Month: April 2021
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29th April 2021 – Stoke Park, Bristol and WWT Slimbridge
We had booked into Slimbridge for 11 a.m. but I couldn’t resist popping over to Stoke Park Estate (my local park) before we set off to see if I could see a pair of garden warblers and a yellow wagtail of which I had had reports. There was a beautiful light and I spotted a…
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25th April 2021 – Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire
Inspired by my trip to the Forest of Dean with the travel company Naturetrek I felt I needed a return trip. We spent the morning at Nagshead. I must confess I saw nowhere near as many birds without a guide but we still had a splendid time. We were greated by a pair of Greylag…
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20th April 2021 – Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire
What a splendid day! I had subscribed to my second ever guided bird watching trip (my first was in the Western Cape in South Africa – oh what memories) with the nature travel company Naturetrek. Not as exotic as the trip in South Africa but I was not at all disappointed. Our guide, Oliver Smart,…
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18th April 2021 – RSPB Ham Wall
How wonderful to breathe the countryside again. The hides at RSPB Ham Wall (on the Somerset Levels) were closed due to Covid-19 restrictions but we so enjoyed walking the pathways of the reserve and seeing some of our old favourites. Above all we loved listening to a whole variety of birds without the sound of…
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15th April 2021 – Stoke Park Estate, Bristol
I made an early visit to Stoke Park and I was rewarded with a wonderful light and some lovely birds.
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13th April 2021 – Stoke Park Estate, Bristol
After a period of dry weather it is now possible to visit Stoke Park without having to wear Wellington boots. This morning, in the sun, we spent a very pleasant hour chatting to people , seeing a few birds and hearing so many more. The highlight was the sun on our backs without a bitterly…
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12th April 2021 – Greenbank Cemetery, Bristol
We spent a good hour again this afternoon in a local cemetery looking for a pied flycatcher. This time we were lucky and had views of it flitting from tree to tree for 10 minutes. Frustratingly I never had a clear view of it with my camera but I was quite happy to get a…
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11th April 2021 – Stoke Park Estate, Bristol
The common redstart was the incentive to wander over to Duchess Pond in the Stoke Park Estate (less than 500 metres from home) and we were lucky to see it again. There were lots of treats including our first swallows of the year, willow warblers, chiffchaffs, reed buntings, green finches, blackbirds, robins, a cormorant, 2…
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10th April 2021 – Greenbank Cemetery, Bristol
There have been reports of a pied flycatcher (and lots of willow warblers) at Greenbank Cemetery not far from Eastville Park. We went and had a look this afternoon but the closest we got to seeing one was looking at the photos of other photographers who had bagged some great shots in the morning. My…
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9th April 2021 – Stoke Park Estate, Bristol
I went back to Stoke Park with my godson to see if we could see the redstart. With his sharp eyes he had no problem picking it out. I could only see it when it perched on the wire but he was able to see it scrambling in the grass and on an adjacent tree.…
Martin's Bird Blog & Nature Photos 