Brightside Birding

Enter the Dragon

2009-07-06T00:43:00.000-07:00

Mainly pics this time. Apart from trying and failing to net a year tick (Spotted Flycatcher) and a lifer (Quail) this past week, these little fellas have been keeping me amused and giving me the chance to practice my photography.

Male Banded Damoiselle

Female Banded Damoiselle

Southern Hawker

Southern Hawker

Southern Hawker

Ringlet

Comma

A couple of the more notable bird sightings from the last few days included a Tree Pipit at Cannock Chase in the Seven Springs area on Sunday and a Hobby north of Evesham yesterday.

Glastonbury Festival 2009

2009-07-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

Just a few pics from the weekend's festivities...

Trash City

Trash City

A sea of flags at the legendary Pyramid Stage

Madness - a bit dad-ska - The Specials were so much better

Campsites and Stone Circle

Chillaxing on the filthy floor

An emotional Blur close the festival - you could feel the love!

Birds noted on site included Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Whitethroat and Wrens all singing away in the mornings despite all the disturbance, loads of Lesser Black Backed Gulls circling for festival fodder scraps and the usual Somerset Buzzards, one of them enjoying a bit of Dizzee Rascal, as it thermalled lazily over the crowd.

On the Level

2009-06-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

A pre-Glasto Somerset twitch at Ham Wall NR yesterday. Arriving at Loxton Marsh the Little Bittern could be heard calling deep in the reedbed, sounding something like a muffled dog's bark. The reeds were taller than us though, this was going to be difficult and would require a little luck. We found a vantage point on the other side of the reedbed and thankfully after a short while the Little Bittern took flight, giving brief but excellent views (lifer 259).

We stayed in position for a couple of hours but he didn't show again, he has become a lot more elusive than when he first arrived, so we were happy with what we got.

On the way back, another twitch closer to home - a gorgeous Red Necked Phalarope was at Upton Warren, I'd forgot how tiny these were. Also of note 2 Green Sandpipers.

It wasn't all twitching though; before that we'd spent most of the day exploring Ham Wall and the adjacent Shapwick Heath NR, an extensive area of reedbed on the Somerset Levels - highly recommended for a day out birding. Highlights included were 2 Bitterns, c8 Hobbies, Cuckoos, Cetti's Warblers and a Little Egret. Common warbler species were in abundance and showed very well.

There were also plenty of insects to look at and I enjoyed a spot of photography.

Blue Tailed Damselfly

Damselfly mating - the ever romantic 'headlock manoeuvre'

Dragonfly lifer - Black Tailed Skimmer, also lots of Emporer Dragonflies about, my favourite but too quick for my camera

Mute Swan preening

Common Whitethroat

Scarlet Tiger moth, most moths I hate, but day-flying moths like these are real beauties

Nightjars Part Deux

2009-06-14T15:09:00.000-07:00

Rainy weather scuppered the previous bloggers Nightjar meet, but a few days of drier weather last week meant that the Cannock Chase outing was hastily rearranged for Friday evening. In attendence; Local Richard, Alrewas Stuart, The Notorious A.S.B.O Archie along with Tame Valley birders Tom and Julian.

Me and Max had a Cuckoo fly past on our way to meet the others. When we arrived everyone was listening to a Grasshopper Warbler reeling away in the heather. Before long it was located and we all had pleasing views. That was a bonus year tick, however we dipped on our main quarry of Nightjar, hearing only a couple of distant churrings. We did get closer to one just before 11pm, but it was dark by now, so we didn't get as much as a glimpse.

There were a lot more birders than birds on the Chase that night, and although it was now dark we recognised the familiar voice of Warks birder John Harris on the walk back. Back at the car park, a considerate car driver flashed their full beams on us, presumably so Max and I could find our car in the dark. See Archie's blog for the 'uncut' version!

Yesterday afternoon Max and I went for a sun-drenched walk along the Dowles Brook area of the Wyre Forest. I'd hoped to see Silver Wash Fritillary butterflies, but we didn't see any, just tons of Speckled Wood and the odd Brimstone. I don't know much about butterflies so perhaps the timing is wrong?

We had a singing Tree Pipit, 2 Wood Warblers (heard), several Marsh Tits that showed well, Willow Warbler, Blackcap and two family partys of Wrens. Kingfisher and Grey Wagtails were on the brook, however no Mandarins, I never see them there.

Shrike Dip and Scandal on the Chase

2009-06-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

A Woodchat Shrike was at Brandon Marsh on Friday evening. Unfortunately I wasn't. By the time I heard this news Max was already on his third pint and my friend was on the way over for a girly night out. Not being a car driver myself I was well and truly stuck.

Saturday morning we headed down there, both nursing hangovers, but the Shrike had departed. The lack of negative news had kept vague hopes alive, but when we got there local birders had already given up the search and gone home, nice of them to tell us. This is fast turning into 'Darkside Birding', so I better lighten the mood with a couple of pics.

Large daisy with small spider

Common Blue Damselfly

Holly Blue butterfly also noted. The birding was quiet, save for a Hobby from Carlton Hide and a good selection of Warblers in song.

Sunday was a full day out in the field in Worcs with Martyn. Trawling many spots in the intense heat was hard work, especially looking out for non-existant Turtle Doves. Highlights included Lesser Whitethroat at Old Yarr, Garden Warbler at Throckmorton, Cuckoos at Gwen Finch, Bredon's Hardwick and Longdon Marsh. Longdon also contained a very elusive and annoying Lesser Whitethoat, lots of Brimstone and Painted Lady butterflies and many Banded Damoiselles and a female Broad Bodied Chaser.

Brimstone

Last night Max and I went for a pre-bloggers outing reccy on Cannock Chase, keen to see Nightjars. We had one sighting, with two churring birds heard. A Woodcock was roding, a Cuckoo called, Tree Pipit heard, plus Hobby and Green Woody.

Getting back to our car there was some rather dubious activity going on in the car park - a middle aged harlot was sat on the bonnet of a car blatantly flaunting her legs! For anyone who isn't aware, Cannock Chase, as well as being famous for Nightjars, is rather infamous for other nocturnal activities; if you're not sure what I mean, think Stan Collymore! A bit unerving, so be careful fellow birders - don't go up there alone.

The Great British Bank Holiday

2009-05-25T14:27:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we nipped off for a short break on Anglesey, north Wales. It had been a toss up between there and Norfolk for the bank holiday; although Norfolk was tempting us with high-octane twitching and the possibility of a lifer or two, we decided to kick back and watch seabirds in the Wales instead.

Stopping off at Great Orme Head near Llandudno on the way, many Fulmars were nesting on the cliffs. One of my favourite birds I have to say, although Max doesn't agree. Not far offshore a large number of Gannets were pelting down into the sea, with Guillemots, Razorbills and Kittiwake present. A flock of Common Scoter passed further out. Stonechat and Wheatear noted but no Choughs here.

A stop for lunch and cheesecake at Llandudno (told you it was easy street this weekend!) before moving on to South Stack RSPB. On entering South Stack Visitor Centre I spotted a single Puffin in the water below but before I could get the scope up for a proper look, I was distracted by the RSPB woman who insisted on launching into her well-rehearsed speil - 'a Chough is like a crow, but with a red beak'- well, fancy!

The wind was stiff to say the least, so no photos, but it didn't spoil the seabird spectacle, the colony bustled with nesting Guillemots, Razorbills, Fulmars, Kittiwakes and Herring Gulls. Ravens frequently mugged auks for their eggs. We located the Puffin base and saw at least 5 there and watched them flying back and forth from fishing trips. The Choughs were a bit elusive as they nested deep within crevices, but with a bit of patience they wafted out of the cave now and again and another pair fed openly on the cliff above them.

We were headed to The Range for a seawatch however a sea fret descended so we abandoned this idea. Wheatear, Stonechat and Linnet on the heather.

The next morning we went to Cemlyn Bay home of the famous tern colony. Three Whimbrel and a Ringed Plover were on the rocks at the west of the bay. Sandwich, Arctic and Common Tern were all present in the colony, also 2 Red Breasted Mergansers, a Redshank, a small flock of Dunlin and Wheatear present.

Meadow Pipit, Cemlyn Bay

Cemlyn Bay

A great reserve where we spent much longer than intended, before heading off to Point Lynas. This was another beautiful spot; on the headland Gannets passed very close in and the usual selection of seabirds were easily found out over the waves. Much further out I spotted four Manx Shearwaters go past, a pleasing year tick, but a bit of a squint. Another Whimbrel dropped by, pausing on the rocks below. Oystercatcher, Shag and Wheatear here too.

Point Lynas

Gannet

Crazy Pony

On bank holiday Morning there was a search for Turtle Doves in Worcestershire, which was completely unsuccessful. It's a reliable spot though, so fingers crossed the doves will return safely soon. We popped into Upton Warren, which was very quiet apart from the breeding species. I did enjoy watching the Reed Warblers at the North Moors Pool and taking a few photos.

Reed Warblers

Lapwing

Liver Bird

2009-05-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

Or should that be lifer bird?

Chasewater was looking very wader-friendly yesterday. The water is being drained out to prepare for essential maintenance work to the dam. Extensive shingle and mud is now exposed and apparently plans are to drop the water level by another metre for the next two years. Hopefully good things to come for Chasewater.

Whilst we couldn't find Saturday's Little Stint, the shingle spits were crawling with Ringed Plover and Dunlin, always nice to see a bit of wader passage here in the Midlands. Also two Oystercatchers.

Next stop Blithfield. It was bloomin' cold and windy there. We started to walk towards Blithe Bay before beating a hasty retreat when it started pelting down; choosing to watch for passing Arctic or Black Terns from the comfort of the car. A Turnstone was on the dam wall and a couple of Oystercatchers present, but the only Tern spotted was one Common Tern. Lots of Swifts, Swallows and Martins came down in the rain.

We saw Martyn here too, although only briefly as we decided to head up to Seaforth to try for the Pallid Swift that's been around for a few weeks now.

Pallid Swifts usually breed in the Mediterranean, so this one has overshot just a tad and must be a bit bewildered to end up on Merseyside. Many of my W Midlands blogging colleagues have been to see this bird and enjoyed crippling overhead views. I wish I could say the same, however the Swift remained elusive, despite waiting hours by the fence separating Crosby Marine Park and Seaforth LWT. Eventually the Pallid Swift was picked up in the scopes of other birders over the other side of the Marine Lake. The light wasn't great, but when the Pallid Swift dipped in front of buildings it's lighter colour could be seen. Lifer 258 for me, but unfortunately Max didn't manage to see it. There were hundreds of Swifts around and checking them all sent you dizzy.

Other highlights of the afternoon were two more year ticks in the form of two 1st summer Little Gulls and a few Sandwich Terns. There was a raucous Common Tern colony on Seaforth and it was a shame I forgot my camera as photo opportunities were missed with close encounters with Wheatear and Dunlin and it would have been nice to get a picture of the Iron Men of Crosby Beach.

Good Times, Bad Times

2009-05-07T13:07:00.000-07:00

Blogging productivity has been a bit scanty since the Scotland trip in order to allow time for the trip report. Here's a brief update from last weekend though and that's me pretty much up to date.

Saturday 2nd May

A North Staffs field trip for Midlands birder bloggers Reg, Richard, Martyn, Max and yours truly. Reg kindly drove and he was also able to tick a few Stobart's on the way. We made it to Dimmingsdale by 8.00pm to find Martyn and Richard already in position and things were soon off to a flyer with three Wood Warblers and some cracking Pied Flycatchers. Also noted Siskins, Grey Wagtail, Goldcrest and a singing Redstart was heard.

At Hawksmoor we tracked down an elusive singing Tree Pipit and enjoyed it's parachuting antics, a male Redstart was seen and further Wood Warblers were heard singing away.

Following a comfort stop (ie toilet and ice-cream breaks) we were off to t'moors for the afternoon, it was hard going at times, as this habitat can sometimes be, but we had some good birds. Two Peregrines, a Hobby, Red Grouse, Wheatear, a flyover Golden Plover and a couple of Raven were noted.

Stock Red Grouse pic from Scotland - they drink more whiskey than the Staffs ones

A final stop at Tittesworth gave us two Common Sandpipers, Little Ringed Plover, Curlew and a flyover Redpoll.

Monday 4th May

You know those day's out birding when you wish you hadn't bothered? That was Monday. We had the bright idea of visiting Berry Hill Fields, near Fenton (AKA the migrant Capital of Stoke-on-Trent). The main target of the day was Grasshopper Warbler. However, we got lost in Stoke for an hour, first parking at the wrong end of Fenton, then almost visiting Park Hall CP by mistake, don't ask.

When we finally arrived there it was howling a gale and there were three reprobate youths in a tent, having kipped out at the Gropper site stockpiling a pile of empty beer cans. Also raining now. The best we could do under the circumstances was three Wheatear and some Whitethroats and Sedge Warblers. An interesting site though, better luck next time.

Blithfield next, also not at all going to plan. Still windy with light showers. The many fishermen everywhere, including the two illegally in a fishing boat in Tad Bay, not to mention another stood right out in the water in his waders in front of the new hide meant the birding wasn't what we'd hoped.

There were, however a large gathering of Swifts and Hirundines above the water, probably at least 200 and I was pleased to see that many of these were House Martins. I was also observing a group of Terns from the causeway and I though at least two of them looked like they could be Arctic Terns, however they didn't come quite close enough for me to be sure and then they headed for the deep end before flying off forever. Fighting a losing battle against the wind we decided to head home.

Brightside on tour - Part 3 - Isle of Mull

2009-05-02T13:39:00.000-07:00

And here it is at last; the final installment of the big Scotland epic.

Friday 17th April

The crows had changed over to Hooded Crows again and summer plumage Black Guillemots were in Oban harbour as we arrived for our ferry crossing to Mull. By the afternoon we had checked into our B&B in Lochdon. Lochdon is noted for White-tailed Sea Eagle, so as Eagles were lacking in Highland, we stayed put in this area for the afternoon's birding.

Two Great Northern Divers were seen from Grasspoint and a few Red-breasted Mergansers were also present. A huge raptor appeared, quite clearly an eagle, as it tilted it's short white tail was revealed - t'was White-tailed Sea Eagle! (lifer 254). Things were off to a corking start.

Around the bay Bar-tailed Godwit, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Wigeon, Goldeneye, 2 Stonechat and many singing Willow Warbler all noted.

Saturday 18th April

Salen Bay is a nice little spot and reputably a good spot for Otter. Here we had our first Swallow of the year, 8 Eider, Shags and a party of Red-breasted Mergansers close in, plus 2 Rock Pipits and Wheatear. Seals out on the rocks and Red Deer up on the hills. Red Deer are everywhere on Mull and very showy, in fact you have to be careful not to run them over.

Next stop, nearby Loch Frisa. It was hard work walking down the rubbled path to get to the Eagle viewpoint. When we got near however, we were lucky enough to see a White-tailed Sea Eagle drift in over the hillside, a Raven having a pop at it as it passed through Raven territory. You could see that it was twice the size of the Raven in wingspan, impressive indeed. Walking a bit further down we came across the Mull Eagle Watch Wardens, they now had the Eagle perched. Locating this magnificant bird in our scope, they informed us that this was the female Eagle.

The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring this glorious island, stopping off at roadside spots, everywhere looks great, you just don't know where to start. Around the shores of Loch Na Keal we had Common Sandpiper, Golden Plover, Wheatear, Rock Pipit and Grey Wagtail. Shag, Eider, Black Guillemot, Red-Breasted Merganser and Great Northern Diver were all out on the water. The corvids on Mull are mainly Raven and Hooded Crow, both can be readily viewed from the roadside.

At Loch Scridan there were also 7 Razorbill in the loch with Black Guillemot around the mussel farm and many of the 8 Great Northern Divers here were nearly into breeding plumage.

Round the corner at Loch Beg, 4 Greenshank and a few Ringed Plover were added to the trip list, Redshank and Swallow were noted and best of all the first summer Ring Billed Gull was present, I wasn't quite sure at first as I've never seen one before, but this gull looked too big billed and stout and stood out as being bigger and paler than the many adult Common Gulls present. Luckily Big Yin of the excellent Beg Bits Mull wildlife blog was here and confirmed the ID. A first for Mull and lifer 255 in the bag. On the way back through Glen More we had crippling roadside views of a Short Eared Owl.

Sunday 19th April

We thought Mull was tranquil, but were yet to sample Iona. Iona is reached by ferry from Phionnport (below), ten minutes by ferry. Once again we enjoyed glorious weather, with the clear blue skies and water and rocky coastline it was bliss.

Rock Pipit and Wheatear were at the ferry port and Guillemot, Black Guillemot, Shag and Razorbill seen on the crossing.

In birding terms, the island is most famed probably for Corncrake, however we were a tad on the early side for these, although there had been an unconfirmed report of a calling Corncrake earlier in the week.

The fields here full of migrants; Wheatears, Meadow Pipits, Pied Wagtails and we picked out a couple of White Wagtails here, a first for us.

Also on the island we saw a single Twite, many Linnet, Rock Doves, which we assume are wild ones, or very near to - the plumage looked spot on. If anyone has any info on their pedigree I'd be interested to hear it.

Fulmer, Gannet and Great Northern Diver were spotted from the west side of the island and we were startled to come across a small raptor on the golf course about 7 metres away as it turned to look at us, we could see it was a female Merlin! She moved off pretty quick of course, leaving us amazed - one of the best moments of the holiday.

Back on the mainland, we had brilliant views of four Twite feeding at Fidden Farm, plus another White Wagtail and the now ubiquitous Wheatears and a few Snipe. At Uiskin Bay a spanking full breeding plumage Great Northern Diver was fishing very close in. Two more presumed wild Rock Doves nearby and a nice Barn Owl on a post in the evening at Lochdon.

Monday 20th April

We were more than a little worried, this being our last day on Mull and that both Golden Eagle and Otter were still yet to be seen, we had been looking out for both of these along the way, but hadn't given them the time they deserved. Today we would pour our efforts into these Mull specialities.

We drove round to the Croggon side of Loch Spelve, we had been told this was a good spot for Otter. It was completely silent here, with a gently incoming tide. We spotted a distant Otter through the scope, but then however noticed one much nearer and it was gradually coming towards us as it fished, when it climbed onto the shore and ate a big fish it was immense, I must admit I felt quite misty-eyed. House Martin, Ringed Plover, GN Diver and Black Guillemot here.

Next we staked out a spot we had obtained some Golden Eagle gen on and thankfully this time we were successful and we were able to watch first a single Eagle then the majestic pair soaring over the glen, lifer 256.

On the way out to the pub that evening, as we drove over Glen More a further Merlin was seen to the left of the car, we got out to view it, by which time it was very high up. Then another Golden Eagle (this one quite tatty) appeared gliding over the cliff and soaring to dizzy heights. Two Short Eared Owls on the way back from the pub, one sitting in the road! Our last notable spots of the trip were a Greenshank at Lochdon and a Red Throated Diver at Craignure port the following morning.

Wednesday 22nd April

Having had an overnight stop off at Windermere last night, it was a relatively easy journey to Inner Marsh Farm in Cheshire. What a fantastic reserve, the main purpose of the day had been to twitch the two Spoonbills, but we ended up spending hours here and having a thoroughly enjoyable day despite only having brief flight views of the two Spoonbills (lifer 257). Highlights included a ringtail Hen Harrier, unbelievably the third Merlin of the week (after not seeing one at all in 2008!), at least 4 hunting Short Eared Owl, 4 Spotted Redshank moulting into summer plumage, 4 Greenshank, Black Tailed Godwit, Ruff, Ringed Plover, several Little Egret and 4 Pintail.

It was certainly miserable returning to the grimy rat race of Brum after experiencing the utopian Isle of Mull, so clean, peaceful and safe with such breathtaking scenery and wildlife. Definitely a place we'll return to before too long, I hope.

PS Big thanks to everyone who gave us such excellent gen and advice on where to go in Scotland and lent us books, maps etc, you know who you are, cheers :)

Brightside on Tour - Part 2 - More Highlands

2009-04-28T13:04:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 14th April

Another Highland bird we were keen to connect with was Black Grouse and we'd set this morning aside for this purpose. We had the options of a rather distant and sometimes unreliable lek near base or intelligence from Reg of a roadside lek some distance away. Of course we went with Reg's gen, also meaning we could also visit Loch Muick and Glen Shee today.

We arrived to find the moorland submerged in a blanket of fog; a right pea souper. We drove up and down the road, staring into the fog in futility and only hearing Red Grouse and sheep, very disheartening. Just as we were close to giving up, there was a slight lift in fog and we parked by a gate. I saw a brown game bird and realised it was a Black Grouse hen (lifer 253). It then flew across the road disappearing into the fog, swiftly followed by a male. Now we could hear burbling calls deeper into the fog and a handsome male emerged in the next field up the road. It was a shame we couldn't see the lek but Reg's gen had proved watertight! Also Buzzard, Kestrel, Curlew and Red Legged Partridge here.

Not long after, Near Loch Muick we were rubbing our eyes in disbelief - unwittingly we had stumbled across 16 male Black Grouse, engaging presumably in post lek feeding! Still birding wouldn't be birding without the highs, the lows and the pre-tick tension, would it?

Digiscoped Black Grouse by Max - perhaps looking for a job at Blurred Birding

Loch Muick

At Loch Muick itself Snipe was added to the trip list and their drumming was heard, not a sound we hear often where we see them. Also Wheatear, two Jays, 6 Goosander and some Red Deer including this fine stag.

King of the hill

At Glenshee the hope was to see more Ptarmigan, maybe get closer to them, perhaps even see a Golden Eagle. On our mountain walk one Ptarmigan seen was one briefly in flight, but sadly Max didn't see it. Mountain Hares were a mammal lifer providing some entertainment. Several Red Grouse, 2 Wheatear 3 Ravens and Peregrine noted here.

Wednesday 15th April

A stop at a picnic site near Aviemore produced excellent views of at least 4 Crested Tits. Although they showed well they never stopped still for long so I was pleased with this record shot.

Crested Tit

Chaffinch

We then headed to Loch Ruthden RSPB reserve, famous of course for its population of breeding Slavonian Grebes. A check of Birdguides and a text from Richard alerted us to a Ring-necked Duck being spotted there this morning. The friendly wardens directed us to a smaller nearby lochan to see the Ring-necked Duck. A lifer for Max and a nice bird to see again, excellent views.

On Ruthden there were at least 6 gorgeous summer plumage Slavonian Grebes and they seemed to be pairing up. Let's wish them a successful breeding season.

Not much else to see here apart from Willow Warblers so with the weather warming up we headed off to Findhorn for another raptor watching session, hopes high again for Golden Eagle.

Near the start of the valley I spotted a raptor in flight so I shouted to Max for an emergency stop. It was a splendid Osprey, first time we've self-found one, definately much more exciting away from the hoardes at the Osprey Centre.

It turned out to be an enjoyable afternoon as we met with a great crowd of like-minded birders; a few chaps from Somerset and a Wolverhampton couple. More pairs of eyes looking and a good craic had by all, still no Eagle though. Two Peregrines, a singing male Ring Ouzel, many Buzzards, Kestrels, a few Ravens.

Common Gull, trying to scrounge birders crisps

That evening we walked in the woodlands behind our excellent rented accommodation Juniper Hill Cottage. We heard a Tawny Owl calling and we discovered bats and roding Woodcock. Throughout our stay the bird table had been very active, including visits from many Siskins, a pair of GS Woodpecker as well as a Red Squirrel. A great holiday location for visiting birders, not far at all to Loch Garten, Cairngorms, Aviemore etc and a cosy base to come back to.

Thursday 16th April

We spent more time in the Abernethy Forest today due to the lack of Crossbills throughout the trip, not saying I would have been able to ID them mind - a notoriously difficult task, but it would have been nice to gain some Crossbill experience and at least have the debate. Crossers had gone very elusive though and we couldn't find any despite taking the Mallachie trail again, a long walk in the Forest Lodge area, plus a very unproductive walk in the Carrbridge woods in the evening.

Highlights of the day were finding a singing Redstart (first of the year) on our morning walk around Loch Mallachie plus yet more Crested Tits and 3 Red Squirrels and also seeing a Dipper in Carrbridge. Some time had to be spent out of the field on this day in order to make preparations for the trip to Mull the following day.

Ending the day again with 'Woodcock Watch' which produced three roding birds, we felt sad that our time in Highland had come to an end but very excited about the next few days to come on Mull, hopefully we might get our Golden Eagle there...

Brightside on Tour - Part 1 - Highlands

2009-04-26T11:25:00.000-07:00

Saturday 11th April

Arriving in the Highlands late Friday afternoon, there were early reconnaissance missions; firstly looking for Crested Tits in Carrbridge and then elsewhere in the vague hope of a Golden Eagle before the day was out, however all this had come to nothing. So here we were, Saturday morning in the dark, queuing outside Loch Garten's RSPB Osprey Centre for Caper Watch. Capers had showed several mornings the previous week, so my heart was in my mouth, if a Caper showed it would be lifer 250 for me and of all the highland birds, for me, Capercaillie was the big one.

Over the next two hours or so we waited as the Capers failed to materialise. The two Ospreys could be seen on the nest and a few Crossbill were seen although they remained flighty and distant. At one point someone briefly had a Crosser in his Scope and reckoned it was either Parrot or Scottish. A Stonechat was seen and a Red Squirrel was on the nuts.

The most famous Ospreys in the world

Leaving disappointed, we pressed on with a walk through the pine forests around Loch Mallachie, keen to connect with one of the Scottish Specialities on this first full day's birding. Halfway down the trail I spotted two small agile birds - Crested Tits! (lifer 250), they didn't stay long but it was a memorable moment and with the first lifer of the trip bagged we began to relax. Also seen were 2 Treecreeper, Goldcrests, and numerous Siskins. Around 10 Goldeneye were on the small Loch along with Greylag, Teal and Wigeon.

Loch Mallachie

Next an area of Moorland on the A939 towards Tomintoul. Red Grouse, Curlew, Oystercatcher (everywhere up there) and Skylark were seen.

We spent time in a woodland near Grantown-on-Spey looking out for Caper towards the end of the day. Here there were Crossbills, however, again they were too distant to even have a stab at ID-ing. Siskin and Coal Tit were plentiful. Although we didn't see much in the latter part of the day we were putting a lot of effort in and learning that Highlands birding is hard work at times. When you do find something its more than worth it. Not tonight though. We pencilled in another Caper Watch for Monday.

Sunday 12th April

First stop Loch Morlich. A beautiful clear morning and the Loch was so still it resembled a pane of glass reflecting the Cairngorm mountains. Three beautiful summer plumage Red Throated Divers here, we could even hear their melancholy calls. Also c30 Goldeneye and Goosander.

Loch Morlich

Next the Cairngorm Mountains. Some Ring Ouzels had been sighted near the visitor centre and it didn't take us long to track down a pair. Things were looking up. It was a nice day and with the forecast good for "two days" we decided on the walk up to the coire to look for Ptarmigan rather than taking the funicular railway.

Although the peaks were still snow capped, the conditions were hardly Alpine, we soon got very hot in all the layers of clothes we had cocooned ourselves into. In fact by the end of the day we'd caught a nice suntan! A very rewarding walk up to the Coire - 2 Ptarmigan near the snow line (lifer 251) as well as 5 Wheatear, 3 Red Grouse and large numbers of Meadow Pipit and Skylark.

Cairngorms - Ptarmies near where the snow has melted shaped like a 'map' of Britain.

Max rocks the Coire!

On the way back to the rented cottage we decided to pop into the Osprey centre on the off chance of a Capercaillie being on show. On arrival the RSPB staff advised 'you've just missed a Caper by five minutes' and then tried to cheer us with tales of how many times the Ospreys had mated that day.

After a few minutes however, a woman standing near us in the hide (who was more interested in deer than birds) nonchalantly asked "do Capers go in trees?", someone replied "yes" and the lady continued "oh, oh I think I've got one". Cue mass panic! Anyone who's been to the Osprey centre will know that it's very hard to give directions to anything, the window slats are small and everyone has a different view of the landscape of heather and trees. "Where is it?" everyone demanded. "It's in a tree" the woman replied. "Which one?" but by then she'd lost it. A chap had just clocked it in his bins, but when asked for directions he also stated it was in a tree, understandably not daring to shift his bins an inch. The original finder scolded him "It's no use saying it's in a tree - which one?"... Thankfully a sharp eyed lady found it and helped everyone to get their fill with scopes and bins. A spankingly handsome male Capercaillie sitting in a tree, sleeping and waking to preen every so often. This was lifer 252 and we were lucky enough to be able to watch him for the next 45 minutes or so.

Monday 13th April

Early morning Caper watch abandoned, so a change of scenary away from the pines; we headed to Udale Bay on the Cromarty Firth. Although it didn't look good when we arrived with the tide out and fog on the firth, this situation soon turned around for a highly enjoyable morning's birding. There were c60 Scaup and c50 Long Tailed Duck (1000's of LT Ducks winter in this area). Sea ducks like this I've only seen in very small numbers inland in winter so it was great to see them in larger numbers.

Also five Slavonian Grebes in summer plumage, a Red Throated Diver, Eiders, c1000 Pink-footed Goose, c 18 Red Breasted Mergansers, and several Hooded Crows were amongst the highlights.

Udale Bay

Pinkies

It was now a warm clear afternoon, so we headed to the Findhorn Valley for a spot of raptor watching. Findhorn is well known for a variety of raptors, particularly Golden Eagles. However the best we could do was several Buzzards, a Kestrel and 3 Raven. A chap stood in the next valley had briefly had a Golden Eagle.

Common Gull and Oystercatchers are common breeders in the valley and were everywhere. Great Spotted Woodpecker, herds of Red Deer and a few Hare were noted as well as the Feral Goats.

Findhorn Valley

Our final stop of the day was Lochindorb. We saw two summer plumage Black Throated Divers, and the moors here were crawling with Red Grouse, some of them very tame as you can see from these pictures. We saw one Grouse attacked by a Sparrowhawk a few feet away, the Grouse fighting the Sprawk off. Also a Common Sandpiper, 3 Redshank and 2 Red Legged Partridge here. A Short Eared Owl was seen on the way home.

Red Grouse

Another two parts to this trip report are on their way - our last few days in the Highland followed by our trip to Mull.

Eight out of ten birders prefer Whiskered

2009-04-24T15:21:00.000-07:00

I didn't see this one coming! After enjoying most of the day birding around Tame Valley we gradually became more and more twitchy about the Whiskered Terns not too far away at Willington GP in Derbyshire. Half an hour later we were watching eleven of these stunning Terns swooping around pleasing the assembled crowd with amazing views. A lifer of course and all the more special as I believe this is the largest gathering of these ever recorded in the UK (usually turning up in ones or twos).

Record flight shot by me

Max's digiscoped pic.

Other highlights of the day were discovering an adult summer Yellow Legged Gull and 2 Wheatear, both nice surprises. Also Black Tailed Godwit, LR Plover, Sedge Warblers, Whitethroats and Common Terns were also seen (the latter three being year ticks) all around the Drayton Bassett area.

We arrived back from bonny Scotland on Weds evening. I won't say too much just yet but it was, to say the least, stupendous. I'm currently in the process of sorting out my photos, then a full trip report will soon follow.

Long Weekend

2009-04-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend a few people have commented that I've been 'slacking off' with my blog of late. Not true, I just counted back and there were five posts last month, that's more than one a week. Anyway here's a 'bumper' edition and then that's all folks.....until I get back from Scotland that is.

Thursday 2nd April

Keen to catch up with the Cattle Egret at Middleton Hall for my year list and my WMBC region list a pre-work twitch was in order. We spent an enjoyable hour following this entertaining bird around and still made it to work for 9.00am. Also two singing Blackcaps were noted.

Image appears courtesy of Martyn Yapp.

http://yapp2607.blogspot.com/

Friday 3rd April

Burning the candle at both ends there was an after work birding session at Ladywalk NR and very pleasant it was too. The highlights were undoubtedly a male Brambling at the feeders and a Tawny Owl. Also three Oystercatchers and a nice selection of ducks including Wigeon and Gadwall were noted.

Saturday 4th April

Classic Draycote day with the Warks birders out in force and also fellow West Midlander and birding blogger Martyn Yapp; the Green Winged Teal was drawing the crowds in. On the walk to Toft Bay we had two Yellow Wagtails, our first of the year and also the Red Necked Grebe, which now looks fantastic in its breeding finery. I would have liked to try for a slightly better picture than this, however with no time to linger we continued to the top of Toft where the GWT had been seen.

In Toft the Teals were skulking behind the willows and it was hard to see any, Green Winged or otherwise. We scanned for a while and eventually two Teals got flushed out and they landed on the water nearby, fortunately one of these showed a vertical stripe - the Green Winged Teal! A good bird for the region and the second one I've ever seen, my first was in Norfolk in 2007, although I don't think I really realised what it was at that stage. More appreciated this time. Also of note, 2 Great Northern Divers and an Oystercatcher.

Following Draycote we went to Focus Optics, where I treated myself to a new pair of bins. I would recommend Focus to any birder for their excellent service and expertise. Their website is down at the moment, but I'll link it when its up and running again.

Sunday 5th April

A late start to the birding today, due to administrative duties like buying tickets for Glastonbury and some last minute things to sort out for our trip which we will set off for on Thursday evening. Once that was done and dusted we headed out to Upton Warren in anticipation of a few more year ticks.

At the Moors Pool we had three year ticks in the form of a Little Ringed Plover, a Cetti's Warbler which showed briefly and a fine Willow Warbler to the right of the hide. Also 4 Oystercatchers, a Redshank, two Common Snipe, 3 Sand Martins, a Sparrowhawk, several Chiffys and a Bullfinch. Sadly the Mealy Redpoll was nowhere to be seen. Several Peacock butterflies were on the wing.

At the Flashes the bird of the day and a further year tick was a faboulous Jack Snipe which showed well in the far corner to the right of the hide. We also had a Common Sandpiper, 4 Little Ringed Plovers, 8 Avocets, 2 Oystercatchers, 2 Common Snipe and 2 Redshanks.

I might have mentioned just a couple of times this Scotland trip we're going on. We're off on Thursday night and have a week on Speyside, which will allow plenty of time for exploring Abernethy, Cairngorms, Moray etc. We're then having four nights in Mull. I'm sure you can guess the stuff on the wish list, Capercaillie is of course high on the agenda and with RSPB Caper watch doing the business several times this week hopes are high.

Catch you all soon.

Carry on up the Malverns

2009-03-31T13:18:00.000-07:00

Whenever I think of the Malverns it takes me back to my last year at my junior school; as a rite of passage we were taken on the legendary 'Malvern climb', lead by the headmaster. Some schools get weekends away camping, some even skiing, not us - we just got a schlep up and down Malvern with a packed lunch and a 'Breakaway' bar. We also had to slide down one of the slopes on a bin-liner. What an underprivileged childhood I led.

Fast forward 22 years or so and it could be interesting for some birding, perhaps if we were lucky a Ring Ouzel, surely a Wheatear at least? Well no, but a pleasant walk on Sunday and a useful reconnaissance mission, plus some vital hill training for Scotland.

On the way up we had many singing Chiffchaffs, a male Blackcap, Sparrowhawk and 6 Jays. We had a walk around the North hill and surrounding valleys, nothing too exciting but c60 Meadow Pipits, 2 Stonechat and many displaying Skylarks were seen. On the way back down, we mistakenly came down the steep way and encountered this confiding Buzzard. A tad overexposed, but never mind.

Took a while to get back to the car and then there were further delays and navigational errors before we reached our next destination Chase End Hill. Historically this has been good for Hawfinch and Lesser Pecker. The best we came up with here however, was 2 Treecreeper, 2 Nuthatch and 4 thermalling Buzzards, a pleasant spot but the day's birding continued to be slow.

Last stop Clifton GP. Of note were 3 Green Sandpipers and a Redshank, a flock of c20 Linnets, then we called it a day. A good area for a day out birding, give it a few weeks and there will be plenty more to see.

Further to my posting about the Bird Blog Map last week, the site is now moving to http://www.birdingmaps.webs.com/ so don't worry if you can't see your link now, I believe Jim is in the process of transferring all the links over to their new home, which is time consuming work. A labour of love indeed, good on him!

Putting the West Midlands on the Map

2009-03-23T15:30:00.000-07:00

What a super idea this is:

http://birdblogmap.blogspot.com/

A chap called Jim from Yorks has set this up; an interactive Google Map of birding blogs and sightings pages. I spent last night adding as many blogs and sites from the WMBC region as I could think of. Sorry if there's anyone I've missed, you can add or edit your own entry, move the marker if I've placed it wrong, or add other blogs you use.

Not much birding done over the weekend, apart from a visit to one of my urban patches, Holders Wood, on Sunday morning. Two singing Chiffys were new arrivals, a Kingfisher was on the River Rea and a Buzzard briefly thermalled overhead, before giving it some welly heading westwards (the fastest I've seen a Buzzard move in a while, come to think of it).

Most of the usual stuff was seen, Bullfinch, Stock Dove and the like and most common woodland birds now in full song. I've found that I've made improvements since this time last year in recognising songs and calls, something that I found harder than the visual aspects of birding.

No GS Peckers on Sunday, but a Green Woody was heard calling. I'll be interested to see which spring migrants turn up here and at our other new patch Moseley Bog over the coming month or so, I'm confident there will be Whitethroats, hopefully a Lesser Whitethroat or two, Garden Warblers maybe, who knows perhaps a Spotted Flycatcher, or my wildcard; a Gropper might drop in....you never know!

Upton Warren and Whitemoor Haye

2009-03-15T15:47:00.001-07:00

I've got a lot to thank Upton Warren for (a fair few lifers, many lessons learned and of course that Wilson's Phalarope). Although we don't go there half as much as we used to, we still drop by every once in a while.

A warm, sunny morning was spent in the company of Reg. Highlights were a Bittern on North Moors Pool, plus Kingfisher and Water Rail. Many Cetti's Warblers were in song. On the Flashes were 3 Avocets, Oystercatchers, 2 Curlew, quite a few Snipe and a Peregrine.

I forgot to take any pictures as I was too busy chatting with Reg; so in true Blue Peter stylee, here's some I made earlier (during a visit to UW in Jan)...

Now, I must admit that I've had Barnacle Geese on my life list and my WMBC list for a long time, but you can never be sure of the origins of any Barnacles seen in our region as there is a large feral flock in Staffs. Well there's three in a flock at Whitemoor Haye which are the real deal - we know this because of information gleaned from the colour rings they sport, they were ringed in Svalbard and wintered on the Solway Firth.

There they were, behind the main pit keeping a slightly aloof distance from their (assumed) plastic cousins, with their multi-coloured bling on show. Martyn and Stuart were here too and we had a chat and shared some Bakewell Tart that Max had brought from M&S....no jokes about tart's ticks please!

We also saw a Eurasian White-fronted Goose, a Wheatear, Goosander, Goldeneye, Redshank and Oystercatcher.

It was a great weekend's birding with spring in the air, plenty of time in the field, four counties visited and lots of laughs with friends.

14th March Moseley Bog, Trittiford Mill Pond and Bittell

2009-03-15T13:50:00.000-07:00

Moseley Bog - I'm fighting the urge to mention Hobbits, Middle Earth etc here....lets not go there, the purpose of our visit was to investigate it's urban birding potential.

A fine female Sparrowhawk was spotted upon parking the car. Parking in a residential street, it wasn't long before our binoculars attracted unwanted attention; "Is that a Hawk, you's looking at?", an Irish chap spoke, sneaking up behind us. "I have horses and they cause terrible trouble on the farm". Whilst we were dumb-founded wondering how big these Sprawks must be to trouble the man's horses, he went on to say "Of course, you're not even allowed to shoot them now, they're protected". It's hard to reason with such levels of ignorance, but we did reinforce that, no you can't shoot them and they're hardly the menace you're making out.

Shortly after, there was another disconcerting incident, when a dog jumped up at me, tried to eat my bins then started munching on my gloved hand. The owner followed behind and she told me to fold my arms to prevent her dog chewing at me. OK....so it's my responsibility to protect myself from being attacked by your uncontrolled mutt. I think not! I gave her a piece of my mind and she put him back on the lead.

I should say though, that the response Max and I have generally had to our urban birding has been overwhelmingly positive. Folk stop to ask us what we're up too, what we've seen and they'll tell us about the birds they've seen in their gardens. Moseley Bog and Joy's Wood held some fine ancient Oaks and mature woodland, as well as smaller scrubs, we'll definitely be spending more time here over the coming months.

A good variety of common species were seen at this healthy looking location including at least 8 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Green Woodpecker, 2 Bullfinch, Jay, 4 Nuthatch, Stock Dove and Goldcrest.

Next Trittiford Mill Pond; also part of 'The Shire'. full of plastic Mallards, Canada Geese and fishermen, it wouldn't usually be a recommended urban birding spot. Two Lesser Peckers had been seen there this week however, so we were there looking for them.

No Sign. However a most pleasant surprise when two Sand Martins appeared, first of the year - guaranteed to put a smile on my face! Also noted, a small number of Redwing, GC Grebes building a nest, a Treecreeper and another frog orgy.

Time was running out as Max had decided to watch football in the afternoon, but we sneaked in a quick check of the Bittell Reservoirs. Eight Goosander were on the Lower Reservoir and a Raven over the Upper, but otherwise quiet.

Boulderdash

2009-03-11T12:48:00.000-07:00

I've had a hectic last few weeks, with my new job starting and a string of 'social commitments' leaving hardly any time for birding, let alone blogging. Can't wait to get out into the field this coming weekend.

Despite the full schedule a few hours were freed up last Saturday morning to meet up with Richard 'Straight Outta Bharatpur' Powell to have a wander round Cannock Chase.

Richard had never visited the Glacial Boulder before and he had high expectations....I think he was anticipating something like this.....

However this is the Cannock Chase Glacial Boulder.......

Rather underwhelming, isn't it? (I don't know who those folk in the pics are, by the way!).

Whilst Richard regaled us with tales of weird and wonderful birds with names like Greater Racket-Tailed Drongo and Spangled Drongo; tigers and Indian trains (see his blog for the full trip report) we had a pleasant stroll round this area of the Chase, before moving on into Sherbrook Valley and the Cadet Huts.

A fair variety of birds were seen, most notably 15 Crossbills by the Cadet Huts, 4 Ravens, 2 Stonechat, a few Yellowhammers and Willow Tits, lots of Green Woodys and many a Skylark burbling away.

Frog Chorus and Warks Twitching

2009-02-22T10:05:00.001-08:00

An unusually mild and sunny day for this time of year yesterday with early signs of spring in evidence. We were enjoying a day's birding in the Wyre Forest with Mr Blurred Birder, Martyn. Not only did we see 2 Red Admiral butterflies, but this amazing sight....

The photos hardly bring justice to this spectacle. The sun had put the frogs in amorous mood; there must have been c200 of them spawning in this small pool and the air was buzzing with their empassioned croaking. Where's Sir Paul McCartney when you need him?

Anyway, onto the birds... Trimpley Reservoir was a bit quiet, but we did have 4 Goosander on the river, a few Siskin, Great Spotted and Green Woody and 3 Jays.

The walk around the the Dowles Brook and Knowles Coppice area was more productive and the highlights were; Tawny Owl (only my second one!); 2 Ravens, Buzzard, 2 Lesser Redpoll a Bullfinch and several Yellowhammer near Lodge Mill Farm and on Dowles Brook we had a Dipper, Grey Wagtail, several Siskins and a Treecreeper. A Marsh Tit was heard.

This morning we did our local urban patch in Birmingham and saw a Buzzard thermalling over Moor Green Lane. A nice patch tick but not a total surprise; we have seen them over the house before now. I got a picture, but I haven't mastered flight shots yet, so here's it's silhouette...

Next, some Warks twitching. A Black Redstart has been in Coleshill all week and I was itching to catch up with one again, this being my favourite bird, plus we'd have another chance at the Hams Hall Firecrests.

Arriving on site at Gorsey Lane, fellow lady birder and blogger Jo was already present - it was very nice to meet her at last. Martyn then rolled up with his friend Ian. We couldn't see the bird at first and it was cold and windy, but Martyn found it from the other side, we joined him and he soon got us onto the smashing Black Redstart; it was keeping low down at the back with a couple of Mistle Thrush and a Redwing. Scopes were needed as the gates of the industrial estate were closed today.

Everyone soon gravitated towards Hams Hall, where after a short wait the Firecrest with the 'gammy foot' popped up three times, the last time giving especially good views. Another top bird and one which has now achieved the accolade of being Max's favourite bird. Another year tick here in the shape of Mr Dean Powell.

Popping back to Gorsey Lane to drop Jo back off at her car, we couldn't resist another look at the Black Redstart and there it was, now showing well on top of the concrete pipes near the road, although only for a few minutes. We bumped into Pete who got a few shots before it darted away.

A good friendly crowd at both twitches, and a good chat and a laugh. Nice to see a few familiar faces and also meet some new folk. That's what it's all about, innit?

Wax-Kings and Owlmania

2009-02-16T01:36:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning found us engaged in a fruitless search for roosting Tawnys around the patch and local urban parks. Hopefully they'll become more visible as winter turns to spring. Around 50 Jackdaws over at 7.15am and a lot of thrush movement locally; mainly Redwings but also many Song and Mistle Thrush. Song Thrushes now singing.

Our attention then turned to Pipers Hill in Worcs for more of the same thing. Lively with common woodland birds, but nothing outstanding. One Buzzard, 1 Treecreeper and 2 Nuthatch were a poor reward for the efforts invested.

All the looking up in vain at treetops for Tawnys was now causing slight derangment, so some sort of owl fix was needed to settle the nerves. We went to see the Little Owl near Hopwood, which we accidentally flushed to the other side of the field, but then had excellent scope views and it even coughed up a pellet for us.

As we headed home, a mobile check of Birdguides revealed 12 Waxwings had been seen at King's Heath Park. Just about a mile from our house - we were duty-bound to check this out.

At King's Heath Park we searched the east end of the park and then saw the 12 Waxwings as we headed back towards the road. They flew in and landed on a tree near the kiddies playground and flew off again almost immediately, but we soon relocated them on the other side of the road in Highbury Park - that's on the northern reaches of our tetrad - dead chuffed with the patch tick! Very flighty birds though, after flitting around the taller trees, they headed off along the railway line, towards the High Street.

Highbury Park also had a large mixed thrush/Starling flock, must have been well over 100 birds; again predominately Redwings, smaller numbers of Song and Mistle Thrushes, plenty of Starlings and a couple of Fieldfare.

Briefly checking the parks again yesterday morning, with no sign of the Waxwings, we headed out to Stubber's Green. Most of the bigger gulls were not in their usual place, but more distant on a field behind, but luckily the juv Iceland Gull was showing well, swimming on the pool, a nice year tick. Also 6 Goosander.

By early afternoon, we were lucky enough to be watching two awesome Long-Eared Owls at cripplingly close quarters at an undisclosed location...Tawnys can wait for another day!

Twitter Ye Not!

2009-02-09T14:48:00.000-08:00

I'm only having a go at this micro-blogging malarky. Ladies, gents may I present Bsides_ a kind of mini Brightside on Twitter.com.

Trouble is, there's not many of my local blogging network on there so I'm a bit lonley at the moment. Perhaps see some of you on there? This has great potential for sharing sightings etc and perhaps I might even mini-blog from Scotland in April, provided I can get a moby signal up there.

The Bsides feed appears on the right hand side of the blog as well>>>>>>

A Walk in the Snow in Pictures

2009-02-06T06:42:00.000-08:00

My day off at last, so this morning I wandered round taking snaps in the snow - something I've had the urge to do all week. Hardly virgin snow now; a lot of this had thawed by the time I'd finished my walk, but many compacted slippy patches remain. We've had snow on the ground since monday now in Brum. I walked around the local playing fields then past Selly Oak Hospital then down to Bournville.

Playing fields on Raddlebarn Road - the white building is St Mary's Hospice

Black Headed Gulls

Playing fields again

Redwing outside hospital

Stocks Wood, Bournville

Blackbird, Bournville

Pied Wagtail outside hospital

Siberian Staffordshire

2009-02-03T13:22:00.000-08:00

An extremely cold day battling the elements in North Staffs on Sunday was brightened considerably by the company of Mr Reg Telescope, Mr Richard 'Producer' Powell, Mr Stuart 'Alrewas Birder' Collins, Mr Pete 'Not Walkenden it's Walkden' Walkden and the other half Mr Max 'Falco Subbuteo' Ahmed.

Doxey Marshes was first on the list. The Brummy contingent arrived much earlier than expected; so we set about exploring the marsh, keeping on the move in a futile bid to warm ourselves. Richard and Stuart joined us soon after. This produced two year ticks; White Fronted Geese and Barnacle Geese. Also Water Rail, Snipe, 11 Goosander, 3 Buzzards, Kestrel, Reed Bunting and Bullfinch.

Kestrel at Doxey Marshes by Pete Walkden

http://petewalkdensbirdphotography.fotopic.net/

A Reed Bunting enjoys a rare glimmer of sun at Doxey...

http://petewalkdensbirdphotography.fotopic.net/

Coldmeece next. A good site for gulls lately with Richard finding an Iceland here the previous day. A raft of larger gulls including GBBG, LBBG and Herring Gull was difficult to scan with the sun working against us, but it was apparent no white primaries were to be seen. I was a bit worried about Pete at this stage as he dislikes gulls even more than Max, but he found some small birds including this Treecreeper to keep him occupied.

Treecreeper at Coldmeece by Pete Walkden
http://petewalkdensbirdphotography.fotopic.net/

Driving to Park Hall CP in snow flurries, the afternoon's birding now looked in jeopardy. Then the Long-Eared Owls were absent from their usual tree. Despite all eyes searching, they couldn't be located in the canopy. Bugger! We had a Raven, which was a small blessing as it furnished Reg with a year tick. The misfortune continued however, with the Little Owl being AWOL from the quarry. We did however see carvings by neanderthal men on the quarry cliffs, the ever popular 'waves crashing into lighthouse' design....nothing changes, eh?

Just when we thought we were dipping everything we saw a group of Golden Plover in the meadow at the hilltop with more coming down to land totalling around 30. We then bid farewell to Pete and the rest of us, out of hope or sheer desperation decided to take our chances on the moors. If we got stuck, we wouldn't starve; we had Penguins, Doritos and, if the worst came to the worst, Reg's scotch egg to turn to for sustenance.

A long wait watching Swallow Moss from cars, which Max, Reg and I mainly spent comprising an elaborate system of landmarks and directions which we could use to point out birds (only flawed by the lack of birds to point out). It seemed that nearly one hour went by with no birds at all but the odd horizonal snow shower. Eventually a Snipe over, followed by a Carrion Crow over the mound which flushed a couple of Red Grouse (although I didn't see them properly as my view was obscured), then a possible raptor briefly in the same place which disappeared immediately. Then Stuart had a Short Eared Owl, but it was distant and disappeared, with the snow falling once more.

Around 5.00pm we all connected with a cracking male Hen Harrier which showed well before roosting in the heather. Richard and Stuart headed off home and we followed 10 or so minutes behind them. Stuart texted to say he'd seen a Merlin and then just before we reached the Mermaid Pub, in the fading light, the highlight of the day and a lifer for Reg - a Short-Eared Owl hunting the moors!

Hard going conditions at times, but that might help toughen Max and me up for Scotland and I can honestly say that even with the weather and the dips it was a very enjoyable day. So thanks all for being great company as ever, thanks Pete for the photos and thanks Richard for being the tour guide again and for leaving that SEO by the pub!

Birding in the Tame Valley

2009-01-31T12:54:00.000-08:00

My nose is red after a cold day out around Tame Valley, all this winter birding plays havoc with a lady's skin you know - a good job I treated myself to a few skincare products at Clinique yesterday!

Anyway, a quick post to summarise an enjoyable day's birding around Tame Valley looking for something big and white, which we didn't see, but there was some other good stuff and a frustrating gull situation.

At Dosthill Pits we had a Peregrine, 2 Buzzards, Goldeneye and a surprise in the form of a drake Smew on Drayton Basset Pit (must be viewed from Dosthill only). Two Little Egrets were seen from Fisher's Mill.

Now, really annoyingly I saw a large white-winger gull, which I'm inclined to think was a Glaucous Gull, but I can't say for certain as I only saw it from below and in bad light. I could see it well enough to see that it was very large and its primaries were translucent, but I would have had to see the upper wings to be 100%. There's an Iceland in the area too, so I'm a bit cautious in case I've misjudged the size or something.

Some cretins were riding scramblers around Middleton Lakes and then they nearly knocked us over at Dosthill and were flushing everything in site! We moved on and went to the fields above Wilnecote Tip, where gulls sometimes loaf to see if we could relocate our white-winged gull, but none were loafing as said cretins were now biking around these fields. There were gulls but only high up in the air above the tip.

We went to Hams Hall near Ladywalk NR, to see if we could year tick Firecrest. We didn't but there were several Chiffchaffs, which was nice to see; don't remember seeing one in the winter before. Also Goldcrests, LT Tits, 2 Bullfinch, a Siskin and a couple of Grey Wagtails.

Tame Valley is also a place where we plan to do a lot of patching this year. The new RSPB Middleton Lakes is set to open this summer and looks like it's going to be amazing and there's

lots of other places to visit in this area. A new blog by Tom Perrins: Tame Valley Birding reports sightings in the area.

Bridge over the River Rea

2009-01-31T12:15:00.000-08:00

Our humble home is located in Selly Park, somewhere within this here urban sprawl, just 3.4 miles from the centre of Brum.

Running through Selly Park we have the River Rea; a small river running from it's source in the Waseley Hills Country Park in Worcestershire, some 14 miles through Birmingham before merging with the River Tame past Spaghetti Junction. A public cycle path known as the Rea Valley Cycle Route follows the river on its journey through the city.

It's not so much the river itself I'm interested in, but some of the urban green oases which flank the river and the cycle route. So here it is our new local patch, (emphasis being on the word local) and BTO tetrad square.

The yellow marker indicates Holders Wood, off Moor Green Lane.

The pink marker indicates nearby Highbury Park.

The blue marker indicates where the River Rea is in relation. The Rea Valley cycle route takes you to Cannon Hill Park, if you head north.

The red marker indicates the cycle path on the other side of Dogpool Lane heading south through Stirchely along the River Rea route.

This is an experiment to record the birds that can be found on our doorstep, and an opportunity to enjoy commoner birds and observe their behaviour. We've been quietly exploring here for an hour or two here a week over the past month. I will probably blog monthly on our findings, apart from in the unlikely event of an exciting find.

So far we have spent most of our time in Holder's Wood, where the birdlife is healthy to say the least. Stock Doves live here unobtrusively. Three Great Spotted Woodpeckers (2 males and a female) are already fighting over territory and last Sunday the two males were both drumming. A Green Woody has been heard but not seen. Nuthatch are present (at least one pair) and Treecreeper was a patch tick last Sunday.

Siskins are often in the Alders and scrub on the outskirts of the wood and we've had a couple inside the wood, the highest number seen so far was 15. There's also at least 6 Bullfinch in the scrub near the wood. Common finch and tit species such as Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit and LT Tit are all abundant.

I was out for a walk on my own on the 9th Jan, not birding as such but happened to stop for a few minutes to look at the scrubby area off Moor Green Lane and was surprised to spot a male Kestrel perched close by in a tree, before hunting just metres from me. Sometimes, out birding, we're guilty of hardly giving them a second glance, but this was a special moment so close to home. Sadly, we haven't seen it since. I've seen Buzzards a few times over Selly Park last summer, so hopefully we'll see one over the patch at some point. Peregrine is also possible as several pairs are now present in Brum.

I also saw a Redwing that day and 7 in the wood on the 10th. Other thrushes present are Song Thrush and Blackbird. Haven't had Mistle Thrush there yet, but they always seem to be in the playing fields near our house.

On the river itself I have seen a Kingfisher in the past and Grey Wagtail was seen on 14th and 25th. Pied Wagtails are common on local pavements.

Other stuff we've seen around is Moorhen (on a small pond in the wood), a Jay, Dunnock, Robin, Wren, House Sparrows and Starlings. Carrion Crows and Magpies are abundant, Black Headed Gulls loaf on the playing fields and Lesser Black-Backed Gulls can be seen flying overhead.

To find out more about the history and nature of the River Rea see: http://www.riverreatrail.org.uk/