Welcome to Dave Gilbert to our group, his knowledge of wildlife will enrich our group.

12 members of the group met at Bude Information centre, ready to walk along the canal to Weir cafe and then return via the field walk. We celebrated Chris H birthday at the cafe, cakes kindly shared from Chris and Nuala.

The weather was chilly, but bright sunshine and hence the canal path was popular for other walkers. Fortunately in our group we had Adrian, Sally and Dave who all knew where to spot many species, in fact we saw 42 different birds/ducks.

One of the highlights was watching a kingfisher catch a small fish and return to its original perch to bash and then eat its meal.     

           Kingfisher                                      Mandarin Duck                            Greenfinch

We also saw

• Mallard
• Cormorant
• Mandarin duck (locally named as Malcolm)
• Black headed and Herring gulls
• Blackbirds                    
• Moorhens
• Jackdaws
• Canada Geese
• Song thrush
• KIngfisher
• Dunnock
• Magpie
• Sparrowhawk
• Robin
• Coal, long-tailed, blue and great tits
• Heron
• Crow
• Wood pigeon
• Kestrel
• Redwing
• Greenfinch, bullfinch, chaffinch
• Buzzard
• Fieldfare
• Goldcrest (trying to hide at base of tree)
• Starling
• Pied wagtail
• Meadow pipit
• Linnet
• Chiff chaff
• Rooks
• Stonechat
• Blackcap
• Water rail
• Teal

Marion May