NT
1976
An evening drive to Cheddar Reservoir to see a Temminck's Stint, a new bird for us, the stint was with a Little Ringed Plover giving excellent views down to 10-15 feet away, we watched it for around an hour until dusk.
1977
From Laurel's dad's house in L'Islet we drove to the north of the island to L'Ancresse, a grassy area by the coast seeing lots of Linnets, 7 Stonechats, a Wheatear, a Whimbrel and 2 Common Terns. From there a short distance south to Vale Pond where there were 6 Moorhens and 2 Reed Warblers with more heard in the reeds. At nearby Baie de Port Grat there were 15 Oystercatchers, 30 Ringed Plovers, 6 Dunlin, 8 Sanderling, 2 Grey Plovers, 2 Turnstones and a Wheatear. Back at L'Islet we saw a Spotted Flycatcher.
1978
An overnight drive from the New Forest to the Brecklands, to the Barton Mills round-a-bout, but the Roller we had come to see had gone! On a walk around the local area we saw 7 Garden Warblers, a Woodcock, 2 Cuckoos, lots of Turtle Doves and Redpolls, a Whitethroat, 6+ Blackcaps, several Yellowhammers, 4 Red-legged Partridges, 2 Marsh Tits, 6 Sedge Warblers, a Water Vole, a Jay, 2 Bullfinches, 2 Tree Sparrows, a Chiffchaff and lots of Willow Warblers. From there we went to Weeting seeing a Stone Curlew and lots of Wheatears and Red-legged Partridges, then at Brandon Saw Mill we saw 2 Tree Pipits and spent a while at Felbrigg Hall, but the the Honey Buzzards didn't show. Later we drove to Cley and had time for a look around the reserve seeing a Bittern, 2 Yellow Wagtails, a Common Sandpiper, a Wigeon, several Dunlin and lots of Redshanks and Common Terns.
1979
A trip to Suffolk, with an evening visit to Minsmere where we saw 3 Cuckoos, 5 Spoonbills, a Marsh Harrier, 9 Dunlin, 2 Grey Plovers, a Black-tailed Godwit, a Common Sandpiper, a 1st summer Little Gull, lots of terns, Teal and Reed Warblers, and we heard a Grasshopper Warbler.
1980
An evening drive to Fleet Pond in Hampshire, where we briefly saw a Great Reed Warbler, as it was late in the day and the bird was keeping low in the reeds, but we could hear it. Also there, were a few duck and Great Crested Grebes, Reed Warblers, Swifts and we saw at least 10 Noctule Bats. We decided to drive to Dummer, but only heard the Scops Owl this time.
1981
1984
A visit to Chew Valley Lake where, apart from the 100's of Swifts, the best were 8 Ruddy Ducks, a pair of Garganey and a Cuckoo.
Later a drive to Stock Hill seeing a Tree Pipit, hearing another, also seeing a Garden Warbler, a Willow Warbler and hearing 8 others.
1991
2003
A visit to West Sedgemoor, starting at Swell Wood where I recorded the Heronry, there were 20 pairs of Grey Herons breeding this year and many nests had well-grown chicks, at times the herons made a lot of noise, but other woodland birds were also in full song such as Chaffinches, Robins, Mistle Thrushes, Jackdaws, Wrens, tits and Chiffchaffs, there were also several Great Spotted Woodpeckers 'drumming' against each other.
Later, I was joined by BBC cameraman Richard Kirby and towards dusk we made our way to the hedgerows by West Sedgemoor. We were here to attempt to film and record Nightingales, something I had done a couple of years before with reasonable success, but tonight, in the location selected it proved to be more difficult. We were later in May than previously and the bushes had a lot more growth, I was able to record the Nightingales easily, but Richard found it hard to get clear shots, and although there were 2 birds singing strongly against each other, presumably adjacent territories, they kept hidden most of the time, there was also a 3rd bird singing a short distance away. We tried the other side of the hedgerow, which wasn't any better, but I did see and record a female Nightingale.
These calls were given by what I assumed was a female, the deep 'crook' call is a general alarm, the high-pitched call can either be given on its own or in combination with the with the 'crook' call and is used when disturbed near the nest. The high-pitched call is also given during migration and in the wintering grounds.
Also seen in this area were Whitethroats, Green Woodpecker, a Marsh Tit and a Little Owl.
2005
A visit to Severn Beach seeing 3 Kittiwakes, a Common Gull and an Arctic Skua.