​Newt Carving

​The day dawned slightly overcast but dry, as we headed across the Pennines to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserve of Potteric Carr. 
On arrival, those wanting to have a leisurely start to the day, headed to the café, to try the homemade cakes (which I am told, didn’t disappoint!). The rest of the group split up, to head in different directions, depending on their specific areas of interest; flowers, insects, birds etc. 
At varying points in the day, our paths crossed and we swapped sightings, as we made our way around the different trails and visited the large number of hides. We got caught in a ten minute heavy downpour later on during the day, causing some of us to don our over trousers but those in hides at the time, barely noticed it.
One of the more memorable moments of the day for the birders was when, through a team effort by a group of spotters, we found a skulking Water Rail, which decided to oblige and swim across a water channel right in front of the hide. One member got so excited that she shouted at the top of her voice, “Water Rail!”.  This caused the poor bird to dive into the reeds as fast as it possibly could, to escape the attention of the marauders. Unfortunately this meant that the rest of the hide full of people missed the rare sighting! 
Later on during the day in the hexagonal hide (they’re posh in Yorkshire!), a Bittern was spotted sitting on a branch, with most of its body visible above the reeds. Now, only the spotter got onto it in that position but the rest of the hide caught it as it flew across the back of the lake.
On the mammal front, sightings of Common Shrew and Wood Mouse caused some excitement, as did Yellow Archangel, which was definitely the plant of the day, found by our intrepid flora duo, who spent a lot of time on their knees, examining the undergrowth at close quarters!
There were clear views of Seven-Spot Ladybird, Nettle Weevil and Scorpionfly.
Brimstones were seen from various hides, as well as some of our more regular butterflies. 
And for those who are less eagle eyed, the rather large carving of a newt was rather appealing.
One of the noticeable features of the day was that despite the precautionary warnings to take insect repellent (and some people had definitely bathed in it!) there was a distinct absence of biting insects. Only one bite was recorded, unlike on the recce the previous year, when one poor soul virtually got eaten alive! A tasty mortal, obviously!
We all met up at the end of the day on the decking outside the café, with many of the group savouring one of the variety of flavours of local farmhouse ice cream.
People were reluctant to leave, despite the early start that morning but finally everyone got back on the bus for our journey home. We were back in Bamber Bridge, before you could shout, “Water Rail!”. 
A gentle snoring floating down the bus throughout the drive back to Lancashire.
Between us, the group identified 62 species of birds, 5 species of butterfly, 6 types of mammals and 48 species of plants. 
Thanks go to Thomas, who reduced the average age of those on the coach significantly and who had the sharpest eyes and longest bird list of the trip (all sightings verified).
A big thank you to Peter Ross & David Norton for providing the plant list and Linda Shearwood for acting as the bird, butterfly and mammal recorder.
Photos courtesy of David Norton and Kayleigh Roebuck.




Janet Wall
Field Trip Organiser

Somerset Levels Holiday – Sunday 28 April – Thursday 2 May 2019 

Day 1 – The day dawned slightly overcast but dry, as we headed south towards Somerset. Our lunchtime stop was at RSPB Highnam Woods, near Gloucester, a site renowned for Nightingale and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. We spent a couple of pleasant hours there, walking through the woods, testing our plant, damselfly and butterfly identification skills and watching birds, until we finally got a brief glimpse of a Nightingale, having been teased for some time by its song! However the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker eluded us! We saw a selection of butterflies, including Peacock, Green Veined White and Orange Tip, as well as a Azure Damselflies. A good start to the trip, so we continued in high spirits towards Somerset. 
We arrived at our accommodation late afternoon, to be greeted by our hosts with tea and cake. We all settled into our rooms and gathered again in the early evening to head into Wells, for our evening meal. We explored the city of Wells, with its magnificent Cathedral and Bishops’ Palace, before having our meal.
Day 2 – We were up bright and early to head out to RSPB Ham Wall for a spot of pre breakfast birding. The weather was cool but clear and promised to be a warm sunny day. Within about half a mile of the car park, we managed to record 50 bird species, including several Great White Egrets, not bad for 2.5 hours before breakfast! Probably the highlight was seeing a pair of Kingfishers, on an early morning fishing expedition. Some of the group identified Mike Dilger of TV fame, with his cameraman and sound recordist! So we had lots to share with those in the group who had opted for a lie in, rather than an early morning walk.
We set off again at about 10.00 and headed to Natural England’s Shapwick Heath reserve, searching for Bittern and Hobbies. One of the group saw a Bittern, something we are unlikely to be allowed to forget (!), which unfortunately eluded the rest of the group. Later in the day, we headed over to Ham Wall, for the rest of the afternoon. We saw a number of Hobbies, flying overhead, devouring Mayflies on the wing. We had excellent prolonged views of Garden Warbler singing, followed by seeing a Water Vole swimming right across one of the channels. 
The remarkable thing about the duck population in Somerset, is that where back home we would see Mallards, instead we saw Gadwall. One member of our group became an expert in calling “Gadwall”, whenever we saw one! He gained something of a reputation that will stay with him, for a long time to come……
That evening we headed into Street for our evening meal, still spotting birds en route.
Day 3 – The hardy birders were up bright and early again, this time heading for the Somerset Wildlife Trust site of Westhay Moor. The day was clear and fresh as we tracked down a skulking Cetti’s Warbler. The usual Great Egrets gave us some good views as we scanned the reed beds.
After breakfast we headed for the lookout along the River Parrott, which is known for sightings of Common Crane. We were really in luck, with 8 flying over, calling as they went,
almost as soon as we arrived. So, we headed to RSPB Swell Wood to look at the heronry, with their neighbours, the Little Egrets, in the trees. People went off on different trails, with some being rewarded with views of Common Crane, plus their young and others with a clear view of the only Great Spotted Woodpecker of the trip. The ancient woodland was very special!
That evening we drove to discover the delights of Glastonbury, on our way for the evening meal. Glastonbury Tor dominates the landscape for miles around.
Day 4 – The morning dawned bright and warm as we headed back to the other half of the reserve at Westhay Moor. We were rewarded with sightings of singing Whitethroat, Hobby, Marsh Harrier and Linnet. On the way back to the bus, we decided to stop in the last hide, only to see an otter swimming across the channel, a special end to the last early morning foray.
After breakfast we decided to go back to Ham Wall, for another search for Bittern and to try and see the Garganey that were reputed to be there. Sure enough we found them in the pool at the furthest point from the car park. We had lunch in a little hide in the centre of the reserve, where we were rewarded with a view of a Sparrowhawk, flying past at low level. We sheltered there for a little while from the shower of rain, before returning to the bus. This was the only rain that we saw during the trip; usually we were wearing T-shirts by lunchtime.
We then decided to try the Hawk and Owl Trust site of Shapwick Moor on the way back but found very little activity.
So, on the last evening we walked to the local pub for a meal, just a minute away. That rounded off our time in Somerset.
Day 5 – We packed the bus and headed for WWT Slimbridge, to meet our guide, the brother of one of our party. We had 4 hours to absorb what the reserve could offer, with the hi-light being the hide opposite the Kingfisher nesting holes, where they were feeding young! The views of the feeding Kingfishers were probably the best that some of us have ever had!
So we headed north through the ever increasing traffic and torrential rain, just making it back to Bamber Bridge by 19.00, in time to return the minibus.
Overall, we recorded 88 species of bird, 7 butterflies, 4 mammals, 1 amphibian, 1 damselfly and 1 reptile. A very worthwhile trip!
A big thank you to my co-driver John Finnan for his excellent spotting and bird song identification skills, plus a thank you to the “Gadwall Kid”, (alias Ron Bartlett), John Finnan, Linda Shearwood and Graham Thomas for their contributions to this report.




Janet Wall – Field Trip Organiser

​The day dawned sunny and warm, as we set off for RSPB Conwy. There was hardly any traffic, even though it was Easter Saturday, and we made excellent time to Conwy. The intrepid group coped well with the first unexpected challenge of the day, on arrival in Conwy. As we could not gain access to the RSPB car park, due to not being informed about the weekly Saturday park run (!), our group could been seen ducking under railings, climbing over crash barriers and dodging vehicles on the entry and exit slip roads to the motorway, in a determined effort to gain access to the reserve. Just as well we are a sprightly group (!), with everyone making it in one piece. 
So, we set off to enjoy a leisurely walk around the reserve….. although some headed straight for the café to top up on the caffeine! 
We identified a wide variety of species, from flora, to birds, butterflies and amphibians. (Lists below). The general consensus was that the Bird of the Day was the Wood Sandpiper, a Lifer for some! And the most interesting plant was the Wayfarers Tree, although there was some discussion about that, as it is rare in the North!
In the afternoon a smaller group headed into Conwy town, to have a look around. The more adventurous visited the castle, with others soaking up the Easter atmosphere, accompanied by an ice cream. 
By late afternoon everyone was ready to head home and again we speeded, unhindered by traffic, back to Bamber Bridge. Everyone collected all of their belongings, thus saving our Driver, Neil, from a trip to a car boot sale to dispose of the abandoned items.
Overall a good day was had by all…..