Bath Birdwatcher

  July started very well with a good catch on the 2 nd with 45 moths caught of 23 species with both Poplar and Privet Hawk Moths appearing, a Green Pug was a good catch as was an Elderberry Pearl. It was the 9 th when I next trapped this time 68 moths of 24 species with a Barred Marble and Small Phoenix being stand out species. 2 days later on the 11 th I had 56 moths of 24 species, a Single Dotted Wave and a Coronet were nice to see. On the 14 th I had 102 moths which as you can imagine took ages to sort Bird Cherry Ermines and Garden Grass Veneers made up of more than 50% of the catch, a Meal Moth was a new moth for me, and Beautiful Hook Tip   and Small Blood Vein welcome catches. The 16 th brought another 100+ count Small Grey and Brown Elm Bell being new catches and Knot Grass and Grey Dagger being unusual. On the 18 th another 100+ catch where Clouded Border, Peppered Moth  and Common Purple and Gold all new moths. The 21 st July proved to be extremely produc...

  Another chance to visit NSL as my wife and my brother’s wife wanted to have a walk in the countryside so we met at the church for a couple of hour stroll. The first bird of the day was a Lesser Black Back Gull sat on the flag pole on top of the church soon followed by a Wren as we walked through the field. On the road a Robin was singing from a bush and Jackdaws were flying around. Walking towards Send a Cow Blue and Great Tits were seen. From Butterfly Alley 5 Grey Heron were sat by the stream and 2 Moorhens were in the field. Still a lot of water coming through the lakes. overflow from bottom lake-NSL(Bath Birdwatcher)  On the bottom lake was a single Black Headed Gull and another 3 Moorhens plus 6 Mallards. A Woodpigeon was sat in a tree opposite and a Blackbird was on the bankside. Carrion Crows flew over. On the top lake 2 Cormorants were in their favorite tree and another 3 Grey Herons were seen on of which seems to be building a nest on the top of a tree above the f...

  Just a half day walk today to Newton St Loe. Parking at the Farm Shop we noted a Magpie as we drove in. Walking towards the church David spotted a male Blackcap in a bush opposite the post office along with several House Sparrows, Jackdaws were flying over and a Blue Tit was in a tree. Before we turned into the road which heads to the church we noticed a footpath that headed towards the Globe here we saw Dunnock and Great Tit, the path led into a field where a Pheasant and Jay were seen. The rookery by the Globe was full of Rooks and a large tree contained a few Woodpigeons, a Blackbird flew along the hedgerow and a Buzzard and a few Herring Gulls were spotted flying in the distance. All the time we could hear a Song Thrush but was unable to find it until it flew into an ivy covered tree where it was seen by everyone. Continuing through the church yard into the field beyond a Lesser Black Back Gull flew over and as we walked to the road to Send a Cow 2 Mistle Thrushes flew away a...

  The year started with us all in lockdown so the only thing we could do was garden watch or see what was about on the local exercise walk. Up to 30 th March I managed only 39 species instead of the near 100 by the end of January most years, so a lot of catching up was needed. The garden list was mainly what you would expect, but to make things more interesting I counted the maximum number of each species seen not on the same day but in the 3 month period. 20 House Sparrow could easily have been more but as they dashed from the hedge to the feeders and back it was hard to keep exact numbers, 7 Magpies was a large count but must have been more than one group as they bickered and chased each other all of the time. Blackcap was a bird seen most days, on some days more than 1 bird was seen with 2 female and 1 male and on another occasion 2 male were seen so overall at least 4 different birds visited. Another rare visitor for me is Chaffinch with a female bird seen also a male on one o...

  This blog is slightly later than normal as I have had trouble with my laptop, and it’s been in the menders for a new screen but now all up and running. The last walk Tuesday 8 th February took the 3 Amigos to Burnett, where we had been told was a large flock of finches including Brambling a species I have not seen since 2019 so it would be great to get this one on our year list. We parked in the village but had no idea where the birds had been sighted, but I had received a message on a WhatsApp birding sight which made no sense to me although David realised it was a what3words location. Realising this I was able to download the app which duly marked the spot where the birds had been seen. As the app was new to us all we were still unsure exactly how to use it, so we set off back to the main road logging Collared Dove, Blackbird, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow and Jackdaw. We were getting no closer to the location, so we returned to the car and set off in the opposite directi...

  This week’s trip for the 3 Amigos took us to Oldbury Power Station, an ex-nuclear power station which is currently being decommissioned. This is a first for me as I have never been here before. On the way a Buzzard was spotted sat in a field and a Pheasant was seen later again in a field and as we approached Oldbury another ran across the road in front of us, so you can see why so many get run over every year. Parking in the visitor’s car park, we had no idea what was the best way to go but in the far right hand corner of the car park was a footpath that we decided to follow. Magpie and Carrion Crow were soon noted, and a few Goldfinch flew into the top of a tree with a Chaffinch in another. All went quiet until we reached a scrubby area where David heard and found a Bullfinch but when looking we noted 9 were present, a great find and one of the largest flocks I have ever seen. Bullfinch-Oldbury(bath Birdwatcher) A Sparrowhawk drifted over, and the 1 st of many Blackbirds flew o...