Field trip reports

It drizzled most of the day and the target species – Bearded Tit – was absent… but all in all eleven walkers had a great day out in Wales. The walk started well with House Sparrow, Cetti’s Warbler and Chiffchaff in the scrub along the lane to the visitor centre. The feeders there were alive with Greenfinch and below the raised walkway Coot juveniles, while pestering their parents, were calling in a most Water Rail fashion. As we approached the hot spot for Bearded Tits, the rain intensified. It deterred them, but not the Sedge Warblers, who hung from the top of the reed stalks long enough to be seen by all. The river was very high so only Shelduck were showing and, for the lucky few, a Wheatear. A sit in the hide for coffee allowed us to see Little Grebe with two tiny chicks and some Tufted Duck busily diving and one acting as though it was a decoy. Cuckoo was heard in the distance and as we went through the wood Blackcap and Willow Warbler sang. Beneath the pylons we had great views of Reed Buntings, Whitethroat, and House Martins who were weaving between the reed stalks, well below the seed heads. A group went on after lunch to the Goldcliff reserve and were lucky enough to see Little Ringed and Ringed 13 Plovers. The rest returned to the reserve to “twitch” the Woodchat Shrike that had been reported in the RSPB centre log as ‘A cracking little bird’. (It was!) We all met up at Goldcliff and from the first hide we saw Avocet, and Oystercatcher – both seen to be nesting, some very acrobatic Lapwing and ten (final count) Dunlin, all with the rich dark bellies of their summer plumage. As we plunged out of the hide into the heavier rain a Cuckoo disappeared southward pursued by angry Chaffinch. The day ended with a total of 57. Thanks to Peter Holbrook for co-leading.

Seventeen members met in this beautiful Oxfordshire reserve on a sunny, warm morning. The walk started brilliantly in the car park with a Cuckoo calling, the distant purring of a Turtle Dove and the song of Willow Warblers, Blackcaps and a Garden Warbler. The reserve is a mosaic of wet meadows, and reed bed together with some hedges and mature trees and there are extensive big, wide-open sky views. Raptors then put on a good show with Red Kite, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and Hobby all performing well. As we approached one of the mature trees another Turtle Dove began calling. Whether it was a master of camouflage or a ventriloquist, despite standing only a few yards from the bird, it remained unseen. We walked beside a ditch which was fringed with a small amount of reed. Small it may have been but good enough to give all a wonderful close view of a female Bearded Tit, with accompanying “pinging”. Also seen and heard were Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler and Reed Bunting. The rattle of a Lesser Whitethroat was new for some and a Common Whitethroat was seen and heard for comparison. Bullfinch, Linnet, Stock Dove, Little Egret and Redshank were all noted and Common Terns were flying close by. About fifty four species were encountered during the morning including nine species of warbler.

The ‘Save Our Pub’ sign made a good perch for a Blackbird; let’s hope it works as well for the pub! Rain had fallen; the grey skies were thinning so we eleven set out with light hearts. House Sparrow, Robin, and Woodpigeon our sightings before a plunge down into Horsecombe Vale where the ‘squeaky wheel’ sound of Goldcrest mixed with that of Blackcap. A Greenfinch offered us his ‘zizzing’ call, a Great Spotted Woodpecker ‘chipped’ and a busy Nuthatch gathered a beak full and flew down the hill to its waiting family. A lone Jay flashed across a clearing, in the bottoms Chiffchaff sang, and by the time we reached the waterworks at Tucking Mill, Blue Tit and a Green Woodpecker had regaled us with their calls. The newly laid bed of the old Somerset and Dorset railway had plenty of human traffic – off to explore the newly opened tunnels. There was little avian life until the end, near to our start along the line of the Somerset Coal Canal where Swallows skimmed over the meadows, House Martins along the hedges and above them all, Swifts. The hovering Kestrel made a dark black cross against the blueing sky and a circling Buzzard joined the raptor count, while down on the grass, a Pied Wagtail leapt and fluttered catching beakfuls of newly hatched insects. A Long-tailed Tit was spied in the bushes and a Bullfinch called but, try as we might, no sighting, unlike a Song Thrush which sang from his favourite pitch with great gusto. Before our final climb up the Limestone Link an obliging Yellowhammer sang from his concealment behind the thickest of hedges, only occasionally finishing his song with ‘and no cheese’. The Chaffinches made themselves very obvious as did two male Pheasants trying to share the favours of several females. A tally of 31 species was seen and big ‘thank you’ to David Body for leading.

Due to the weather the annual BBQ was cancelled. Many thanks to Hazel and John for the invitation to invade their cottage garden. Good news – three Nightingales are singing in Lower Woods, the same number as last year.

Before we started our evening walk through Lower Woods there was a Treecreeper calling at the car park. The woods resounded with birdsong, made particularly difficult to identify by the Song Thrushes, which could be heard at all points on our walk. By the stream we saw a Spotted Flycatcher. This is the first time I have spent more time studying the flowers, including Wood Anemone, Violet, Primrose, Bluebell, Ramsons, Early Purple Orchid, Lesser Celandine, Cuckoo Flower and Cowslip than watching birds. Only once did I look up to see and hear a Nuthatch. We climbed out of the valley to have great views of Swallows, House Martins and Swifts flying over the fields. As it grew dusky a Tawny Owl called and then as the Song Thrushes went quiet we could hear three Nightingales singing. We had an excellent woodland walk with 21 species seen. Many thanks to Hazel for leading and knowing the best spot for Nightingales.

26 members met at Natural England’s Shapwick Heath car park on the first hot day of the year. In the morning we walked towards Noah’s Lake but the way was barred as the bridge to Meare Hide had been removed for maintenance and the main path closed just before the lake. After a picnic lunch in the car park we headed towards the RSPB Ham Wall reserve. Altogether 50 species were recorded during the day with the highlights being a Garden Warbler and a Cetti’s Warbler singing in view, a pair of Great White Egrets getting ‘cosy’, a pair of Marsh Harriers soaring over the reed bed, up to 15 Hobbies feeding on the wing in one group, a flock of eleven Bar-tailed Godwits in summer plumage and a Cuckoo calling and posing on a branch close to the path. A brilliant hot day birding.

To help with birdsong recognition, Judy was persuaded by Alison to lead this meeting ,but in fact the best birder in the group was Luca, a young Italian who had picked up the meeting from our website -as had Lucile, a young French girl. With Brenda and Stephen, who also travelled by bus, we six made up the entire party. It was blustery with showers, but sheltered within the woods, where there was abundant birdsong and we constantly had to stop to identify the variety of songs and sounds heard. Two Stock Doves were seen perched on a bare tree trunk and also heard –which delighted Luca as he had not heard the call before as they only winter in Italy. Blue Tits, Great Tits and Coal Tits flitted about, together with one Long-tailed Tit, but not the Marsh Tit which had been seen by the mill on the recce two days previously. Several loud Blackcaps sang, but only one was seen; a Green Woodpecker laughed in the distance and Luca heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming. A Grey Wagtail flitted down the stream and there was a Mallard pair on the pond. As we scaled the steps to the Folly, we had a glimpse of a Raven, and a Nuthatch lurked in the bushes in full song. At the end of the walk, we saw two Mistle Thrushes; one of which obligingly landed and serenaded us with its song.  Other songsters included Chiffchaff, Song Thrush, Goldcrest, Robin and Blackbird, and a screeching Jay, which together with the other usual culprits seen around Blaise, brought our total up to 25 species.  This was a pleasant morning in a wonderful habitat right on our doorstep and an extremely useful session in identifying bird song in the field.

It was cold but dry and 29 birders, having placed lunch orders, left the ‘White Horse’ to meander around the many footways of the area. Not surprisingly, Mallard seen on Bradley Brook was first on our list of 22 species, which included Siskin, Skylark, Grey Wagtail and Fieldfare. Green Woodpecker put in a few calls as we walked across Bury Fort and Buzzard and Magpie also put in a brief appearance there. Ransom’s garlic scented the air beside the River Frome where a coffee stop was made and two members provided some delicious nibbles. There were 24 birders in the pub for lunch and a presentation by the ‘Princes’ was made to our outgoing super-organiser, Peter Holbrook.

With a trusty co-leader like Duncan and 30 enthusiastic walkers we were all set for a brisk trot around this four and a half mile bird walk. From the playgroup school – where three male Blackbirds chased and squabbled, we crossed the village green to find Mistle Thrushes fighting in the trees, Jackdaws all cosy in pairs and Greenfinches singing lustily from atop the, as yet, budless trees. Along Roach’s Lane where the feeders at Corner House were rich in tits and finches, and the trees above us were filled with the sound of chattering Starlings and the soft ‘chuck chuck’ of Fieldfares. They duly lifted off and flew to a single leafless Oak, displaying themselves to us allowing an inspection of size and posture differences. Along the beginning of the Seven Mile Plantation our first raptor of the day, a Buzzard, was perched on a wall, and we enjoyed our coffee break, soaking up the warm sun. Along the first half of the airstrip, we descended to cross the stream where a bright male Yellowhammer showed his canary-colouring to the whole party. As we walked towards Little Badminton several more were seen, along with Fieldfares, Jackdaws and Starlings. Our second and final raptor, a male Kestrel, alighted on the power lines and then flew off towards the American Barn. In the Deer Park, by its northern entrance, we passed the lake where a 14 pair of Canada Geese took to the water and about 150 Common Gulls were at roost on the grass beyond. The final stretch was through the stables and past the kennels, where a lively couple of male Greenfinches called and sang in their best circular swivel-hipped courtship dance, trying desperately to win the favours of the four or five females in the audience. Our tally of 28 species was, alas, missing some we might have expected to see at this time of year and, with the benefit of previous visits, had hoped to: no Chiffchaffs, no Woodpeckers, no Owls, no Ducks, but still, a lovely morning to be out birding.

Ten members met in the car park in the pretty village of Cwm Ivy where a Jay, Green Woodpecker and Coal Tits were spotted to give the day a flying start. The weather was perfect being sunny with no wind and, although a little cold, it warmed up pleasantly as the day went on. The descent to the woods turned up a Treecreeper, Wrens, Siskins and Goldcrests. Emerging from the woods on to the sand dunes we were delighted with Skylarks, Meadow Pipits and Stonechats. We then proceeded to the beach where there were Sanderling, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, a large flock of Oystercatchers, Curlew, and Common Gulls; spectacular numbers of Brent Geese gaggled away to each other. Lunch was taken overlooking the estuary towards Burry Port and Llanelli with a backdrop of the snow-covered Black Mountain. How lucky we were to be eating our lunch watching Eider and Red-breasted Mergansers with a few Turnstones thrown in for good measure. It was back through the wood where a Raven, Song Thrush and Long-tailed Tits were spotted. The path over the marsh was quite wet but walking under the trees to our ascent up the hill revealed more Goldcrests and Robins. Forty-two species were recorded for the day. Thank you to Roger for leading a perfect birding day.