Tuesday 10th January 2023 - Slimbridge

 

Today the 3 Amigos were due to do a Recce at Nags Head in preparation for our RSPB field trip next Saturday, but because of the weather this had to be postponed so we decided to spend the day at Slimbridge. We did not do much spotting on the way, but a Pheasant caught our eye, so it was sighting no1. Driving down the road from the village to the car park Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, and Mute Swan were all seen, and in the car park Jackdaw, Lapwing, Golden Plover, Shelduck and 2 Cranes flew over. Once in the grounds Moorhen, Rook and flyover Skylark, Curlew and Woodpigeon were soon ticked. 1st top was the Peng Observatory here were plenty of Bewick’s Swans and it was great to see so many with cygnets something that had not been so obvious in the past. Also seen here were Pochard, Tufted Duck, Canada Geese, Feral Pigeon, and Greylag Geese. We also saw Magpie, Coot, Mallard, Teal, and Pintail.

Pintail - Bath Birdwatcher

As we sat drinking coffee a flock of 100+ Starlings flew overhead and doing a final search before moving on a Herring Gull was noted. Nothing new until we reached the Martin Smith Hide here, we found Redshank, Wigeon, White-Fronted Geese, Dunlin and Black Tailed Godwit. Moving on our next new sighting was a Great Spotted Woodpecker that we watched fly into a tree. At the Willow hide Blue and Great Tits were on the feeders with Dunnock and House Sparrows on the ground, and as we watched a Water Rail appeared from the undergrowth.


Water Rail - Bath Birdwatcher

The new Estuary Tower was the next stop but because of the rain and wind it was difficult to use the telescopes so only added Shoveler and Raven to the days list. Lunch was calling so on the way back to the car we stopped again at the Willow Hide to have another look at the Water Rail and while there a second bird momentarily popped out of the undergrowth and pooped back in again. We also saw Robin and Wren. While having lunch in the car we added Collared Dove to the days list. After lunch we headed for the South Hide and here we added Avocet, Mistle Thrush, Cormorant, and Common Gull to the days total. Time to head through the grounds to Zeiss and while walking David spotted a female Sparrowhawk and from Zeiss we saw the male. We also found the Ross Goose of unknown originality, while watching 7 more Crane flew in adding to the 3 that were already there. As there was nothing new to be found we decided to head home and walking back through the grounds we came across a flock of Goldfinch in the birch trees and Bryan spotted a couple of Siskins with them, a nice find as some years we don’t find any. On the return journey I added Carrion Crow that I had missed earlier.

Sleeping Pintail, Teal and Mallard - Bath Birdwatcher


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