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On a mild calm morning, we set off from the Conham Valley Nature Reserve car park into the broad-leafed woodland which has now replaced the highly industrialised landscape of a previous era. We spotted eight Mallard ducklings and two Treecreepers and then both saw and heard Blackcaps before ascending the 98 steps to the Panoramic

The six of us assembled at the car park on a bright sunny morning which had a chill edge to a brisk northerly wind. Dunnock, Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Greenfinch were singing and we checked out the hillside bushes spotting the Blackcap and Chiffchaffs before moving on up the path through the woodland and onto the

The regulation six met near Newton St Loe’s historic church on a chilly but fair weather morning for our second meeting since slight “lockdown” easing. It was good to welcome Janet and Rosemary to their first Tuesday walk. Starting off to the sound of Greenfinch wheezing our route took us through the churchyard, down the

The statutory six members met up on Sheepway for this walk around the Portbury reserve which had been rescheduled from March. I was concerned that we might now be too late for any of the winter wildfowl and a bit early for many incoming migrants. Having sorted the mix of singing species around the Sheepway

First, the sun shone, second, it was the first Tuesday field meeting following nearly three months of lockdown. It just had to be a good day – we were not disappointed! We walked through Stoke Park where we were welcomed by a cacophony of birdsong – Blackcap, Song Thrush, Chiffchaff, Greenfinch and Great Tit. On

A ‘refreshing’ breeze kept us moving! The water level in the River Frome was high, with the usual Moorhen and Mallard hidden. The trees on the south side of the river had roosting Woodpigeons with a nice flock of Long-tailed Tits tat were bustling along beside us and a couple of Goldcrests; ignoring us even

Chill was in the air at the Park Avenue car park but at least the high winds of the previous night had moved on. As the four in our party gathered, a Sparrowhawk cruised overhead, a Great Spotted Woodpecker was high in a tree down the slope and a Dunnock sang lustily in the vicinity.

Five members walked from Severn Beach to New Passage and Pilning Wetlands and back, taking in the inland Pill. We saw about 300 Wigeon along the shore; Canada Geese, Shelduck, Curlew, Little Egret, Pied Wagtails and Meadow Pipits on the salt marsh; Shovelers, Gadwall, Teal, Tufted Duck, Moorhen, Coot, Little Grebe, 12 Dunlin, Redshank and

I was assigned to the monthly WeBS count on the estuary at Uphill in mid-2016 so I’ve monitored birds there regularly for more than four years. The last thing I expected as we set out for this morning walk was to get not one but TWO “patch ticks” – species I’d never seen there before.

Five members met on a bright and sunny morning eagerly anticipating a good morning’s birding. The local gamekeeper was distributing feed at a small pond which disturbed the birds for us. There was a large group of Mallard and another of Teal, the eventual count for both being 56 and 206 respectively for the morning.