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Bartley reservoir (1 Viewer)

steve_zodiac

Well-known member
Does anyone know if Bartley reservoir is being watched by anyone on a daily basis. Or if it is being watched regularly at all.

I've been over there several times over the last couple of months and up until now I haven't encountered another birder.

But anyway, Bartley this evening:

137 LBB Gulls
19 Herring Gulls
6 GC Grebes
34 Canadas
8 Swallows
4 Whitethroats
2 Blackcaps
2 Chiffchaffs
 
During the winter months the likes of Terry Hinnett still regularly trawl through the gull roost; not sure outside of these times.
 
Does anyone know if Bartley reservoir is being watched by anyone on a daily basis. Or if it is being watched regularly at all.

I've been over there several times over the last couple of months and up until now I haven't encountered another birder.

But anyway, Bartley this evening:

137 LBB Gulls
19 Herring Gulls
6 GC Grebes
34 Canadas
8 Swallows
4 Whitethroats
2 Blackcaps
2 Chiffchaffs

It always seems to be a very long distance wherever you view from and I never feel comfortable parking anywhere near it.

Keith
 
Yeah, Laurie, thats where I tend to park, and by walking along the fence line for a hundred yards or so I can see all the reservoir. Mind you my being 6ft 4ins tall is an advantage for seeing over the fence rather than looking through it :-O

To be honest though, I feel easier there than I do at Sandwell Valley.
 
Yeah, Laurie, thats where I tend to park, and by walking along the fence line for a hundred yards or so I can see all the reservoir. Mind you my being 6ft 4ins tall is an advantage for seeing over the fence rather than looking through it :-O

To be honest though, I feel easier there than I do at Sandwell Valley.

I HATE places with fences.....suppose they have not burnt anything down at Bartley...mind you there's nowt to burn.

I did visit here a bit in the 70's (nineteen) but as I don't keep records it's all a bit vague as to what I saw.A Diver keeps coming into my brain - mind you I can remember the Diver at Brierley Hill so it's probably that one. :gh:

I wonder if I get an astronomical telescope I could check up from on Beacon Hill (Lickeys)....;)
Keith :t:
 
The rain didn't bring much down this afternoon apart from a few Swifts and Swallows. Also.....

28 Herring Gulls
180 Lesser Black Backs

Family parties of Whitethroats; Sedge Warblers feeding young; plus 2 Bullfinches, Kestrel, Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, 2 Grey Herons et al
 
Couple of hours at Bartley this afternoon.....

Gull numbers down on yesterday, but a couple of hundred Swifts (all Common), plus lower numbers of House Martins and Swallows. 35 Canadas, 4 Grey Herons, usual warblers, Yellowhammer, GS Woodpecker.
 
Couple of hours at Bartley this afternoon.....

Gull numbers down on yesterday, but a couple of hundred Swifts (all Common), plus lower numbers of House Martins and Swallows. 35 Canadas, 4 Grey Herons, usual warblers, Yellowhammer, GS Woodpecker.

I know a couple of people who visit on a fairly regular basis.


Des.
 
I visited Bartley out of sheer curiosity whilst passing through the West Midlands on 19th and 20th May and expected it to be surrounded by a couple of housing estates and half a dozen tower blocks so I was pleasantly surprised by the largely rural surroundings of the reservoir and the fantastic adjacent bluebell wood.

Two Common Terns were the best sighting over the reservoir but there were also many Swifts and all the regular hirundines. Lots of passerines were in the more bushy areas including several Blackcaps, Whitethroats one Garden Warbler and a male Bullfinch.

For an inland site just outside a major city you could do a lot worse than here and if I lived locally I would certainly pay it regular visits. Next time I pass through the area I would like to give it another look as you can work the whole area pretty thoroughly in two or three hours.
 
Apart from the local sailing club access is restricted to outside of the perimeter fence, officially, but in the summer months the local teenagers do climb over the steel gates near the dam and use the reservoir for recreational means.
I can't really see the point of having the fence. I know the reservoir supplies the tap water for Birmingham, and that in effect could make it a terrorist target, but the fence isn't going to make a lot of difference if its there as a deterrent.

As for the bluebell wood, yes it is nice.......but unfortunately one or two strange people do hang about in there :eek!:
 
Still quiet at Bartley. Went on Wednesday morning (3rd) between 9am and 10am.

Even more family parties of Whitethroats than ever before, I think half the population of the UK have nested at Bartley this year.

Also 4 Song Thrushes, 30+ Swifts, 2 House Martins, 3 Herring Gulls, Chiffchaff, 4 GC Grebes, 1 Stock Dove plus the usual stuff.
 
Thanks, Phil. Might as well start covering it then |8)|

Hi Steve.
Back in the 70's and early 80's I used to do it on a daily basis when I was a field engineer. I saw a good delection of species. In those days Glaucous and Iceland gulls were regular during winter. My list includes: all 3divers, red necked grebe. Whooper swan. Leach's petrel. Pom skua just a few years ago. If the levels drop you can get a shingle shore appear on the SE side. Waders included knot. Sanderling. Little stint. Lapwings used to breed on the lower gield. If you drive past the church there is a small bridge with a small stream underneath it. In winter it used to be good for jack snipe and grey wag.
John
 
Reported sightings since 2001 have included Sandwich Arctic and Black Tern, Common and Velvet Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Smew, Pomarine Skua, Great Northern Diver, Quail, Avocet, Sanderling, Turnstone, Whimbrel, Greenshank, Knot, Grey Phalarope, Kittiwake, Kumlien's Little Iceland Caspian Glaucous and Med Gulls, Slavonian Red-necked and Black-necked Grebe, Red-breasted Merganser, Osprey, Whooper Swan, Red-crested Pochard, Short-eared Owl, Stonechat, Whinchat, Red Kite, Brent and Pink-footed Goose, Nightingale and Ring Ouzel.
 
Hi Steve.
Back in the 70's and early 80's I used to do it on a daily basis when I was a field engineer. I saw a good delection of species. In those days Glaucous and Iceland gulls were regular during winter. My list includes: all 3divers, red necked grebe. Whooper swan. Leach's petrel. Pom skua just a few years ago. If the levels drop you can get a shingle shore appear on the SE side. Waders included knot. Sanderling. Little stint. Lapwings used to breed on the lower gield. If you drive past the church there is a small bridge with a small stream underneath it. In winter it used to be good for jack snipe and grey wag.
John

Thanks John. I had a wander round the fields behind the church last week. I'm surprised how underwatched it is, I know its quiet at the moment but thats what you expect at this time of year. I'm optimistic, I know its going to get some good stuff this autumn :t:
 

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