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

Dowles Brook, Wyre Forest (3 Viewers)

Amazing views of a female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker this morning, it was showing wonderfully for at least two minutes, until it flew off, then lo and behold five minutes later it/another flew over our heads.

A great birthday present :t:

Hi Gav - any clues as to whereabouts in the Wyre you were?

Cheers
Phil
 
Phil, I think you have to be very lucky to get Lesser Spot in the Wyre ad hoc, and as I said to Gavo today, he has had more jam than Hartleys.
I was chatting The John R the other day about LSW in the Wyre, he was guestimating around 1 in 12-15 visits he gets it, and he live's near there and knows it well.
Most people try and get it from the Bridge at Lodge hill, this is where most reports come from. Chatting to the ex warden who lives there still recently, he hadn't seen one for quite a while, I think he said the survey a couple of years ago said there were 5 pairs then in the forest. My expereience and information of visiting the Wyre fairly regularly ( and people like JK will support this, who have many more visits under their belt) is you have to be lucky to get it.
It's certainly not a place to go specifically for LSW in my oppinion, it's a possibility you may get it whilst there, I visit it on a regular basis to see the diversity, not just birds, but anyone who says Lesser is easy in the Wyre is either out of touch or charmed

Gavo, let me know next time you are visiting please :-O
 
Phil, I think you have to be very lucky to get Lesser Spot in the Wyre ad hoc, and as I said to Gavo today, he has had more jam than Hartleys.
I was chatting The John R the other day about LSW in the Wyre, he was guestimating around 1 in 12-15 visits he gets it, and he live's near there and knows it well.
Most people try and get it from the Bridge at Lodge hill, this is where most reports come from. Chatting to the ex warden who lives there still recently, he hadn't seen one for quite a while, I think he said the survey a couple of years ago said there were 5 pairs then in the forest. My expereience and information of visiting the Wyre fairly regularly ( and people like JK will support this, who have many more visits under their belt) is you have to be lucky to get it.
It's certainly not a place to go specifically for LSW in my oppinion, it's a possibility you may get it whilst there, I visit it on a regular basis to see the diversity, not just birds, but anyone who says Lesser is easy in the Wyre is either out of touch or charmed

Gavo, let me know next time you are visiting please :-O

Most reports I have seen relate to the immediate area around Dry Mill Lane car park but this might be just because most visitors start and finish from this area; I certainly havent seen / heard one in this area. For me LSW is always a bonus bird in the Wyre on top of targeted species such as Hawfinch, Dipper, Pied Fly, Woodcock etc.

Speaking of which, have there been any Hawfinch reports from the Lodge Hill Farm area?
 
Most reports I have seen relate to the immediate area around Dry Mill Lane car park but this might be just because most visitors start and finish from this area; I certainly havent seen / heard one in this area. For me LSW is always a bonus bird in the Wyre on top of targeted species such as Hawfinch, Dipper, Pied Fly, Woodcock etc.

Speaking of which, have there been any Hawfinch reports from the Lodge Hill Farm area?

I was speaking to John Robinson when I visited there in early March and he said that he hadn't seen Hawfinch in that area this year.

To echo the points made by both Mark and yourself, I have only had LSW once in the Wyre: a pair in the orchard from the bridge at Lodge Hill Farm in early March 4 years ago. The last LSW I saw in Worcestershire, apart from the recent one at Upton Warren, was at Old Hills Common in October 3 years ago.

Happy Birthday Gavo. Your treat today brings back memories of the first Red Kite I saw in Worcestershire: at Wadborough on June 1st a few years ago.
 
Hi Gav - any clues as to whereabouts in the Wyre you were?

Cheers
Phil

Hi Phil, not too sure of the place names as I've only been a couple of times. We parked up in the little car park and walked along the old railway line. We were about 100m from the house by the bridge when I saw movement in the top of some trees on the right hand side, and that's where it was. It moved between three trees, always in view and then settled on a trunk for at least two minutes.

It eventually flew off, we then carried on along the old railway line, just as we got to the bridge by the cottage (where the hawfinches were last year) I spotted it flying towards us from the cottage area, it went straight over our heads and disappeared in some trees to the opposite side of the track.

Hope that all makes sense?
 
Hi Phil, not too sure of the place names as I've only been a couple of times. We parked up in the little car park and walked along the old railway line. We were about 100m from the house by the bridge when I saw movement in the top of some trees on the right hand side, and that's where it was. It moved between three trees, always in view and then settled on a trunk for at least two minutes.

It eventually flew off, we then carried on along the old railway line, just as we got to the bridge by the cottage (where the hawfinches were last year) I spotted it flying towards us from the cottage area, it went straight over our heads and disappeared in some trees to the opposite side of the track.

Hope that all makes sense?

Cheers Gav - the cottage is Lodge Hill Farm.
 
Willow Warblers, Chiffys, Blackcaps showing well in the Wyre today, but highlight was 2 Wood Warblers and a stonking male Redstart B :)
 
Willow Warblers, Chiffys, Blackcaps showing well in the Wyre today, but highlight was 2 Wood Warblers and a stonking male Redstart B :)

Hi Mark - where were the Woodies; the usual place (cross-tracks along the railway line after Lodge Hill Farm?)
 
6 Tree Pipits, 1 Wood Warbler, 1 Redstart(male) were all new personal sightings for the year, and I also heard my first cuckoo of the year this afternoon.

Attached below are record shots of the Wood Warbler and one of the Tree Pipits.
 

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I had a look round the Wyre Forest on Saturday - see my blog for more details, including several photos of a male adder I was shown (by Sylvia).

They're stunning snakes.

And I heard a cuckoo, too, but couldn't locate it. Sounded like it was on the other side of Dowles Brook, away from the usual paths.
 
Here's another shot of the adder - he was slithering back out towards the sunnier areas here, and had to lift his head over a broken stem.
 

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Thanks for the superb pics, D-P. We've only been over there once so far this year, but didn't manage to spot any:( You've given me hope that we might one day! As soon as the sun appears, we'll try again.
 
Spent a great 90 mins at the Wyre today, 3 garden warblers, 4 wood warblers, pied fly, redstart, tree pipit and a common lizard, better than 90 mins at Anfield for sure 8-P
 
Off there in morning for the first time. Fingers crossed.

Would love to see Wood Warblers, Pied fly, Redstart, Tree Pipit and Dipper
 
I went there last Saturday and got three out of the four quite easily . I heard a Redstart but try as I did I never found it after searching in all the regular places.

I managed a couple of photos of two of the species.

John
 

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Off there in morning for the first time. Fingers crossed.

Would love to see Wood Warblers, Pied fly, Redstart, Tree Pipit and Dipper


You can't miss wood warbler, there is one singing as soon as you start walking along the railway track from the car park,the tree pipit was along the railway line on the right hand side just before the gate to Dowles Brook.
 
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ShaggyBob - just make sure you dont leave it too late if you are visiting tomorrow; a nice sunny May Saturday will result in a torrent of dog walkers, joggers, horse riders etc.
 
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Careless talk

Could I just plea to folks to be mindful about putting info on the forum about some species in the Wyre at this point in time. There is a fairly good network amongst birders generally away from the internet for sharing site specific info. There are I'm afraid scrotes with hobbies that do not help some of the birds that have struggled in the Wyre in recent years..lets not make it easier than needs be for them :t:
 
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