NT
1977
A visit to Chew Valley Lake, on the way stopping at the river west of Chew Magna seeing the Dipper pair again and a Water Vole.
At the lake, at the dam there were the 3 ist summer Little Gulls again, also a Common Sandpiper, a Common Tern, a Sanderling and
3 Grey wagtails.
Common Tern on the dam at CVL.
Sanderling on the dam at CVL.
1978
An evening visit to Portbury Wharf seeing 2 Grey Partridges, 4 Whitethroats, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 2 Oystercatchers, 7 Grey Herons, 2 Sedge Warblers, 6 Redshank, 2 Tawny Owls and a Little Owl.
1979
A day spent at Chew Valley Lake we saw 2 Whitethroats, 3 Common Terns, 200+ Swifts, heard 6 Cuckoos, saw lots of Reed Warblers, Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers and 3 Ruddy Ducks. In the Twycross area we saw a Marsh Warbler which had been found by Keith Vinicombe and was a 1st record for the lake, also in that area we saw a Garden Warbler, 6 Blackcaps, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Kingfisher and found a Long-eared Owl, only the 4th record for the lake.
1980
An evening drive to Dummer in Hampshire, as we rounded the bend at the south end of the village there was a wall of 200+ birdwatchers, all starring at a Scops Owl in a Lime Tree. The owl called almost continuously from around 8.30pm, the only sighting up to 10pm was of the bird flying from this tree to the next. Later, after most people had given up or gone to the pub, it was tracked down to a tree at the side of a farm track, and finally, we had a good view for about 4 minutes. A new bird for us.
We saw it again on the 3rd July, this time very well, sat in a tree by the road for 15-20 minutes.
Drawings by Laurel Tucker.
1981
1982
Leading a Wingspan Bird Tour to Point Pelee in southern Ontario. 2 new birds seen today.
1983
Starting at Titchwell, there were lots of warblers, a Cuckoo, small numbers of duck on the pools, with 3 Red-breasted Mergansers and a Long-tailed Duck seen on the sea. We saw a Fulmar, 100's of Black-headed Gulls, 10 1st summer Little Gulls, lots of Little and Common Terns, 5 Sandwich Terns, a Spoonbill, 4 Common Sandpipers, 36 Grey Plovers, 4 Turnstones, a Little Stint, 12 Sanderling, 10 Bar-tailed Godwits, a Wheatear, a Yellow Wagtail and a Bearded Tit. At Snettisham there was a good selection of waders and 3 Turtle Doves.
1991
In the Russia Far East, 5 new birds seen today.
1996
On a birding holiday to Turkey. no new birds, but a new mammal seen today.
1997
A second day recording on West Sedgemoor starting with the Sedge Warblers again, where the pair were on view most of the time and the male singing with quite a lot of mimicry.
Later, I returned to the hedgerows locating the Nightingale again, and, nearby there was a pair of Chiffchaffs with recently fledged chicks, still begging for food.
Also seen in the area were Grey Herons, Lapwings, Redshanks, a Greenshank with another heard, 2 Blackcaps, a Lesser Whitethroat and a Garden Warbler which was giving some Nightingale mimicry.
2006
On a windy day a visit to Layde Bay in Clevedon where I saw a Fulmar and 10+ Manx Shearwaters. Then to Severn Beach where there were 2 Storm Petrels, 3 Gannets, 2 Fulmars, 50+ Kittiwakes, a Common Tern and 3 Common Scoters.
2019
A late afternoon visit to Slimbridge to see a White-winged Black Tern which was flying around the deeper side of the South Lake for 15-20 minutes before flying off, it had been visiting here on and off all day.
Record photos of the White-winged Black Tern.
2020
My first outing of any distance since March, a trip to the Forest of Dean, thinking that that only the popular areas would be busy. Wrong, there were people everywhere, all the car parks were almost full, so a self-distant walk seemed problematic! After driving around for a while I found a place to park where there was only one other car. As it was getting late in the morning, only a short walk before the song diminished, seeing and hearing lots of Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, a Garden Warbler, Willow Warblers, a Tree Pipit, a Lesser Whitethroat and an odd looking Buzzard.