NT
1976
A trip to the Peak District, with a drive through the Derwent Valley, which produced new birds for us, a male and female Goshawk, we also saw 2 Sparrowhawks, a Kestrel and a Brambling.
At Snake Pass we saw 10+ Red Grouse, and near Chunal a flock of around 250 Fieldfares. We continued towards Leek and at Swallow Moss watched 15 male Black Grouse display to 6 females, we also saw 3 more Red Grouse and heard others.
1977
A visit to Chew Valley Lake where the best birds were 47 Sand Martins and 2 male Smew.
1978
Last day staying on Hilbre, where on the seawatch we saw 12 Kittiwakes, a Red-throated Diver, a Goldeneye, 3 Common Scoters, a Great Crested Grebe, a Fulmar and a Sanderling.
Photo: Grey Plover, Knot & Turnstone.
1982
On a bright, sunny day we were at Chew Valley Lake where there were good numbers of duck including 22 Ruddy Ducks and 2 male and a female Garganey. We also saw 2 Snipe, 11 Reed Buntings, a Barn Owl, a Grey Wagtail, a Wheatear, 3 Little Owls, a Nuthatch,
a Water Pipit, 12 Redwings and 6 Sand Martins.
1983
A visit to Chew Valley Lake where we saw 2 Water Pipits, a Little Owl, 40+ Goldeneye, 2 Long-tailed Ducks, 5 Chiffchaffs, a Treecreeper, 14 Goosander and a Red-throated Diver.
1985
1989
A trip to Portland to see a reported Blyth's Pipit, the bird stayed in long grass for much of the time and we only had good views on two occasions, at times it looked like a Tawny Pipit, and, depending on the light, at other times looked like a Richard's Pipit, no-one could or would comit to its identification and I still don't know the outcome! So it became known as the Portland Pipit.
Also on Portland we saw 5 Wheatears, a Peregrine, 4 Firecrests and the usual seabirds.
At Ferrybridge there were 3 more Wheatears, around 40 Red-breasted Mergansers, 10 Long-tailed Ducks, a Red-necked Grebe, a Common Scoter, 10+ Turnstones, about 50 Dunlin, 12+ Ringed Plovers, 11 Bar-tailed Godwits and a Kentish Plover.
At Radipole Lake we saw the usual ducks and grebes, along with 7 Snipe, 2 Cetti's Warblers seen and 3 more heard, also a Bearded Tit with others heard, a Fox and 26 Sand Martins.
1991
In Belize, 2 new birds seen today.
2003
In the garden in Portishead, where firstly I heard and then saw around 8 Herring Gulls mobbing an Osprey, a garden tick.