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

rollingthunder

Well-known member
England
Yellow-Legged Gull

Smart-looking adult bird flying around with 2 Herring and a single Lesser Black-Backed (adults) @ Withymoor Pool (near Sainsburys, Amblecote) ca1230 today.

Bird was very 'clean-looking' with an unmarked head and slightly darker mantle/wings c/w the Herring Gulls. There was the tiniest hint of a White 'mirror' in the outer primary making the bird look distinctly dark on the outer primary tips.

Bird flew off with the Herring Gulls.

First i have seen on either Withymoor or Mary Stevens Park despite regular looking. Incidentally i had a record count of ca500 Black-Headed Gulls on New Years day on Stevens Park, Stourbridge. Probably the best opportunity for something like a Med Gull or Iceland?

Laurie:t:
 
The Yellow-Legged Gull was a good find Laurie!

That is a good number of Gulls at Mary Stevens Park! Hope you get a goodie there one day!

Thanks for the local info!:t:
 
Popped down for an hour or so ystda, quiet as usual but 7 Tufties are new. Ended up with a patch tick in the form of an overflying male Goosander:eek!:, bird circled several times before heading off North-ish poss to Fens Pool/NethRez.......

Laurie:t:
 
Male Pochard fresh in today (ca1530) - first i've recorded for over 2 years.....every little helps.....

Pool 90% frozen, worth looking in places with disruptive weather forecast things will/could move about, the same conditions last year produced a one-dayer Water Rail:eek!:

Laurie:t:
 
NethRez has open water when everywhere else is frozen so it will be worth looking at....Popped in to Withymoor for an hour ystda aftnn and true to form the Male Pochard was a 'one-dayer' - The resident Mallard are very xenophobic. There was more open water, about 1/3 which was more than the previous day.

Laurie:t:
 
Birds on the move along the canal in Brierley Hill today. Between the Delph locks and Wordsley a lot of Blackbirds, Robins, tit flocks, and good numbers of Siskins.
 
Am going to pop down today, did'nt bother over the weekend - there is bit of movement involving some interesting stuff so you could expect anything........anywhere:eek!:

Having had a quick look at my notes with regard to the Yellow-Legged Gull i saw the other day - i noted that the bird was virtually all black on quite an extended area of the primaries with only a tiny, White, mirror on the outer primary area.........Having just had a look at a picture of a 3rd-Winter bird found by Rich Bonser at Rotherhithe over the weekend the individual i saw more or less matches this - picture attached.

Always learning;)

Laurie :t:
 

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    YellowLeggedGull3rdWinter.jpg
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A quick visit, in an hour the ice had gone from 2/3 iced over to 2/3 open water -despite the snow it's not that cold, no wind from the East.........

No other duck, apart from the usual suspects, 4 Fieldfare over and a party of about 60 Siskin in the Birch above the Railway line towards Penfields. There is a few Alder around the pool but i do'nt know if the pods contain much seed.

Gulls have increased noticeably to 125+ BlackHeads with 2 adult LBB's and 2 1w Herring overflying.

Laurie:t:
 
Stevens Park - Stourbridge............

Ystday aftnn ca1600 a single Cormorant fishing on the pool, no big deal but it's the first i've recorded there and it's akin to a GND anywhere else.........

Laurie -
 
Peregrines.....

Just back from a bimble down to Withymoor Pool - ca1200 had a couple of Peregrines drift over the Railway line as i was making my way. Birds were not flying as such, just drifting on a moderate tail-wind at moderate height, darker wings contrasting with paler body with distinct silhouette. No discernible difference in the size of the birds, to my eyes anyway. About a minute or so later a large cloud of Black Headed Gulls came up from the direction of the Pool.

Pool itself quiet but with far more BHG than normal (30+ usually) with nearly 200 present and very few first-Winter birds. Something that i have noted with other flocks elsewhere thi Winter perhaps reflecting a poor breeding season?

Just a heads-up for anybody birding locally......:eek!:

Laurie:t:
 
Very breezy.......So should be either Fulmar or Gannet tomorrow;)

BHG ca 125
Tufties 7m3f
GreyWag

Met a 'new' birder to the area - Alan, who's getting back into birding now he's 'retired' (lot of semi-retired birders about) after having been a Bartley-basher some time ago. So it's nice to have another pair of eyes locally....:eek!:

Laurie:t:
 
Goosander.......

2 males present on Stevens Park, Stourbridge - yesterday afternoon at about 16.30. Both birds actively diving and quite mobile under the water popping up a reasonable distance away. These are the first Goosander that i have recorded here in 2 years of regular coverage. I spoke to a mate who had been walking his dogs later on and he said he had seen a couple of 'grebes' that morning. I have'nt record any grebes at all so presume it was these 2 individuals.

Withymoor.......

3 visits since Tuesday, BHG's have been over 250 at times, interestingly when there are more of them they seem to attract more of the larger gulls. On Wednesday there were 4 LBB's and a 1winter Herring Gull which is unusual. The latter was quite a pale bird but the dark primary wedge was still present.

Yesterday the gulls had reduced to about 150 and Tufties were down to 9, 6m 3f. A Buzzard put everything up and GreyWag and GreenWoody were noted.

Laurie :t:
 
True to form the Goosander, like last weekends' Cormorant were 'one-dayers'....I get the impression that there are more Goosander about this Winter than usual or is it just me?

Laurie:t:
 
True to form the Goosander, like last weekends' Cormorant were 'one-dayers'....I get the impression that there are more Goosander about this Winter than usual or is it just me?

Laurie:t:

I've been thinking the opposite. I have noted less birds at 'regular' haunts such as my patch (usually flocks around 30- reached a maximum on 10) and Sheepwash ( Have seen flocks up to 40c- A personal maximum of 16).
However, have notcied they have been turning up in some odd places.
MB
 
I had a party of 30 birds over my house on Sunday going in the direction of Sheepwash.
Good Birding YAMYAM
 
There were quite a few @ Sheepwash, in-between the coming and goings on Sunday. I have certainly had more sightings around here than would be considered 'normal' for this place;)

Just back from Withymoor - Quiet and very cold!

BHG's getting back to normal with ca70 birds which is still more than usual, 2 adult LBB's, 5 Tufties (3M2F) and both Grey/Pied Wag feeding by one of the outflows.

Wish i had'nt bothered on a day like this but.........you never know:eek!:

Laurie:t:
 
Goosander...........

A quick flit around Mary Stevens Park in the drizzle @16:00 produced a feeding party of...............11 Goosander, 6 males and 5 females :eek!: They actually outnumbered the remaining Black Headed Gulls.

Laurie:t:
 
Hoping to make a trip to the pool and withymoor and then on to the Fens where about is the pool and withymoor as I will be using public transport and would like directions from Sainsbury Supermarket please.
Will update after visit early next week if not tomorrow 9/2/2013
 
hi Adrian, turn your back on sainsburys main doors and head off left on to Kirkstone way,till you come to troutbeck drive on your left pool 50yds on left.

cheers keith.


o troutbeck drive on your left ,pool 50 yds on left.
 

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