Bath Birdwatcher

  As I have mentioned many times before, if the weather is iffy then Chew Valley Lake is the only option where birds can be spotted in relatively comfortable conditions, if wooden benches is comfort, then yes but at least you are in out of the rain. Well Tuesday was one of those days that started dry but it soon turned wet and windy, so Chew was the perfect location. We even managed a short walk in the dry at the end of the day. Heading for Chew we spotted 3 corvid species Carrion Crow, Rook and Magpie, and once at Chew on the pond were Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Shoveler, Teal, Pintail, Shelduck and Black Headed Gull. Overhead and swooping low over the water were both House and Sand Martins. The water level was higher than the previous week which we think was the reason we saw no species of wading bird but in the shallower water were Gadwall, and Lesser Black Back Gull, David had his spotting eyes on today and his first find was a Hobby followed by a Stock Dove and then...

  This week is the 1 st time since the 8 th of August that the 3 Amigos have been able to get out together due to other commitments so we were looking forward to a good day, the weather was looking a bit iffy so good old Chew Valley Lake was chosen as we are able to shelter in the hides or bird spot from the car if needed. Heading to our 1 st stop at Herriotts we noted Jackdaw, Woodpigeon and Starling and on arrival the pond was full of birds but our first sighting was a Marsh Harrier that scattered most of the gulls as it flew over but they soon settled down. Mallard, Moorhen, Canada Goose and Coot were all on the dam wall with a Carrion Crow on the outlet. On the pond were Shoveler, Teal, Pintail and Snipe. The shallower part of the pond had 3 Snipe and 4 Green Sandpipers plus several species of gulls including Black Headed, Herring, Great and Lesser Black Back Gull plus a juvenile Yellow Legged Gull also a scattering of Gadwall now in full plumage.  Gadwall (Bath Birdwat...

  A few of the moths I have caught since early August:- The bottom 2 are Pied Smudge and August Thorn (Bath Birdwatcher) The very small moths are called micros and some are difficult to identify not like the larger (macro) moths. Here are a few examples. Dingy Dowd (Bath Birdwatcher) Large yellow underwing moth is very common this time of the year and outnumbers all other moth in the trap its quite a big moth with a wingspan of 42-52mm. I have regularly had 20+ in the trap and 45 being my highest count. (Bath Birdwatcher) Another moth that is very common this time of the year is Square Spot Rustic a smaller moth with a wingspan of 32-35mm (Bath Birdwatcher) It is always great to catch a new moth and I have been lucky enough to catch a few recently (Bath Birdwatcher) I find it very interesting as you never know what you are likely to find in the trap here is two examples.

    Top Lake NSL - Bath Birdwatcher No Amigos this week as we had arranged to take Mary’s cousins wife Jean, to Newton St Loe as she reads all my blogs and has an interest in birds and was curious where all the places I mention are. They live away and are spending a few days with Mary’s sister in Peasdown so and ideal chance to show her my patch. Six of us met at the farm shop and us 3 left the remainder to drink coffee while we drove to the church to start the walk. We had arrived earlier than the others and took advantage to see Swallow, House Sparrow, House Martin, Lesser Black Back Gull, Collared Dove and Woodpigeon. Walking through the churchyard into the field beyond we noted Jackdaw and Rook but reaching the footpath through the woods we found a roving flock containing Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Goldcrest and Great Tit and an unidentified warbler plus a fly through Magpie. A Grey Wagtail was on the dried out waterfall at the bottom lake and on the lake were 26 Ma...