30-04-18 Monday - Spotted Flycatcher

Temp 6 to 8℃. Windy and cool today, dry with a little Sun later, so not a bad day

30-4-18 Spotted Flycatcher, Bittern Trail (George Stacey)

Garganey
Avocet
Spotted Redshank
Barn Owl
Hobby
Pied & Spotted Flycatcher
Whinchat

BRISTOL

Redstart still around

Clifton gdn:
1 Marsh Tit

30-4-18 Coal Tit, Eastville (Martin Tayler)

Eastville/Stoke Park:
6 Canada Geese, 3 ducklings, 2 Grey Heron, 1 Little Egret, 1 Buzzard, 5 Moorhen, 4 Stock Dove, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Kestrel, 1 Jay, 4 Swallow, 2 Willow Warbler, 3 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 4 Whitethroat, 1 Treecreeper, 4 Greenfinch, 3 Reed Bunting

Stockwood Open Space:
4 Buzzard, 1 Willow Warbler, Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, 1 Whitethroat, Song Thrush hatched eggs

SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE

30-4-18 Garganey, Pilning Wetland (Paul Bowerman)

Severnside:
2 Garganey, 1 Avocet, 2 Ringed Plover, 3 Little Ringed Plover, 32 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Common Sandpiper, 15 Comic Tern, 1 Swift, 1 Peregrine, 120 Sand Martin, 14 Swallow, 1 Whinchat (Aust), 1 Yellow Wagtail, 5 White Wagtail

30-4-18 Skylark, Chipping Sodbury Common (Dan White)

Chipping Sodbury Common:
2 Stock Dove, 1 Kestrel, 15 Skylark, 60 Swallow, 2 Blackcap, 1 Whitethroat,

NORTH SOMERSET

Portbury 100:
1 Buzzard, 1 Jay

26-4-18 Barn Owl again today at Portbury Wharf (Chris Clarke)

Portbury Wharf:
1 Barn Owl

Bristol Airport:
1 Peregrine carrying 1 Magpie

30-4-18 Pied Flycatcher & Whinchat, Backwell (Chris James)

Backwell, 3 Lakes:

2 m Blackcap, 1 m Whitethroat, 1 f Pied Flycatcher, 2 m Wheatear, 2 Yellowhammer 

Congresbury Moor:

1 Hobby

Clevedon-Yeo:
1 Spotted Redshank

BELOW M4 & BANES

30-4-18 Moorhen, Keynsham (TtB)

Keynsham:
4 Moorhen, 1 Leucistic Pigeon, 10 Rooks, 1 Blue Tit, 4 House Sparrow, 1 Grey Wagtail

30-4-18 Peregrine, Bath (BUPP)

Bath, St John's Church:
2 Peregrine and 4 pulli

RESERVOIRS

29-4-18 Yellow Wagtail, Barrow Tanks (NSL Birding)

Barrow Tanks, 29th:

1 Long-tailed Duck, 14 Common Sandpiper, 1 Wheatear, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Grey Wagtail

30-4-18 Swallows & Sand Martins, Woodford (Ian Stapp)

Chew Valley Lake

1 Black Swan, 16 Shelduck, 4 Shoveler, 1 Little Egret, 3 Buzzard, 4 Common Sandpiper, 2 GBB Gull, 150 Swift, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Hobby, 2 Jay, 1 Raven, 1000  Swallows and Martins

30-4-18 Chiffchaff Moreton(Ian Stapp)

3 Cetti's Warbler, 2 Willow Warbler, 5 Chiffchaff, 5 Reed Warbler,  2 Blackcap,  2 Garden Warbler, 1 Whitethroat, Nuthatch feeding young, 2 Mistle Thrush, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 2 White Wagtail, 2 Reed Bunting

30-4-18 Little Gull, Cheddar (George Stacey)

Out Of Avon:
Little Gull at Cheddar Reservoir
Green Heron in Pembrokeshire

30-4-18 Green Heron, Pembrokeshire (Brian Thompson)

Reports: Paul Bowerman, Chris Clarke, David Esam, Paul Francis, Roger Hawley, Matt Hobbs, Adrian Hockey, Chris James, Me Bear, Patrick Richards, Steve Sanins, Vic Savery, Nigel Sluman, George Stacey, Ian Stapp, Larry Sweetland, Howard Taffs, Martin Tayler, Bri Thompson, Dan White, Martyn Wood, , blagdonlakebirds, CVRS, nslbirding, opsbirding, severnsidebirds, TBOSG

29-04-18 Sunday - Whinchat

Temp 6 to 8℃. It's not winter but feels like it. Fortunately not windy

Garganey
Long-tailed Duck
Bar-tailed Godwit, Spotted Redshank
Arctic Tern
Cuckoo
Hobby
Wood Warbler
Whinchat

29-4-18 female Redstart on patio, Fishpool Hill, Brentry, (Mark Dads)

BRISTOL

Redstart:
1 male in Henleaze, 1 female in Brentry

SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE

28-4-18 Green Woodpecker (lynne@rekaterac)

Aust:
8 Shelduck, 30 Oystercatcher, 3 Whimbrel, 1 Curlew, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Kestrel, 1 Peregrine, 2 Skylark, 5 Swallow, 3 Reed Warbler, 1 Blackcap, 1 Whitethroat, 2 Meadow Pipit, 5 Linnet, 2 Reed Bunting

29-4-18 Bar-tailed Godwit, Chitterning Warth (Bri Thompson)

Severnside:
1 Sparrowhawk, 10 Whimbrel, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit (both Severn Beach), 10 Dunlin, 4 Lesser Whitethroat, 4 Whitethroat, 1 Kestrel, 1 Peregrine

NORTH SOMERSET

Portbury, Prior's Wood:
1 singing Wood Warbler

Clevedon-Yeo:
80 Shelduck, 1 m Garganey, 2 m Wigeon, 13 Mallard ducklings, 2 Tufted Duck, 3 Cormorant, 2 Little Egret, 24 Oystercatcher, 6 Lapwing, 22 Ringed Plover, 54 Whimbrel, 3 Curlew, 4 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Turnstone, 48 Dunlin, 2 Common Sandpiper, 1 Spotted Redshank, 4 Redshank, 2 LBB Gull, 15 Herring Gull, 2 Raven, 20 Swallow, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Sedge Warbler, 4 Reed Warbler, 1 Blackcap, 1 Wheatear

Worlebury Hill Road/Golf course, W-s-M:
1 Peregrine, 2 House Martin, 2 singing Willow Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Blackcap, 1 Goldcrest

Uphill and STW:
2 Little Egret, 1 Whimbrel, 1 Cuckoo, 80+ Sand Martin, 250+ Swallow, 3 Whitethroat, 3 Willow Warbler, 5 Chiffchaff, 3 Blackcap, 1 Whinchat

BELOW M4 & BANES

Willsbridge Mill:
2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Jay, 1 Willow Warbler, 2 Chiffchaff, 6 Blackcap, 2 Nuthatch, 1 Dipper, 1 Grey Wagtail

29-4-18 Peregrine at St Johns (BUPP)

Bath, St John's Church:
2 Peregrine and 4 pulli

Newton St Loe:

4 Grey Heron (2 nests), 2 Stock Dove, 1 Green Woodpecker, 5 Chiffchaff, 7 Blackcap, 2 Goldcrest, 4 Nuthatch, 1 Treecreeper, 20 Goldfinch

River Chew:
1 Dipper

RESERVOIRS

Barrow Tanks:

1 Long-tailed Duck, 14 Common Sandpiper, 100's hirundines, 1 Wheatear, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Grey Wagtail

29-4-18 Common Sandpiper on the Dam, CVL (Bob Brewer)

Chew Valley Lake

1 Black Swan, 5 Common Sandpiper, 1 Arctic Tern, Swift, 2 Hobby, Sand Martin, 1000's Swallow, House Martin

29-4-18 Swallow at CVL (NSL Birding)

CVRS:
Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat

29-4-18 Swallow at CVL (Lee Gardiner)

Out Of Avon:
Little Gull at Cheddar
Golden Orioles at Portland
Green Heron in Pembrokeshire

Out of UK:
Bob Brewer in Cape Town

Reports: Alan Ashman, Bob Brewer, Dru Brooke Taylor, Karle Burford, Mark Dadds, Sean Davies, Michael Davis, Lee Gardiner, Robert Hargreaves, Adrian Hockey, lynne@rekaterac, Lois Pryce, George Rabin, Harvey Rose, Gill Sapsed, Bri Thompson, Paul Williams, Martyn Wood, blagdonlakebirds, CVRS, nslbirding, opsbirding, severnsidebirds, TBOSG

Request for help in studying Bristol-born Starlings

Starlings are one of the fastest-declining species in southern Britain but we still have little idea what is driving this decline. We are fairly sure that the problem takes place away from the breeding areas. Unfortunately, Starlings are highly dispersive and current tracking technology cannot tell us where they encounter the threats that are causing excess mortality.

We would like to test a different approach to this research question. Instead of waiting years for new radiotag technologies to come along, we plan to deploy lots of receivers to increase our chances of relocating ordinary radiotags. At this stage we only have a modest number of receivers and hope to test whether they work, with a view to scaling up to a larger study.

This is where we need your help. We plan to catch a bunch of young Starlings soon after the first broods fledge (mid-May), fit them with radio tags and then follow them with small, portable receivers, deployed by volunteers. We are looking for somewhere in urban/suburban Bristol to catch the birds - ideally, a small cluster of gardens where we can bait catching sites (from mid-April). We then need to find places at two km and four km from the tagging site where some of the receivers can be stationed. The rest of the receivers will be offered to volunteers willing to carry them around Bristol and surrounding areas, to sample a wider range of sites. Anyone can help with this if they are travelling around the city for work or simply because they are interested in Starlings.

All the birds will be colour-ringed too, so we would like to encourage everyone to look out for blue rings on Starlings' left legs, marked with white letter codes (digital camera images are proving ideal for reading these rings). Radiotracking is usually more productive than colour-ring re-sighting, but with so many active birders in Bristol, colour-ringing may prove more effective.

If anyone can offer potential ringing and receiver sites in Bristol or help with carrying the receivers around the city and its outskirts, please contact me (david.buckingham@rspb.org.uk) or Vivien Hartwell (vivien.hartwell@rspb.org.uk). Vivien will be comparing the effectiveness of traditional radiotracking, the new receivers and colour-rings while using all three approaches to measure habitat use.

The targets to beat (set by radiotracking in Cambridgeshire) are to follow the birds for longer than a month or further than ten km from the tagging site. We completely failed to find 40% of our tagged birds in Cambridgeshire - we would like to know more about what these rapid-dispersers are doing as they may be the birds that ultimately survive to adulthood. Many thanks in advance. 

Dave Buckingham (RSPB Centre for Conservation Science) 

28-04-18 Saturday - Spotted Redshank

Mild, overcast, some drizzle early on - good migration conditions

Brent Goose (27th), Long-tailed Duck
Great White Egret 
Osprey, Red Kite
Spotted Redshank,  Little Ringed Plover
Turtle Dove (27th)
Cuckoo
Pied Flycatcher
Common Redstart
Yellow Wagtail, possible iberiae Yellow Wagtail (27th), White Wagtail 
Tree Pipit
Redpoll, Siskin, Whinchat, Redstart
Purple Sandpiper
Brambling

28-4-18 Spotted Redshank in summer plumage, Dowlais Pool, Clevedon (Howard Taffs)

BRISTOL

Brandon Hill:
1 Common Redstart

SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Oldbury Power Station:
Great White Egret, Common Sandpiper, Cuckoo

28-4-18 Whinchat, Pilning Wetland (Lisegirl)

Northwick/ Pilning/Aust:
2 Gadwall, 1 Grey hHron, 10 Oystercatcher, 5 Curlew, 8 Whimbrel, c12 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Little Ringed Plover,  7 Common Sandpiper, 9 Swift, I Kestrel,  f Merlin, Skylark, 1 Whitethroat,  8 Wheatear, Whinchat, c25 Yellow Wagtail , c12 White Wagtail   

28-4-18 Yellow Wagtail, Northwick Warth (Brian Lancastle)

Severn Beach:

28-4-18 Wheatear, Severn Beach (Rob Emery)

8 Whimbrel, Swallows [72 an hour],7 Common Whitethroat, 2 Reed Warbler,1 Sedge Warbler, 3 Wheatear

Chittening Warth:
10 Swallow, 2 Cetti's Warbler,3 Sedge Warbler,3 Reed Warbler, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 3+ Whitethroat

Yate:
Three Brooks LNR: 1m Pied Flycatcher (Sandy Wood)

NORTH SOMERSET

Portishead: Battery Point
8 Tufted Duck, 1 Purple Sandpiper, 2 Swift, 1 Wheatear, 1 Rock Pipit.

Walton Common:
BNS walk - Red Kite, Green Woodpecker, Jay, Marsh Tit,  numerous Blackcap, several Nuthatch

Clevedon-Yeo:

28-4-18 Yellow Wagtails, Wains Hill, Clevedon (Howard Taffs) 

Wain's Hill:  rough figures in 2 hours: 1 Cuckoo, 10 Swift, 1 Hobby, 600 +Swallow with a few martins, 50 Yellow Wagtail, 30 Meadow Pipit, 1 Tree Pipit, 2 Redpoll, 2 Siskin

Dowlais: 6 Whimbrel, 1 Spotted Redshank  (in summer plumage)

Channel View Farm: 1 Wheatear, 1 pr Whinchat, 1 (m) Redstart.

Channel View to River Yeo: 4 Bar Tailed Godwit, 26 Ringed Plover, 1 Grey Plover, 2 Common Sandpiper, 1 Swift, 3 Wheatear

28-4-18 Swallows and Common Sandpiper,Wain's Hill, Clevedon (Howard Taffs)

Sand Point/Bay:

1 Hobby,  Swallows moving through in decent numbers, 3 Whitethroat,1 Willow Warbler, 1 Tree Pipit (heard)

Worlebury:
1 pair Buzzard

Claverham
Brambling - only 3 left in the garden, from the heady heights of 56 on 9th


BELOW M4 & BANES

Bath:

28-4-18 Peregrine, St Mark's Church, Bath (BUPP)
Falcon at nest with all 4 chicks visible

Cameley:
1 Osprey (flying up the Cam Valley c10 o’clock, heading towards CVL), 4  Buzzard, 1 Sparrowhawk, 16 Swallow

A note from our Cameley corespondent:
'The Osprey was a first for our garden which now has an impressive list of ‘seen in or from’. But it’s not the first for Cameley: about five years ago a radio-tagged bird called in at Cameley ponds and roosted for the night, just down the road from us – but no one saw it!

I was ringing here today and caught an imm male Sparrowhawk, great excitement for my trainee. And retrapped an eight year-old Blue Tit which is pretty good going as the longevity record for the species is 9 years 9 months.

Friday 27th April: Swallows arrived and prospecting for nest sites, Chiffchaffs gone quiet – females presumably now on eggs, Blackcaps in full song, Garden Warbler singing, Linnet – one visitor to garden (unusual here), Goldfinches in abundance

RESERVOIRS:

Barrow Tanks:
1 Long-tailed Duck (seems to be an honorary Tufted as it's always with them), 2 Common Sandpiper, 3 Yellow Wagtail, 'loads' of Pied Wagtail, 1 Grey Wagtail

Chew Valley Lake
2 Common Sandpiper, 2 Arctic Tern, 1 Hobby (hunting the hirundines), 'loads' of Swifts and hirundines

27th: 2 Brent Goose, 2 Turtle Dove , 1 possible iberiae Yellow Wagtail

Chew Valley Ringing Station:A quiet morning of ringing after the rain made interesting by the first re-appearance of a Chiffchaff ringed here late April last year

Long-tailed Tit, CVL Herriotts, (Bob Brewer)

28-4-18 leucistic Blackbird (Adam Rawson)

Reports: Rich Andrews, Paul Brian Chapman, Allan Chard, William Earp, Rob Emery, Alistair Fraser,  Pete Hazelwood, Adrian Hockey, Brian Lancastle, Lisegirl, Ian Loats,  Bob Medland, Giles Morris, David Playle, George Rabin, Adam Rawson, Howard Taffs, Jason Williams, Paul Williams,  Birdguides, BUPP,  blagdonlakebirds, CVRS, nslbirding, opsbirding, severnsidebirds,   TBOSG

27-04-18 Friday - Channel Wagtail

Rain for most of the day

Osprey
Wood Sandpiper
Turtle Dove
male Channel Wagtail 
Yellow Wagtail


BRISTOL

Brislington:
Tawny Owl calling at Tesco garage area Brislington at 1.00 am this morning.

27-4-18 Song Thrush Duchess Pond, Stoke Park (Martin Tayler)

Stoke Park, Duchess Pond:
2 Canada Goose, 3 Moorhen, 1 Great Spotted-Woodpecker, 2 Swallow, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Song Thrush,
4 Robin

Stockwood Open Spaces:
3 Greenfinch and 2 male and 2 female Bullfinch


SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Oldbury Power Station:
300+ Swallow, 3 Swift, 3 House Martin, c15 Sand Martin & 9 Yellow Wagtail to NE. But estuary as quiet as any day in last 12 months!

27-04-18 Possibly a Channel Wagtail at Pilning Wetland (Brian Lancastle)

New Passage/Northwick:
Wood Sandpiper on the back pool being very elusive, also 14 Black-tailed Godwit, c40 Dunlin,
RP, 2 Great Crested Grebe on the river drifted down, 5+ Wheatear, male Channel Wagtail with 30+ Yellow Wagtail, male Whinchat, 7 Swift

NORTH SOMERSET

Clevedon-Yeo:
am: 34 Mute Swan, 18 Canada Goose, ~50 Shelduck, 2 Teal, 2 Tufted Duck, 3 Cormorant , 3 Coot (at KP my first here), 22 Oystercatcher, Lapwing present, 16 Ringed Plover, 26 Whimbrel (best count so far but well down on what it should be), 4 Curlew, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Turnstone, 1 Knot,

20 Dunlin, 8 Common Sandpiper, 10 Redshank, 15 LBB Gull, 20+ Herring Gull, 1 Swift, 1 Raven, 25 Sand Martin (single group appeared out of the gloom), 30+ Swallow, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Wheatear

pm: 1 Swift over Dowlais and a Wheatear on the rocks

27-4-18 Male Bullfinch at Uphill (Paul Cousins)

Uphill:
Male Bullfinch

BELOW M4 & BANES

no reports

RESERVOIRS:

Barrow Tanks:
1 Long-tailed Duck, 17 Common Sandpiper, 5 Swift, 300 Sand Martin, 350 Swallow, 20 House Martin, 1 Wheatear, 3 Yellow Wagtail,

Chew Valley Lake

27-04-18 Barn Swallow at Chew (Lee Gardiner)

27-4-18 Black Swan at Herriotts (Lee Gardiner)

1 Black Swan, 1 Barnacle Goose, 2 Brent Goose, 1 fem Scaup, 1 drake Goldeneye, 9 Common Sandpiper, 2 Turtle Dove, 1 Osprey ( c. 12.45 briefly fished Herriott’s then on to main lake, eventually leaving NW), 2 Hobby, hundreds of hirundines (plenty of all three, though predominantly Swallows) and Swifts, 3 Yellow Wagtails (on the main dam)


Reports: Sean Davies, Paul Francis, Lee Gardiner, Mike Jenkins, Brian Lancastle, John Martin, Harvey Rose,  Howard Taffs, Martin Tayler, blagdonlakebirds, CVRS, nslbirding, opsbirding, severnsidebirds, TBOSG

26-04-18 Thursday - Merlin

Temp 8 to 13℃. Windy today, dry and Sunny with a bit of a blow

Long-tailed Duck
Swift
Red Kite
Merlin, Hobby
Yellow Wagtail, White Wagtail

26-4-18 White Wagtail with odd face, NP (Brian Lancastle)

BRISTOL

Brabazon Business Park:
3 Swallow

Stockwood Open Space:
1 Sparrowhawk, seen off by 2 feisty Long-tailed Tit and 2 Starling, 1 m Reed Bunting


SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Rockhampton to Hill (Northeast of OPS):
3 Mallard, 5 Buzzard, 3 Green Woodpecker, 1 Merlin, 7 Swallow, 20 House Martin, 1 LT Tit, 17 Chiffchaff, 4 Sedge Warbler, 2 Blackcap, 2 Whitethroat, 5 Chaffinch, 1 Greenfinch, 2 Linnet, 2 Yellowhammer

25-4-18 Starlings at New Passage (Stephen Jones)

New Passage/Northwick, 25th:
100 hirundines, 2 Wheatear, 1 f Yellow Wagtail, 10 White Wagtail, 20 Pied Wagtail

26-4-18 ringed Kestrel at Chipping Sodbury Common (Peter Coslett)

Chipping Sodbury Common:
1 ringed Kestrel

Winterbourne, Bradley Brook LNR:
1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Buzzard, 2 Stock Dove, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Raven, 1 Skylark, 1 Swallow, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Whitethroat, 1 Goldcrest, 1 Bullfinch, 2 Yellowhammer


NORTH SOMERSET

Portbury Wharf:
2 orange-legged Gadwall (Chris C), 1 Little Ringed Plover, lots Chiffchaffs Reed Warblers & Blackcaps
Weston Hospital:
1 Peregrine


BELOW M4 & BANES

26-4-18 Four Peregrine chicks at St Johns (BUPP)

Bath, St John's Church:
2 Peregrine and 4 pulli

RESERVOIRS

26-4-18 Long-tailed Duck, Barrow Tanks (Chris Stone)

Barrow Tanks:
1 Long-tailed Duck, 8 Common Sandpiper, 1 White Wagtail
Blagdon Lake, 25th:

2 Whimbrels, 1 Common Sandpiper, hundreds of hirundines

26-4-18 Black Swan, Herriotts (Ian Stapp)

Chew Valley Lake

1 Barnacle Goose, 1 Black Swan (Herriotts), 11 Shelduck, 1 dead Mallard ring GV40424, 4 Teal,  4 Gadwall, 1 f Scaup, 10 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Little Grebe, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Red Kite, 3 Buzzard, 10 Common Sandpiper, 1 Green Sandpiper, 3 GBB Gull

26-4-18 Song Thrush, Woodford (Ian Stapp)

200 Swift, 1 Great Spotted  Woodpecker, 2 Hobby, 1 Raven, 4 Jay,  20 Sand Martin, 30 Swallow, 20 House Martin, 1 Willow Warbler, 5 Chiffchaff, 3 Reed Warbler, 2 Blackcap, 1 Garden Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, 2 Song Thrush, 3 Mistle Thrush,  2 Reed Bunting

26-4-18 Little Gull with BH Gull at Cheddar (Terri Borash)

Out Of Avon:
Little Gull at Cheddar Reservoir
Bittern at RSPB Greylake

Out of UK:
Bob Brewer in Cape Town

Reports: Derek Angell, Teresa Chard, Peter Coslett, Chris Craig, Paul Francis, Bill Hewitt, Mike Jackson, Chris Jones, Stephen Jones, Brian Lancastle, Lisegirl, Nigel Milbourne, Lois Pryce, Adam Rawson, Nigel Sluman, Ian Stapp, Chris Stone, Talkingtobears, blagdonlakebirds, CVRS, nslbirding, opsbirding, severnsidebirds, TBOSG

Request for help in studying Bristol-born Starlings

Starlings are one of the fastest-declining species in southern Britain but we still have little idea what is driving this decline. We are fairly sure that the problem takes place away from the breeding areas. Unfortunately, Starlings are highly dispersive and current tracking technology cannot tell us where they encounter the threats that are causing excess mortality.

We would like to test a different approach to this research question. Instead of waiting years for new radiotag technologies to come along, we plan to deploy lots of receivers to increase our chances of relocating ordinary radiotags. At this stage we only have a modest number of receivers and hope to test whether they work, with a view to scaling up to a larger study.

This is where we need your help. We plan to catch a bunch of young Starlings soon after the first broods fledge (mid-May), fit them with radio tags and then follow them with small, portable receivers, deployed by volunteers. We are looking for somewhere in urban/suburban Bristol to catch the birds - ideally, a small cluster of gardens where we can bait catching sites (from mid-April). We then need to find places at two km and four km from the tagging site where some of the receivers can be stationed. The rest of the receivers will be offered to volunteers willing to carry them around Bristol and surrounding areas, to sample a wider range of sites. Anyone can help with this if they are travelling around the city for work or simply because they are interested in Starlings.

All the birds will be colour-ringed too, so we would like to encourage everyone to look out for blue rings on Starlings' left legs, marked with white letter codes (digital camera images are proving ideal for reading these rings). Radiotracking is usually more productive than colour-ring re-sighting, but with so many active birders in Bristol, colour-ringing may prove more effective.

If anyone can offer potential ringing and receiver sites in Bristol or help with carrying the receivers around the city and its outskirts, please contact me (david.buckingham@rspb.org.uk) or Vivien Hartwell (vivien.hartwell@rspb.org.uk). Vivien will be comparing the effectiveness of traditional radiotracking, the new receivers and colour-rings while using all three approaches to measure habitat use.

The targets to beat (set by radiotracking in Cambridgeshire) are to follow the birds for longer than a month or further than ten km from the tagging site. We completely failed to find 40% of our tagged birds in Cambridgeshire - we would like to know more about what these rapid-dispersers are doing as they may be the birds that ultimately survive to adulthood. Many thanks in advance. 

Dave Buckingham (RSPB Centre for Conservation Science) 

25-04-18 Wednesday - Bath Peregrines hatch

Brighter today, still windy with a shower or two on and off.

Osprey
Little Ringed Plover
Kittiwake
Arctic Skua
Cuckoo
Grasshopper Warbler
White Wagtail

25 -4-18 St John's Church, Bath: in the morning sunshine over Bath it looks pretty much like three chicks hatched from BUPP eggs overnight. Recordings show a lot of activity on the part of the falcon, but she kept hatching under her wings (BUPP)

Stoke Park, Duchess Pond:
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 11 Woodpigeon, 9 Magpie, 6 Jackdaw, 7 Carrion Crow, 4 Blue Tit, 4 Swallow, 2 Chiffchaff, 5m 1f Blackcap, 2 Lesser Whitethroat,1  Whitethroat, 2 Nuthatch, 4m 1f Blackbird, 2 Song Thrush, 2 Robin

SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Oldbury Power Station:
2 Osprey  (tacking up far side of estuary to NE in afternoon- so possibly not strictly within Avon Birds area, but still...)

New Passage/Northwick:
I Whimbrel, 8 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Common Sandpiper,  2 Lesser BB Gulls, 2 Stock Dove, 1 Raven, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Wheatear, 5 White Wagtail

Severn Beach:
1 Gannet, 2 Whimbrel,1 Sanderling, c 20 Kittiwake,very distant Terns,1 Arctic Skua,1 Grasshopper Warbler

NORTH SOMERSET

Bristol Airport:
9 Whimbrel heading West early evening

Clevedon-Yeo:
Wain's Hill: 1 Cuckoo

Weston-Super-Mare:
Lesser BB Gull “M+P” (ringed in Bristol 2013) has returned to its outside table clearing job

Weston Airfield: 2 Little Egret, Grey Heron,2 Common Sandpiper, Kestrel, Peregrine, small groups of Swallow and  House Martin (heading North), Whitethroat, 4 Wheatear, 2 Whinchat,


BELOW M4 & BANES

25-4-18 Raven in Willsbridge garden (Chris@avglochris)

Willsbridge:
2 Raven feeding on scraps put out in garden (see remarkable photo above)

Bath:
St Mark's Church: Peregrines hatched (see top of this blog)


RESERVOIRS:

25-4-18 Common Sandpiper and Swift at CVL (Ian Stapp)

Chew Valley Lake

1 Black Swan, 1 Barnacle Goose, 11 Shelduck, 6 Shoveler, 6 Gadwall,2 Wigeon, 4 Teal, 4 Buzzard,1 Sparrowhawk, 6+ Common Sandpiper, 5 G BB Gull, 50+ Swift,1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Raven, 4 Jay,  30+ Swallow, 30+ House Martin, 20+ Sand Martin, 3 Cetti's Warbler, 2 Long-tailed Tit, 3 Willow Warbler, 5+ Chiffchaff, 1 Sedge Warbler, 3 Reed Warbler, 2 Garden Warbler, 2 Blackcap, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Mistle Thrush, 1 Grey Wagtail

25-4-18 A beautiful image of a Swallow in flight, Pensford (Raoul Chandrasakera)

Reports: Paul Bowerman,Raoul Chandrasakera, chris@avglochris, Pete Hazelwood, Adrian Hockey,Nicky Larry, Lisegirl, John Martin,Aravind Ramesh, Patrick Hardyman Richards, RobTheBirder,Vic Savery, Ian Stapp, Howard Taffs, BUPP, blagdonlakebirds, CVRS,  nslbirding, opsbirding, severnsidebirds, TBOSG

24-04-18 Tuesday - Hobby

Temp 10 to 15℃. Duller and windier today, rain at 1.30

Swift
Hobby
All common Warblers now in

24-4-18 85 Swifts, Woodford (Ian Stapp)

BRISTOL
1 Swift, 2 Jay, 1 manky Fox

Stockwood Open Spaces:
1 Buzzard, 3 Coal Tit, 6 Lt Tit, 4 Chiffchaff, 6 Blackcap, 3 Whitethroat, 2 Nuthatch, 2 Song Thrush, 6 Goldfinch

SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Oldbury Power Station:
8 Sedge Warbler, 9 Reed Warbler, 2 Grasshopper Warbler (lagoon 3), 4 Lesser Whitethroat, 5 Whitethroat

24-4-18 Swift, New Passage (Aravind Ramesh)

New Passage/Northwick:
3 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Whimbrel, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 5 Dunlin,  1 Snipe, 2 Swift, 100's hirundines, Reed Warblers singing, 2 Wheatear, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 4 White Wagtail, 25 Pied Wagtail

Lyde Green:
2 singing Garden Warbler

Ingst, BBS:
2 Mallard, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Green Woodpecker, 5 Skylark, 4 Swallow, 6 Chiffchaff, 3 Blackcap, 2 Sedge Warbler, 1 Nuthatch, 28! Wren, 4 Song Thrush, 1 Greenfinch, 1 Chaffinch, 16 Linnet, 22 Goldfinch.

NORTH SOMERSET

Puxton:
2 Canada Goose, 8 Mallard, 3 Grey Heron, 1 Cormorant, 1 Buzzard, 2 GBB Gull, 2 Herring Gull,
7 LBB Gull, 6 Collared Dove, 1 Swift, 1 Green Woodpecker, 8 Skylark, 1 Sand Martin, 7 Swallow, 2 House Martin, 9 Chiffchaff, 1 Sedge Warbler, 7 Reed Warbler, 7 Blackcap, 2 Whitethroat, 2 Goldcrest, 13 Wren, 6 Starling, 1 Song Thrush, 21 House Sparrow, 6 Chaffinch, 1 Bullfinch, 2 Greenfinch, 11 Linnet, 17 Goldfinch, 1 Yellowhammer, 3 Reed Bunting

BELOW M4 & BANES

24-4-18 Dipper, Wick (Peter Coslett)

Wick, Golden Valley:
1 Sparrowhawk, 3 Buzzard, 1 Treecreeper, 1 Dipper, 1 Grey Wagtail

Newton St Loe:
10 Skylark, 25 Swallow, 10 House Martin, 2 Chiffchaff , 6 Blackcap. 1 Whitethroat, 4 Greenfinch, 3 Yellowhammer

RESERVOIRS:

Chew Valley Lake

4 Barnacle Goose, 1 Black Swan (Herriotts), 13 Shelduck, 8 Shoveler, 4 Teal,  6 Gadwall, 1 f Scaup, 1 m Goldeneye, 1 Sparrowhawk, 4 Buzzard, 1 Whimbrel, 1 Green Sandpiper, 6 Common Sandpiper, 3 GBB Gull

24-4-18 Hobby Woodford (Ian Stapp)

100 Swift, 2 Great Spotted  Woodpecker, 1 Kestrel, 1 Hobby, 2 Raven, 4 Jay,  20 Sand Martin, 20 Swallow, 11 House Martin, 4 Cetti's Warbler, 2 Long-tailed Tit, 5 Chiffchaff , 4 Reed Warbler,  2 Sedge Warbler, 4 Blackcap, 2 Garden Warbler, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Goldcrest, 1 Treecreeper, 2 Mistle Thrush,  2 Grey Wagtail, 1 Reed Bunting

Reports: Paul Bowerman, Teresa Chard, Peter Coslett, Anne Crowe, Robert Hargreaves, Nick Hawkridge, Lisegirl, John Martin, Mike Meechem, Lois Pryce, Aravind Ramesh, Nigel Sluman, Ian Stapp, blagdonlakebirds, CVRS, nslbirding, opsbirding, severnsidebirds, TBOSG

Request for help in studying Bristol-born Starlings

Starlings are one of the fastest-declining species in southern Britain but we still have little idea what is driving this decline. We are fairly sure that the problem takes place away from the breeding areas. Unfortunately, Starlings are highly dispersive and current tracking technology cannot tell us where they encounter the threats that are causing excess mortality.

We would like to test a different approach to this research question. Instead of waiting years for new radiotag technologies to come along, we plan to deploy lots of receivers to increase our chances of relocating ordinary radiotags. At this stage we only have a modest number of receivers and hope to test whether they work, with a view to scaling up to a larger study.

This is where we need your help. We plan to catch a bunch of young Starlings soon after the first broods fledge (mid-May), fit them with radio tags and then follow them with small, portable receivers, deployed by volunteers. We are looking for somewhere in urban/suburban Bristol to catch the birds - ideally, a small cluster of gardens where we can bait catching sites (from mid-April). We then need to find places at two km and four km from the tagging site where some of the receivers can be stationed. The rest of the receivers will be offered to volunteers willing to carry them around Bristol and surrounding areas, to sample a wider range of sites. Anyone can help with this if they are travelling around the city for work or simply because they are interested in Starlings.

All the birds will be colour-ringed too, so we would like to encourage everyone to look out for blue rings on Starlings' left legs, marked with white letter codes (digital camera images are proving ideal for reading these rings). Radiotracking is usually more productive than colour-ring re-sighting, but with so many active birders in Bristol, colour-ringing may prove more effective.

If anyone can offer potential ringing and receiver sites in Bristol or help with carrying the receivers around the city and its outskirts, please contact me (david.buckingham@rspb.org.uk) or Vivien Hartwell (vivien.hartwell@rspb.org.uk). Vivien will be comparing the effectiveness of traditional radiotracking, the new receivers and colour-rings while using all three approaches to measure habitat use.

The targets to beat (set by radiotracking in Cambridgeshire) are to follow the birds for longer than a month or further than ten km from the tagging site. We completely failed to find 40% of our tagged birds in Cambridgeshire - we would like to know more about what these rapid-dispersers are doing as they may be the birds that ultimately survive to adulthood. Many thanks in advance. 

Dave Buckingham (RSPB Centre for Conservation Science)