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 As the rain poured down on my arrival I wondered whether there would be anyone else there. I shouldn’t have doubted. BOC members are made of tough stuff! Nine appeared, well kitted out for the weather and we were soon in the shelter of the hides. The Tack Piece and Dumbles were full of water

 As my record book’s crinkled pages attest it was wet when we set out. Our first birds were a party of four male Blackbirds at a standoff atop a TV aerial. Nothing delicate could survive the roaring, white topped water as it dived under the bridge, although a Mallard pair had found sanctuary in a

 We were lucky to enjoy a fine bright morning for our walk from Heron’s Green at CVL over Breach Hill past Ubley Hatchery and back along the lanes to CVL, a total distance of nearly five miles. The views over Blagdon Lake were lovely and the mixed habitats of water, fields and woods made for

 35 members set off on a grey but very mild morning from the car park of the Fleur de Lys in Pucklechurch, soon to be joined by a 36th member, who had cycled from the centre of Bristol. This is always a slightly shorter walk than our usual Tuesday ones so we can be back

 Twelve members met at the Newbridge Sluice north of the village of North Curry. This was a new location for a Club field meeting on a different part of the Somerset Levels than normally visited. We commenced the walk along the southern bank of the River Tone giving extensive views of the surrounding area. Mixed

 What has not been said about this national resource?! We 22 set out – not for us the duck or goose preservation ponds – but into raw boned and wild, windy bird hides. We had to break ourselves in slowly – the luxury and heating of the Peng observatory was just the job. From behind

Eight BOC members were joined by a couple of local birders to explore the Torbay area and surroundings. Having met on the front at Paignton, we made straight for the Clennon Valley (an inland park area with woodland and ponds) to find a Yellow-browed Warbler that had been in this sheltered valley for a couple

 A cold, dry morning saw 30 members gather at the Salthouse car park. A Jay was flitting around the play area with two Pied Wagtails and, from the vantage points on Poet’s Walk, Oystercatchers and Redshanks were quickly picked out. Teal, Dunlin, Common Sandpiper, Shelduck and beautifully camouflaged Turnstones put in an appearance on the

 After a cold and misty start, 17 birdwatchers met for what turned out to be a very enjoyable morning in brilliant sunshine. Although good numbers of estuary birds, such as Teal, Wigeon and Dunlin were seen, most interest was generated by the variety and number of passerines around the site. These included two Stonechats, a

 It was a brilliantly sunny morning and there was still a lot of very colourful leaves on some trees, but the blustery northwest wind made the 18 members glad they had (mostly!) come clad in cold weather gear. The decision to make this a “reservoir only” walk was surely the right one – standing water