Summer birding in Gloucestershire, Caspian Tern, Turtle Dove, Green Sandpiper and ….if the universe is expanding, what is it expanding into?
Occasionally, just very occasionally, my birding plans actually work out. Thursday was one of these rare occasion when a plan to go and see a Turtle Dove and a rare Caspian Tern followed by a visit to Slimbridge to photograph Green Sandpipers worked perfectly. The dove and tern were located in the small village of Epney on the river Severn a few miles north of Slimbridge. The cost of fuel for my car, it’s now costing a rather staggering £135 to fill my Landover with diesel, is certainly becoming a major factor in where I go. Slimbridge, being only 40 miles from home, has hence become an even more attractive birding location. An uneventful drive down the M5 had me exiting one junction before the Slimbridge exit and driving down a narrow country lane towards Epney. Epney turned out to be a delightfully quintessential English village with an attractive pub called the Anchor overlooking the Severn. There were a few other birders present who informed me that the tern had flown off a s