Bath Birdwatcher

  Top Lake - Newton St Loe (Bath Birdwatcher) The 1 st of August 2025 was the last time Mary and I went for a walk at Newton St Loe together so today we packed up 2 coffees with a bun to eat and set off we parked by the church and made our way through the churchyard into the field beyond and here I saw my 1 st birds of the day Woodpigeon and Carrion Crow in the grass with Rook and Jackdaw in the field by Send a Cow. Walking down the footpath through the wooded area 2 Blue Tits were   in a sapling and I could hear the call of a Greenfinch which I found in the top of a tree. Mary spotted a Robin singing in a bush and while looking a Wren flew away from us. In butterfly alley most of the footpath has been covered with chippings, much better than it was previously, and in the field to the left was a male Pheasant. On the bottom lake were 6 Mallard and 2 Moorhens.  Moorhen - NSL (Bath Birdwatcher) In the wooded area between the lakes were 2 Long Tailed Tits. On the top lake ...

  This week’s birding trip was a half day visit to Newton St Loe, only our second visit of the year. Today it was just Bryan and Tony as David was away. On the short journey there we spotted Buzzard, Red Kite and Magpie. We parked by the farm shop where a Carrion Crow was calling and a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew over, walking towards the church we added Jackdaw and Woodpigeon and making a slight detour to look over the Globe we saw Goldfinch, Robin and both Great and Blue Tit. As   we continued, in the tall trees with the mistletoe was a Mistle Thrush. Mistle Thrush - NSL (Bath Birdwatcher)  Nothing more was seen even after checking the Yew trees in the churchyard   until the field beyond where 2 Jays flew past, these turned out to be year ticks. At the bottom of the field a Blackbird flew off and a Lesser Black Back Gull circled overhead. In the field by what was Send a Cow were Rooks and a Green Woodpecker flew towards the village landing in the top of a tall t...

  Today was the 3 Amigos first trip of the year the weather was freezing cold but not to mis out on an opportunity to bird spot we decided on a local half day outing to either Saltford or Newton St Loe. In the end we chose Newton St Loe mainly because it was closer and we had a better chance to start the year with more species than at Saltford. Waterfall NSL note the lack of water (see previous photo's) also the icicles hanging from the tree on the left. (Bath Birdwatcher) We parked in the village where we spotted Carrion Crow, Jackdaw and Woodpigeon. As we continued heading for the church lots of Redwings were flying over, we must have seen many 100’s during the morning. Making a short detour to look over fields a Robin was on a gate and Rooks and Magpies flew past. A Tit flock flew by including Blue, Great and Long Tailed, and in the tall trees covered in Mistletoe we found a Mistle and Song Thrush. In the Churchyard at the rear in the Yew trees were several Coal Tits and Goldc...

  Lots of water flowing off the lakes (Bath Birdwatcher) Bird spotting this week was a half day visit to Newton St Loe, a favourite place of mine but one we have not visited since July. It was just the two brothers as David had other things to do. We parked outside the farm shop and set off walking towards the church and soon spotted Wood Pigeon, Magpie, Blue Tit, Collared Dove and Jackdaw. As we turned into the road leading to the church I spotted a Mistle Thrush in the tall trees covered with mistletoe, it was the 1 st of many we saw during the walk also in the same trees were at least 2 Blackbirds. Nothing mote until we entered the field beyond the church here were several Carrion Crows and a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew over. Walking down towards the main road a Goldcrest and Robin were in a fir tree and at the main road some House Sparrows were by the roadside. In the field to the side of the footpath were lots of corvids in the distance but too far away for them to be ident...

  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 week it was just me, as Bryan couldn’t make it and David was away, so I took myself off to Newton St Loe. I parked by the church and made my way through the church yard and into the field beyond it was there I could hear the call of H ouse Martins with several flying overhead Woodpigeons and Jackdaws were in the field. Down to the road and here a Goldfinch was on the wires and as I approached the cottages a Blackbird flew away, and a Wren was on a garden wall. A Great Tit was on the feeder and House Sparrows were in the hedgerow and the 1 st butterfly of the day a Large White was visiting flowers. Waking the footpath a Dunnock scuttled off in front of me, on to Butterfly alley here I found a Comma and Gatekeeper with a Grey Heron in a tree by the stream.  Grey Heron - NSL (Bath Birdwatcher) The overflow from the bottom lake is dry but a Song Thrush walked over what is usually water. On the bottom lake was 12 Mallard most in eclipse plumage and a Buzzard flew high over...

  Having not been out for two weeks due to illness it was decided not to go far from Bath so we drove over to Radstock as Dippers are a bird that is seen there and if we could find them would be a year tick. Driving to Radstock we sighted Rook and Jackdaw, we parked in the car park by the children’s play area and walked back to the centre of Radstock adding Robin and Nuthatch also a   Woodpigeon to the days list. We stopped by the Miners Wheel and looked over Wellow Brook and immediately David spotted 2 Dippers feeding in the brook, so withing the 1 st quarter of an hour we found our target species.  Dipper - Radstock (Bath Birdwatcher) We then walked to the disused railway that goes in the Frome direction,   which is now a cycle track, on the way adding a Grey Wagtail that was besides another part of Wellow Brook and a fly past Blackbird. Walking along the cycle track we soon added Great Tit a flyover Lesser Black Back Gull, Carrion Crow and Magpie. Walking on the ...

After getting over my illness it was back too Tuesday birding and this week it was a morning at NSL. After picking up Bryan and David  the 3 Amigos drove to the village finding a soaring Buzzard as we drove in. Parking by the farm shop Swallows were on the wires with young being fed by their parents and lots of Jackdaws around. Greenfinch could be heard calling, and 2 flew over along with House Martins. We started our walk in the lanes where a Lesser Black Back Gull was flying in the distance and several Woodpigeons were flying around and we must have disturbed a Green Woodpecker as it flew away low over the fields, also as we walked up the lane a small bird flew away in front of us and landed a few yards away where we were able to get a good view of it, a Whitethroat. Our first butterfly of the day a Gatekeeper was on a leaf with it's wings fully open. Bryan then spotted a distant Herring Gull followed by our 1st Large White butterfly. At 7 Acre Wood we were hoping for more butter...

  This morning Mary and Tony decided to visit Newton St Loe for a walk, and of course some birding. We parked at the church and walked into the churchyard and here a Blackbird was our first sighting and as we entered the field beyond a Green Woodpecker flew over the herd of cows. As we continued to the road Jackdaw and Carrion Crows were flying over. A Blue Tit called and flew into the tree above our head and a Goldfinch was on the wires. Approaching the cottages Woodpigeon and Rooks flew over and a female Sparrowhawk flew from the fields and disappeared behind the cottages. The only bird seen down the woodland footpath was a Robin although many other species were singing from deep cover, never to be seen. Nothing new until the bottom lake where a Grey Heron was sat on a tree stump at the dam end of the lake and 13 Mallard were on the lake including a female with 9 ducklings (not included in the count). A Moorhen ran along the bank in front of us and at least 2 more were seen on th...

  This morning after taking my wife to meet two old friends for coffee I had a couple of hours spare before collecting her later so I decided to drive over to Newton St Loe for a walk. Parking at the church Jackdaw and Magpie were in the trees and 2 Lesser Black Back Gulls were on the church roof. The field was very muddy in parts and needed care walking through, a Woodpigeon flew by and a Robin was singing by the kissing gate. Quiet until I reached the footpath through the woods and here I found a Song Thrush singing high in a tree and a Blackbird in the undergrowth next a Great Tit was collecting moss from the wall by the stream. Blue Tits and a Wren soon followed. Nothing new until the path up to the bottom lake and here over the overflow on the bank by the large tree was a pair of Grey Wagtails and it looked like they were prospecting for a nest site.  Grey Wagtail - NSL (Bath Birdwatcher) As I reached the lake a Green Woodpecker flew away along the bank and 2 Goldcrests w...

  Another week and no 3 Amigos but this week Bryan and Tony plus our wives Yvonne and Mary had an awayday to Seaton and Beer. The day was a mixture of birding and a coastal visit. Setting off at 8.45 our first stop was Cartgate picnic area where we had a coffee break, and after it was off to Seaton while driving obviously we were spotting and the following were seen, Starling, Swift, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Magpie, Great White Egret, (unusual to see this species from a moving car) Blackbird, Swallow, Buzzard, Rook, Kestrel and Goldfinch. Seaton Wetlands was our next stop and here we started the visit with Blackcap and Great Tit and also a lovely singing Whitethroat.   From the viewing platform which had a Robin on the ground, we overlooked an open body of water where we noted Shelduck, Great Black Back Gull, and Herring Gull. Walking towards the visitors center a Dunnock was on the footpath and a Moorhen was on another small pond. We then stopped for coffee and wer...

  For our birding walk today David and Tony were joined by Kirsty, Bryan was otherwise engaged. As I only had a few hours in the morning I picked the others up and we had a morning at Newton St Loe. On arrival we parked by the farm shop and walked towards the church passing overhead were several Rooks and in a hedge chirping away were many House Sparrows, also noted were Collared Dove, Jackdaw and Robin. As we approached the turning to the church we heard the distinctive call of a Greenfinch and I found at least 3 in the top of a fir tree several other birds were seen in the same area, Blue Tit, Goldfinch, Long Tailed Tit and a Mistle Thrush. As we approached the church 2 Magpies flew past and as we entered the field beyond the church Woodpigeons were sat in the trees. Kirsty then spotted a Green Woodpecker on the trunk of the tree, which she was excited to see and she had only previously seen them in flight. Our next sighting was a Stock Dove the first of about half a dozen we saw...

  With just a spare morning the 2 Amigos stayed fairly local with a short drive to Stanton Prior for a walk around the village and farm looking for farmland birds, following this a move to Burnett looking for similar species. Parking by the farm lots of Chaffinch were visible along with many Collared Doves, also seen were Blackbird, Dunnock, House Sparrow and Carrion Crow. Walking along a lane a large flock of over 150 Starling were spotted in a tree before they flew into a field that already held many Chaffinch and many more were in the farmyard I would estimate well over 100 birds were seen. Chaffinch - Stanton Prior (Bath Birdwatcher)  We turned round to do a circular tour of the village and soon saw some Stock Doves flying over. Looking through gaps in the hedgerow Pied Wagtails were in the field beyond, a Robin was singing from the top of the hedge and a Buzzard was found sitting in a tree with a Pheasant close by. Blue Tit, Skylark and Jackdaw were ticked. I then heard t...