A stroll around our local park was well rewarded this morning with a tawny owl, a dipper and a kingfisher on a post. I think I ought to do the lottery today!
Category: Blog
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29th October 2024 – Eastville Park, Bristol
Tawny owl Dipper Dipper Kingfisher Kingfisher Kingfisher Kingfisher Kingfisher Kingfisher -
10th October 2024 – Salinas de Olhão, The Algarve, Portugal
We are enjoying a short stay based in Faro on the Algarve in Portugal.
It’s not really a ‘birding’ holiday but we have come equipped with walking boots, binoculars and, in my case, a bridge camera.
Our second ‘birding’ opportunity was to the east of Faro along some of the disused salt pans to the west of Olhão. Here we were lucky to have fairly close up views of waders (although not fantastic light) on the estuary and especially good views of spoonbills, little egrets, greater flamingos and other waders on the salt pans.
Black-tailed godwit 
Flyover spoonbills 
Selection of waders 
Spoonbills preening 
Dunlin 
Little egret 
Common ringed plover 
Sanderling 
Turnstone 
Black-winged stilt 
Caspian tern 
Slender-billed gull 
Zitting cisticola 
Greater flamingos 
Greenshank 
Las salinas de Olhāo After our birding session we behaved more like normal tourists and visited the food market at Olhāo and had another lovely lunch in a back street alley restaurant away from the main tourist area. This time our walking gear didn’t look too out of place.
The back alleys of Ohāo The rest of our stay we have been doing cultural things and just wandering around Faro enjoying the local flora.
Faro Town Hall at night 
The cathedral at Faro 
Faro old city walls at night -
8th October 2024 – Ria Formosa Nature Park, The Algarve, Portugal
We are enjoying a short stay based in Faro on the Algarve in Portugal.
It’s not really a ‘birding’ holiday but we have come equipped with walking boots, binoculars and, in my case, a bridge camera.
Our first ‘birding’ opportunity was in the Ria Formosa Nature Park to the west of Faro, along the São Lourenço trail which winds its way between the Ria Formosa and the Sāo Lourenço golf course. There were a few bird hides along the way but we didn’t spend any time in them as we were able to enjoy the bird life as we walked the trail and benefited fully from the pleasant weather.
Along the estuary there were lots of waders, spoonbills, little egrets and storks. On the edges of the golf course we saw hoopoe, Iberian magpies, glossy ibis and lots of waterfowl on the golf course lakes.
My first photo of the day was a speckled wood butterfly 
Glossy ibis and yellow-bellied terrapin 
Iberian magpie 
Gadwall 
A flyover hoopoe 
Whimbrel devouring crab 
Spoonbill 
Greenshank 
Common stork 
Greater flamingo 
Shoveler 
Purple swamphen 
The lake on the Sāo Laurenço golf course 
A wooden bridge crosses the Ria Formosa to the beach and Gigí’s restaurant 
It was warm enough to be on the beach but everyone was walking, running, cycling and birdwatching We had a fantastic seafood lunch in Gigi’s beach restaurant at Quinta do Lago, which our taxi driver told us sometimes has a 6 month waiting list. The restaurant was quite rustic but the same could not be said of the clientele – that is until we arrived.
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4th October 2024 – WWT Slimbridge, Gloucestershire
A beautiful start to the day encouraged us to venture north from Bristol to spend a while at the World Wetlands Trust reserve at Slimbridge. We were well rewarded with close ups of black-tailed godwits, common greenshank, common redshank, northern lapwings, a little egret, Canada and Greylag geese and a green sandpiper.
Unfortunately, the beautiful light didn’t last long and nor did we.
Black-tailed godwit 
Black-tailed godwit 
Common greenshank 
Common greenshank 
Common greenshank 
Common greenshank and little egret 
Northern lapwing and little egret 
Common redshank in flight 
Common redshank with their feet firmly on the ground 
Canada geese 
Eurasian teal 
Greylag geese 
Close up of a northern lapwing showing its beautiful iridescent plumage to best effect 
Ruff 
Ruff 
Green sandpiper 
Green sandpiper 
Ruff 
Comma butterfly -
1st October 2024 – Avalon Marshes
It doesn’t seem to have stopped raining in the last fortnight so I wasn’t too surprised to find, when I called in again at Cheddar Reservoir, that the water levels had risen. I’m sure that Bristol Waterworks, as well as the Almighty, had something to do with it. So no waders today. However, I was very pleased to see a northern wheatear which had popped in on its migration south.
There were other small passerines flitting around to keep it company.
Meadow pipit 
Goldfinches I then carried on south to the Avalon Marshes.
I only had time for RSPB Ham Wall, but there was enough there to keep me occupied in the rather poor light. There were very few people around: perhaps they have all migrated too!
An acrobatic shoveler 
Gadwall having a wash 
Great crested grebe about to dive 
Cormorant 
Kestrel 
Kestrel 
Kestrel 
Great crested grebe 
Gadwall 
Grey heron with gadwall as bodyguards 
Great white egret preening 
Great white egret the right way up -
17th September 2024 – Cheddar Reservoir
I had a very brief stop at Cheddar Reservoir last week and hadn’t considered adding a blog; that is until today when it hasn’t stopped raining all day.
The reservoir was very low – due, I gather, to algae growing on a feeder river 
Great white egret 
Grey heron with an early supper 
There were a couple of black swans at the reservoir and they were quite aggressive to the mute swans 
Great white egret 
Common ringed plover to the right 
The grey wagtail came closer than all the other birds 
Grey heron and great white egret 
Little stint was the best of the birds for me I’m sure there was a lot more to see but, as much as I would have loved to linger in the warm sunshine, I had a tight deadline to meet.
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12th September 2024 – Tyntesfield (NT), Wraxall, Bristol
Bliss. The schoolchildren are finally back to school and we now have all these wonderful outdoors spaces to ourselves. When we started our visit in the morning sunshine it was even too early for pre-school age children. Perhaps their parents/grandparents/childminders were too exhausted after looking after their older siblings for a few weeks? Spare a thought for teachers who have them in their care for much longer periods.
And how we enjoyed Tyntesfield, an ornate Victorian Gothic Revival house with extensive garden and parkland, just a stone’s throw from Bristol.
We didn’t actually see many birds, and I certainly didn’t photograph any, but there were a few butterflies and the flowers in the walled garden and around the orangerie were well worth photographing and recording in a blog.
A small copper butterfly which has been very rare in these parts this summer The only downside seemed to be a strange smell in the air which, we presumed, must have been some sort of spreading of fertiliser. How appropriate was that as the house was paid for by the vast fortune made by William Gibbs, the owner of the monopoly on exporting valuable bird droppings from Peru.
As the ditty of the time had it:
William Gibbs made his dibs
From the turds of foreign birds
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28th August 2024 – WWT Slimbridge
Peter Scott opened Slimbridge, the first of nine WWT Wetland Centres across the UK, in 1946. Since then generations of families have visited the centre where their interest in nature and conservation has been nurtured.
However, today it seemed more like a vast playground for very young children and their mums, most of whom showed very little interest in the wildlife. It could have been worse as I imagine many of the older children were absent having their shoes fitted for the return to school.
We managed to find a few quiet areas away from the play areas and enjoyed seeing a few interesting birds.
Black-tailed godwits 
The black-tailed godwits were losing their breeding plumage 
Spotted redshank 
Greenshank 
Juvenile ruff 
Green sandpiper 
The ruff and the green sandpiper together 
Very distant common crane 
Ross’s goose and barnacle geese 
Grey heron with its catch 
Common snipe Common snipe in flight 
2 Eurasian spoonbills 
Eurasian spoonbills -
16th August 2024 – Cley next the Sea
A glorious day to end our stay in Norfolk: we started the day with a hobby at Cley Marshes and ended with three swallows (that is the Three Swallows pub along the border of Cley next the Sea and Newgate village).
Eurasian hobby Although we haven’t seen many marsh harriers until yesterday, we made up for it today.
Marsh harrier 
Marsh harrier As we made our way out to the Avocet hide we met a volunteer who warned us that, despite the glorious sunshine , the light was not good in the hides in that area. He was right. We weren’t very good at taking his advice as he told us the scones back at the visitors’ centre were very good, but when we got there, a little later, the smell of the bacon was irresistible. All very good though.
Not terribly good light in the hide either 
I’m not sure what this was just in front the hide. Linnet? 
When the birds faced the light, as this black-tailed godwit did, we were ok. 
Distant cattle egrets 
Ringed plovers 
Another marsh harrier bringing the breakfast back 
… and another settling into the reeds. 
Red admiral amongst the nettles 
Dunlin from the Bishops’ hide. (Not an ecclesiastical reference; the hide seemed to be named after Mr. and Mrs. Bishop) 
Little grebe 
Spoonbill amongst the geese 
Spoonbill preening 
And another spoonbill further back on the sea pool 
Norfolk hawker? Well we were in Norfolk! 
Sandwich tern from the beach 
Redshank on its own in a small pool 
Red kite caused mayhem on the ground After the pub we visited the church at Cley which is certainly not next the sea, but so magnificent that it will probably warrant another blog.
St Margaret, Cley-next-the-Sea 
Small white in the church yard enjoying the lavender (I hope as much as we enjoyed the beer and indeed the whole week) -
15th August 2024 – Blakeney, Norfolk
Almost a non-birding day; except that on our walk this morning to Wiveton Hall we did see our first marsh harrier of the week across the marshes.
A few years ago, on our first visit to Wiveton Hall, we had met the eccentric owner, Desmond, whose popular BBC programme “Normal for Norfolk” documented his adventures and the daily delights of life around the Hall, on the farm and in the café. No such luck today. However, the coffee was very good and was worth the walk.
From here we carried on to visit St Nicholas Church, Blakeney. I hope you agree that the inclusion of the visit is warranted here in that there was a wildlife aspect to our visit.
St Nicholas , Blakeney famous for its two towers: one at the west and a curious, spindly beacon rising to the south-east of the chancel whose purpose is not really known. 
It seems that the church’s policy is having a good effect. 
Simon Jenkins in his book of England’s 1000 Best Churches says “the earliest and most interesting part of the interior is the chancel , dating from a Carmelite friary founded here in 1296”. 
“The rare stepped seven-lancet east window is unusual for this late date. The only other medieval seven-lighter extant is at Ockham in Surrey” 
The nave is Perpendicular 
The significance of Blakeney’s coastal position is well recorded here 
Most of the church is flint coated … 
… except the chancel is mainly covered in concrete. 
In the afternoon we visited NATURAL SURROUNDINGS, Norfolk’s Wildlife-Gardening & Wildflower Centre next to Bayfield Hall, just a stone’s throw from Blakeney.
Small red-eyed damselfly 
House fly 
Definitely the stars of the show 
Red Admiral A very informative and enjoyable visit. Did I forget to mention that there’s a very good café with much too generous portions of cakes?
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14th August 2024 – NWT Cley Marshes, Norfolk
There was a big dip in the temperature today. Back to normality really. No, probably not as it wasn’t raining.
We had a pleasant morning stroll around Holt in North Norfolk and fitted in well with the age profile of the people we saw. I suppose all the young people from these parts were all off dashing around the globe.
In the afternoon we reverted to type and visited the Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserve at Cley Marshes. It never disappoints here. It’s probably not the best time of year to be visiting this reserve but there was plenty to keep us entertained. I particularly loved the swallows which had made their home in the hides. On reflection, I probably would have been better off taking photos of them with my phone camera than with a long lens but that would not have looked very cool.
Other top moments were a pair of spoonbills flying over, a flock of northern pintails and plenty of waders.
Swallow – you see why they call them barn swallows elsewhere 
Curlews 
Green sandpiper 
Common redshank 
Green sandpiper 
Swallow 
Green sandpiper 
Cormorant fishing 
Cormorant drying its wings I needed a long lens for this swallow photo 
Solitary goldfinch 
A charm of goldfinches 
Spoonbill approaching 
Spoonbill at close quarters 
Spoonbill flying over the hide (just) 
Curlew in flight 
Someone will probably tell me that it was, in fact, a whimbrel! 
Northern pintail 
Chinese water deer 
Little grebe 
Swallow sharing the hide. It was fascinating seeing them fly in the window totally ignoring us. -
13th August 2024 – Blakeney to Cley next the Sea
The best aspects of our morning walk from Blakeney Quay to Cley next the Sea and back were the sounds. There was little wind and few people and so the sounds of the birds were easier to pick up.
There were curlews, oystercatchers and a good number of cattle egret on the banks of the Cley Channel. Flyover cormorants, grey herons, goldfinches, linnets and meadow pipits entertained us from closer quarters.
We chose to walk back along the road to get a coffee at Wiveton Hall; but we hadn’t done our homework and they were closed today. The coffee back on the quay at Blakeney at The Two Magpies Café was certainly very well deserved and seemed appropriate for a couple of birders.
From Blakeney Quay 
Looking back at the quay 
No one in sight 
Curlews, oystercatchers and even a shelduck on Cley Channel 
Three grey herons in a row There were more that 20 cattle egret along this stretch 
Hollyhocks had spread from the High Street to the open country 
Meadow pipits along the pathway 
This one announced its arrival from well off and gave me the chance of a couple of shots 
Decision time: coffee in Cley next the Sea or on the way back to Blakeney? 
Fail to plan, plan to fail – only open Wednesday to Sunday 
Blakeney Church 
The typical flint covered buildings of Norfolk in Blakeney High Street 
Tide rising in Blakeney (and the people too)
Martin's Bird Blog & Nature Photos 