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

[rollingthunder]

Did you manage Trocaz Pigeon? Some of the remained forested areas are now being actively managed for this spp (Madeira means wood in Portugese so it was well vegetated at one stage).

Presume you managed some MadeiraB

Laurie:t:

 

[Pam_m]

Did you manage Trocaz Pigeon? Some of the remained forested areas are now being actively managed for this spp (Madeira means wood in Portugese so it was well vegetated at one stage).

Presume you managed some MadeiraB

Laurie:t:

I had booked a day's Birdwatching with http://www.madeirawindbirds.com/ prior to the the holiday.

The Trocaz Pigeon was first on the agenda! They were feeding on the vegetation of the steep cliffs in the North of the island, good scope views were had of them.

I did manage to sample the Madeira B and very good it was too!:t:

The Berthelot's Pipit was busy gathering nesting material.

 

[rollingthunder]

Thur 13th Feb.........

Cool with a light breeze but a day without rain and a bit of sun was very welcome:t:

Popped down to Withymoor, hard on the heels of PAL. Nothing to add species-wise with ca80 BHGulls and a single LBB, Tufties were 1m2f. Only a single Little Grebe present but the other was lurking somewhere. Notable was the change from its' washed-out Winter hues to a bird ready for the breeding season with Reddish neck/head, bright Red eye and a nice Yellow gape spot, the bird was feeding frequently and definately living up to its latin name of Tachybaptus ruficollis = Swift Diving Redneck!

Mary Stevens Park ca1500

A good number of BHG's @ an estimated 350 and in amongst them were no less than 4 Herring Gulls - 1 2w-type and 3 1w-types, no LBB's which was a surprise. A solitary male Tufted Duck is a notable appearance acccompanied by no less than 6 Goosander 4m2f.

The 3rd Atlantic storm to hit the country arrives today. A couple of worrying statistics to accompany it....

1. 4 out of 5 of the wettest Winters in the UK have occurred since 2000.
2. The 7 warmest Summers in the UK have been since 2000.

Are these coincidences or when does a coincidence become a trend? I hope the single-carred twitchers appreciate the irony. We all have a carbon footprint except for maybe undiscovered tribes in the Amazon or Tipton. The highlights of my birding year is at least 2 trips abroad and i do'nt walk there and my trusty Brompton bicycle has to be made somewhere (95% British BTW). So what does one do? I, personally, would not bother with politicians prevaricating, pontificating and legislating and look to how you conduct your own affairs and leave as little carbon footprint as is possible. How much does polishing a halo produce?

On a lighter note...............It's Valentines Day:eek!: Today is the day that Mrs RT and myself have been together for.....14 years:C! as she reminds me, i prefer to call it an 'indeterminate sentence' and yes i know she deserves a medal. VDay reminds me of a passage from one of Richard Mabeys' books where he describes picking a Lesser Celandine 10 days before VDay, taking it into his house and using a table lamp on the window in order to encourage it to flower in order to present to his girlfriend (40 years ago). Attached is a picture of one i took locally 10 days ago (and RM lives in the Chilterns much further South). I have found this species to be in flower during the first week of Feb every year since 2000 - is this a coincidence or a trend? Despite the wet and blowy Winter it has been mild, no Frost that has lasted more than a day or so which means the soil temperature - which needs to be 4-6c - has been clement for vegetative growth.

Another alarming statistic....due to Wednesday nights storm 60,000 homes in Wales were reported to be without electricity - i did'nt know that there were 60,000 homes in Wales that actually had electrickery

Laurie:t:

Below - LC taken in Stourbridge on the 4th and an ariel view of the Severn and adjacent water in the county of Worcestershire - notable is the section from Worcester->Tewkesbury.

 

[Pam_m]

Brake Mill Pool.

A quick visit between showers this morning. On and around the water were: Goosander (6 m & 4 f), a pair of Tufties, Herring Gull x 2, Mallards, Coots etc etc. My first of the year singing Song Thrush was the highlight!

 

[rollingthunder]

Sat 15th Feb...........

A visit at around 4pm to Mary Stevens Park was brief, to say the least, due to the fact that there was nothing to look at! Certainly no Goosander - not even a single Gull of any species:C

Pam - i have also had Song Thrush singing the last 2 mornings, before sunrise, i had put this down to the full moon on Friday night giving extra light?

Looks like a let-up, of sorts, over the next week. That is not to say there will be a lack of rain (upto another inch in the South West today) but certainly less ferocity to the winds which will be of some help. Having said that, widespread continued flooding in the same headlining areas will continue as ground water levels and saturated ground remains the same. So beware sandbag 'rustlers' and there is talk of potential Typhoid scare in the Thames Valley:eek!:

At least today looks good for getting out and about so this will probably involve another attempt for the Hopwood Shrike, a Raven count and perusal of the Gulls @ Wildmoor. If time and inclination allows possibly another bout of trenchfoot at Uffers with a pop down to Withymoor......

Just finished listening to the latest 'Living World' on Radio4. A fascinating insight into the flock behaviour of Long Tailed Tits. The co-operative feeding behaviour during the Autumn and Winter is well-known but not so the same with failed breeders helping out other more successfull nests - not by me anyway! Also the fact that other birds 'latch' on to feeding parties as they move around the woodland. Indeed todays artist/observer follows feeding and roosting birds all day! He gets most of his sightings of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker this way - that's dedication. There might even be a chance of something like a................Yellow-Browed Warbler in amongst some local ones

Here's the link to todays episode....http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03vzhnj

Meanwhile the presence of the wild/escaped Chinese/Indian Pond Heron in Kent is still proving attractive for the 'insurance' twitchers altho it has been elusive since VDay - i do'nt know what all the fuss is about? Never mind the dusky coverts and hint of Maroon showing thru on the crown one look at the eye should tell you it's Chinese

Laurie:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

Sun 16th Feb.....

A good poke about with reasonable results making the most of the excellent lighting conditions.

1130-1215 - Wildmoor Quarry/Landfill

Very few Gulls present but notable was, again, the number of Ravens - estimated at 50+ individuals including a party of ca40 birds.

Hopwood Plantation field 1230-1315

Finally clicked with the GGShrike on my third visit. The bird was perched and moving in excellent light (30x scope) but was distant altho on show for quite a while it later moved to a slightly closer Oak where it sat in the crown. Better views would have been from the canal towpath which is the walk that we normally do - maybe next week? A better bird by far was a hunting Peregrine that i picked up over the same field. A male going on size i would have thought and circled in superb light for about 10 mins whilst the local Corvids and Woodies waited anxiously sitting tight. Some nice pics taken by a local chap whose name escapes me.

Uffmoor Wood 1330-1415

It's on the way back so it would be rude not too. A pleasant enough walk with the dogs but only one party of LTTits seen near the car park and obviously no YBW heard or seen - plenty of woodland stuff singing and Bluebells poking thru.

Withymoor 1445-1500

A quick circuit yeilded 10 Tufties,7m3f, ca125 BHG's, a single LBB and the pair of Little Grebes one of which is in Summer-type plumage the other being still pale-ish.

Mary Stevens Park 1530-1545

Good numbers of BHGulls, 350+, and a pair of adult LBBS plus a singing Nuthatch but not much else - lots of folk out and about with the kids and feeding bread to the ducks etc so at least it keeps the gulls around a bit longer.

No flood warnings on the Severn but water levels are not going to drop much.

One of my favourite Summer pubs, the Camp House @ Grimley remains inundated altho apparantley still open for business - if you have a boat! The pub is used to waterlogging but this time it is particularly high, it is hard to comprehend the sheer volume of water that is needed to reach these levels. The adjacent fields are filled to nearly the height of the post and rail fencing let's hope it drains in time for the Spring wader movement?

Attached are a couple of photos from Grimley, the pub and the bird reserve also altho i did'nt manage any shots of the distant Shrike as i only have a normal digital camera i attach one of a bird that i got to within 12 feet of at the Oued Ksob, Essaouira - Morocco. This is a bird of the coastal 'algeriensis' race which is darker than the much paler desert birds that i saw on the same trip.

Hopefully better birding this week.

Laurie:t:

 

[keithr]

Sun 16th Feb.....


1130-1215 - Wildmoor Quarry/Landfill

Very few Gulls present but notable was, again, the number of Ravens - estimated at 50+ individuals including a party of ca40 birds.

Hopwood Plantation field 1230-1315

Finally clicked with the GGShrike on my third visit. The bird was perched and moving in excellent light (30x scope) but was distant altho on show for quite a while it later moved to a slightly closer Oak where it sat in the crown. Better views would have been from the canal towpath which is the walk that we normally do - maybe next week? A better bird by far was a hunting Peregrine that i picked up over the same field. A male going on size i would have thought and circled in superb light for about 10 mins whilst the local Corvids and Woodies waited anxiously sitting tight. Some nice pics taken by a local chap whose name escapes me.
Laurie:t:

Hi Laurie......I wonder who that very nice local chap was.......ME...lol
Great to finally meet you and thanks for getting the Peregrine and pointing me towards the Raven site.....went along yesterday afternoon before going back for the evening Shrike.Great bit of "cronking" and I managed a couple of pics which I processed last night and promptly deleted off the computer - Doh....luckily still on the camera so another evening of cropping to come.
The Falcon pics were not that great but my best to date...I have seen the Peregrine here in the past (distant) as it was acting exactly as this one.

Cheers
Keith
p.s. the Peregrine pics are on the Bittell/Hopwood thread....

 

[rollingthunder]

I said 'nice' pics Keith..........

I said to my mate, last week, (when i could remember your name!) that somebody called Keith posts photos and he has a cammo'd long lens but in all of ystdas.........excitement - i forgot to mention it.

Nice to put a face to a name, after bumping into Pam things are starting to fall into place - there are quite a few people down at the Goldfish Bowl that are eager but that will have to wait.......until a 'Lifer' turns up . (cue Phil A).

Prob pop in next weekend, you should do OK with the Ravens, do'nt forget to attempt a count altho they can be mobile.

Laurie:t:

 

[keithr]

Tried counting the Ravens but as you say they are very mobile.....chasing around and disappearing over the back etc.
All I can say is there were loads.....easily 50.


Keith

 

[rollingthunder]

Waders........

Just a seasonal thought - with the arrival of early Avocets in the region and the odd Oystercatcher here and there it is worth keeping ears open at night particularly if the skies are clear.

I have recorded Whimbrel, Oystercatcher, Curlew and Golden Plover over Stourbridge. I have picked up Whimbrel at the end of February in each of the last 3 Springs. It was a full-moon last Friday so there is still a good few days as it starts to wain and then the build up to the next one. I take the opportunity when it is clear and still to walk the dogs for half an hour and/or periodically several times on suitable evenings to just go out and stand in the car park and listen.........

Here is a link to the latest episode of BBC's Radio4 series - Nature. It's a fascinating insight to Arctic Tern migration which, in itself, is interesting (you do'nt get many to the pound 'round 'ere) and for the wader calls/song for those unfamiliar. When i spoke to Keithr on Sunday it became clear that he cannot hear a lot of bird calls and not just the high-pitched Goldcrest stuff - that's a great pity because it's another world and as useful as expensive optics when there is not available light in discerning the presence and position of something.

At least your photos make up for it mate:t:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03trs78

Amongst the stuff i'm watching at present is another BBC production. It is one that i have had downloaded for some time and is the 2008 'Wild China' - watched Part 1 'Heart of the Dragon' ystda. The contrast between the rice-terraces/paddy fields and the Karst Limestone habitats in Southern China is pronounced and equally beautiful in their own ways.

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

Most fascinating, for me anyway, is the association of the people with the indigenous and migratory wildlife from the House Swifts and the school both sharing cave habitat to the windows left open for the returning Red-Rumped Swallows which triggers the rice-planting season - fascinating stuff.

The RRS, taxonomically, is part of the 'superspecies' complex of Hirundo striolata and i was struck with the birds in the programme looking very 'stripey/streaky.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-rumped_Swallow

Poking around in the 'paddies' were proper Chinese Pond Herons, attached are a couple of photos of feeding birds in breeding plume so maybe the Kent bird might turn into one of these in a couple of months but its' provenance may still be a mystery and therefore...............non-tickable

Have fun, Laurie:t:

 

[steve_zodiac]

3 Ravens over Brierley Hill town centre at 10.45am. At 11am two of them were displaying high over the town.

 

[rollingthunder]

Nice one Steve - it's that time of year. i'm seeing a mate at the weekend who is carrying out a breeding Raven survey so it will be interesting to see how close he gets to Stourbridge with a pair this year. I know of a pair at the bottom of Kinver Edge and another @ Lea Castle but i'm hoping for something as close as Bunkers or around the old tip at the Stewponey (40+ pairs of Sand Martins on the steeper inaccessible slopes last year) - my own forecast, altho maybe not this year, will be a pair in the larger trees in Stourbridge Crem and as i seem to be visiting ever more frequently it's the only upside of going to the place!

All those birds @ Wildmoor have got to go somewhere to breed eventually?

Laurie:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

My mate has just told me of a pair @ Churchill (they bred last year) at the end of the Brake Mill pools on the sharp bend and up along that way somewhere. He watched a pair from where he works on the Stourbridge->Lye road that he says would have been displaying over the viaduct bridge this week on one of the days...

Laurie:t:

 

[steve_zodiac]

Ravens are surprisingly regular over Brierley Hill, usually flying to and from the direction of Greensforge and Swindon. Early morning is usually the best time but Ive seen them at all times of the day.
Redwing numbers seem to be dwindling in the St Michaels church/Marsh park area early morning. There were only about thirty the past two mornings but earlier in the winter there have been a couple of hundred in the trees.

 

[Paul Allan Legge]

Had 2 Ravens over Withymoor School on Tuesday Morning. Calling like mad.
Of to Norfolf next week, for the week.

 

[steve_zodiac]

Single Raven over Brierley Hill flats at 8.45 this morning. And to top it off a Peregrine appeared, had a go at the Raven, then went after the pigeons.
Also in the area, in Marsh park and St Michaels churchyard, 4 Mistle Thrushes and 10 Long tailed tits. No Redwings this morning.

 

[rollingthunder]

OK - the weather has moderated and is positively benign by comparison but there is probably at least 10mm of rain on most of the next 5 days - according to the forecast so levels, even here, are not going to alleviate much very soon.

This means poor light levels but mild - there was even a pre-cursory Swallow (a gulp?) in Sussex a couple of weeks ago but perhaps that was a bird Wintering more Northerly than the others? There has only been a couple reported at Gibraltar this week......

At both Withymoor and Mary Stevens Park little has changed. The pair of Little Grebes are still present with one bird in what looks like nuptial plumage and the other decidedly dowdy by comparison. Tufted Ducks are at a Winter high of 9 males and 5 females, they usually peak at about mid->end-Feb and have been as high as 24 birds in the past. BHG's have been around 80 birds. MSP still held a couple of male Tufties ystda but no female seen and no Goosander. Larger Gulls have been absent apart from the odd LBB at both sites and BHG's at the latter have been upto 250 birds this week but moving off by about 15:30.

Singing birds have been noticeable including Great Tit, Dunnock, Blue Tit, Dunnock, Song Thrush, Starling, Wood Pigeon, Greenfinch, Coal Tit, Robin and Greenfinch.

Two of ystdas BHG's were in what looked like full Summer plumage with a complete hood, White 'eyebrows' and dark-Red bill. There were a sprinkling of wannabees with the Winter 'ear-spot' now a smudgy ear-covert wedge - looking, at a distance, like a Med Gull for the unwary altho showing the dark primary wedge. Med Gull is the spp that i look for and still have not found one around here. Even on the 2 pools that i cover and linked with Fens Pools and Sheepwash they remain virtually non-existant. Whether they have been recorded @ Wildmoor i do not know? Considering the breeding numbers present on the South coast and the numbers seen at places like Portland/Weymouth (ca500 recently) you would expect more than are recorded. Well i would anyway...........

The scale of the flooding has to really be appreciated as it has had little effect around here apart from the Severn @ Worcester. BBC's Panorama highlighted the situation around the Somerset Levelsand the Thames Valley with George Monbiot chipping in. What i found interesting was the contrast between places like Maidenhead which has had a brand new river routed around it for protection and both Windsor and Eton (protecting another of the Queens homes and popular foreign tourist destination and the famous playing fields at the latter so that most of the future Prime Ministers and senior politicians can play Rugby in the dry before departing for Oxbridge and high jinks at the 'Bullingdon Club'. Contrast this with the working-class(ish) citizens of humble Wraysbury who have been sacrificed for the greater good.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03wyqp4/Panorama_Britain_Underwater/

Radio4's take on the situation in 'Costing the Earth'.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03vf07q

Some background information on the 'Bully boys' and how their little club controls your lives - bear in mind that Labour MP Nadine Dorries described 2 of them as 'a couple of posh boys who do'nt know the price of a pint of milk'.

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

http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2010/03/14/the-bullingdon-club/

I spent many happy Saturdays travelling from South London to the gravel pits @ Wraysbury and the reseroirs of the Lea and Colne Valley recording many 'firsts' so the area holds a special affection in my bird-notes. If you are down there visiting or twitching there's a lot of good habitat.

http://berkshirelnp.org/index.php/colne-valley-gravel-pits-and-reservoirs

Finally - residing inland and relativately unaffected by the weather and floods i look forward to seeing what has been blown in such as the odd Diver or a Velvet Scoter, even a lowly Kittiwake gets the pulse-racing for a non-coastal birder but the downside of stormy weather is now making itself felt on the South and West-facing coasts of Britain with pelagic seabirds (pelagos = open sea) being washed up, dead, in large numbers plus a record of the Worlds rarest Sea Turtle.

http://thenaturequest.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/kemps-ridley-sea-turtle-in-sussex.html?spref=tw

Below - the extent of Levels flooding and dead seabirds on Alderney.

Laurie:t:

 

[Woodchat]

Laurie,

Interesting re the Swallow in Sussex.

BTW, Nadine Dorries is a Conservative (MP for mid-Beds) - or she was last time I looked, which makes her stinging appraisal of her party leaders even more noteworthy.

 

[rollingthunder]

Sorry about that Dave - i do'nt know who i must have been thinking about as i know she is a right-wing Scouser in a Southern 'safe-seat' - it could'nt have been the 'Beast of Bolsover' Interestingly, she was suspended for 6 months for not having informed her bosses of her appearance in that Celebrity programme. Considering the financial antics of some of her fellow MP's and the fact that there are a number of Tory peers that have done chokey for fraud and telling porkys under oath that still have'nt been booted out of the unelected House of Lords it seems a trifling issue by comparison - i think she gave the money to a charity (she's passionate about lowering the time limit for abortion).

She has a penchant for controversy and has suggested reporting benefit claimants who have made more than 35,000 Twitter posts to the DWP as they would not be devoting enough time to pursuing gainful employment:eek!: She also has an intense dislike of Speaker John Bercow (remember his delightful self-promoting wife going to live with a bare-knucle fighting/dragging Gypsy for a week?) so she ca'nt be all bad!

Where were we........Oh, birds.....I have just had another re-read of the Eilat report that you very kindly sent me. I need some inspiration to get me thru the day around here. My plans for this year have been put on hold until next March or maybe the Autumn @ Hula. Prices are more than reasonable to Tel Aviv and my folding bike will come in handy so it's fingers crossed for next year.

I am having to slum it last week of April/first week of May in the Coto/Algarve respectively this coming Spring. I do not anticipate anything 'new' just quality birding, just booked the flights @ £132 return Brum/Faro for both the bride and myself with Monarch (no, not the Queens flight).

All the best and i will double-check my political affilliations now that i know you are watching

Below - When Paddy met Sally - "Tanx for da brekfast, now get moi feckin' caravan cleened". Interestingly Dohertys' Wiki page mentions nothing of his numerous court appearances and he is listed as a TV 'personality'. He won 'Sleb BigBruv' in 2011 beating Kerry Katona, not literally unfortunately which seems a waste of his bare-knuckle skills? Not to mention the Travelling fraternities' pre-disposition for Domestic Violence......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddy_Doherty_(TV_personality)

Laurie:t:

 

[Woodchat]

You def won't regret going to Israel, Laurie. If I had to pick one spot for sheer numbers and variety of birds within a smallish area I would go back to Kfar Ruppin in the Beit She'an valley. Watching hundreds of migrating raptors (particularly Lesser Spotted Eagles) plus Storks and Cranes while sat eating breakfast in the warm sunshine was pretty special! I could easily spend a couple of weeks in spring just in that one location and not get tired of it. B