which is quite a success story for the various conservation organisations, their staff and particularly all their volunteers who have worked so hard in creating and managing suitable habitat for this species and many others requiring large mosaics of wetland. To prove the point we had wonderful views of both male and female Marsh Harriers drifting low over the reeds and a number of Hobby feeding on the plentiful supply of dragonflies. Both Great White and Little Egrets flapped over Walton’s reedbeds giving a continental flavour to the morning. We recorded 54 species during the morning including Common Tern which is another fairly new breeding species for the Avalon Marshes. (thanks to Mike for leading)      Mike Johnson  

 This walk was almost our nearest to midsummer, though with a chilly north easterly wind, it didn’t quite feel like flaming June. However, with the bright sunshine and sparkling visibility, the countryside couldn’t have looked better as 18 of us set off from the lovely village of South Stoke. The first stretch of road walking with superb views to the south gave us whirling House Martins and Swallows and there was much colour from garden plants and shrubs and the ubiquitous Valerian, both pink and red, popping out of every crevice. We turned off the road and onto a footpath in a wonderful meadow, though the low temperature didn’t seem to be tempting any butterflies or indeed many insects. We started the downhill bit of the walk soon adding many common species to our list. Up to four Buzzards were circling and calling and one of them was carrying a large item of prey, probably a rat. Following a steep narrow path further down into the valley Swift and Jackdaw were seen and in the field at the bottom, a Green Woodpecker. Our route then took us into woods with Magpie, Chiffchaff, Great and Blue Tits and Dunnock seen or heard. Still descending we arrived at Tucking Mill, where a Grey Wagtail obligingly perched for all to see. The walk was mainly uphill from then on! We climbed up to the top of the viaduct and joined the former railway track and en-route to our coffee stop at old Midford Station saw a Roe Deer and a Pheasant. Back across the road again we started to follow the old coal canal route and a pair of Marsh Tits were seen and heard. On this stretch we added Great Spotted Woodpecker, Goldfinch and Greenfinch and a Raven. The final species tally was 33. Many thanks to Dave Body for leading this popular and rewarding walk. Nancy Barrett  

Not for the faint-hearted! Lashing rain driven by howling winds, and all togged-up to survive, we eight made the trig point without mishap, collecting Chiffchaff and Whitethroat. One of the circling Herring Gulls appeared overhead before being whipped away to the north east. Wales and Flat Holm had been stolen by the sheeting rain so our going out to the point didn’t seem like a good idea! Down in the relative lee of the land we found more Whitethroats and the first Greenfinch; a Rock Pipit scolded us from the waterside rocks and three Feral Pigeons – two of which looked like the true Rock Dove, defied the wind to tryst among the Sea Pinks. A flight of Linnet (three) came twittering over just as we arrived at our coffee stop, where we also saw a further Rock Pipit foraging and carrying food to some secret crevice in the rocks beyond our sight. The rain did let up for half an hour as we reached our turning point (no picnic lunch today as the wind was forecast to strengthen). Skylark appeared and the special tune of the Song Thrush came to us on the wind. Our tally of 24 was a reflection of the conditions but still the urge to breed kept the Blackcap singing as we descended to – disappointment – no ice cream van! (Many thanks to Nick for leading these hardy walkers.) Nick Hawkridge  

 It all started in Beckley just a short stone’s throw from the Otmoor RSPB reserve with a pair of squabbling Jackdaws on an overcast morning. Four members met in the car park to the accompaniment of Lesser Whitethroat and Garden Warbler song while overhead a Red Kite gave a virtuoso flying display thus setting a benchmark for the day. On leaving the car park after reading the sightings board, two of the group expressed a desire to see and hear Turtle Dove. Within a few minutes a gentle purring was heard and a Turtle Dove was sighted on overhead cables so obviously a purrrrrrrrrfect day! Heading towards the hide and scrapes even more Lesser Whitethroats and Garden Warblers were encountered although they were outnumbered by the sights and sounds of Reed Warblers. Added to this cacophony of sound were Chaffinch, Whitethroat, Reed Bunting and the screaming of Swifts overhead. Looking out over the pastures and scrapes, families of Mallard, Greylag and Canada Geese were seen in the company of Little Egrets, Herons, Lapwings, Redshanks and Ringed Plovers. Lunch was taken in the reserve’s posh hide where we witnessed the aerial displays of House Martins with a supporting cast of finches (Greenfinch, Chaffinch and Linnet), and Redshank. Three Common Terns were discovered at the viewing screen and lagoon at the furthest point from the car park, and on the return journey to the car Sedge Warbler and Kestrel were added to the day’s list bringing the total for the day to over 50. Many thanks to Keith Williams for leading our field trip. Richard Scantlebury  

After a day of heavy rain showers the skies cleared on Friday evening in time for a visit to Frampton on Severn. Seven members attended and had a pleasant walk with lots of birds. The highlights of the evening were the low aerial displays over the lake of hundreds of Swifts and Martins, and the evening chorus of Song Thrushes and Blackcaps. There were a couple of Common Terns on the lake, and a Cuckoo calling. Altogether 32 of the commoner species were seen.    Sheila Ablitt  

 17 people gathered in Clevedon as the cool windy conditions turned into a warm sunny morning. Two Herring Gulls were sitting on different roofs close by. We had to wait for golfers on the path up over the golf course and meanwhile notched up Robin, Goldfinch, Swallow, House Martin, Wren, Blackcap and Pheasant. At the edge of the wood we found two families of Long-tailed Tits, one containing 11/12 youngsters, and a Song Thrush was singing. Inside the wood we had three Treecreepers (one carrying food), Great Spotted and Green Woodpecker calling, a Chiffchaff, and a Goldcrest which not everyone could hear! There was also an unidentified “seep” call. On Walton Common we had coffee by the butterfly slope and were well rewarded with a view of two “Goshawks” high above. There was much discussion on whether we could claim them but the final verdict was that the size and behaviour pointed that way. (Jane has submitted the description to the experts.) One was chased by a Mistle Thrush and two Swifts were spotted very high up. Lunch was taken in a field overlooking the calm sea. From the coast path, where we enjoyed the lapping and gurgling of the waves, we saw a Pied Wagtail silhouetted on a rock, a pair of Mallards and two Shelduck flying. Whitethroat, Linnet and Greenfinch were heard and three Mistle Thrushes were on the field leading back towards Walton-in-Gordano. On the path back to the golf club we added Bullfinch and a juvenile Robin. By the end of this picnic walk, half our number had either gone back or walked speedily onwards to Clevedon to fulfil their commitments. My species list was 38. (Once again, many thanks to Judy for leading this walk.) Judy Copeland