Month: April 2017
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28th April 2017 -Severn Estuary and then Eastville Park
Reports of a Short-eared Owl took me to Aust on the Severn Estuary. No luck with the SEO but sight of a female Marsh Harrier as I arrived and then close-ups of a pair of Kestrels. A Reed Bunting then took the same perch once the Kestrels vacated it. I then went back to New…
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26th April 2017 – Somerset Levels
Another marvellous day out on the Somerset Levels: this time with Allan Chard, another birder from my local patch in Bristol. He took me for my first visit to RSPB Greylake, where I was hoping to see Sedge or Reed Warblers. There were glimpses of Lapwig, Little Egret and Sand Martin before all the excitement…
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24th April 2017 – Northwick Warth
I suppose it was clutching at straws trying to photograph birds in such dismal light but hey ho! Not only was it very gloomy on the Severn Estuary but it was very cold too, especially after the lovely warm weather we have had recently. A couple of local birders suggested I might need a very…
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22nd April 2017 – Stoke Park
An explosion of blossom and ducklings at Duchess Pond in Stoke Park. These are the first ducklings I have seen this year. There were 3 Mallards with 11, 10 and 3 ducklings. Does it mean the third one has already lost many of her brood? Full steam ahead A proud mum Dad seems to have done…
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19th April 2017 – Eastville Park
Blossom in Eastvillle Park It may have been a gloomy evening in Eastville Park but this horse chestnut flower was fully open on the 19th April The Times in its “Weather Eye” on 20th April writes: “a great green wave is sweeping northwards through the country with leaves bursting open on trees in the great spectacular…
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18th April 2017 – Somerset Levels
What an amazing day out! I met up with fellow Eastville Park birder Steve Poulsom at RSPB Ham Wall on the Somerset Levels just as the sun was burning off the mist and, although it was rather chilly in the hides, we spent the day absorbed in all the best action that the Somerset Levels can…
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17th April 2017 – Chipping Sodbury Common
Well, thanks to Phil Hemming’s comment, I was able to find the lake, but alas no Smew. All we could see were 2 Greylag Geese, 2 Canada Geese, 2 Coot, 6 Mallard, and a fly-over Grey Heron. In the wood nearby we heard (then saw) a Willow Warbler; and then back on the Common proper we saw a…
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16th April 2017 – Easter Sculpture Festival and Quilting Exhibition
There is a fairly tenuous nature link with my blog as the Easter Sculpture Festival and Quilting Exhibition was held in the University of Bristol Botanic Garden. The garden was the best I had seen it and the sculptures were fabulous in this setting. I haven’t included any photos of the Quilting Exhibition as it was…
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16th April 2017 – Clifton Downs Bristol
I had a lot of fun trying to photograph Peregrines over the Avon Gorge this morning. There were moments of sunshine, but not when the Peregrine appeared, and there was a biting wind to test my patience. Must go back again on a brighter and warmer day!
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15th April 2017 – South Gloucestershire
I went to look for a female Smew which had been reported on the lake on Chipping Sodbury Common. I couldn’t even find the lake let alone the Smew. No one knew where the lake was, even a man living on the Common had no idea. I went to go to the Golf Club (there…
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