Category: Blog

What an amazing day out! I met up with fellow Eastville Park birder Steve Poulsom at RSPB Ham Wall on the Somerset Levels just as the sun was burning off the mist and, although it was rather chilly in the hides, we spent the day absorbed in all the best action that the Somerset Levels can provide.

Before we had our cameras adjusted we saw a Bittern fly across the reeds. A Little Egret then flew in on the other side of the pathway and demonstrated its fishing skills. Great Crested Grebe looked their best and already on their nests.

Butterflies were appearing everywhere. Peacocks on the way to the Avalon hide and Orange tips never stopping to have their photos taken. The din of Cetti’s Warblers was every where but they were invisible. Several Blackcaps were more obliging.

Speckled Wood 

Orange-tip butterfly taking a break from searching for the plainer, grey and white female by resting on its favourite mustard garlic plant (or is it its other favourite Lady’s Smock – otherwise known as cuckoo flower ?)

Orange-tip butterfly 

Bitterns were booming at the Avalon hide and then Marsh Harriers provided a fabulous display only to be enhanced with the arrival of a Peregrine.

We were like children let free in a sweet shop grabbing shots here and there.

In the afternoon we went across to Shapwick Heath. A Chiffchaff posed for us and then the first damsel fly of the season.

(Impressive website for identification of damselflies: http://www.british-dragonflies.org.uk/content/largely-blue-and-black )

At the new hide we had good views of Black-tailed Godwits with a single Ruff amongst them. A Great White Egret (not in breeding plumage) flew in. A Sparrow Hawk displayed at amazing speed (much too fast for me to grab a shot) and before we left more Marsh Harriers appeared.

It was so hard to drag ourselves away, always believing that we were going to get the ultimate shot.

A grand day out.

Click on gallery for more photos

Well, thanks to Phil Hemming’s comment, I was able to find the lake, but alas no Smew. All we could see were 2 Greylag Geese, 2 Canada Geese, 2 Coot, 6 Mallard, and a fly-over Grey Heron.

In the wood nearby we heard (then saw) a Willow Warbler; and then back on the Common proper we saw a wonderful display by a pair of Kestrel. Best only to look after the watershed! I missed a shot of a House Martin on the telegraph wires right next to me. You can’t win them all!

There is a fairly tenuous nature link with my blog as the Easter Sculpture Festival and Quilting Exhibition was held in the University of Bristol Botanic Garden. The garden was the best I had seen it and the sculptures were fabulous in this setting. I haven’t included any photos of the Quilting Exhibition as it was so busy in the Linnaeus Study Room that it was inappropriate to try to take photos. The Quilting Exhibition was most impressive and deserving of the number of visitors it was attracting.

Simon Barnes’s article on hares in this morning’s Sunday Times is well worth a read: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/simon-barnes-the-hare-is-the-real-easter-hero-8t9q66wq6?shareToken=95fdd6655c3cfe583278b58cd8b99735

My  photos don’t do justice to the whole Festival as I only had a fleeting visit (having spent several hours on The Downs photographing peregrines) and there was a biting wind to contend with.

I had a lot of fun trying to photograph Peregrines over the Avon Gorge this morning. There were moments of sunshine, but not when the Peregrine appeared,  and there was a biting wind to test my patience.

Must go back again on a brighter and warmer day!

I went to look for a female Smew which had been reported on the lake on Chipping Sodbury Common. I couldn’t even find the lake let alone the Smew. No one knew where the lake was, even a man living on the Common had no idea. I went to go to the Golf Club (there must be water on a Golf course) but there was a competition on and no where to park. So, I walked across the Common and saw 3 Skylarks, 2 Blackcap, 2 Goldfinch and a noisy Robin.

I carried on to Oldbury Power Station (on the Severn Estuary) in the hope of seeing a Peregrine. I was more lucky here as I saw the (female, I think) Peregrine on the top of one of the towers. There was little on the coast except 2 Shelduck and a flyby Avocet (that made up for the other disappointments). On the pool near the entrance there were 4 Tufted Duck and a Great Spotted Woodpecker in the trees.

As there weren’t many waders here I thought I would give Aust Warth and Northwick a go. At Aust Warth there was a man flying a drone which I didn’t think was conducive to birdwatching so I went straight on to Northwick. Not really a lot here either. A Mute Swan, 2 more Shelduck, 24 Redshank, 6 Turnstone, 2 Wheatear and 2 Sand Martin all within reach of the promenade.

My photographs were disappointing but I had a very enjoyable afternoon.

A late afternoon walk around Eastville Park produced very few birds and so I was reduced to photographing flora. I saw the first wild garlic (Allium ursinum) and could certainly smell it.

Another quick trip to Graves Park in Sheffield before going off to visit Chatsworth House. Still no Lesser Spotted Woodpecker but another view of a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Jay.

Gannet fest at RSPB Bempton Cliffs on the East Yorkshire coast with our friends from Sheffield.

Guillemots, Razor Bills, Kittiwakes, Fulmars (also Tree Sparrows) but unfortunately no Puffins.

Click below for full gallery

Spending a few days with friends in Sheffield and, as they are keen birders, we went to a local park to try and see a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker which one of our friends had seen.

Not so lucky with the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker but I managed a Great Spotted Woodpecker and some other woodland birds, notably a Nuthatch and a Treecreeper.

We couldn’t hang around as we were setting off for Bempton Cliffs on the East Yorkshire coast.

Just a very brief blog mainly to record what a beautiful day it was, with sunshine throughout the day and quite some warmth in the sun.

An amble around Eastville Park didn’t produce anything very stunning, but felt it was worth recording anyway.

Of the birds the most frenetic, if not quite the noisiest, was the Great Tit by the lake.

The blossom was magnificent too.

Another beautiful sunny morning. I had quite a wait to get a glimpse of a Peregrine falcon and then another wait to be able to get some photos. All very enjoyable as I was in the company of a keen birder (who made the spot first each time) who was a season holder for Bristol City and Bristol Rugby – certainly a glorious opportunity for schadenfreude except that I am sad to see these two clubs perform so badly this season!

An early morning walk (well early for me) from Aust Warth through to New Passage in beautiful sunshine and not too fresh.

Not a lot of bird action though. Regular viewings of Meadow Pipits and then a couple of Linnets. Surprisingly very little on the estuary with only 6 Shelduck and 1 Curlew.

On the way back a couple of Grey Wagtail – there have been reports of White Wagtail but I wouldn’t have a clue about the difference – and 4 Shoveler on the pools.

Didn’t know what this bird was – perhaps female Linnet?