Tuesday 8th April 2025 - Chew Valley Lake and Blagdon.

 

Primroses at Blagdon - (Bath Birdwatcher)

For our Tuesday birding trip out this week, we decided that a visit to Chew Valley Lake and Blagdon would be the best bet as many summer visitors are on the move and with luck we could possibly find a few year ticks. This visit we thought as it was school holidays we would start at the picnic area 2 and walk the Bittern Trail before any people arrived. On the way we spotted Magpie, Rook, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Buzzard and House Sparrow. Once at the picnic area we started our walk a Blackbird being our 1^st sighting also 2 Dunnocks playing chase, we also could hear the call of Reed Warblers, but we failed to see one, and because we only count birds we see, we dipped on them. A Long-Tailed Tit and a flyby Grey Heron were our next new sightings for the day. Blackcaps were calling everywhere and for a change they seemed easy to find as was a calling Treecreeper. As we continued I could hear a Goldcrest that David found in the top of a fir tree he also found a Coal Tit, but it flew off before I could find it. Another bird species we heard calling all day was Chiffchaff  which like the Blackcap was easy to find even high up in trees. As we crossed the bridge to the Bittern Trail a pair of Mallard were in the stream and a Cormorant flew past as did a Great White Egret. My next new sighting was a Wren which I had heard previously but failed to find and a Reed Bunting was singing from a reed bed. Great Tit, Robin and Carrion Crow were next, and as we arrived at the path to the hide we could hear the call and drumming of Great Spotted Woodpeckers, and we think there must have been at least 6 birds involved. Walking to the hide we found our 1^st butterfly of the day a Speckled Wood we also heard our 1^st Willow Warbler of the day that we found low down in some saplings in the water. From the hide we spotted Great and Lesser Black Back Gulls.

Lesser Black Back Gull - Chew (Bath Birdwatcher)

Also seen were Coot, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe and Canada Goose. Walking back to the car the only new sighting of the day was Mute Swans. Moving on to the Lodge we added Grey and Pied Wagtails with Black Headed and Herring Gulls also seen. As we looked over the lake a Little Egret flew past, and Goldfinches flew over the carpark. Next stop Herons Green where  we added Moorhen and Little Grebe and then our 1^st year tick when a Swallow flew low over the pond and a little later 3 flew by over the lake. We then had a very pleasant surprise when my brother tapped us on the shoulder, Yvonne had driven him down for a little spotting plus fish and chip lunch with her sister and brother-in-law. On the main lake I found our 2^nd year tick on the dam wall a Common Sandpiper and also a late pair of Goldeneye. Next we drove to Stratford, but it was deathly quiet, so we decided to go to Blagdon. On arrival we drove to the top hide where we parked and had lunch. While eating a female Pheasant walked out from a reedbed, we walked to the hide but nothing new here, so we walked back to the entrance gate we did find a few Teal  and also disturbed 2 Snipe that flew down the lake. Walking Back to the car David spotted 3 Stock Doves that flew over and came across our second butterfly of the day a Green Veined White. We drove the who length of the lake but found nothing that we hadn’t already seen during the day so drove back to Chew stopping at Herriotts where we ended the day adding Shoveler and 2 Ruff to the days total.

Canada Goose -  Herons Green (Bath Birdwatcher)

Although we did see lots of summer visitors of mainly 2 species Blackcap and Chiffchaff plus a few Willow Warblers and a small number of Swallows we didn’t see any Martins or any of the more unusual Warblers but still a good day with 2 year ticks taking me to 120 species just 40 less than the whole of last year.