Desert Wheatear in Keynsham
Spotted Sandpiper at Chew Valley Lake
There have been some pretty special birds not far from home in the last few weeks! #ukbirding
A fantastic day at Ham Wall: good views of the Red-footed Falcon, Bitterns booming the whole time, 21 Hobbies in the air at once, Glossy Ibis and Garganey from VP1 and the Purple Heron flew low overhead at Shapwick just as we were turning back to the car!
Meadow trail at Titchwell
Finished the day on the North Norfolk coast with 101 species, highlights including Goshawk, Pallid & Hen Harriers, Lesser White Fronted Goose, Shore Lark, Glaucous Gull, Twite, Brambling, Black Necked Grebe, Tawny Owl and Woodcock. An awesome day! #norfolkbirding #ukbirding
A fantastic start to a weekend in Norfolk with a stunning Goshawk through the fen trail at Titchwell (showed better than my pictures!) Not what I was expecting at all! Plus Glaucous Gull at Hunstanton and 85 species by 10:30 has made a very good morning #norfolkbirding
Was on the lookout for Surf Scoter but no sign unfortunately! The sea was very rough though
Down in Devon to see my parents and went to Broadsands for some sea watching. Not sure if I’ve ever seen all 3 species of Diver in a day before - 3 Black-throateds, 8 Great Northerns and 4 Red-throateds. Best of all though was finding 2 Red-necked Grebes which were a very nice surprise! #UKBirding
Brilliant first day on my patch this year, my best ever day list at Chew Valley Lake - 80 species seen around the lake including a showy male Bearded Tit, 2 Glossy Ibis, Black Necked Grebe, 2 Scaup & Y L Gull. Unbelievably cold first thing! #ukbirding
That’s a shame Andy! There were a surprising number of birds about despite the weather
Adult and unringed juvenile Cranes
A last minute decision to visit Slimbridge today with the promise of lots of hides for shelter proved a good one! A great day with 69 species seen on the reserve including Little Stint, Crane, W F Geese, Whooper & Bewick’s Swans, Spoonbill and the usual winter cast. Happy New Year! #ukbirding
Not a bad start to the morning yesterday at Chew Valley Lake with this roosting Tawny Owl, among a wintry cast of Scaup, Bearded Tit, Siskin, Redpoll, Stonechat, Marsh Harrier and 114 Lapwing through
On Tuesday I got Greenshank for my “seen from a UK train” list, along a great stretch around Morecambe Bay. Not been doing it long but it’s #55 after highlights of Cattle and Great Egrets, Kingfisher, Whimbrel and Red-breasted Merganser. Passerines are surprisingly hard! Anyone else have this list?
On Sunday I completed my goal of seeing 120 species at Chew Valley Lake this year, by finding a lovely male Redstart along Villice Lane! One of the best visits to the lake I’ve had with 10 species of wader (not bad for inland!), Black Tern, Osprey, Spot Fly and 3 Cattle Egrets
A fantastic autumn evening of Spotted Redshank, Ruff & 2 Black Terns at Chew Valley Lake last night takes my patch year list to 119. 1 short of my 120 target at the start of the year. Although other locals will be on a lot more, it’s nice to have an inland patch where anything feels possible!
