no, were losing them!!!!!

11/07/09

ok i think a post is well overdue so here goes.

upton waren

moors pool.

dropped into the north moors to see if the terns come close enough for a photo,

it did come close enough but the light was screwed and the images completly mucked up(as per with my upton terns).and after only a few brief flight views of reed and sedge warblers we decided to head for the east hide to look for the OYC chicks.about half way down the track to the hide my dad told me to look up as we saw a hobby circle over at a low(ish leval).the bright white clouds burned the colours away but you could make out its red undertail.we watched i glide around and then fly north.great its always a good day when you see a hobby(and ive seen quite a few hobbys this year).in the hide we met the photographer(seen before at waxie twitch at upton,wyre forest and a few times at upton) again but again didnt manage to get his name. a sedge warbler was in the nettles to the right of the hide and gave good views but i didnt get any photos.the oystercatchers were on the 'cage' island again showing off there young which are a lot bigger and with less 'fluffiness then the previous week and were starting to grow some feathers.it was then when i noticed a face i have never seen at the moors,an avocet,the first ive seen on this

side and how different it looked to see it here.(this was ment to be a video but it wouldent upload)

and next to it landed a upton born and bred common tern.i dont think it learned its parents inabbility to land on water.no seriously if you watch a flock of terns you see them everwhere but landed on water(but they do wade in shallow water).i dont actually think its a inabbility but rather a habit.they can land on water and i know this but you dont see it very often.

a redshnk flushed from the east islands(so covered in weeds and stuff you cant see jack) and flew off high west.10c curlew flew over and 6 of these landed but again at the back of the east islands so no photos(trying to copy the godwit).not much else really but its not a bad list.

highlights:

7 g c grebe
2 cormorant

2 mute swan(7 cygnets,leg ring U91, orange,left leg,and its mates leg ring U92,orange left leg,seems as if they were ringed together and stayed together)

5 gadwall

2 teal(per my dad)

20c tufties

1 hobby

3 OYC(+2 young)

1 avocet

10c lapwing

1 redshank

10c curlew

9 common tern

2 stock dove

normal warblers again noted

3 jay flushed from trees north of car park(family group)

1 bullfinch

10c reed buntings

again we got a high total of greylag geese(10 still on sailing and 4 adults flying low over flashes).the avocet from the moors had moved down here while it was puring down(i mean pouring).an OYC was down here and was presumed to be from the moors.the LRP chick had been predated.we had a count of 13 green sands and a lone common sand.another redshank was down here but we arnt sure weter its the same as the moors or not.only 1 curlew was down but we did leave early and missed the roost.really there isnt much more to talk about from here so (and it was raining quite heavily so i didnt get any photos or videos)highlights are:

3 g c grebe

14 greylag

1 gadwall

4 teal

10c tufties

1 OYC

7 LRP

1 avocet

30-40 lapwing

13 green sand

1 common sand

1 redshank

1 curlew

2 common tern

2 stock dove

1 green woodie

2 g s woodie

8 sand martin(flyins SE)

3 reed bunting.

sounds like some good stuff is commin in the last few days, pomarine skua at bartly,lesser yellowlegs and collered pranticole in yorkshire,and a blue cheaked bee-eater in kent(yes i do know its gone now),and on local news 2 little egrets are at upton warren and a yellow legged gull has been having hanky panky,bum-fun, whatever!!!, with a lesser black back at upper bittel, and in your local,local news a pigeon was found dead in a local field,WOW so exiting, come on somebody find a carmine bee eater somewhere close,so we can rub it in the coast peoples faces,oh yeah,bring it,

and there comeback 'we've only had green herons ,yellow browed alatross,blue rock thrush,maqueens busterd,naunmens thrush,eyebrowed thrush,swainsons thrush,gt blue heron,pacific diver,amerian robin,ruppels warbler,spectacled warbler,eastern bonellis warbler,humes warbler,brown flycatcher,alder flycatcher,collered flycatcher.............' and this is about the time us midlands birders run away weeping.oh poor us.you got to feel sorry for us.normal me will be back in the next post.

(soz for the lack of images/videos in this post,blogger wont let me upload some of them,god knows why).you'll have to wait for my nxt post as i have to wait for my friend to forward some of his pics from sheepwsh.

MB