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  • 23rd July 2026 – Yeo Valley Organic Garden, Somerset

    23rd July 2026 – Yeo Valley Organic Garden, Somerset

    We feel we get very good value out of a number of annual subscriptions we have to bodies such as The National Trust, the RSPB (Royal Society of the Protection of Birds), the WWT (World Wildlife Trust) and, at this time of the year, to the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society).

    We were very excited when the RHS announced that, this year, they were going to replace the annual Garden Show at Hampton Court in London with a show much closer to home at Badminton House (famous for its Horse Trials). However, come the day earlier in July we were rather disappointed as we had chosen a day in the middle of a heatwave and didn’t enjoy ourselves as much as when we had visited the RHS Garden Show at Hampton Court a few years ago. This year there were long traffic queues to get there (at least at Hampton Court a lot of people were able to use public transport which was not really an option here in the heart of Gloucestershire); the popularity of these events also meant that there were huge number of visitors and the facilities were stretched to their limit.

    There is no doubt that the setting for the RHS garden show in front of Badminton House was very special

    We did enjoy seeing some of the “show gardens” but were not allowed to venture through them as had been the case at Hampton Court

    As close as I could get, fighting my way through the crowds

    An award winning “Cricket Pavilion” show garden – a six would have cleared the crowds of onlookers

    Everyone was considering drought tolerant plants

    Although there are no major RHS gardens near to us there are a number of “partner” gardens that we can visit with our RHS membership. One of our favourites is the Yeo Valley Organic Garden close to Blagdon Lake in North Somerset, south of Bristol.

    Our visit last week also corresponded to another very hot day but, at least, we didn’t have to contend with large numbers of visitors. There are some fabulous sections to this garden, which I have reported on in the past, but on our last two visits I have been fascinated that they have developed a new section (replacing “The Big Grass Bed”) which I would describe as the sort of terrain that you might see on the edge of a quarry or next to a building site. This “dry” garden is well suited to the hot conditions which we are enjoying at the moment and feature lots of plants which are drought tolerant. Clearly something all gardeners are having to consider in this part of the world as climate changes affect us.

    Salvias are doing well in my garden too this year

    A sneaky photo of a salvia in my garden before we set off on our trip to the Yeo Valley Organic Garden – they have been attracting bees in huge numbers.

    Quarry/building site?

    Gatekeeper butterfly

    Daucus carota – wild carrot

    Digitalis ferruginea – rusty foxglove

    Painted Lady butterfly on verbena

    Kniphofia – I like its common name of “torch lily”

    Painted Lady would be well camouflaged in the Knophofia

    The gravel garden is full of pollinators and butterflies

    There are great views of Blagdon Lake from the garden

    My only bird photo – very very distant cattle egret next to the lake

    Now there’s a thought if you have the space

    Interesting water feature surrounded by drought tolerant flowers

    Common blue damselfly

    Water feature to die for

    Southern hawker in the bronze garden

    Large white butterfly attracted by the verbena

    Flower bed in the Gravel garden

    Still loads more to see but the heat was getting more intense and the garden café was irresistible: the frittata and the zero degrees Goram IPA (from the local Butcombe brewery) are both highly recommended.

  • 20th July 2026 – WWT Slimbridge

    20th July 2026 – WWT Slimbridge

    We had to go to Cheltenham today (30 odd miles to the north of Bristol) and took advantage of the trip by calling in at WWT Slimbridge on the way home. We were really surprised how much there was to see from just a few of the hides.

    Here are a few of my photos from today.

    Oystercatchers mating

    Gadwall in flight

    Eurasian oystercatcher

    Mainly black-tailed godwit

    Northern lapwing

    Eurasian oystercatcher with something much smaller than an oyster

    Black-tailed godwit

    Ruff

    Ruff

    Ruff in flight

    Green sandpiper

    Green sandpiper in flight

    Green sandpiper

    Black-tailed godwit

    Northern lapwing

    Goldfinch

    Yellow wagtail

    Ruff and yellow wagtail

    Black-tailed godwit, black-headed gull and shelduck

    Black-tailed godwit and black-headed gull

    Hummingbird hawk-moth

  • 10th-17th July 2026 – Buckler’s Hard, Hampshire

    10th-17th July 2026 – Buckler’s Hard, Hampshire

    It’s been over seven weeks since my last blog as, again, we have been “confined to barracks”. 

    Unfortunately, on our last holiday my wife had a fall when we were out walking on a coastal path and the resulting fracture has restricted any meaningful sorties since then. With good support from her osteopath (and determination on her part) she made sufficient progress for us to embark on another trip to the south coast and make the most of the wonderful summer that we are enjoying in the UK.

    We found an amazing rental cottage at Buckler’s Hard (the shipyard where boats for Nelson’s Navy were built) on the banks of the Beaulieu River, in the heart of the New Forest. This fabulous venue enabled us to do some local birdwatching and to visit some other nearby birding sites which were easy for us to access.

    Buckler’s Hard

    The cottage, a unique Grade II listed former bath house with thatched roof and rustic tree trunk veranda, was set in an idyllic location beside the Beaulieu River and was ideal for our purposes.

    The Duke’s Bath House

    The Beaulieu River

    In the secluded extensive garden we enjoyed seeing a variety of birds and regularly heard redshank, curlew and oystercatcher on the river banks.

    The garden to the rear of the Duke’s Bath House

    Some of the birds that we saw in the garden:

    Greenfinch

    Song thrush

    Common blackbird

    Juvenile European robin

    European robin

    House sparrow

    Goldfinch

    Starling in the evening sunshine

    Pied wagtail on the lawn

    Reed warbler seen from a nearby bird hide

    Common redshank on the banks of the Beaulieu River

    … and even a pup seal

    In the evenings we were treated to the sight of adult barn swallows feeding their young and rabbits playing on the lawn.

    Barn swallows

    Barn swallows

    Barn swallow

    Our first trip out was only a dozen miles away to Calshot, a coastal village at the west corner of Southampton Water where it joins the Solent. Calshot is notable for its role in the development of aircraft and flying boats. In 1913 the Royal Flying Corps established Calshot Naval Air Station (later known as RNAS Calshot and RAF Calshot) at the end of Calshot Spit and there are still the large hangars which are put to good use as activities centres.

    Little egret

    Oystercatcher with muddy bill

    Curlew

    Common ringed plover

    Common ringed plover in flight

    Oystercatcher in flight

    Sandwich tern

    A colony of Sandwich terns on Southampton Water

    Black-headed gull

    Our next birding trip was again only a very short ride to Lymington and Keyhaven Marshes. The internationally important coastal marshes and mudflats are teeming with fish and, as a result, thousands of sea birds and waders flock here.

    Curlew with sea lavender

    Common linnet

    European stonechat

    Barn swallow

    Meadow pipit

    Common tern

    Both of these sites we would love to visit again, outside the summer season when we might expect to see even more birds.

    For non birding activities we visited nearby Lymington and Beaulieu (but unfortunately we did not have enough time to visit the estate with its country house and excellent National Motor Museum) and spent a lot of time absorbing the atmosphere of Buckler’s Hard by visiting its excellent museum and taking a river cruise on the Beaulieu river.

    We also had several visits to the Master Builder’s House (now a pub and restaurant) which, fortuitously, was only a hundred yards from our cottage.

    The village of Buckler’s Hard

    Outside the excellent museum at Buckler’s Hard

    Representation of Buckler’s Hard in its boat builder heyday in the early 19th Century in the museum

    The Montague Arms in the village of Beaulieu

    Part of the Beaulieu Estate

    It was good to enjoy a pint of our local (Bristol) zero percent bitter on a stop-off for lunch on the way home!

  • 1st June 2026 – Middlebere Peninsula and RSPB Arne, Dorset

    1st June 2026 – Middlebere Peninsula and RSPB Arne, Dorset

    This morning we explored the Middlebere Peninsula just south of RSPB Arne. Rain was forecast throughout the day. It didn’t materialise until the afternoon but the light was not good. From the avocet hide we could see an osprey on a nest. On the estuary there were shelduck, black-headed gulls, several little egrets and a few common redshank but everything was rather distant and didn’t make for good photos in the poor light. My best opportunities were near some National Trust cottages where there was a pied wagtail and some barn swallows.

    Pied wagtail

    Barn swallow

    Barn swallow

    Barn swallow

    Osprey on nest at top of post

    Distant redshank

    Little egret

    Black-headed gull

    Barn swallow

    Barn swallow

    We had an early lunch at the visitors’ centre at RSPB Arne and then explored the Shoreline trail but the rain set in and, apart from a song thrush, a blackbird, geese and oystercatchers, there wasn’t a lot to photograph.

    Song thrush

    Song thrush

    Song thrush

    Blackbird

    Oystercatcher with small wader behind

    Oystercatchers

    Common carder bee

    The rain setting in

  • 31st May 2026 – Durlston Country Park, Dorset

    31st May 2026 – Durlston Country Park, Dorset

    Oh I do love to be beside the seaside ….

    This morning we discovered Durlston Country Park for the first time. 

    The coastline from Durlston Country Park

    Durlston’s Jurassic coast

    Durlston Country Park is a 320 acre National Nature Reserve consisting of beautiful clifftop walks with stunning views, a recently renovated Victorian Durlston Castle with its historic Great Globe, a visitor centre, cafe and Anvil Point Lighthouse. It’s located just 1 mile from Swanage and only 15 minutes from where we are staying. The Park, which is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site is owned and managed by the Dorset County.

    The Great Globe – constructed of Portland stone in 1887 – is one of the largest stone spheres in the world  and weighs about 40 tonnes and is 3 metres in diameter.

    On the circular cliff top walk we had good views of guillemots and razorbills in the sea below the cliffs and even better views of northern fulmar and herring gulls flying by and, along with the rock doves, settling on the cliffs.

    Northern fulmar

    Razorbill

    Mainly guillemots

    Northern fulmar

    Northern fulmar

    Rock doves

    Guillemot enjoying the wide open spaces of the sea after being jammed tightly together on the rock faces

    Anvil Point Lighthouse

    Cormorant or shag?

    European herring gull

    On the return part of the walk, back from the cliffs, the best of the birds we saw was a common whitethroat but the flora was interesting too.

    Buff tailed bumble bee

    Common whitethroat

    Common whitethroat

    Iris
    Roe deer

    Roe deer

    After our walk we dropped down into Swanage and had a lovely fish lunch alfresco at the Pier Café and Bistro located on the historic Victorian pier.

    Swanage

    What’s not to like?

  • 30th May 2026 – RSPB Arne, Dorset

    30th May 2026 – RSPB Arne, Dorset

    We have just arrived on holiday on the south coast of England, in the county of Dorset. The area we are staying is known as the Isle of Purbeck on the Jurassic Coast. Despite its name, it is not actually an island—it is a peninsula bordered by the English Channel, Poole Harbour, and the River Frome.

    Today we visited the RSPB nature reserve at Arne. Arne is situated on Poole Harbour and within the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The landscape of heathlands, ancient oak woodlands,  wetlands and mudflats is truly stunning and teeming with wildlife.

    When I visit such nature reserves I can’t help thinking about the thousands of hours that volunteers have dedicated to making them such phenomenal places to visit. On our visit today we met a number of such people who helped us by telling us about osprey and white-tailed eagle projects and even helped us to spot both of these birds.

    Some of the photos of our first day in this area showing the variety of wildlife:

    The ruins of Corfe Castle, close to Arne

    Tree pipit on the heathland

    Heather on the heathland

    European herring gull catching a crab

    Emperor dragonfly

    Four-spot chaser

    Cinnabar moth

    Foxgloves between heathland and wood

    Red admiral butterfly

    Painted lady butterfly

    Underside of painted lady butterfly

    Rhododendron, very attractive but quite invasive
    Oystercatchers on the mudflats

    Little egret flying over the estuary

    Black-headed gull

    Shelduck
    Grey squirrel in woodland

    Sikka deer in the woodland

    Common buzzard

    Osprey on nest

    White-tailed eagle being mobbed by another (smaller) bird

    Outdoor entertainment – a poetry and song event on a Jurassic theme at our local pub, The Square and Compass, at Worth Matravers.
    A great way to start our holiday – the local beers and ciders were good too.

  • 25th May 2026 – Stoke Park Estate, Bristol

    25th May 2026 – Stoke Park Estate, Bristol

    Stoke Park Estate is only half a mile from our home but I have not been able to get here for over 6 months. Today was forecast to be over 30 degrees Celsius so this morning we decided to have a walk there before it was too hot.

    It’s a very pretty spot but since the 1970s it has had a motorway (one of the main arterial roads leading into the city of Bristol) passing through it. It’s quite amazing that it has been spared house building which has been quite intense on this side of the city.

    Duchess Pond in the Stoke Park Estate

    The M32 passes along the south side of Stoke Park

    The main attraction were swifts (and one house martin) which were swooping down on the pond for drinks. There were plenty of other birds to see such as Canada geese and their goslings, moorhens, coots, greenfinch, goldfinch, blackbirds, wrens , chiffchaff and a green woodpecker but the challenge for me (ambitiously with only a 70-200 lens) were the hirundines. I was pleased to photograph my first damselflies of the season too.

    Common swift

    Common swift

    House martin

    Large red damselfly

    Large red damselfly
    Azure damselflies

    Greenfinch in flight

    Common swift

    Common swift taking a drink

    Common blackbird

    Canada geese and their goslings on Duchess Pond

    Common swifts above the pond

    The short walk to the tunnel which passes under the M32 and into Stoke Park
  • 17th May 2026 – Aust, Severn Estuary, Gloucestershire

    17th May 2026 – Aust, Severn Estuary, Gloucestershire

    This morning we had a walk locally along the Severn Way on the Severn Estuary.

    I had cataract surgery on one of my eyes just two days ago (in and out in about an hour) and was keen to get out and test my “new”eyesight. The surgery has definitely been a success but, even though it was quite dull, it was very windy and I had to wear sunglasses to protect my eye.

    At first I was disappointed as I could see no birds but we were very heartened as we could hear skylarks all around us. Eventually, I was able to pick out quite a few and, although I only had a 200mmm lens with me, I was able to get a few shots.

    The Severn Estuary

    Eurasian skylark in flight

    Eurasian skylark

    Eurasian skylark

    Eurasian skylark

    On the way back we could just make out shelduck and good numbers of oystercatchers on the estuary.

    Shelduck and oystercatchers on the estuary.

    I was pleased to pick out a common buzzard at some distance and obligingly it stayed around a while as we got closer to it.

    Common buzzard

    The same common buzzard

    Before we arrived back at the car there was a reed bunting making itself known to all and sundry, possibly looking for a mate.

    Common red bunting

    Common reed bunting

  • 9th May 2026 – Yeo Valley Garden, North Somerset

    9th May 2026 – Yeo Valley Garden, North Somerset

    Definitely one of our favourite gardens to visit locally, Yeo Valley Organic Garden set in the beautiful countryside of the Chew Valley and adjacent to Blagdon Lake was as stunning as ever this morning. This was not a birding visit but it was pleasing to see our first hobby of the season, even if it was rather distant hunting dragonflies over the lake. There were also a few butterflies and insects to challenge my photography skills.

    A distant Eurasian hobby in flight

    There’s always a robin

    Painted lady butterfly on allium

    Speckled wood butterfly on beech hedge

    Rose chafers

    Rose chafers

    The wisteria were probably the stand out plants of today

    Selection of photos of some of the wonderful plants in the garden:

  • 7th May 2026 – WWT Slimbridge

    7th May 2026 – WWT Slimbridge

    We could see a pocket of fine weather this morning and headed for our “safe place” at Slimbridge on the Severn Estuary.

    We weren’t expecting much activity as not much has been reported here recently – serious birders are probably down on the estuary looking for migrants. However, there was plenty to keep us happy with lots of birds nest-building or, in the case of the geese and coots, looking after their new offspring.

    Greylag geese and goslings

    Greylag geese goslings

    Canada goose with goslings

    Coots and their young receiving lots of attention – not a bad thing with so many gulls around

    Avocets with black-headed gull behind

    Avocet

    Common shelduck causing a rumpus

    Black-headed gull with nesting material

    Mallards flying in synchronisation

    Avocet in flight

    I just can’t resist a robin

    We also saw a pair of common kingfishers fetching food for their young but it was challenging photographing them as we were in a hide behind glass and at some distance. Still a treat all the same.

    Common kingfisher flying in front of tufted ducks

    Common kingfisher in front of yellow flags

    Common kingfisher close to its nest

    Common kingfisher in flight

    The centre has built a new area for school groups to have their packed lunches and the new planting has been very successful and particularly attractive at this time of the year.

    Newly planted area
    A riot of colours

    Ragged robin – lychnis flos-cuculi

    Iris – blue flags

    Yellow flags

    Alpine thrift

    Even the dandelion seedheads were looking attractive

    I even have a soft spot for sedums

    The rain set in early afternoon on our way home – the farmers and the gardeners will be happy.

  • 3rd May 2026 – Bristol, UK

    3rd May 2026 – Bristol, UK

    I only occasionally see jay in our garden but each year, at about this time, they come to my neighbour’s garden to collect nesting material.

    This morning 2 jay provided quite a spectacle until the bully boys of the bird world, magpies, came and saw them off.

    Eurasian jay

    Pair of jays

    Eurasian jay

    Eurasian jay

    Eurasian jay

    Eurasian jay

    Eurasian jay

    Eurasian jay

  • 27th – 30th April 2026 – Pembrokeshire

    27th – 30th April 2026 – Pembrokeshire

    We have spent three nights visiting friends in Pembrokeshire in Wales. As I am building up my strength and confidence, 3 nights has been perfect as we had leisurely trips there and back (about 300 miles in total), two full days exploring parts of Pembrokeshire and plenty of time to enjoy our friends’ company.

    Monday 27th April

    On our outward journey we stopped off at Dyffryn Gardens, an Edwardian garden being restored by the National Trust, on the far side of Cardiff in the beautiful Vale of Glamorgan. This is only the second time we have visited these gardens and there have been huge improvements since our last visit in 2018. As the Dyffryn website says: “Dyffryn has something new to discover on every visit, from intricate themed garden rooms to sweeping formal lawns and productive kitchen gardens to a large arboretum”. We particularly enjoyed the show of wisteria which are at their best at this time of the year.

    There always seems to be a robin to greet you in formal gardens – Dyffryn was no exception

    A view of the front of the house at Dyffryn from the edge of the arboretum – lots of orange tip and holly blue butterflies to see.
    The rear of the house
    Splendid beech tree and very old wisteria

    The acers too were at their best

    Wisteria in one of the themed garden rooms

    Close up of wisteria at the rear of the house

    Our second stop was at the delightful town of Laugharne, on the estuary where the River Taf flows into Carmarthen Bay, and which is synonymous with the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas who lived in Laugharne from 1949 until his death in 1953. The National Trust maintains the Dylan Thomas boathouse which has magnificent views across the estuary.

    Laugharne Castle

    We had a brief moment for birdwatching but mainly enjoyed the company of a local resident who engaged with us in conversation in the beautiful mid-afternoon sunshine.

    Little egret and Eurasian curlew

    Barn swallow over the estuary

    Closer view of the barn swallow

    Tuesday 28th April

    Our main focus was a a spot of birdwatching at Pickleridge Lagoon and the Gann on the coast near Dale.

    The weather was rather dull but we saw some good birds including oystercatchers, whimbrel, a grey plover, common ringed and dunlin.

    Grey plover

    Common ringed plover and dunlin

    Whimbrel

    Distant oystercatcher on the low tide

    Not the Strait of Hormuz but the refineries around Milford Haven

    Wednesday 29th April

    Back to sunshine even if the breeze was rather stiff and fresh. We spent the day close to our friends house near to Cresswell Quay. This area is particularly beautiful and there was plenty to see and photograph.

    Dunnock in our friends’ garden

    House martin at Cresswell Quay

    The view from Cresswell Quay

    It would be strange to see puffins (unless you had drunk too much of their local brew) at Cresswell Quay but Skomer Island, famous for its puffins, is not far from here.

    Whereas, London is 237 and a quarter (!) of a mile from here.

    Red kite at Cresswell Quay

    Common buzzard at Creswell Quay

    Later we visited Carew Castle which is also close to our friends’ house

    Lots of house martin here but no sand martin which have been reported recently

    Early purple orchid near the castle

    After a leisurely lunch at Stackpole we visited the nearby Lily Ponds at Bosherston but not many birds in evidence.

    Even too early for the lily ponds

    … but the ramsoms in the woods were spectacular

    30th April

    On our journey home we stopped at the wonderful Aberglasnay Gardens near to Carmarthen. Besides the gardens we enjoyed close up views of robins, wrens, blackbirds, a song thrush and a red kite which came close overhead and which I managed to photograph with my compact camera.

    Song thrush

    Eurasian wren

    European robin

    Red kite

    Aberglasnay gardens

    Aberglasnay gardens

    Wisteria – a speciality here too

    Red kite

    Camassia were the stars of the plant show

    Post script:

    Great spotted woodpecker in the garden at our friend’s (taken through the window)

    Great spotted woodpecker

    Great spotted woodpecker