Tag: Birds
-
30th January 2024 – Catcott Lows, Avalon Marshes
It was cold on the Avalon Marshes today and the brighter weather that the forecasters predicted never materialised. This is one of my favourite spots for birding but today, even though I saw some interesting birds , I wasn’t enthused by my day out. Never-mind, I know it will be worth coming again. Slideshow of today’s…
-
21st January 2024 – Rodborough Common, Gloucestershire
Today we saw what I consider to be the holy grail of birds to be seen in this country – waxwings. It’s only the third time I have tried to “twitch” a bird and, fortunately, today’s trip to Rodborough Common in the Cotwolds was well worth the effort. Waxwings do not breed in the UK, but…
-
18th January 2024 – WWT Slimbridge
Slimbridge on ice and in the winter sunshine was a sheer delight this morning. The Bewick swans looked very much at home. We are so lucky to see these beautiful birds so close to home. The same could be said of the common cranes – we saw two in flight and at least 9 feeding…
-
16th January 2024 – Avalon Marshes, Somerset
I spent a very pleasant, but very cold, day on the Avalon Marshes in Somerset. It was -2C when I set off and didn’t rise above 4C all day. The highlight of the day was a bittern at Catcott Lows but I also particularly liked seeing lots of fieldfare and redwing. I managed to see all…
-
6th January 2024 – WWT Slimbridge, Gloucestershire
Following a series of storms in recent weeks, many parts of the country are now suffering flooding (in some cases quite severe). We are fortunate not to have been affected by these floods but locally it is very wet and muddy and difficult to get out and about. However, we had no problems getting to…
-
26th December 2023 – WWT Slimbridge, Gloucestershire
It was dull at Slimbridge this morning but quite mild. It was definitely a pleasure to be spared the wind and rain which have plagued us for the last few weeks. At this time of year the highlights are the Bewick swans which migrate here from the arctic tundra of Russia. This year the Bewicks didn’t…
-
19th December 2023 – Cumbria
(Please click on title to see in web page) We are having a pre-Christmas holiday in the Lake District in Cumbria in the north-west of England. Today we visited the RSPB reserve of Leighton Moss which, although not within the Lake District, is only 30 minutes from where we are staying in Cartmel in the…
-
28th November 2023 – Somerset Levels
Well it has stopped raining for a few days and so today I resumed my birdwatching activities back on the Somerset Levels. Firstly I visited RSPB Ham Wall where marsh harriers, common snipe and stonechats were the star attractions. Then, I moved on to Catcott where the battle between a great white egret and a…
-
31st October 2023 – Somerset Levels
(Click the title above to view as web page) We spent the day on the Somerset Levels, a coastal plain and wetland area running south from the Mendip Hills to the Blackdown Hills in the county of Somerset, south of where we live in Bristol. There are more storms forecast for tomorrow but today it…
-
29th October 2023 – New Passage, Severn Estuary
(Click on title for webpage) With the advantage of the clocks going back we were able to make an early start for a Sunday morning walk from New Passage to Severn Beach and back. The tide was too high to see much on our walk (4 pied wagtails, a few wigeon and some black-headed gulls)…
-
26th October 2023 – WWT Slimbridge
We were really surprised how few birds there were on the pools at Slimbridge this morning. There were rangers working on fixing fences nearby which may have disturbed some of them and, with the weather still very mild, others may not yet have arrived. Some white fronted geese had arrived last week but they were…
-
18th October 2023 – Norfolk
We are spending this week in Norfolk celebrating a friend’s 70th birthday. As he and his wife fostered our interest in bird watching on a holiday here a decade ago it seems appropriate that we have spent some time this week bird watching. En route on Saturday we stopped off at RSPB Titchwell Marsh near…