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When? Started: 1993 Who? Started with staff and friends from U H S, Chester. Organiser: Martyn Harris We walk every Wednesday and Saturdays, New Years day and May Day. How many walk? Walks take place as long as there are at least 2 wanting to walk on that day. More walk on a Wednesday than on a Saturday. Most ever: 29. Current group size walking: 2-10 in mid-week and 2-4 on Saturday. Where do we walk? Saturday: Anywhere in North and Mid-Wales, Peak District, Shropshire and the Long Mynd and as far North as the Trough of Bowland. Thursday: Anywhere within about 40 miles of Chester. Type of walk: Distance: 6 – 14 miles (but usually under 10 miles). Climb: up to 4000’ (but usually very much less!). People involved on walks in 2020:- Martyn Harris, Fran Murphy, Sue and Michel Pelissier, Mike Dodd, David Savage, Wendy Peers, Celia de Mengle, Wendy and Ian Peers, Roger Smith, Paul Collinson, Ed Meads, Nigel and Elaine Taylor, Celia de Mengle, Sue Pearson.

Saturday 18 July 2020

A Riverside Walk in Search of Egrets Saturday 18th July 2020

A Riverside Walk in Search of Egrets.
Common poppies in flower.
A Rowen with plenty of berries at The Riverside on River Lane, Saltney.
A defiant cow, but I had no intention of going any further anyway, as the egrets had flown off.
The immature Little egret on the grassy bank of the River Dee.
The immature Little egret on the grassy bank of the River Dee.
Heading towards the Saltney Ferry Bridge on my way home.
Distance: 4.1 miles. Climb: 41'.
Time: 1 hour 56 minutes.
On the move walking average: 2.7 m.p.h. Overall walk average: 2.1 m.p.h.
I had hoped to walk around the Great Orme today, but the forecast forced me to change the walk to one around Delamere Forest which on Friday had the better forecast.
After sitting in the cars at The Yeld with light rain falling (seemed more like heavy rain), both Roger and myself decided to abandon the walk at 10-00 and head for home.
As you might expect as I arrived at home, the rain stopped and with the clouds not looking threatening, I decided to embark on one of my riverside walks from home.
i set off with waterproofs in my small rucksack and an umbrella at the ready, just in case the rain came back.
It was pretty quiet, very few people out walking, but one did tell me that he had seen a Cattle egret in a field beyond the pumping station towards Cop House Farm.
 The prospect of rain doesn't seem to put cyclists off as much, and there seemed to a steady stream of them on the Wales Coast Path going in both directions.
This encouraged me to extend my walk a little to see if I could spot this Cattle egret.  I did see two egrets on the grassy river bank towards Cop House Farm Cottages, but thanks to a dog walker I never got quite near enough to see both of them before the dogs disturbed them and they flew off.  However I did see one of them clearly, and that was a juvenile Little egret, so I will never no, if the other one was a Cattle egret or not.
Despite this disappointment, I did see some Common sandpiper, always a nice spot.
Birds seen or heard today included: Moorhen, Common blackbird, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Common starling, Barn swallow, House martin, Woodpigeon, Carrion crow, Grey heron, Oystercatcher, Black billed magpie, Lapwing, Black headed gull, Lesser black back gull. Common sandpiper and Little egret.
A Rowen tree at the Riverside and one at Saltney Ferry Primary School were laden with berries, so does that mean we are in for a hard winter?
It started to rain again just as I arrived at the Saltney Ferry Footbridge, and continued on and off until I arrived home, when again as expected it stopped.
It was well worth venturing out, and I was home early enough to watch the cricket that I missed yesterday!

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