April2018

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Wildlife in and around the city of Bristol

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Sightings

April 2018

29.04.18
We headed back from the stunning Winnock Hotel in Drymen & down south. We stopped in Annandale Water Services for fuel. Also gave me a chance to photograph House Martins collecting mud for their nests. Once fuelled up, we continued on southwards with a couple more stops to go, before arriving back at Michael Services on the M5.

Scotland 25th-29th April 2018

25.04.18
We went to up to Scotland with Bakers Dolphin Coaches from Michael Wood services on the M5 to our hotel in Drymen, near Loch Lomond.

26.04.18
We started our first day exploring around the Sea Life Centre in Loch Lomond. They opened early just for our group to have a private viewing of the Otter feed and complimentry drinks in the cafe. In the afternoon, we went on a criuse around Loch Katrine. There were stunning views of Ben More. On the way back, we saw an Osprey fishing in the loch. Later that day, we went to Argaty to see the Red Kites. Sadly, due to the late arrvial at the site, we didn't see them being fed. We only saw them as distant dots over the hills.

27.04.18
Our 2nd day in Scotland was bright & sunny, which was perfect for our cruise around the Bass Rock & Craigleith. This was the trip Mum and I were really looking forward to. Our cruise began in North Berwick, which is also home to the Scottish Seabird Centre. We went around Craigleith first, where we saw Fulmars, Shags, Cormorants, Common Guillemots, Razorbills, Puffins & Kittiwakes. We then went to Bass Rock. The rock is home to more than 1,0000 Gannets which breed there from April-August. The boat came close to the rock & we had fantastic views of the Gannets. Some were out on the water & some were flying on fishing trips. It was amazing and the highlight of the trip. A couple of Auks also flew past. After a while, we headed back to North Berwick. A few Common Eiders came into the bay, while we were having a cup of tea. Before catching the coach back to Drymen, I managed to photographed a Male Pied Wagtail foraging on the clifftop. It was a lovely day and we were so lucky with the weather.

28.04.18
We spent the morning at Highland Safaris & Red Deer Centre in Perthshire. We went on a tour of the site in a landrover. We stopped at a viewtop overlooking the village of Dull. We continued a bit further along the track to another viewpoint, where we had a good view of the mountain Schiehallion. Afterwards we headed back down to the base. It was a shame, we didn't see Red Deer on the hill, but you can't win them all. However we had the privilege of hand feeding some captive ones in the Red Deer Centre. There was also a captive Female Barn Owl called Ossian. After a cup of tea in the cafe, we slowly made our way back the hotel stopping at Falls of Dochart and Inveruglas, Loch Lomond. In the evening, the hotel had arranged for a birds of prey display on the front lawn. The Golden Eagle was ‘Orla’ that was featured on Autumwatch.

Aust Warth
23rd March 2018

We went to Aust Warth to look for the Barn Owl that had been present for a few days. The first bird to appear was a Short-eared Owl, which flew around the top area twice, before flying towards the Old Severn Bridge. Just before the heavy rain came, the Barn Owl came out to do a little bit of hunting around the Warth. Afterwards it disappeared towards the barn.

Kingsgate Park, Yate
12th April 2018

After I finished work on Thursday, me & Mum went up to Kingsgate Park to look for the Male Pied Flycatcher that was found the previous day. We saw a few Grey Squirrels, Willow Warblers, Common Chiffchaffs, Mallards, Gadwalls, Herring Gulls & Blackcaps. We managed to see the Male Pied Flycatcher in the trees on the other side of the main pond, but was very mobile. I tried to take a picture of it, but then realised that I had not put my battery back in the camera after charging it. Doh!

Kingsgate Park, Yate 13th April 2018

We popped back up to the park the following morning to see if the Flycatcher was still there. There was also A Ring-necked Parakeet reported. No sign of either though! (We found out later that Dad saw the Parakeet flyng over Sodbury). This time we saw a couple of Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Mistle Thrushes, loads of Willow Warblers were still around the park, Blackcaps, Blackbirds & Robin. After lunch we headed back up to the park again. The Mistle Thrushes were foraging near the cafe, where we stopped for a cup of tea. There was plenty of Robins, Chiffchaffs, Blackbirds & Blackcaps singing. The Gadwall pair were still present on the main pond along with Little Grebe. Quite a few Squirrels were chasing each other around. Even though we didn't see the Pied Flycatcher this time, the Female Common Whitethroat certainly made up for it.

The Cotswolds 14th April 2018

We went for a drive around the Cotswolds as there had been a pair of Ospreys spotted in the Sherbourne area. Sadly after waiting for a few hours, we didn't see any. However a lovely pair of Little Owls were marvellous to see, as they be tricky birds to find on some occasions. Also a pair of Red-legged Partridges. While driving around in the Cotswolds, we saw a few more Red-legged Partridge & 3 Brown Hares. A few miles further on, we had a bonus of seeing a Great Grey Shrike. It was a bit mobile, but a lovely bird to see & for mid April, it should be heading back to it's breeding grounds. We had a quick look around Cleeve Hill Common but there was hardly any birds about, apart from Meadow Pipits & a probable Grasshopper Warbler.

Forest of Dean 16th April 2018
We went to the Forest of Dean to see what was about. A few birds were feeding in the car park at Speech House, which were Chaffinches, Jay, Nuthatches, Blue Tits, Stock Doves, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tits & Coal Tit. Sadly no Hawfinches, but 3 Grey Squirrels were also feeding in the car park. We popped to New Fancy View to look for Adders. After having tip off, we managed to spot my first ever Wild Adder. This was Female as it was very brownish. At the veiwpoint, Dad spotted a Male Adder slithering into his hole. We headed to Nagshead RSPB to see if there were any Pied Flycatchers in. One Male was seen from the Lower Hide, but was very mobile. We finished the day at Cannop Stoneworks with excellent views of Male Mandarins feeding on the bank with Greylag Geese. A couple of Siskins fed on some seed with the Chaffinches. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was feeding on the feeder. A Grey Wagtail hopped on the rock briefly, but it wasn't intrested in the seed.

Slimbridge WWT 21st April 2018

We popped to Slimbridge WWT for a couple hours. In the Rushy Pen, the Black-headed Gulls & Avocets were in the progress of nesting & nest building. A Male Blackcap was feeding in the Ivy around the grounds. A few Jackdaws were also scattered around the grounds. A couple of Common Shelducks, Mute Swans & Shovelers from Martin Smith Hide. The Bluebells & Primrose were out in full flower. A Little Grebe & a flock of Common Shelducks were from the Knott Hide. The Shelducks were displaying on top of the pillbox. A couple more Shovelers were seen from Robbie Garnett/Stephen Kirk Hides. They breed in very small numbers at Slimbridge WWT. A Song Thrush was foraging in the grounds. Also in the grounds were different variations of Feral Pigeons. At South Lake there was Herring Gulls, Oystercatchers, Black-headed Gulls, Great Crested Grebe & a pair of Mediterranean Gulls. A family of Greylag Geese were present in front of the Discovery Hide. A quick look in the Hogarth Hide at the other end of South Lake produced more Greylag Geese including a pale bird, Moorhens, 2 Common Cranes from the GCP, Gadwalls & Mallards.

In the afternoon, we walked around Oldbury Power Station. We saw one Lesser Whitethroat, but there were at least 2 in the area. We didn't see many birds, but we heard Blackap, Blackbird, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Willow Warbler & Chiffchaff. While we were walking around the reserve, I spotted & photographed a Dock Bug [Coreus marginatus]. Other insects were seen, included Brimstone, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell & Speckled Wood.

Somerset Levels 22nd April 2018

We went to the Somerset Levels to look for more Summer migrants. We started at Shapwick Heath NNR to look for Garganey, which were reported on Meare Heath. We didn't see any sadly, but the Highland Cattle were lovely to see. At least 4-8 Great White Egrets were flying around. A special bonus was 2 Common Cranes flying over the reserve. In the car park at Ham Wall RSPB, was a Female Blackcap. We walked down to the Avalon Hide to see what was there. A Great Crested Grebe showed well bathing in front of the hide. A few more Great White Egrets were noted & a couple of Marsh Harriers. A Bittern flew away from the hide & landed in the reedbed. We made our way back towards the car park & Dad spotted a Cuckoo flying away also. When we were leaving Ham Wall RSPB, we spotted one of the Cattle Egrets feeding in the field. We spent the rest of the afternoon at Greylake RSPB. We saw a couple of Peacock Butterflies. Along the path to the hide, I spotted a Grass Snake in the vegetation. Unlike the Adder seen in the Forest of Dean section, it is not a poisonous Snake. From the hide was a Common Buzzard & a Roe Deer Buck.