Potters Bar & Barnet Local RSPB Group
Coach Outings
by Frances Attrill
Once again it is time to write about what we have been doing and where we have been; perhaps some of you will wonder why you weren’t with us, in which case should you decide to join us next year you can be assured that you will be made very welcome by all.
Proofs have to be ready for the printers early in order for Marian to do the grand and demanding job of sorting out all for delivery. Hence the last newsletter ended with a recount of outings made in March so I will start from there.
In April we made one of my favourite trips to the Brecks. After an opportunity to snatch a quick breakfast - egg, bacon and sausage butties for the hungry - it was onwards for the birds! We went to Weeting Heath, where we had excellent views of stone curlew and wood lark, then to Lynford Arboretum and finally Lackford. There were 67 sightings on the day; these included marsh tit, little ringed plover, green sandpiper, and an unexpected oyster catcher; sedge, reed, garden and willow warbler, swallow, chiffchaff and blackcap; barnacle and Egyptian geese; sparrowhawk, kingfisher and cuckoo. Sightings of roe deer, stoat and muntjac were also recorded.
In the middle of May we went to Minsmere, another very good day, it was fine but with a sea breeze. This time the group saw 81 species. There were a large number of young avocets; Summer visitors were in evidence including swallows, warblers including grasshopper and cettis, blackcap, linnet, bearded tit, pied flycatcher, stonechat, whinchat and wheatear. We had good views of
buzzard, marsh harrier, hobby and bittern. There were two Mediterranean gulls, little terns - it is always a pleasure to observe their graceful flight - sandwich and common terns; all went to make for a very good day.
In June a group of 21 went to Poland, John Morris has kindly written a report on this trip which I will leave you to read
In July we took a step back to Tudor times on our Mystery Trip to Kentwell. All the “actors” present were as people living at a different time and doing it so well that it took a time for a few to realise that any response to a question was given as though we were all in that period. Several of the party entered into the spirit of things assisting with serving dinner to the gentry and others, having first watched the detailed preparations of each dish. A different and enjoyable day out.
In August the monthly outing was to Elmley and Harty. The weather played a part in decision making, Marian wisely and, as it turned out, fortunately, decided Elmley as to be the first stop. Here there were excellent views of the merlin and hobby, there were also sightings of little egret and avocet (great that we now see them in so many places), red legged partridge, whimbrel, grey wagtail, little owl, grey plover, Northern wheatear, turnstone and little owl. Their arrival at Harty coincided with the departure of the clay pigeon shooters, thankfully, and the arrival of the rain, but there is a pub to dry out in!!
In September we went to Holland on Sea and Walton on the Naze. Two ladies joined us on this trip for the purpose of meeting up with old friends in Walton; afterwards I received a letter thanking everyone for making them so welcome and I would add my thanks to all who were on the coach. Amongst the 62 sightings were Sandwich tern, plovers - golden and grey, lapwing, hirondines, curlew, dunlin, ruff, godwits and snipe.
In October we will be going to Rutland Water and the coach is already well booked. The first weekend in November will find us in North Devon where we are staying for three nights at Trimstone Manor, near Croyde. In December we have our Christmas Outing with our Christmas Dinner at Woodlands Manor, near Bedford.
Our mid week outings had good support, thank you to all who come along and make these so successful. In May we enjoyed a very leisurely day which took us around the Hertfordshire Villages in search of bluebells. Having returned from trekking in the Himalayas unscathed I had managed to fall flat on my face in Stevenage the day before this trip, with face of various hues, bruising and swelling, I was not a pretty sight! Thank you all for not running away but standing your ground, and thank you for your concern.
One tends to drive along the B158 to Hertford and to miss seeing the village of Essendon so we made this our first stop. We visited St. Mary’s church; Mrs. Mitchinson showed us around and gave us a brief history. We then went on to Tewin, passing the bluebell woods at Marden Hill. We had a coffee stop at The Plume of Feathers and lingered in the sunshine, to admire the surrounding countryside. Our next stop was to be in Ayot St. Lawrence for lunch. We reached our destination by way of Ayot Green and Ayot St. Peter’s, a route on which bluebells were prolific. We drove through the villages of Peters Green, Whitwell and Preston, seeing more bluebells en route. Our last stop was for a cup of tea in Langley, then we headed homewards via Codicote and Rabley Heath. We had found our bluebells and despite the fact that due to the good weather everything this year was early, there was still a splendid display.
In May, the
third coach trip of the month took us to Leonardslee Gardens in West Sussex. The
hot weather which had preceded our visit meant everything was more advanced than
usual, unfortunately including the azalea display, although it was still worth
seeing. Leonardslee is home to all sorts of wildlife; swans, ducks on the lakes;
birds and insects; and wallabies and deer roamed in the wild parts, plus the sun
shone! Additional attractions included the Dolls House Exhibition, Victorian
Motor cars, the gift shop and plants.
At the end of June we had a coach outing to Pensthorpe, this proved to be very
popular and we had a full coach. There are wild and protected birds at
Pensthorpe. It was a first for most to see a wide number of male ruffs gathered,
all with their different plumage; there were also little ringed plovers and
young avocets. The collection of cranes from various countries was a recent
addition. At the end of the day wild cranes were also seen flying in to roost.
Our mid week outing in July was to Hyde Hall where the gardens and tearooms were
equally enjoyed.
Thank you all for your continued support.
* * *
