Tuesday 19th September 2023 - Chew Valley Lake

 

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 an Osprey 3 good sightings. Woodpigeon and Jackdaw soon followed and on the main lake Wigeon and Tufted Duck were added. By this time the rain had started so we headed for the dry in Stratford Hide and on the way added Collared Dove to our lists. In the hide Cormorant, Great Crested Grebe, Pochard and a fly past Great White Egret were seen. While we were there the Osprey was in the tree to our right and decided to go on a fishing trip in front of the hide, on its first attempt it came up empty clawed but when it tried again it made a catch and at 1^st struggled to fly with its catch but eventually made it into the air flying low in front of the hide where we were able to identify its catch as a Rainbow Trout.

Osprey at Chew - Bath Birdwatcher

Our last sighting here was a fly past Buzzard. It was approaching lunch and by this time the rain was light so we decided to get to the car and move on to Herons Green for lunch, BUT as we drove there the rain started again heavier than before so we had to sit in the car to eat. The only new bird we saw at this point was a few Canada Geese but when the rain eased we were able to clear the windows and spotted a Cattle Egret as it flew in front of us  and in the far corner was a Grey Heron stood on the bank. As the rain had stopped we walked across the road to look at the pond and here I found a Little Grebe and Bryan found a few Swallows flying around the cattle in the field beyond the pond. Next stop Moreton  which was fairly quiet but we did watch a Hobby which flew past a few times and on one occasion we watched it catch a dragonfly and start to eat it on the wing. The only new species for the day I saw was a Marsh Harrier but the other 2 saw a Kingfisher that I missed. On to our last stop which was the lodge and by now the rain had stopped so we decided to walk the foot/cycle path to the dam and this proved to be very good for small birds and we found Long Tailed Tit, Blackbird, Great and Blue Tit, Goldcrest plus another bird I somehow managed to miss a Green Woodpecker. On the way back to the car Pheasant, Wren, Treecreeper and our 1^st Robin of the day although we had heard many before. Driving over the dam on our way home a Pied Wagtail was our last sighting.