Tuesday 20 August – New Passage and Pilning Wetlands Leader: Jane Cumming

A great turn out for this morning’s high tide walk – people came and went a bit, but if you count them all there were 41 attendees altogether, still well beaten by the species count of 59. We started at New Passage corner, looking along the tideline where a large flock of Ringed Plover and Dunlin with a handful of Turnstones were hanging on to the last remaining pebble bank as the tide started to flow over it. The distant roost held Oystercatcher, Curlew and a few Shelducks. Amongst hundreds of Canada Geese was one Greylag (perhaps ‘George’ from Portishead boating lake) and a pair of Bar-headed Geese (probably the ones that summered at Portbury Pools). A single Wheatear was out on the short grass with them. Next, we walked along the Severn Way towards the pools, checking the marsh for pipits and wagtails, and were rewarded with a Meadow Pipit and a juvenile Yellow Wagtail with half a dozen Pieds and possibly a White Wagtail but it was unconfirmed and quickly lost. A juvenile Green Woodpecker showed well in the paddock on the right, and some lucky people saw a Kingfisher flying up the pill. At the pools we found another wader flock, this one holding the Black-tailed Godwits and Redshanks, and ten Lapwings got up from distant fields. The ‘grebe pool’ held the expected three Little Grebes and a single Tufted Duck in eclipse, and, of course, lots of Gadwall and Coot. A Teal or two sprung up and flew off, and we also noted Grey Heron, Little Egret, Buzzard and all three hirundines. Pride of place though was the skirmish between two Peregrines, with subsequent sightings of both Kestrel and Hobby – a fine falcon morning. (Many thanks to Jane for leading all those people!) Jane Cumming