Were the five members who braved the heavy traffic on the first school holiday weekend foolhardy, or did the hope of New Forest specialities make up for the lengthy drive? Well, we did have two distant views of Goshawk although the wished for Honey Buzzard failed to appear. Spotted Flycatchers performed well as did the
July 23, 2019
A very hot day. I was surprised that 21 walkers came for a picnic walk and that only three people broke away to finish early. The first bird was a Magpie, followed by a party of mixed tits and Chiffchaff, with a Raven at the top of a pylon sounding off every few seconds. A
Twelve BOC members attended this walk around Marshfield on a thankfully dry evening. From Tanners Close we crossed the A420 and immediately had Pied Wagtail and Crow in the field and a group of Starlings perched on the distant overhead wire. As we went along the lane, we were treated to the song of our
Another baking hot day. 22 people set off across Clevedon Golf Course, pausing to let the golfers do their thing before we arrived at the cottages, where we found Swallows, House Sparrows, a Pied Wagtail and a Collared Dove. Once we got to the path leading to and along the estuary, we heard the first
The walk goes from the car park by the old quarry, along the Combe then climbing to the top of the limestone escarpment, a short detour round Warren House and then a descent through the woods, passing the ancient settlement at Cleeve Toot. The morning started with a family of Green Woodpeckers flying over the
July 7, 2019
22 members assembled at Cannop Ponds on a dry but humid evening. We crossed the causeway, passing a Pied Wagtail family on the picnic tables. Inspecting the top pond we saw a Common Sandpiper perching at the far end. Also on the pond were a Lesser Black-backed Gull, Little Grebe, Coot, Moorhen, Mandarin, Tufted Duck,
32 members set off – and another three did a same location/different route walk owing to a late arrival! It was one of those perfect English summer mornings, blue sky with lots of cumulus clouds, cool breeze, temperatures just right (unless you like it tropical). However, during the first half hour it did seem to
On a glorious summer morning nine members met at Webbers Post and drove on down across the ford to spend a couple of hours in the cool of the valley floor exploring Horner Wood. Flycatchers were very difficult to locate, with just one glimpse of a probable Pied, but we did find Dipper, Grey Wagtail,
June 25, 2019
A good count of walkers today (17), which considering the very low cloud and the final tally of 32 species was not bad either. Whitethroat was the first song we heard and having played the CD with the volume up in the car, we all had our ears tuned to hear the subsequent nine others.
24 birders met on a fine but overcast morning and set off through the village of Hinton Blewitt. House Martins, Jackdaws and House Sparrows and a Pied Wagtail carrying food were seen along with a displaying Collared Dove. Rain started as we crossed the fields in which Meadow Brown butterflies were seen. The sound of