Bird Watching
This is a friendly group of about ten who meet on the second Wednesday of each month at various locations. Over the past year we have visited the Wetlands Centre at Barnes, Dinton Pastures, Moor Green Lakes at Finchampstead, Twyford Lakes, Stoner Park, and we ended the season by visiting the Hawk Conservancy at Andover. We try to combine our bird watching days out with a pub lunch or picnic!
We agreed at the inception that as we were all amateur bird watchers, we had a lot to learn. To this end we purchased our own binoculars and various bird books to help us identify our quarry, and I think we have made progress. We have to contend with the vagaries of the English Weather. When we visited the Hawk Conservancy in July and watched a wonderful flying display of bald eagles, kites and vultures it was such a hot day that we constantly sought the shade. In contrast, on our visit to Stoner Park in February when we were lucky enough to see many red kites, it was a cold, windy day.
Pat Miller/Sheila Leishman August 2008