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A date for your diary . . .
. . . our winter nature trail 21 Dec – 5 Jan
It is a "What do I do in winter?" trail. Some species will hibernate, others will go to Africa and plenty will come to spend the winter here. It will be a chance to test your knowledge and find out who does what.
Now is a great time to see members of the thrush family, such as Redwings and Blackbirds, busily feasting on the reserve’s abundant berries. These birds were easily spotted today in the bushes close to the smaller of the two North Pool hides, but keep an eye out wherever you see berry-laden hedgerows. The Redwing’s ‘chuck, chuck …’ call often gives away its presence.
NOVEMBER – What to look out for on the nature reserve.
See the monthly posts on our website – this month snipe, redwings, berries and more at www.portburywharfnaturereserve.co.uk/november-what-to-look-out-for/
NOVEMBER – What to look out for – Friends of Portbury Wharf Nature Reserve
www.portburywharfnaturereserve.co.uk
Welcome to November! The clocks have gone back, so dusk comes early in November. The first frosts have arrived and the trees are rapidly losing their leaves….but it’s a good time for wildlife spotting. Winter visitors are streaming… Read More
**LATEST UPDATE**
The temporary closure on the bridle path has been postponed and is now scheduled to take place on Friday 1 November – for 1 day only.
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For info . . . temporary bridle path closure today and tomorrow.
Mini Nature Trail in Portishead Library
Just in time for half term we have set up a mini nature trail in Portishead Library. Can you identify the seeds we have put in the foyer?
Pick up a tick card and find the 6 seed posters placed around the library. Then answer the true and false questions on the back of the tick card.
So why not have a go?
Then try to find the seeds out on the nature reserve.
Bird Listening
What a contrast between the fine sunny weather of Tuesday afternoon and the gloomy early morning mist of Wednesday. Tuesday’s trip to Portbury Wharf, made under blue skies, was rewarded with the sighting of twenty eight different bird species, including a magnificent Barn Owl, as it flew across Wharf Lane in broad daylight. The last of this year’s Migrant Hawker and Common Darter dragonflies were still on the wing defending territories and looking for mates. A fox made a brief appearance in the meadows close to the cattle pen. Undoubtedly, a worthwhile trip by any standards.
On the other hand, my approach to the reserve on Wednesday morning was met with thickening early morning mist and visibility levels not conducive to successful bird watching: a stark contrast to Tuesday. I weighed up the appealing option of returning home for breakfast against having a quick look around the hides, just in case. I put breakfast on hold and made my way to the South Pools hide.
The shady silhouette of a solitary Moorhen was as good as it got.
I moved to the middle hide overlooking the North Pools. The mist seemed to have thickened. It was as if the pools’ usual backdrop of Portbury Dock and its imposing wind turbines, didn’t exist. For a couple of minutes, the only bird I could make out was a Lapwing, contentedly settled on the edge of the new scrape. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, the bird started to call as it took flight. Perhaps, two seconds later, a Kestrel flew out of the murk, directly over where the Lapwing had been. It struck me how well the Lapwing must have been attuned to possible danger, even when visibility was so poor. Clearly, the mist was much less of an impediment for the Lapwing than it was for me.
At this point, even though I couldn’t see any birds, I could hear that there were plenty of them about. The male Wigeons making their delightful, constant whistling ‘whee-oo’ call, which was so different from the well recognised ‘quack-quack’ of a calling Mallard. The Lapwing continued with its ‘ee-wit-ee-witting’ as the cantankerous coot occasionally let loose with their explosive series of squawks. The Mute Swans were silent, except when they ran across the water’s surface with much beating of wings and splashing of their enormous webbed feet. Away from the water, somewhere in the reeds, one of the reserve’s seemingly ubiquitous Cetti’s Warblers, released its outrageous, disproportionately loud outburst of ‘cheweecheweecheweechewee’. And so the next few minutes went on. Herring and Black-headed Gulls, Canada Geese, a Robin and Magpie all confirmed their nearby, but hidden presence.
The strange thing was, because of the mist obscuring the birds, a changed atmosphere was created, which was just as enjoyable as bird watching with full visibility. Perhaps, ‘bird listening’ is a better description.
The photographs were taken over the two days. I’m certain that you will be able to work on which day each was taken.
There were excellent views of three Snipe directly in front of the South Pools hide this morning. This one was very obliging.
There can be rich pickings for the heron on the salt marsh, especially on a big tide. As the water rises, small mammals like voles race to reach dry land. So the heron stands guard ready to intercept.
*** SEASONAL TRACK TEMPORARILY CLOSED***
Due to the recent heavy rain the muddy Seasonal Track has become waterlogged so is temporarily closed. This is the track which runs around the edge of the South Pool field shown as a dotted line on this map.
The North Pool was honoured earlier today to receive a visit from this Great White Egret. Whilst much of the time was spent hiding behind high reeds , we got one quick glimpse and for about 10 seconds he /she landed in front of the North Pool Hide before heading into deepest Somerset
Portbury Wharf’s Birds
Home > Portbury Wharf’s Wildlife > Portbury Wharf’s Birds
Portbury Wharf’s birds – there are so many. We have the usual garden and hedgerow birds but because we are on the coast we also have lots of visiting wildfowl and waders.
According to the RSPB, 1 in 4 UK birds are now on the Red List of Conservation Concern as numbers have dropped considerably. Eighteen of the birds that we regularly see among Portbury Wharf’s birds are on this red list with another 23 on the amber list (not quite as bad as the red list). Click here to read about the red and amber lists.
What to look out for at Portbury Wharf
Below is what you might see on the reserve, or close by, but of course this is not exhaustive. There will always be unusual visitors to keep an eye out for like avocets and bitterns. We have divided the lists seasonally so you know what you are likely to see and when.
What you may see at anytime of the year
What you will only see in the spring or summer
What you will only see in the winter
NB birds marked with * or ** may also be “Passage” birds ie passing through at other times of the year
We will be adding photos and more information about each bird in due course. Though with so many species this will be a labour of love and will take a little while to detail all of Portbury Wharf’s birds. So please be patient with us.
You can download our A5 spotting card to take with you to the reserve. You will find it on our Wildlife Monitoring page.
Birds you could see at any time of the year
The Summer Birds
These birds fly from Africa and beyond to spend the summer here. They will nest and raise their families before flying back to warmer climates for the winter.
* these are Passage birds ie on their way through in spring and summer.
The Winter Birds
These birds fly from northern and arctic regions to spend the winter here. So they will escape the worst of the cold harsh conditions to spend a relatively mild winter here. In spring when the arctic temperatures rise and the light increases they will fly back north to nest.
** these are also “passage” birds ie on their way through in spring and summer
Bird Posts
Gordano Valley Lapwings
This morning at sunrise I watched 18 lapwing lift off from the North Pool. Once upon a time you would have seen flocks of a hundred strong. Sadly over the last 20 or so years, numbers have fallen… Read More
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Winter Birds
Look out for the winter birds: From August on wards lots of birds migrate here to escape the harsh northern winters. These winter birds will stay until the spring before heading back up to breed so in the… Read More
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