The Strawberry Line survey on the 4th recorded 172 birds on the Reserve with more in and over adjacent fields. 33 Species including seven warbler species were noted. Whilst counting a passing dog walker told us that she had seen…
The unseasonal warm and sunny weather continued into May. More Swallows arrived and House Martins were inspecting a previous nest site at Chestnut Park. Eight warbler species were singing around Congresbury and Yatton and indications that most species were in…
The first Strawberry Line count took place on the 1st and was notable for 20 singing Chiffchaffs and half a dozen noisy Cetti’s Warblers. There were lots of Robins and Wrens plus a patrolling Sparrowhawk. At least 20 Linnets including…
The 1st was a glorious sunny day and at least half a dozen Robins were singing in the Littlewood Reserve. Long tailed tits were collecting nesting material there and a Woodcock was roosting. Kingfishers were on New Rhyne and Little…
A Kingfisher was on the Little River on the 1st and the next day 31 Snipe ( and one Buzzard) were counted on the Kenn Moor Reserve. A Mistle Thrush singing by Horsecastle Chapel on the 3rd was most unexpected…
The first of January is traditionally the day when birdwatchers rush around trying to see as many species as possible for their year lists. Not this year though as the weather was awful but on the 2nd, a glorious sunny…
The month started with lots of Little Egrets on the Moors with a few Great Egrets for good measure. Our Congresbury Moor Reserve only produced a couple of Snipe (2nd) with a Kingfisher, a Barn Owl and unusually a Fox…
The low water levels in the Wemberham Rhyne system attracted several Little Egrets, Herons and a Great Egret as well as a Grey Wagtail and a couple of Green Sandpipers. Two Goosanders on the River Yeo (2nd) were early winter…
At least four Cetti’s Warblers were singing on Congresbury Moor and adjacent sections of the Strawberry Line with a couple of Chiffchaffs restricting themselves to quiet calls. A pair of Stonechats were present on the YACWAG fields with a Heron…
On the 2nd, two Hobbies were perched on a T-pylon visible from Lampley Road, Kingston Seymour before flying off towards Kenn and there was a repeat performance two days later with a flock of a dozen Mistle Thrushes also present…
A young Sparrowhawk was still calling continually by Yatton railway station on the 3rd and another was chasing a frisbee (yes really) in a garden in Congresbury. This was also likely to be a young bird. A Chiffchaff was singing…
There was still some song early in the month, with Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Reed Warbler and Whitethroat all singing at the Yatton end of Wemberham Lane on the 5th. The far end of the Lane produced a Hobby flying purposefully south…
The meteorological first day of summer (June 1st) dawned sunny but two Cormorants on a pylon near the railway were Autumn birds! Both Common and Lesser Whitethroat sang briefly by Wemberham Lane. The earlier Springs mean that song diminishes sooner…
Two Red Kites flew south over the Little River on the 5th, the first Yatton record for several weeks. On the same day three Siskins were still visiting a garden in Congresbury. The birdsong walk on the 6th produced the…
An early House Martin was over Derham Park on the 4th and on the same day four Lapwings were on the Wemberham maize stubble field with around 20 Linnets nearby. There was lots of song on the Strawberry Line including…
A walk along the Congresbury section of the Strawberry Line on the afternoon of the 29th February (Peter Grainger) produced calling Little and Tawny Owls as well as a Kestrel, Green Woodpecker and Water Rail of note. The count at…
The month started with a sunny calm day but the second winter bird survey on Congresbury Moor and Gang Wall was fairly uneventful. It was good to see a hunting Kestrel and a pair of Linnets by the River were…
Some late news from December, Christmas night in fact, please see the video of a Barn Owl at one of our reserves below. On New Year’s Day morning Emily reported a Kestrel and three Buzzards from Ham Lane and Kenn…
Following the sighting of a Short Eared Owl on Kenn Moor near our Littlewood Reserve further vigils on the 2nd and 3rd were unsuccessful but a Grey Wagtail was a nice surprise on the 2nd and a Peregrine on a…
Two flocks of Woodpigeons totalling 2,000 birds were reported heading south over Kingston Seymour on the 3rd. A pair of Ravens were mutual preening to strengthen their pair bond on a nearby pylon. Redwing seen on the Strawberry Line Yatton…
A Peregrine was over Smarts factory on the 1st and that evening a Barn Owl was out at dusk on Congresbury Moor. At Dowlais Farm, Kenn, a Hobby made an unsuccessful attack on a Meadow Pipit, there were 70 Oystercatchers…
The Swallow roost at Wemberham Lane dispersed and on the 1st Pied Wagtails were roosting in increased numbers, at least 40 gathered on Smart’s factory before dropping into the reeds. Three Whinchat were on Congresbury Moor (4th) along with a…
It was unsettled at the beginning of August but a Little Owl was calling in the late evening of the 1st in Claverham and the next day a juvenile Sparrowhawk put in an appearance in a members garden in Yatton.…
The month started with reports of lots of House Sparrows and House Martins on the Chestnut Park Estate and good numbers of Swallows with young at the stables in Wemberham Lane. Chiffchaff and Blackcap were singing there intermittently with a…
The month started with three Swifts over Cadbury Hill where young Great Spotted Woodpeckers could be heard in a nest. A Red Kite was over the centre of Yatton early in the month and by mid month at least five…
The early morning bird walk along the Strawberry Line and Congresbury Moor on the 1st attracted 25 attendees, and eventually we heard each of our seven regular warbler species in song, with most of them visible at times. One of…
The month opened with two Linnets in a Kenn garden, not a usual garden species. It was a case of the quiet and the noisy in the churchyard at Kingston Seymour with a Goldcrest and a Ring Necked Parakeet. Three…
The Starling murmuration ended abruptly at Tesco’s in Clevedon at the beginning of the month, one wonders what triggers thousands of birds to change their roost site as one. The Reserves were even drier than last month and it was…
Mark Savage visited East Anglia at the end of February 2023 and has kindly provided these pictures of scarce species. Shorelarks at Holkham Gap, Norfolk (photo by Mark Savage. 26 February 2023) These birds are well named, they are winter…
There was a mixed flock of about 80 Fieldfares and Redwings at the Stowey Reserve and also evidence that Barn Owls have used both the new box and the repositioned box. The adjacent fields produced a pair of Stonechats, a…
The Kenn Moor Reserve Snipe count on the 2nd produced 28 Snipe with a few Meadow Pipits, a pair of Stonechats and an overflying Little Egret. On the same day a mixed flock of 200 Redwings and Fieldfares was by…
The first Snipe count of the winter took place on the 4th at Kenn Moor Reserve. There were a dozen Snipe which is about average for the early December count there. The Congresbury Moor fields were fairly dry so only…
Our member on Cadbury Hill reported Great Tits ‘everywhere’ and a Marsh Tit as well as a Tawny Owl in the car park at the beginning of the month. A couple of days later whilst we were cleaning out the…
A sunny morning on the 6th produced a passage of Skylarks. They migrate in ones and twos, calling as they pass over and October is the prime month. These are birds that nest in the north heading south for winter.…
There was a good passage of Wheatears and Whinchats at the beginning of the month, mostly observed by the Hinkley Connect haul road sites by the River Yeo, Wemberham Lane and Kenn Moor. Wheatear numbers peaked at eight and Whinchat…
At the beginning of the month there were reports of two Tawny Owls seen in Claverham. A juvenile Sparrowhawk was calling there with others in Littlewood and Wemberham Lane. Also in Wemberham Lane a Kingfisher was present and juvenile Reed…
Three Skylarks were in full song in the Wemberham area on the first of the month. They must be on their second or third nesting attempts this year. Song will diminish and probably be over by mid month. Nearby four…
The Raven family returned to the Kingston Seymour pylon on the 1st and all three young have survived their first few months of life. A Peregrine perched a respectable two pylons away, the first seen at the Kingston end for…
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…
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