Tuesday 27 August – Barrow Gurney Leader: Graham Blacker

On a slightly grey Tuesday morning, with a balmy southerly wind, 19 BOC members including two new recruits met in a car park in Barrow Gurney. As we set off the sighting of the day flew straight towards, and over, us; a Marsh Harrier! With plenty of Swallows and Martins around, we set off uphill and a squirrel amused us with its high wire trapeze act along a power line. At great risk to the membership, we crossed the A38, then spotted flocks of Canada Geese, Starlings and Rooks, and then the second-best sighting of the day; a Hobby. Dropping down through a grass crop, a flock of Greenfinch flew past, and we arrived on the outside of the upper Barrow tank, showing the
usual ducks and gulls, Great Crested and Little Grebe, Cormorants, and in the distance, Wagtails, both Pied and Grey. We skirted round the tank, a Raven flew nearby, and Buzzard and Chiffchaff were regularly heard. A Dunnock was spotted on a dungheap of gargantuan proportions, but the number of birds was now diminishing so it was some relief to come across a feeder with Chaffinch, tits, and a nearly adult Robin. After an even more horrendous crossing of the A38, we found ourselves immersed, totally, in a dense high crop of maize covering our route (we continued
through it; no birds were seen, but no members were lost, or so we believed). Easier walking  followed, then a stubble field where there were numerous gulls and corvids on the ground, groups of Swallows, Starlings and Rooks on wires, and Skylarks singing – life was back to normal after the monoculture hell. 41 birds, a lovely, scenic, walk, with some unusual excitement, so many thanks to Graham for leading and Alan for the bird list. John Skinner