It had been a while since we were last at Burton Mere Wetlands so we were glad to get back to some decent birding. Our reward wasn’t to see any new species but we did see some nice birds and a pair of birds we had only ever seen singly.
The summary for July is simple – no birding at all apart from the back garden. This was due to a combination of wet days, hot days and all the birds laying low in the countryside after the breeding season.
Birding Group Schedule Autumn 2024
Total Species for 2024 so far: 134
The last birding group morning out of the “term” was to Marbury. It was a very hot day and, although we didn’t see much special, we did get a single yer tick – a Kingfisher. The woods were full of the singing of Song Thrushes, Blackbirds, Blackcaps and Wrens.
We decided to have a few days in North Wales taking in RSPB Conwy, Llanferfechan, Holyhead Fish Docks, Cemlyn Bay, RSPB South Stack, Bodnant Gardens and Gronant Dunes. As luck would have it, we managed to get three days of really sunny, wind-free weather – a rarity for north Wales. We managed to get forty-seven species and eight year ticks over the three days.
The birding group went to Burton Mere Wetlands on 11 June. It was a cold morning but gradually warmed up. The highlight of the morning was the sight of 120 Bar-tailed Godwits on the main scrape – a very unusual event.
After our visit of the previous day to RSPB Bempton Cliffs, we chose to stay overnight at The Pine Marten hotel right next door to RHA Harlow Carr gardens. The idea wasn’t to be birding but the gardens were such a fantastic habitat for birds that we notched up twenty-three species including a year-tick Spotted Flycatcher.
Day 2 of the Birding Group Overnighter to Yorkshire: Bempton Cliffs on 4 June 2024. All the cliff birds – Gannets, Kittiwakes, Fulmars, Puffins, Guillemots and Razorbills. Bempton never disappoints.
Day 1 of the Birding Group Overnighter to Yorkshire : RSPB Blacktoft Sands and North Cave Nature Reserve.
