Firstly some news from early May when Hobbies were seen over Yatton on the 2nd and the 8th. These would be passage birds heading to their nesting territories.There was a remarkable record of a nocturnal calling Moorhen on two consecutive…
The Raven’s nest on the pylon at Kingston Seymour held three sizeable young at the beginning of the month. and there was a Whinchat on Kenn Moor the next day. The early morning bird song walk enjoyed good listening conditions,…
Two Swallows flying over Congresbury Moor on the first day of the month were the first reported locally but generally migration with the exception of good numbers of Chiffchaffs was slow early on. Greenfinches however, are abundant around the villages,…
Congresbury Cricket ground is in the headlines again. Following three Green Woodpeckers at the end of February there were 50 Pied Wagtails late afternoon on the 3rd. This was no doubt a pre roost flock as this species roosts communally…
Firstly an amazing record of a male Hen Harrier by the Little River last October. Thanks to Emily Lomas for this video. I have never seen a male locally and I’m pretty sure none has been reported in the last…
The monthly Snipe count (3rd) at the Kenn Moor Reserve yielded an impressive 49 birds with two Jack Snipe and a pair of Stonechats. The Reserve was nicely wet but by the end of the month had dried somewhat and…
The long running bird survey covering part of Congresbury Moor, the river and Gang Wall turned up a calling Water Rail in the ditch opposite the mosaic seat on the Strawberry Line, a traditional site from some years past. A…
A sunny day after several wet days saw the pair of Stonechats by Wemberham Lane with the regular (on calm days) Peregrine feeding on a pylon. 18 Redwings were in the orchard near the motorway and 16 Mute Swans were…
Sparrowhawk by Phil Whitchurch The wet weather at the beginning of the month brought 58 Goldfinches to wires in Kenn and a Sparrowhawk (see photo above by Phil Whitchurch) to a Congresbury garden. The following day a Peregrine stooped into…
Osprey at Cheddar photo by Mark Savage The roost at Wemberham Lane was devoid of Swallows early in the month but 20 Pied Wagtails were taking advantage and roosting there. It will be interesting to see if their numbers build…
The dilapidated and life expired box in Norton’s has been replaced with a new recycled plastic ‘ECO’ box which should have a much longer life than our traditional wooden boxes. Nailsea Environment and Wildlife Trust have a similar box which…
Whinchat on the Strawberry Line by Mark Savage A single Lapwing on a field adjacent to the Strawberry Line was an unusual late summer record these days. From Wemberham Lane a pair of Ravens were visible perched on a diagonal…
It is widely recognised that nearly all of the landscape in Britain is man made and it has been suggested ( entirely logically I believe) that the distribution and suite of bird species is equally ‘man made’. The decline in…
Following on from the notes in the July 2021 newsletter there was an exceptional record of a White Stork flying over Yatton on the 18th, possibly one of the birds from the Knepp Estate rewilding project. More expected was a…
In the 1970’s and 80’s Kestrels were the most common bird of prey in the UK, indeed the other 13 breeding species together could not reach half of the then 80,000 pairs of Kestrels. Persecution and pesticides had affected Kestrels…