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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Upton Warren (22 Viewers)

In addition to Des's reports:

12 Greylag Geese on the Moors early(ish) morning
46 Tufted Duck across the reserve
46 Coot across the reserve
12 GC Grebe at the Moors with 1 chick hitching a ride (presumably the pair from the SW marsh)
3 Gadwall at the Moors Pool
3 Cuckoos across the reserve - 2 at the Moors and a very vocal bird at the Flashes
The male White Wag at the Flashes appear to have a injured wing, drooping slightly

The lack of any passage waders was disappointing but not as much as the loss of the two LRP chicks:-C:-C
 
upstarts1979 said:
Hi Des
on Saturday the fox went to the left of the oaktree and I managed to see it climb over the fence although people at the other end of the hide didn't see it climb and they thought it had gone under(because it was lost to view behind blackthorn). Did you see it go underneath? If so more work to be done.:-C
Click to expand...

Hi John. I didn't see how it got into the field, but assumed it went under the fence. Another observer said that it went well to the left of the Oak tree, although didn't comment on how it got into the field. Apparently the Fox has been seen walking along the top of the fence. Is that possible?

Des.
 
I forgot to mention that in the meadow( transmitter field) behind the flashes hide had 2 skylarks singing above it and dropped into the field. Lots of meadow plants in there this year, lets hope it stays that way for a good time to come.
B :)john
 
upstarts1979 said:
Started the day at the Moors. The predicted Little Grebe breeding came to fruition today when 1 half grown chick was seen with 1 adult tucked away in the southern part of the Broadmeadow pool. There could well be more with the other adult that is not showing. This is the first time this species has ever bred on this pool and might be as a result of the thriving reed bed here. Another pair are in the SW marsh.
As yet there is no sign of any chicks from the 2 nesting pairs of GCG.
The 2 pairs of Oycstercatchers have only one chick each. Only a pair of lapwing are now present.
7 Common Terns are present with possibly 2 sitting. 100 or so swift and a handful of sand and house martin battled the gale-force wind.

At the Flashes.
The breeding birds are doing ok with 12 Avocet adults and 18 chicks, the adults have allowed some passage birds to settle. Today 4 Tundra ringed plovers and 3 Dunlin fed close to chicks but two whimbrel seen earlier by Phil were given short shrift. The LRP flock stands at 8 and the 4 chicks are now 6 days old. The Lapwings still continue to display with at least 1 sitting and the sole chick is now 26 days old.
Also seen were a pair of Shelduck, 3 common tern and several BHG broods. One regular event at this time of the year is the build up of the linnet flock that gather to feed in varying numbers on the salt plant seeds in front of the main hide and increasingly this year in the sewage field. It's always worth checking them out for associated species.
At the Hen pool several reed warblers were gathering food for their chicks while a 2 foot long grass snake slithered over the mud in front of the hide. A kingfisher flew over as I left the hide.
B :)John
Click to expand...

1 pair of GCG on the moors pool yesterday with 4 chicks.
Jackie
 
jackied said:
1 pair of GCG on the moors pool yesterday with 4 chicks.
Jackie
Click to expand...
Thanks for that Jackie they are well over due. Do you know if it is from the north pool pair or the one in the south west part of the pool. The reason I ask is that on Tuesday the north sitting bird came off its nest and I didn't see any sign of life.
B :)John
 
upstarts1979 said:
Hi Des
on Saturday the fox went to the left of the oaktree and I managed to see it climb over the fence although people at the other end of the hide didn't see it climb and they thought it had gone under(because it was lost to view behind blackthorn). Did you see it go underneath? If so more work to be done.:-C
Click to expand...

The fox at the Flashes appeared again at about 9pm last night. It came from out of the reed bed opposite the Tower Hide and took a bird. Gary Prescott and I watched it climb over the fence - at the same spot as you observed, John - and head South-east across the field. On closer inspection through my scope the bird in its mouth appeared to be an adult Black-headed Gull. I had also seen a fox earlier at the back of the Broadmeadow Pool.:C:C
 
Spoonbill Finder said:
The fox at the Flashes appeared again at about 9pm last night. It came from out of the reed bed opposite the Tower Hide and took a bird. Gary Prescott and I watched it climb over the fence - at the same spot as you observed, John - and head South-east across the field. On closer inspection through my scope the bird in its mouth appeared to be an adult Black-headed Gull. I had also seen a fox earlier at the back of the Broadmeadow Pool.:C:C
Click to expand...

Cheers Andy the more info we get the better chance we have of sorting the problem
I think next year the fence will have to be 9 foot tall. The weak link seems to be the section from the footpath to the sewage works. Not an impossible task to achieve although finances might be a problem.
For the sake of the waders it is a price worth paying.
B :)John
 
Last edited:
John
They were in the West side of the pool, so I suppose it must be the North West pair, there were another 3 or 4 pairs on the other end of the pool.
Jackie
 
I saw a pair of GC Grebe yesterday roughly between the islands and the West Hide with 1+ young on its parent's back. I assume this was the pair nesting in the SW marsh as the bird at the northern end by the broken tern rafts was still sitting. Didnt venture round to the West Hide to see if the SW marsh bird was still sitting.
 
upstarts1979 said:
Cheers Andy the more info we get the better chance we have of sorting the problem
I think next year the fence will have to be 9 foot tall. The weak link seems to be the section from the footpath to the sewage works. Not an impossible task to achieve although finances might be a problem.
For the sake of the waders it is a price worth paying.
B :)John
Click to expand...

John,

You could well be right about the point of entry. Yesterday at about the time when the red kite was spotted a fox was in the sewage works enclosure. Is the fence in front of the enclosure less secure than further along? It is difficult to see from the hide.

Peter
 
Mike and myself stayed at the flashes until 10pm tonight, fortunately there was no sign of the fox. Mike said he saw it in the field just before I arrived which was about 7.40, but no sign after that.

Five Curlew came in to roost.
 
A quiet evening at the Flashes, with 5 Curlew in to roost being the only waders other than the resident species. The White Wagtail with the damaged wing was still showing, although intermittently. On the fox front I didn't see any signs inside the fence from 19.15-22.00, but one was walking across the field beyond the third flash with an egg in its mouth - looked like a Canada Goose egg, so perhaps an old one - at about 20.30.

Mike
 
PeterE said:
John,

You could well be right about the point of entry. Yesterday at about the time when the red kite was spotted a fox was in the sewage works enclosure. Is the fence in front of the enclosure less secure than further along? It is difficult to see from the hide.

Peter
Click to expand...
No its pretty much the same as the rest, Peter. The difference being that there is a metal vertical bars in the sewage works and a narrow gap between it and our standard fox fence. We have piled brash (cut thorn branches) along the whole length of our section to inhibit the fox from climbing from within our field or digging underneath. The fence at the back of the 3rd Flash has no brash and I think it is a bit lower.
B :)John
 
Woodchat said:
Hi Mike

Yep, Cannock Chase is the stronghold in the West Midlands region for this species with estimates of up to 75 churring males (WMBC annual report, 2002). It's a large area (~26 square miles) but if you put yourself in any area of suitable habitat on a still, warm evening you've got a really good chance of hearing them (and seeing them if you're lucky). The area around the Katyn memorial / Sherbrook Valley is as good as any. Listen out for begging calls of juv LE Owls and roding Woodcocks also. :t:
Click to expand...

I had a Nightjar for the first time last night,the problem is they only start churring at dusk and then it's dark,had some good views in silhouette though and then it was pitch black and i was alone in a strange wood....absolutely worth it though.
 
Just got back from a session at the Flashes with the Mrs.
Gary arrived at 9pm for his nightly vigil so if you are doing an early one tomorrow be warned not a pretty sight at 5am:-O
I could not believe how the 'delta' area has dried out since Tuesday, especially with the amount of rain yesterday. The overall water level hasn't dropped a great deal (0.37) but the persistent wind is evaporating the shallower areas. Thankfully all 18 Avocet, 2 LRP and the single lapwing are finding plenty of food. 1 of the Avocet chick was seen to fly a couple of days ago when it was 28 days old.
Tonight's counts were Avocet 30 (12 adults ) LRP 11 ( 9 adults), Lapwing 5 ( 4 adults). At least 3 curlews arrived before I left. The BHG colony (away from the 'tern rafts) has all but disappeared, from a high of 37 Nests only 3 lots of young (7 chicks) have survived, almost certainly as a result of the fox incursion. A cuckoo called at the Moors and another at the Flashes.
At least 200 swifts fed over the fields and woodland next to the Moors.
There was a massive insect hatch tonight, with warblers feasting all around the reeds and scrubland . A buzzard caught what I think was a young mallard in the sewage field and was instantly attacked by all the avocets and BHG's.
The fox never ventured over the fence while I was there, but Gary will be on guard to monitor its movements.
Oh yes in the log there had been an Osprey today
B :)John
 
Last edited:
upstarts1979 said:
Just got back from a session at the Flashes with the Mrs.
Gary arrived at 9pm for his nightly vigil so if you are doing an early one tomorrow be warned not a pretty sight at 5am:-O
I could not believe how the 'delta' area has dried out since Tuesday, especially with the amount of rain yesterday. The overall water level hasn't dropped a great deal (0.37) but the persistent wind is evaporating the shallower areas. Thankfully all 18 Avocet, 2 LRP and the single lapwing are finding plenty of food. 1 of the Avocet chick was seen to fly a couple of days ago when it was 28 days old.
Tonight's counts were Avocet 30 (12 adults ) LRP 11 ( 9 adults), Lapwing 5 ( 4 adults). At least 3 curlews arrived before I left. The BHG colony (away from the 'tern rafts) has all but disappeared, from a high of 37 Nests only 3 lots of young (7 chicks) have survived, almost certainly as a result of the fox incursion.
At least 200 swifts fed over the fields and woodland next to the Moors.
There was a massive insect hatch tonight, with warblers feasting all around the reeds and scrubland . A buzzard caught what I think was a young mallard in the sewage field and was instantly attacked by all the avocets and BHG's.
The fox never ventured over the fence while I was there, but Gary will be on guard to monitor its movements.
B :)John
Click to expand...

My early morning observations were much the same as yours, John - certainly in terms of the number of young seen - although 2 more Avocets & 4more LRPs (adults) seem to have appeared since the early hours of the day.

Over at the Moors Pool there were 4 adult Oystercatchers and 2 youngsters still. The elder one of the two partook in a brief flight whilst I was there. The hirundine count was dominated by House Martins and there were also good numbers of Swift present.

I am aiming to make another early start tomorrow, although I am currently enjoying a pint of Front Street brewery's Old Sid - a Winter Ale which has an alcohol content of 10.2%. Front Street brewery is based at the Chequers at Binham, Norfolk and I acquired the bottled liquor described above when I revisited Branthill Farm, which provides the barley used in many of the finest ales brewed in that wonderful bird rich county and sells the finished product in the shop on site.

Talking of proper beer reminds me that I haven't bumped into Gert recently. Hope to see you at Upton tomorrow fellow real ale quaffer.

The beer is drunk, and so am I!B :)B :):gn:
 

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