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Gloucestershire Naturalists' Society |
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Coombe Hill Reserve Opening: Gallery
Severn Hams (30 December, contributed by Mike Smart and Les Brown)
Everything very quiet, passerines especially so, with cold weather and partly iced water surfaces.
At Coombe Hill, where the hides are now easily accessible, two Shelducks, 3 Wigeon, 120 Teal, 60 Mallard, 10 Pintail, six Shoveler, one Merlin, maybe 20 Snipe all very scattered.
At Ashleworth, the four Whoopers (three adults and one cygnet) feeding on the same field along Stank Lane; maybe 80 Canadas, 160 Wigeon, 140 Teal, 30 Pintail, 70 Shoveler, six Tufted Ducks and two Peregrines on pylons.
Sudmeadow area (29 December, contributed by Gordon Avery)
Seen in the morning over Sudmeadow were 19 Teal flying NE and a Peregrine with a kill. There was one Chiffchaff in riverside willows below Llantony Weir.
Sudmeadow area (28 December, contributed by Gordon Avery)
Seen in riverside willows adjacent to Sudmeadow this morning was a 'flock' of 4 Chiffchaffs and 2 Goldcrests by Llantony Weir.
Ashleworth Ham (27 December, contributed by Les Brown)
The solitary adult Whooper Swan at Ashleworth has been joined by a family of two adults and a cygnet, seen in a field along Stank Lane.
Tewksbury area (26 December, contributed by Robert Homan)
A Chiffchaff in Lower Lode Lane and 16 Cormorants in the "usual" tree at Lower Lode. In the autumn sown cereal fields at the junction of the lane to Deerhurst and the B4213 were 120 Lapwings and 4 Golden Plover. In the churchyard at Deerhurst, a small "Glastonbury Thorn" tree (Crataegus monogyna 'Biflora') is just coming into flower.
Severn Hams (23 December, contributed by Mike Smart and Les Brown)
At Coombe Hill(MS), the floodwaters are dropping only slowly and the Grundon Hide was still not accessible today, though it will probably become accessible in the next day or two. As usual, the falling flood attracted a good number of ducks, visible from the canal bank: 800+ Wigeon (the biggest number this winter so far), at least 500 Teal, 80+ Pintail, 10 Shelduck, 280 Lapwing and a single Golden Plover.
The lone Whooper has moved to Ashleworth (LB), feeding on a field north of Stank Lane. A couple of Peregrines and a Water Pipit also present.
Hempsted Meadows Nature Reserve (SO 809166) (23 December, contributed by Gordon Avery)
2 pairs of Stonechats and 15 Teal were found here midday.
Walmore Common (22 December, contributed by Mike Smart)
The floods have dropped very rapidly and the fields, though wet underfoot are green again.
No Bewick’s Swans this morning. 11 Mute Swans, 2 Shelduck, 275 Teal, 12 Snipe, 2 Jack Snipe, 2 Stonechats.
Sudmeadow (20 December, contributed by Gordon Avery)
On Sudmeadow Marsh this morning were 11 Teal and 1 Woodcock and at Sudmeadow: 1 Chiffchaff and 25 Goldfinches.
Severn Hams (20 December, contributed by Les Brown and Mike Smart)
The Severn has gone down considerably in the last two or three days, but water only moves slowly off the meadows. The hides at Coombe Hill are still inaccessible, but good views across the floodwater looking towards the Long Pool can be obtained from the towpath. One Whooper still feeding with the family of Mutes on good grass on higher ground south of the canal. Fair numbers of ducks: 620 Wigeon, 100+ Teal (many more calling from the Long Pool), 70 Pintail, 30 Shoveler, 7 Gadwall, 3 Tufted Ducks. Red lion road now open.
At Ashleworth, the hide is still easily accessible from the Ham Road (which never flooded), but there is still deep water on the meadows. 330 Canada Geese, 2 Tufted Ducks, small numbers of Wigeon, Pintail, Gadwall, all rather scattered. On an old setaside by Stank Lane conditions were perfect for Snipe: 60 Common Snipe, 4 Jack Snipe, also about 15 Meadow Pipits, 4 Skylarks and 6 Yellowhammers (the latter not often found here).
Rodley and Longney Sands (19 December, contributed by Andy Jayne)
Seen briefly this afternoon were a first-winter Glaucous Gull and an immature (second-winter ?) Iceland Gull amongst the thousands of other large gulls present. Also a Sparrowhawk, about 1000 Golden Plover, 1000 Lapwing, 25 Snipe, 151 Curlew, a Kingfisher and a pair of Stonechats.
Cannop Ponds and Oakenhill Wood (19 December, contributed by Andy Jayne)
At Cannop Ponds this morning there were 104 Mandarin, seven Tufted Ducks, eight Goosander (six adult male) and eight Little Grebes. At Oakenhill Wood there were eight Crossbills.
Meysey Hampton (18 December, contributed by Gordon Kirk and Mike Smart)
Seen today at Meysey Hampton, straddling the Glos/Wiltshire border, a Little Egret on a tiny pond where a family of Mute Swans appeared to have nested this year. Bullfinches and Yellowhammers present as well.
Severn Hams (16 December, contributed by Mike smart and Les Brown)
The Severn itself is now dropping, but water is backing up in the meadows. The Ham Road is still open and the Ashleworth hide is still easily accessible. The water is quite deep at Ashleworth and fair numbers of ducks about (though some appeared to have moved to Longdon Marsh in Worcs., where there were 600 ducks, including 61 Pintail): 1 Little Grebe, 100 Wigeon, 150 Teal, 50 Mallard, 4 Gadwall, 40 Shoveler and 21 Pintail.
At Walmore, the water is also rising: no Bewick’s at 11.00 this morning, but there were 11 Mute Swans, 30 Canada Geese, 120 Wigeon, 300 Teal, 20 Shoveler, 20 Pintail and 50 Mallard.
Walmore and Minsterworth (15 December, contributed by Andy Jayne)
At Walmore Common there were six Bewick's Swans, ten Canada Geese, four Shelduck, 180 Teal, 160 Mallard, 24 Pintail, 26 Shoveler and a Yellow-legged Gull.
At Minsterworth Ham there were 100 Wigeon, 210 Teal and singles of Pintail, Dunlin, Green Sandpiper and Kingfisher.
Sudmeadow (15 December, contributed by Gordon Avery)
On Sudmeadow marsh there were 10 Teal, 1 Water Rail, 6 Snipe and 1 Green Sandpiper. Flying north were c120 Wigeon and a nominate race adult male Chiffchaff was trapped during a ringing session.
Severn Hams (14/15 December, contributed by Les Brown and Mike Smart)
The Coombe Hill hides were inaccessible on 14th with viewing from the canal bank only; a Whooper Swan was still present (Les Brown).
On the 15th the Severn had risen a bit more, and was beginning to overtop its banks between Haw Bridge and the Red Lion, so that road will very soon be closed. The Chelt was also overtopping its banks which means levels will rise at Coombe Hill. The Ham road from Tirley to Ashleworth was still open and the Ashleworth hide easily accessible; it may get more difficult if the river rises any more. In the morning at Ashleworth there were at least 14 Gadwall, 40 Pintail in courtship display, about 50 Shovelers and a male Peregrine sitting on a pylon. There were no Canadas roosting; does anyone know where they feed by day? (Mike Smart).
GNS 60th Anniversary – Re-enactment of the first GNS Field Trip to Leckhampton Hill (13 December, contributed by Andrew Bluett)
The first field trip by the then newly formed GNS took place in 1948, the rendezvous point being “A Bus Stop” on Leckhampton Hill. No details of the trip were recorded and there is no known anecdotal evidence of where the trip actually took place, or of what was observed. However, it was decided by the committee that a celebratory and commemorative general walk and field trip ought to be undertaken by some of the society’s present members.
The date was set for 13th December 2008, the meeting point being the former Brownstone Quarry at SO 951 179 which is in itself a Local Nature Reserve. The meeting was led by Andrew Bluett, the membership secretary and attended by 10 members, Mike Smart, Juliet Bailey, Colin & Ingrid Twissell, Ken Cservenka, Drs M Astle & M McEllin and their daughters, Alice & Katie McEllin, two of the younger and newer members of the Society. The final member of the party was Brian Bailey, both as a member, and in his capacity as BBC Radio Gloucestershire’s roving reporter on matters of countryside and nature and whose work features in Vernon Harwood’s radio show on Sunday mornings and which celebrates the “Spirit of Gloucestershire”.
The party took a route from the quarry car park to Hill Farm, then roughly north-east across the cultivated land to the intersection of the Cotswold Way which was then followed along the ridge of Charlton Kings Common from which there were magnificent and uninterrupted views to the west and north as far as the Black Mountains and Clee Hill, then roughly south over Hartley Hill to Hartley Farm and back along the minor road to the start point.
Wildlife noted during the walk featured an impressive list of birds (given that it was a very cold, frosty and windy day on an exposed hilltop) including a flock of up to 65 Golden Plover, a similar number of Lapwings, flocks of finches, Skylarks and Meadow Pipits, Buzzard & Kestrel, a few Tits and winter Thrushes and a mixed flock of Corvids (all of which were recorded as “Roving Records” for the BTO Atlas project) . Dr Astle discovered a large lump of the local soft Oolitic limestone embedded with a variety of ancient fossilised marine shells, Juliet Bailey identified 19 species of Lichen and noted 5 flowering plants – Gorse, Dandelion, Groundsel, Oilseed Rape and Sherherd’s Purse. Mammals seen included 2 Roe Deer and Rabbits, the local Hares proved elusive.
Hartley Farm is in itself interesting, the farmer, Mr G Powell, is very conservation minded and keeps footpaths open and well marked, rotates a variety of crops, keeps a flock of true Cotswold Sheep (now a rare breed), maintains Badger gates and two large areas of Grass Ley which have been undisturbed for many decades and are therefore wild flower rich. The Roe Deer are regular and reasonably easily seen, game cover for Pheasant shooting interests provides both food and habitat for a variety of birds and other animals. In good years up to 3 pairs of Lapwings breed, usually on the Linseed drilled fields, there are perhaps a dozen pairs of Yellowhammer, resident Kestrel, Buzzard, Meadow Pipits and Skylarks and occasional Grasshopper Warbler. Migrating birds pause on the hilltop and farmland including Wheatear, Ring Ouzel, Stonechat, Cuckoo and the like.
For those interested in taking a walk anywhere on Leckhampton and Hartley Hills, apart from the above, Charlton Kings Common attracts a variety of wildlife, is reasonably good for Butterflies, is an excellent place for reptiles with both Adders and Lizards easy to find, holds Edible (Roman) Snails and is an excellent viewpoint, whether just taking in the scenery, or for watching passing bird life. The area is interesting for geologists and for industrial archaeologists alike. There are a number of marked footpaths offering a variety of routes – the only limit is the amount of energy one is prepared to expend…!
During the walk, Brian Bailey recorded some material which was later broadcast on BBC Radio Gloucestershire on Sunday 18th January 2009.
To those who took part, thank you for your company, to those unable to join us, I recommend a walk on Leckhampton & Hartley Hills, the area is both fascinating and invigorating, whatever your field of interest.
Sound Files
Sample the GNS field trip from the comfort of home and listen to these sound files made by Brian Bailey for BBC Radio Gloucestershire during the 60th Anniversary Leckhampton trip.
Part 1. (1.21 MB)
Part 2. (1.02 MB)
The files include interviews with GNS recorders and give a flavour of this key part of the Society's many activities. The recordings are from Vernon Harwood's radio show "The Spirit of Gloucestershire" made available by courtesy of Brian Bailey and BBC Radio Gloucestershire - copyright remains with BBC Radio Gloucestershire.
Coombe Hill and Ashleworth (9 December, contributed by Mike Smart and Les Brown)
A slight frost this morning, with light icing on much open water; at Ashleworth the edges of the water were thinly iced over (not cleared by midday) but the middle remained clear, probably because of the numbers of Canada Geese there. At present, the majority of the ducks and geese seem to prefer Ashleworth to Coombe Hill.
At Coombe Hill, a lone Whooper had roosted, and flew out to feed on rich grass on the southern meadows at 07.30am. It seems likely that this was the bird seen briefly at Slimbridge on Sunday; it definitely seems to have lost its mate.
At Ashleworth, 320 Canada Geese, one Barnacle Goose and 25 Greylags had roosted and most had flown out to the north by 08.15am; where do they go? No swans. 120+ Wigeon, 160+ Teal, 31+ Pintail, 47+ Shoveler and 70 Mallard. The only ducks feeding were Shoveler (upending); lots of display from the Pintail, the rest asleep. Two Coot. About 20 Snipe, dotted over three or four partly iced rough fields, 1 Jack Snipe. Surprisingly large numbers of Reed Buntings, maybe 25 in hedges and rough vegetation; quit a lot of Greenfinches too in the hedges. 1 Peregrine on the wires.
Severn Hams (6 December, contributed by Mike Smart and Les Brown)
Coombe Hill: a distinct decrease in duck numbers following the ice earlier in the week: No Wigeon, only 120 Teal, 1 Pintail, 20 Shoveler. Still only a single Whooper Swan which had roosted but flew at first light flew with Mutes to graze on the good grass south of the canal. 60 Lapwings, 5 Snipe, 5 Bullfinches, 4 Reed Buntings; a Great tit already singing .
Walmore Common: the November floods have gone but the grass is still very wet underfoot. No Bewick’s Swans (it seems that none at all have been recorded yet this winter), 8 Mute Swans, 60 Teal and 2 Stonechats.
Lichen Group Indoor Meeting (4 December, contributed by Juliet Bailey)
On Tuesday 2 December 2008, nine members of the GNS lichen group met for an indoors study day on the use of microscopes. The tutor, David Hill, showed how to get the best from our microscopes, both dissecting microscopes with up to 40x magnification for morphological details, and compound microscope with up to 1000x magnification for anatomical details.
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We prepared sections and had "fun with crystals". Some lichens produce characteristic colour changes and form crystals when certain reagents are added to the slide, which can be seen developing before your very eyes. A very enjoyable day.
Coombe Hill (4 December, contributed by Mike Smart)
Coombe Hill and Ashleworth were both iced over at the beginning of the week, but the ice had all disappeared today.
Rather few birds at Coombe Hill, maybe they had all moved to the estuary because of the ice. Since Sunday, only one Whooper has been in the area, and it was there again today, grazing with Mutes in the fields south of the canal, then flying onto the scrapes at nightfall. Has the other one flown somewhere else because of the ice? This seems unlikely, as pairs almost always stick together and the two looked like a pair; a worrying thought is that it may have hit the overhead power-lines like so many other birds, especially swans in the area. One piece of good news is that Central Networks say they are going to fit bird diverters when they next overhaul the lines; they only do this once every thirty years, so it’s a once in thirty years opportunity!
Castle Meads, Gloucester (4 December, contributed by Mike Smart)
A Short-eared Owl flew over the by-pass into Castle Meads at 10.25pm.
Severn Hams (29 November, contributed by Mike Smart and Les Brown)
The big floods of mid-November have now receded: the Grundon and Long Pool hides at Coombe Hill have been accessible since last Tuesday; the Ashleworth hide is easily accessible. The meadows are still very damp with some surface water (partly because the worms were drowned by the September 2008 flood, as in the summer 2007 floods, which means that normal drainage of the soils is impeded).
At Coombe Hill, after a good showing of 275 Pintail on the falling flood on Tuesday 25 November, there were moderate numbers of ducks this morning at first light: 200 Wigeon, 300 Teal, 70 Mallard, 12 Pintail, 30 Shoveler; two adult Whoopers had roosted on the scrapes at Coombe Hill, and flew out early on with a family of Mutes to graze on good grass on slightly higher ground near the southern meadows. A male Peregrine, 70 Lapwings. On Cobney Meadows (at the Wainlodes end), at least 66 Snipe and a Green Sandpiper.
At Ashleworth (where another stretch of hedge has been laid in front of the hide and looks tremendous), an early Shelduck, 350 Wigeon, 25 Pintail, 35 Shoveler, and surprisingly (at absolutely the wrong time of year) a Redshank.
Cannop Ponds (28 November, contributed by Waltraud Englefield and Mike Burke, Lakers School, Coleford.)
This was a lunch time birdwalk with Lakers School Birdwatching Group, led by Mike Smart, Andrew Bluett and Juliet Bailey. Birds seen recorded:
Blue Tit, Great Tit, a good show of Marsh Tit, Coal Tit, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Bullfinch (heard), Robin, Dunnock, Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Jay, Buzzard, 6 Redpoll flying over, Siskin flying over, one Wren, several Nuthatch, Mallard, Tufted Duck, one Greylag Goose, one Cormorant, Moorhen, Coot, ringed Mute Swan with several cygnets, several Mandarin Duck and Woodpigeon.
The walk was enjoyed by all and the group learned a great deal, including not to trust botanists who invite you to lick some white lichen which tastes very bitter! This was a great experience and we hope to work together again in the future.
And a note from Juliet (the botanist in question):
"Just to defend botanists from accusations of perfidy - I had a quick look at the lichens on the trees when we were at Cannop Ponds with the group from Lakers School. The standard field test to confirm one species - Pertusaria amara - is to moisten the end of the finger and rub it over the white powder (soredia) on the thallus surface. You then gingerly dab it onto your tongue, and wait a few seconds to see if a bitter taste develops. Then spit! I invited Andrew Bluett to try the test and describe what he noticed. He said it was like juniper berries - news to me, I think it is just nastily bitter. Then the students wanted to try too, so having confirmed with their teacher that this was all right, most people had a go."
Ashleworth (14 November, contributed by Mike Smart)
The Severn floods have extended over the meadows now. The Red Lion road is closed at Wainlodes, and the Coombe Hill hides remain inaccessible.
At Ashleworth, the Ham Road is flooded and impassable; with grit and determination, you can reach the hide from high ground over the back, but it’s hardly worth it: birds very dispersed over the floodwater: no sign of the Whoopers, one Barnacle Goose with 200 Canada Geese. At Hasfield a Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming, the first I’ve heard this autumn.
Guscar, Aylburton and Walmore (12 November, contributed by Mike Smart)
Seen this morning were: 8 Shelduck, 20 Wigeon, 280 Curlews, 200 Dunlin, 150 Golden Plover, 500 Lapwing; a skein of wild geese, either Pinkfeet or Bean, almost certainly the former, flew over high, going southwest down the estuary and disappeared into the distance.
At Walmore, where flooding is quite high, there were: 110 Wigeon, 150 Teal, 40 Mallard, 13 Pintail; no sign of any Bewick’s Swans.
Coombe Hill and Ashleworth (11 November, contributed by Mike Smart, Les Brown and Colin Butters)
The Severn has risen with alarming rapidity in the last couple of days, following the heavy rain locally and higher in the catchment in mid Wales. It is breaking its banks both above and below Haw Bridge, and the Chelt is also overtopping on the Leigh Meadows. The road past the Red Lion is already impassable, and the Ham Road between Tirley and Ashleworth is likely to be flooded in the next couple of days. Environment Agency forecast is for the flood to peak tomorrow.
At Coombe Hill, the Grundon Hide is inaccessible; there was a nice showing of ducks on freshly flooded grass visible from the canal bank, but nothing very unusual: 145 Wigeon, 250 Teal, 4 Gadwall, 150 Mallard, 34 Pintail looking very dapper and 17 Shoveler; a lone Curlew, 2 Lapwings, 2 Snipe.
At Ashleworth, the hide is still accessible pro temp; odd few ducks (Teal and Wigeon) on the floodwater, but the main item of interest was the presence of two adult Whooper Swans on a field along Stank Lane: they appeared to be newly arrived (still a bit nervous), unringed, with no cygnets, hence probably different birds from the family of six that made a brief appearance two weeks ago after very strong northerly winds.
Coombe Hill and Ashleworth (8 November, contributed by Mike Smart and Les Brown)
After a slight rise in water levels on the meadows in last week, there has been a drop in the last few days, and normal winter water levels are to be found at both Coombe Hill and Ashleworth, with hides readily accessible (though the towpath at Coombe hill is, as usual, muddy.
At Coombe Hill, there were about 10 Wigeon, 240 Teal, four Gadwall, seven Pintail, 20 Shoveler, 12 Lapwings, nine Snipe and one Green Sandpiper. At Ashleworth 90 Canada Geese, 40 Wigeon, 6 Gadwall, one Golden Plover flew over calling, at least 50 Snipe rose from the reserve.
There was no sign of any Whooper Swans at either site. Perhaps the most striking observation was the large numbers of Fieldfares and Redwings in tall hedges at both sites: at Coombe Hill, 100 Fieldfares and 40 Redwings, at Ashleworth 250 fieldfares and 100 Redwings.
Batsford (8 November, contributed by Mary Palfrey)
A Red Kite, being hassled by Rooks, was seen over the lake at Batsford today.
Swindon Village (4 November, contributed by Robert Homan)
Several small flocks of Redwings feeding in hawthorn hedges between Swindon Village and Elmstone Hardwicke. Also, 2 Ravens in the area.
Cheltenham (1 November, contributed by Mary Nicholson)
A single Snow Bunting was recorded in a garden in the Benhall area; it was seen in the afternoon, mostly eating seeds on the ground, perching in fruit trees and having the occassional drink from a birdbath on the ground.
Cheltenham (31 October, contributed by Robert Homan)
2 Ravens flying over the Tivoli area at tree top height.
Sudmeadow (22 October, contributed by Gordon Avery)
A pair of Stonechats on the old Fieldings Playing Field in Sudmeadow Road today.
Coombe Hill (21 October, contributed by Mike Smart and Les Brown)
The water level is back to the autumn normal. Seen today were: 7 Grey Herons, 7 Wigeon, 20 Teal, an adult Peregrine in the dead tree, a female Merlin sitting on the grass in front of the hide before taking off and chasing a passing Mallard, a male Sparrowhawk chasing Skylarks, 1 Water Rail calling, 6 Snipe, 1 Curlew (unusual here at this time of year), up to 60 migrant Skylarks, and about 50 passing Meadow Pipits.
Guscar and Aylburton (20 October, contributed by Mike Smart)
On the high tide this morning: 1 Little Egret, 35 Wigeon, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Peregrine sitting on the grass, 85+ Lapwings, 35 Golden Plover (sitting on Aylburton Warth), 435 Curlews at high tide roosts, 1 Redshank, 1 Common Sandpiper, a little visual migration of Skylarks and Meadow Pipits.
Standish (10 October, contributed by Juliet Bailey)
Two unspecified Redpoll species were seen drinking at a pond today.
Hempstead (9 October, contributed by Gordon Avery)
A cat brought in a dead Harvest Mouse the house this morning - an unusual location for this species.
Coombe Hill and Ashleworth Ham (7 October, contributed by Mike Smart and David Anderson)
The Severn is rising quite fast and water levels on meadows increasing slowly in response.
The Coombe Hill area is still very brown and muddy with not a lot of birds about: 70 Greylags and 100+ Canadas roosting, only 3 Wigeon, 70 Teal, 50 Mallard, 2 Shoveler, 1 Peregrine, 5 Ringed Plovers dropped in briefly before moving on, 10 Snipe, 6 Swallows, 2 House Martins.
At Ashleworth the water is also rising; 40 Teal, 20 Mallard, 4 Wigeon, 1 male Sparrowhawk were seen.
Walmore Common (5 October, contributed by Andy Jayne)
Seen today were 15 Teal, two Little Egrets, a Water Rail (heard), a Jack Snipe, five Snipe, two Stonechats and a Wheatear.
Coombe Hill and Ashleworth (3 October, contributed by Mike Smart)
A remarkable decrease in bird numbers at Coombe Hill compared to a week ago, now that the floods have receded. Instead of 1,000 ducks, only about 90 Teal and 30 Mallard. Wader numbers and variety also much lower: 1 Lapwing, one or more Golden Plover heard going over at first light, 1 Greenshank departed to south west at 07.30am, about five Snipe. Good numbers of feral geese roosting on the Long Pool, departing at 07.00am, 200 Canada going off towards Tewkesbury, 70 Greylags to feed in nearby stubble fields.
Ashleworth was also very quiet: the great Grey Shrike still perched on a dead tree opposite the hide with about a dozen Teal and five Snipe
Ashleworth (1 October, contributed by Mike Smart and Lawrence Skipp)
A Great Grey Shrike was showing nicely this evening, perched on top branch of a dead tree right opposite the hide, recalling the one seen at Ashleworth last year in mid October.
Guscar, Aylburton and Walmore (29 September, contributed by Mike Smart)
At Guscar and Aylburton on a high tide of 9.1 metres at 08.47am were 2 Little Egrets, 6 Teal, 1 Sparrowhawk, 80 Lapwings, 3 Ringed Plover, 1 Dunlin, 4 Snipe, 700 Curlew, 20 Redshank, 1 Wheatear, 2 Stonechats and 20 Ravens.
At Walmore where the floods were completely down: 1 Little Egret, 1 Wigeon, 20 Teal, 1 Sparrowhawk, 21 Snipe, 1 Stonechat.
Walmore Common (23 September, contributed by Andy Jayne and John Phillips)
Seen today were: 25 Wigeon, 80 Teal, a female/immature Garganey, five Shoveler, a Little Egret, Peregrine, Kingfisher and Sedge Warbler.
Coombe Hill (22 September, contributed by Andy Jayne)
Highlights at Coombe Hill Meadows today included 325 Canada Geese, two Shelduck, 335 Wigeon, 16 Gadwall, c.400 Teal, 40 Pintail, two Garganey (eclipse drake and female/immature), 21 Shoveler, two Pochard, 19 Tufted Duck, a Little Grebe, eight Little Egrets, a Sparrowhawk, a juvenile female Peregrine, ten Ringed Plover, a Knot, three Little Stints, two Dunlin, seven Ruff, a Snipe, 40 Black-tailed Godwits, a Kingfisher, a Lesser Whitethroat and a Siskin over flying south west.
Severn Hams (21 September, contributed by Mike Smart)
A post-diluvian flood disaster movie today: the water level is dropping, but there is still a lot of shallow water, with an oily film on the surface; any exposed vegetation is brown and dead with mats of cut but unbaled brown hay. Bales with plastic wrapping had floated all over the place, leaving trails of plastic in the hedges; rotting vegetation leaving a foetid smell everywhere; some dead worms in the puddles.
However, the birds seemed to like it, especially on the Hasfield Ham side at the bottom of Stank Lane: 140 Wigeon, 620 Teal, 35 Shoveler, 12 Pintail, 8 Gadwall, 1 noisy Hobby, a noisy Peregrine trying to dislodge a Buzzard which had pinched its place on the pylon, 240 Lapwings, 40 Black-winged Godwits, 2 Ruff (a ruff and a reeve, so not the ones that were at Coombe Hill yesterday), at least 31 Snipe.
That’s three days running that I have seen Blackwits and Ruff on falling floods in different Severn Hams sites: Walmore, Coombe Hill and Ashleworth; are these birds that have moved up the river from Slimbridge?
Severn Hams (20 September, contributed by Mike Smart and Les Brown)
Rather surprisingly, the Coombe Hill hides are still not accessible; although the flood water levels are dropping and the towpath is now passable, there is still too much water to reach the Grundon Hide. In fact, the situation now is still very much as it was after the summer flooding last year; the growing green grass has died under the flood, which means the water is anaerobic, with a thick oily film on the surface; both the Chelt and the Parish Drain are discharging into the Severn at Wainlodes, but the water discharged is black and stinking. There is a smell everywhere of decaying vegetation, and the grass on the fields emerging from the floodwater is brown and dead.
On the shallow floodwater, a good selection of birds was seen from the towpath (once the fog rose at 10.00am), in particular the first reasonable numbers of ducks: 1 Great Crested Grebe, 7 Grey Herons, 2 Little Egrets, 290 Canada Geese, 119 Greylag Geese, 220 Wigeon, 200 Teal, 8 Gadwall, 22 Pintail, 25 Shoveler, 51 Tufted Ducks, 1 Pochard, 19 Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Ruff, 400 Black headed Gulls
Guscar and Walmore (19 September, contributed by Mike Smart)
At Guscar/Aylburton today: 1 Little Egret, 8 Wigeon, 2 Teal, 25 Lapwings, 1 Ringed Plover, 1 Grey Plover, 27 Dunlin, 2 immature Curlew Sandpipers, 537 Curlew, 10 Redshank, 1 Green Sandpiper, 2 Common Sandpipers, about 100 Swallows moving southwest, 1 Rock Pipit, 50 Meadow Pipits, 5 Yellow Wagtails, at least 30 Ravens.
At Walmore, the water level has dropped: 14 Black-tailed Godwits, 1 Ruff, 100 Lapwings
Severn Hams (13 September, contributed by Mike Smart and Les Brown)
The level of the Severn has now gone down appreciably and river is no longer overtopping its banks. Flooding on the meadows has only just begun to drop: Ham Road at Ashleworth and Red Lion road past Wainlode are still under deep water; thrre is no chance of reaching hides at Coombe Hill or Ashleworth.
At Walmore Common there is extensive but fairly shallow flooding. 9 Grey Herons, 100 Mallard, 15 Shoveler, 12 Teal, at least 1200 Black-headed Gulls (and no other gull species) on the floodwater, 1 Kingfisher, light passage of Swallows – maybe 50.
Severn Hams (9 September, contributed by Mike Smart)
This morning, the Severn had dropped very slightly at Haw Bridge, Wainlodes and Ashleworth. Whereas the reading on the stage board yesterday at Haw Bridge was 11.00, it was down to 10.95 today, but was still breaking its banks on either side of Haw Bridge.
In the meadows on the other hand, the water level (as is usual under current circumstances) had risen. On the Coombe Hill/Leigh Meadows side, the water level at the Parish Drain outlet was up to 10.10 (from 9.65 yesterday). Everything was on the same level, and the level of the Chelt was the same as in the meadows. On the Ashleworth side, the level was 10.46 in the meadows, as against 9.98 yesterday. So basically the meadows are taking up the water that is spilling over from the river; but I doubt if they can take much more without causing damage to properties.
The Environment Agency website gives “Flood Warning” (i.e. less than “Severe Flood Warning” but stronger than “Flood Watch”) for the Severn between Worcester and Tewkesbury and again for the Severn between Tewkesbury and Gloucester.
Still lots of Swallows hawking insects over the flood water at Wainlodes, with a few House Martins.
Severn Hams (8 September, contributed by Mike Smart)
The Severn has risen since Saturday, and this morning was breaking its banks not only on the right (east) left bank below Haw Bridge, but also on the left (west) bank above Haw Bridge. In addition, the Chelt has broken its banks in several places. This means that the meadows both at Coombe Hill and Ashleworth (which lie lower than the Severn) are being rapidly filled up to some depth. We now have a moderate river flood, which would be normal in January or February but not in September. It is not yet anything like as high as last summer’s two big floods in June and July, and a dry day today means that some of the river water can flow out to the estuary; but the weather forecast for the rest of the week is not good, and conditions may worsen. The minor roads at Wainlodes and the Ham Road from Tirley to Ashleworth are both impassable, but the main roads over Haw Bridge and to Maisemore are still open.
As it is, it seems likely that the conditions which occurred in last year’s summer floods will be repeated, and the meadows will remain flooded for a week or ten days: some hay and silage was not cut and grass has grown well where it was cut, so there may again be die-offs of grass, causing strong smells, anaerobic conditions and mats of dead grass when it recedes; fish are likely to die; and earthworms and other invertebrates may be swamped.
Leigh Meadows: fairly deep flooding; vast numbers of hirundines feeding over freshly flooded fields, probably 800 Swallows and 200 House Martins.
Coombe Hill: water over the towpath about 100 metres past car park: the Grundon and Long Pool hides completely inaccessible.
Ashleworth Ham: Hide inaccessible from road, but footpath over higher ground west of the reserve still open.
Walmore Common: light flooding. Again 150 Swallows and 50 House Martins (the floods seem to have coincided with the main southward passage of hirundines). 80 Mallard, 10 Teal, 2 Gadwall, 1 Shoveler, 2 Black Terns (brown backed juveniles, so not the birds seen at Coombe Hill on Saturday); one adult Common Tern; one juvenile Arctic Tern, all feeding over the floodwater and landing on wooden posts.
Severn Hams (6 September, contributed by David Scott-Langley)
The meadows on both reserves are starting to fill with water after heavy rain. Walking round Ashleworth Ham NR the tips of the grass stems still showing above water were acting as a refuge for rove beetles (Stenus juno in particular) and a few other beetle species, along with numerous small Bibionid flies. Where the sheep had been running, their droppings, either floating or stranded on vegetation, were proving popular with Dung flies (Scathophagus). At Coombe Hill meadows the same was the case with generally a couple of inches of water and a similar insect fauna, without the dung flies as the cow dung (no sheep) was too old (about 3 weeks), but with the addition of some Athaliid sawflies and young spiders. The weather conditions were grey and overcast with some showers, keeping the flying insects low hence the very low-flying hirundines over both reserves. At Coombe Hill they appeared to be segregated into species flocks of Swallows and House Martins.
Severn Hams (6 September, contributed by Mike Smart et al)
Following the rain of the last week, the Severn is rising dangerously fast, and may well break its banks below Haw Bridge in the next few hours; it is also causing smaller streams and rivers above Gloucester to back up.
On the Leigh Meadows the Chelt is already breaking its banks, flooding the Meadows on either side.
At Coombe Hill, the Grundon hide was still accessible this morning, but may no longer be accessible in the near future. This morning: one Spoonbill, 50 Mallard, 120 Teal, 2 Spotted Redshanks, 2 Black Terns, one Common Tern, very heavy hirundine passage (Les Brown).
At Ashleworth Ham, water is pouring onto the reserve. Very heavy hirundine passage, mainly Swallows and House Martins with very few Sand Martins, all feeding, apparently on dung flies, low over the water on Hasfield Ham, two Whinchats, at least one Hobby. Early morning ringing season produced two juvenile Redstarts, Sedge Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, several of them birds first caught a week ago and staying on to fatten up; fat and weight considerably higher than a week ago (Mervyn Greening, David Anderson, Mike Smart).
At Haw Bridge at 12h15 a flock of 40 Common Terns flew downriver, obvious migrants and a very large number for this area (Mike Smart).
GWT Pasque Flower Reserve (31 August, contributed by Peter Fitchett)
Although full cloud cover with showers threatening, a good selection of blue butterflies was seen in the afternoon. Adonis, Common, Chalkhill and Brown Argus were all present and with the humid conditions there were good opportunities for photography. Meadow Browns were about plus one Green Veined White and a few Small Heaths. Moths too were there, plenty of Straw Dot with single examples of Setaceous Hebrew Character, Yellow Shell, Magpie and Dusky Sallow, and a large group of Buff-tip moth caterpillers were observed on a small tree.
Witcombe Reservoir (27 August, contributed by Gordon Avery)
A nice find this morning during my WEBS count was a juvenile Arctic Tern that stayed around for about half hour, also worthy of note were: a Common Sandpiper, a Mandarin and a Kingfisher
Two Common Terns and a Tufted Duck with full grown ducklings on the pools by Lydney Industrial estate.
Guscar and Aylburton (21 August, contributed by Mike Smart)
On a moderately high tide (8.0 metres at 11.30 am), any flocks of small Palaearctic or American waders eluded me. Nevertheless, there were at least 475 Curlews feeding on the mudbanks before the tide rose and they went to high tide roosts at Guscar and Pill House. The only other wader was a lone Common Sandpiper. Also a Little Egret, some autumn migrants: about 50 Swallows, 7 Wheatears and 3 Yellow Wagtails.
Two Common Terns and a Tufted Duck with full grown ducklings on the pools by Lydney Industrial estate.
Coombe Hill and Ashleworth (19 August, contributed by Mike Smart and Les Brown)
Quite apart from all the excitement over the Stilt Sandpiper seen yesterday evening, there was a good selection of migrants at Coombe Hill in the morning: all the hay fields (except one neighbour’s field) have been cut and cattle have already been grazing, resulting in an even sward and control of vegetation round the scrapes. There were already 150 geese (85 Canadas, 64 Greylags, 1 Barnacle and a Greylag x Barhead cross; one of the Greylags was carrying a white plastic ring inscribed J16; can anyone identify the origin?); 25 Teal, four Shoveler; a good selection of passage waders - 2 Ringed Plover, 2 Little Ringed Plover, one Wood Sandpiper, six Green Sandpiper, seven Snipe and a Black-tailed Godwit (NB not one of the usual Glos wader quarter of Curlew, Lapwing, Redshank, Dunlin); first thing there was heavy passage of Sand Martins (over a hundred) and Swallows; plus the odd Wheatear, and singing Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff along the canal.
At Ashleworth, the high river level has caused water to back up into the reserve, lightly flooding the main field in front of the hide; this means that the grass which has been cut but not baled on some fields on the reserve will be very difficult to collect; some neighbouring fields not cut yet: about 40 Mallard and three Teal.
CWP(E) (11 August, contributed by Andy Jayne)
At pit 126 there was a juvenile Shelduck, two Teal, 11 Little Grebes, two Little Egrets, two juvenile Little Ringed Plovers, two Dunlin, seven Green Sandpipers and two Common Sandpipers. Also a Brown Hawker.
Longford (2 August, contributed by Andy Jayne)
A Hobby took a House Martin at 11.20 this morning.
Coombe Hill (1 August, contributed by Andy Jayne)
An adult Water Rail seen and another bird calling.
Coombe Hill (31 July, contributed by Andy Jayne)
The highlights at Coombe Hill Meadows today were one Teal, a Little Grebe, five Little Egrets, 120 Lapwing, seven Snipe, a Greenshank, 12 Green Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper, a Kingfisher and male Redstart.
Cleeve Hill (23 July, contributed by Peter Fitchett)
A range of butterflies seen in the evening included ten Dark Green Fritillaries (top left below), plenty of Marbled Whites, Small Skippers and Meadow Browns. There were also 6-Spot Burnet Moths (bottom centre below) in abundance. The Pyramidal Orchids were still in bloom but going over with a new element to the summer colour palette added by a few Harebells (top right below).
Coombe Hill (12 July, contributed by Andy Jayne)
Sightings today included three Teal, a Little Grebe, four Little Egrets, three Little Ringed Plovers, c.65 Lapwing, a Dunlin, a Snipe, two Greenshanks, five Green Sandpipers, two Common Terns and a Turtle Dove.
Painswick Beacon (12 July, contributed by Peter Fitchett)
Peter's pictures below show a nice variety of species to be found in the Cotswolds in early July. They are: top left - Marbled White (Melanargia galathea); top right - Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis); bottom left - Musk Orchid (Herminium monorchis); bottom right - Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia).
Severn Hams (8 July, contributed by Mike Smart and Les Brown)
At Coombe Hill this morning, the water level in scrapes was fairly low, with good muddy edges for waders. Still very little hay cut, because of the recent wet weather.
There was a good showing of passage waders: about 11 Green Sandpipers, one Greenshank, one Redshank, one Common Sandpiper, one Oystercatcher, two Lapwings; but no Wood Sandpipers (one recorded on 2 July). Also a singing Turtle Dove. Seven Teal, one Shoveler. Still the odd Lesser Whitethroat singing, some Sedge Warblers and a few Reed Warblers.
In the evening, there were yet more migrant waders: a very excited flock of 15 Black-tailed Godwits, flushed by a Peregrine and doing the “grutto” display call before flying off; two Greenshanks were there compared to only one this morning. They also flew off at dusk. The entirely fearless Common Tern chased off the Peregrine; I wonder if it had taken a chick? The pair of swans that nested at The Wharf have seven cygnets, and are eating duckweed further down the canal. The air at dusk was full of low-flying swifts; you could hear the whirr of their wings as they whistled by.
At Ashleworth in the morning, there has been but little hay cut either; a Quail still singing late morning on the Hasfield side.
Coombe Hill (7 July, contributed by Andy Jayne)
Today there were three Little Egrets, 50 Lapwing, a Black-tailed Godwit, a Greenshank, a Green Sandpiper, two Common Terns, a Turtle Dove displaying, 50+ Sand Martins, a Yellow Wagtail and singing Lesser Whitethroat.
Severn Ham, Tewkesbury (2 July, contributed by Andy Jayne)
A pair of Corn Buntings was present today, with the female feeding two fledged juveniles. This is a very welcome record showing that the species is still present at this traditional site.
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