Day spent around here today, not a hugely productive, but a nice day. Lots of coal tits at Binn Green, but very few finches; a couple of goldcrest the pick of the rest.
A willow warbler calling from the copse on Chew Valley path, and a few active chiffchaff here too; a raven high over and a couple of calling red grouse also along the path.
No sign as of 5.00pm, but Adrian one of the RSPB volunteers had a good view from the Sailing Club car park and is pretty certain it was a Cattle Egret. It flew further up the farmers field with all the sheep.
Day spent around here today; pretty windy in the higher areas, meaning less about than normal, but still plenty to see:
Dovestone / Yeoman Hey and surrounds:
3 goldcrest heard singing 1 chiffchaff 15 willow warbler 1 treecreeper (gathering insects) 2 nuthatch 8 lesser redpoll Goldfinch, greenfinch, chaffinch 6+ swallow 10+ meadow pipit 7 pied wagtail 3 grey wagtail 1 dipper (with what looked more like nesting material than food in its beak) 2 song thrush 6 mistle thrush 1 jay Lots of mallard, including the first brood of the year I've seen; maybe 10 very young chicks. 2 black-headed gull 2 peregrine
Chew Valley path:
1 reed bunting 7 meadow pipit 3 grey wagtail 1 mallard with a single chick at the copse
Chew Reservoir:
12+ meadow pipit 6 red grouse 2 Canada geese 2 common sandpiper 2 curlew 1 peregrine
-- Edited by Shannon Llewellyn on Sunday 30th of April 2017 10:16:38 PM
Most of the day around here today; slightly truncated visit due to public transport inefficiencies / personal ineptitude, so no visit to the uppermost habitats (the best bits), ufortunately. Highlights:
Binn Green:
2 chiffchaff singing Lots of coal tit and chaffinch especially, good numbers of goldfinch and a couple of greenfinch. 2 lesser redpoll 8+ siskin 1 great spotted woodpecker heard drumming
no signs of any ring ouzel or wheatear that had been seen in the week. 2-3 dippers plenty of red grouse around 1 brief view of a crossbill, more heard in one of the plantations. lots of siskin around with several redpolls 2 stonechat 1 skylark plenty of meadow pipits around 1 kestrel 1 buzzard 1 sparrowhawk 1 raven 4 grey wagtail 5 pied wagtail 1 oystercatcher mistle thrush sat on nest 3 grey heron 2 golden plover up at chew reservoir plus all the usuals around.
A nice flock of around 10 Reed Bunting, mixed with a few Goldfinch and Greenfinch in the hawthorns at the back of the sailing club yesterday.
Other than that just the usual, no sign of the Pochard, must have been a fleeting visit.
Sun 29th Jan (09:45 - 12:00): Another nice day, with clearblue sky and warm sunshine - at least around the Binn Green area. This time the path alongside the reservoirs was open, despite it still being shooting season (until 1st Feb), however the lack of sightings of Pheasant and Partridge (other than the odd carcass) suggests that perhaps there is not much left to be shot at.
Binn Green - very busy with finches - 2 Mistle Thrush - 2+ Coal Tit - 12+ Siskin - 15+ Goldfinch - 6 Chaffinch - Great Spotted Woodpecker - Pheasant
Later 2 Buzzard to the north. 1 Peegrine on rock face high above Dovestones Res.
Not the best visit but still a beautiful location. A single heron and meadow pipit were the only birds of note. Mallard, black-headed gull and Canada goose were also present on Dovestone. Next time I'll try Binn Green and yeoman.
Binn Green today, approx 3:15-3:45pm
Brambling- 2m, 2f- lifer for me, made the decision to go despite the snow and ice worth while, even though I worried about getting my car out of the car park! As I was leaving someone was struggling to get their car up the hill at the bottom car park...
Mistle Thrush x2- feeding on berries on a bush in the top car park.
Treecreeper- round the feeders.
Other species seen:
Blue Tit
Chaffinch (at least one of each sex)
Coal Tit
Great Tit
Robin
Wed 28th Dec (11:30 - 13:30 ish): Beautiful, still, clear lunchtime walk in warm sunshine from Binn Green and around the main reservoir, as Yeoman Hay etc was out of bounds due to shooting.
Binn Green: Mix of usual tits (Great, Blue, Coal) and finches (Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch) Robin Blackbird Brambling - a single male on the feeders. A long-awaited (40+ years) UK tick. My mum claims that they were seen in the garden when I was a youngster, but I have no memory of them. Raven - 1 cronking nearby when we returned to the car.
8.30-9.30 a.m. 2nd visit in the last week looking for Crossbill, 6 over car park at 9.20, ( GM Year list now 171). Also 10+ Brambling below feeders. Cheers Ian
Binn Green, following a cold and windy blank around Higher Swineshaw
Goldfinch and Chaffinch dominated around the feeding area, but there were also around a dozen flighty Brambling, and I managed to pick out a couple of Siskin. Without the trees, nothing was flying due to the strong wind.
20+ Brambling 6 Siskin 10+ Mistle Thrush, including 8 moving noisily around the Rowan trees at the car park 40+ Chaffinch 6 Goldfinch 10+ Greenfinch Several Goldcrest 1 Treecreeper 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker 6+ Coal Tits 1 Sparrowhawk 1 Grey Wagtail on Yeoman Hey Reservoir
By the time I returned to Binn Green, at 11.00am, the Brambling were down to 4, and the Siskin had disappeared.
4 goldcrest c15 coal tit 10+ goldfinch 5+ greenfinch 20+ chaffinch 1 great spotted woodpecker 2 cormorant over 1 buzzard
Yeoman Hey / Dove Stone and surrounds:
10+ goldcrest (lots in Ashway Gap wood) 1 nuthatch 30+ lesser redpoll (the dominant species in a large mixed flock that also contained goldfinch and siskin) c15 meadow pipit 3 pied wagtail 2 dipper (one in the channel alongside Yeoman Hey, one on the overflow channel coming down from Greenfield Reservoir(?) at Ashway Gap) 2 song thrush 3 jay A few rook coming in to roost late on when leaving 2 raven
Chew Valley Path:
1, probably 2, stonechat (brief distant view, with the male standing out) 16+ meadow pipit 1 grey wagtail 2 dipper (or the same dipper twice) 3 raven 11+ red grouse 1 kestrel
Meadow pipits, red grouse, and a flock of around 15 goldfinch at Chew Reservoir.
-- Edited by Shannon Llewellyn on Sunday 2nd of October 2016 11:10:32 PM
Rather depressing walk from Binn Green along Yeoman Hey to the top of Greenfield Reservoir this afternoon.
Hardly a single wild bird to be seen or heard. Hundreds of recently released Pheasants and dozens of Red-legged Partridges (never seen so many). I suspect that many of the Mallard have also been introduced. Game bird feeders everywhere and corn scattered all over the place. All so some sadistic so-and-sos can have their "fun"...
Did a similar walk on Sunday 18th Sep and noticed exactly the same thing. Lots of Mallard sheltering along the edge of Greenfield Reservoir and tons of Red-legged Partridge on the hilsides. a few Pheasant were heard but none seen.
At Binn Green, just the usual tits, Chaffinches, Goldcrests and Siskins. Also a single Kestrel.
Did the same walk rather depressing , a pair of coal tits plus pair of chaffinch at Binn Green, a male Great spotted woodpecker on the trees opposite the viewing platform and a pair goldfinches flying in , Raven heard but not seen in the same area, 200+ mallard on Greenfield reservoir never seen so many erm???? plus a few pheasant and partridge
Rather depressing walk from Binn Green along Yeoman Hey to the top of Greenfield Reservoir this afternoon.
Hardly a single wild bird to be seen or heard. Hundreds of recently released Pheasants and dozens of Red-legged Partridges (never seen so many). I suspect that many of the Mallard have also been introduced. Game bird feeders everywhere and corn scattered all over the place. All so some sadistic so-and-sos can have their "fun"...
Day off work today, so spent it here instead; much more agreeable. Highlights:
Binn Green:
2 goldcrest Plenty of coal tit; the only numerous species here. 2 treecreeper 1 bullfinch
Yeoman Hey / Ashway Gap / Dove Stone:
2+ goldcrest (juveniles) 1 willow warbler (juvenile) 3 lesser redpoll (one very confiding juvenile by the sailing club) 2 siskin 5+ swallow (not swift, as originally typed) 8+ meadow pipit 4 pied wagtail 3 grey wagtail 1 raven 1 common sandpiper
Chew valley path:
2 willow warbler heard calling 5 or 6 stonechat (one young juvenile) 7 meadow pipit 2 grey wagtail (pair, both with food) 6 red grouse 6 teal (on pond next to small copse; with 8 mallard)
Chew reservoir:
5+ meadow pipit 2 red grouse 100+ Canada geese 1 common sandpiper
-- Edited by Shannon Llewellyn on Friday 5th of August 2016 11:09:32 PM
Hello all. First post. I hope I haven't made any mistakes with names. I went on a RSPB guided walk of Dove Stone edge on 19 June.
My sightings were:
Mallards. Several males and handful of females. Three ducklings Great Tits x 2 Chaffinch x 1 (male) Pied wagtail x 2 Jackdaws x 6 Common Sandpiper Kestrel x 1 (female) Wren x 2 Meadow Pipit x 4 Skylark x 1 but heard many more.
There was a stonechat seen apparently but for the life of me I couldn't find it. We were also on the lookout for Golden Plover but all we saw were the remains of, what I am assuming, was a peregrine's lunch as we came down Ashford Gap.
-- Edited by Mark B-Seifert on Thursday 30th of June 2016 08:01:16 PM
Late post for Yesterday(Friday),walked all the way upto Chew Res. last time I did this I was 15!!, best birds were Stonechat, 8 Red Grouse and 2 Golden Plover. Cheers Ian
Binn Green Car Park Feeders
4 Greenfinch
20+ Chaffinch
Blue and Great Tits
8+ Siskin
6 Goldfinch
Forest to the Right of Chew Res Road
Brambling
Lesser Redpol
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Chiffchaff
Stonechat
Chew Res Road
20+ Meadow Pipit
Red Grouse
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Monday 2nd of May 2016 07:13:22 PM
Walk up to Chew Resvr this afternoon (and back too )
Stonechat x 3 2m 1f Meadow Pipit (bucket loads) Kestrel m Ring Ouzel 1m (in the quarry like structure right at the top of Chew Valley Rd on the left. Flushed it on the way up and with its back to me I was only 95% sure it was a RO (v.unlikely a blackbird at that height). Walked up to the reservoir and back (c.15 mins) and sure enough it had returned. Still v.flighty but saw it long enough for a +ve id. Grey Wagtail x 2
plus regular bits
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