NT
1978
Laurel and I drove to North Dorset to stay with John and Kate Rossetti for the weekend. They and 5 other couples had been living as an Iron Age community for a year for a BBC series called 'Living in the Past', and as the project was coming to an end friends and family were allowed to visit.
Photos: The Iron Age camp.
The round house.
The well.
Round house entrance.
Cattle leaving compound to graze.
1979
A trip to Frampton on a bright, sunny day, at the Court Pool we saw a Whiskered Bat, a new mammal for us. We saw and heard a Black-throated Diver, also seeing a male Scaup, 3 Bewick's Swans, 6 Great Crested Grebes, 6 Siskins and a Green Woodpecker.
At Frampton Sailing Lake we saw the Black-throated Diver again and a Red-necked Grebe.
Continuing to Slimbridge we saw 1,000+ White-fronted Geese, a Brent Goose, 100+ Pintail, 200+ Wigeon, 9 Mandarin Ducks, 300+ Curlew, 200+ Dunlin and a Kestrel.
Photo: Collared Dove at Slimbridge.
1982
1983
A visit to Chew Valley Lake where we saw 10 Goosander, a Little Owl, 170 Ruddy Ducks, an adult Kittiwake and a female Smew.
1984
A trip to Stert where there were around 150 Grey Plover, about 500 Curlew, 2,000+ Dunlin, 10+ Knot, 300+ Shelduck, Mallard, 3 Shoveler, an immature female Peregrine, lots of Skylarks and Meadow Pipits, 2 Goldcrests, 4 Ringed Plover, 6 Wigeon and 6+ Snipe.
At Screech Owl we saw a Stoat, about 150 Teal, a Cetti's Warbler and around 60 Snipe. Around Shapwick there were about 250 Lapwing, 2 Golden Plover, about 80 Redwing, 4 Siskins and 2 Redpolls. At Tealham Moor there were 11 Bewick's Swans with 7 Mute, 400+ Lapwing, about 30 Golden Plover, lots of Fieldfares and around 500 Redwings.
1986
1990
2012
In the garden, in Portishead, I watched a male Sparrowhawk which was sat on top of the Hawthorn bush trapping 2 Blue Tits inside, it kept flying up and landing on the bush to scare the tits out, after several times of doing this one of the tits flew, the hawk tried to catch it in the air, but missed, meanwhile the other tit escaped into the hedge. The Sparrowhawk continued to sit on the bush, looking around, for a few moments and then flew off. Also see here.
Also seen in the garden was the male Blackcap, which along with a female had been around since the beginning of the year.
2014
A visit to Cheddar Reservoir where there was a 1st winter male Long-tailed Duck, mainly with the Tufted Ducks. Also seen were Pochard, a Goldeneye, lots of Coot and Great Crested Grebes.
Video of
Long-tailed Duck,
also see here.
On the way back I called into Chew Valley Lake, where the only bird of note was an Egyptian Goose, photo left.