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

Fen's Pool Nr (1 Viewer)

It's nice to have a bit of a personal 'purple patch' where birds seem to follow you around and to have found a couple yourself rather than just seeing other peoples! A sort of 'reward' for all the time put in on these little patches.

As already stated serendipity plays a large part in a lot of these sightings as they don't tend to hang around but for the lucky finders/observers it has added 'grip' value;) Although even this is a double-edged sword - if it is a rarity and not photographed or picked up elsewhere acceptance could be difficult......

I post a Wiki link to 'serendipity' not in order to explain the meaning but the explanation is illustrated by a bird but there is more in the picture than originally intended.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serendipity

Laurie:t:
 
That brings back memories, ie the Foots Hole pool Night Heron of may 1994 that hung around for over a week (6th - 17th), I was birding around the pools prior to 7 am that particular Friday morning when I bumped into Allan Gwilt another local birder who described a small grey coloured heron with white plumes to me, which he had just seen at nearby foots hole pool which is located behind the dell stadium. I said it cant be anything else but a night heron. I quickly followed him back to the site where we found the night heron sat in a willow over the pool. I can remember borrowing allans bike to cycle madly to another birdwatchers house to put the news out, the very much missed late Alan Perry. After banging on his door and then shouting the news up to him through his bedroom window he quickly followed me back to where the heron was know showing well. During the period it stayed it was seen by hundreds of birders, some from as far away as Scotland. The good old days before mobiles when you had to use leg work to get the news out, only joking I much prefer a mobile, cheers simon
 
Remember it well.......hearing about it that is:C Away on birding hol - Alan P never missed an opportunity to rag me about it;)

Bring on the next one!

Laurie:t:
 
Hi that was a corking bird remember it well I saw the bird on the 8th we where having a bit of a purple patch in the Midlands at the time with Whisked tern at Bredon’s Hardwick on the 1st, Blue Winged Teal at Bliffield on the 2nd and a Collared Pratincole at Bredon on the 4th,
Good reminiscing YAMYAM
 
An hour circuit around the pools ystda produced 2 Teal on Fens Pool and about 50 Tufties on the Middle Pool nothing else of note......

Laurie:t:
 
While yet again counting Tufteds on the middle pool at 8.25 this morning I heard a strange but familiar call. On looking around I got immediately onto the bird flying past me, my first Dipper for the fens pools, it circled the bottom end of the pool twice and then up and out towards Wordsley. Until a couple of years ago the odd pair could be found along the river stour on the staffs /west mids border near to here but they have recently disappeared. This is the 3rd record of dipper for fens pools Nr, 1 flew across middle pool in about 1982 seen by the late Allan Perry, 2 where the stream runs into fens pool during early spring 2001 by Ken Ball. This is amazingly my fifth tick of the year for the Fens Pools, these being Grey Plover, Glaucous Gull, Red Kite, Avocet and Dipper. Also 3 Brambling, 50+ Fieldfare seen today
 
Hi Laurie, yes the dipper is certainly a scarce species in the west mids region, their were a few pairs near wombourne a few years ago (but these have now gone), as well as the usuals in the wyre forest which have seriously declined since the eighties, then the next ones to us are in Shropshire and the north staffs region.
 
Yes - i remember the Wombourne ones by the Red Lion.

There have been adults feeding and taking food for several years just along from Wordsley Basin on the river next to the canal - the signs would suggest adults taking food during the breeding season but i haven't actually seen any young but a couple of other people have.....

Laurie:t:
 
Yes they bred at the site you mentioned near wordsley laurie, I watched the adults feeding the chicks several years running but their have been no records since the river flooded a couple of years ago
 
rhbirder said:
And yes the Great Northern Diver, my first good bird on the pools, and still the only diver record to date
Click to expand...

Hi was this in the middle '80's as I have a vague (usual for me) recollection of a tip off and sighting at a pool in Brierley Hill.Apart from seeing the diver all I can remember was some water around a desolate place that looked like an ex industrial site.

Keith :t:
 
"all I can remember was some water around a desolate place that looked like an ex industrial site"

You'll have to be more specific than that Keith - you've just described most of the West Midlands;)

I presume the 'flood' you talk of is when the canal @ Bells Mill breached? This was certainly a catastrophe for any unfortunate boat owner! I was one of 3 on the towpath side and was closest to the breach, if i had'nt chained my vessel it could well have been sucked down the breach in the canal. As it was we spent 6 weeks in the mud with nary a word from British Waterways (don't start me off:C) The other 2 boats were broken into and i had all my portholes etc smashed by the local pondlife from the chav farm @ Wordsley basin! 4 years on and i have only just settled things with BW including a court appearance.........

Anyway - back to the dippers. I can assure you that they have been seen a number of times over the last 3 years but only adults but they have been clocked taking food during the breeding season. 'Last record' just means the last submitted/accepted, both myself and the couple concerned, who are keen birders, don't bother submitting stuff i'm afraid. I have also had adult Dippers at Lutley Mill since 2006 but not in the last 3 years.

The local habitat has changed since the breach. There was an existing pool and wetland where Water Rail were regular but the breach must have fissured a weak point in the sandstone and another large pool popped up adjacent to the existing one and has now settled and the 2 are worth looking at if yr passing. In addition there are some fishing pools being created next to the new one and altho i do'nt expect it to be of any great shakes it's water and the whole series will cover several acres and in an area of dry meadows, no reservoirs and the lack of any gravel pits to trespass on they will be welcome imo.

Below are a couple of pics - one of the breach with some folk for comparison, bear in mind there were 25 metre fallen trees in that breach and one of my boat with me in the cut applying some 'blacking'.

Am in Deadly Town today so will pop back and do a circuit of Fens Pools.

ATB Laurie:t:
 

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rollingthunder said:
"all I can remember was some water around a desolate place that looked like an ex industrial site"

You'll have to be more specific than that Keith - you've just described most of the West Midlands;)

ATB Laurie:t:
Click to expand...


Parked by some houses and walked along a track and the water was to my right- saw the Diver quite far away.
Walked on and the land rose up quite steeply and there was a lot of greenery.
Yes just like a load of other places....lol

Keith :t:
 
Hi keith, this is the GN Diver you saw, another name for the Fens Pools are Brierley Hill Pools, the diver spent most of its time on the grove pool (the pool where you saw it) which is on the right of the track from where you park although it later spent time on the middle pool as well. ps lesser kestrel, Their was a Black Throated Diver on Himley Great Pool during march 1994 and also a Great Northern at nearby Pool Hall Fisheries in about 1996 so one of these may have been the diver you saw close to Baggeridge, cheers si
 
rhbirder said:
Hi keith, this is the GN Diver you saw, another name for the Fens Pools are Brierley Hill Pools, the diver spent most of its time on the grove pool (the pool where you saw it) which is on the right of the track from where you park although it later spent time on the middle pool as well. ps lesser kestrel, Their was a Black Throated Diver on Himley Great Pool during march 1994 and also a Great Northern at nearby Pool Hall Fisheries in about 1996 so one of these may have been the diver you saw close to Baggeridge, cheers si
Click to expand...

Hi Simon,

Seem to remember the G n Diver at the Fens making the Express & Star along with a photo.
One of the first local scarce bird I twitched.
Also saw the B t Diver at Himley, however I dipped the G n Diver at Pool Hall.
About time we had any of the 3 divers ( W b Diver excepted for obvious reasons ) locally again, other than the bigger ponds. Preferably Red Throated!

Cheers Hughie.
 
Thanks rhbirder....
It has to be said this was a one off one hour visit to a place that was a foreign land to me....only been anywhere near since at Merry Hill, so I think my memory of things appear to be quite good.
Just looked on a map and its how I remember with the Grove Pool the correct on.
As I carried on along and around the path all the land was a lot higher and I ended up looking down on the pool.....hope that is right.

Would love to make a revisit if you can arrange for a diver please....8-P
Keith :t:
 

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The higher ground is the embankment where the old railway line used to run to Quarry Bank. I saw the bird on the left-hand pool (Middle Pool). There was a Black and White picture in the Express and Star, of which i have a cut-out, sadly the paper is not archived online as far back as that so i could'nt find an image.

Agreed could do with another one locally.

Laurie:t:
 
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