Bath Birdwatcher

  Mallard & Teal - CVL (Bath Birdwatcher) Tuesday was a very wet day but as I was unable to do any other day we did do a trip, but it had to be Chew as there we were able to shelter in the hides which proved a necessity as the rain was incessant coupled with high winds. Driving to Chew I spotted a Pheasant in a field and Jackdaws on rooftops in Bishops Sutton. 1 st stop Herriotts where it was raining so we had to spot from the car, Mallard, Coot, Black Headed Gull, Tufted Duck and Mute Swan were easily seen on the pond and a Cormorant was in the channel. It’s been 2 weeks since we last visited and it’s unbelievable how much water has flowed into the lake, it must be well over half full up from about 30%. Next stop Stratford where the amount of rain was really noticeable with the bottom of Stratford Lane flooded but passable with care, a large portion of the carpark was also flooded as was part of the footpath to the hide. Once safely parked we spotted a Little Egret in the fi...

  For this week’s bird spotting day out, we decided to pay a visit to WWT Slimbridge where we are all members. Our last visit was back on the 15 th of July so we were overdue a visit. The drive was very fraught as the road through Dursley was closed and the detour was badly signed so Bryan used directions on his phone to guide us in. We arrived some 20 minutes later than usual but once in the car park spotting could commence here we saw Woodpigeon, Jackdaw and Cormorant all fly overs Rooks huddled together in the top of a tree, and a Blue Tit in bushes by the entrance. Once inside we headed for Peng Observatory finding Moorhen, Collared Dove and Shelduck on the way. Once inside there were 100’s of birds to work through with Mute and Bewick’s Swans standing out from the rest.  Bewick's Swan - Slimbridge (Bath Birdwatcher) There were also many Tufted Ducks, Pochard plus a few beautiful Pintail. There must have been 100+ Lapwing that were everywhere you looked with smaller numbe...

  Just for a change of scenery this week’s birding trip took us to the Severn Estuary where the 3 Amigos first stop was Aust Wharf   where we walk along a walkway towards the original Severn Bridge this section of the Severn has cliffs on the west which meant that we were in shade and being a cold day it wasn’t a day to hang around we did find a few birds Starling, Blue Tit, Magpie, Blackbird and Robin. The highlight of this short walk was a small flock of Barnacle Geese flying upstream and a   pair of Stonechats the 1 st of 4 pairs we found during the day.  Stonechat - (Bath Birdwatcher) On the walk back to the car we also found Great Tit, Dunnock and Woodpigeon. Our next stop was a few 100yds along the road to the beginning of Northwick Wharf where the Penduline Tit had recently been seen, we knew it was no longer there but had a walk to see what was about. Our 1 st sighting was a hunting Kestrel that was constantly swooping down but not catching anything,  ...

  This week after a short discussion Chew Valley Lake was decided to be the place to visit as Bryan needed to be back by mid-afternoon and other sites being further away would be a rush to be home by that time. Nothing unusual was seen on the journey to Chew so I didn’t start my list until we reached Herriotts. Here the 1st thing we noticed was with all the rain the water level was much higher but still well below normal levels. Herriotts was very busy with many species of waterfowl including, Mallard. Moorhen, Canada Goose, Mute Swan and Shelduck. Black Headed and Common Gulls were plentiful.  Common Gull - Herriotts (Bath Birdwatcher) Scanning the pond with the telescopes we also spotted Shelduck, Shoveler, Teal and Pintail. David spotted 4 flyover Egyptian Geese. Also seen were Tufted Duck, Grey Heron, Coot and Herring Gull. Across the road looking over the main lake, a Great White Egret was in the channel also here was a Cormorant that caught a Perch and swallowed it whole...

  This month’s Bath RSPB’s field trip was a visit to Portbury Wharf   where 14 members met at the reserve’s small car park. David and Tony being joint leaders arrived early only to find Tom was already there. While waiting for the group to assemble we started spotting and the 1 st bird of the day was a Wood Pigeon, this was followed shortly after by a flock of Long Tailed Tits that also contained a few Blue Tits. A Blackbird was in a bush eating berries and a gaggle of Canada Geese flew over then a Jay was found in another bush. Black Headed Gulls were continually   flying by in small numbers as were small groups of Starlings. One of the group then found a Robin high in the top of a tree, I then heard the contact call of Redwings and found a flock flying high over, we did have closer views during the day of Redwings eating berries. Another group member found a bird in the distance in the top of the tree and Tom with the aid of a telescope was able to confirm it was a Mis...

  Black Headed Gull - Picnic Area CVL (Bath Birdwatcher) Just 2 of the 3 Amigos this week as David is away and after a short discussion Chew Valley Lake was going to be the venue as over the last few months the birding has been so good, why go somewhere else. We set off heading for Herriotts spotting a Red Kite and a Great Spotted Woodpecker on the way plus a large flock of Woodpigeons we estimated to be c100 all heading south so probably migrating. At Herriotts it was raining not hard but that awful drizzle, we did stay long enough to search the pond where we found Mute Swan, Moorhen, Coot, Gadwall, Mallard, Shoveler and Pintail.  Male Mallard - picnic area (Bath Birdwatcher) We also counted 4 different species of Gull, Black Headed, Herring, Common and Lesser Black Backed.  Black Headed Gull - Picnic Area (Bath Birdwatcher) A quick look over the main lake added Great White Egret in the channel, and Little Egret and Grey Heron further out. As we were about to leave seve...

  Roe Deer - Portbury Wharf (Bath Birdwatcher) This week’s birding trip was a visit to Portbury Wharf to do a recce for an upcoming Bath RSPB field trip. The main reason was to discover where to park the cars as we know from previous visits that parking is at a premium. We drove along the Sheepway where we had parked on previous visits and realised only a few cars could park there so we drove down Wharf Lane to another parking place and if we parked carefully we should all be able to park here. So, time to do some spotting and we started by walking a footpath back towards the Sheepway where several large flocks of Starlings flew over must have been in excess of 200 birds. Also seen as we walked were Herring Gull, Canada Geese, Woodpigeon. A flock of Long Tailed Tits flitted   through the hedgerow with a Blue Tit for company, we also noted   flypast Goldfinch, Rook and Magpie. A Mistle Thrush was on the top of a hedge and in a close by field in amongst the Jackdaws was a...

  Herons Green showing the low water level (Bath Birdwatcher) Another Tuesday and another visit to Chew Valley Lake, the only difference being the 3 Amigos were back together for the first time in many weeks, also this week was an all-day trip. I began my day list at Herriotts our first stop. Here on the pool were Canada Geese, Mute Swans, Shoveler, Gadwall, Shelduck, Moorhen, Mallard and Coot along with 5 species of gull Common, Herring, Black Headed, Lesser and Great Black Backs. At the back of the pond were 5 Black Tailed Godwits plus Pintail and Teal. Walking over the road to look over the main lake Great White Egrets were in the inlet with Carrion Crow, Little Egret and Grey Heron on the mud and Tufted Duck on the lake. Walking back to the pool a Grey Wagtail flew along the wall and David spotted a flyover Great Spotted Woodpecker. Moving on to Stratford we added Woodpigeon and Jackdaw, and a female Pheasant as we drove down Stratford lane. From the hide we added Cormorant, Po...

  Another Tuesday and another visit to Chew Valley Lake as the birding has been so good over the last month or more, Again it was only Bryan and Tony and this week it was only a half day visit. Driving to Chew the only bird of note was a Collared Dove a species we rarely see at Chew. 1 st stop as usual Herriotts with lots of birds on the pool including Shoveler, Canada Geese, Coot, Teal, Mute Swan, Grey Heron, Gadwall, Pintail, Shelduck and Tufted Duck. Also on the pool were 5 species of Gull, Black Headed, Common, Great and Lesser Black Back and Herring. 2 species of corvid flew over Jackdaw and Carrion Crow and on the far side of the pool were 4 Black Tailed Godwits the only waders we could find here. All the time we were looking heavy drizzle was falling and we were spotting from under the cars tail gate but we were still getting wet so we decided to move on to Stratford where we could stay dry in the hide. When we arrived in the hide a fellow birder Andy pointed out the Whoo...

    We have recently returned from a short break in South Devon we stayed with Mary’s sister in their lodge at Waterside Holiday Park which overlooks Torbay and the Dartmouth Steam Railway, which was operating during our stay. On arrival on Sunday, we just unpacked and settled in,   Monday was a wet day so I was able to watch from in the dry and see many Gannets feeding in the bay   a Kestrel was hovering over the cliff tops. We needed shopping so a trip to Morrisons was made and on return again scoping the bay 3 Common Scoter flew through my field of view heading towards Torquay a year tick and the only time I saw any all week. Tuesday I was dropped off at Berry Head and walking from the car park towards the cottage at the top of the lane, the field by the car park had parts ploughed and a local named Bill explained that it was being turned into a wildflower meadow, so I look forward to seeing it in the years to come. In the field were Magpie, Herring Gulls and ...

  Great White Egret - CVL (Bath Birdwatcher) Again, this week it was just Bryan and Tony, David is away and as we did last week we decided that another visit to Chew Valley Lake was the order of the day as again a couple of new wader species had been reported. On the way we reached the Globe where there was a notice that the road at Marksbury was closed so we had to make a detour to get around the closure. Collared Dove and Jackdaw were seen on the way. At Herriotts our first sightings were Mute Swan, Lapwing, Carrion Crow and Mallard seen as we climbed out of the car. Pied Wagtails were calling and 2 landed on the wall in front of us and a Shoveler was feeding on the pond.  Shoveler - CVL (Bath Birdwatcher) Telescopes set up we scanned the pond finding 3 species of gull Black Headed, Herring and Lesser Black Back. A single Greenshank was asleep and a Snipe and Moorhen were also found. Lots of Teal were all over the right end of the pond with a Green Sandpiper amongst them. A...