Withymoor - Amblecote, Stourbridge..... (3 Viewers)

I only had an adult Herring Gull.....

Half an hour down at the Moorings yeilded Kingfisher, Jay and Bullfinch not bad for grotty canal/industrial habitat.

WHFields were distinctly unproductive, a few stubble fields but obviously no food - a couple of Yellowhammers and that was it. Of note was a small settling pool within the pump house compound, it's steep-sided but just about viewable, i had'nt noticed this before.

Cycled over to Stakenbridge, roadside pool unfrozen the linear one frozen, nothing of note. Brake Mill held 5m Tufties and 4 females. 6 Mute Swans were present 2 adults and 4 1w types. The adjacent Scots-Pine dominated shelterbelt looks excellent for wintering Firecrest:eek!:. This area held upto 3 several years ago, i had a number of Goldcrests feeding high in the canopy.

I was a bit late for the gulls as they had been moving since about 2:30, hundreds and hundreds of them. A nice group of about 60 LBB's all adults save for 4 x 1w sitting in the sheep field by the railway bridge.

The 3w Iceland Gull continues to be reported from the Iverley Lane/Churchill fields area so i will have a bash today mid-morning onwards. It, or another 3w bird, continues to be reported @ Wildmoor. Both reports request not to enter the fields, which is common sense unless you are currently a resident in a care home, so i presume it is aimed at photographers?

PAL had a pair of Goosander down at the Golden Puddle but the Little Grebes would appear to have gone, last seen on Saturday.

Interesting article on Hoopoes 'painting' their eggs.....

http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=4808

Laurie:t:

Fri/Sat/Sun..............

Out and about in fairly reasonable conditions for birding. Not too cold, dry and at times excellent light. Changeable the first half of the week with tabloid-headlining 'Arctic blast' weather for the latter.....

Withymoor

Upto half a dozen Tufties, BHG's fluctuating between 50-125, the adult Little Grebe is still present despite disappearing for nearly a week but the juv-type appears to have departed. A pair of Goosander have been sporadic, about every other day, from where they eminate is anybodys guess?

Mary Stevens Park

No Goosander or noteworthy duck but Black-Headed Gulls in excess of 500 on Saturday afternoon. MSP is not a large pool and when there is that many and somebody on the other side starts chucking bread it's like a wedding confetti scene! Of note was another BirdForum name to put a face to! Hi to Matt Lissimore c/w cammo long lens i hope to bump into you more frequently in future mate.

West Hagley Fields

Continues to provide very little. There are 'stubble' looking fields but there is nothing feeding on them. A few have been planted with, what looks like, Winter wheat but there are a couple of Propane-powered gas guns to stop birds from settling - ironic, we are probably paying for them?

Brake Mill Pools

12 Goosander on Saturday, 8f4m, right at the far end of the pool. 14 Tufties 7 of each and still 6 Mute Swans, 2ad4juvs. A second visit to the adjacent sheep field finally yielded a result. On Saturday there was the usual group of ca100 large Gulls, mainly mixed-age (predominately adults) LBB's with a handful of Herring. In addition were about 150+ BHG's. The best place to view is the metal gate down towards the bridge as the hedge and tree further up might spook them. There are lots of sheep wandering about to clutter up the 'scope views! The only problem with down at the gate is that all the Gulls are on the same plane so it is easy to view the front line but anything behind is more difficult but that's the way it is. I had picked a bird whos' head, altho showing some delicate streaking, looked a good candidate. As luck would have it the birds spooked, something which they did every 10 mins or so. As the flock milled around it left half a dozen on the ground including a nice, adult, Yellow-Legged Gull. I scanned the birds as they wheeled and did'nt pick up anything that looked like a White-winger but i'm not saying one was'nt present. A distant Raven and a nearby Buzzard complemented. I made my way over to Caunsall for an assignation with a pint, a cob and the bride (who had walked from Stourbridge) took some pictures of a section of hedge i laid in a competition 10 years ago, watched a pair of displaying Buzzards and got a lift back to SB with some friends - one of the benefits of having a folding Brompton.....

Laurie:t:

Attached - Gulls, it's in there somewhere, distant Raven fanning its tail and nearby Buzzard.

Another good 'local' read from you Laurie! I had a brief visit to B M Pools yesterday afternoon, 2 Drake Goosanders and the usual on the water. I then walked along Brake Lane, Buzzard, Kestrel, Mistle and Song Thrush and a few Fieldfare in one of the the fields opposite the bridleway.

Whittington: Saturday morning I walked the track down to Turbine Cottage and at the start of the track I had lengthy views of a Stonechat, a 1st-w female I believe? Raven, Buzzard, Mistle Thrush and Skylark were other notable birds seen.

That is an excellent Winter record, Pam, i'm envious:eek!:.....i shall mooch ova that way either tmrw or Wed before the blast from Greenland arrives!.....

Laurie:t:

I can't say i have had much in the way of enthusiasm this past week. There might be stuff about but i am not prepared to cycle in strong winds and cold with it to try and find out!

Despite the gloomy and unproductive attitude i still managed an 'every other day' look at Mary Stevens Park and managed to bump into Pam on her travels. In addition to the birds i am making use of the outdoor fitness equipment as even the small amount of tax that i pay, in the form of VAT, has helped fund them.....

Pam assisted, unknowingly, in the gull count.....by chucking bread and so about 350 was the maximum (BHG's) for the week, i managed a feeding Chiffchaff the same day and calling Nuthatch plus various feeding Grey Wagtails. Only a single record of a single Redhead Goosander has made it into my notebook during the last week.

This Sunday, after playing it cool for 6 weeks, i made the trip (chauffered of course) over to the SSSI that is Clayhanger Marsh. When it stopped for a week i could feel, in my water, that it would be a long-stayer in the style of the Sandwell bird and others going back more years ago than i care to remember!

The brute of a bird was picked up on the main pool after negotiating muddy and wet tracks as is the perimeter path, you have been warned. They always remind me of U-boats on the surface with the distinct, stream-lined, bulk and the beak being the 88mm deck gun. Sorry for the indulgence but that's me. In an hour of mooching around the bird spent the bulk of the time underwater re-appearing hundreds of yards away. It spent very little time on the surface on view..........a bit like a U-boat!

A selection of duck present including 6 Wigeon (4m2f), ca15 Goosander and about 20 Pochard. 3 Buzzards noted, some Lapwing and a single Fieldfare. The surprise of the day was a feeding female-type Stonechat which, as i had been lusting after the one that Pam found recently, was a real boner:eek!:

Local bloke Chaz Masons' excellent blog does'nt seem to accept comments so i tweeted him this morning and havn't received any reply so he either hasn't looked or it has some 'grip' value?

Laurie:t:

Attached - Redhead @ MSP, GND/U-boat and Saxicola.

Glad to have unknowingly helped out with the Gull count Laurie, Aldi wholemeal bread is a real bargain buy!

Good to see you found your own Stonechat!:t:

A Muntjac deer was a pleasant sighting at Brake Mill Pools this morning, only my second Muntjac sighting here! Remaining highlights were Goldcrest, Treecreeper, Green and Great Woodpeckers, a noisy Jay, loads of Blue & Great Tits and 2 Little Grebe!

M S Park is having a make-over! 1/5th of the trees around the pool are either being cut down or pruned back and the dense vegetation has/is being removed! About time too in my opinion!

I haven't had much enthusiasm of late, hence no postings, sporadic visits have not produced anything of note but Spring is just around the corner and it will turn milder this week with a ridge of high pressure building from Tuesday onwards.....Black Kites have started drifting over the Straits of Gibraltar so that signals the start of Spring for me! It seems to have been quiet nationally which means very little is going to be of note regionally?

Mary Stevens Park is receiving the attention of the Arborists, the work looks completed with just a tree that fell in the water still at right angles - i have requested that that be left as it is a nice feature and provides both perches and shade but i think the request will fall on deaf ears, we shall see. The increased activity has meant very few birds being present apart from the resident inmates.

I have not visited Withymoor for a couple of weeks as i really cannot be bothered and my one remaining dog refuses to go any further than the nearby railway line! He is, basically, a pensioner now so i do not push him. Muddy tracks off-road have deterred me from venturing very far on my Brompton as i do not wish to keep cleaning it, particularly the chain, every time so all in all it's been a dull period but this tends to happen, for me, at this time of year. Unfortunately i have no holidays planned to perk things up, certainly nothing until May at the earliest so the oft-dreamed Spring, Israel, trip is still a fantasy. I will probably leave a break until the Autumn and would like it to be East, east of Turkey but we shall see what both finances and 'political stability' have to offer.....

A Song Thrush belting it out at 0545 this morning perked me up and it finished at about 0615, there should be more birds and more species cranking it up this week. A calling female Tawny Owl, last week, in some local Poplars was nice. In addition a Buzzard over the ring-road adjacent to King Edwards school at about 4 o'clock made a nice change. The bird perched on the adjacent Medusa House on 2 consecutive days.

A text from the-one-and-only Paul Allan-Legge ystda informed me of a pair of Red-Breasted Mergansers:eek!:, a real pair this time and not the 'birds' over at Netherton Razzer I don't have the services of my chauffeur this weekend so it looked like i picked the wrong weekend, last Sunday, to visit Sandwell Valley, ho-hum. Another text from another birding mate enquired as to whether i had heard of a Great Grey Shrike on Kinver Edge?:eek!: I said no and why to be informed that a bloke he works with 'who knows his birds' had just told him of one he saw! I asked him when and he said..............Tuesday Feb 3rd FFS.......No pictures and no description, OK a 'Grey' Shrike is easily identifiable but why leave it 10 days? I told him to tell him it was a distant female Bullfinch not only because that is probably what it was but also as punishment for being a tw@t and not reporting sooner!

Laurie:t:

Attached - my best 'Ice Halo' shot, Wigeon from SV, Buzzard on 2 different days.

Heard nothing more on 'Shrikegate' but even a shot like this would have done! This is of yesterdays bird @ Roydon Common taken by an old mate and scouser-in-exile and constant tweeter ('cos he's got something to tweet about).....Eddie Myers!

https://twitter.com/TheredMyers

Laurie:t:

And.....No, i haven't asked his permission but he won't mind!

Your request for the fallen tree to be left did indeed fall on deaf ears Laurie!

C20 Redwings in the park this afternoon and a Song Thrush struggling with a worm were the highlights!

As i saw on yesterdays visit!....

It's all looking rather open and bare down at the birding 'Notspot' of Mary Stevens Park with a lot of lower branch material 'unsafe' trees and ground level shubby-type stuff having been cut and removed. It all means that whatever is on the pool is much easier to view and i don't suppose it will make any difference to the birds as long as they are being fed etc. As i pointed out to some people who commented about the denuded aspect, all the cut trees etc will re-sprout within 6 weeks at this time of year as the sap begins to flow. All the material cut was deciduous and so will coppice at various heights so within a few months you will have nice re-growth at various levels and it will look completely different - just wait and see:eek!:

As i cycled past on Sunday there was at least a pair of Tufties and yesterday there were 4 males present. 250+ Black Headed Gulls and 2 Herring (1ad and 1 2w) were also noted. Lots stuff now singing altho perhaps slightly subdued as no 2 days appear to be the same! Plants seem to have returned to seasonal norm, whatever that is, i have recorded Lesser Celandine just down the road before Valentines Day for the last 5 years but not this year. I think soil temperatures have been below 6c more or less since Xmas and wet with it?

I have not visited Withymoor Pool for nearly a month as i simply cannot be bothered but will pop down over the weekend if i get the time. The weather has not helped with the enthusiasm but i note from previous notebooks that mid-Jan to mid-Feb sees a distinct dip in my birding activitiy until the thought of a Wheatear kicks in! Way before Internet and submitting records i was carrying out some hedge-laying work at a the Worcs Trust reserve of Eades Meadow and had a male Wheatear on the 26th of Feb:eek!: This is before mobile phones as well! The bird spent a day defending a series of mole-hills that it was taking food off by chasing a couple of Robins and a Song Thrush away. I knew it was a particularly early record and the bird was'nt present there the next day.

I don't usually record Wheatears until nearly a month later over at the West Hagley Fields so there's still some weeks to go. It's about now i start checking my Bird Observatory 'bookmarks' e.g. Gibraltar, Oeussant and Portland.....

I did pay a brief visit to Hurcott last Sunday and as usual came away completely underwhelmed - a Great Crested Grebe looked in full breeding plumage and that was about it!

Laurie:t:

Apologies for going off topic, but couldn't resist a photo containing this threads main contributor ! But which one is he ? Bonus points for identifying the venue. A regular Sunday night haunt in the mid 80's for catching up with who'd seen what over the weekend.

Christ Almighty, Gary wtf was that taken? It's a pity u did'nt take one at the last meeting 'cos the same people were there in the same boozer Nice one, that was when i had a list and not just memories of one!!!

BBC Radio4's "Living World" this morning was 'dabbling ducks' @ Slimbridge so, for most if not all, it will be an audio excercise in sucking eggs i would have thought. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b053sbq5

Weather cooler than average for the beginning of March but the lighter nights have made a difference and stuff is pouring across the Gibraltarian Straits so...

The Twittersphere has been obsessing about #ThatDress which is about as banal as you could get? You really have to see the dress in natural light to form an opinion in my opinion otherwise whatever camera you use you are at the mercy of how the CMOS sensor interprets it? I just hope that nobody who wears one of these dresses becomes a victim of 'Domestic Violence' otherwise the Police might struggle as to whether they are Black or Blue:C

I know DV is not funny and my girlfriend works in the field before anybody gets on my case.....

We birders know all about #ThatDress type stuff, attached is a picture of a ringed Pintails' speculum (ironically, ringed @ Slimbridge by James Lees) to illustrate the Trompe de l'oeil (Trick of the eye).

Keep an ear and/or an eye open for nocturnal Whimbrel on clear nights altho this individual photographed recently @ Oulidia in Maroc would make you look twice!

I am actully out and about mid-morning around Sheepwash and its environs...

Laurie:t:

Nice pic Laurie, not changed much, also glass in hand.
Not been down Withmoor myself last few weeks .Had great views mid morning of 2 Kronking Ravens over Withmoor School.

Hi Laurie I know the face's but can't recall the name's
Good Birding YAMYAM

For those who are interested, the 'subjects' in the photo (L to R) are:
Me, John Higginson (now living on the Scillies), Laurie Allen (of this thread), Dave Bird (now in Germany), and Martin (Laurie's uncle).
The venue is the Jolly Crispin (Sedgley) from c1985.
Dave Burns passed the photo onto me from a couple Dave Bird had scanned and sent to him.

Cheers Gary
Good Birding YAMYAM

Who is the mystery photographer? I would have thought the now-Norfolk-and-Cyprus-Exile.....Steve 'Curly' Kale? Not Paul 'Tiler' Tipler he wouldn't know how to work a camera...Higgo finally obtained a visa to leave Belvide and take up residency on the 'Magic Isles':eek!: Come to think of it it must have been Dave 'Bad Boy' Burns

Halcyon days and many, many happy memories - we shall have to do it again when everybody is back in town. We've all changed a bit since then, i know i have.

Popped into Withymoor ystda, hvnt been down for about 3 weeks but will get back into the swing of things once the weather picks up - cooler this week but a ridge of high pressure building from the continent for at least the weekend and possibly beyond with a distinct warm, Spring-like, feel to things for a change? 60+ BHG's and 6 Tufties, 4m2f and now no Little Grebes:C

ATB Laurie:t:

Well, Spring came and went - Sat 7th of March to be precise!

A very pleasant and welcome day it was altho still a tad breezy on the Brompton but i need to lose a stone so it's all for the good.....

I headed off to the border/badlands of Worst Midlands and Worcestershite and an unproductive time was had by all.....me. Somebody Twittered a few days ago on how 'great' Worcestershire is - i suppose if you use a car and cherry-pick the sites you visit then anywhere can be deemed 'good'. I follow a few on Twitter and even have a few following me and one of those i receive updates on is an old friend (who i haven't seen for years) is an exiled scouser one Eddie Myers. The-One-And-Only-Paul-Allan-Legge bumps into Eddie everytime he visits that Norfolk (Permit Only) place and gives him my regards. Both Eddie and i own and bird from a Brompton - that is where the similiarity ends:C Eddies' worst days birding in North Norfolk still trumps my best that either says more about my skills at finding birds or the quality of the habitat in which we choose to pursue our interests?

I like to think the latter.....or in Eddies' case 'latte' of which he appears to partake in with zealous regularity.

Talking of ID issues - 'Audioun-Gate' rumbles on elsewhere on BirdForum. I will pitch in and say i thought, from the 2 pictures uploaded, that it was one and still do. If i had found a bird that looked like that down at the Golden Puddle then i would'nt have hesitated in flagging it up to others. There is talk of a 'mutant' Herring? I can't see any features there and the profile and jizz looks like the boy to me but what do i know? The 'experts', talking-heads and keyboard fence-sitters have been quiet, as they usually are, not committing and fingers drumming.

My perambulations on Saturday only produced a solitary male Goosander at Brake Mil Pools. There were a good range of singing residents and a couple of displaying Buzzards but precious little else, just acres of empty quiet!

Birds are arriving with movement at Portland and plenty of stuff, on associated tail-winds @ Gibraltar. A handful of Sand Martins in the South West approaches including Frampton-on-Severn and a reported Little Ringed Plover at Sandwell Valley provides some inspiration and impetus.

A brief visit down to Withymoor produced a few BHG's and a couple of LBB's some Tufties and the first-Winter Little Grebe which had presumed to have departed weeks ago! The 2 birds that were present over the Winter can be amazingly elusive at times. Mary Stevens Park has had it's makeover and looks radically different but as all the cut material is broadleaf they will all be sending up new shoots in the coming weeks. Ca75 BHG's were present many of them coming into breeding plumage with heads darkening and bills reddening. My notes reveal they peaked at about 600 sometime December. Another Winter without a decent gull but there might be an Audiouns doing the rounds

The Malta-Slaughter will shortly be rearing its' head and i look forward to locking horns on BirdGuides with the representative of the shooting fraternity for a repeat match from last year The bird-trapping on Cyprus and the illegal Ambelopoulia trade http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambelopoulia needs to be kept in the headlines and the UK government needs to police the land it owns around it's military assets on an island that is little more than a money-laundering satellite province for Putins Oligarchs (ruled by the few) and other members of the current Soviet 'Kleptocracy'.....

Laurie:t:

Attached - last of the Goosanders @ Brake Mill Pools and the Little Grebe at Withymoor...

A pair of goosander as in male and female at mary stevens park 7am this morning. Nothing much else of note other than the rain was almost horizontal!! Regards Dennis