Tuesday 6 August – Frampton Cotterell

A return to warm sunny weather welcomed the eighteen members who set off from the Globe in Frampton Cotterell. House Sparrows and Jackdaws accompanied us as we approached the adjacent meadows which had been refreshed by the previous days rain. The first section of the walk took us in the direction of Iron Acton alongside a very narrow River Frome where a flyover of Goldfinches and a startled Green Woodpecker were the best of the early sightings. The pre-coffee break highlight for some of the group, however, was the slow procession across a gap between two trees of a flock of Blue, Great and some 16 Long-tailed Tits. We left the stream and moved along hedgerows where Bullfinch were seen and a family of warblers flitted around, eventually being identified as Willow Warblers. Moving uphill we skirted horse fields, corn fields and hay meadows where Swallows and House Martins zoomed around in the warm conditions. Two Swifts were also spotted. There were several sightings of a Buzzard which proved to be the only raptor of the day. Mention must be made of the multitude of butterflies encountered particularly the abundance of the Large and Small White variety (100+). Others identified include Comma, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Small Copper, Peacock and the once common Small Tortoiseshell. As to the birds, 27 species were noted. Thanks to Peter for leading a very pleasant walk.