Highlights from late April

20/04/13
Patch
A early morning stomp around the patch was rewarded in the form of stunning views of the pair of Mandarin Duck (The long staying pair) which were feeding in paddocks on the riverbank. At least 2 Willow Warbler were singing, as were 4 Skylark. 2 Lapwing continued to show. A few Starlings were also showing very well in the sunlight.

Later that same day, i received news that the male Ring Ouzel was still showing near the lakes at Earlswood, and being just down the road, i't be a shame not to drop in. So once i had finished my jobs for the day i decided to have a short walk down the road, across the Causeway, down the side of Windmill pool to the paddock along the Gypsy lane, to be greeted almost instantly with a view of a stunning male RING OUZEL. couple of birders appeared, and i had a quick look though one of their scopes (Thankyou) and get a couple of pictures.

A stunning adult male, a jet black bird, with possibly the largest white blaze you can get slapped on the front! Stunning!

24/04/13

A trip into my 'Undisclosed' woodland was incredibly rewarding. A male PIED FLYCATCHER was singing in the same spot as last year, and was giving great, but brief views. Personally however, my highlight goes to, after a total of nearly 30 hours searching, i finally caught up with 2 LESSER-SPOTTED WOODPECKER as while listening to the males high pitched Green Woodpecker like song, i managed to pick up the female in my bins as she fed on a dying/dead silver birch tree, her pecking could be heard. A true moment of elation! All that time finally come good!

The Tawney Owl as usual was sitting on his tree.

But i was surprised when a Water Rail emerged in front of me adjacent to one of the pools, in late April!

25/04/13
An afternoon visit to Sheepwash was rewarded greatly! A little rain before the end of my lesson certainly helped Sheepwash, and there were actually some decent birds around! I was again surprised when scanning through the Gull flocks on the rocks, the 2nd summer YELLOW-LEGGED GULL re-appeared after a week of not being seen. As a matter of fact, it was almost a week to the hour!

I grabbed a few Digi-binned shots before the bird was flushed by a dog jumping into the water, the joys of urban birding. 2 Common Sandpiper were around the pool, one sharing the rocks with the Gull, the other on the other side of the pool.

 Moving on to the other side of the canal, i imminently picked up a stunning male Wheatear on the lower slops of the mound, which i gladly took a few pictures of! My first at Sheepwash! Walking up to the 'top' i was amazed when as i walked around, Wheatear after Wheatear appeared in front of me, and after around 30 Minutes, i was certain i had at least 8 birds scurrying around the mound! Awesome!
At least 3 of the birds seemed to be of the Leucorhoa race, better known as 'Greenland' Wheatear!

With a backdrop of Dudley Castle

MB

Birding down south!

1/04/13

A planned day out to Severn beach was launched in the hope of seeing some migrants, the Twites and the SEO's. Ermm.

Well we scored a few of the first ones, but failed to see the 2nd and 3rd ones!! Arghhh

On the drive down, i was lucky enough to pick up a stunning RED KITE hunting low over the motorway 1/2 mile north of junction 10 on the M5. Always a stunning bird to see!

We first dropped into Aust warth, where we failed to see the Twites or any Owls.

Then Severn Beach, hoping to see some waders or seabirds out on the edges of the estury. I quickly located 32 TURNSTONE being pushed up the stoney 'beach', and we had great views of the birds, including 2 Dunlin, before they were flushed by the tide and flew to the Northwick warth area, where we caught up with them later. We had 4 WHEATEAR around the New passage to the south end of Severn Beach area, but other than that it was very quiet.

Moving to the Northwick warth area, we caught up with some roosting waders, 50c Turnstone, 100c Dunlin, 10c Redshank and 50c Curlew. Also, good numbers of both Wigeon, Teal and Shelduck.

Moving back to Aust, we again didnt see any Twites, nor any Owls, however we did have a male Wheatear out on the Saltmarsh.

We decided to leave, but i dropped into Upton Warren Moors Pool on the way back. A single Avocet was showing, as was a Water Rail. 20c Lesser Redpoll was showing well in the trackside bushes, but the highlight goes to this stunning Snipe!

MB

More Gull failing

16/02/13
Saturday afternoon is one of the worst days for Gull watching, but just on the off chance we decided to have a drop into Wildmoor Landfill in the hope that the Iceland Gull may be around. To cut a long story short it wasnt. A few Pied Wagtail were on the tip faces but there was not a single Gull at all. I was however greeted by this beautiful sight:

Moving on to Upton Warren in the hope of seeing a Jack Snipe we moved to the East hide, where only 5 Snipe were showing. 2 Oystercatcher were on the Islands, which were my first inland birds this year. A single Water Rail was showing to the left of the hide still and a Curlew was also showing on the waters edge.

We moved onward to the West hide in the hope of picking up a Bittern, We waited around for some time, but the bird failed to show. But that was more than compensated for when a ghostly BARN OWL drifted across the reeds at the north end of the pool. We were treated to decent views as the bird hunted the reedbeds around the causeway. We were treated to decent views as it gently flapped it's way around the north moors before after about 10 or so minutes fly off north to the fields, a stunning way to end the day.

MB

Patch MEGA!

3/02/13
Having birded the north of Worcestershire the day before, i was keen to get out on patch to have a look around. As i have said many times previously, winter is a great time for patch birding along the river.

A single Marsh Tit was showing in its regular location, and small flocks of Redpoll and Siskin were dotted around to the north of Lickhill. And away from that it seemed fairly quiet, so i walked north to the small pool at Blackstone, which occasionally gets something good in winter. Walking along the east side, i saw a bird swimming away from me on the near bank, heading for some exposed roots/Branches. Before i had raised by Bins, i knew i was watching a WATER RAIL, a very long overdue patch tick! The bird then proceeded to perch for about 20 seconds around 15 foot away, before flying, and then swimming to the opposite bank to be amongst the willows. I have had previous 'possibles' of small birds running for the closest area of vegetation before, but i've never had a  definite bird, but trust me, its been one that has been overdue for years! You would have thought with so much suitable habitat it would have been quicker coming, but i'm not going to complain!

The regularly roosting drake Goosander was located on the river between Blackstone and Lickhill.
MB

Another Big Worcs day.

2/02/13
An early morning visit onto the patch revealed that the drake Goosander was still roosting on floods, sleeping on one of the small islands.
Moving onwards, we moved to Eyemore Wood, looking for a certain species, and they didn't prove too hard to see. I was quite surprised however to find the entire flock of CROSSBILL completely silently feeding on larch seeds adjacent to the road. Usually, you can hear the 'Glip' call while trying to locate them. A few local birders appeared soon after. Of the 12 Crossbill that were present, there was at least 3 stunning red males.
The males birds in particular are absolutely gorgeous birds, i mean just look at them!

Saying that however, the bright green females are great aswell!

Not wanting to spend to long here we then headed to Grimley Pits, to have another look at the female Smew, which had been joined by a 1st winter drake!

We arrived at the north end to be greeted with largely silhouetted views of the hundreds of waterbirds. I scanned the middle section, and after some scanning i picked up the female SMEW, only briefly however, and after getting my dad a look at it through my scope, it duly disappeared! In the time being though, we were treated to views of a female Goldeneye. There was also small flocks of Gadwall, Teal and Shoveler, with larger numbers of both Pochard and Tufted Duck.

Following this, we then moved to the south end of Camp lane pits, in the hope of picking out the Smew's in better light, and after a while scanning, i picked out the female bird as it swam and dived further to the north. Very soon after, the bird was joined by the 1st winter drake SMEW. Both birds then sailed around the pool, and we were treated to decent, if fairly distant views! From this new viewpoint, i also clocked onto 3 Goldeneye (2 adult fem, 1 juv).

Infact, the birds were so distant i couldn't even be bothered to get any video footage, combined with the fact that the wind was buffeting my scope like crazy! It really was windy!

So we moved onward.
I haven't had Jack snipe this year, so we headed to Upton Warren Moors pool in search of the long staying, occasionally 'showing well' bird. The lake itself was fairly quiet, so much concentration went onto scanning the edges of Amy's marsh and the track to the left of the hide. This was rewarded fairly quickly when a Water Rail strode into view.
 

A second bird joined soon after, and they had a brief fight before moving away from each other. With the light now rapidly dropping, and having only seen 20c Common Snipe, i went back into Snipe mode, and on my final scan of the evening, there it was! A JACK SNIPE perched in the shallow water on the 'boat peninsular' opposite the hide. I quickly got my scope onto the bird, and pulled out the camera. While doing so, the bird began to bathe in the shallows, and i was able to get footage of the interesting behavior!




Once the Jack had moved back into the Reeds, it wasn't long until we decided to end the day and head home.

All in all a good days birding, Crossbills, Smews, Goldeneyes and Jack Snipe, as well as fairly decent views of Water rail! Not a bad way to spend a early February day in Worcestershire!
MB

The Big Boost

4/01/13
A dawn check of the patch revealed that the drake Goosander was still roosting on the floods, which was a nice surprise, as my dad had failed to see it over the last week.
Moving southwards towards our eventual destination, we stopped off at Stourport Marina, looking for the Grey Seal that had been seen there, however we drew a blank. In compensation, a nice Finch flock of 40c Siskin and 5c Lesser Redpoll were showing in the riverside birches. Again, onwards, and my next report is from the River Avon at Bredon, where the river had flooded its banks, and in the flooded field viewable from the motorway, i saw a LITTLE EGRET perched in the water!
And again, onward! To our final destination, Slimbridge.

Upon getting to the Center  it was straight to the Tack Piece, as in winter it is by far my favorite area at Slimbridge. You can sit in one of the hides (Robbie Garnett being my preference) and simply scan through the masses for hours, my hope though was to catch up with the Spotted Redshank which was present, as it was a bird i missed last year. Upon reaching the small bridge over the pond at the start to the Holden Walkway, i saw a wintering CHIFFCHAFF! I dont see many wintering Chiffies, so it was nice to see one so early on in the year!
The very decent sized Wigeon flock (of over 1300 birds) was grazing  at multiple locations over the flooded field. However it was the wader flocks that had the majority of my attention. However, a stunning Little Egret grabbed my attention. Always a great bird to see, and one that i am glad to say is regular over southern Britain, soon to be followed by a wide range of other heron species from the continent surely?

Waders were very well represented, most notable were the Lapwings (2000c), Golden Plover (1000+) and Dunlin (700c). This alone counts as amazing birding for a midlander like me, but combined with smaller flocks of other species 60c Redshank and 50 Black-tailed Godwit, and at least 5 Ruff all combine for some excellent birding. 

After a while scanning, i picked up a 'pale' Redshank feeding near the Golden Plover flock, and when getting my scope on the bird, i had confirmed that i did indeed have the SPOTTED REDSHANK, Mission done, time to leave.....

Not really

I got down to trying to get some long distance pictures as the bird waded in shallow water around the Lapwings. Subtly distinctive in winter plumage, Spotshank is always a nice bird to catch up with. I did end up getting one decent photo from the lot, and a little bit of footage

To compare, one of its Common cousins was showing fairly close to the hide!

Having had our fill, we decided to move on, getting into the Holden Tower for high tide....

And it wasnt worth it in the slightest, a count of 120c Curlew, and about 1000 Wigeon were on the estuary  which almost the entire wader flock was flushed off the Tack piece and landed on the far edge of the Dumbles, feeding in the long grass. Both of these sites also had huge numbers of Pintail, with around 500 plastered over both areas! Similarly, Bewick Swans and White-fronted Geese were also in both areas.

Me moved down the the Rushy Pen, where we first spotted a 2w Common Gull. Note the almost entirely black primarys and the bill pattern.

 The stars of the show here though were the Pintail's, of which a few were showing exceptionally close to the hide! Sadly, they spent most of their time asleep  however, when they woke up. Wow! Look at these stunning ducks!

The drakes in particular are stunning!

Wow, nothing more to say!

We briefly stopped at the South Lake, where a large flock of Black-tailed Godwit was present!

Following this, it was onwards to the Zeiss hide for our annual dip on the Bittern. 3 Hours and there was no sign. However, a nice adult Water Rail was nice compensation, which shown regularly at the edge of the reeds, and very close.

It made a change to see one with the sun on it!

As always, i also took some footage.




A small number of the 173 White-fronted Geese were feeding on the seawall, with the estuary as a background.

As always, large numbers of Teal, Wigeon, Shoveler and Pintail were also on the flash here. And this activity meant we were treated t a great fly through of a brute of a female Peregrine!

With the day drawing to a close, we briefly stopped near the rowing area to drink our tea. And this proved a good decision, as a Cetti's Warbler was flitting about the reeds!
MB

The BIG Worcs day

With the year drawing to a close, we decided to do some 'mopping up' of the missing species from our lists in a tour around some north Worcester sites.
23/12/12

Starting with an early morning walk around a very flooded patch revealed a surprising drake Goosander present on one of the floods, despite it only being a couple of feet deep! A walk further revealed a nice female Blackcap and 3+ Redpoll (With an extra 2 on our feeders).

After a period of watching our feeders, we got onto the car, stopping off near the floods so i could show my dad the Drake Goosander. However, while just driving along, i saw a smaller bird perched up adjacent to a Starling on their regular tree, and the smaller bird was attacked and flew down onto a hedge next to the car. I shouted WAXWING!

And before the car had stopped i had gotten my bins and jumped out, and i was able to confirm the presence of a superb WAXWING! Just about scraping onto the patch, as the tree it was perched in is on the patch side of the road. We were able to watch the bird for a short period, in which i took a couple of Digi-binned shots. As i was setting my scope up, the bird took flight, and flew to another nearby tree, before flying off into Lickhill Estate, and despite having a drive around the estate, the bird wasn't seen again! A good bit of luck there as the bird was only present for a couple of minutes. A little bit later and we wouldn't have seen it!

Next stop was Hartlebury trading estate, and a drive around didn't reveal the hoped for Waxwing flock, as the rowen had been completely raided. However, a Fieldfare was feeding on the Connaster.

So, we went for the short journey down the road to Shenstone, which turned out to be very productive. As soon as i stepped out of the car, i could hear the song of many Corn Buntings, and quickly scanning around revealed a good flock of 30c perched in a tree. We walked the footpath to the 'usual' hedge, and this is where we spent over an hour stood watching, as we were treated to a marvelous overall total of 64 Corn Buntings! While mixed in with the flcok was 3 Yellowhammer, 30c Linnet, 50c Chaffinch and a single Reed Bunting. Not a bad list of farmland passerines there. The ivy covered tree's along the path help 5+ Goldcrest, including some which gave superb views!

While just walking back to the car, a small falcon flushed for within the ivy covered ground/Bushes next to us, and on getting on it with my bins, we were treated to superb views of a female MERLIN as it hurtled back towards the road, before briefly alighting in a tree, and then flying out of sight.

At this time the Shenstone Birder arrived, and it was while he was walking along the track that i again spotted the MERLIN as it flew very low across the ground in the short cut field behind us. We decided to follow Jason up the path in the hope of refinding the bird, however it drew a blank.

We parted ways, as we headed towards Upton Warren in the hope of a big brown heron.

We had failed to see the bird the previous evening, so it was back with vengeance tonight, and we stuck in the hide for a good 2 1/2 hours. While in the hours of daylight, we were treated to views of Water Rail, and the usual array of feeder species. A male Bullfinch shown very well!

Hope was dwindling by 4pm, however, at 4:05pm, i picked up a brown shape in the reeds, hardly recognizable in the gloom, and on getting my scope onto it, i confirmed that i had the BITTERN! It was somewhat a relief as since they stopped visiting UW regularly, they have became a bogey bird for me, and i haven't managed to connect with one for over two years! We then spent the remaining 15 minutes watching the bird until it was too dark to see. What a way to end the day!

Who says midlands birding is rubbish?

MB

Osprey!

8/09/12
 With the continued presence of the adult male OSPREY at upton, i just couldnt resist another viewing. I mean, how often do you get Ospreys in the Midlands showing like this!

 

 The bird was fairly predictable in its movements, usually flying to the Sailing Pool just after the turn of the hour, and would return a minuite or so after with a fish! This bird was one seriously good fisher!
After catching, and consuming its fishy snack (Every time a Roach while i was there), it then dropped down into the shallows to the 2nd flash, and proceded to have a brief wash down, dipping its head into the water to wash the slime off its bill and talons.

 

Watching it really gave an impression of a truily magnificant, awesome looking bird. Just look at it! I must say though, it was quite odd to see a raptor wading in the shallow water. Im just so acustomed to seeing them soaring high in the sky!

 

Having flown out again for another fishing session, i trained my scope on the birds favoured perch, and waited the short time untill it flew back towards us, low across the northen fields.

Swooping down on the perch it was obvious that the bird once again had been successful, and we were treated to another showing of how great nature is, as the Osprey first pulled off the Roaches head, before tucking in.

 

 The bird spent a good 30 seconds flapping wildly to regain its ballence with the fish.

Before going in....

 

And tugging at the head...

And then follows the 'raw' aspects of nature.






Another flap and the Osprey congradulated its self on another good catch!

 

The eclipe male Pintail was also still in attendence on the flashes. 8 Green Sandpipers and 4 migrant Snipe were also showing. Also a 'new in' juvenile- 1st winter Dunlin was showing with the Lapwing flock.

A adult Water Rail made a brief appearence in its usual patch of reeds, and a pair of Raven 'cronked' over.

MB