Category: Blog
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12-15th May 2023 – Pembrokeshire
We have had very limited opportunity to get out and about recently so it was a real treat to spend a few days last week at some friends who live in Pembrokeshire. Although not a birding visit our friends were sympathetic enough to afford me plenty of opportunity to get some nature photos. Our first…
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9th May 2023 – RSPB Ham Wall
I was very pleased to spot the Great Reed Warbler which has been resident at Ham Wall for the last few weeks. I thought I might have difficulty in finding it but its very loud song (and some helpful birders) helped me find it easily. The Great Reed Warbler is a rare passage migrant in…
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4th May 2023 – Chew Valley, North Somerset
The last few days we have been making the most of the opportunity to savour spring in the countryside as the weather forecast is not very encouraging. This morning we visited the Yeo Valley Organic Garden in Chew Valley, a favourite of ours. On the way home we stopped briefly at Chew Valley lake where…
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3rd May 2023 – Bowood Woodland Garden, Wiltshire
We visited the woodland walks and rides of Bowood House in Wiltshire which are open to the public only from mid-April to early June. There are over two miles of meandering paths through the woodland valleys with wonderful vistas of bluebells, magnolias and azaleas (and later rhododendrons). Our best “bird” moment was at the open…
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28th April 2023 – The Forest of Dean
I had subscribed to a an afternoon birding walk in the Forest of Dean organised jointly by local retailer “Clifton Cameras” and “Zeiss Optics”. The walk was billed as an opportunity to view and experience Zeiss’s new SLF binoculars and Digital Thermal Imaging (DTI) cameras as well as other optics. The Forest of Dean is…
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15th April 2023 – Home
I seem to be missing the excitement of spring as I have had very limited opportunity to get out and about in recent weeks. So, it was quite comforting to see a few birds through the window from my lounge this morning, in particular two jays that were gathering nest making materials. In addition from…
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24th March 2023 – Eastville Park, Bristol
A walk through my local park in the rain showers this afternoon was rewarded with a view of a tawny owl in an owl box on the island in the middle of the lake.
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14th March 2023 – Somerset Levels
The weather was kinder today and, although there was a fresh breeze throughout, it was sunny for most of the day. I visited 3 nature reserves on the Somerset Levels, about an hour and a half south from my home in Bristol. At RSPB Catcott Lows a couple of wardens had just disturbed most of…
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8th March 2023 – Pink in Nature
Denzil Nature tells us that the weather is bleak in Belgium and so for this week he has set a new photo challenge of showing pink in nature (to cheer us up). (https://denzilnature.com/2023/03/08/nature-photo-challenge-3-pink/) It’s equally bleak for us in Bristol in the south west of England and its even snowing here this morning. Amazingly we…
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5th March 2023 – Galleries
I have created a new “Galleries” section on my blog to highlight some of my bird photos. I have purposely not labelled the birds in the mixed galleries as I thought it might be fun (for me too) to try our luck at identifying them. They are labelled elsewhere on the site. So far I…
Martin's Bird Blog & Nature Photos 