badgers, peregrines and eggs

It's been a busy week winding down from my museum job before I begin working for the University of Bristol in a few weeks time - I'll be starting as the Bristol Dinosaur Education Officer! Still, I'm getting there clearing out my drawers, files and e-mails! Meanwhile, I'm also doing an inventory of the bird eggs we have in the learning collection - I've been really absorbed identifying and labelling them and amazing to see the huge variety and handle some very old and unusual eggs such as little auk, stone curlew and red-backed shrike.

Last night I went out badger watching with some friends in the Chew Valley - we got sat ready by 8.45pm and at 9pm, while we could still make out colour, a badger poked its head out of a hole and sniffed around. There was a light wind and our scent was being carried in their direction. It disappeared for a bit but reappeared before having a long poo and scuttling off up into a field nearby. As we waited longer, three more appeared, again poking their heads out and gradually coming out further. By 10pm when it was too dark to see them we had seen six or so. We were also treated by seeing them on a thermal imaging camera courtesy of Howard who had brought it along. We saw two or three venturing out in the dark despite not being able to see them with our naked eyes. We also found a bird roosting up in a tree, looking like a white sphere!

This morning I led a walk at the Newport Wetlands for the Bristol Naturalists Society joined by volunteer wardens Roger and Julie. We had a great time watching the birds and seeing some of the special plants and insects. Some swifts and house martin flew in and fed very close by while pochards, tufted ducks and dabchicks fed in the water. We heard a very distant cuckoo and saw a lovely female marsh harrier. Meanwhile, we watched a peregrine pursue a pigeon and bring it down - a first for many to see. Later, we watched the 2nd year bird just gliding and circling low over the foreshore. Meanwhile, a distant osprey moved in over Cardiff from the estuary.We were lucky to see the caterpillar of a scarlet tiger moth and see the first leaves of a southern marsh orchid. After a quick cuppa, I nipped down to Goldcliff with another member to see the avocets, redshanks and lapwings. We were also treated to a summer-plumaged spotted redshank (splendid bird), a turnstone, male shovelers and many other birds. Finished off watching house martins coming down to collect wet mud by the side of the road!

Dawn Chorus 2 and Med Gull corpse!

Yesterday's dawn chorus went really well - 35 people turned up for 6.30am at Snuff Mills, on the river Frome and the birds sounded great. I arrived at 6am and the sounds were even more tremendous and also heard a few kingfishers. The walk was rewarding with plenty of wrens, robins, blackbirds and chiffchaffs singing away. The bonus bird was a dipper flying at canopy level upstream - they've been a bit scarce at this site in recent years so this was a good spot. Two crows were incubating eggs in nests, green woodpeckers laughed around us and jays accompanied us throughout.

Popped over to meet a friend in Bath for a cuppa before coming home via Chew Valley Lake (swallows over pool) and back home for a rest. Well, almost - I got a tip off that a Mediterranean Gull corpse was down by the Severn Estuary. I quickly nipped down, like a 10 year old all over again on an intrepid adventure to look for something exciting. I found the bird - well, the head and wings. It looked like it had been eaten by the local peregrines. A new species for my feather and skull collection. Amazing seeing the white wings, deep red beak and black head feathers (compare the black-headed gull's brown head feathers!). Finally, it was time for a snooze and a rest!

Tonight there is hazy sunshine across north-west Bristol and lots of lovely birdsong; robins and blackbirds singing away before day gives way to tonight! Time for dinner I reckon.

Naturetrek on the Levels

Just back from leading an amazing tour for Naturetrek on the Somerset Levels. This tour around the Somerset Levels in late February was a brilliant opportunity to see the diversity and abundance of waterfowl using wetlands during the winter. Touring across the many reserves large numbers of Shovelers, Wigeon, Pintail, Teal, Mallards, Golden Plovers and Lapwings were a highlight. All the expected raptors revealed themselves over the reedbeds on the second day while Cetti’s Warblers sang explosively and Water Rails squealed from the reeds. Otter spraints and diet remains were easily found. The group weren’t disappointed by the million of starlings which are now famous for their huge gatherings as they come to roost in the reedbeds. The flocks came in on a beautiful sunny evening, swirling and twisting to avoid aerial predators. The last few hours of the tour really were an amazing spectacle!! Bitterns showed from time to time too over the two days and we heard some 'booming'. This photo is of an immature female peregrine as she flew overhead giving awesome views!

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!

A quiet night last night - mainly sorting out the Bristol Ornithological Society's website and preparing for a presentation I am doing next week in Plymouth on raptor migration. Then chilled and watched a bit of tv!

Nice drive in this morning - a few mistle thrushes in Clifton at the top of some lime trees and a squirrel that couldn't quite decide what side of the road it wanted to be on - fortunately it made the right and safe decision!

Just heard from a journalist at Bristol magazine wanting to do an interview about the Avon Gorge peregrines - it's coming up to their 20th anniversary of nesting the Gorge which is remarkable!!

news on the origin of the Swedish peregrine

A grey day in Bristol so far but enlightened by the presence of a fab cormorant drying his/her wings down by the Floating Harbour. Impressed today that Bristol City Council have put forward a reward of £500 to catch the people who dumped a household's worth of furniture by the Portway. Be interesting to see if someone comes forward.

Some feedback so far on the young peregrine found in Somerset. It was ringed as a nestling female on the 8th June 2009 at Arvika, Varmland, southern Sweden. She was one of four at the nest. I wonder how many other peregrines here this winter are actually from Scandinavia!!


Swedish-registered ring (you can just make out the name Stockholm as part of the return address) placed on the bird's leg in June this year.
Rupert Griffiths, RSPCA, Westhatch

Swedish-ringed peregrine in Somerset

Yesterday was a rather chilly day here in Bristol but a nice feeling as winter approches. Heard today from the RSPCA that a peregrine brought in over the weekend was wearing rings that showed it had flown here all the way from Sweden!! Remarkable!! The Swedes have a detailed colour-ringing programme so we should be able to find out lots about this young bird which was ringed as a chick this year. Sadly it had an infected broken leg and had to be put to sleep. However, I like to think that despite this it has still contributed to science and that its flight here hasn't been in vain! I wonder if any of my colour-ringed robins will make any long journeys south this winter!?

Image: Rupert Griffiths, RSPCA