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

middleton lakes 18th April (1 Viewer)

A good selection of waders again this morning,mostly on the north pit. The Wood Sandpiper and Turnstone were still around plus 2 Ruff, 2 Dunlin and 2 Common Sand. A late Snipe was still on Fishers Mill pool.
A male Whinchat was a nice find on the RSPB play meadow. Pity I missed a Marsh Harrier and 2 Little Gulls.
I'm now off to Lincs for 5 days but will be back for the May 7th bird count, looking forward to it but hope the rain keeps away as we still have no hide on the reserve.
 
Just checked up on the year list for the reserve, I reckon we've seen 112 species in April and the year list stands at 138.
Not too bad I would say. Anyone seen a Barn Owl yet?
 
I agree regarding no hide on the north pit, do u know if there are plans for one in the near future?
A raised hide in the right place would give some great views of the pit.

Jon
 
RSPB Middleton lakes Drayton Basset pits section Staffs North pit 3/5/11 Ad Med Gull, 5 Wood Sandpiper, 2 Ruff, Black Tailed Godwit, Common Sand, Dunlin, Little Egret, John Harris
Earlier in the day Greenshank, Common Sand 2, Hobby 2, Colin Green.
 
JHDraytonbassettpits said:
RSPB Middleton lakes Drayton Basset pits section Staffs North pit 3/5/11 Ad Med Gull, 5 Wood Sandpiper, 2 Ruff, Black Tailed Godwit, Common Sand, Dunlin, Little Egret, John Harris
Earlier in the day Greenshank, Common Sand 2, Hobby 2, Colin Green.
Click to expand...

Hi John, Looks like you had a good day, Wood Sands seem to be everywhere at the moment, I had 4 on my patch in Lincs this evening (Manby Flashes).
 
RSPB Middleton Lakes Drayton Basset pits section North pit 4/5/11 Spotted Redshank, just starting summer plumage, Wood Sandpiper, 2 Ruff, Common Sand, 2 Ringed Plover, 2 Lesser Whitethroat singing and a Cuckoo calling. John Harris
 
Hope the Avocet stays around for tomorrows all dayer, the forecast looks OK for most of the day so the north pit shouldn't be flooded out.
Look forward to seeing as many birders as possible.
Geoff
 
Hi Geoff
you beat us by 1 species.
can you list your species so we can compare it with Belvide Upton and Marsh lane which were all involved in saturday's 'All-Dayer'
B :)John
 
upstarts1979 said:
Hi Geoff
you beat us by 1 species.
can you list your species so we can compare it with Belvide Upton and Marsh lane which were all involved in saturday's 'All-Dayer'
B :)John
Click to expand...

Hi John, How did Marsh Lane do?
Our list, 1 Gt C Grebe, 2 Cormorant, 3 Grey Heron, 4 Mute Swan, 5 Greylag, 6 Canada Goose, 7 Shelduck, 8 Gadwall, 9 Teal, 10 Mallard, 11 Shoveler, 12 Tufted Duck, 13 Buzzard, 14 Kestrel, 15 Hobby, 16 Pheasant, 17 Grey Partridge, 18 Moorhen, 19 Coot, 20 Oystercatcher, 21 Sanderling, 22 LRP, 23 Ringed Plover, 24 Grey Plover, 25 Lapwing, 26 Dunlin, 27 Redshank, 28 Greenshank, 29 Whimbrel, 30 Curlew, 31 Common Sand, 32 BH Gull, 33 Med Gull, 34 LBB Gull, 35 Herring Gull, 36 Common Tern, 37 Black Tern, 38 Stock Dove, 39 Woodpigeon, 40 Collared Dove, 41 Cuckoo, 42 Swift, 43 Kingfisher, 44 Green Woodie, 45 GS Woodie, 46 Skylark, 47 Sand Martin, 48 Swallow, 49 House Martin, 50 Yellow Wag, 51 Pied Wag, 52 Wren, 53 Dunnock, 54 Robin, 55 Blackbird, 56 Song Thrush, 57 Mistle Thrush, 58 Cetti's Warbler, 59 Gropper, 60 Sedge Warbler, 61 Reed Warbler, 62 Lesser Whitethroat, 63 Whitethroat, 64 Garden Warbler, 65 Blackcap, 66 Chiffchaff, 67 Willow Warbler, 68 Goldcrest, 69 Long t Tit, 70 Coal Tit, 71 Blue Tit, 72 Gt Tit, 73 Treecreeper, 74 Magpie, 75 Jackdaw, 76 Rook, 77 Crow, 78 Raven, 79 Starling, 80 House Sparrow, 81 Chaffinch, 82 Goldfinch, 83 Linnet, 84 Bullfinch, 85 Yellowhammer, 86 Reed Bunting. 87 Jay a late entry.
Note,we didn't include Feral Pigeon, but mainly because we didn't see any.
Geoff
 
Last edited:
Morning visit to the reserve. Jack Mallinson was already there and had found a Whimbrel and a Blackwit on the north pit, we then had a Wood Sandpiper fly over which landed on the new reedbed pit which also held 2 Dunlin, 1 Ringed Plover and 2 LRP.
I hear Steve Cawthray had 3 Knot fly through in the afternoon, so not a bad passage of waders.
Geoff
 
geoffw1946 said:
Hi John, How did Marsh Lane do?
Our list, 1 Gt C Grebe, 2 Cormorant, 3 Grey Heron, 4 Mute Swan, 5 Greylag, 6 Canada Goose, 7 Shelduck, 8 Gadwall, 9 Teal, 10 Mallard, 11 Shoveler, 12 Tufted Duck, 13 Buzzard, 14 Kestrel, 15 Hobby, 16 Pheasant, 17 Grey Partridge, 18 Moorhen, 19 Coot, 20 Oystercatcher, 21 Sanderling, 22 LRP, 23 Ringed Plover, 24 Grey Plover, 25 Lapwing, 26 Dunlin, 27 Redshank, 28 Greenshank, 29 Whimbrel, 30 Curlew, 31 Common Sand, 32 BH Gull, 33 Med Gull, 34 LBB Gull, 35 Herring Gull, 36 Common Tern, 37 Black Tern, 38 Stock Dove, 39 Woodpigeon, 40 Collared Dove, 41 Cuckoo, 42 Swift, 43 Kingfisher, 44 Green Woodie, 45 GS Woodie, 46 Skylark, 47 Sand Martin, 48 Swallow, 49 House Martin, 50 Yellow Wag, 51 Pied Wag, 52 Wren, 53 Dunnock, 54 Robin, 55 Blackbird, 56 Song Thrush, 57 Mistle Thrush, 58 Cetti's Warbler, 59 Gropper, 60 Sedge Warbler, 61 Reed Warbler, 62 Lesser Whitethroat, 63 Whitethroat, 64 Garden Warbler, 65 Blackcap, 66 Chiffchaff, 67 Willow Warbler, 68 Goldcrest, 69 Long t Tit, 70 Coal Tit, 71 Blue Tit, 72 Gt Tit, 73 Treecreeper, 74 Magpie, 75 Jackdaw, 76 Rook, 77 Crow, 78 Raven, 79 Starling, 80 House Sparrow, 81 Chaffinch, 82 Goldfinch, 83 Linnet, 84 Bullfinch, 85 Yellowhammer, 86 Reed Bunting.
Note,we didn't include Feral Pigeon, but mainly because we didn't see any.
Geoff
Click to expand...

Geoff - I make that 16 species that Upton Warren didnt record on Saturday (highlighted in bold); Belvide managed 18 species that we didnt. Just shows what a rich and varied bird life there is across the West Mids.

Phil
 
RSPB Middleton lakes Drayton Bassett pit section North pit 10/5/11 3 Black-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, 3 Dunlin and 3 Ringed Plover. Although there appears to be a breeding pair of Ringed Plover most are passage birds and numbers should increase now as Ringed plover migrate to Iceland, Greenland and Arctic Canada for breeding. John Harris
 
I have since heard from the reserve manager Nick Martin that he saw a Jay on the Saturday which means we ended up with 87 species.
Today was fairly quiet birdwise I saw 1 Blackwit and 2 Dunlin on the north pit and 2 Cuckoo over Fishers Mill pool.
edit, I see John did better than me.
 
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RSPB Middleton Lakes Reserve is due to open this Saturday 14th May.
For anyone unfamiliar to this area I have produced a self printed 27 page guide RSPB Middleton lakes and the mid-Tame valley.
The main focus being RSPB Middleton lakes, ways to access the Reserve, birds and other fauna andd flora to be seen. How to record them correctly at this 2 county Reserve.
Also other Reserves and notable bird sites in the mid-Tame valley.
To purchase a copy price £3.50 obtainable from Middleton Hall, The Courtyard coffee shop 10 a.m-5 p.m 7 days. (close to the RSPB Free carpark)
Or place an order by post £3.50 + 85 p P&P, from myself.
[email protected]

Regards, John
 
geoffw1946 said:
Hi John, How did Marsh Lane do?
Our list, 1 Gt C Grebe, 2 Cormorant, 3 Grey Heron, 4 Mute Swan, 5 Greylag, 6 Canada Goose, 7 Shelduck, 8 Gadwall, 9 Teal, 10 Mallard, 11 Shoveler, 12 Tufted Duck, 13 Buzzard, 14 Kestrel, 15 Hobby, 16 Pheasant, 17 Grey Partridge, 18 Moorhen, 19 Coot, 20 Oystercatcher, 21 Sanderling, 22 LRP, 23 Ringed Plover, 24 Grey Plover, 25 Lapwing, 26 Dunlin, 27 Redshank, 28 Greenshank, 29 Whimbrel, 30 Curlew, 31 Common Sand, 32 BH Gull, 33 Med Gull, 34 LBB Gull, 35 Herring Gull, 36 Common Tern, 37 Black Tern, 38 Stock Dove, 39 Woodpigeon, 40 Collared Dove, 41 Cuckoo, 42 Swift, 43 Kingfisher, 44 Green Woodie, 45 GS Woodie, 46 Skylark, 47 Sand Martin, 48 Swallow, 49 House Martin, 50 Yellow Wag, 51 Pied Wag, 52 Wren, 53 Dunnock, 54 Robin, 55 Blackbird, 56 Song Thrush, 57 Mistle Thrush, 58 Cetti's Warbler, 59 Gropper, 60 Sedge Warbler, 61 Reed Warbler, 62 Lesser Whitethroat, 63 Whitethroat, 64 Garden Warbler, 65 Blackcap, 66 Chiffchaff, 67 Willow Warbler, 68 Goldcrest, 69 Long t Tit, 70 Coal Tit, 71 Blue Tit, 72 Gt Tit, 73 Treecreeper, 74 Magpie, 75 Jackdaw, 76 Rook, 77 Crow, 78 Raven, 79 Starling, 80 House Sparrow, 81 Chaffinch, 82 Goldfinch, 83 Linnet, 84 Bullfinch, 85 Yellowhammer, 86 Reed Bunting. 87 Jay a late entry.
Note,we didn't include Feral Pigeon, but mainly because we didn't see any.
Geoff
Click to expand...

Cheers Geoff great effort mate.
B :)John
 
Saw 5 species this evening that we missed on the day - Mandarin, Wigeon, Common Gull, Sparrowhawk and Greenfinch!

Check my blog for latest sightings ;-)
 
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