Tuesday 16 April – Kings Wood and Wavering Down

The weather was wet, grey and gloomy. Thirteen hardy souls set off on what turned out to be a lovely walk in a
variety of habitats. In total, 37 different species were seen, most notably a Redstart. Leaving the National Trust
car park behind us, we journeyed upwards along the Mendip Way towards Wavering Down, through woodlands.
A Sparrowhawk flew over and we saw Blue Tit, Great Tit, Blackcap and later four Nuthatches and two
Treecreepers, Willow Warblers, Robin, Song Thrush and Swallows. The birdsong was both loud and plentiful – a
joy to the ear! A Stonechat perched above us, watching our ascent to the ‘summit’, where we had a much
needed coffee stop. The rain subsided and it was slowly becoming a nice day. Five Linnets were feeding on the
grass not far from us and soon after we set off again Nick startled a large group of Carrion Crows and seven
Ravens when he peered over a wall at their gathering. We continued downhill, accompanied by Willow Warblers,
Chiffchaffs, Wrens, more Swallows, Meadow Pipit and we saw a Green Woodpecker in the distance perching in
the open on a bare tree. We then had our star bird of the day … a male Redstart. Other birds observed included
a large flock of Linnet perched high up and some Meadow Pipit. The weather continued to improve and our walk
went on longer than originally intended but nobody minded because we’d had a most enjoyable time. Thank you
Clive for a lovely walk. Peter Trippier