Sandwell Valley (2 Viewers)

yamyam said:

January
The Month started of slowly with a female Pintail near North Island, a pair of Goldeneye on Swan Pool and 50 Redwing near the Crematorium. The 3rd gave us 24 Wigeon on Swan Pool. On the 4th we had Willow Tit and Coal Tit at the Feeding Station Peregrine flew over the Centre, Goldcrest and Chiffchaff in the Double Hedgerow and a Yellow Legged Gull and a Pair of Pintail could be seen from the Hide. A Wildfowl count on the 7th taking in Swan Pool, Forge Mill and the River Tame gave us 128 Tufted Duck, 42 Goosander, 42 Teal, 31 Gadwall, 30 Shoveler, 25 Pochard, 24 Wigeon, 9 Little Grebe, 8 Great Crested Grebe, 3 Goldeneye ,2 Pintail and 8 Water Rail also 2 Willow Tits at the Feeding Station. The 9th gave us a male Pheasant near the Motorway. On the 11th we had the first Little Egret of the year on Forge Mill. The 12th gave us a 1st winter Yellow Legged Gull on Swan Pool. On the 14th a Great White Egret flew North over the Crematorium only the second Valley record, 10 Little Grebe on Swan Pool and 2 Raven flew over. The 17th gave us 17 Bullfinch and Marsh Tit at the Feeding Station, Tawny Owl calling behind the Centre, Adult Yellow Legged Gull on Swan Pool, 70 Goosander and 37 Wigeon on Forge Mill, 40 Ring Necked Parakeets flew over and a Goshawk was reported at Salter’s Lane. On the 21st we had 60 Snipe and 10 Jack Snipe in the Marsh, 70 Tufted Duck on Swan Pool and the Barn Owl was seen. The 22nd gave us 3 Whooper Swan over Dartmouth Park and 2 Little Egret on Forge Mill. On the 23rd 2 Waxwing where seen too fly into the Valley from Hampstead Railway Station were they had been feeding on Cotoneaster. The 24th gave us a Common Gull on Forge Mill and 40 Wigeon and 2 Great Black Backed Gulls on Swan Pool. On the 26th we had 10 Pochard in Dartmouth Park. The 29th gave 32 White Fronted Geese in Swan Pool Meadow and the Oystercatcher had returned to Forge Mill. On the 30th we had 130 Lesser Black Backed Gulls and 30 Herring Gulls on Swan Pool. The last day of the Month gave us a Tawny Owl calling over the other side of the River, 120 Redwing and 2 Fieldfare in Monks Meadow and a Raven over Swan Pool.

February
The month started of with a 1st winter Great Black Backed Gull on Swan Pool. On the 3rd a Merlin was seen near Swan Pool, 19 Barnacle Geese on Forge Mill, 3 Oystercatcher on the Island, Brambling at the Feeding Station and 125 Redwing, 50 Fieldfare and a Skylark over Forge Mill Farm. The 5th gave us a Common Gull and 400 Black Headed Gull from the Hide, 6 Reed Bunting at the Feeding Station and 2 Barn Owls where seen. On the 7th a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was near the Play Area at Forge Mill Farm. The 8th gave us a Whooper Swan over Forge Mill with 50 Snipe and 25 Lapwing on the Island. On the 9th a Raven flew over High Bridges, 29 Gadwall on Forge Mill and 30 Grey Heron on Ice House Lake. The 10th gave us a Shelduck on Forge Mill 3 Siskin at the Feeders, 27 Redpoll near North Island and the White Fronted Geese had clocked up 14 days with us and had a nice routine going commuting between Swan Pool Meadow and Forge Mill far Fields. On the 11th a Blackcap was in a Garden on the perimeter of the Valley. The 15th gave us 9 White Fronted Geese on the Bund, 32 birds flew over Forge Mill and shortly after 38 birds flew over possibly all different birds. On the 18th we had 10 Great Crested Grebes on Swan Pool, 2 Jack Snipe and a 1st winter Yellow Legged Gull on Forge Mill and 30 Redpoll near the River Tame. The 19th gave us 2 Stonechat at Salter’s Lane. On the 20th we had 2 Stonechat in Swan Pool Meadow and a 1st winter Yellow Legged Gull on Swan Pool. The 24th gave us 35 Ring Necked Parakeets over the Reserve. On the 24th we had 60 Redwing and 5 Fieldfare in the Maize Field at Forge Mill Farm, 90 Snipe 12 Jack Snipe and a pair of Stonechat in the Marsh. The 26th gave us a pair of Stonechat in the Marsh, a male Stonechat in Swan Pool Meadow and a pair of Stonechat at Salter’s Lane also 4 Grey Wagtails on the River.

March
The month kicked of with 3 Stonechat in Swan Pool Meadows 2 male and a female, a Raven over the Paddocks, 37 Goosander and female Pintail on Forge Mill, a Green Sandpiper and a pair of Stonechat in the Marsh, Red Kite in Monks Meadow and at Salter’s Lane a pair of Stonechat and a Linnet. On the 5th we had our first Sand Martin of the year on Swan Pool and Peggy the Oystercatcher returned for her tenth year. The 8th gave us the pair of Stonechat still in the Marsh. The 9th gave us a Common Gull on Swan Pool and Chiffchaff near North Island. On the 11th we had our first Little Ringed Plover of the year and a Chiffchaff behind the Hide with 6 Skylarks in the Swan Pool Meadow. The 12th gave us 19 Barnacle Geese on North Island and 60 Ring Necked Parakeets over at Dusk to Roost. On the 14th we had a Harris Hawk over Forge Mill Farm and a Yellowhammer was seen near Swan Pool. The 15th gave us a Cetti’s Warbler near the Hide. On the 20th we had a Mediterranean Gull on Forge Mill and a 2nd year Yellow Legged Gull on Swan Pool. The 25th gave us a Woodcock at Salter’s Lane. On the 26th we had an other Yellowhammer this time at Hill Top also 5 Chiffchaff in this area. The 27th gave us a 2nd winter Mediterranean Gull on Forge Mill. On the 28th we had our first Wheatear of the year with a male at Salter’s Lane and 30 Sand Martin on Swan Pool. The 29th gave us our first Willow Warbler of the year with a bird behind the Boat House at Swan Pool, 5 Oystercatcher and 4 Greylag Geese on Forge Mill. On the 30th 18 Golden Plover flew north over Monks Meadow. The last day of the month gave us a pair of Wheatear at Salter’s Lane, 35 Sand Martin, 16 House Martin and 2 swallow over Swan Pool the later two being our first for the year.

April
The 1st kicked of with a Redshank on the Island and a Yellowhammer and 10 Meadow Pipits near Swan Pool Meadow. On the 3rd a Redstart was reported in the Paddocks. The 9th gave us our first Sedge Warbler of the year with a bird near the River and a Wheatear on the Bund. On the 10th we had Reed Warbler in the Marsh and Whitethroat at Salter’s Lane and a bird around Forge Mill both being firsts for the year, a Possible Cuckoo was seen briefly and an Osprey was reported. The 14th gave us 3 Common Sandpiper on the Island and 3 Wheatear, female Ring Ouzel and a male Redstart at Salter’s Lane the last two being new for the year. On the 15th we had a Kittiwake on Forge Mill and 4 Wheatears at Salter’s Lane. The 16th gave us our first Yellow Wagtail of the year with a bird on show from the Hide. On the 17th there was an Alexandrine Parakeet at the Feeding Station. The 18th gave us 2 Black Tailed Godwits on the Island and our first returning Lesser Whitethroat near Memorable Screen. On the 19th we had our first returning Common Tern with a Bird on Swan Pool, Redstart in the Paddocks, 2 Green Sandpiper in the Marsh and a Tawny Owl at Sotts Hole. The 20th gave us 2 Yellow Wagtails in Swan Pool Meadow, Greenland Wheatear and Wheatear on the Bund and 4 Common Sandpiper on the Island. On the 21st we had our first Garden Warbler of the year with a bird on the Reserve, Yellow Wagtail near Swan Pool and a Dunlin on the Island. The 22nd gave us our first Cuckoo of the year. On the 23rd we had a Redshank on the Island. The 25th gave us a Whimbrel on the Bund and our first Swift of the year with 2 birds in Dartmouth Park. On the 29th we had 8 Goosander on Forge Mill and our first Whinchat’s of the year with 3 birds at Salter’s Lane. The last day of the month was a little special with a Wood Sandpiper on the Island only our 9th record and the first since 1999 and a Black Tern on Forge Mill our first since 2012 also Whinchat in the Marsh and the 2 birds still at Salter’s Lane.

May
The month started of with the Wood Sandpiper still on the Island also on there 2 Common Sandpiper and a Dunlin; a Grasshopper Warbler was heard reeling in the Marsh our first of the year. On the 2nd we had a Little Egret in the Marsh. The 6th saw a group of Valley Birders take part in a All Day Bird watch to clock up has many Species has possible competing against several other localities an amazing 89 species where seen being the most species seen in a day in Sandwell Valley the best bird by a long shot was a Red Throated Diver seen to fly around Swan Pool by 3 lucky observers being a first record for Sandwell Valley also of note on that day Hobby and Spotted Flycatcher where the first records of the year and a different Wood Sandpiper was in the Marsh. On the 8th we had 200 Swift on Forge Mill. The 9th gave us 4 Common Tern and 4 Greylag Geese on Forge Mill. The 11th gave us a Ringed Plover on the Island. On the 12th we had a Sanderling on the Bund and the Ringed Plover was still present. The 16th gave us 8 Oystercatcher, 6 Common Tern and a Ringed Plover on the Island. On the 17th a male Pochard was on Ice House Lake. The 18th gave us a Shelduck on the Island. The 20th saw 16 Barnacle Geese on Forge Mill. On the 21st the Oystercatchers on the Island hatched two young. On the 28th the Pair of Oystercatcher who nested on Ice House Lake hatched one young. The last day of the month saw a Snipe on the Island.

June
The month started of with the Lapwings producing two chicks but both sadly lost to predators. The 7th saw 10 Barnacle Geese in Dartmouth Park. On the 9th the Pochard was on Forge Mill. On the 13th we had a Goosander on Forge Mill and 2 Raven and a Peregrine went over. The 14th saw a Common Sandpiper on the Island. On the 15th we had a pair of Shoverler and 4 male Pochard. On the 16th a Little Egret was in the Trees on Ice House Lake and 20 Barnacle Geese where on Forge Mill. The 17th gave us 5 male Pochard on Forge Mill. On the 22nd a Red Kite was seen to fly over High Bridges and later seen from the Hide over the Golf Course, 42 Lapwing on island and 10 Oystercatcher. The 25th gave us a Green Sandpiper in Dartmouth Park. On the 29th we had 10 Little Ringed Plover on the Island.

July
The month started of with a Red Kite over the Newton Road, Little Egret on Forge Mill and 50 Lapwing on the Reserve. The 4th gave us 3 Water Rail chicks in the Marsh and 13 Common Sandpiper on Forge Mill. On the 6th another Red Kite was seen over High Bridges and 6 Pochard on Forge Mill. The 7th Gave us 2 Teal on the Bund, on the 8th 20 Tufted Duck chicks were counted. The 9th gave us a report of 5 Adult Water Rail and 4 young in the Marsh. On the 12th the Common Tern had 2 young hatch and 3 Shoverler where present. The 15th gave us a Dunlin; on the 19th we had a Snipe on the island. The 20th gave us an Adult Mediterranean Gull from the Hide and 8 Pochard were present. On the 24th a Cuckoo was heard near Park Farm, 60 Ring Necked Parakeets where seen to go to roost and 150 Swift where counted over Swan Pool. The 28th gave us 3 Redhead Goosander and the Month finished with a Dunlin on the island and a Green Sandpiper in the Marsh.

August
The 5th gave us a young Water Rail in the Marsh. On the 6th we had 26 Cormorant on the Boom and a Hobby over the Centre. The 8th gave us a Green Sandpiper in the Marsh and 2 Willow Tit where seen. On the 10th a Black Tailed Godwit was on the Bund. The 11th gave us a Hobby over Forge Mill. On the 13th a Hobby was seen over the Newton Road and we had a small fall of Spotted Flycatchers with singles at Sots Hole, Paddocks and a bird near the RSPB Centre. The 15th gave us an Avocet on the island for an hour and half only our 4th record. On the 17th we had 2 Hobby in front of the Centre and a Greenshank flew over Forge Mill. The 22nd gave us 2 Little Egrets on the island and a Hobby over Forge Mill. On the 24th 300 Wood Pigeon where counted on Fields at Forge Farm. The 26th gave us 8 Teal in the Marsh, Common Gull and Yellow Wagtail on Swan Pool and 6 Spotted Flycatcher and a male Redstart in the Paddocks. On the 31st we had 2 Little Egret on Forge Mill and the Great Crested Grebes on Swan Pool had a late brood of 3 young.

September
The 1st gave us Wheatear, Yellow Wagtail, Spotted Flycatcher, Meadow Pipit, Linnet and 60 Goldfinch at Salter’s Lane. The 2nd was the second All Day Bird watch of the year a team of ten kicked the Valley Dawn till Dusk producing 83 species the main highlights being Redstart, Raven, Little Egret, Yellow Wagtail, Wheatear, Hobby, Spotted Flycatcher, Peregrine and Yellowhammer. On the 5th we had a Marsh Tit at the Feeders. The 7th gave us 56 Lapwing, 30 Shoveler and 3 Little Egret on Forge Mill, a male Goshawk over the Centre and 4 Raven over Swan Pool. On the 8th we had a Wigeon on Forge Mill. The 9th gave us a Stonechat and Spotted Flycatcher at Salter’s Lane. On the 10th we had 19 Redhead Goosander in the Valley. The 12th gave us an Osprey over Monks Meadow. On the 13th we had 23 Redhead Goosander on Forge Mill a late Swift was seen and an Arctic Tern was on Swan Pool. The 14th gave us a Goshawk over Monks Meadow. On the 16th we had 34 Redhead Goosander and 2 Snipe. The 19th gave us an early Redwing over Salter’s Lane. On the 21st the 3 Little Egret where again on the Bund at Forge Mill. The 23rd gave us early Fieldfare over Monks Meadow. On the 24th we had 4 Little Egret on the Bund equal to the site record. The 27th gave us a female Pintail on Forge Mill, 54 Meadow Pipit and 4 Skylark over Forge Hill. On the 28th we had an Adult Mediterranean Gull on Forge Mill and 10 Buzzard where seen.

October
The 1st gave us the first Siskin of the autumn with 4 birds over Swan Pool. On the 3rd the 3 Little Egrets where still on the Reserve. The 5th gave us a Brambling in Dartmouth Park, female Stonechats in Monks Meadow and Browns Field, Curlew over Park Farm and a female Pintail on Forge Mill. On the 6th we had 2 male and a female Stonechat in Monks Meadow. The 7th gave us 8 Collared Dove in a back garden on the perimeter of the Valley, Raven over the Marsh and 30 Gadwall on Forge Mill. On the 8th we had a single Hawfinch over Monks Meadow this was only our forth record but we had no idea what was to come. The 10th gave us 4 Jack Snipe on the Bund, 35 Goosander on Forge Mill and 300 Jackdaw going to roost. On the 11th we had a Hawfinch over Hill Top. The 12th gave us a Rock Pipit on the River. On the 13th the Rock Pipit was on the Bund and a single Jack Snipe was also present. On the 20th migration was noted with 500 Starling, 450 Redwing, 7 Skylark, 2 Brambling over Browns and a Hawfinch and 150 Redwing at Salter’s Lane. The 21st gave us 2 Hawfinch over the Centre, 3 over Forge Mill and a single bird over Salter’s Lane also at Salter’s 40 Blackbird, 2 Yellowhammer, 2 Brambling and 42 Gadwall where counted on Forge Mill. On the 22nd we had a small fall of Stonechat with a male at Salter’s Lane, a Pair in Browns Field and 3 birds at Hill Top. The 23rd gave us a Ring Ouzel over Forge Hill, Common Gull in Dartmouth Park, and a male Red Breasted Merganser in moult on Forge Mill also over Forge Mill 550 Redwing, 500 Wood Pigeon and 14 Linnet. On the 25th we had 5 Skylark over Dartmouth Park and c80 Ring Necked Parakeets where counted going to roost. The 26th gave us 2700 Wood Pigeon, 330 Redwing, 20 Blackbird over Forge Hill, a Goshawk over the Colliery Banks, 150 Redwing over the Centre and 90 birds at Salter’s Lane, Common Gull on Forge Mill and 59 Goosander in to roost. On the 27th we had Willow Tit, Marsh Tit, Coal Tit and Nuthatch at the Feeding Station, 2 Stonechat at Salter’s Lane, 4 Raven, 8 Skylark and a first Winter Yellow Legged Gull at Swan Pool. The 28th gave us a male Brambling at the Feeding Station and 24 Siskin at Forge Mill Farm. On the 29th we had 6 Hawfinch over the Marsh and a single over Hill Sixty. The 30th gave us a pair of Stonechat still in Browns Fields. On the 31st we had a single Hawfinch, Brambling, 5 Skylark, 500 Redwing and 500 Starling over Hill Sixty.

November
The month started of with another Hawfinch over Monks Meadow this being our eighteenth bird of the autumn with seventeen birds being seen in October also a Red Kite was seen over the Valley. On the 2nd we had 9 Hawfinch and a Chiffchaff over Hill Top. The 3rd gave us 2 Hawfinch in Dartmouth Park and a Little Owl was on a private location. On the 4th a Firecrest was found in Holly Bushes at Hill Top by the Gunning Placements with possibly 2 birds present, 3 Hawfinch’s flew over, Brambling on Swan Pool Car Park and 12 Collared Dove in a Back Garden on the edge of the Valley. The 6th gave us a Hawfinch and 2 Brambling at Hill Top and a Brambling in Dartmouth Park. On the 7th we had 5 Hawfinch over Dartmouth Park and 2 Brambling over Hill Sixty. The 8th gave us a pair of Brambling at the Feeding Station, 45 Snipe and a Dunlin on the island and 2 Firecrests reported again at Hill Top. On the 10th we had 2 male and a female Pintail at North Island and 2 Tawny Owl where heard. The 11th gave us 9 Hawfinch over the Marsh, Blackbird c40, Redwing c90, 8 Mistle Thrush, 12 Song Thrush, 40 Greenfinch, 70 Chaffinch, 60 Goldfinch and a female Brambling at the Feeding Station all seen from the Centre, on Forge Mill 3 male and 2 female Pintail with a Common Gull on the island, Tawny Owl in Dartmouth Park and 10 Goldcrest and a Woodcock at Hill Top. On the 12th 2 Firecrest where seen together at Hill Top, male Goldeneye on Swan Pool and a female Brambling at the Feeders. The 13th gave us 3 Brambling over the Legion Fields. On the 14th we had 74 Goosander come into roost on Forge Mill. The 15th gave us the pair of Stonechats still in Browns Fields, a female Stonechat Forge Lane and 17 Great Crested Grebes on Swan Pool. On the 16th the 2 Firecreasts where seen again. The 17th gave us a female Stonechat on the Bund. The 18th gave us a Water Pipit on the Bund, 5 Hawfinch over Forge Mill, 2 male Pheasant in the Fields at Forge Mill Farm, Adult Yellow Legged Gull on Swan Pool and 23 Stock Dove near Dartmouth High School. On the 20th the Water Pipit was near the Hide on the Bund and a Black Swan was on Swan Pool. On the 21st we had our largest flock of Hawfinch when 17 birds flew over the Football Pitches near Allotment Wood in the direction of Priory Wood. The 24th gave us 2 Raven over Swan Pool, Yellow Legged Gull and a pair of Goldeneye on Swan Pool, 3 Stonechats in Browns Field and 2 Firecrests still at Hill Top. On the 25th we had 12-16 Hawfinch fly over the Centre in a Snow Storm and 30 Goldcrest where reported at Hill Top. The 26th saw 2 Nuthatch at the Feeders and Mediterranean and Common Gull on Forge Mill. On the 29th 60 Ring Necked Parakeets flew over Hill Sixty. The last day of the month saw the 2 Firecrest still at Hill Top.

December
The 1st saw 38 Teal on Forge Mill and a Yellow Legged Gull on Swan Pool. On the 2nd a Great Black Backed Gull was on Swan Pool, a Firecrest was reported at the west end of Forge Mill, 2 Common Gull from the Hide and 40 Teal counted. The 4th gave us 37 Wigeon on Ice House Lake and the Great Black Backed Gull was still on Swan Pool. On the 5th a controlled Snipe count produced 64 Snipe and 3 Jack Snipe. The 6th saw 68 Goosander come into roost on Forge Mill 53 of them being males. The 7th gave us 27 Shoveler and a Common Gull on Forge Mill. On the 11th we had a pair of Pintail, Common Gull and a Snipe flew over Dartmouth Park. The 13th gave us 48 Gadwall, 32 Wigeon and 11 Pochard on Forge Mill. On the 17th we had a Chiffchaff at Ray hall Sewage Works, Woodcock over Kim’s Field and a male Mandarin was under the trees near the Slipway at Forge Mill. The 18th saw the Firecrest still at Hill Top, 60 Ring Necked Parakeets and a Woodcock over the Owl Field. On the 20th we had 2 Raven over Old Church, Little Egret on the River, 10 Herring Gull on Swan Pool, a pair of Pintail near North Island, 15 Pochard on various waters in the Valley and the Firecrest was still at Hill Top. The 23rd gave us 2 male and a female Pintail on Forge Mill. On Christmas Day we had 2 Little Egret on Forge Mill. The 28th saw the Firecrest showing well at Hill top and a Common Gull was on show from the Hide. On the 29th Firecrest was still showing well. The 30th gave us a Brambling under the Feeding Station. On the last day of the year we had a pair of Goldeneye on Forge Mill and Nuthatch and Willow Tit still coming to the Feeding Station. We finished the year with 148 species recorded.
Dave Saunders

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Dick-E-Dipper said:

A Happy New Year to all the Sandwell twitchers & members of the RSPB and a massive thankyou to Dave for all his fantastic daily reports/info over the past year (& previous years). Speaking for myself I dont know where I`d be without his input.

2018 tally 13nr Garden,!!!

Richard

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