A quick update for this week. Starting from the main carpark still plenty of House Martins and Swallows around - particularly flying along the reservoir bank. Regulars such as Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Pied Wagtail can be seen around the feeders at the main carpark. Willow Warblers still to be heard also. Earlier in the week on Wednesday there were good sightings of Spotted Flycatcher across from the Life for a Life woods.
Also on Wednesday over at Chew Brook we've had sightings of a Stoat hunting around the grassy tussocks. Around Chew Valley there have been good views of Meadow Pipits doing their parachuting display. Also Common Sandpipers to be seen. Unfortunately we think that the Little Ringed Plover that were on Chew Res have failed. Elsewhere around the estate there have been sightings today of Blackcap and Kestrel and the Redstarts are still around. Also sightngs of Siskin. No particularly recent sightings however of Pied Flycatchers. We're wondering whether they've moved on. . . More news on this when we know for certain. Our Great Spotted Woodpecker chicks have now fledged. Also around and about this week sightings of Raven and a Pheasant with about six or seven young - one of which is a black melanistic bird. Headsup for anyone thinking of visiting Dove Stone - the midges have been quite bad recently.
More soon...
Hi John,
Thanks for the posting and for asking about the latest with the Peregrines - it's been a bit of a roller-coaster ride for us with waiting to see if they'd have any young this year - uncertainty has meant that we haven't updated the blog as often as we did in 2010 where things seemed more predicatable and the birds had four chicks which all successfully fledged. Unfortunately the Peregrines at Dove Stone this year haven't been successful. I've updated the blog with a brief posting on what we think's happened. It's a case of waiting until next year now and hoping that they'll be successful then. We're still down at Ashway Gap with our scopes showing people the birds however as we are still getting good views of the birds.