Tuesday 17 May – Stoke Park Estate

We set off from Snuff Mills Car Park under a broken sky which gradually became more cloudy as the morning progressed. Initially there was little to get excited about, Blackcap and Goldcrest could be heard, the River Frome hosted a solitary Heron and Mallard and a squirrel breakfasted on a bird table in an adjacent garden, oblivious to his audience. After passing through Stapleton Village and over the M32 a steep climb brought us to Purdown where we were treated to a hovering Kestrel, Swallows and a significant number of darting Swifts, not to mention stunning views over the city. After the coffee break we crossed fields containing lots of Corvids and dog walkers and on into a wood which proved to be the most productive area of the walk. A Greater Spotted Woodpecker flew across as we approached the trees. In the wood a Song Thrush sang, Coal Tit called, Greenfinches and a family of Long-tailed Tits shared the same tree and we all had a great view of a pair of Nuthatches repeated delivering food into a nesting hole (Nick pointed out that mud was clearly visible around the entrance, introduced to narrow the size). On leaving the wood a Chiffchaff showed well for some of the group. Our return to the car park took us past Duchess Pond where we added Whitethroat, Moorhen, Coot and Canada Geese. Nineteen of us were on parade and 36 species were recorded. Thanks to Rich Scantlebury for leading and for imparting his local knowledge. John Lees