Wednesday 24th September 2025 - Chew Valley Lake.

 

This week a Tuesday trip out, had to be put back by 24 hours as it was my birthday and my wife and I celebrated it by going out for coffee and lunch. Wednesday arrived and it was decided that Chew Valley Lake was the best option as with the very low water level and plenty of mud showing it was a haven for waders both in the main lake and Herriotts pool. We both took a packed lunch so we didn’t have to rush to visit all the places where we hoped the majority of birds would be. On the way the day started with Buzzard, Collared Dove, Jackdaw and Woodpigeon all being seen. At Herriotts many different species were on the pool including Mute Swan, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, Shoveler, Gadwall and Teal. 

Grey Heron - CVL (Bath Birdwatcher)

Great White Egret - CVL (Bath Birdwatcher)

When we arrived we commented on how many people were present which was very unusual, and wondered if a rare bird was present, but on chatting to other birders they were watching an Osprey that was sat in a tree on the opposite side of the pool, nice to see as it was a year tick. Swallows were flying low over the water and a Cormorant was fishing on the far side. Just 2 species of gull were present, Black Headed and Lesser Black Back. Waders were well represented with at least a dozen Snipe along with Green Sandpipers, Lapwing, 2 Ruff, 2 Greenshank and a Wood Sandpiper. Also seen were Moorhen and Mallard. On the other side of the road overlooking the main lake we found a group of Pintail, Little and Great Crested Grebe, Tufted Duck, Shelduck and Sand Martins. A Great Black Back Gull was on the waters edge and a small flock of Canada Geese flew in. Time to move on and we were hoping to visit Stratford but the lane was blocked by a lorry delivering to the pub so we continued to Moreton here we added Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit and House Martin to the days list. Next it was back to Stratford where Blackbird was in the lane and a Carrion Crow was in the field by the car park. From the hide the only extras were Black Tailed Godwit and Wigeon. Time for lunch so we made our way to Herons Green and here there were 20+ Glossy Ibis.  

Glossy Ibis - CVL (Bath Birdwatcher)

But this guy was over the fence with 2 dogs running around in an area with no public access and certainly no dogs off leads. We did report it at the lodge later and were told we should have called them and they would have sent someone over. Not sure what they would have done probably just got abuse. However, he did leave and the birds settled down with a Marsh Harrier on the bank eating something. Nothing more seen here so we moved to the Lodge and after reporting the dog episode we did the walk to the dam adding Dunnock, Long Tailed Tit, Blackcap, Raven, Egyptian Goose and House Sparrow, Surprisingly I didn’t see any more tit species with both Blue and Great missing from the list. Driving back home the last new sighting of the day was a Magpie making 49 species seen.

Egyptian Goose - CVL (Bath Birdwatcher)



 

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