Each of my previous visits into the Wyre this year i have failed to drop down to walk along the brook, and therefore i was lacking species such as Dipper and Mandarin, so i vowed to head down there to get them!
We first walked the railway line, stopping off at Lodge Hill, quickly picking up 6+ Brambling, 2 Lesser Redpoll and 4 Bullfinch in trees surrounding the Orchard.
Dropping down onto the brook, we picked up a few Grey Wagtail, until eventually, i heard the distinctive flight call of a Dipper as one sped past me going downstream. We quickly found the bird sitting on rocks in the middle of the brook, and we were treated to decent views.
The bird flew slightly, but now gave a clearer view for a brief time before being flushed by a walker, sending the bird further upstream again, upon which time we decided to leave it alone. We had had a few minutes decent viewing, which is more than can be said for some times.
We found another Dipper in another park of the brook, but this bird quickly disappeared.
Just as we were walking back to the car, i scanned the small pool at the base of the hill, to be greeted with the view of a pair of Mandarin Ducks, my first of the year!
Following this we were driving past Callow Hill, and i picked up a raptor being mobbed by 2 Carrian Crows. As we neared i became aware of the birds flight action, confirming the bird to be a Red Kite, and not one of those dodgy reintroduced birds, this was a bird from the welsh populations. It so happens that late March is a very good time to pick up Red Kites within north Worcs, and in general the Severn Valley, as the Welsh birds often use it as a migration pathway. We stopped the car, and i fired off a few shots as the bird got further and further away.
MB
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