ringing baby ringed plovers

This warm weather has been great for our spring migrants. Now the prevailing wind has gone from north to south, many of our spring migrants should have an extra boost as they make their one into the UK.
After a wonderful bird ID walk I was leading on the Downs yesterday I had a lovely walk with a friend down at Chew Valley Lake. Reed warblers were singing away, busily setting up new territories - my first ones this year.

I then zipped back to Bristol to help Lyndon Roberts ring a family of one day ringed plover chicks - there were four eggs, but two disappeared, and the remaining two hatched!! They were incredibly difficult to see - their cryptic colours hide them very well indeed!

I then went off to try and ring some raven chicks in a quarry - sadly the nest was empty. We think the young may have been predated and saw the parents nearby but they weren't showing any interest. Got some good views of a peregrine though in lovely evening sunlight.

Leading bid ID course 28th March

I'll be leading a Spring Bird ID course at Folly Farm in the Chew Valley on Sunday 28th March 2010 (with a particular focus on learning bird song).

1pm – 5pm
As the days lengthen and spring is on the horizon, birds are busily preparing for the breeding season – this is an ideal time to get out and explore the stunning 250 acre nature reserve of Folly Farm and learn how to identify the variety of birds singing around the reserve from song thrushes to wrens and chiffchaffs to chaffinches.
Join me in the journey of exploration around Folly Farm with practical and theory sessions.
Cost £35

Had a brilliant day yesterday filming for my new show reel. At minus 4 degrees Celsius in Bristol, four of us set off for Bath to do a piece about peregrines. Arriving there in minus 6 degrees Celsius it was a cold start to say the least but a lovely place to be first thing. The peregrines had eaten a woodcock the evening before - a fresh head of one lay on the ground below. The male peregrine arrived around 9am with a pigeon which it was tucking into. We left a sunny Bath for Chew Valley Lake - the smaller pool was frozen, with the mallards and coots skating around when people came to feed them!! I interviewed Robin Prytherch, a renowned ornithologist about the lake before setting off to Chew Valley Ringing Station nearby to film some ringing. We had a lucky morning and got to see two great spotted woodpeckers and a male bullfinch in the hand!
Ready for lunch we set off back to Bristol, grabbed some food and then went looking for berries on the Downs as part of a challenge sequence - I quickly found ivy, rose hip and white beam. The sun had gone behind the clouds and it was feeling pretty wintry, esp as some snow began to fall (didn't come to anything sadly!!). Our last sequence was down at Severn Beach - a Countryfile style piece talking about the pros and cons of the Severn Barrage. No kidding, it was a chilling experience as the wind cut through us all but we had all the pieces in the bag by 3.30pm and finished off for a celebratory drink in the nearby Boar's Head in Aust!