NT
On the 31st August:
1975
On the drive from Bristol to Weymouth we saw 3 Foxes and a Barn Owl. At Radipole Lake there was a Hobby, a Kingfisher, 15+ Yellow Wagtails, 2 Bearded Tits, a Black Tern and a Little Gull. At Ferrybridge there were 2 more Little Gulls, a Knot and c70 Dunlin and Ringed Plovers. Portland was quiet, with the best being 3 Wheatears and 2 Whinchats. We called in at Cheddar Reservoir on the way home seeing 2 Black Terns, 2 Spotted Redshank, 6 Little Stints, 4 Dunlin, 3 Ruff, 2 Common Sandpipers and a Curlew Sandpiper.
1980
A drive to Marazion Marsh to see an Aquatic Warbler which failed to show or had gone. We did see lots of Reed and Sedge Warblers, 3 Water Rails, 2 Sparrowhawks, 22 Grey Herons, a Wheatear, 4 Grey Wagtails, 2 Yellow Wagtails, a Kingfisher, a Greenshank and a Peregrine.
Then we went to Drift Reservoir where there was a Lesser Yellowlegs, also seeing 4 Greenshank, 4 Common Sandpipers, a Curlew Sandpiper, 8 Dunlin and 2 Wheatears.
Then we did an afternoon sea-watch from Porthgwarra seeing Kittiwakes, 4 Sandwich Terns, 3 Arctic Skuas, a Fox and a Great Green Grasshopper.
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Drawing of Lesser Yellowlegs by Laurel Tucker.
1981
On the Plymouth to Santander Ferry at the start of a research trip of Spain for future tours. One new bird seen today.
1982
A drive to Kenfig, where at Sker Farm near Sker Point, was a Little Whimbrel - a 1st British Record. The bird was seen mainly on its own in pasture or stubble fields.
Also in the area we saw 8 Curlew, 12 Yellow Wagtails, 2 Kestrels, a Sparrowhawk and a Merlin.
Drawings of Little Whimbrel by Laurel Tucker, photo by Richard Smith.
1996
Today we left Cape Clear Island and travelled back east along the coast, stopping at Rosscarbery where there were lots of waders, including 8 Sanderling, 10+ Greenshank, c50 Black-tailed Godwits, 3 Bar-tailed Godwits, a few Sandwich Terns and a juvenile Mediterranean Gull.
We continued east, then north to Ballycotton where there were 100's of waders, including a Little Stint and a Baird's Sandpiper. Later, we drove south to Cork to wait for the ferry.
2012
A visit to Chew Valley Lake where there were good numbers of duck especially Tufted Ducks, with them an eclipse male Lesser Scaup and an eclipse male Ferruginous Duck. In the reed-bed at Herriott's Bridge I heard a Spotted Crake which called for around 5 minutes.
2014
A visit to New Passage, where feeding in a garden by the estuary was a Wryneck.
2017
A return to Chipping Sodbury Common to see a juvenile Woodchat Shrike, also seen were 3 Redstarts, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, a Whitethroat, 2 Whinchats, a Wheatear and 6 Buzzards.
Woodchat Shrike
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