8 Feb '17 Wednesday - Short-eared Owl

Another fine day, rain from North East in late afternoon. Very quiet for birds

Waxwing at Bradley Stoke
Short-eared Owl at Uphill
Long-tailed Duck at Barrow Tanks
Bewick's Swans and Mediterranean Gull at Blagdon Lake

8-2-17 Song Thrush at Ashton Court (Mrs Trellis)

BRISTOL

Ashton Court:
20+ Blackbird, 6 Song Thrush

Chequers and Hanham Wood:
1 Grey Heron, 1 Buzzard, 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Goldcrest, 4 Long-tailed Tits


SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE

New Passage/Severn Beach:
No reports

Pilning South, 1630:
1 Black Redstart

8-2-17 Waxwing at Bradley Stoke (Vic Savery)

Bradley Stoke:
11 Waxwing


NORTH SOMERSET:

Clevedon:
1 Raven (Kenn Road)

8-2-17 Dartford Warbler at Sand Bay (Brian Thompson)

Sand Bay;
1 Dartford Warbler

8-2-17 Short-eared Owl at Uphill (Simon Williams)

Uphill:
1 Short-eared Owl 16.30, 3 later in gloom, 1 Kingfisher


BELOW M4 & BANES

Toghill Farm:
2 Cattle Egret, 1 Raven

Tracy Park, near Wick:
1 Cormorant, 2 Jays, 1 Nuthatch, 1 Mistle Thrush, 1 Bullfinch

RESERVOIRS:

Barrow Tank 3:
1 Long-tailed Duck, 1 f Goldeneye

Blagdon Lake, 1600-1730:
8 Bewick's Swans, 2 Egyptian Geese, 2 Scaup, 4 (1 m) Goosander, 1 Little Egret,
1 Mediterranean Gull

Chew Valley Lake:
3 Bewick's Swans, 1 Greylag Goose, 2 Egyptian Geese, 4 Scaup, 1 Common Sandpiper, 2 ad Mediterranean Gull, 2 Yellow-legged Gulls, 2 Stonechats

7-2-17 Ring-billed Gull (Bob Brewer)
Seen yesterday and maybe today at Chew

Dam:
1 m Common Scoter, 1 Common or Ring-billed Gull, 1 Goldcrest, 1 Treecreeper

East Shore:
3 Black-necked Grebe

Heron's Green:
1 Black-necked Grebe

8-2-17 odd Gull at Chew (Keith Vinicombe)

This odd gull has been hanging around the Picnic Site area at Chew for several months. The most logical explanation is that it's a Lesser Black-backed x Herring Gull hybrid but this wouldn't really explain the amount of dense streaking on the head and underparts. I started to wonder about Heuglin's Gull of the form 'taimyrensis', which breeds to the east of Heuglin's in the Russian Arctic. But no doubt that's just Fantasy Island.

Reports: Matt Ames, Paul Cousins, Andrew Ford, Nigel Milbourne, Jonathan Mortin, Vic Savery, Chris Stone, Brian Thompson, Mrs Trellis, Keith Vinicombe, Simon Williams  blagdonlakebirds,  nslbirding, opsbirding, severnsidebirds