Thirteen persons attended this field trip, braving the showers. The group walked up Hodder’s Combe and saw and heard male Pied Flycatchers and heard Common Redstart. A family of Treecreepers was seen with two juveniles with flecked plumage on the back and wings. The route took us up Slaughterhouse Combe and we heard our first Wood Warbler and soon after we saw and heard a second singing from the mid zone and allowing reasonable views. Near the top of the Combe, a female Common Redstart perched on a tree next to us and then entered a nest hole. Reaching the crest of the heath we observed eleven female and juvenile Red Deer and then walked along the path to Bicknoller Post, passing several families of Stonechats on the way.
Nearing the Post, we were pleased to see a singing male Dartford Warbler and close by a further pair were observed at a possible nest site. After admiring the views towards Minehead and Hinckley, we descended via Lady’s Edge. We heard a Cuckoo calling and were delig hted to see a pair and on close looking at the photos it looks as if the second bird was a female, though perhaps greyer than some. On the way down we were interested to see the botany of the acidic seeps and saw Round-leaved Sundew and Common Lousewort. Lower down we heard our third Wood Warbler and had great views of a male Pied Flycatcher entering one of the nest boxes. Overall, we saw nine Pied Flycatchers, and all were male. Total species observed was 41. (Thanks to Robin for leading) Robin Martin