No sooner had I written about the lack of Redwings and Fieldfares (KN&V last month) than a spell of cold weather brought an influx to the mild(er) South West and reasonable flocks have remained in our area. The berries have gone so they are feeding on invertebrates on wet fields. They are often in mixed flocks with Starlings and falcons Peregrine Falcons have been regular on Kenn Moor and the Wemberham area of Yatton predating them (mostly Starlings I suspect).
A Black Redstart has been visiting gardens in Kenn Street, reported by both Chris Blake and Simon Pascoe. These are quite rare winter visitors albeit occasionally a pair nests in the Bristol area.
I haven’t received a single report of a Barn Owl seen in daylight this winter but several instances of night time sightings including along Claverham Drove. There is still a high population of field voles to the extent that the owls can find plenty of food in the hours of darkness and if this continues, it bodes well for the 2015 season.
Ravens been noisy in the last couple of weeks, but do not seem to have returned to last year’s nest site on the pylon on Congresbury Moor. I have noticed that a new nest has appeared, this one on a large pylon north of Lampley Road.
The pools at Dowlais Farm hosted 120 Lapwings mid month along with a single Common Gull (which are not common in these parts and are now called Mew Gull…) Possibly the same Lapwing flock was over the Severn Estuary a few days later with some smaller birds, possibly Golden Plovers, but too far out to make a positive identification.
Finally, 53 Snipe and a single Jack Snipe were present on YACWAG’s Kenn Moor reserves, the highest count of the winter.
Trevor Riddle 01934 835208.
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