Bath Birdwatcher

  Gatekeeper - Bath Birdwatcher David is back from France but Bryan is on holiday, so David suggested we joined the Bath Nat’s field trip to Lansdown. We all met at the Park & Ride car park and when we had all assembled we set off towards the racecourse. This walk was not solely about birds but our first 2 sightings Swallow and Magpie were both birds soon followed by Linnet, Greenfinch and Buzzard to the day’s list, we then found our first butterflies of the day Large White, Gatekeeper, Red Admiral and Comma next our 1 st moth of the day a Nettle Tap.  Nettle Tap - Bath Birdwatcher On the main road by the cottages were many House Martins which had or still are nesting a Pied Wagtail was on the ground by the road. As we continued a flock of 100+ Starlings flew overhead, we then spotted a Silver Y moth, we found several during the walk Common Grass Veneers was another moth we saw in large numbers. A Great Tit was flitting through the trees on the golf course. Next another m...

Just the two of us today Bryan and Tony as David is on holiday in France. We decided to go to Newton St Loe as its been a couple of months since our last visit. On the way I spotted some Swifts although we did see a few later from the lanes. We parked by the farm shop and headed for the lanes as a starting point, while walking we saw Swallow, House Martin and Goldfinch and in the lanes we added Jackdaw, Blackbird, Collared Dove, Wood Pigeon and Lesser Black Back Gull. As you will see during the morning we saw lots of butterflies and started with Meadow Brown. A Dunnock flew along in front of us I then spotted a moth in the hedgerow a Scorched Carpet followed by our second butterfly a Gatekeeper. Scorched Carpet Moth - Bath Birdwatcher Walking towards seven acre wood Carrion Crows flew by and Skylarks sang overhead. As we continued a Yellowhammer flew onto the top of the telegraph pole.  Yellowhammer - Bath Birdwatcher Our next sighting was a Buzzard calling from the top of a tree. ...

  Comma Butterfly - Bath Birdwatcher This week the weather dictated where it was best to go birding as the forecast was heavy showers, so it was Chew Valley lake where we could shelter in the hides should it rain. The 3 Amigos were together for the last time for 2 weeks as all 3 of us are on holiday for part of the next couple of weeks. At Chew we started with Black Headed Gulls, Mallard, Mute Swan, Coot and Canada Goose. After setting up the telescopes we were able to add Black Tailed Godwits, Green Sandpipers, several Lapwings  a single Ruff  and new for the year a Spotted Redshank,  all these being on Herriotts Pond. Also there were many Lesser Black Back Gulls, 2 Grey Herons, Great and Little Egrets, Little Grebe, Shelduck with ducklings and a few Teal. While chatting with other birders Herring Gull, Collared Dove, Woodpigeon, Swift, Carrion Crow and House and Sand Martin all flew over. I then heard the call of a Kingfisher, and Bryan spotted it flying low over ...

  Kenfig Pool Yesterday was our final RSPB field trip of   the 2022/2023 season and it was a joint RSPB/Bath Nats trip to Kenfig National Nature Reserve. 29 were on the coach and we were met by 4 more at Kenfig. While we gathered together we noted Swift, Starling, Collared Dove, Herring Gull, Woodpigeon, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Kestrel. When we set off we soon added Dunnock, Kestrel and Magpie and on the lake (Kenfig Pool) we added Cormorant, Mallard, Mute Swan, Little Egret and Great Crested Grebe. We also saw our first Gatekeeper butterfly of the year, more were to follow as the day went on. Lesser Black Back Gulls and Carrion Crow were seen in flight a skipper butterfly was seen next but led us a right song and dance before it settled for long enough for it to be identified as an Essex Skipper. Stonechats and Meadow Pipits were seen in several places but a Skylark proved more difficult to find singing high in the blue sky. Our next sighting was a flyby Swallow, we then...

  Baby Hare (Leveret) Bath Birdwatcher Our birding trip this week took Bryan and Tony plus Yvonne and Mary to Slimbridge, David was otherwise engaged. Two very special birds had been at Slimbridge for a few weeks but we had not had the opportunity to visit until now, more on these species later. Our trip to Slimbridge was very fraught when at the Cross Hands junction on the A46 was a road closed sign on the road ahead forcing us to follow the diversion signs to Yate but somehow we must have missed a diversion sign and found ourselves in Bristol so it was then M32/M4 on to M5 to Slimbridge . On arrival 1 st stop was the restaurant for a coffee and carrot cake and from the window we noted Mute Swan, Swallow, House Martin and Collared Dove. After coffee we started at the Peng Observatory where we saw Coot, Black Headed Gull, Mallard, Herring Gull, Rook, Tufted Duck, and Oystercatcher. Then it was our 1 st special bird that we were hoping to see a Black Winged Stilt, the 1st time I h...

  Salcombe - Bath Birdwatcher W e have recently returned from a week in South Devon with Mary’s cousin Hazel and her husband Terry, we stayed at a small village called Marlborough just outside Salcombe. And what a week, great weather, smashing company and very relaxing.   We spent the 1 st couple of days shopping or relaxing on the patio where we had a panoramic view right to the distant Dartmoor. Birds seen from the patio on day one included Rook, Jackdaw, Swift, Buzzard, Chaffinch, Carrion Crow, Swallow and Lesser Black Back Gull. Day 2 we added Dunnock, Goldfinch, Sparrowhawk, Greenfinch, Blue Tit, Herring Gull, Starling, Linnet, Great Tit, Pheasant and Wren. Chaffinch - Bath Birdwatcher Greenfinch - Bath Birdwatcher Day 3 we visited Overbeck a National Trust Property and here as we sat having Coffee House Martins were flying around. Walking around the garden which contained a lot of mature trees I heard the call of a Firecrest which I found high in a tree. Later in the mo...

  New Franchises RSPB - Bath Birdwatcher Yesterday David and Tony were invited by Tom Rogers to join a U3A bird watching trip to New Franchises in the New Forest. The site is owned by the RSPB but is not open to the public but it is possible to arrange a visit with the RSPB. We had arranged for a guide to meet and show us around the site. Leaving Bath at 07.45 we soon started seeing birds and the 1 st of intertest was a Red Kite just outside of Bath. We also added on the trip Rook, Magpie, Jackdaw and Kestrel. We were the 1 st to arrive and while waiting for the others, we spotted Starling and a Buzzard. 10 of us arrived for the walk but birds were few and far between with a Song Thrush being our 1 st sighting in the forest. On reaching a more open glade when a large tree had fallen we found a Spotted Flycatcher soon followed by a second and while we were watching they copulated. Firecrest is a very common bird in the woods but so very easy to hear but almost impossible to see ...