Sunday 26 April 2015

One of those days

Yesterday was one of those days when nothing seems like its going to plan, but for all the right reasons !
Andy and I had a tentative plan to 'twitch' the Pied Billed-Grebe in Gloucestershire but ended up diverting to the levels when news of a MEGA came out on birdguides and had us whizzing through the Somerset countryside (in my new wheels) to Meare Heath for the Uk's third ever record of a Hudsonian Godwit.
We arrived just after 9am about 90 mins after the news broke to find the new car park at the Avalon Marshes filling fast.
A brisk walk out to the drained lagoon had us joining the hundred or so birders that had already arrived and admiring this North American wader as it fed continuously with its European cousins.
Hudsonian & Black-Tailed Godwit


A steady stream of birders arriving soon had the admiring crowd rising to several hundred who were treated to not only the star attraction but also Wood Sandpiper, Greenshank, Dunlin, Great White Egret, Marsh Harrier and Little Ringed Plover. We also had flyovers of Whimbrel and Bittern.
Great Bittern
Having stayed for an hour or so Andy and I walked over to Ham Wall passing some familiar faces in the crowd as we went and hearing a singing Wood Warbler in the car park.
Over the road we also added Hobby, Cuckoo,Whitethroat and another Great White Egret.
Now you see me

Now you don't

Back to the car and the new car park was now filled to bursting, just how the 'twitch' would have turned out without this new facility doesn't bear thinking about.
After some lunch at the Peat Moors Centre we headed up to Tealham Moor to look for Yellow Wagtails, it was great to drive along the drove with the roof down on my new convertible, just like being on safari.
The birding ended with a trip to Greylake where we added a late Ruff to the list before calling into the King Alfred at Burrowbridge for our customery pint to celebrate a 'lifer'
A great but unexpected day out.
Year List now 148 species

Thursday 23 April 2015

Judging by the Taste !

Last week I was at one of my favourite beer fest's , Tuckers Maltings in Newton Abbot. This SIBA south west regional competition attracts brewers and their products from all over the West Country, including the Channel Isles.
This year was special for me though as I had been submitted by a friend to judge (gulp). We left home around 7am, it was going to be a long day, to catch the train from Axminster in order to be in Newton Abbot by 9:30 am, and hopefully get some breakfast.
All went to plan and by 10am we had collected our accreditation and were waiting for the call to take our places on the Maltings floor.

I had been allotted Standard Bitters and Pale Ales in the first round which are not always my favourite being a stouts and IPA's fan and to be honest I found them all very similar so probably marked them too harshly. It was an interesting experience though and I enjoyed it immensely. After my fellow judges and I had tried the nine ales on offer it was back out into the sunshine and fresh air.
In the second round I was trying small pack strong ales, much more to my liking and with two stand out ales in the selection of eight. I made a note of the code numbers of these two to check after the competition what they were. I later established that the last ale of these and my highest scoring was Moor's Old Freddie Walker in 'tip top' bottle condition and which won bronze in the section.
After lunch it was back to the 'grind' , well somebody has to do it !
Round three saw me back with the Standard Bitters and Pale Ales again for pretty much more of the same as the first round. All a bit uninspiring.
We then had a bit of a wait, but did have the bonus of visiting the three 'free' casks that were on offer for the judges and chatting with old and new friends outside, good job the weather was kind to us.
At 4pm we all congregated back inside to see and hear the presentations being made.
Waiting for the results
After which it was time to become a 'punter' and sample some for ourselves.
What a line up

First up for me was the champion, Incognito from Plain Ales, a lovely dark porter at 4.8% . Its a new experience for me to sample the winner as usually by the time I get to the festival on the Saturday sessions there is none left.
Incognito
Next I tried Freedom Hiker from the Brewery that's geographically(about 2 miles) closest to me, Gyle 59. This was an amber and malty ale with its familiar unfined style and a silver winner this year.
Beer three was Coffee Mild from Summerskills another unfined ale with smooth coffee overtones quickly followed by Old Smokey from the Stonehenge Brewery. I'm a big fan of 'smokey' beers but I really didn't get anything other than a slight aftertaste.
I finished with two pale and floral ales, the first from the Padstow Brewery, Padstow Mayday which was the other beer I judged and had given good marks to and Wild Blonde from South Hams which won gold in the Best Bitters and Pale Ales section. Both were exceedingly good ales.
All in all a thoroughly enjoyable day topped off by my also meeting Sophie Atherton , the journalist and beer sommelier and of course birder with whom I discussed of course....... binoculars !

Sunday 5 April 2015

Easter

My Easter break began early on Good Friday with a trip to see the Bonaparte's Gull at Radipole Lake. Andy picked me up just after 7am and we were in Weymouth just under an hour later.
We had to wait for around an hour before the bird turned up but it was well worth the effort to watch this dainty North American gull flit across the water with its Tern like feeding style.

 Whilst there we got a message to say that there was a Black-Winged Stilt at Abbotsbury so as we were only birding for the morning we headed that way home. We scoped from the car park and soon had views as it fed on the pond.
Then it was back home for the rest of the days entertainment, namely the 4th Tatworth Playing Fields Beer Festival.

 At 4pm I walked the 50 yards from the house to the field for the 'fest. Little surprise that I was one of the first there. I've had a hand in the organisation this year as I designed the beer racking and together with a friend had it fabricated and painted ( in the Football Club colours).

 There were eight ales on offer this year including two from Chard's new brewery Tapstone. I started with a Wild Woods, an IPA at 4.5% from Tapstone. Made with American hops it was crisp with grapefruit overtones. Next up was Yeovil Brewery's Hop 129, a one off brew using a prototype hop (129) which was a single hopped bitter, but I didn't really get the flavour of pepper or red berries that it was supposed to have.
During the evening I tried 7 of the eight ales on offer, I would have to wait until the next evening to try the Tapstone 'Sea Monster' which was a late replacement for Voodoo Juice and wasn't quite ready.
Favourite of the new beers I tried was Dawkins, Bristol Blonde at 3.8% and was refreshing and zesty with a great lemon citrus flavour. Spectacular !
During the evening my daughter and her fiance arrived and we all enjoyed a great night.
Next day during lunch at a local pub I received a text message to say that a Gargany had arrived 'on patch'. Needless to say I was quite keen to get lunch over with and head there to see it. Luckily by the time I got there it was still showing, a patch and Dorset tick.
Later in the evening it was back to the 'fest and this time my first beer was the Tapstone, Sea Monster which was now ready, It was a nice ale but not as tasty as the Wild Woods.
The rest of the evening  was just about sampling the ales that were still available, including the wonderful Wills Neck from Quantock, a multi award winning ale which is a 3.9% glass of hoppyness and Happy Days a classic wheat beer from Gyle 59.
Entertainment was provided by Rocket Science, a duo playing classic songs by REM, Travis, Del Amtrie amongst others.

 This evening (Easter Sunday)  I made another trip to my local patch. The Gargany was still there busily feeding on the lake. A very pleasant evening walk produced several singing Chiffchaffs, a pair of Bullfinches and this Green Woodpecker

 As well a a pair of Roe Deer.