Saturday 02 December – Eastville Park Leader: Rich Scantlebury

Five hardy members met, two of whom were new to the club, myself included. This was my first walk with the BOC. The weather was very cold, still and foggy. Frost laden spider webs were in great abundance throughout the morning. With the weather conditions what they were we had to rely on hearing as well as visual identification. The walk began down past Thingwall Park allotments with Carrion Crow, Magpie, Robin and Blue Tits. We reached the Frome Valley Walkway and turned north to find a single Kingfisher, which we were privileged enough to see actually catching fish. For me this was the highlight of the walk., We continued by the river and saw large numbers of Long-tailed Tits feeding in the trees as well as Great Tits. Also, hiding in ivy on a tree trunk was a Goldcrest. Then we turned south towards Eastville Park lake. Here we heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming in the woods, this sound accompanied us around the frozen lake. On the lake were Mute Swan, Mallard, Black-headed Gulls, Moorhen, Coot, a large flock of Feral Pigeons and a Grey Heron. With the cold becoming more bitter we began our return to the start point. Here we were lucky enough to see a couple of Redwings along with Robin, Pied Wagtail and Jay. We also checked the brook for any signs of Dippers, but today they were elusive. A total of 24 species seen. Thanks to Richard for leading. Chris Holloway