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Colin and Sandra have stepped down as conveynors of the group from September 2025.
They thank all the members for the gifts and flowers and say that they are very grateful. Colin says "I am so pleased that the Group will continue and a huge thank you to Brian for agreeing to replace me as the Group Conveynor. I'm sure we are all looking forward to an enjoyable year. Thank you to those who have agreed to act as Convenors for the various visits and undertake the other roles within the Group. Good luck to Brian. All future missives will come from him."

Our next visits
2026 -27 season:

Proposed programme for 2026-27

19/10/2026   Middleton Lakes

09/11/2026   Venus Pool

26/11/2026   RSPB Point of Ayr    

18/01/2027   Croxall Lake

15/02/2027   Westport Lake

15/03/2027   Wood Lane / Ellesmere (Heronry)

21/04/2027   Sandwell Valley

17/05/2027   Leighton Moss **

21/06/2027   Tittesworth Water

** Away trip

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

21st September 2026
We visited Belvide reservoir in Staffordshire.
Owned by the Canal and River Trust (formerly British Waterways). It is leased to and managed by the West Midland Bird Club. It is now scheduled as a Site of Special Scientific Interest under the stewardship of Natural England.

Looking forward to seeing a large variation of species to ‘kick off’ the new season.

June 15th 2026 Whixhall Moss
Although low on numbers those who visited were quite pleased with the outcome. 41 different species spotted including an elusive cuckoo heard in the distance, which brings our total to 104 different species for our trips since September 2025.

May 18th 2026 RSPB Ham Wall
We all enjoyed a memorable visit to RSPB Ham Wall on the Somerset Levels. What a treat we enjoyed, personally for me it is the best experience I’ve had at a RSPB reserve.
Also just a few miles away from the reserve I was lucky enough to spot a Bittern in Flight, and a Barn owl hunting successfully for breakfast.I think we can all agree we had a very enjoyable time last Monday at RSPB Ham Wall.
What a treat we enjoyed, personally for me it is the best experience I’ve had at a RSPB reserve,  and also just a few miles away from the reserve I was lucky enough to spot a Bittern in Flight, and a Barn owl hunting successfully for breakfast.
Thanks to Colin & Sandra for asking Sue to provide some expert knowledge of the site, and for organising the pub meal on Monday evening.

We had a few new species for 25-26, which include:
Barn Owl, Bittern, Cuckoo, Garden Warbler, Hobby, House Martin, Swallow, Swift and Willow Warbler.
I think we spotted over 51 species, bringing our total count of different species in 2025-26 to 104

Apr 20th 2026 The Christopher Cadbury Wetland Reserve at Upton Warren
We could all agree we had a very enjoyable time at Upton Warren, What a great reserve, no doubt we will visit again in the future.
Thanks to local friends of members David & Mary who showed us around.
We had a few new species for 25-26, which include:

Grasshopper warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, Linnet, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat. I think we spotted over 50 species in total.

Mar 16th 2026 - RSPB Point of Ayr/Rspb Conway

We had two trips in March, firstly an impromptu one to Parkgate, we were hoping for a high spring tide but alas it never appeared. Highlights were the Marsh Harriers, a Kestrel hovering about 50 metres from the car park and plenty of Egrets.
We then went on to Hoylake which saved the day as there were plenty of waders to view including Sanderlings, Godwits, Curlew, Dunlin, Redshank, Shellduck, Oyster catchers.

The second trip was re-arranged due to a few members being unavailable, so it was decided to visit Wolseley Centre between Stafford & Rugeley. Highlights there were a treecreeper putting a display within 10 metres, a White Pheasant and a hybrid goose which looked like a Greylag crossed with a Canada.

The cafe is extremely good.

The list for 2025-26 now counts 85 different species spotted.

Feb 16th 2026 - Carsington Water
12 members joined for our visit to Carsington Water on 16th February 2026, 35 different species were spotted, no new sightings but some first sightings of a few species for this 2025-26 season.

Little Grebe, Oyster Catcher, Goldeneye, Barnacle Goose, Common Gull.

Jan 19th 2026 - Westport Lake Nine new members joined the group for a visit to Westport Lake in Stoke-on-Trent. It was a little bit misty but that didn't detract from an enjoyable stroll around the lake. 37 different species of birds were spotted, with a couple of new species being added to our list. This brings the total of 67 different species this season since september 2025 at four different locations.

Westport Lake is the largest expanse of water in Stoke-on-Trent. There is a level footpath of about 1 mile (1.6KM) around the lake and it is an overwintering site for many species.

Monday 17 Nov 2025 - Venus Pool -10 members were detoured around the flooded Severn to enjoy a sunny mornings visit to Venus Pool.
In total 42 species were spotted, a nice sight was to view a Grey Heron, a Great Egret an a Little Egret all within 20 metres of each other.
Another highlight of the morning was to see a multitude of Snipe foraging instead of 'hiding'.

Monday 20 Oct 2025 - Belvide Reservoir - Despite being down on numbers seven members dodged the rain, and we enjoyed a good day.

Monday 22 Sep 2025 - Wood Lane reserve and Ellesmere - Although I wasn't in attendance personally , 11 members attended our first visit of the 2025-2026 season. First stop was Wood Lane then onto Ellesmere and further species were observed. In total 33 different species were spotted on the day.

Monday 16 June 2025 - Bempton Cliffs

Monday 19 May 2025 - Westport Lake in Stoke. The refurbed cafe should be open.

Monday 7 April 2025,

Cars will leave Buntingsdale Road at 9.15am.

Ellesmere Heronwatch and Wood Lane. Our very own leader Colin getting a robin to eat from his hand.

Nine members of the Group enjoyed two days away in North Norfolk. Visits were made to RSPB Snettisham, RSPB Titchwell Marsh and Norfolk Wildlife Trusts site at Holme Next the Sea. The main highlights there were a small flock of Snow Buntings, and the detonation of an unexploded bomb on the beach!

Sadly, the expected spectacular at Snettisham did not materialise, although a good selection of species were seen.

Our day at Titchwell Marsh was particularly fruitful, with a total of 50 different species sighted.

Visit to North Norfolk 15/16 March 2025

The visit was rounded off with a Group Meal at The Jolly Sailors in Brancaster Staithe, where members were unexpectedly treated to a 2 hour concert of folk songs and sea shanty's by a 20 strong group.

Overall a very successful and enjoyable trip.

Tuesday 18 February the Bird Watching Group, joined with members of the Shropshire Wildlife Trust, to enjoy a very informative presentation by Ian Barthorpe, Visitor Experience Officer at RSPB Minsmere, entitled "A Brazilian Adventure, visiting the Pantanal and Southern Amazon in Search of Birds, Mammals and More"

During his visit, he saw 406 different bird species, plus such mammals as jaguars, Capybara, Ant Waters and Giant River Otters. A fascinating evening.

Monday  17 February 2025 - Carsington Water.

Twelve members of the Group enjoyed a productive visit to Carsington Water, near Ashbourne on Monday 17 February. This was a new site for many of us, run by Severn Trent Water. The birdlife was very active, and we managed to see 46 different species, including some new ones for this season. In addition we were briefly entertained by the appearance of a Mink!

On Monday 20 January 2025 - 12 members of the Group enjoyed a very productive visit to RSPB Conway. Despite the dull and damp weather we were able to spot 39 different species, including the elusive Water Rail, a first for some members.

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