Category: Blog

It was so lovely to see some sunshine in the park this morning after some very gloomy and wet days. It was unusual to see the grey heron fishing in the water. The cormorant was clearly enjoying drying its wings in the sunshine.

Health warning – photographs taken on a dismal morning in December in North Somerset probably don’t have a lot of merit or interest for visitors to this blog but for the record (and to keep me occupied) I am publishing a blog of our visit to the National Trust estate of Tyntesfield (see the National Trust website for details and better photos) and our brief visit to the nearby seaside town of Clevedon.

There were a few trappings of Christmas to be seen but, as the house is currently closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic , nothing like the fabulous Christmas decorations which we saw last year.

At Tyntesfield we saw robins, blackbirds, dunnocks and thrushes and at Clevedon black-headed gulls and a pied wagtail. Oh for the black redstart that has been reported on the pier at Clevedon!

We thought we would take an early-ish walk to Eastville Park before the crowds arrived but clearly we were’t early enough and, as the park soon became quite congested, we limited the time we spent there.

We were rewarded with a good view of a kingfisher on the River Frome but I’m sorry to say I was much too slow to get a shot.

There were three grey herons on the lake and lots of cormorants. On a small brook that feeds into the River Frome there were several birds taking a bath, including a song thrush which I haven’t seen in the park for a while.

The sun didn’t last long in the park and neither did we.

It was very dull as we walked along the Severn Way from Severn Beach to New Passage and back, but at least we got back to the car before the rain set in.

There was very little to see until we reached New Passage where there were lots of waders. Unfortunately the tide was rather low by this point and the light was so dismal that there wasn’t much joy in photographing them in these conditions. For the record though we did see dunlin, redshank, black-tailed godwits, wigeon, little egret, curlew and plenty of oystercatchers. Back at Severn Beach there were pied wagtails. All in all we considered ourselves to be lucky rather than unlucky.

In order to get some good exercise and avoid people as much as possible we returned to Dyrham Park for a morning walk. Last week I was complaining that the light was so bright I had difficulty capturing decent photos. Well careful what you wish for. Today there was scarcely any light!

Fortunately by the time we had had our coffee sitting in the car in the car park the rain had stopped and we managed a walk down to the house, around the garden and back through the deer park without getting wet.

I was not anticipating taking any photos and missed the fallow deer running right in front the house as they moved from one area of the park to another. However it did encourage me to take my camera out of my bag and attempt to capture something of the English countryside in winter.

We are finding that the ancient deer park and garden at Dyrham Park is a great place to take some exercise during lockdown.

The National Trust in its overview says “A £10-million project is underway to restore, revitalise and reimagine Dyrham Park, created in the 17th century by William Blathwayt. It is an early example of how a fortune made from empire was invested in a landed estate, transforming Dyrham into one of the most notable stately homes of its age. The 270-acre (110 hectare) ancient parkland is full of magnificent trees and breathtaking views …”

It was a gloriously sunny day but I found the harsh light was very difficult to take interesting photos and I was disappointed with most of what I took. Nonetheless, we really enjoyed our walk around the estate and gardens and were pleased to see a mistle thrush and the herd of wild fallow deer.

We made the most of the lovely sunny day and had a walk in and around the ancient deer park of Dyrham Park in South Gloucestershire. We had never visited the nearby village of Cold Ashton and enjoyed seeing its church and having fleeting views of the Manor House.

There wasn’t a lot of wildlife to see and strangely no sign of the deer. Perhaps they are being kept out of sight to stop visitors from breaking social distancing rules.

The highlights were a pair of buzzards near Marshfield and the trees in the parkland some of which retained some colour to catch the sunlight.

I had an hour spare this afternoon and wanted a little exercise. The light was very poor and so I didn’t attempt to photograph any little birds. Fortunately there are lots of cormorants, grey herons and mute swans at the lake at the moment.

I tried to pick out some of the colour of the lake too.

I was surprised, with the poor light, that I could manage to photograph some of them in flight – such is the progress of technology, both with the camera and the computer.

And its not all about birds …

This morning, following lockdown rules, I met up with a friend in a churchyard in Winterbourne and I took a few snaps as we took our gentle exercise socially distancing.

In the afternoon I had another walk with my wife around Eastville Park.

We saw kingfishers on a number of occasions but I only managed a couple of pathetically poor photos. Never mind, somehow these magical birds seem to lift our spirits. However, I must say my spirits would have been lifted even more if I had got a decent shot!

We love the golden look to the lake at the moment and all the swans (even though they are quite aggressive to each other) but the din of crows and black-headed gulls is quite a cacophony.

We took our daily lockdown exercise by walking from Severn Beach to New Passage along the Severn Estuary and back. We saw a few waders at New Passage but must have walked past the snow bunting (definitely the star bird for me this year) on our journey out. Luckily, with a helpful tip off from another birder (thank you Lisa), we had fabulous views of it on the way back. It was so close to the pathway and was unperturbed by walkers or dogs. Quite amazing.

Apologies for so many photos of one bird but it was rather special.