Tuesday 28 June – Clevedon/Walton Common

16 of us met in Clevedon in warm sunshine, and walked up the track beside the golf course. A Wren was heard singing and two Coal Tits, a family of three Magpies, a male Bullfinch and a Squirrel were seen, with House Martins flying overhead. Also, a Silver-washed Fritillary butterfly, recently emerged, was found on the undergrowth. There was a Herring Gull on the roof of a house, with a Chaffinch calling on another house and Swallows on an aerial and flying above us. We walked along the long, hedged path beside the Channel – three Blackbirds on the path here, Blackcap and Chiffchaff singing – then across the field at Walton, where Jean was delighted with the large patches of pink Bog Pimpernel. We continued on to the cliff path, with the high tide lapping beside us and around twelve Mallard bobbing along towards Portishead. A Whitethroat was heard and three Wood Pigeons and a Jackdaw were on the rocks. Next we walked towards Walton Common where we heard a Blackbird and a Song Thrush singing. Rain had been forecast for 1300 hrs, so with the sky darkening we ate our lunch on the Common just before the rain arrived ten minutes later than forecast. We managed to see a Marbled White butterfly before we trudged through the rain back to the golf course. 30 species was the total bird count, Ringlet and Meadow Brown butterflies were also seen. (thanks to Judy for leading)                         Judy Copeland