Hi, My name is Christopher Teague and I am 20 and live in Yate, South Gloucestershire. I used to go to Ruskin Mill College in Nailsworth and live in residence.
I like Birdwatching and Steam Trains. I am hoping to update my blog more often now I am home.
The birds of
South
Gloucestershire
Bristol
Ornithological
Club
Latest
© Christopher Teague 2012
Leighton Moss RSPB 23/01/12
At our B&B this morning on and around the feeders were House Sparrows, Yellowhammers, Blue Tits, Tree Sparrows, Collared Doves, Great Tit, a Stock Dove and a Pheasant. We went to Lochmaben and saw Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser and Goosander.
Whooper and Greylag
20/01/12 Martin Mere
Well let’s face it, today’s weather was wild, windy, wet and wintry. Not really the weather I would have liked for my birthday. We were on our way to the Solway coast for the weekend and decided to stop off at Martin Mere as it was so bad. Martin Mere has quite a number of hides so at least we could get out of the rain for a bit. The first hide we went to was the Raines Observatory Hide where there was plenty of Whooper Swans, Pintails, Wigeons, Teal and two Ruff who didn’t seem to care whether it’s wet above or wet below. We more or less had the same view from the Hale Hide. We went to the Ron Barker Hide where two Peregrines were sitting on the bank behind the Shelduck on the small island. The Pink - footed Geese were flying in the distance from field to field but a couple of Pink -foots were close to the hide. On our way back to the Swan feed we managed to see some Tree Sparrows eventually, since we didn’t see any on the way down. Sadly, no pictures, as it was too wet. Whooper Swans, Shelducks and Pintails flooded the bank after the grain was chucked out by one of the wardens. The highlight of the day was 2 Marsh Harriers at 2 different Hides. It was getting dark now, so we made our way to the B&B in Carnforth.
Pink -footed Goose
We went on to Caerlaverock to see more Whooper Swans at the Peter Scott Observatory Hide but this time in good sunshine and just passing showers. At the Avenue Tower there were thousands of Barnacle Geese that winter here from Greenland and Spitsbergen all grazing and flying about the reserve. We then went to see the swans being fed at 2:15 - a little bit later than usual. There was a few Wigeon present as well as some Tufted Duck. A couple of Mallard decided they didn’t like each other and were having a ding-dong of a fight. We went to Folly Pond where there were a few waders. A small flock of Pink-feet flew in from the solway. After meeting up with Dad for a cup of tea in the cafe, we looked at the feeding stations as I hadn’t seen a Tree Sparrow there yet. All the smaller birds were using the hedgerows as a roosting place for the night and we saw Reed Bunting, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Yellowhammer and, yes, some Tree Sparrows. As the sun dipped towards the horizon we watched the Geese flying to their roost on the Solway Firth Estuary with a lovely sunset for a backdrop. We then made our way to our B&B at Cowan’s Farm, which is near Kirkgunzeon. We were in a log cabin and it was very cosy there.
Mersehead RSPB/Loch Ryan and the Wig 22/01/12
We had breakfast this morning watching Tree Sparrows, Yellowhammers and lots of other birds out of the window. We started today at the RSPB Reserve at Mersehead with another flock of Barnacle Geese in the car park fields. On the feeders were House Sparrows, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Goldfinch, Yellowhammers and Tree Sparrows. A Little Egret was fishing behind the feeders.
We went to Stranraer and stopped at Loch Ryan to scan across. There were some Ringed Plover on the beach and Eider, Red-breasted Merganser and Common Scoter on the loch. Driving down the road to the Wig, we saw a huge flock of Scaup with some Slavonian and Great-crested Grebes in with them.
Caerlaverock WWT 21/01/12
After breakfast we went to Leighton Moss. As we drove past the fields we saw a white goose with the Greylags and joked that it was a Snow Goose. When we read the sightings book at the reserve, it said that there were 3 Snow Geese with the Greylag so that must have been what we saw. We didn’t walk round all of the reserve just went in one hides at Lillian’s. This time of year the lakes are full of the calls of Teal displaying accompanied by the female’s weak quack. There was also a Snipe visible from the hide. On the feeders were Grey Squirrels and Bullfinches and many more garden birds etc.
The birds were sometimes difficult to pinpoint in the deep muddy holes. It started to rain again and the birds all flew to the back of the field. Time to leave! We arrived at the car very cold and wet. We had a quick bite and left for the Harrier Roost. Driving along the shore of Loch Ryan, we saw a couple of Long-tailed Ducks quite close displaying with its yodelling call. Also a few female or juvenile Common Scoters. At the Hen Harrier Roost, we only saw two males flying in. Both roosted in different places and not together. Perhaps the females came in later.
We then had a bit of a bonus with a handsome flock of Pale - bellied Brent Geese flying from the field to the loch . It was very cold and we were wet now, so we made our way back to the car before it rained again. We would have got there but for the fact that in the muddy field at precisely the right moment a flock of Skylarks and Twite descended to feed.
We saw a large Diver which must have been a Great Northern Diver, but it never really came very close. We walked along the shores of Loch Ryan in the hope of seeing some Twite in the fields. We got down to the end of the Wig without seeing any. However, there were lots of seabirds including Shag and more Black Guillemot - some already moulted into Summer Plumage as well as those still in Winter Plumage. We got caught in a sudden downpour, but we had good views of Ringed Plovers, Oystercatchers, Grey Plovers, Grey Heron and a few Dunlin.
Further down we stopped again to look at Black Guillemot in winter plumage and also some Scoters. A couple of Red-throated Divers flew past. We went to the car park at the Wig to see if there were any birds on the beach and on the water. There were more Red- breasted Mergansers, lots of Scaup, Eiders and Common Scoters braving the elements of the rough waves out in the bay.
Swan feed
Barnacle Geese
Barnacle Geese
Whooper Swans
Family of Whooper Swans
Mallard, Something, Tufted and Wigeon
Swans feed
Barnacle geese
Tree Sparrow
Scaup and Great Crested Grebes
Scaup and Salvonian Grebes
Black Guillemot
Juv Common Scoter
Ringed Plover
Brent Geese over Loch Ryan
Twite
Twite
Long-tailed Duck
Rufff
Brent Geese
On to RSPB Leighton Moss and we popped into Lillian’s Hide where the redhead Smew was giving only distant views. That made three species of Sawbills in a day. We walked down the the public hide, looking for Bearded Tits on the grit trays, but sadly saw none. I think that autumn is probably better to see them there. From the hide we saw a Sparrowhawk perched, 2 Goosanders and a Marsh Harrier. We went down to the Lower Hide, but only saw Marsh and Long-tailed Tits on the way there. There was not much from the hide. We had seen a sheep tangled up in the brambles and he was still there on the way back, so Dad climbed over to try and rescue him. Well, one look at Dad and that scared him enough to get himself out and he ran away trailing long bits of bramble bush. We were hoping to see a Starling roost but the presence of a Marsh Harrier perched on the reeds might have put them off and they all flew in behind us over the golf course for the night. But we did see 3 white geese flying towards Lillian’s. The Snow Geese circled around a bit, but they too flew off. Perhaps they decided not to roost there as well and went back to the estuary. There was a lovely sunset and it made a nice end to the weekend. We made our way home and my year list has had a very good start.
Breakfast table (ours and theirs)
Stock Dove
Teal
Robin
