Tuesday 12 October – Saltford Leader: Robert Hargreaves

We met on a sunny morning but at quarter to ten Graham Blacker, our new Tuesday walks organiser, said he had seen a pair of Little Owls further down Mead Lane. To our delight they were still there. We met later arrivals up on the cycle track over the river. Going on two different routes, the hardy ones through the undergrowth, and the rest by the road we met up again at The Shallows. We took a new route going up the green slope above The Shallows to St Mary’s Church and out through the cemetery, where a Mistle Thrush sang to us. Going into the fields we found some Skylarks, Meadow Pipits, lots of Jays and a Green Woodpecker. Moving back across the cycle track onto Avon Lane the group split up again. While taking a late coffee break we had a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Buzzard and some Starlings. Five stiles later we all met up at Avon Farm, a great place for Long-tailed Tits and a Peregrine. At Swineford weir we saw our first Grey Wagtail, plus some Moorhens. Following the river upstream we saw a Cormorant. Shortly after leaving the river we could look into a pool in the STW where we saw some Mallards and Teal. On to the weir at the ‘Jolly Sailor’ to find the Cormorant again, a Grey Wagtail and another Moorhen. Walking back up Mead Lane we found the Little Owls were still there but now fifty metres apart on the cliff wall, a great bookend to the walk, and two Goldcrest by the cars. 35 species. (Thanks to Robert for leading) Robert Hargreaves