Tuesday 20 August – Priddy Leader: Graham Blacker

Sixteen people set out from Priddy Green rightly optimistic that the rain would stop. We walked up through the churchyard before zigzagging our way towards the Nine Barrows at the top. A few tits and Wrens were calling as we walked up until someone called out a Sparrowhawk overhead. A large flock of Jackdaws and a few Crows and Magpies were spotted and a distant calling Raven. A small patch of woodland gave us a Nuthatch while failing to locate some possible Treecreepers and Bullfinches. Emerging back into the field one Kestrel turned into a family of three. Small numbers of Swallows and House Martins were overhead and crossing the top threw up Meadow Pipits and Skylarks and a flock of 40 plus Herring Gulls with around five Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Some distant brown jobs on a farm building revealed their Wheatear white rumps as they flew off, also sending up a flock of Linnets as they all circled back over us. Dropping back down to the Mineries we disturbed an Adder from the path, an even greater shock was overtaking some walkers, a first for me on a BOC walk. A pond gave us a family of Coots before heading back towards Priddy seeing three female Roe Deer wall hopping, two Tree Pipits, a few Chiffchaffs and
Goldfinches. We thought a Buzzard rounded off the raptors for the day before a great spot whizzing low overhead, a Hobby, probably heading southward. A final bird fly-catching along a hedge top was frustratingly too distant to positively ID but the consensus was a probable Redstart based on the flashes of red as it flitted up. Excluding this the bird count was 29. (Thanks to Graham for leading) Ian Price