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Eighteen of us met at Steart Marshes for a cold frosty start with icy puddles and partially frozen lagoons. We covered a three mile loop showing off some of the best bits of the marshes. Highlights included seeing a Water Rail, a Little Stint, the odd Snipe and best of all, one ‘mega’ for most

After a cold night with rain and a sprinkling of snow, 28 people gathered on a bright, sunny, but cold morning. The Three Brooks Nature Reserve was, for me, a completely new location. Though surrounded by roads, houses and the M4, it is a surprising natural oasis. We set off northwards through a muddy Savage’s

Over 20 of us gathered in the car park. The first excitement was a sighting of a female Merlin which had been around for a week or so preying on the Snipe. The duck numbers were good, with Teal and Wigeon making up the majority. A little searching revealed a small group of Pintail, but

Five adventurous birders ignored the amber weather warnings to meet at Slimbridge for the first BOC gathering of 2025. We made a dry start in the Peng Observatory where we had excellent views of beautiful Pintail and many noisy Bewick’s Swans. In the Rushy hide we managed to get brilliant views of a Spoonbill feeding,

Thirty-four of us gathered on a mild, blustery but dry day for a very enjoyable walk to bring in the New Year, with a new route and new leader. Caron had negotiated the route with a local farmer, and told us lots of interesting details about the area, including the Battle of Hinton fought in

A dozen members met for the Christmas Eve walk on a day that was initially grey but got gradually brighter. We paused at the church to see the ‘Slave Grave’, then walked up the broad ride seeing a Song Thrush and two Jays. Coal Tits were singing their slurred two tone call in the treetops.

Sixteen birders set off from the nature reserve entrance on a dull, slightly drizzly day, but the rain soon stopped. A flock of 19 Long-tailed Tits were seen at the start. We walked along the edge of a field with a Magpie and a Blackbird in the grass, while hearing a Song Thrush singing from

Twelve of us met at Herriotts, with some faces that were new to me. ‘Good to meet you’. As we arrived the start of a mostly blue sky opened up. In the hour we spent there, we found nine Shelducks, 20 Shovelers, three Pintails, 40 Teals, twelve Pochards, two Water Rails, 25 Lapwings, 80 Cormorants,

Thirty-one members met at the Riverside pub car park for a somewhat cold and windy walk along the Shallows of the River Avon, with a higher ground option for those who didn’t mind braving the muddy hill. Despite having less than ideal conditions, there was plenty to see – 29 species in total, including fifty

A fresh morning, with disappearing mist suggested a sunny day, but this never quite materialised and the 16 of us had pleasant enough light cloud and fair visibility. Immediately a Kestrel flew into a nearby ash tree, but that was the only real interest for the first mile or so through the terracing, buddle pits