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“Daffodil Country” (27 March, contributed by Robert Homan)

Plenty of Wild Daffodils in the Dymock and Kempley Green area, including those above in the GWT Gwen and Vera’s Fields Reserve. A Chiffchaff was heard here early afternoon. Despite these signs of spring there were 24 Fieldfare’s near Dymock and a flock of 25 Waxwings feeding on mistletoe at Kempley Green.

Sudmeadow (25 March, contributed by Gordon Avery)

A Willow Warbler singing this morning with 7 Buzzards overhead.

Cheltenham (24 March, contributed by Robert Homan)

4 male Blackcaps feeding on apples, suet or ivy berries in a Swindon Lane garden with a Peacock butterfly in the afternoon sunshine.

Coombe Hill (22 March, contributed by Robert Homan)

3 Chiffchaffs singing between the Wharf and the entrance to the Meadows Reserve. On the scarpes were: 21 Lapwings, 5 Shelducks, 3 Pintail, 35 Wigeon, 11 Teal, 4 Redshank. 2 Curlews in flight over the reserve.

Cleeve Hill (21 March, contributed by Robert Homan)

A male Wheatear was seen on the golf course this morning with 12 Fieldfares and 3 Redwings at Postlip Warren. In the afternoon, a Brimstone butterfly at Swindon Lane, Cheltenham.

Cheltenham (19 March, contributed by Robert Homan)

Chiffchaffs heard singing at Swindon Lane and Wyman’s Brook this morning. In the afternoon, a Small Tortoiseshell at Swindon Lane.

Cheltenham (16 March, contributed by Gordon Avery)

2 Sand Martins over the racecourse this afternoon – the first spring migrants of the year.

Cheltenham (week ending 11 March)

A large Starling roost has formed in the Windyridge Road/Swindon Road area with thousands of birds congregating on the pylons that run over Wymans Brook with the birds doing their spectacular pre-roost flights over the area between 5 and 6 pm. Blackcaps have been more in evidence this week with males heard singing both early morning and evening at Swindon Lane and along the Honeybourne Cycle Path. John Sanders has noted that, despite the cold weather and ice earlier in the week, the Great Crested Grebes in Pittville Park hatched their first brood on 6th , thus repeating last year’s precocious behaviour.

Walmore (6 March, contributed by Andy Jayne)

25 Bewick’s Swan, 1 Jack Snipe, 50 Snipe and 2 Stonechats at Walmore Common today. This is a high count of Snipe for Walmore these days and suggests that early spring passage is underway despite the inclement weather.

Standish (1 March, contributed by Juliet Bailey)

There were 20 species of wild plant flowering in my garden in Standish on 1 March 2005, plus 25 cultivated genera. All of the wild plants are considered weeds, though I like them. The only one that is at all unusual is Veronica polita, which is under-recorded rather than rare. The easiest way to tell it from Veronica persica is from the fruit. The two halves of the fruit of V. persica are flattened and divergent like butterfly wings, whereas the fruit of V. polita is rounded like a hairy little bottom, as shown in the detailed view of the seeds below. (I get several other Veronicas – but they aren’t yet in flower.)

1.  Bellis perennis   Daisy
2.  Capsella bursa-pastoris   Shepherd’s-purse
3.  Cardamine hirsuta   Hairy Bitter-cress
4.  Euphorbia helioscopia   Sun Spurge
5.  Euphorbia peplus   Petty Spurge
6.  Lamium album   White Dead-nettle
7.  Lamium purpureum   Red Dead-nettle
8.  Matricaria discoidea   Pineapple Weed
9.  Mercurialis annua   Annual Mercury
10. Poa annua   Annual Meadow-grass
11. Senecio jacobaea   Common Ragwort
12. Senecio vulgaris   Groundsel
13. Sinapis arvensis   Charlock
14. Sonchus oleraceus   Smooth Sow-thistle
15. Stellaria media   Common Chickweed
16. Taraxacum aggregate   Dandelion
17. Tripleurospermum inodorum   Scentless Mayweed
18. Veronica hederifolia   Ivy-leaved Speedwell
19. Veronica persica   Common Field-speedwell
20. Veronica polita   Grey Field-speedwell

Cheltenham (1 March, contributed by Robert Homan)

Now 3 Goosanders on Pittville Park boating lake, the lone male being joined by a male and female.

Forest of Dean (18 February, contributed by Andy Jayne)

A pair of Goshawks at Oakenhill Wood/Parkend Church together with two Sparrowhawks, 12 Buzzards and two Ravens, with all but the 2nd Sparrowhawk in the air together. Also four Lesser Redpoll and four Hawfinch were in the area with two more Hawfinch at Cannop Ponds.

Cheltenham (4 February, contributed by Robert Homan)

c.100 Waxwings in the Bayshill Road area for much of the morning, but had disappeared by 1.10pm

Gloucester (30 January, contributed by Robert Homan)

c.130 Waxwings in the poplar trees near the mini-roundabout entrance to Watts commercial vehicles in St Oswald’s Road at 10.50 this morning.

Gloucester (27 January, contributed by Gordon Avery)

At least 50 Waxwings in the Hempstead area and another 100 at Chestnut Walk, Abbeymeade Avenue.

Cheltenham (26 January, contributed by Robert Homan)

20 Waxwings in Albermarle Gate, near Pittville Park, in the tall poplar tree at the western end of the road at 8.00 am..

Gloucester (25 January, contributed by Gordon Avery)

A first winter Glaucous Gull on the playing field in Sudmeadow Road today.

Cheltenham (15 January, contributed by Robert Homan)

14 Waxwings in Albermarle Gate near the junction with Evesham Road at 12.10pm. Albermarle Gate is the road that runs across the north side of Pittville Park golf course. The birds are easily seen from the car park in Albermarle Gate (SO 953237). Male Goosander on the nearby lake in Pittville Park.
In the afternoon a male Blackcap and a Chiffchaff at Wyman’s Brook. The Chiffchaff is possibly wintering in the area, as one was seen at the same location on 19 December.

CWP(E) (13 January, news via Gordon Avery)

A Bittern seen today at Whelford Pools GWT Nature Reserve.

Awre (6 January, news via Gordon Avery)

2 first winter Glaucous Gulls going into roost today. Also 1 adult Mediterranean Gull in the area.

Speech House area (3 January, contributed by Robert Homan)

5 Mandarins on Speech House Lake and at least 2 Ravens in the area. Large flocks of Chaffinches in Saintlow Enclosure and at the Arboretum.

Staverton (1 January, contributed by Gordon Avery)

A male Merlin over the airport in the morning.

Coombe Hill and Uckington (30 December, contributed by Robert Homan)

Still many Fieldfares feeding on hawthorn berries along the canal. 3 or 4 Water Rails heard in the willows around the new hide and there were many Wigeon calling from the Long Pool. At Uckington, NE the junction of the M5 and A4019, there were 820 Lapwings in a field of winter cereals.

Cheltenham (24 December, contributed by Robert Homan)

The satsuma shown here was bought in a Cheltenham shop on Christmas Eve. The mark on the peel shows the track of the larva of the micro-moth Phyllocnistis citrella. This is the first time this species has been recorded in the British Isles. The moth originates from S. E. Asia, but has spread widely to most of the world’s citrus growing areas, arriving, for example, in Spain in 1993.
Blemishes on the peel of citrus fruit are not unusual, but what is distinctive about this example is the serpentine shape of the mine and the deposit of frass along the centre of the track – both of these features are shown in the more detailed view below.

Bourton-on-the-Water (24 December, contributed by Robert Homan)

A morning visit produced the following:
3 Little Grebes, 6 Great Crested Grebes, 2 Cormorants, 8 Mute Swans, 70 Canada Geese, 31 Pochard, 3 Red-crested Pochards, 56 Tufted Ducks, 102 Coot and a very aggressive Black Swan.

Pittville Park, Cheltenham (21 December, contributed by Robert Homan)

A variety of wildfowl present this morning, including 34 Canada Geese, 16 Tufted Ducks and, the highlight, the first Goosander (a male) of the winter.

Port Ham (14 December, contributed by Gordon Avery)

2 pairs of Stonechats overwintering in the area.

Frampton and Fretherne (14 December, contributed by Robert Homan)

Among the more usual ducks on the Sailing Lake was 1 female Goldeneye. At nearby Fretherne there were 4 Little Egrets feeding in a pasture field just north west of the swing bridge this morning.

This superb picture of a Kingfisher at rest was taken by Brian Bailey at Frampton on 13th December.

Gloucester Landfill Site (13 December, contributed by Gordon Avery)

The “pond” by the Household Waste area in the morning had 1 Little Grebe, 1 Shelduck, 1 Pintail and a adult ‘Yellow legged’ Gull amongst the bathing gulls there.

Cheltenham (11 December, contributed by Robert Homan)

A flock of 25 Canada Geese in Pittville Park this afternoon – it took this species a long time to work out that there were rich pickings of bread to be had in the park, but this flock now seems to be well established. A Kingfisher also present. There was a male Blackcap in Swindon Lane.

CWP (early December, news via Gareth Harris)

Pit 32 – a Peregrine hunting pigeons on 7th
Pit 68c – a male Hen Harrier hunting over reed beds on 8th
Pit 68c – 2 or more Jack Snipe flushed while strimming willow on 8th.

Brockhampton, near Swindon Village (7 December, contributed by Robert Homan)

A Chiffchaff feeding with a mixed flock of Blue and Long-tailed Tits and Goldcrests by Hyde Brook on the south side of the sewage works.

Sudmeadow (6 December, contributed by Gordon Avery)

A pair of Stonechats and a Chiffchaff reported this morning.

The BTO is looking for reports of all wintering warblers such as Chiffchaff and Blackcap during winter 2004/05, contributing to both BTO co-ordinated survey work as well as a PhD study undertaken by Greg Conway at the BTO.

Wintering Chiffchaffs around the country are being colour ringed by several ringers to help assess their movements between breeding and wintering grounds. A short article in the BTO Ringers Bulletin (Autumn 2004) states that since 1999 over 300 wintering Chiffchaff have been colour ringed, with each bird bearing a metal ring and 3 colour rings. Their re-sighting rate has been surprisingly high.

In order to assist with this work, the Cotswold Water Park Ringing Group, and notably Matt Prior, has caught several Chiffchaffs in recent weeks, and already this work is yielding some interesting results.

Several Chiffchaffs had been heard calling at Keynes Country Park on Lake 31. Matt Prior, Jo Wilson and myself undertook some early morning ringing here and caught 9 Chiffchaffs including a Belgian-ringed bird! There were also three other Chiffchaffs calling nearby (23rd Nov) that were not caught. All birds were colour ringed so please keep a look out for these……. Interestingly this location is where the Yellow Browed Warbler was seen in January 2004. Obviously good feeding here!

Furthermore, that evening, we also caught another 12 Chiffchaffs in the reed bed at Lake 68d including one originally ringed at the site in November 2003, again all of which were colour ringed. A rather stunning looking male Bearded Tit was also ringed which has been seen several times since, last seen 6th December. 7 Chiffchaffs were also ringed on 4th-5th December at Lake 68d.

But can the Chiffchaffs be easily re-sighted I hear you cry???? The answer to this is simply “yes”. Several of the colour ringed Chiffchaffs have been re-sighted already by birders, including one that I saw this morning, that was colour ringed yesterday in Lake 68d. (5/12). The absence of leaves from the hedgerows certainly helps!

All of the birds bear a metal ring with 3 colour rings. Please keep a look out for these birds, noting the locations and date of sighting and the positions and colours of all rings, quoting left leg first. All sightings can be sent direct to me and I will endeavour to respond as soon as possible.

I look forward to hearing from you all!

Gareth Harris,
Biodiversity Officer, Cotswold Water Park Society (CWPSoc)
Ringing Co-ordinator, Cotswold Water Park Ringing Group (CWRG)

Tel: 01285 861459
Email: Gareth.harris@waterpark.org

During 2004 the Moss Group has organised an identification competition. As can be seen on this page, this has built up into a good introduction to the wealth of bryophyte species that can be found in the county.

All photos by Peter Martin.

Grimmia pulvinata, gravestone, St Mary’s church, Tetbury, 2004

A moss forming dense round grey cushions on basic rock. Common throughout lowland Britain. Characteristic of man made habitats such as mortared limestone, wall tops, bridges, roofs, tombstones etc. Common in urban areas being able to withstand atmospheric pollution. In Gloucestershire, very common on capped limestone walls along roadsides.

Syntrichia intermedia, gravestone, St Mary’s church, Tetbury, 2004

Moss forming open green cushions when moist and hoary grey-brown when dry. Found on walls, roofs and occasionally soil. Occasional to frequent in Britain and in Gloucestershire common on stony limestone ground, roofs and wall tops.

Homalothecium sericeum, top of roadside wall nr. Tetbury, 2004

A moss forming dense yellow-green to golden brown mats on dry exposed basic rocks, walls, tree trunks and sand dunes. In Gloucestershire, common on wall tops and in old quarries. This moss is susceptible to air pollution.

Porella platyphylla, shaded side of roadside wall, nr Tetbury, 2004

Dark green leafy liverwort on base rich rocks, boulders and stones; occasionallly on tree trunks. Prefers moist shaded habitats with northerly aspect. Common in limestone districts in southern Britain. In Gloucestershire, very common in the Cotswolds on suitably shaded limestone walls and quarries.

Sudmeadow and Whiteway (29/30 November, contributed by Gordon Avery)

A Small Tortoiseshell in the morning sunshine on the 29th in the Sudmeadow area with 2 Chiffchaffs by the R Severn on 30th. A flock of 2000 Wood Pigeons flying SE over Whiteway on 29th.

Westbury-on-Severn (23 November, news via Gordon Avery)

A Waxwing feeding on rowan berries in a garden in the village today.

Longford Water Works (22 November, contributed Andy Jayne)

A Firecrest, Chiffchaff and Blackcap seen today.

Ashleworth Ham (17 November, contributed Mike Smart)

Twice in the last month, I have seen a Barn Owl at Ashleworth Ham, sitting in old pollarded willows, once in mid afternoon on 11 October, once at first light on 15 November. There was a record of one going into an outhouse near Haw Bridge last winter, so maybe they are quietly surviving there. The purpose of the early morning visit was to see if any Whooper Swans were roosting there on the open water; none found, nor in their usual day feeding area on the Leigh Meadows. The Purple Sandpiper seems to have moved on from Leigh Meadows.

Sudmeadow (16 November, contributed Gordon Avery)

4 new Chiffchaffs were ringed a.m. and there was at least one other unringed bird in the area, along with a male Peregrine.

Chaceley (16 November, contributed Robert Homan)

3 Swallows feeding around the church spire between 2.00 and 3.40 this afternoon: a real surpise!

On safari in….. Cheltenham! (13 November, contributed Robert Homan)

Just to prove that exotic destinations are not essential in order to record the unusual, a lunch time walk in the town centre this week produced these leaf mines of unusual micro-moths.

Top: Mines of Phyllonorycter platani in London Plane leaf; the uppermost mine is 4cm in length. Above: Tenanted mine of Ectoedemia argyropeza forming a “green island” in an Aspen leaf.

Winter Warblers (13 November, contributed Robert Homan and Gordon Avery)

In the past week there have been records of Blackcaps in gardens in Cheltenham and of 3 Chiffchaffs in the Gloucester area.

Ashleworth Ham (12 November, contributed Mike Smart)

With the official opening of the GWT reserve at Coombe Hill, we shouldn’t forget the long-standing GWT reserve just across the Severn at Ashleworth Ham. In fact the two sites are only a few miles apart as the Wigeon flies, and the birds certainly move back and forth.

The Ashleworth sluice is operating normally, so water levels have reached their usual winter state; because of the wet summer, it wasn’t possible to cut the vegetation on all the meadows in the reserve, so some of the area is looking more overgrown than usual. But the birds don’t mind! Today there were at least 1,000 Wigeon, with a sprinkling of other ducks (Teal, Gadwall, Shoveler, Pintail); a large whisp of more than 40 Snipe flew over, calling; a Sparrowhawk flew past; there was a pair of Stonechats, the male carrying a metal ring on his left leg – no doubt one of those ringed by Mervyn Greening and his team during the summer, described here; plus, as usual at this time of year, large numbers of winter thrushes, mainly Fieldfares sitting right up in the tops of trees with no leaves, and a few Redwings.

Still no wild swans, though!

Coombe Hill (9 November, contributed Mike Smart)

The floodwater has dropped a little at Coombe Hill, so that the new GWT hide in the withy bed at Broad Mere is easily accessible (to those wearing wellingtons). At present, there is a real wildlife spectacle at close range from the hide; about 2,000 ducks, mainly Wigeon, with a few Teal, Shoveler and Pintail; over 500 Lapwings, a dozen Dunlin and plenty of Snipe; over 30 Mute Swans, but neither Bewick’s nor Whooper Swans as yet; Little Grebe and Kingfishers too, and Water Rails squealing like stuck pigs from the withy bed. Every so often there is a scare, and the whole lot fly up with a rush of wings, but settle again rapidly. Walking down the canal bank the bushes and tall willows are full of Redwings and Fieldfares, several hundred today, there may have been an overnight fall of migrants with light winds and heavy cloud.

And the Purple Sandpiper is still on the Leigh Meadows.

Leigh Meadows and Severn Vale (6 November, contributed Mike Smart)

The Purple Sandpiper was still there on the morning of 5 November (accompanied by a Goosander, a Green Sandpiper and a Stonechat). It really is extraordinary that this maritime wader, which is normally found on rocky shores and is rare in Gloucestershire even on the Severn estuary, should turn up on an inland freshwater marshland site. However, it is not entirely unique; I remember a similar record, at exactly this time of year, some twenty years ago, at Coombe Hill. Perhaps birds nesting in Canada and Greenland cross central Britain on the way to wintering grounds in Brittany and continental Europe?

Incidentally, the floods of last week-end have now dropped, making the meadows along the Chelt, at Coombe Hill and Ashleworth altogether more accessible. All boards have been put into the sluice at Ashleowrth, so that water levels there should remain constant until the spring, providing habitat attractive to ducks, geese and swans.

Leigh Meadows (4 November, contributed by Andy Jayne)

A Purple Sandpiper was a surprising find by the River Chelt late this afternoon.

Sudmeadow (30 October, contributed by Gordon Avery)

2 Chiffchaffs by Llantony Weir and 3 adult Yellow-legged Gulls on the tip, one showing very good characteristics of the cachinans race.

Coombe Hill (29 October, contributed by Andy Jayne)

Seen during the opening ceremony of the new Meadows Reserve were: 1 Little Egret, 12 Pintail, 1 Goldeneye, 2 Goosander, 1 Water Rail (heard) and a Lesser Redpoll, though flood water prevented access to the new hide.

Redwings

There was a large movement of Redwings into the county on Saturday 9th October. Gordon Avery reported 200 at Sudmeadow and on Sunday (10th) there were small numbers on the north side of Cheltenham.

With heavy rains higher up the Severn catchment, and high tides in the estuary, flooding has come early to the Severn Valley this autumn. Over the last week, the level of the River Severn has risen between Tewkesbury and Gloucester, which means that smaller streams like the River Chelt have not been able to discharge their waters into the Severn, and as a result have back-flooded fields in the Coombe Hll, Ashleworth and The Leigh areas.

The rising flood provided a fine ornithological spectacle for those attending the opening days of the new Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust reserve at Coombe Hill on Friday 29 and Saturday 30 October – though it did also mean that the new hide and broadwalk in Broad Mere was inaccessible! Nevertheless, fine views of the floods and the birds were possible from the Coombe Hll Canal bank: the first sizeable numbers of ducks of the winter were on show, with up to 600 Wigeon, 50 Teal, 35 Pintail and 20 Shoveler among surface-feeding ducks; the water was deep enough to attract some diving ducks, not merely the usual Tufted Ducks and Pochard, but also a Goosander and a Goldeneye, both species unusual at Coombe Hill, particularly so early in the season; there were also a couple of Little Grebes on the floodwater. The Canada Goose flock was back, with at least a couple of hundred birds, and a few Greylag and Barnacle Geese (probably feral) accompanying them. There was even a Little Egret, a bird which has become increasingly regular in recent years in the county, not to mention a Water Rail squealing from thick vegetation in the canal itself. Among the passerines were plenty of winter thrushes – Fieldfares and Redwings – feeding on the berries in the hedges, Bullfinches and Goldcrests, still a few Reed Buntings in the aquatic vegetation, and even Redpolls flying over.

If the floods continue for a few days, we may expect the first wild swans – will they be Bewick’s Swans of Russian origin, or Whoopers from Iceland? Last winter conditions were very different with a very dry autumn and little surface water until January, so that the Whoopers didn’t stay as they have done for the last fifteen years; will our Gloucestershire wintering Whooper flock be restored this year?