Tuesday 08 November – Bristol City Docks Leader Alan Craddock

And the Lord said unto Noah.… “ 26 birdwatchers shall thy take and shelter from the driving rains beneath the canopy of We the Curious for oh, 20 minutes or so, before they shall venture forth around the dockside of olde Bristol towne”. And lo, the rain did abate and we set off bravely. We were accompanied by Amanda Tuke of Birdwatching magazine who had recently done a piece on birding in Southend-on-Sea and was looking to do something similar on the Bristol scene. Given the weather and time of year it was fairly quiet, mostly Feral Pigeons and Herring gulls in the basin, though we did spot a couple of Collared Doves. A Mute Swan, Mallards, Moorhens and Cormorants made up the naval contingent as we wandered on. Due to the late start, the coffee stop was delayed, causing great consternation until we finally came to rest at the old tobacco-bonded warehouses by the New Cut. A Grey Wagtail and numerous Black-headed Gulls were spotted on the River Avon as we made our turn for home. The stars of the day were a couple of Peregrines who made a brief fly-by over the Cumberland Basin and then headed off into the distance towards Clifton and the Gorge. Nick kindly led a break-off group up Brandon Hill, where all the smaller birds were hiding, Blue Tit, Goldcrest, Wren, Starling, Blackbird, Robin, Goldfinch and Dunnock making up the numbers, whilst the rest of us headed home. 24 species in total.
(Thanks to Alan for leading.) Alan Craddock