Upton Warren (138 Viewers)

[Woodchat]

WRT ringing at UW. I have no personal objections to this outside the nesting season but I think that disturbance should be minimised between early May and the beginning of August - which would preclude any intrusion into the main reedbed/sedge/scrub areas during that period. When I last spoke to Fergus about this he mentioned that ringing of pulli in the nest during that time being the ideal method as part of the concerted effort - this I am firmly opposed to at UW. For me, the ideal period to allow ringing to occur at Upton would be in autumn (August - November).

This is my opinion on the matter and I think it represents a good compromise - afterall, UW is primarily a locally-important breeding site for several species, not an observatory.

 

[Phil Andrews]

Hi Phil. To use dragonflies as an example, my records this year at Upton and elsewhere in Worcestershire, have been submitted to the county recorder who will forward them to the WBRC and BDS. The WBRC will also forward them to NBN Gateway which holds records for flora and fauna in the UK. NBN Gateway will not be updated until next year. I don't think you will have a problem obtaining records of dragonflies and butterflies at Upton in 2012 if you consult Uptons known insect recorders.

Des.

Thanks Des - you get to edit the annual report anyhow but I will share the relevant section with Mark, Gert and anyone else who can input on insects.

 

[upstarts1979]

Over the last couple of days many snipe have been feeding in and around the Scrape at Amy's marsh - the area in front and to the left of the east hide.
The pics shows the 'zone'
1.this is the area below the water at the top of the screen.
2. this area is viewed from the left of the hide.
and late on the birds appear below the hide - but too dark to photograph.
B John

 

[Stone Snapper]

Morning I've just had a text from Adrian asking if I could warn you all that there is black ice from the car park upto were the reeds have been cut back on the causeway

 

[forgetfulelephant]

Hide Windows

A gentle reminder to all.

Please make sure ALL the hide windows/doors are closed & properly catched when leaving the hides. One window was open this morning in the Moors new hide & on a few occasions recently the windows in the concrete (Water Rail hide) have been left open or not securely shut. This is important to keep the rain/sleet/snow/ice out as much as possible.

Thanks

Rob (Volunteer Warden)

 

[ADRIANS PHOTOGRAPHY]

Visited today instead of tomorrow due to family appointments, on arrival was very surprised to find the causeway like an ice skating rink but with black ice.

Hardly any movement species wise for the first hour (arrived at 7.20am) but will list species count for the moors pools from around about 9.00am –

Teal X29, Lapwing x54, Mute Swan x4, mallard x37, Curlew x8, Canada Goose x2, Shoveler x5, Cormorant x36, Common Snipe x30+ (as far as I could count but many more landing in the reed bed just to the left as you look out of the front of the hide)

Other species seen around the Moors pool area were –

Pheasant x1pair, Moorhen, Coot, Black Headed Gull, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Long Tailed Tit, Wood Pigeon, Magpie, Grey Heron, Blackbird, Linnet, Redpoll, Gold Finch, Robin, Treecreeper, Dunnock, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Great Tit, Fieldfare, Jackdaw, Song thrush, Chaffinch, Herring Gull, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Green Finch & Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Had a steady walk through the Salwarp nature trail managed to see –

Blue Tit, Dunnock, Blackbird, Redpoll, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay, Robin, Song Thrush & Long Tailed Tit

Now onto the Flashes this area was very quiet with hardly any species seen from the Avocet Hide arrived around midday species count for avocet hide –

Black Headed Gull x12, Lapwing x1, Mallard x3 & Grey Heron x1
Onto the Cuckoo Hide (Great job done by the Sunday work party thank you for all your hard work) count for this area –

Moorhen x7, Bull Finch x2 pair, Mallard x3

Other species in the feeding station area from the cuckoo hide were –

Blue Tit, Dunnock, Blackbird, Great Tit, Reed Bunting, Robin, Carrion Crow, Linnet, Gold Finch, Wood Pigeon, Magpie & Mistle Thrush

Around the Sailing Pool were –

Greylag Goose x21, Great Crested Grebe x7, Cormorant x5, Mallard x8,Black Headed Gull x5, Lesser Black Backed Gull x1, Buzzard x1, Kingfisher x2 & Robin

Many Thanks to all for the banter it was very enjoyable and helpful

 

[John Layj]

Snipe and redpoll

Spent my lunch break at The Moors, and got some behaviour shots of Snipe catching worms and a Redpoll in the car park. Now that's better than a soggy sandwich.

 

[Jason K]

Thanks Mark - is there any way to access records relating to UW through WBRC or BDS or is it just information in one way? This year I am adding a list of butterflies and odonata observed to the annual report.

Also, how vigorous is the checking of data submitted? I am huge fan of the principle of BirdTrack but having run a search of Upton records and found American Herring Gull listed for the reserve (only around 25 accepted British records, none in the West Mids area) I am slightly more sceptical.

Hi Phil,
As Des had already aluded to the WBRC's records are forwarded to the NBN. Records are recieved by WBRC from the respective county recorders for dragonflies, butterflies, moths and bird information comes from the BTO via Birdtrack. Records also come via surveys undertaken by the Worcestershire Recorders (Harry Green et al) and independent recorders who submit there sightings on a regular basis.

All records are checked on a monthly basis when the WBRC has a checking week and checks the validity of the records before they are put onto the main database. For rare and scarce species evidence may be required such as actual potted up specimens, good photographic evidence or specialized indicators such as frass from Noble chaffers.

But all records are welcomed and will be looked at.

If you contact Simon Wood, the manager at WBRC at the below email address . He may well be able to help you with your questions and required data.

[email protected]

Cheers
Jase

 

[Phil Andrews]

Hi Phil,
As Des had already aluded to the WBRC's records are forwarded to the NBN. Records are recieved by WBRC from the respective county recorders for dragonflies, butterflies, moths and bird information comes from the BTO via Birdtrack. Records also come via surveys undertaken by the Worcestershire Recorders (Harry Green et al) and independent recorders who submit there sightings on a regular basis.

All records are checked on a monthly basis when the WBRC has a checking week and checks the validity of the records before they are put onto the main database. For rare and scarce species evidence may be required such as actual potted up specimens, good photographic evidence or specialized indicators such as frass from Noble chaffers.

But all records are welcomed and will be looked at.

If you contact Simon Wood, the manager at WBRC at the below email address . He may well be able to help you with your questions and required data.

[email protected]

Cheers
Jase

Thanks for the above Jason; dont think Des and the Wednesday crew will be reporting many insects today!

 

[UW82]

Today's highlights on a day that got colder by the hour. The Flashes were mostly frozen over with small areas of open water and holding B H Gulls (25).

MOORS:
Snipe ( 30+)----------------Jack Snipe on island to the left of the east hide.
Curlew (8)-------------------Lapwing (55)
Pochard (12)----------------Teal (25)
Shoveler (7)-----------------Tufted Duck (25)
Goosander (drake) flew north early afternoon. Another ,or the same, flew north over the Ed Res an hour later.
Herring Gull (2)-------------Cormorant (52)
Coal Tit----------------------Lesser Redpoll (6)
Water Rail (3)---------------G C Grebe (1)

SAILING POOL:
G C Grebe (9)---------------Greylag Goose (23)
Kingfisher (2)

A Goldcrest was noted along the Salwarpe.

Des.

 

[Phil Andrews]

Today's highlights on a day that got colder by the hour. The Flashes were mostly frozen over with small areas of open water and holding B H Gulls (25).

MOORS:
Snipe ( 30+)----------------Jack Snipe on island to the left of the east hide.
Curlew (8)-------------------Lapwing (55)
Pochard (12)----------------Teal (25)
Shoveler (7)-----------------Tufted Duck (25)
Goosander (drake) flew north early afternoon. Another ,or the same, flew north over the Ed Res an hour later.
Herring Gull (2)-------------Cormorant (52)
Coal Tit----------------------Lesser Redpoll (6)
Water Rail (3)---------------G C Grebe (1)

SAILING POOL:
G C Grebe (9)---------------Greylag Goose (23)
Kingfisher (2)

A Goldcrest was noted along the Salwarpe.

Des.

Best Cormorant count of the year Des and only 5 short of the reserve record; what % of the Moors Pool was frozen?

2012 has already seen record counts of Mallard, Pintail, Oystercatcher, Waxwing and Med Gull.

 

[upstarts1979]

Growth bars:


Any idea of breeding success of Reed and Sedge this year compared to previous years ?

...all the more reason to preserve and create good scrub and wetland habitat for some bounce back next year hopefully

Reed warbler and sedge warbler breeding 2011 - 2012
reed warbler
2011
North Moors 8 to 13: Moors 10 to 14: Flashes 12: ER 6 to 8: Total 36 - 47prs
2012
NM 6-8: M 11-14: F 10-13: ER 5-8: Total 32 - 43prs

sedge warbler
2011
NM 3-5: M 10-14: F 12: ER none : Total 18 - 25 prs
2012
NM 1-2: M 3-5: F 5: ER none : Total 9 -12prs
Yes it can be seen 2012 was not a good year

 

[UW82]

Best Cormorant count of the year Des and only 5 short of the reserve record; what % of the Moors Pool was frozen?

2012 has already seen record counts of Mallard, Pintail, Oystercatcher, Waxwing and Med Gull.

The Moors was unfrozen Phil, but the N Moors was frozen. There is every chance that the Cormorant record will be broken soon.


Des.:t:

 

[forgetfulelephant]

Snipe feeding in front of the East Hide & Mute Swan in the mist.

A wonderful selection of images posted on here by everyone recently. Nice work people! :t:

Rob

 

[woodwolf]

Reed warbler and sedge warbler breeding 2011 - 2012
reed warbler
2011
North Moors 8 to 13: Moors 10 to 14: Flashes 12: ER 6 to 8: Total 36 - 47prs
2012
NM 6-8: M 11-14: F 10-13: ER 5-8: Total 32 - 43prs

sedge warbler
2011
NM 3-5: M 10-14: F 12: ER none : Total 18 - 25 prs
2012
NM 1-2: M 3-5: F 5: ER none : Total 9 -12prs
Yes it can be seen 2012 was not a good year

Thanks for the numbers John. So Sedge 50% down and also to consider if you extrapolate this out, potentially it's more bad news for Cuckoo too ? :-C

 

[Phil Andrews]

Sedge Warbler

Thanks for the numbers John. So Sedge 50% down and also to consider if you extrapolate this out, potentially it's more bad news for Cuckoo too ? :-C

Please find attached the historic performance of Sedge Warbler at Upton Warren; whilst this year's number are substantially down on 2010's peak of 40 singing males they have not reached the reserve's low point. The chart does show that numbers are highly variable over the years; hopefully the scrub management work planned around the first Flash in the January work party will assist as the species is less tied to phragmites than Reed Warbler.

Reed Warbler stats to follow later.

 

[Phil Andrews]

Reed Warbler

Reed Warblers show a much clearer trend, with numbers increasing steadily since the 1980s. Whilst this does coincide with the increase in the size of the reedbeds this is probably a rather simplistic explanation as careful study has revealed that many of the areas are of poor quality to breeding Reed Warblers, as demonstrated by the lack of nests discovered whilst undertaking management work. The general concensus is that reed beds need to be managed to keep them fresh and attractive; I for one will be keeping a careful eye on the performance of the two large blocks cut close to the causeway as part of a rotational policy by the Moors work party.

Does anyone have any information about the performance of any other reedbeds in the County e.g. Oakley?

Edit: for some reason the chars have come out very small so I also attach them embedded in a Word document

 

[Phil Andrews]

A flock of 34 Waxwings was back at Webbs today.

Can I ask that anyone wishing to view / photo these birds please take into account the reserve's need to maintain good relations with its neighbours such as Webbs Garden Centre and stand in appropriate places (not in the middle of a flower bed like I observed on Sunday morning). Also, whilst Waxwings can be remarkably tame and tolerant, they can get spooked by sudden and close movement (I understand this was the cause of their disappearance on Sunday morning). Please give it a little bit of patience and wait for the birds to come to you. Waxwings are fantastic birds and I am sure that we all want as many people as possible to share the experience.

 

[UW82]

A flock of 34 Waxwings was back at Webbs today.

Can I ask that anyone wishing to view / photo these birds please take into account the reserve's need to maintain good relations with its neighbours such as Webbs Garden Centre and stand in appropriate places (not in the middle of a flower bed like I observed on Sunday morning). Also, whilst Waxwings can be remarkably tame and tolerant, they can get spooked by sudden and close movement (I understand this was the cause of their disappearance on Sunday morning). Please give it a little bit of patience and wait for the birds to come to you. Waxwings are fantastic birds and I am sure that we all want as many people as possible to share the experience.

The Waxwings must have been quite late at Webbs Phil, because there were none there mid-afternoon.

Des.

 

[Phil Andrews]

Hi Des - below is a quote from KeithR taken off the Bittell thread; suggests it was late afternoon:

Was at Upton this afternoon......went to Webbs 1st for the Waxwings but non there (2nd day running) and someone in the hide said they had gone to Evesham.
Went to the concrete hide and around 3.30 saw a waxwing circle the feeder and back over the hide....rushed out and there were 30 on the tree.....only about 10 berries on it so they flew off towards the car park.
I left then and drove passed Webbs and they were there but flew off again- wonder if it's the same ones as last weekend.

Really crap pic of one of the Upton Waxies....it was almost dark !!