10th March 2026 - Somerset Levels and The Forest of Dean for Oriole Birding

I think we all must have crossed everything all night as it dawned quite bright and definitely not damp so after breakfast we popped straight down to Parkend where a male Hawfinch was swiftly found at the top of the Limes.  I could hear at least one more calling but could not find it while singing Bullfinch was similarly elusive.    Only two other people turned up – Steve Young who now lives in the village and Jeff Delve on a break from the Essex coast – always such a small world.

The sun was properly coming through and although early I opted to take us straight to New Fancy view in case the Goshawks were feeling lively after so many days of utter gloom. 

The first two Buzzards were seen before we got out of the van and on the walk up we could hear Bullfinches again and even the grunts of Wild Boar but they must have already been moving away from us and we did not see them.

I think it took about five minutes to see the first Goshawk – a female found by Blue Simon and over the next hour were had them on view on many occasions with at least four birds, both sexes and both immatures and adults noted.  It so made up for the disappointment of last year.  Buzzards and Ravens were everywhere but only they came close but at least the Goshawks looked perfect in the scopes.

Goshawks

Goshawk - we were happy!

A Chiffchaff sung in the Birches and we could even hear the little ‘prrup prrup prrup’ between singing sessions. More invisible Bullfinches were below us and Siskins and Crossbills flew over while one group of six of the latter even dropped in for a couple of minutes which was a treat for all of us.

Chiffchaff 

Common Crossbills

Common Crossbill

Common Crossbill

It was good to have a catch up with Jeff and Steve too and a check for Adders only gave us sunning Common Lizard.

Common Lizard

Each little twig was a micro mossy world

Back to Speech House for a comfort stop and then off to Nags Head for lunch and an afternoon stroll through the trees.  The weather had started to change again with skudding clouds and occasional light drizzle but we did pretty well with at least eight singing Firecrest and views of Nuthatch, Treecreeper and the Tits.  Song Thrushes, Blackbirds and a few Redwings were in the leaf litter and Hawfinches were calling in the canopy above us.

Not for the first time - torpid Bombus terrestris in the hotel car park beds

A pair of Ravens were ‘popping’ down in the valley but all our low level scanning failed to produce any Boar or Fallow Deer and just the odd scared looking Grey Squirrel and with a female Goshawk seen cruising just over the Larch canopy it had good reason to be!

Grey Squirrel

The Bluebells were just poking through and we found some interesting fungi and lichens on the walk back to the van.

Cladonia digitata

Cladonia digitata

Foxgloves raring to go!

Evernia prunastri

Exidia truncata 

Exidia truncata 

Hard fern - Blechnum spicant

Anoplotrupes stercorosus

From here we dropped back down to Cannop Ponds and approached the upper one from the road which took us past the Mandarins but not the Dipper this time but we were after the feeding station where Jeff had earlier seen a male Brambling.  We stood and waited and watched but only Chaffinches came down amongst the plethora of Tits and the odd Nuthatch and Great Spotted Woodpecker.  A female Sparrowhawk sent them all into a frenzy and several Siskins were dangling in the Birches.

Chaffinches

It was getting cold and the breeze was once again picking up so we ambled back and above the Pines opposite a male Goshawk ended up an almost perfect day in the Forest.