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.
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.
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.
In the secluded extensive garden we enjoyed seeing a variety of birds and regularly heard redshank, curlew and oystercatcher on the river banks.
Some of the birds that we saw in the garden:
In the evenings we were treated to the sight of adult barn swallows feeding their young and rabbits playing on the lawn.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Oh I do love to be beside the seaside ….
This morning we discovered Durlston Country Park for the first time.
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.
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.
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.
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.
What’s not to like?
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:
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.
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.
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.
On the way back we could just make out shelduck and good numbers of 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.
Before we arrived back at the car there was a reed bunting making itself known to all and sundry, possibly looking for a mate.
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.
Selection of photos of some of the wonderful plants in the garden:
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.
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.
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.
The rain set in early afternoon on our way home – the farmers and the gardeners will be happy.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
After a leisurely lunch at Stackpole we visited the nearby Lily Ponds at Bosherston but not many birds in evidence.
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.
Post script:
Great spotted woodpecker in the garden at our friend’s (taken through the window)
We had a Sunday morning walk along the Severn Estuary between the two bridges that cross the River Severn from England to Wales. We had underestimated the warmth of the sun and had too many warm layers on – it’s not very often you can say that along this stretch, especially in April.
The best of what we saw were a northern wheatear on the warth (the grassy bank next to the river) and a pair of linnets. To the right of the footpath there is a private wetlands (Pilning Wetlands) which you generally need a good telescope to see birds but, by venturing along another footpath, we did get close enough to photograph some little ringed plover and pair of avocets (but not very well). Along the path there were also common whitethroat and another linnet.
Martin's Bird Blog & Nature Photos 