Whilst we were staying with friends in Somerset we managed to fit in a day out at the RSPB reserve and Ham Wall and the neighbouring NNW Shapwick Heath. The reserve is now much improved since the addition of a little shop and some toilets. It seemed to be a very popular place as the…
A visit to friends in Somerset gave us a chance to stop off at WWT Slimbridge where we hoped we would be able to see some Cranes. As it happened we dis manage to see a pair of Cranes but also got a number of other year ticks.
We went back up to Burton Mere Wetlands to try – again! – to see the Long-billed Dowitcher that had been around since the 25th but when we got there, there were no reports of it to be seen anywhere so we had a look at the scrape and walked down to the barn. It…
We went up to Burton Mere Wetlands in the hope of seeing the Long-billed Dowitcher which had arrived and settled among the Black-tailed Godwits, sometimes showing on the main scrape and sometimes at the Border Hide. We went to both and, as it transipred, it failed to show up. We were very disappointed with the…
We arrived at St Aiden’s around 10:30am and enquired about the possibility of seeing Black-necked Grebes which are supposed to breed here and we got some advice as to out best plan. This involved taking the red path as far as the smaller track that crosses it (dotted line on the map) where we should…
We had a very average breakfast at the Green Dragon and then headed off for RSPB Bempton Cliffs. Especially nice around the pub, which we had noticed the evening before, was a big flock of very active Swifts swooping around the roofs of the houses. En route we got Rooks which was listed on my…
When we go to RSPB Bempton Cliffs with the birding group, we usually spend the first day at RSPB Blacktoft Sands and then go to the North Cave Wetlands reserve, staying the evening at the Travelodge at South Cave. On our own, however, we decided to try something different so instead of Blacktoft Sands we…
The first birding outing of the month was to Burton Mere Wetlands. There had been reports of a female Garganey and several Spotted Redshanks. It was a warm and humid day but it was good to get out and we managed to get two good year ticks.
The second birding group outing since resuming our trips after 2nd wave Covid was to Burton Mere Wetlands. The hides were open again but you still have to wear a mask and ones bins and scopes steam up straight away so not much fun and hard to bear for long. Anyway, we decided to head…
The birding group reformed for its first outing since the Covid outbreak with a visit to the Upper Goyt Valley and Danebank Quarry. We had actually done this visit on our own on the 6th of May and had had some success with sightings of Redstart and lots of Pied Flycatchers. We saw neither of…
