Redshank - Tringa Totanus

Date spotted: 31st March - All Day

Location: Apex Leisure Park - Burnham-On-Sea

Observation: Osprey still showing very well at Blagdon Lake with some nice sunlight to add to the pictures! Visited Apex to find all wildlife showing VERY well. Grebes coming in to shore, Redshank SWIMMING in small pool and displaying. Lots of Gulls aswell around but mostly Lesser Black-Backed and Black-Headed Gull. Very successful day! Video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctVpn8n8lR4&feature=youtu.be

Weather: Cloudy but Sunny. Little Wind but Warm.

Other Species: Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Black-Headed Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Wood Pigeon, Starling, Collared Dove, Great-Crested Grebe, Redshank, Cormorant, Turnstone, Osprey, Goldeneye

 

Goldfinch - Carduelis Carduelis

Date spotted: 30th March - Happy Easter!

Location: From The Window

Observation: One little Goldfinch sat feeding on the Niger seeds, before being chased off by a Great Tit!

Weather: Cloudy, Cold + Dry

Other Species: Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Blackbird, Goldfinch, Coal Tit

Kingfisher - Alcedo Atthis

Date spotted: 28th March - 2PM

Location: Zones 1,2 + 5 - Newton Park Lake

Observation: Locals had been saying about a Kingfisher on the local brook, which we had never seen before today! We went for a walk to the lake and along the brook was sat a Male Kingfisher looking in the water for fish, he then flew a little further up and called, he sat in the tree and didn't fish successful but flew off north up the brook. Cool to see close and on a local patch! On the Lake, the Male and Female Little Owls are safe and well but very jumpy so do no approach! The top Lake, the Mute Swan pair are starting to nest, with the female sat on the nest making it comfy and the Male scaring off everything on the Lake, normal! So again, approach the lake with care.

Weather: Cloudy, Cold but Dry.

Other Species: Blue Tit, Great Tit, Redwing, Chaffinch, Crow, Rook, Jackdaw, Mallard, Mute Swan, Teal, Little Owl, Greenfinch, Robin, Kingfisher, Kestrel, Buzzard, Wood Pigeon, House Sparrow, Pheasant

 

Osprey - Pandion Haliaetus

Date spotted: 26th March 2013 - 2PM

Location: Blagdon Lake - Chew Valley Lake

Observation: Visited Blagdon Lake, for a chance to see the Ospreys that had been spotted over the past few days, We got out the van and within minutes we seen one right across the far end of the lake, nothing close enough to get a picture with a 400mm, but we snapped away anyway, only ever seeing one, once before this! We then walked up and little further and had a quick scan across the lake, we noticed ALL the gulls lifting off from the water so followed them, they crossed over the road. Right above the birders down the other side of the dam, was one Osprey just gliding around them, as we snapped away, the birders noticed and looked up and also started snapping. The Osprey flew to the left into the trees. We waited for it to return but it didn't. Another Osprey appeared from the right and flew 50 foot in front of us! It then flew over to the orange trees and sat on its perch for 10 minutes. Despite the cloudy sky and freezing wind, it was a very successful day!

Weather: Cloudy, Windy and Cold

Other Species: Osprey, Pied Wagtail, Buzzard, Mallard, Goldeneye, Black-Headed Gull, Lesser-Black Backed Gull, Coot, Moorhen, Domestic Duck, Blackbird, Blackcap, Wood Pigeon, Goldfinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Pochard, Mute Swan, Canada Geese, Shelduck, Little Egret, Crow, Jackdaw, Rook, Sand Martin, House Martin

 

Just The Normal Visitors!

Date spotted: 25th March 2013 - 2PM

Location: Local Garden

Observation: Just the normal brave visitors over the past few weeks due to builders in the houses close to the garden. Hope to be back to normal very soon with some blue skies and warm weather to get some nice pictures! Will try and update almost daily when its summer! Our local Wood Pigeons have figured out how to feed from the feeders, will try and video it when I next see it!

Weather: Cloudy, Cold and Little Wind

Other Species: Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Blackbird, Magpie, Wood Pigeon, Crow, Coal Tit, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Black-Headed Gull.

Pied-Billed And Alot More!

Date spotted: 18th March - All Day

Location: Greylake - Shapwick Heath - Ham Wall

Observation: Lots of Reed Bunting at Greylake feeding on seed which had been placed on tables and trees. Let you get very close. Also in Car park was Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit. Just before the hide, on the boardwalk were a group of 21 (we counted) which were also feet away. Not much to see from the hide, so best staying in the car park! We then visited Shapwick Heath and Ham Wall. Shapwick was pretty deserted at hides but the second pool on the right hand side walking up the path were a small group of Black-Tailed Godwit both male and female, some displaying. Also 2 Little Egrets and 3 Great White Egrets. At Ham Wall, again mostly deserted, Pied-Billed Grebe showing very well from 2nd viewing platform at 3pm, it caught and swallowed (struggled) a huge Roach, it then displayed/called for a minute or so, before disappearing into the reeds to the right to not reappear. Very nice to see the Pied Billed Grebe, as visited first time to find he was right out in the far reeds. Beautiful bird!
Very nice day with some amazing birding!

Weather: Blue Sky and Sunny. Warm with no wind.

Other Species: Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Blackbird, Goldcrest, Pied-Billed Grebe, Coot, Buzzard, Cormorant, Black-Tailed Godwit, Little Egret, Reed Bunting, Mallard, Teal, Shoveller, Great White Egret, Song Thrush, Robin

Andy Rollett - Newton Park Lake

Hi there,

Went for a bit of a wander yesterday and behold.... little Owls! Thanks for the info and find attached a pic. Good views of any number of tits, green woodpecker, a field of fieldfares, a bush of goldfinch, greenfinches. And one very annoyed swan terrorising the mallards!

ps Sand Martin!!! Must be the scouting party!

Thanks to Andy Rollett for this information and for his pictures, if anyone else has any sightings around this area please send them in!

Sand Martin + More !

Date spotted: 11th March - 2PM

Location: Chew Valley Lake

Observation: A very windy day didn't affect the birds spotted! Watched 3 Sand Martins flying back and forth over the Lake at Herriotts Bridge and disappeared for a few minutes before reappearing, flying over very close to reeds. Also at Herriotts was a pair of Shovellers and Shelduck feeding. A Pied Wagtail was feeding on dropped seed within 2 foot of me, struggling to fly and stay on the ground with the wind. Just before we left a Kestrel flew from right to left scaring most birds off the lake, but flew straight past into far fields. A pair of Goldeneyes diving and feeding on lake at Herons Green Bay, within five foot of road aswell.

Weather: Very Windy, Light Snow + Cold!

Other Species: Blue Tit, Great Tit, Pied Wagtail, Mallard, Mute Swan, Sand Martin, Coot, Black-Headed Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Little Egret, Cormorant, Goldeneye, Shelduck, Shoveller, Kestrel

 

Unknown Bird Spotted

Date spotted: 6th March - 2013

Location: Zone 5 - Front Garden

Observation: It was the just bigger than a Blue Tit, so around a Sparrow size but slightly bigger. It let me get sort of get 20 feet from it as it was sat in the tree around 2 metres off the ground. I went in to get binoculars but it had flown off. It was a very light colour so a white from its front and a light grey/brown on its wing. I would have said Blackcap but it didn't have a brown or black head.
I also thought Whitethroat but again it didn't match up to its darker wings or white throat.

Also seen on Local park lawn feeding was a small group of Fieldfare and Redwing with one single Mistle Thrush, feeding very close to road.

Weather: Cloudy and Overcast.

Other Species: Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Blackbird, Magpie, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Redwing, Mistle Thrush, Fieldfare,