Axe Estuary Wetlands

This afternoon Miriam and I paid a visit to Black Hole Marsh,which is part of the Axe Estuary Wetlands.This is a good site for us as it has good wheelchair access to two of the hides meaning Miriam can enjoy the facilities as well.
We parked at the car park, which is situated through Seaton Cemetery and made the short walk to the Island Hide.There were plenty of Shelduck on view and also several Little Egrets which were engaged in territorial disputes and were constantly chasing each other around.

I was hoping for a Little Ringed Plover to be there as a few have passed through this week but I was unlucky.
We then moved onto the Field Studies Centre hide. Here were several Mallard groups including one family with eleven ducklings.
Whilst we were there a large Brown Rat disappeared under the building but too quick for me to get a photo. I did managed to get this Dunnock though.

I don't if anyone else has noticed but Dunnocks seem to be doing rather well. I nearly always have a pair in the garden and on a recent trip to Topsham counted at least five pairs in the lane to the Goatwalk.
We then drove around to the estuary and parked up for five minutes enjoying the spring sunshine.
A commotion behind me revealed a Carrion Crow trying to drive away a Raven which was nonchalantly walking around the field.
Around 3pm we decided to head back home and get the dinner ready.

Three to go !

Last night the Hustler's took on the Perry Winklers at the Perry St Club. We won by 15 points to 1 and so now the gap between us and the Outlaws is just 16 points as they lost their game this week. Its all shaping up for a winner takes all game when we meet them in the last game of the season.
I hit 61 pins to keep up my average for the season at 55.5.
Ale on tonight was St Austell 'Spring Brew' at 4.3% which I wasn't sure about when I first had it a couple of weeks ago but is now growing on me.

Iceland At Last

A quick lunchtime visit to Chard Reservoir today produced an Iceland Gull. The bird has been seen on and off for a couple of days now and Andy and I were lucky enough to connect with it during our lunch break.

Its one of those !

Ten minutes after we arrived and it was gone flying north.

Signs of Spring

This evening I made a visit to my local 'patch', the gravel pits at Chard Junction. There were the usual Tufted Ducks and Coots on the East lake along with a single Mute Swan and a juvenile Grey Heron. There was also a late Fieldfare feeding on the slopes on the far side.

Roe Deer

A walk along the track produced no Hirundines although a text from Andy G earlier in evening had said there were two Swallows over the reserve. There was a Roe deer just over the bank keeping an eye on me.
A walk through the reserve produced signs of spring with at least three singing Chiff Chaffs and several large clumps of Primroses.

Primroses

 

 

 

On the way back to the gate I flushed a Green Woodpecker from the edge of the East lake. I then took a quick look over the 'extension' a little further up the lane but apart from another Green Woodpecker there was little else to see.

Nearly Over

Last night we played our last home game of the season against the Golden Boys who share our home alley.
We ran out winners by 13 pins and 9-3 on points. It was one of our better nights and if we had played like this all season we would have finished much higher in the league.I scored a creditable 41 pins.
Ale on offer was Worthington's Spring Brew at 4.2% (we missed having Doom Bar by one pint as it went off as soon as we arrived). This was a totally different ale to the St Austell Spring Brew as it had none of the fruity/citrusy flavours and as a consequence went down rather well.

My Chistmas Present

This weekend saw Miriam and I at Woolacombe staying with our friends Dave and Caroline. Miriam had arranged a horse ride for me for a Christmas present and it was arranged for this weekend.
We travelled up on Saturday and spent the afternoon with D & C and also Rob and Carol our other good friends who were in on the surprise.
On Sunday morning Miriam,Dave,Caroline and I made our way to the riding stables(Rob and Carol had gone home again the previous evening). Dave and I had had horses together in the past, but it had been around thirty years since I had ridden. I had booked a half hours refresher lesson and an hours ride out.

The lesson went really well and it soon all came back, just like riding a bike you never really forget.
The hours ride took us high up the hill with a spectacular view over Woolacombe Bay and all too soon it was over.

I can honestly say it was one of the best Christmas presents I've ever had.
We then all went up to Bulls Head Lighthouse and sat watching the sea crash over the rocks below us before heading back to the house and lunch. We made our goodbyes and left around 4pm for the 2 hour journey home.

March Ale Trail

On Friday the 23rd myself and the usual suspects went out for our monthly Ale Trail. It was Andy G's turn to drive but unfortunately his car wouldn't start (so he says !) so Nigel stepped up and volunteered again. He won't have drive for four months now.
Our first stop was the Culm Valley Inn at Culmstock in Devon. It was quite a trek out there but it was worth it.
It's renowned for having up to ten ales on at weekends all served direct from the cask. This night we had a choice of seven beers, all from local breweries. I went for an O'Hanlons Firefly first at 3.7%, this is a light bitter with fruit flavours but a little uninspiring. Next I tried a Bays Best also at 3.7%, this was more to my liking.
As its Wetherspoon festival time we decided to cut short our visit and start to head back to Chard, but not before we had called into the Half Moon Inn at Clayhidon.

Here we all tried an Ale from a new brewery at Plymouth called Pilgrim which at 4.4% was well received by all.We shall have to keep an eye on their progress at the Plymouth Brewery when their website is up and running.
We then headed on back to Chard to see what festival beers were on offer. Again there were only three from the festival catalogue on sale but two were quite good so it wasn't quite so disappointing.
We all went for the Caledonian Coffee Porter at 4.3% first (Nigel had taken the car home first and met up with us). This is an exclusive to the festival beer with its official launch in May and was well received by all.
I next went for a Batemans Smokey Joe at 4.8% and boy was it smokey tasting just like a bonfire but not at all unpleasant. The last beer on in the festival was Wadworths Swordfish at 5.0% but having tasted Andy J's I decided not to bother and went for another pint of the Coffee Stout.
And so ended another Ale Trail, watch this space for next months outing

The Run In.

Last night was skittles at the Perry Street Club for the Hustlers. It was a chance for us to close the gap on our nearest rivals The Outlaws as this was their 'bye' week. We ran out winners by 14 points to 2 so the gap is now down to 26 points and we still have a game 'in hand' on them and will have to play them in the last match of the season. All to play for still !
I hit a respectable 55 pins which maintains my season average.
Beer on tonight was ......... DOOM BAR again !!!

Manchester 2

My mate Andy J reminded me last night that when we visited the Marble Arch last Thursday evening we came across this :-

This made us chuckle as one our friends goes by the nickname Dobber, silly I know but it made us laugh.

Monday Night Skittles

Last night the Jockeys took on the Rogues from the Poppe Inn at our home alley, Perry Street No. 2. We had a bad start and as a consequence were unable to turn the game around and lost by 23 pins. There are only two games left this season now and we shall finish near the bottom of the league. After we lost our first five games this season I did make the statement that I would retire if we finished bottom, so I suppose I should be happy that that outcome will be unlikely now.
A nice surprise came when I arrived and Exmoor Antler (at 4.0%) was on. This was be short lived though as I only managed one pint before it was off and replaced by.......DOOM BAR  again.

Reservoir Logs

A quick lunchtime visit to Chard Reservoir today for myself and my mate Andy in another abortive attempt to catch up with the Mandarin Ducks. There was a pair of Shoveler though, an uncommon species here and a Terrapin the size of a dinner plate sunning its self on a log.
Whilst we were there a group of fourteen Little Egrets flew in and perched in the tree in front of us.

Perching Little Egrets

Chard Junction Gravel Pits

This afternoon I paid a visit to the gravel Pits mainly to check if any migrants had arrived. On the east lake were the usual Canada Geese,Tufted Ducks,Coots and four Teal. A walk around the reserve showed a few signs of spring with Bumblebees on the wing and Primroses out in flower.
There was a flock of around forty Herring Gulls on one of the pits with a couple of Lesser Black Gulls and a single Common Gull. I couldn't see any signs of any returning Sand Martins though.
There was a couple of singing Chiffchaffs but there's no knowing whether they were migrants  or over wintering birds.
I quick look over the gravel works extension up the road produced a single Green Sandpiper. A Common Buzzard flew over much to the consternation of a couple of Ravens.
Last night Miriam and I went to the Cerdic in Chard. The Wetherspoons Real Ale Festival had started on Wednesday and I was looking forward to trying some new beers. I was really disappointed though  because out of the ten pumps on, two had the usual Ruddles and Abbot, one had Two Trees Perry Cider, two had Cottage Brewery beers which were not in the festival and two were not on yet. Of the remaining three I tried the three thirds for the price of a pint.I tried the Hydes Owd Oak at 3.5% , Brains Clock Tower at 4.3% and Hildens Scullion's Irish Ale at 4.6%. None of these was particularly inspiring but the Owd Oak was probably the best, so I tried a pint.

15th March 2012, The Lamb Lies Down

Today's a day to celebrate ( a line from Supper's Ready by Genesis) as myself and a friend were off to Manchester to see The Musical Box, a tribute band from Canada that faithfully recreate the music of Genesis up to the time that Peter Gabriel left around 1975.
We left Taunton station on the 9.51am to Manchester but had to fight for our pre-booked seats with the crowds going to the Cheltenham Festival. We arrived in Manchester around 2.15pm and as we could not check into our hotel until 3pm walked over the road from the station to the Bulls Head.
This was large open plan type pub that served mostly the Marston stable of beers. I plumped for a Brakspear 'Special' , a full bodied seasonal ale with a hoppy aroma at 4.3% abv.
With the first beer under our belt we walked back to the station to get a cab to the hotel and drop off our bags. Soon after we were on our way back to the city centre and a rendezvous with Andy's son Alex. We found him in the Sandbar with a pint of Ilkley Brewery's Mary Jane on the go ! I decided to join him and soon was enjoying a crisp pale ale at 3.5%.
We then decided to move onto the Grey Horse.

This was a very small old fashioned pub, with the rarity of an outside gent's loo, something I've not seen for years. The beer was pretty uninspiring though and I chose a pint of Hydes Winter Fuggle, a seasonal ale at 4.2%.
Next stop was real gem ! The Crown & Kettle was a fantastic pub that reopened after being derelict for 16 years in 2005.

Ceiling in the Vault

There was a drinking hall, a snug and the vault which had this ornate ceiling incorporating beams from the R101 airship.The ale on offer was pretty good too and we all went for 'Black Gold' from the Copper Dragon brewery in Skipton , a creamy dark ale with coffee flavours at 3.7% and my personal favourite of the trip.
We now moved onto the Angel, a welcoming free house with a roaring log fire and 10 beers on hand pumps.
I had a pint from the Rochdale brewery Pictish. Black was another seasonal ale. This was a stout with distinctive flavours of chocolate malts and was 4.4%.
We now made our way to the Marble Arch and another meet up. This time it was Alex's friend Joe . The Marble was the busiest pub we had visited and was full of football fans,mainly City, watching their rivals United crash out of the Europa League
This is a brew pub with their own products on the pumps. I started with a pint of 'Pint' at 3.9% and was a pale hoppy beer. I then moved onto the Manchester Bitter which was a yellow 'hoppy' beer at 4.2%.
All too soon it was 7pm and time for Andy and I to leave Alex and Joe and make our way to the O2 Manchester Apollo and the gig. Joe kindly organised a cab and soon we were in the venue waiting for the band.
After the support had been on we were treated to a great rendition of Genesis' 1974 album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway complete with the original slide show and costumes that Gabriel used in the original tour. The Musical Box are I think the only tribute act that are officially endorsed by the original members of Genesis. The lead singer also had all of Peter Gabriel's theatrics from the show off to a 'tee'.
They played for around two hours and finished with a rousing encore of , of course The Musical Box and Watcher of the Skies.
I was lucky enough to see the original tour by Genesis back in '74 at Wembly Empire Pool Arena and was very impressed by the accuracy of the music.
I was a very happy Genesis fan on my way back to the hotel.

Nomination Again !

Tonight I played my second nomination game this week. This was in the Perry Street Club League against the Rusty Poppe. We started OK but soon were struggling to keep ahead and eventually lost by 4 pins. I had another night when I couldn't do much right and scored 27.
Ale on tonight was Sharp's Doom Bar again !!
Earlier in the evening I and few other CAMRA members had been to the Cerdic in Chard,(a Wetherspoons Pub) to meet up with Phil Emond the Somerset Camra Chairman and discuss ways in which we as a small group of South Somerset members could offer to get more of our local members involved.
This was the first night of the Wetherspoons Beer Festival and as such there were not many of the festival beers on. They were still selling the beer from the weekend, so I had a half of Dorset Piddle 'Thunder Box Porter' at 4.5% as I was driving.

Twitching Day 3

The third day in a row that I've been birding and it was an early start again, getting up at 5.30am.
I was on the road at 6.30am and arrived at Rhydwrin near Newport in Wales around 8.00am. I felt like I must be the last birder in Britain to come and see the Common Yellowthroat as there was no one else in view. I soon bumped into another birder though, a guy who had travelled all the way from Colchester that morning and another guy who was on his 4th visit and was still trying to get decent video footage.
We took up positions in the varoius places that the bird had been seen and after around twenty minutes the guy from Colchester had located the bird. This had me running, something I  haven't done when birding for years.
I was soon on the Yellowthroat though and forgetting that I was out of breath. My third lifer in two days !
I tried to get a photo but the bird was in and out of the brambles and it was impossible so I gave up and watched it instead until it moved further into cover.
I then decided to head back to Exeter and the Exminster Marshes arriving around 11am. I parked up at the reserve and pretty soon had located my next target, another American vagrant, but this time a duck.
I located the American Wigeon in with the Eurasian Wigeon flock and there not being much else about I headed over to the other side of the Exe and to Topsham.
I parked up at Topsham and walked straight down to the Goat Walk. The tide was very high and as a consequence very few birds were on show. I did see four Avocets and a pair of Red Breasted Mergansers though. I then walked around to the viewing platform and saw a Little Egret and a Greenshank on the tide line below me.

Greenshank-Topsham

 

 

I then decided to head for home but call into Seaton Marshes on the Way. As I was coming up to Aylesbeare Common I thought I would give it half an hour to see if any Dartford Warblers were about.
I walked around but there was no sign, I think the last two winters have decimated the fragile population that existed here.

 I did see a few Stonechats though.
I arrived at Black Hole Marsh around 3.30pm and spent 45 minutes scanning the Gull roost and checking for Iceland or Caspian Gulls, but with nothing on show decided to head for home.

Get a Lifer

Another day of birding and today I was joined by three mates. I picked up Andy in Chard at 6am and headed off to Yeovil to meet up with Steve at 6.30am. Half an hour later we were at Gillingham in Dorset and had collected John and were all set for a trip to Pagham Harbour to try for the long staying Paddyfield Warbler a rare vagrant 'Acro' warbler that normally winters in India.
We arrived around 9.20am and walked out to the north bank. There were a few other birders there already and we soon learned that the bird had been showing well. Before long we were all getting good views as it moved through the reed bed. My first 'lifer' of the day and my 402nd western palearctic species.
We the moved onto Beaulieu Road Station and a reported Great Grey Shrike. There was no sign of the shrike but we did strike it lucky with two splendid Woodlarks.
We then headed off to Hordle, a little village near Lymington in the New Forest. The target here was a Rose-Coloured Starling a vagrant from the middle east. There were a few birders here already as well and soon we had located the bird on the rooftops. Lifer no 2 in the bag.

Rose Coloured Starling(on the left)

The owner of one of the nearby houses took exception to our presence and bombarded us with abuse calling us all childish and say we should all have jobs and should all get a life instead of chasing after birds, His temper wasn't improved by us having a laugh at his antics.
Next stop was Mudeford Quay and a Long Tailed Duck which we saw with ridiculous ease as soon as we arrived.We had a quick look for the Spotted Sandpiper that has been overwintering but there was no sign so we moved on to our next stop, but did see two Common Scoters on the sea as we walked back to the car.
Our next stop was to be Rhinefield Arboretum in the New Forest and the Hawfich roost that takes place during the winter months. We had to wait for around an hour but were well compensated by a Firecrest which was very active in the conifer trees. The Hawfiches arrived on cue and were quickly followed by a small group of Crossbills.
We now headed for home but not before we had another stroke of luck with a Great Grey Shrike at Sixpenny Handley.
This completed our days birding with the emphasis on quality rather than quantity.

Monday Night Skittles

A disappointing end to our Nomination League campaign as we lost to the Club Jokers in our final game of the season. The game was there to be won on the last hand but unfortunately we came up short by 2 pins. I scored a respectable 38.
The ale on offer tonight was St Austell 'Spring Brew' a seasonal ale at 4.3%. This was a golden hopped ale with citrus zesty flavours.

Moor than One

Today I started a weeks holiday and what will be three days birding. I started the day at Carymoor near Castle Cary. This area is managed for wildlife and seed eating birds in particular. I left the car at the end of the drove and walked to the 'set aside' field. There were plenty of Chaffinches,Goldfinches and Reed Buntings on show, but I was after Tree Sparrow and it wasn't long before I had located one high up in the hedgerow. There were also plenty of smart Yellowhammers as well.

 A quick look over the pond produced these Little Egrets roosting.
I left Carymoor and headed over to the Somerset Levels.
I stopped at Shapwick Heath car park and first walked out to Ham Wall RSPB Reserve, hearing Bitterns 'Booming' all the time and also catching sight of two flying over the reeds.
Apart from the commoner species of  Duck there was very little else to see so I walked back over the road and out to Meare Heath.

 I could see a Great White Egret standing in the reed bed but it was too far for a photo opportunity so I carried on. The main pool was also very quiet with Teal and Shoveler being the most numerous ducks.

I now walked back to the car but not before I had snapped this flyover Grey Heron.

I now pushed on for the main reason for visiting the levels and drove to Butleigh Moor to see the Short Eared Owls.
I drove out to the furthest point and almost immediately saw an owl quartering the field. I took up position and watched for about an hour as first one then a second SEO flew over the rough pasture.

I managed to get some photos in the gloomy light of these stunning birds, before making my way home

Wincanton Races

This afternoon myself and a mate went to Wincanton Races. We were given complimentary tickets from the Perry Street Club by the sponsors Molson Coors.

This was the first time I'd been to the Wincanton course and was very impressed by the facillities and layout.
It was quite cold and overcast with the threat of rain when we arrived but we quickly set about studying the form book for the first race at 2pm. I went for Mabel Tasman from Neil Mulholands yard at Tiverton and riden by Richard Johnson.

Mabel Tasman

Warsaw Pact,Black Phantom & Stripe Me Blue

It came in 3rd and so for a £5.00 each way stake I got back £7.10.Not a good start !
In the second race I went for Festival Dreams but it came home 4th. I was now £12.90 down.

 The third race I went for broke in a 6 horse 3m race and put £10 on the nose on Shannons Boy but it came 5th, so I was £22.90 down !!

Opening Batsman

In the 4th race I went for Opening Batsman and at last my luck changed and it came home at 11/4 netting me £36.25. I was back in credit !

Dream Performance

In the 5th Dream Performance lived up to its name and gave me another winner at 4/1. I was now £40.00 up.That was to be the last of my winners as I missed out the 6th race and drew a blank in the 7th. Not a bad days racing with free tickets to get in and a profit to come home with !.
One last treat was in store tho' as we got to see Kauto Star given a workout on the 2 mile course in preparation for Cheltenham next week.

Ruby Walsh on Kauto Star

Kauto Star

This was a try out to check his fitness for the Gold Cup.

Blowin' Free and Monday Skittles

Sunday night saw a friend and I at the Square & Compass near Ashill to see Wishbone Ash, a proper 70's rock band.
They played a great set starting with Blind Eye and playing many songs from 'Argus' and their other albums including Blowin' Free and Front Page News and encoring to a rousing finish with Jail Bait.
The ale on offer was St Austell 'Tribute', although I must say it wasn't in the best of nick.
Last night was skittles in Three Counties Skittle League at the Perry St Club. This week and next is nomination skittles where the object of the game is to hit the front 'pin' first and then nominate with the next two go's which pin you are going to hit. If you miss and hit another pin then you do not score anything and the pins hit stay down. I had a 'mare' last night and only managed 15 pins, although to be fair in a normal game I wouldn't have hit many more as most of my balls went straight through.
Ale at the Club..... wait for it..... Doom Bar !!!!!

Wet in Weymouth

A proper birding day out today. I was meeting up with my long time birding friends in Weymouth but first I wanted to check out Seaton Marsh to see if the Stone Curlew that was reported yesterday had stayed overnight.
I left home in the rain at 7am and arrived around twenty minutes later. I scanned over the marsh but couldn't see anything resembling a Stone Curlew. I did see several common Curlews plus common Redshank and a few Wigeon.
I was now running late for meeting the other guys so I got a move on and arrived at Radipole RSPB Reserve around 8.35am.

We walked over to the Gurka restaurant by the overpass to check out whether the Iceland Gulls were still about. There were no gulls at all on view, but we did see the Hooded Merganser that has taken up residence there.
I'm really not sure about the providence of this bird, everybody say's its a true wild duck, bur Birdguides still lists it as a possible escape ?
It was still raining but we decided to walk around the reserve and make our way to the North Hide to see what was about. The rain was making birding difficult but we did hear many Cetti's Warblers giving their explosive calls from the reed bed. We took shelter in the hide for 45 mins and apart from a couple of Chiff-Chaffs and a few Teal,Shoveler and Tufted Duck it was very quiet.
We then decided to call it a day here and move on to Lodmoor, but not before we were roped into an abortive attempt to trap a Mute Swan with a fish-hook impaled in her neck under the bridge.
We arrived at Lodmoor around 10.45am and immediately that I got out from the car I spotted a Great Bittern flying over the reeds, I managed to get everyone else on the bird before it climbed steadily and flew out out sight behind the vegetation. It was really miserable walking around in the rain apart from a few Black Tailed Godwits,Redshank,Snipe and Oystercatchers there were few waders on view.
We walked across the main road to 'scope over the bay, and at once John had pointed out a Great Northern Diver followed by Tim who found a Razorbill and two Great Crested Grebes.
We were all wet and cold by now and as Tim and I had planned to leave for home around midday we decided to walk back to the cars.
Just as we Tim and I were about to leave John came up trumps again with a splendid female Marsh Harrier flying over the reed bed. Tim and I then made our goodbyes and left the other three to continue on with their day out.
Not the best days birding I've ever had, spoiled largely by the weather but it was good to meet up with the guy's again after such a long time.
PS my year list now stands at 95 species, By the end of the same day last year I was on 108 but then I was on a  birding trip to Scotland !

A Dip and a Dipper

This afternoon after I finished work at 12.30pm I made a quick visit to Branscombe Water Treatment Works to see if yesterday's Firecrest was still about.
I arrived around 1.20pm and was walking up to the Treatment Works when I heard a Dipper in full song from the river below me. I crept up to the edge of the bank and was greeted with the pleasing sight of a Dipper right below me in the river.

I carried on up the lane and checked out the sewage works but apart from the usual common stuff like Chaffinches and Blue Tits there was no sign of a Firecrest.
I carried on round the lane and cut across the field to the small thicket of pines behind the sewage works and was soon hearing plenty of Goldcrests calling but not thier cousin.
I was on a tight schedule so I carried on round back to the car park stopping on the other side of the river bank long enough to snap a few more pic's of the Dipper.

Thursday Night is Curry Night !

Once a month me and my better half visit Wetherspoons in Chard for curry night.Miriam my wife of thirty years has not enjoyed the best of health in the last ten years after being diagnosed with a brain tumour and as I do all cooking its nice for her to get a change from my cooking and its also nice for me to get a change from my cooking !
The pub is housed in the former Cerdic cinema and is one of the few places in Chard where you can get a decent pint of real ale.
Tonight it was quite busy when we arrived particularly as there was a group of guys on a stag party all dressed as penguins. At least I hope they were on a stag party !
Ales on offer tonight were (Hooray !)Adnams Broadside, Brains St Davids Ale at 4.1% brewed for St Davids Day and Batemans Veto Ale at 4.3% brewed to celebrate David Camerons veto at the recent European summit.
Predictably I went for the Broadside although I did get a taster of the Veto from Matt the barman. It had an odd taste and like most things to do with David Cameron it left a funny taste in the mouth ;)