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

[steve_zodiac]

Walk along the canal between Moor Street and the Nine Locks this afternoon produced:

2 Willow Warblers (there are some then)
2 Chiffchaff
2 Blackcaps

Plenty of juvenile Coots and Moorhens. Only one Canada Goose chick left from a brood of three.

 

[rollingthunder]

RE: the hybrid? - No, the bird was all-White, did'nt show any obvious dark on the closed primaries but I was just cycling thru and the bird was with lot's of Canada's on the island. That's why i said Ross/Snow 'thingy' as i could not detect other provenance.

Will check again today and get some pictures if it's not persisting down......

Laurie:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

The Greyla/Canada hybrid was'nt as dark in the body as yr photo IIRC will check this bird and get a photo - sorry if the first post was confusing, i was detailing the other bird and not the one that you refer to....

Laurie:t:

 

[steve_zodiac]

Ha! - is that what it has turned out to be? I saw the pic via a link and could not see an orbital ring but was'nt going to say anything as 'i'm no expert' - i hope nobody has increased their carbon footprint toooooo much

I have not clicked with Lesser Throat around here this Spring and do not expect to do so now:C

Below is an enlarged and cropped pic of the little bugger - i must admit, i ca'nt see either ssp in there?

Laurie:t:

I wonder how many birders identified it as an Orphean Warbler through their top of the range Swarovski bins I'm terribly cynical when it comes to expensive optics :-O

 

[rollingthunder]

I do'nt know how many people went to see it even less so the amount that might have ticked 'Orphean' - always make up your own mind. that's the key.

Thur 12th June......

Withymoor - an hour or so produced a couple of Blackcaps and Tufties increased to 2 males and a single female.

Did'nt pop into Mary Stevens Park but i am told that both 'things' are still present.

Thunderstorms are forecast for today so displaced birds might be in order?

I was only thinking ystda how scarce, generally, birds are with regard to feeding Swifts and House Martins particularly the former. It's a species that i like to see and associate with high Summer and is usually evident on any day but i have hardly seen any recently - all in all a bit depressing.

For some lucky birders it's not all bad news, following hard on the heels of a Pacific Swift:eek!: on the continent in May was the, pictured below, bird in Suffolk a couple of weeks ago whether it gets accepted remains to be seen. A much better candidate was a bird photographed close-up ystda just look at the tail, rump and those scythe-length wings. This bird (or another) was noted also at Saltfleetby for a few hours no doubt looking for..............Geoff Williams! It's time to check those lone Swifts or large feeding parties, in short, check those Swifts...........

Also link to the Spurn Obs site for a series of cracking images.

http://www.spurnbirdobservatory.co.uk/sightings/

Laurie:t:

 

[steve_zodiac]

Sedge Warbler singing along the canal this morning, between Hawbush Road and Bull Street, in Brierley Hill.

 

[rollingthunder]

Friday 14th June.........


Withymoor

Quiet, several Blackcaps from the railway line to the pool, 2 Willow Warblers singing adjacent to the pool, no Tufties and a single adult Lesser BB Gull.

Brood of ca10 Mallard chicks, which i had'nt noted before, they're not at the 'fluffy' new-born stage so whether they have walked in from somewhere?

Single Swift which was scrutinised

Mary Stevens Park ca1700


The two hybrid geese still present.

It might seem fanciful to think of a rare Swift overhead in the West Mids but these birds can and do wander wide and fast so it's heads up! Of course, getting one accepted is a different ball-game. I could come back from Morocco having seent thousands of Pallid and Alpines but i would still struggle to convince the powers that be unless some photos were made available. Studies of our breeding birds showed that birds that breed in Central England can feed 200+ miles away over Heligoland when the conditions are unsuitable for ariel feeding here.

Below are links to the background of one of the longest-running studies of its' type namely the Swifts in the Museum of Natural History @ Oxford. A project started by David Lack back in 1947/8 also the current webcam.

http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/learning/pdfs/swifts.pdf

http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/swifts.htm

Other 'notable' news was the report of an American Kestrel in Walsall, sets the pulse racing does'nt i? I do'nt know why RBA bothered to report it. They are available for purchase in Kiddie. Now Fair Isle would be different kettle of fish.......

Below - nice set of the Pacific Swift from Denmark in May.

Laurie:t:

 

[hughie king]

The only Kestrels usually found in that park are the empty super strength lager cans.
Does anyone know of captive birds being flown in the nearby Arboretum?


Hughie King

 

[steve_zodiac]

Well that one is probably the only one knocking around Walsall anyway the way our native Kestrel numbers have plummeted. Mind you, best not mention it too much in case the RSPB get wind of it and blast it out of a tree for fear it will hybridise with our birds.....:eek!:....... 8-P

 

[rollingthunder]

After hovering, Kestrels do tend to plummet

Locally, down on the Trading Estate, there is a car park and the sign states 'For Tennants Only' - is that as an alternative for a park bench or is it so that people are encouraged not to drink-drive?

Mind you, with the price of both alcohol and petrol - who can afford to do both anyway...........

Laurie:t:

Birders are often categorised as either Geeks, Nerds or both - below is a comparison chart, where do YOU fit in?

 

[rollingthunder]

Sat 15th June.........

Nothing of note to report, just bimbled about and into town with the the dogs, one or two Blackcaps en-route.

I suppose things have to 'quieten' down around here sometime

The changeable, cooler and showery, weather meant that very little was observed feeding - not a single Swift noted......

There was, however, a single Swift to set the pulse racing @ Trimley Marshes in Suffolk. I make no apologies for highlighting the presence of a Pacific Swift:eek!: that delighted observers able to make the ring-tightening, white-knuckle dash to the East coast yesterday. Forums reveal that a certain, well-known, birder from Buckinghamshire can 'officially' tick this species now

The bird was tantalisingly feeding ahead of local showers before returning to the area where it was found. This species has an almost mystical aura to it, being both rare and a breeder some several thousand miles away. Add the fact that Swifts are highly mobile (so could appear........anywhere) and there you have it. Spurn has had several, no doubt due to observer coverage and the fact that lots of Swifts feed there at this time of year and the last multi-observer bird was at Cley some 20 years ago so it remains a 'blocker' for a generation of birders. Whether this species remains an elusive tick for the next couple of decades remains to be seen? My money is that it wo'nt and that records will be less infrequent but it's whether they hang about. A nice inland bird will do for those unfortunates that do not have either the transport or the funds...........My hitching days are over!

Below are links to the finders account on Martin Garners excellent 'Frontiers' website and more stunning pics on Surfbirds. One really cannot have enough images of this creature.

http://birdingfrontiers.com/2013/06/15/i-say-pacific-you-say-swift/

http://www.surfbirds.com/gallery/display.php?gallery=gallery9

There are the '2-bird' theories and nothing escapes the scrutiny of Jane Turner on this website below are comparisons of the wing shape of both the Spurn and the Trimley bird presented here for your perusal.

It's definately a 'Martini' species........anytime, anywhere, anyplace.

Get out and scan the skies. For me it looks like Withymoor/FensPools/Sheepwash/NethRez today.

Laurie:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

Sun 16th June.........

Mooched around other sites ystda, under leaden skies with threatening precipitation...........posted elsewhere.

Puckers finally relaxed @ Trimley by about 0730! The Pacific Swift then performed, on and off, for the next 12 hours delighting all fortunate enuff to have made the journey. The quality of this bird almost makes it mandatory for anybody driving over there to have a FULL vehicle?

No sign today (Mon 17th), so far, lots of great photos with forums and blogs full of satisfied birders discussing the 2-bird theory and various splits and subspecies in order to decide which one they have on their list!

The, ca3 mile, walk must have been a bit of a ball-ache but it would have been worth it, i am currently negotiaiting, via Ebay, for a trusty Brompton fold-up bike (in order to take abroad), weighing in at only 11kilos it would have been a must on a twitch like this.

Link below to the Wiki page for the species and some more photos showing the 'wrap-around' rump, hint of a throat patch, jizz and comparison with the ones i was watching locally ystda.

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

Weather looks murky but mild for the beginning of the week but, according to the Beeb a heatwave at the end of the week will be upon us with temperatures in excess of 30c forecast - i hope so, i have a cider-themed (home-pressed 600 pints last year) and Barbie planned for the Brides' 50th this coming Saturday:eek!:

Meanwhile, enjoy some more piccies.........Thanks to the photographers, you know who you are:t:

Laurie:t:

 

[GoldenI]

surely i cant be the only one thinking that this must be the thread with the most unrelated content to its title. takes going off topic to a whole new level :-O

 

[rollingthunder]

That's because there is f@ck all to see hence the title of BDT so it's more of a personal blog but when i do find something you will be amonst those jealous at the orgy.....If i wanted to post stuff on what everybody else is watching then i would be down at the Goldfish Bowl or at one of the concrete puddles that everybody else goes to.......

We ca'nt all live on the East Coast so i am trying to make the most entertaining and informative out of a cr@p situation - if most of the 'local' birders in this region were not reliant on a motor car and posted their sightings on what they saw either on foot or on a pushbike from where they actually live then it would be a dull day indeed.

I am not being funny but if you are easily offended then FFS do'nt read my real blog - link below.......

***

All the best -

Laurie:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

17th/18th June............

Pleasant enuff weather over the last coupla days, tda is 4cast warm and humid before things take a tumble. The soft South-East might make the magic 30c.....somewhere|8)|

I cycled back along a section of the cut to Stourbridge and was quite surprised to count no less than 8 singling Blackcaps and 2 Chiffchaffs in about a 3/4 mile section. Are these birds unmated, singing after pairing or what? I would have thought everything would have settled down and gone quiet by now or maybe there is a shortage of females?

Withymoor

Quiet, water level looks good, Tufties went from none to 3m/2f and then 4m/1f ystda. Blackcap and Chiffchaff on the embankment and what i thought was the 2nd syllable of a Cuckoo turned out to be a tat-man doing his rounds!

Swifts
I spent a pleasant hour, with the dogs, just scanning the skies for any movement whilst watching Common Swifts hawking over the pool, scooping up water as they did so. They are one of my favourite families of birds, here because they remind me of Summer and abroad because you see a range of species particularly if you are in a city or large town. I could watch them all day particularly if i was on the Suffolk coast and there was one with a markedly forked tail and a wrap-around White rump:eek!: Unlike a lot of birds which require either cover or water to migrate through an area all Swifts need are skies full of 'aerial plankton'. Whether it's sorting out Pallids in Tangier, thousands of feeding Alpines in Meknes or breeding in the Medina walls @ Fez, the distinct all-year round fluttering flight of Littles in Marrakesh or a lone migrant White-Rumped over Dakhla Bay there is usually something over the city skyline.

The Apodidae are 'without feet' something which was clearly illustrated to me when, whilst walking the dunes @ Blakeney Point i picked up several exhausted juveniles after some September gales. These birds with their slim, long wings could not get enough lift to get back in the air and were clearly tired. Their tiny feet were placed so far back you could see why they only cling to surfaces but their needle claws were still able to make themselves felt on my arm. I took the half a dozen i found and returned to the Old Lifeboat House like a falconer. The birds were rested and released the next day............

It's ironic that both the G8 summit and a 1-day climate conference were taking place at the same time - is'nt it 'hot air' that is the problem in the first place It seems like the Atlantic is going thru one of it's 'warm' phases. Quite what that means for the short term who knows? It might lead to weather patterns of increased vagrancy coupled with drier conditions for Europes' trans-Saharan migrants and when what's left of them return the increased wet conditions make successful breeding an uncertainty.

Completely unconnected below is a link to a video from Finland showing a Great Tit getting up close and personal with a Redpoll. It makes for grim viewing and does make me wonder how Shrikes developed into the range we see today, after all, they are only predatory passerines.

http://www.iltasanomat.fi/kotimaa/art-1288538750341.html

Laurie:t:

 

[keithr]

http://www.iltasanomat.fi/kotimaa/ar...538750341.html :eek!: :eek!: :eek!: :eek!:


Keith :t:

 

[rollingthunder]

Keith - i picked this up and thought i would watch it whilst i was finishing off my tea, little did i realise!

Talk about 'Red in tooth and claw'.......

Laurie:t:

 

[GoldenI]

That's because there is f@ck all to see hence the title of BDT so it's more of a personal blog but when i do find something you will be amonst those jealous at the orgy.....If i wanted to post stuff on what everybody else is watching then i would be down at the Goldfish Bowl or at one of the concrete puddles that everybody else goes to.......

We ca'nt all live on the East Coast so i am trying to make the most entertaining and informative out of a cr@p situation - if most of the 'local' birders in this region were not reliant on a motor car and posted their sightings on what they saw either on foot or on a pushbike from where they actually live then it would be a dull day indeed.

I am not being funny but if you are easily offended then FFS do'nt read my real blog - link below.......

* This "blog" reference has been deleted by a moderator *

All the best -

Laurie:t:

the internet can be such a useful resource. pity your blog doesnt contribute to that. why link to it because it is offensive and not relevant to birding in any shape or form :C

 

[rollingthunder]

In your opinion, which of course you are entitled to, but it's still your opinion. Which obviously does'nt mirror the offensive little world that i inhabit

You did'nt have to read it but you did - your choice, you were warned.

Meanwhile i will post my local sightings with, what i consider, relevant information, musings, thoughts, links, photos etc. Feel free to opine as long as it's considered 'relevant' - i'll handle the irreverant........

Laurie:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

Wed 19th June.........

Just a brief visit to Withymoor, no warbers singing at all, a few Swifts hawking over the water and 2 Grey Herons feeding in the shallows. These birds appear to be sub-adult types and not fully adult plumed. One bird has hardly any White anywhere on show. Indeed when side-on and feeding the bird appears Blue-Grey in certain lighting conditions and if nothing is adjacent for scale appears, to my eyes, not unlike a 'dark-morph' Reef Heron:eek!:

I have decided to embrace the world of digi-scoping, more for record purposes in the unlikely event that i ever find anything worth reporting around here. It will mainly be for stuff abroad. I am glad that i have waited until technology has come on in real leaps and bounds. It will be basic stuff but i have 4 telescopes, all 60mm objective lens'. Namely 2 older Kowas both straight and angled, a newish Kowa with a 30x lens and an older Bushnell Spacemaster which i use with a Kowa 22x wide-angle lens and is the one which i mainly carry with me due to its compact size and length.

I am more than happy with all my scopes and do not intend to invest in one with a larger objective lens as i do not use scopes that much anyway. Now that the Iphone 4s has been released i feel that both affordable and satisfactory results can be obtained bearing in mind it is not a DSLR etc. The Iphone 4s is a tecnically superb bit of kit and is bundled with the 'Sirri' voice-activated software. This means that the camera can be operated without touching the thing - very important at high magnifications.

A nice little holder is available from people such as CleySpy and is made by an American company - links to both below.....

http://www.cleyspy.co.uk/

http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=3805

Laurie:t: