Saturday 11th February 2023 - Newton St Loe.

 


Saturday is usually a stay at home day but this week Mary and myself needed some fresh air and a walk, so chose NSL. We parked by the church and set of via the road as we were unsure how muddy it would be through the field. As we started a Blackbird flew past and on reaching the road to Send a Cow Jackdaws were making a lot of noise in the treetops, a Robin was singing from a shrub and a Herring Gull flew over. A Woodpigeon flew as we approached the cottages where a Collared Dove was on the top of a pole and Goldfinches were on the wires. A Dunnock sang from the top of a bush and Blue and Great Tits were on the feeders.

Dunnock - NSL (Bath Birdwatcher)

 Walking on towards the footpath Magpie and Rooks were spotted. Nothing new for the day was seen until we reached the bottom lake here, even though there were lots of anglers at least 7 Mallard and 2 Moorhens were counted. On the top lake were just 7 more Mallard a very low count for here, but a least another 6 Moorhens were logged. 

Moorhen - NSL (Bath Birdwatcher)

In the Cormorant tree and on the lake were a minimum of 33 Black Headed Gulls and with them were 2 Common Gulls.

Black Headed Gull - NSL (Bath Birdwatcher)

6 Coot was a good count here but Teal numbers had dropped to just 5. 2 Little Grebes was also less than my previous visit. 4 Grey Heron were seen with 1 stood on one of last years nests so hopefully they will breed. The resident pair of Mute Swans were present but for a moment it looked like they were going to fly off but they just flew from the bottom of the lake to the top. The female Tufted Duck was on the far bank and 2 Stock Doves seemed to be prospecting a hole in one of the large trees. We stopped at the Temple for coffee where a Goldcrest was calling from a fir tree and a few Carrion Crows flew over. Walking back past the bottom lake a Song Thrush was singing from one of the trees on the far bank which I eventually managed to find, we heard several others during the morning but only found the one. As we walked back up Butterfly Alley 7 Redwing flew over and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was in a tree calling. Walking Back by the cottages a male Chaffinch and House Sparrows were seen and the last new sighting of the day was when I heard the cronk of a Raven which was flying high over NSL.

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