A Rare Trip Out

Between getting things ready for my daughter to go to Uni and having work done on the house birdwatching has fallen even further back on my list of priorities over the last few weeks. However yesterday morning saw me out at the Water Park. I started with a walk from Waterhay to the back of Cleveland Lakes. A singing Cetti’s greeted me at the car park and numerous small birds had the list ticking away nicely. Great Spotted and Green Woodpecker, Jay, Grey Wagtail and Reed Bunting started things off with a surprise singing Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Whitethroat and Blackcap also seen. Several Bullfinches were heard but none were seen. Reaching the lakes Coot were seen in large numbers and there were plenty of Great-crested Grebes amongst the Tufted Duck and Pochard. From here I made a short stop at Twitchers , sunny mornings aren’t the best her with glare off the water making things difficult. Wigeon numbers are building up, several Cormorants were on the raft and a few Lapwings flew from the scrape. Final stop was my first proper visit to the Lower Moor reserve where Otters have been seen regularly over recent weeks. Not for me unfortunately although apparently there had been a couple of brief appearances earlier on in the morning. Great views of Kingfishers made the time spent here worthwhile. Heron, Jay and Great Spotted Woodpecker were also seen. All in all a good morning with forty-five species seen or heard.

More Good Wiltshire Birds

Whilst out driving today I paid my first visit to the new Gloucester Services on the M5 http://www.gloucesterservices.com/. As some of you may know it isn’t the normal run of the mill, commercialised overpriced depressing Service Area. A pleasant restaurant overlooking a large pond that had Swallows feeding and Pied Wagtails bathing along with a superb Farm Shop make this a stop worth making. After work I headed out to the Water Park to see if the Red-necked Grebes were still on Lake 74. Arriving in the midst of a torrential shower I, along with a couple of other birders stayed put in the car. When the rain stopped we emerged and started to scan the lake. Unfortunately the area of viewable water has become quite restricted due to the growth of waterside vegetation. With no sign of the Grebes we turned our attention to the bushes which held good numbers of small birds. Blackcap, Common and Lesser Whitethroat the best noted. Then two Grebes were found and good views were had by all. These were my first in Wiltshire for several years and another good species on the Wilts year-list. Back at home an insect found on my runner beans was I guess some sort of Shield Bug.