Sunday 22 July 2018

22-07-18 Sunday - more Great White Egrets

A lot of high cloud with sunny spells and very hot despite the fresh wind.  Dry.

Great White Egrets
Little Ringed Plover, Ruff, Sanderling
Mediterranean Gulls, Yellow-legged Gulls
Purple Heron in Somerset


Peregrine juveniles - the Avon Gorge (David Hughes)
BRISTOL

Little Stoke:
14+ Swift - perhaps young now on the wing.

Withywood:
3 Swift

SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE

New Passage/Northwick:
3 Little Egret, juv. Little Ringed Plover, 140 Redshank, 315 Dunlin, 1 adult Sanderling, 63 Black-tailed Godwit, 106 Lapwing, 2 Turnstone, 4 Common Sandpiper, juv Green Woodpecker, Coal Tit.

Yate:
juv. Mediterranean Gull with 20+ BH Gull.

Horton:
1 Little Owl - first here for some years

NORTH SOMERSET
no reports.

BELOW M4 & BANES



Keynsham to Compton Dando:

Memorial Park: 15 Mallard, 1 Moorhen.

Dapps Hill: 1 Kingfisher, 6 Mallard with 3 ducklings.

Chewton Place: 1 Raven, 1 young moorhen, 1 Bullfinch.

Compton Dando: 13 Mallard, 1 Buzzard, 2 Green Woodpecker with 1 young, 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Peregrine, 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Pied Wagtail, 32 Swallow on power lines in the village,  2 Raven, 1 Whitethroat, 2 Nuthatch, 2 Treecreeper, 2 Bullfinch, 2 Linnet, 10 Yellowhammer (incl. 4 singing males and 2 juvs.).
Barn Owl brood of 3 ringed this morning (photos from Ian Stapp).

RESERVOIRS
One of three Great White Egrets back at Chew (Rob  Hargreaves)

Chew Valley Lake
New brood of 8 Tufted Duck, 3 Great White Egret, 4 Little Egret (1 juv.), 1 juv. Little Ringed Plover, 19 Lapwing, 2 moulting adult Ruff, 2 adult Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Common Sandpiper, 7 Green Sandpiper, 4 Mediterranean Gull (3 juv, 1 1st-summer), 3 Yellow-legged Gull, 1 m. Kestrel, 1 Kingfisher, 2 Sand Martin.

Herriott's Bridge:
6 Shelduck, 2 Shoveler, 20 Gadwall, 20 Teal, 4 Grey Heron, 20 Lapwing,  2 adult Black-tailed Godwit, 1 ad Common Gull

Out of Area:
adult Purple Heron at Noah's Lake, Ashcott, Somerset early this morning.

BTO - Project Owl

The BTO's Project Owl research starts this autumn.   We need your help to learn more about our nation’s fascinating but often mysterious owl species.

The Tawny Owl Point Survey

Running from mid-August to mid-October we'll be running a national structured survey on Tawny Owls. Following on from comparable national surveys carried in 1989 and 2005 we'll use this survey to examine long-term population and occupancy trends. Check out the Tawny Owl Point Survey information pages now at www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/project-owl and sign up

Tawny Owl Point Survey structure

This survey involves volunteers visiting random preselected tetrads (2x2km squares). In total there 225 tetrads in Avon available at the start of the survey, We want to survey as many of these as possible and depending on local interest expand this over the course of the survey. Check the tetrads available in your area and sign up to survey one.
The first survey period will run from August 15 until October 15 2018. During this time we'd ask you to make one to three (ideally at least two) short evening visits to your chosen tetrad within as short a period as possible. The whole process is planned to be repeated between mid-February and mid-March 2019, and (funding permitting) in autumn 2019/spring 2020.

Coming Soon

The Tawny Owl Calling Survey


Then starting at the end of September and running until the end of March we have the Tawny Owl Calling Survey. This is a weekly 20 minute survey that can be carried out from the comfort of your own home or pretty much anywhere else you can visit multiple times.
Reports: Adrian Adams, Pete Brain, Neil Delaney, Richard Giles, Robert Hargreaves, Bill Hewitt, Gary Hughes, Mike Jackson, John Martin, Fiona Neate, Tony Scott, Ian Stapp, BUPP, blagdonlakebirds, CVRS, nslbirding, opsbirding, severnsidebirds, TBOSG