Author: martintayler

It was mainly about the grey herons in the park this morning – that was only because I couldn’t find any kingfishers or dippers!

We are having a short stay (short in time rather than distance) in Scotland. We are staying just over the border at Glencapel, a few miles south of Dumfries on the River Nith.

There are two very good bird reserves nearby: the WWT reserve at Caerlaverock and RSPB Mersehead.

We stopped off at Kendal in the Lake District on our journey north but we only had glimpses of the beautiful scenery as the weather was not kind to us.

We had a recce around WWT Caerlaverock on our arrival and were not only rewarded by seeing the large flocks of barnacle geese and Whooper swans but saw some birds we don’t see at home, in particular yellowhammers.

Our second day in Scotland we visited RSPB Mersehead, the other side of the River Nith on the edge of the Solway Firth. They have maintained a mosaic of wetland habitats on the reserve, including wet grassland, open water, ditches and reed swamp. This part of Scotland is suffering from bird flu and it was very sad to see dead carcasses of geese. Whilst the risk to people from this disease is very low, there are biosecurity measures and signage in place on the reserve for visitors to try to help prevent further spread amongst wild birds.

Although the star features are the barnacle geese, lapwing and pintails we also enjoyed seeing siskin and twite -birds we rarely see close to home. We also had a very close encounter with a roe deer.

Our holiday cottage looks out on to the River Nith and the Kirkconnell Merse Nature Reserve on the far bank.

As I was trying to focus on a curlew one of our friends (a top bird spotter) with whom we are staying was gesticulating from the window and, when we could make out what she was saying, we realised that there was a peregrine falcon on the far bank with its prey and a red kite on a nearby post looking to plunge in, if given half a chance. Quite a drama pursued with the peregrine and the red kite taking to flight and even another peregrine appearing.

We eventually tore ourselves away and went off to the Caerlaverock Wetland Centre just down the road.

Again the barnacle geese and the Whooper swans were the highlight but we also enjoyed seeing close up lots of other birds such as fieldfare, redwing and blackbirds making the most of the luscious haws, the fruit of the hawthorn.

On the ponds there were wigeon, teal, shelduck, pintail, tufted ducks and snipe. Along the lanes we also saw treecreepers and out on the wetlands another peregrine.

On the way home we stopped briefly to visit Caerlaverock Castle and then along the banks of the River Nith to see redshank and curlew feeding on the mudflats.

Back at the cottage I couldn’t resist taking photos of the spectacular sunset.

Today, our last day in Scotland, the weather has closed in and I am taking the opportunity to write my blog before the long journey home tomorrow.

Additional note

Just as we were packing the car up to return home there were a couple of extra sightings (3 golden eye and two litle egrets) on the River Nith in front of the cottage as well as a huge flock of barnacle geese which filled the sky and then landed on the reserve.

There were glimpses of sunshine as we started our walk in our local park but it soon became gloomy and rain threatened. The kingfisher, our local celebrity, (and the magic of Adobe Lightroom) persuaded me it was worth publishing a blog.

It was good to get out this morning having self-isolated all week. I went looking for a firecrest which other birders/photographers have been seeing all week in Stoke Park but I didn’t have any luck.

There were 5 ducklings on Duchess Pond which were drawing the attention of a few predators. The finest of them all was a sparrowhawk.

There’s always something worth photographing here but the nearby motorway is rather noisy. The beauty of nature still overcomes the disturbance of man.

We have had a couple of nights away with friends at Dumbleton Hall Hotel on the border of Gloucestershire and Worcestershire between the towns of Evesham and Tewkesbury. Dumbleton Hall is an impressive traditional Cotswold Manor House set in 19 acres of private gardens and woodland with its own lake.

I hadn’t really expected to be taking “nature” photos during our stay and was only equipped with my bridge camera. However, there were many more opportunities than I expected and as the countryside was so colourful I am publishing a little more than just the bird photos.

We stopped at Tewkesbury on our way there and visited the Abbey. No birds, just trees!

Our second day we spent walking around the grounds of the hotel, on to the village of Dumbleton and over the hill to the nearby village of Alderton and its pub! Red Kites, buzzards and kestrels didn’t quite match the numbers of redwings, fieldfare and pheasants but there were plenty to see. Again the trees were amazing.

On the third day we visited the National Trust property of Croome. The Croome website says to ” Expect the unexpected. Incredible innovation, colonial links, devastating loss, remarkable survival and magnificent restoration all in one place.” Stonechats, more redwings and a kestrel wasn’t what I was expecting. With a great backdrop of the Malverns we had a splendid walk around the grounds.

It was another amazing November morning and we had a pleasant walk along the Severn Estuary from New Passage to Severn Beach and back. We then lingered a while to watch the birds at New Passage.

We could make out good flocks of wigeon, Canada geese, black-tailed godwits, lapwing and curlew as well as two northern pintail but they were all a bit distant. However, there was one spectacular moment when a peregrine spooked the black-tailed godwits and we could make it out flying above and amongst them.

Fortnightly my wife has a patchwork and quilting class in North Somerset and I take the opportunity to drop her off and go birdwatching in that area. The last few occasions I have been further south to the Somerset Levels but this time I had a day in the Chew Valley at Chew Valley Lake and Blagdon Lake. The weather was fabulous and there were plenty of birds to keep me occupied.

At my first spot, at Herriott’s bridge at Chew Valley Lake, I saw bearded tits (everyone’s favourites) but they didn’t hang around for me to photograph them. My first photos were of a pair of gadwall (could they have been the pair that I saw in Eastville Park?)

There were thousands of waterfowl on the lakes but most of them were telescope distance away. Here are some of the ones that came close enough to photograph.

And some of the woodland birds …

At Blagdon the highlight was three Egyptian geese which looked stunning in the late afternoon sun.

Needless to say I was late getting back to pick up my wife.

And I thought it was gloomy yesterday!

However, the visit was well worth it as there was a pair of gadwall (which are very rare visitors to the park).

We also saw seven cormorants and three grey herons which were big enough to photograph in the dismal light. A jay also added some colour but I was too slow to photograph it.

Another gloomy (but mild) day – but not so gloomy in our local park.

A few photographs of some favourites on a very gloomy morning at Slimbridge Wetlands Centre in Gloucestershire