Radio Bristol and the Big Garden Birdwatch

The past few days I've been busy helping to promote the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch, www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch on BBC Radio Bristol! Listen out for me also on the weekend - I'll be Doctor in House with Faye Dicker on Saturday 10-11am talking about what we can do for nature this spring while on the very early morning show I'll be chatting with Nancy Jackson about counting birds!

Today I'm in a school in Cheddar, Somerset. Very cold but at a great school! In between giving dinosaur workshops I'm watching the redwings just outside the classroom feeding on plenty of worms on the grass!
A few siskins flew overhead earlier.  

Despite the snow, I had a lovely day out in Somerset checking out places to go for two tours myself and Charles Martin are doing for Naturetrek next month on the Someset Levels. All the main roads were clear of snow and we managed to get to Wells in good time to look around the hotel where we and clients will be staying. We then ventured into the countryside to log distances between the hotel and places we want to visit, plus pubs for soup lunch!! Everywhere was still very white and near Wells you could see where the snow had drifted into the hedgerows. We even passed a snow plough - haven't seen one of those for many years!! Warm air from the east meant temperatures stayed around 3 degrees Celsius all day - you could see grass tufts appearing in fields throughout the day as the snow began the melt and thin. We didn't go down to any of the nature reserves and from the main roads there was little wildlife to see, just a few kestrels, buzzards, fresh mole hills and a heron standing by a frozen dyke. There were quite number of blackbirds and redwings feeding by the roadside verges which were free of snow however - and bizarrely a song thrush hanging dead from a hawthorn bush. Sadly some of the thrushes were looking weak and we saw at least 4 which had been hit by cars. In Langport centre a tame redwing was pecking away at the snow (not sure what it was eating) - a blackbird was doing the same a little later. After getting our tasks done we headed back to Bristol - near Temple Meads Station over 60 fieldfares were busily jostling in the berry laden trees! Got back around 4pm after a full day out and just in time to see if there were any birds in the garden. Couldn't see any but the apples I had put out had been pretty much eaten! All ready for another week!

Well, with temperatures down to minus 7 degrees Celsius it was another chilly night. I waited to hear whether the museum was open. It was but my line manager advised me to stay put and I had various things to keep me busy. It was an incredibly bright, sunny day and everywhere looked pure white!! Temperatures remains below freezing so little melted.

I also got up rather early to speak on BBC Radio Bristol and encourage people to feed their birds - hopefully lots of people are putting out fruit and other titbits.

Had a fieldfare in the garden which was a first and plenty of redwing flying around. A female blackbird was discreetly feeding on an apple I put out - I'm so pleased she found it as hopefully she laid down enough fat to see her through the night. It's going to be pretty cold tonight too but should be able to get into work - I have a school booked in doing a classification and taxonomy workshop!

Heavy snow hits Bristol!

After weather forecasts predicting heavy snow over southern England, it was no surprise that we had a complete white out overnight! Checking when I woke at 3am there was certainly a lot of snow out there, and even more when I woke at 6am! Checking with my manager, I ventured into work on foot as car was impossible and buses were cancelled. I had a 2 hour walk into work but through Blaise Woods it was beautiful! Even once I was walking through neighbourhoods and down Whiteladies Road it still felt very special - everywhere looked transformed! I got into work at 10am and spent a few hours there before the museum was closed at 12.30pm and we were asked to leave at 1pm. Managed to get the bus to the top of Blackboy Hill and then walked home - again some great scenery and lots of people having fun! Lots of bird movement too - redwings, fieldfares and skylarks overhead, no doubt moving to areas clear of snow! Once I got home I rallied together with neighbours to clear the road hill as cars weren't able to get up and a car park was forming at the bottom! An amazing day - snow always makes it a very different day and an exciting adventure!

City Museum, Bristol

The last few days have been very eventful and fun. Yesterday was the second round of robin colour-ringing - although sadly we didn't catch any robins!! We did however catch three wrens in the same area of one garden - all young birds hatched earlier in the year. After a few hours of trying before work, I quickly got to Clifton and grabbed the next bus (after watching two zip past me before I could get to the stop) and arrived on the platform at Bristol Temple Meads just as the guard locked the doors of my train!! I just missed it and waited another hour at Bristol before the next train - although I did enjoy a nice cuppa in the cafe on platform 12 and took a few notes prior to my meeting in Exeter. Had a lovely train trip to and from the city, meeting went well and enjoyed a snooze on the journey back - not before spotting a pair of shoveler ducks on the flooded fields with the swans just outside of Exeter. Plenty of redwings flying out of the trees and over fields too. Looking forward to some more robin ringing tomorrow morning - fingers crossed we catch at least another 2!