Withymoor - Amblecote, Stourbridge..... (2 Viewers)

Nothing locally yesterday but 3 hours down @ Grimmers.

Very quiet altho the weather was very pleasant it doesn't make conditions conducive to bird movement but i'm not complaining - it was like birding abroad but without the birds

The gravel extraction appears to have finished and the new 'house' is nearing completion. I will put my home-made sign of "Eyesore Towers" the next time i visit

Not a single hirundine was noted in 3 hours? A single Lesser Whitethroat was a new migrant for the year with another five spp of warbler noted including Reed and Sedge. Several pairs of both Oystercatcher and LRP in addition to Redshank and Lapwing. A single Common Sand seen on the Old Workings. Ravens, Buzzards and Sparrowhawk in the air. lots of duck and Little Grebes, certainly beats around here.

It's Sandwell Valley for me on Saturday and with the weather changing slightly on Friday i think it should bode well for a good range of birds and hopefully some movement on the day. The recording area is a decent size but over 70 people have pledged support so nothing should escape observer scrutiny! I don't live local so will not be there until mid-morning and shall depart late afternoon due to committments at local hostelries in the Stourbridge area and hopefully will have something to celebrateB and not just the usual thirst-slaking exercise

Looks like a few hours at SV today as a pre-cursory exercise.

Laurie:t:

+++Breaking+++

Latest, grainy, image of todays Red-Necked Grebe down @ the Goldfish Bowl

Laurie:t:

Coincidentally, there was another scarce Grebe found ystda.....by me:eek!: Namely an adult Little Grebe down at the Golden Puddle! It's all relative folks. The One and Only Paul Allan-Legge was speed-texted and viewing arrangements were made - i negotiated free parking and no permit and everybody, i.e. Paul and myself went away happy having achieved crippling views.

Don't get yr hopes up as it was'nt there this morning:C But 3 pairs of Tufties were and both Blackcaps and a Willow Warbler were singing on the embankment. Cool and quiet.

A mate, yes i do have them, texted me last nite and asked if i knew there was a 'Redneck' down at the Goldfish Bowl? I said don't be personal the bloke does a good job There's certainly plenty in Kidderminster (apart from Gary Palmer who has done his best to raise the genetic profile), fortunately most of them won't leave the confines of the town without a permit.

Yesterdays shot of the 'Grebe', as stated, was a bit grainy but it's the best i could do - here's the original taken by one of the local snappers

I am trying to arm-twist a mate to spend a few hours down @ UW today, not visited for a couple of years or so and although Red-Ness Grebe is (obviously) not a lifer a nuptially-plumed bird has, thus far, escaped me:C

Laurie:t:

Another fine day, very settled but with added heat haze. Low pressure is due to drift in from the West over the next few days and by Sunday it should be cooler and cloudier in the West Midlands. Today should be fine and tomorrow not too bad, perhaps just a tad of inclement to boost the days total and add some frisson to the event?

2-5ish yesterday, after an hour or so down @ Withymoor. Finished with a few B in the beer garden of the Plough and Harrow adjacent to Mary Stevens Park which held nothing of note prior to the imbibing.

I thought i would give the Sugar Loaf paddocks another bashing as James is away at Uni. Typical, close, cropped, horsiculture habitat. Ramshackle sheds, knackered fencing, piles of equine-related detritus and in this particular group an abundance of White, ribbony, electric barrier stuff. All in all a fookin' eyesore. The situation is completed by lard-arsed females shoveling horse-shite and barrowing bits and bobs everywhere. There is one potato field adjacent but it held nothing apart from Corvids and Woodies.

The old tip held nothing except a pair of amorous Stock Doves and a wheezing male Greenfinch on a pylon. There was, however, a pleasant surprise with the presence of a calling Willow Tit in a nearby hedgerow Oak. A spp i have not logged around this area for a considerable time. I think the last one i registered was actually over at Wyre Forest a few years ago.

"Careful what you wish for" That used to be a saying of my Grandmothers' - that's fine when it was Hitler dropping his bombs back in the day or the present Government but my old Nan, who did'nt have much of a British list wasn't wishing for a Whinchat! I cycled out ystda thinking that a Whinchat would be nice? More a case of "Careful what you wishfull think for". The last one i had was down at the Beet Workings @ Kidderminster over 10 years ago. I clocked a pale-Orangey bird on a distant paddock fencepost, suspicious, i quickly set up the 50mm Opticron c/w 12-36 zoom and bingo a smart female-type bird flycatching off the fenceline. A calling Little Owl completed the scenario.

Plenty of Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs everywhere, from the paddocks thru Norton Covert (no Wood Warbler noted) and around the West Hagley fields. More Stock Doves (they do not seem to be uncommon around here but as they are cavity-nesters it does make you wonder where they breed?). Skylarks, Linnets and Yellowhammer all singing and finishing with a single, female, Wheatear on one of the potato fields. Neither Corn Bunting or Whitethroat seen or heard.

Didn't manage the Goldfish Bowl ystda due to travel 'arrangements' but today is a distinct possibility if the Red-Ness Grebe is still present?

Laurie:t:

Nice surprise this Morning on way to work, at 10:45 , Wheatear ( Male ) on bank nr Withymoor School.
Then flew onto School Roof. Only the 3rd for my local patch. Not bad after last week's Red Kite over football pitches.

Good records Laurie. Whinchat is always a nice bird to see, hopefully one get one next week when I'm back. Willow Tit is an abolsute mega!! Would have thought this is a the first record for 5-6 years. Also seems that I'm not looking hard enough for Little Owls, you seem to one every time!

Hi Jim - i have only heard Little Owl, both records at about the same time ca4ish in the afternoon. Oddly enough the regular birds adjacent to Uffmoor call at this time or have when i have been looking for them?

Look forward to your return next week, the 'regular' pair of eyes is needed

Sandwell Valley today for the "all-dayer".

Laurie:t:

Ounty John & erea produced little. Male Reed Bunting, Linnets, Yellow Hammers, Blackcaps, skylarks.
Nuthatch(pair). Single Buzzard.
Not much at all Sugar Loaf Lane.

Re: Little Owl, not Uffmoor but Bunkers in the area where the Barn Owls used to be.

I managed a modest 55 spp from 1100-1530 before cycling back to West Brom and a couple of B in the Vine (aka Suki's).

A tad early for the best results imo and little, if any, passage. Bumped into Simon and his dad and said hello to half a dozen other birders apart from them i didn't see anybody else.

I don't mean to offend (ish) but West Bromwich is a shit-hole and i will not be visiting again anytime soon. I spent 4 1/2 hours return journey for the same amount of birding. Having said that - SV is a great place with plenty of habitat, literally hundreds of acres.

As stated elsewhere i didn't need Snipe being booted from one of the reedbeds by an RSPB employee/vol and a birder:C I'm old skool and the welfare of the bird blah-blah.....don't start me off with photographers either.

All in all pleasant enuff and i will certainly be doing SV more frequently as long as i maintain a cordial relationship with my chauffeur

FensPools, Sheepwash, Netherton Razzer and Withymoor today followed by WHFields prior to a couple of t-time B B

The Pied-billed Grebe seems to have re-located to Leighton Moss, i did'nt think it would stop long at the Gloucestershire location - i saw a bird in Oxfordshire in '99. The HudWit looks a smart bird and i wouldn't mind seeing.....a second one A bit of GBH? Maybe on the mainland, it'll probably end up at Ham Wall RSPB - all the rare Herons and Egrets generally do!

Laurie:t:

rollingthunder said:

The Pied-billed Grebe seems to have re-located to Leighton Moss, i did'nt think it would stop long at the Gloucestershire location - i saw a bird in Oxfordshire in '99.
Laurie:t:

Click to expand...

Ham Wall RSPB...20th April 2013....Pied-billed Grebe heard only by me unfortunately but nonetheless it's vocalization was a treat to hear .

Well done at Sandwell Laurie.:t:

4 Wheatear and singing Whitethroat at Whittington this morning.

Hi Pam - is Pied-billed Grebe anything like Little Grebe vocally?

And, no, i have'nt looked on xeno-canto.....

Laurie:t:

After the pulse-racing excitment of visiting West Brom:eek!: and that bird place adjacent it was "business as usual" ystda with a quick run-round of the local birding notspots.....

First up was Fens Pools, home of chain-tethered 'osses', wire-burning tinkers and lake-diving chavs (Council Housed And Violent). Five species of warbler were heard including Whitethroat and Reed Warbler. A loose group of ca30 Sand Martins were hawking above Fens Pool but surprise of the day belonged to a calling Cuckoo adjacent to FP and close. The bird called, on and off, for about a minute before stopping abruptly and wasn't heard for the remaining 1/2 hour that we were there.

I cannot remember the last Cuckoo that i heard in the West Midlands county, it's that long ago! It is a sad indictment on the parlous state of some of our trans-Saharan migrants that the fortunes of this species along with Yellow Wagtail and Turtle Dove are not only seemingly beyond our control but are inextricably linked to issues thousands of miles away. Having said that - the same was happening to Whitethroats when i was a formative birder and this species seems to have made a recovery?

Next on the list was 'Shep'Wash. A Sprinkling of warblers including a couple of Reed, 3 Cormorants, Buzzard and 'Lonesome Dove' on patrol.

The highlight was a conversation with 5 armed Police and a dog-handler whilst being grilled 'on high' from the distinctive Blue and Yellow Police helicopter and who said pigs couldn't fly? We had clocked a couple of yoof with a pistol but it was a BB type-thing and altho could probably inflict some serious bruising on a Small Tortoiseshell wasn't deemed a problem but somebody reported it and then the full weight of state security is unleashed.....but not the dog! By this time Mark had joined us and his avoidance of eye-contact with the plods make me think that this wasn't his first meeting

Whilst watching the stationary helicopter a male Peregrine with a freshly caught pigeon flew past being chased by a Herring Gull - a nice conclusion to all the excitement!

A final, cursory, visit to Withymoor was in order. 3 pairs of Tufted Duck were present and a very low Raven flew over the pool. I record this species a number of times annually but a nice low bird made a pleasant change from the distant kronky specks. Paul AL texted me with a singing Lesser Whitethroat over at the Brewers Wharf @ Merry Hell.

Stunning pics of the Hudwit here http://carlbovisnaturephotography.b...dsonian-godwit-in-somerset-they-dont.html?m=1

Some nice GBH stuff here from visiting/working Israeli birder Yoav Perlman.
http://nubijar.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/almost-perfect-scilly-twitch.html

Laurie:t:

rollingthunder said:

Hi Pam - is Pied-billed Grebe anything like Little Grebe vocally?

And, no, i have'nt looked on xeno-canto.....

Laurie:t:

Click to expand...

I suggest you do look then Laurie.

In my humble opinion a P-b Grebe is high and low pitched and a L Grebe is high pitched. o It would be fascinating I would imagine to hear a pair of P-b Grebes vocalizise in a duet!

Had a walk along the canal at Wolverley yesterday. Kingfisher, Ltt's and kestrel being the highlights along with several Orange-tip, Small Tort's, Peacock and Green-veined White flutterbys!

I will xeno-canto the damn thing then Pam.....

There appears to be a bit more local interest in the Cookley/Caunsall/Wolverley area or at least more activity on BF - we need to drag people away from the 'honeypots', y'know 'local patches' that are a 20-30 mile drive.....

Laurie:t:

Of little interest, had House Martin a few doors down from me this Dinnertime around previous nest site.

There are still squares available for the 2015 BTO House Martin survey...http://blx1.bto.org/housemartins/home

The current 'Polar Pulse' (no wiki available which suggests it's the Met Office trying to sex up the weather) is making for cool birding with an 'edge' to the light breeze, very cool nights but bright starts (Red will do me!). Things might perk up for the wage-slaves over the Bank Holiday weekend - either way stuff will get found but the current breeze direction and temperature might have an effect on onward migration?

A kick about ystda was decidedly unproductive with Blackcaps the only warblers heard. A 3rd consecutive visit to Sugar Loaf Mountain (Farm) produced the expected.....Little Owl:eek!: Something that should narrow the eyes of James but this bird was seen this time and not a calling individual. I had a good scan for suitable trees and there it was all fluffed up in a shade-stunted Ash adjacent to a hedgerow Oak with a distinct hole in its trunk.

A figure-of-8 circuit around the West Hagley Fields yielded only Skylarks, Linnets and a couple of Swallows hawking the pasture. As i exited down on the main road @ Worcester Lane i had the briefest snatch of Whitethroat from the hedge. A meagre haul from an unseasonally cold day - more to come:C

Possibly further afield tda to Grimmers but will take in the newly-resident Peregrines @ Weavers Wharf, Kidderminster and possibly a bimble up to Walton Hill to search for Ring Ousels and whatever else might be lurking.

This is all due to having access to some wheels as the chauffeur is available for the day

#MaltaSlaughter - finally some sense to the seasonal madness. I have to say, compared to previous years where all sorts of stuff has been blasted out of the sky, hunters had been whizzing around the harbour in speedboats and roosting Harriers have been targeted at night in fields!, this years MurderFest has been a relatively quiet affair. Mark Mifsud Bonnici did NOT return on Birdguides to rant, give us all a history lesson on colonialism and wag his finer on abortion. A couple of high-profile Cuckoos were found moribund and yesterdays Kestrel which was shot and landed in a childrens playing field prompted the Maltese Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat, to close the season 3 days early in the light of the FKNK not being able to 'police' their own members. Needless to say the FKNK have called foul and moan that they are victims of collective punishment - justified in my opinion.

Indeed the Times of Malta reported that the number of 'non-target' bird incidents 'fell considerably' but unfortunately so did that Kestrel. It might make a recovery but it has now become a 'cause celebre' for conservationists both resident and elsewhere.

Interestingly both the PM and the opposition leader both voted to retain the Spring derogation - it might seem a small gain but politically and culturally the volte-face/farce by Joseph Muscat is a considerable move.

Laurie:t:

Attached - 'Kestrel celebre':C

#maltaslaughter

+++Breaking News+++

MarkMifsudBonnici in negotiations for starring role in remake of Ken Loachs' cult 1969 move.....Kes

Laurie:t:

Attached - Mark and the original star with a message to the FKNK.

The Boys In Blue

Hi Laurie, my only meet up with the boys in blue was many years ago. The location was the Orgreave Colliery that day I lead a charge with 7 other like minded people, over weight & vertically challenged, they came from the enchanted wood area & were known locally as the Snow White mob :smoke::t:

An iconic image from "The Battle of Orgreave".....

I remember having a huge bust-up with a couple of coppers in my local, at the time, the Jolly Crispin in Sedgley when i overheard them bragging about how much overtime they had earnt oop North @ Orgreave.....

Blood money was 2 of the more polite words used in the altercation

Ah well, at least the Wicked Witch is dead.

Laurie:t: