Bath Birdwatcher

  Chew Valley Lake (Bath Birdwatcher) Today started badly as when I went to the car I noticed a warning regarding tyres so I had to contact Bryan and let him know the problem and could he drive. The answer was a yes so when he arrived and after I moved all my kit into his car we set off for another trip to Chew Valley Lake. I didn’t do any spotting until we reached Herriotts where the 1 st bird I spotted was a Great White Egret and as we climbed out of the car a Pied Wagtail was on the outlet wall and Bryan noticed a Little Grebe in the centre of the pool Teal, Mallard and Gadwall were plentiful Lapwings and Moorhens were also seen. Lots of Black Headed Gulls were loafing in the water and looking through them, the only other species found was a Lesser Black Back Gull. Mute Swans and Shoveler fed in the centre of the pond. Looking over the main lake Pintail, Little Egret, Grey Heron and Canada Geese were seen. Back on the pool side of the road Bryan spotted the long staying Glossy ...

  Another week has come and gone in fact 8 days as this week its Wednesday and the 3 Amigos have been out bird spotting and like last week another visit to Chew Valley Lake trying to find the elusive Glossy Ibis and any other goodies that may turn up. Buzzard, Magpie and House Martin were seen in transit, and at Herriotts the first bird seen was a Common Sandpiper   on the wall close to the outlet. On the pool were Teal and Gadwall with lots of Lapwing flying around or on the island, also on the island or wading in the shallow water were 10+ Green Sandpipers plus at least 3 Snipe. Moorhen were very common both in the pool or on the island. Mallard were not as plentiful as they are at certain times of the year and Sand Martin were overhead, occasionally dropping down for a drink. Coots were next to be seen plus a large flock of Black Headed Gulls that we carefully studied but no other gull species were seen. A few small flocks of Canada Geese flew in joining the Mute Swans, a P...

  LBB Gull - CVL (Bath Birdwatcher) Like last week Bryan and Tony spent 6 hours at Chew for the same reasons as before. Unlike last week I started my list at Herriotts where there were no birds on the wall of the pool as grass cutting was taking place, but birds were out on the pool, Coot, Mallard, Canada Geese and Teal found along with Moorhen, Gadwall and lots of Black Headed Gulls that we checked to see if anything unusual were amongst them, but with no luck. Lapwing, Green Sandpiper and Snipe were the only waders we could find. Several Mute Swans were spread out over the pool and House Martins were flying overhead. On the pool other gulls included Herring and Lesser Black Back were spotted. Several Pied Wagtails were on the mud along with a Carrion Crow, Woodpigeons flew over the pool and some Shovelers were feeding at the back of the pool between the islands. On the main lake were many Great Crested Grebe but nothing else that we hadn’t seen on the pool. Time to move on to St...

  Little Egret - Herons Green (Bath Birdwatcher) Despite the continuing hot weather, the 3 Musketeers were going to keep bird spotting even though at this time of the year the quantity of birds is low, so it had to be Chew Valley Lake as we are more likely to see a wider range of species there. We started our list from the start with Collared Dove, House Martin, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw and Carrion Crow all seen as we headed for our 1 st stop at Herriotts. On the pool was a large head of Gadwall and Teal with Moorhens showing in good numbers. Lapwing were on the mud and a female Mandarin was with the Teal. Coot, Mute Swan and Canada Geese were all noted and a Great White Egret flew across the pool. Green Sandpiper numbers were low with just 2 seen along with a Pied Wagtail. Black Headed Gull numbers were high with just a Lesser Black Back Gull with them. On the main lake we added Great Black Back Gull, Herring Gull, Grey Heron, Little Egret and Tufted Duck. Next stop Stratford where a ...

  Robin - Ham Wall (Bath Birdwatcher) Not only was last Saturday Valentine’s day but also Bath RSPB’s monthly field trip, this month to The Somerset Levels and just for a change a dry and sunny day was promised. 25 members made it to the meeting place at “Ham Wall” for a 10am start. A few of the group went to Avalon Marshes hoping to locate American Wigeon and Green Winged Teal that had been reported in the area but as it turned out they failed to find either. While waiting for the rest of the group we spotted Blackbird and Redwing in an ivy-covered tree. Magpie, Cormorant and Carrion Crow all flew over. We all set off heading for Viewing point 1 (VP1) and soon spotted a male Chaffinch, Great and Long Tailed Tit. As crossed over the bridge down to our right a male Pheasant was in a field and the first of many Robins was singing in a bush,  Robin - Ham Wall (Bath Birdwatcher) Coots were seen in the distance as was the 1 st Marsh Harrier of the day and a Great Crested Grebe was...

  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...

  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...

  The 3 Amigos were back together and a visit to Chew Valley Lake was decided upon, and we took lunch so we could take our time getting around all the places we like to visit. I decided to wait until we arrived at Chew to start my days list but a Red Kite on the way had to be included. First stop Herriotts where a pair of Egyptian Geese with 3 goslings were seen.  Egyptian Goose c/w goslings - Herriotts (Bath Birdwatcher) Mallard, Canada Goose and lots of Gadwall were also spotted. With all the dry weather the water level in the pool was low enough for lots of mud to be exposed and on the mud was a Ringed Plover (a year tick for me) and at least 3 Little Ringed Plovers along with several Pied Wagtails. In with the Gadwall, I found the male Garganey that has been here for several weeks. At the back of the pond was a few Mute Swans and a Grey Heron flew over from the main lake. A flock of gulls were on the exposed mud including Black Headed, Lesser Black Back, Herring and Grea...

  Great Crested Grebe - Moreton (Bath Birdwatcher) Bryan had a spare few hours on Saturday afternoon so he asked me if I would like to go to Chew Valley Lake with him well I jumped at the opportunity. On the way we started our day list with House Martin, Collared Dove, Blackbird and Woodpigeon. Coot, and Mallard were soon spotted along with several gull species including Lesser Black Back, Black Headed, Herring and a single Common. Many Swifts were flying overhead, and an Egyptian Goose was also seen, and a small party of Canada Geese flew in. A Grey Heron was in the far corner and a Great White Egret was wading in the shallow water. On the main lake we spotted Great Crested Grebe and Cormorant. Back on the pool I was scanning with the telescope and found a pair of Garganey, and a Carrion Crow was on the exposed mud. We were about to move on when another birder arrived, and we pointed out the Garganey and mentioned that Little Ringed Plover had been seen but we had failed to spot o...

  For the first time in over 6 months the 3 Amigos were back together starting with a trip to the Somerset Levels. This was chosen as Bryan is still regaining his strength and unable to do lots of walking especially if hills are included, but the levels are what it says on the packet, LEVEL. Our starting point was going to be Westhay and making our way in that direction we saw Red Kite and Pheasant that we felt we might not see later in the day. At Fenny Castle we use the droves to cross the levels and here birding starts in earnest with Carrion Crow, House Sparrow and Woodpigeon soon spotted, as we drove on a Swallow flew by, and 2 Cattle Egrets were at the edge of a field. Further along the road 2 Collared Doves and a Chaffinch were logged, and a Buzzard flew low across a field. As we approached Westhay we came across a big flock of Greylag Geese far too many to count but must have been 100+ we saw more of these than Canada Geese. Mute Swan and Great White Egret were also seen as...

  For our trip out this week, we decided to visit Chew Valley Lake, believe it or not the last visit was the 28 th of February more than a month ago. We started spotting from the off noting Collared Dove, Rook, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie,  and Jackdaw all before we reached Herriotts our 1 st stop. On the pond was Canada Geese, Mute Swans, Mallard, Coot, a few Gadwall, Teal, Shoveler and Shelduck. On the lake we added Cormorant, Great Crested Grebe   and Great White Egret. The sun was shining from the east making it difficult to cover the pond easily plus a very cold wind was blowing again from the east, so we decided to move on to Stratford Hide. Driving down the lane 3 Chaffinches were feeding in the lane and a Blackbird flew away. Walking to the hide Great Tits were visiting the feeders and a Chiffchaff sang from a tree luckily in a place that we could see it. Wren, Blue Tit and Moorhen were also seen before we entered the hide. In the hide were 3 birding pals ...

  This week it was still only David and Tony and we had decided to visit Marshfield as we were likely to find 3 year ticks, Yellowhammer, Corn Bunting and Red Legged Partridge with a couple more possibilities but as it turned out Monday had been horrendous with one of the named storm passing through and we were left with high winds so when David arrived we quickly decided the change locations to Chew Valley Lake as there are certain parts that would be more sheltered than the wide open expanse of Marshfield. It was just a morning visit with Herriotts our first stop on the way we started our list with Jackdaw, Magpie and Blackbird. At Herriotts the pond was quite busy with Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Coot, Tufted Duck and Mallard all very close. Out on the shallower part of the pond was a Great White Egret and a Grey Heron with several Black Headed and Lesser Black Back Gulls. As we walked across the road to view the main lake a small flock of Starlings flew over and David spotted a Ma...