Bath Birdwatcher

  mixed flock of birds (how many can you see) Bath Birdwatcher. One of the reasons for this short break was to visit a fairly new wetlands at the mouth of the river Otter at Budleigh Salterton. Parking in the Otter Nature Reserve car park we started walking down the western side of the reserve it was low tide so lots of exposed mud to search and a Little Egret was our 1 st sighting one of many we saw during the walk. Mute Swan, Mallard, Black Headed Gull and Moorhen were also noted. Fly over Woodpigeon and Magpie were seen but I was surprised by the lack of wading birds then Bryan spotted our 1 st of the day a Curlew followed shortly after by an Oystercatcher just one of each. As we continued Herring Gull and Wigeon were added also a fishing Cormorant in a channel close to where we were walking. As we neared the bottom of the estuary more water and wet mud was seen and here Redshank and Ringed Plover were feeding while Teal were also spotted with a Carrion Crow and a Great Black ...

  Sidmouth (Bath Birdwatcher) My brother Bryan and sister-in-law Yvonne gave Mary and myself a short break in East Devon and today is the 1 st of a 4-day break. The plan was to drive to Cartgate for coffee then on to Seaton for fish and chip lunch. After coffee we set off to Seaton seeing a Buzzard sat on the top of a lamppost, we stopped at Seaton Wetlands for an hour and here from the 1 st lookout point Lapwing, Kestrel, Herring Gull, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Starling, Moorhen, Black Headed Gull, Teal and House Sparrow were all seen. Walking to the island hide a Robin flew down on the ground and a Woodpigeon flew over, and a Great Tit was in a bush. The hide is like an island out on the lake with a footpath leading to it and looking through viewing slots in the fencing we found feeding Redshanks and Bryan spotted a Kingfisher which I was able to get on. In the hide we found Little Egret, Black Tailed Godwit, Common Sandpiper, Grey Heron, Dunlin Shelduck, Gadwall and a single Cur...

  Another Tuesday and yet another wet day so no choice but to visit Chew Valley Lake as there we can use the hides to keep dry. This is the last time for a few weeks that the 3 Amigos will be getting together as David is off to foreign soils playing bowls. We arrived at Herriotts in the dry and spotted Mute Swan, Mallard, Lesser Black Back Gull, Black Headed Gull and Grey Wagtail. A Grey Wagtail flew past, with the telescope I was able to find Shoveler, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, Pintail, Canada Goose and Teal. Obviously, the larger birds were visible with binoculars, but I had forgotten mine, so it was telescope or naked eye for me. The rain started again so we headed for Stratford where in the lane a Blackbird flew in front of us. Once in the hide we found a line of Cormorants with one bird drying its wings.  Cormorant - Stratford (Bath Birdwatcher) Here we also saw two species of wading bird, Snipe and Lapwing along with Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Coot and our fi...

  The 3 Amigos this week were doing a recce as later this month David is leading an RSPB field trip to the Severn Estuary around Pilning Wetlands. As we set off it was raining although the forecast had promised a mainly dry day, but as we headed along the M4 we ran out of the rain and apart from a little drizzle it remained dry all day. When we arrived, we drove along Passage Road and noticed that it was high tide so decided to start the day at Pilning. Parking at the end of New Passage Road we walked to where the Chestile Pill runs into the Severn and here the tide was dropping leaving a muddy shoreline where many waders were feeding including Redshank, Dunlin. Black Tailed Godwit and Knot, also seen were Teal, Wigeon, Mute Swan and Black Headed Gull.   A Starling was on a TV ariel and on the land were Greylag and Canada Geese. Scoping upriver we spotted Curlew, Oystercatcher and Shelduck. Walking to the wetlands we added Jackdaw and Rook and in the Pill was a Little Egret, W...

  Last week was my birthday and Mary and myself Golden Wedding so to celebrate we booked a week in Marazion, Cornwall. As I don’t drive any distance we travelled by train to Penzance and taxi to Marazion. The accommodation was good with great views over Penzance Bay right across to Mousehole and St Michael’s Mount over adjoining rooftops. View across to Mousehole (Bath Birdwatcher) St Michael's Mount illuminated (Bath Birdwatcher) Sunday 20 th October from the window I recorded Jackdaw, House Sparrow, Starling, Collared Dove, Cormorant and Black Headed Gull. We had to go to the shops but 1 st we visited the local café for coffee and after waited for a bus which I had found on the bus app but it did not arrive and the next was another hour away, so we started walking for a few stops and eventually got to Morrisons. The return bus arrived on time, so we got back in time for lunch. After lunch we strolled to one on the local beaches just to the east of the town centre and here on...

  This week the 3 Amigos settled for a Monday, day out, unusual I know, but it was the only day the three of us could make and the 1 st time this month we have been out together. Slimbridge was chosen as lots of passage waders had been reported which gave us a chance of a year tick. Driving over Lansdown a Red Kite flew over the car but as I was in the back I missed it, but I did see 2 Pheasants that the 2 in the front missed and we all spotted a field full of Rooks and Woodpigeon in flight. Walking from the car park to the reception area we noted Robin, Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Moorhen and Collared Dove. Once in the grounds we headed for the Peng Observatory and on the way noted some of the feral  Greylag Geese loads were seen during the day, we also saw a Grey Wagtail on the café roof. The observatory overlooks a large area of open water with many small islands along with areas of grass and is on 2 levels the higher level in front and the lower level to our left. Lapwing,...

  Bottom Lake NSL (Bath Birdwatcher) This is the 1 st time in over 2 weeks that I have been out doing some bird spotting, so today Mary and myself drove to Newton St Loe our first visit for several weeks. We parked by the church and as we were changing our footwear a Robin flew up on a wall in front of us and a Chiffchaff that was singing in a small tree flew across the road. Walking through the church yard and down the field beyond we only saw a few fly over Rooks. Down to the road by the cottages we noted a few Swallows quartering the fields, a Woodpigeon flew past, and House Sparrows were in the hedgerow. On the feeders by the cottages, we spotted both Blue and Great Tits, with Jackdaws calling as they flew over. Nothing more until we reached the bottom lake and here were just a single Moorhen and 4 Mallards plus one Wren. On the top lake were 7 more Mallards and 6 Moorhens plus 6 Coot and at least 9 Little Grebe. The resident pair of Mute Swans with their 3 large cygnets were...