Withymoor - Amblecote, Stourbridge..... (1 Viewer)

[keithr]

More like a exec hide......

can't believe people would say lighthearted things or go for gentle P*** taking.....when they can go all out and be a sad old git....like me ...lol

Keith :t:

p.s. It's only a whimper month if the bar is set too high.....around by me there are 1000's of really interesting species....all of them as common as muck......and theres nowt wrong with that.
Instead of hiding in a hide or walking the walk.....just settle down in a likely spot and you will have god know what queueing up to land almost at your feet (the creepies a lot closer).....hard on the old knees but a tonic for the eyes....o

 

[rollingthunder]

'Hotspot' or 'Notspot' - i know what my local patch is:C

Meanwhile back at.........Hurcott.....ZZZzzzzz.

Had a bimble on the bike on Sunday making the most of the good weather. The mooching was curtailed with an alert from the bride, a rumoured barbecue from a mate. Birding or barbecue? No competition.

Hurcott was quiet, no surprises there. Not even a single hirundine hawking over the pool. The resident pair of GCGrebes were feeding 2 young. Of note were a minimum of 6 singing male Reed Warblers, there might have been a couple more spread out on the far side but it was difficult to tell. That's more than i've heard for a long time. The wet woodland area adjacent looks excellent for rails and crakes but first or last thing would be better i would have thought? Chiffchaff and Blackcap in the woodland.

Over to the Navigation @ Stourton. The area around there holds at least one pair of Hobbies but i did'nt record any. It also used to be a regular site for Turtle Doves years ago but none expected and none heard:C Plenty of Whitethroats scratching away in the hedgerows.

Plenty of flowers out particulars vetches which are a favourite group of mine.

Ducking and diving again this week with a mixture of painting and showers, is this a portent of the Summer to come? I hope not - i have a narrowboat to paint:C Sad news was the confirmation, by PAL, that the female swan @ Withymoor died on or near the nest and the body was removed by one of the local residents (Keith). The nest itself was easily reachable but i would have thought the male would have been capable of driving off a Fox but maybe not a Badger which do frequent to area.

Despite the weather there has been a flash of the Mediterranean to delight the few twitchers that still need the spp concerned and have the funds and conscience to twitch several hundred miles to add them to their 'British' list. In addition to the scattering of Black-Winged Stilts that have set up home there was the arrival of a Short-Toed Eagle in Dorset and a Spectacled Warbler in Norfolk (Permit Only) not too mention a brace of Black-Headed Buntings which must be the real deal?

I am still surprised at reports of 'pale' Buzzards and for that matter 'possible' Honey Buzzards, now i'm no expert but.....Go to the areas where these birds breed and they are not that far away or too expensive to get to and soak them up and you will know when you see one? You need go no closer than Southern Spain to see hundreds if not thousands of both of these species in the Autumn along with other BOP's and confusion birds such as Harriers and Kites. I think that Possible Honey Buzzard ought to be elevated to a full species to avoid confusion

I'm off to Majorca in a couple of weeks and will have all these species and more to myself on the hillsides and marshes on this under-rated lump of Balearic rock. September will also see a re-visiting of the Tarifa area for a couple of weeks for the best Autumn spectacle this side of Eilat - if you do go just make sure you have something to do on the days of the 'Levanter' winds!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levant_(wind)

Todays' TOTD is the last of the sounds of Summer - Quail. The fields around West Hagley look good for the spp this year but there are also a lot of other areas so anybody could bump into one. My visit to the unimproved grasslands around Castro Verde in Portugal produced dozens of the things but i did'nt see a single bird. Until recently they were still caught, on migration, in the Nile delta by nets set at about 30', indeed the 'manna' from heaven were deemed to be migrating Quail.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b020tpmn

Laurie:t:

P.S. The warbler is still there this morning but as for the Eagle it would appear that it's too late to.....

 

[andydan]

Taken at Hurcot Sunday morning.

 

[rollingthunder]

Oooh - i do like a nice 'possible Honey Buzzard' piccy.....

Laurie:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

Been a bit bizzy this week and things are quietening down. Blackcaps still the most vocal with a couple of Chiffchaffs noted. Dawn chorus has dropped off but i'm not surprised with some of the weather altho this mornings 'donner and blitzen' was reasonably impressive (no i do'nt mean Santas' reindeer or the river in Oregon).

With this weeks 'event' in mind it's important, for me anyway, to remember that there are and have been far more important things than birding - you only have to look at the heated discussion (definately more heat than light) that now routinely acccompanies almost every twitchable bird. Most of us are just witnesses to history - the D-Day veterans who landed and fought at Normandy and thru to the liberation of Europe........were there! Literally been there, done that, got the T-shirt and hopefully a medal or two!

A good friend of mine, Roy (the tank) Willets passed away several years ago. He was a hero although not that you would know it. Like a lot of 'vets' who went on to have a family and just get on with things. Not for him endless reunions and the thought of a younger generation indulging in 're-enactment' charades, well, the less said of that the better. Instead he kept in touch with the people that he personally helped liberate and free from the rule of tyranny - the village of Creuilly where he was feted as a guest during D-Day week and over Xmas year in year out. He landed on June 6 and took part in the harrowing fighting in the heavily-wooded and narrow lanes of the 'Bocage' country of central Normandy. For a while i had a house there and can attest to the enclosed nature of the habitat. Great for plants and birds but i can only imagine the nightmare for tanks, that are designed for open mobility, hemmed in and prone to ambush by hidden 88m guns.

He is no longer with us and each passing week sees more of them pass into history. Make the most of the ones that are left - they are all heroes. I did have a picture of Roy shaking hands with Prince Charles at the 60th on the beaches - i smiled at this gentle unassuming man with a couple of medals on his chest and Charlie Boy bedecked with the bloody things and sporting a Parachute Regiment beret - he does'nt need a 'chute, he can glide down using his ears

Winston Churchill has his detractors but when push came to shove he was no slouch - a little known fact is that he was a keen bricklayer and laid all his own...........whilst everybody else was sh!tting them.

During the same week as the landings it is also the anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuation and shortly afterwards 'Winnie' made what must be one of THE speeches in modern history and still raises the hair on my neck and is still as relevant, for me, now as then. Go on, treat yourselves it's only a coupla minutes out of your life - a lot gave the rest of theirs:C

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq_Rsb8KoKo

Back to birds - i have another week of attempting to apply paint to masonry before winging it to Majorca - looking forward to it despite RyanAir ramping up baggage costs making it uneconomic to take my fold-up bike - thanks O'Leary, have a nice day mate.

Travelling by RyanAir does actually have a lot of similarities with the Paratroopers who took part in the attack. I have indulged myself with Photoshop as usual altho they did'nt have these to attend to their comforts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaCffNMFxZc

Also attached is a picture of Roy 'Tank' Willets (on the right with his son Simon) and his new 'friends' @ Creuilly.

Laurie:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

Just a quick post before a link to the Majorca visit.

Quiet, for me, locally, In what is a quiet time of year.

Several visits down to WM have produced nothing of note with both Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs providing background song from the Railway Line down to the pool. A solitary Grey Heron, which is rare during the breeding season and a pair of Tufties that come and go as they please. There are now 3 different broods of Mallard present. The original 2 are well-grown and are down to about 4/5 each and a fresh brood with about 10 are active. The highlight was a clump of Common Spotted Orchids close to the waters edge - 3 fine spikes and totally unexpected.

Of note during the week whilst having a post-work B at the newly-reopened Waggon and Horses (good range of ales including several from Enville) was the overhead sighting of a Peregrine. I was alerted by a squawk from a Gull and looked up to see an adult LBB chasing the falcon that appeared to have a dead Feral Pigeon in its' talons. An hour and a half and a couple more B and the bird returned on another mission - where is it nesting?

Well Majorca beckons and with the recent run of weather and associated Mediterranean spp it has given me a taster. Chasing the various birds in the UK would be more expensive and a lot more frustrating than spending a week over there and having a decent boot about.

Spains current mega is an Abyssinian Roller that has been present on the Canaries for a few days:eek!: Presume wild? They are short distance migrants in the North of their range. I remember seeing them displaying in Kenya up near Lake Victoria, spectacular 'rolling' IIRC.

A PM from a resident informs me that it has been the quietest Spring for a long, long time with regard to vagrants and passage scarcities. In fact 38 less species have'nt been recorded this year:C Perhaps the England result is an omen?

Below - Withymoor Orchids.

Laurie:t:

 

[Pam_m]

Great news with the Common Spotted Orchids Laurie! My highlight during the last week was a lone Corn Bunting perched on a fence close to where the Yellow Wagtails are still frequenting along the track at Whittington!

Disfrutar de sus vacaciones Laurie!

 

[rollingthunder]

Popped in last week Pam, whilst moving my boat, did'nt click with any 'flavas' but nice to know they are still about.....

Had CB, frequently in the past, in the fields between there and the sewage farm but not recently.

Laurie:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

Hi all - hvnt been bothered to post anywhere as i'm not exactly breaking new ground over here. Had bits and bobs, not an extensive list, weather good but it looks like the same back in Blighty. Hav'nt chased around too much as am doing it on foot and on a hired bike from the hostel (5euros). The Albufera reserve is good altho quiet at present and the 9-6 visiting hours seem designed for the staff - needless to say, i have visited outside these times

For me, Black Vulture, Moustached Warbler, Gull-Billed Tern and a 'singing' Baillons' Crake early the other morning have been notable. Whatever i see is better than locally so that will do.....

I could have done without Rooney and chums being beaten twice but c'est la vie.

Laurie:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

Ho hum, pigs bum - back in the land of zilch.....and honey:C

6 o'clock ystda watching a pair of Crested Larks pecking about on the runway, 2 hours later first bird sighted was a Skylark on the tarmac:eek!: The miracle that is modern jet travel!

At least it has been nice weather over here altho i found it a tad on the cool side ystda Fortunately i have some work to be getting on with (these houses are'nt going to paint themselves) and you do'nt often hear me enthusing about gainful employment.....

I managed just under 100 spp. I took advantage of the hostel bike hire at an incredibly reasonable 4 euros a day:eek!: Having said that, it was'nt like my folding Brompton so i could'nt take it anywhere on the bus and then cycle back. Cap Formentor, for example, does not have a bus service, the nearest stop is still quite a few klicks away (10+) so no Eleonara's:C. Most days I managed 3-4 hours first thing and a couple in the evening. During the daytime i carried 'bins and saw whatever was flitting about, from about 11-5 there is little movement apart from the odd singing individual, adults taking food and raptors up in the hills. I managed more Black Vultures and Booted Eagles over @ Sollar but did'nt get Marmora's.

Visiting in mid-June is not ideal but it was cirumstances and it's still not bad. Daytime temperatures were about 35c|8)| with nightime around 22-25c and very humid - some of the most uncomfortable nights sleep that i can remember. Mosquito's were not a problem.....for us. I'm eager to return in mid-Sep to the Tarifa/Gibraltar area for return migration.

Majorca, for my first visit, lived up and down to expectations. Some of the coastal scenery and the mountains are spectacular. This is contrasted to the resort areas, Pollenca is relaxed and less chavvy than where we were @ Alcudia but a world apart from Magaluf. We expected 'resort' habitat and that's what we got, i will visit again (with my own bike) but will not be returning to the same area anytime soon. The marshes @ Albufera are excellent and can be bussed to from anywhere in the area. I sat in the Eddie Watkinson hide a couple of times. It brought back memories, he played a large part in campaigning for the protection of the marshes and i bought his book in the early 80's when planning a visit that i never got around to.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Guide-Watching-Mallorca-Eddie-Watkinson/dp/0946760012

Finally, the presence of German tourists was all-pervading. Altho they have been going there since just after 'ze vor'. Majorca was aligned to the Franco nationalists during the Spanish Civil War and remained technically 'neutral' during the Second altho rumours persist of covert U-boat replenishment from time to time. There has been a notable upsurge in visitors since the Greeks turned on them during the recent and ongoing austerity period. If i am in a foreign country, surrounded by people speaking a language i do'nt understand, if prefer it to be of the native tongue and not of an 'invasive' species

Not to worry, there are still plenty of Brits sporting the latest tattoos or slag-tags as i prefer to call them. Intent on getting skin cancer on the cheap and skimpily, tastelessly dressed/undressed. I wonder how many of them know that the Balearics used to be known as the Gymnasiae or 'naked isles' due to the all-year round good weather and the fact that the locals spent a lot of there time unclothed. Some of the Brits are unknowingly carrying on the local tradition! They also have a penchant for dipping their chips in Mayonnaise which also, purportably, comes from Mahon, Menorca altho the French, unsurprisingly, have laid claim to the dish!

Best bird of the trip? A singing Baillons Crake heard on several days trilling away in an area of damp reed/Bamboo. A nice find, a lifer and still not a hint of a view. Close but no cigar.....should i tick it?

Laurie:t:

Below -'We will fight them for the beaches'.....

 

[rollingthunder]

A quick pop-in on the way back from Sheepwash/Fens Pools ystda.

Nothing of note but well-grown Mallard and a couple of Blackcaps singing on the embankment. The 'Tern' raft is now nicely covered with droppings and the snooker table Green baize has now faded nicely.

For those who are familiar and use the excellent xeno-canto website for bird song and sounds there is now an app - currently only available for the iphone via the Apple cartel it should be rolled out to us lesser mortals and the great unwashed shortly.

http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=4457

Fresh back from a relaxing jaunt to the Balearics more depressing EU stuff.

http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=4456

The UK embraces this sort of thing with relish and so making the surrounding countryside even more 'Green' and unpleasant. It's always depressing to find myself back here and this sort of stuff does'nt help The day is drawing close when anything remotely of interest will require a visit to a 'managed' reserve and a fecking permit.....

Had my second GBB Gull of the year (around here) ystda afternoon, looked like a 1s/2cy individual.

High pressure this week, cloudy with sunny bits Mon/Tue building to warm 25c+ Wed/Thur with wind and rain coming in sometime Friday for the weekend wage slaves!

Must get a pair of these for the Summer.

http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=4312

Laurie:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

The good weather over the last few days is set to continue until the weekend or about Friday around here.

The water levels down @ WM are quite high which would suggest a blockage so i will have a look see in addition that any edge that it might provide i have every faith in the 'Snooker Table' producing a passage wader or Tern providing there is any room e.g. 17 Mallard roosting on it @ 0630 ystda!

Tufties have been up to 6m and 2f ystda. A nice addition to the odd Blackcap/Chiffchaff was a singing Willow Warbler in one of the poolside trees also a Grey Heron.

Good numbers of Swifts feeding over the pool and drinking from it. In ystda's early, low, sun some birds looked very pale indeed and c/w a full crop and prominent throat patch a trap for the unwary These were joined by half a dozen House Martins for a short period.

A solitary Red Admiral and the 3 Common Spotted Orchids are now going over.

Laurie:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

3 more visits this week have produced more of the same with Tufties reaching double figures of 8 males and 3 females. Both Chiffchaff and Blackcap still singing sporadically and increasing feeding Swifts with the odd House Martin. The first post-breeding Black Headed Gulls are now starting to appear.

A nice surprise ystda afternoon was an obliging Common Sandpiper, possibly a returning non-breeding adult? The wing-bar was far too long for my agenda and ruled out the other contender but always nice to see and my first non-Spring bird @ Withymoor.

A quick text to PAL brought him and his mutt scurrying down and the bird eventually re-appeared. The water levels are high and this was unexpected and hopefully a precursor for another species or two.....

Laurie:t:

Below - there are other differences between Common and Spotted Sandpipers but a bird with a shorter wing-bar would be the starting point for the other subtle anomalies.

 

[rollingthunder]

Just a summary of the week with visits to Withymoor every other day and a cycle ride over to Ashwood to work on the boat.

As expect it's quiet, everywhere, even the Goldfish Bowl failed to attract any news on Saturday until the usual suspect came to the threads' rescue before nightfall

Waders are, however on the move and they are the pre-cursors to Autumn migration. In the absence of much about at least enjoy the weather|8)|

Juvenile birds are much in evidence, plenty of LongTails and other resident songbirds calling and being fed. The first, noisy, Green Woodies along the Railway Line and a party of 6 foxes. Still Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs singing plus several Whitethroats from the bike during the week. Tufties fluctuate from 12-2 depending on time of visit and Grey Heron now comprise an adult and a juvenile. More House Martins, including freshly fledged birds along with a few swifts feeding down at the pool and more returning Black Headed Gulls in wing-moult altho no juveniles as yet. Another GBB Gull (subad-type) was noted during the week making it the 3rd record (for me, locally) this year.

Locally there has been calling Quail and PAL reports a male-type Black Redstart feeding in a garden from around the Stuart Crystal site @ Wordsley:eek!:

Cats - no not domestic. Locally, Dudley Zoo has breed European Lynx as part of a breeding programme from the Carpathians.

http://nativemonster.com/attraction...nx-triplets-born-at-dudley-zoological-gardens

And what do you do with rich, spoilt sl@gs like this?

http://africageographic.com/blog/happy-huntress-the-next-melissa-bachman/

Perhaps somebody could put us out of our misery and shoot the bitch, then you could have her stuffed and mounted (and only in that context) for all to see:C

I'm still messing with my newly-purchased Ipad Air 64gb and a nice bit of kit it is too but it does trouble me as to where the tax that i paid on it gets paid by Apple?

The weather looks good all week before tumbling down to thundery showers by Friday, just in time for the wage slaves but it should ground moving migrants. Not as sunny of late but humid with temperatures nudging 30'c further South. The BBC forecasts tend to be on the conservative side so locally it should be a couple or even 3 degrees above below.

Laurie:t:

 

[keithr]

"Perhaps somebody could put us out of our misery and shoot the bitch, then you could have her stuffed and mounted (and only in that context) for all to see"...

Has it got to be in that ORDER.

B******


Keith :t:

 

[steve_zodiac]

St Michaels churchyard, Brierley Hill. Just flushed an immature Redstart from bush beside path west of main driveway. Flew into trees 30 yards from west doors of the church.

 

[Ste-gull]

Just about in the West Midlands...and I'd still call it Stourbridge-ish...

Up West Hagley fields for a short gander this eve. The usual Yellowhammers, Skylarks, Linnets and Hirundines & Swifts.
Had 1 Corn Bunting too though which was a pretty nice treat.
Can't say I use the spot a lot but it feels like there must be a good patch list to be had there.

 

[rollingthunder]

It's the nearest bit of 'proper' farmland Steve, as opposed to the 'horsicultured' paddocks' that is the norm adjacent to any built up bit in the West Mids! I feature it regularly and below is an attached map that you might find useful.

I was up there myself yesterday @ about 5:30-6:30 for the first time since mid-May when i last clicked with a singing CB but not last night. I thought i would have a look at whatever crop was planted this year as there have been Quail reported recently around Caunsall/Kinver. I did'nt hear anything but the habitat looks good, mind you the view from the top at the Pumping Station revealed that it is also widespread elsewhere. This year is a mirror image from last year with all but one field planted with Barley, presumably for malting purposes? and a solitary field (below the PS) planted with spuds - the opposite of last season. Oh well at least there will be some fresh 'tatoe's for the table at some stage

I shall be up there first thing over the next few days for Quail. The last time i clicked was over in Portugal @ Castro Verde and they were everywhere. The vegetation there was certainly no more than 9" high but as i did'nt flush and do not use tape-lures:C i did'nt actually see one.

Elsewhere @ Withymoor Tufties were 2 each of m/f, plenty of Swifts and juv Blue Tits, both Blackcap and Chiffchaff still singing with a couple of the latter feeding furiously. Of note was a juvenile Grey Heron looking very buff on the coverts in flight. Not the fact that it was there but its' feeding mode. It was over by the Stourbridge inflow and somebody had thrown a whole load of bread of which some was floating on the edge of the water. I watched the bird catch a couple of small fish that were coming for the bread. The area of water was also in the shade which might have been a factor but i don't recall seeing one 'lying in wait' with bread as the bait before.

A quick search on the Internet revealed birds that go one stage further, actually placing pieces of discarded bread as bait:eek!: Green and Night Herons seem to feature but other Egretta spp are also shown. Below is just one example of the technique.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWhPx3XQzTI

Good painting weather ahead, i've only a couple of hours left on the current one but had an overworked female Blackcap feeding calling young from a garden ystda - the joys of parenthood!

Those that are considering going for the Great knot/Great not/Knot so great - whatever you tick make sure it's the real deal and not what somebody says it is, would'nt be the first time and particularly with Great Dot. Make sure you get the Yellow legs not the YellowLegs

Below - the ever-ripening fields of West Hagley and to accompany it a lovely ditty from the Albion Dance Band 'The Reaphook and Sickle'. This tune, for me, evokes sunny days and things rural. 'Bright Phoebus' refers to the Moon and the characteristic instrument is the Melodeon which i am currently trying to learn in an effort to relive the glory days when i used to dance for the Greenwich Morris Men:eek!:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_emg_3SDWS4

Laurie:t:

 

[steve_zodiac]

Marsh park, Brierley Hill this afternoon......Green Woodpecker

 

[Ste-gull]

Cheers Laurie, certainly a nice place to visit. Went back up tonight again. Not much more to report though other than a Magpie Moth. Quail went through my mind too, not seen any previously but it feels right from what I've read and heard...