On the friday i went to Clevedon with my friend as he works in a tattoo shop there. We had a wander down to the seafront to have a look for some coastal birds. The first thing i saw was a collection of gulls on the sea wall, with 3 Oystercatchers, my first of the year. Shortly after i had a scan of the rocks below the sea wall, where i found 7 Turnstone, a bird that is very much a bird of the shoreline, so not recorded very often in landlocked nottinghamshire! I also got myself a lifer down there, looking cross the rocks, i heard a pipit, and there standing on a large boulder was my first ever Rock Pipit. A wonderful little bird, and i saw another one a little later too.
I returned to the seafront when the tide had gone out, exposing the large mudflats. Wehad a good viewpoint across the mud, and there were a few birds about, including 2 Curlew, another year tick, and a bird i still haven't chanced upon back home.
Later in the weekend, we took the dog out for a walk at the National Trust's Leigh Woods reserve on the edge of avon gorge on the outskirts of Bristol. It was a beautiful day and the woodland was one of the best i've ever visited, with a good diversity of mature trees, and evidence of excellent forestry management, with a brilliant understorey dominated by coppiced hazel. The woods are known for ravens and peregrines, and while the former remained absent, a peregrine was seen to fly overhead at one point. 3 Buzzards were also seen riding the thermals above the gorge, looking wonderful as they turned in the sunshine. The commoner woodland birds were evident everywhere as well, singing away happily in the early spring sunshine. Found some delicious wild garlic too!
Apparently some spring migrants have already arrived in nottinghamshire including chiffchaff, swallow and sand martin, so i will be out and about later in the week, expect more to come!!!
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