Reader
Well-known member
Today was to hopefully be a day of Quality not quantity. There were a couple of good birds about and they were relatively local to Birmingham.
Our first port of call was to a field at the end of a lane that was by the side of an old watering hole of Monkeymans. The Greyhound pub in Great Glen, south of Leicester on the A6. A Common Crane had been reported there and we were to go to Orchard Lane and walk to the footbridge that spanned the A6 and look from there.
We started out at a leisurely 08:15am with Ros & the dogs accompanying me today. The day turned out to be a cold, crisp sunny one. As we past Birmingham airport we witnessed a stunning sunrise that took in 6 stages of colours from Purple to red, pink, blazing orange, yellow through to the light blues of a beautiful winters morning. Absolutely gorgeous. It was a shame that we were on a road where you couldn’t stop, as it would have made for a cracking photo.
We arrived at Orchard Lane at 09:30 and straight away a birder approached the gate we were to go through. “Has it been seen”, I asked. “Eventually” he answered. He stated that he had arrived on site at 07:45 and only spotted the bird 10 minutes ago then it flew out of sight again. It was last seen in a field on the left hand side of the A6 about a couple of hundred yards north of the bridge. Well at least it was still here, albeit being elusive.
We followed the path past the farm and onwards towards the Footbridge. The track took a sharp right bend and the sunlight flooded a stubble field to our left. It was hard to see through the bright light but something caught my eye in the distance. We were about 300 yards from the bridge not thinking of the Crane because we were possibly still about 5 – 600 yards away from where it had been seen but my luck had carried on from yesterday as the Crane flew straight in front of us and dropped into the stubble field. How is that for a piece of luck? The only down side being the strong sun making it absolutely impossible to take any sort of a photo. We watched it for a while then I rang the pager company to let them know that the bird had relocated. As I spoke to Andrew (at Rare Bird Alert) the Crane took flight again and flew back over the A6 footbridge, possibly returning to where it had last been seen. I didn’t see another report of this bird until much later in the day so I have to count myself very lucky that the Crane appeared when it did.
Our next bird was the other side of Wolverhampton, at a private country estate. The bird had apparently been there for 7 weeks and the owner of the estate had decided to open up the one area where the bird could be seen. It was on the Chillington Hall estate near to Codsall (NW of Wolverhampton by about 5 miles). It was a question of back tracking, as we had to go there via the M69, M6 and M54 before coming off and going through Coven and Brewood. For once the directions were a little confusing as it stated Chillington Hall but go via the Codsall Wood Lodge gate. I made my way to Chillington Hall but couldn’t find any one that knew where this lodge was so I actually drove to this impressive hall and parked in their grounds. Straight away I added a New Year bird when a few Song Thrushes were seen on the grass in front of the hall. Some old couples were arriving at the halls car park and I approached one couple that, thankfully, knew where this lodge was. Right on the other side of the estate about a 4-mile drive from where we were standing. Off we set and eventually came across the lodge. The car park was rammed full with the only place to park way down the road we had just come on. First piece of luck. A birder just arrived back from seeing the bird and told me to wait whilst he got his car out. Just right. I parked my car right by the gate. Walking through the lodge gates I deposited the £1 into the bucket that the owner had stipulated must be paid. All these donations were going to a wildlife fund. Next piece of luck. As I walked past the gate the warden asked if I would like a lift. I thought he was joking as all the other birders were walking. “ Yes please” I replied. We drove past about 20 other birders making their way to the site. This turned out to be a major slice of luck. Arriving at the site it was obvious that the bird was showing as a line of about 20 birders were all looking through their scopes. I soon had my scope up and following the other birders directions soon found myself on my 2nd target bird – a Great White Egret – albeit over 500 yards away. I have managed 3 shots of the bird as well as taking a couple of pictures of the lake it was on. You will see how far away the bird was on one of the photos I will post in the gallery. The piece of luck was me getting the lift as within 3 minutes of getting onto the bird it flew off and went behind the wood you will see on the photo to the birds left. It hasn’t been reported since. If I had had to walk instead of ride I wouldn’t have seen the bird. Once again I seem to be riding my luck. Out on the water could be seen about ten male Goosander and roughly 20 female. A few Goldeneye, plenty of Pochard, Teal, Mallard and Tufted duck. There were quite a few Herons in the trees plus there were Cormorants dotted all over the place. You will see for yourselves what it was like, as I will post 2 photos of the lake in the gallery.
This is a magnificent estate. It’s a shame that one person owns it and the public are not allowed to venture through these grounds. It was great to be able to visit this place to see this bird but once it has gone it will be closed to the public again. As it is, you weren’t allowed to wander off the one path you were allowed to use as notices were pinned up warning you not to do just that.
Walking back to the lodge I heard a couple of Nuthatches but never saw them. There wasn’t much birdlife in the trees and it wasn’t until I got back to the lodge that I saw another bird. Ros pointed out a Grey Wagtail that was on the Lodges roof. It sparkled in the bright sunlight. It was now after 13:30 and the only other quality bird that was close by was a Bittern that had been reported at Priorlese Park in Telford, right at the side of Jnct 4 of the M54.
It only took about 20 minutes to get there and after about a 200 yard walk I came across 6 other birders. Apparently the bird hadn’t been seen since first thing this morning. They pointed out where it had been last seen so I started to scope that area. Out in the lake were quite a few B.H Gulls and L.B.B Gulls but amongst them was another year bird in the shape of 2 Great black backed Gulls. “Kingfisher” came the shout from one of the birders. I spun around and a Kingfisher flashed by me, its brilliant blue shining like a beacon in this late afternoon sunlight.
The sun was getting low giving the birds and surroundings a golden colour to them. By now all the other birders had gone and I was on my own. Out on the water I found a female Goosander as well as a few Great crested Grebe, plenty of Pochard and Tufted Duck and a couple of Mute Swans. As I worked my scope along the edges of the reed bed, in the hope of sighting the Bittern, I became aware of a slightly different duck but it kept on disappearing behind the reeds. Eventually, after about 30 minutes it came out for about a minute. Long enough to ID it as a female Scaup. Another for my year list and a total surprise one at that.
In the end 6 new birds for the year but what quality. Common Crane, Great White Egret, Scaup Kingfisher and Song Thrush. Can’t complain with that can you. On top of that it was a stunning day. Cold but sunny making everything look all bright and new. The birds’ colours shone in this bright sunlight. How different from the last few days were it has been totally horrible. All three sites visited today are new to me. The Hall being the icing on the cake. It’s a shame that it will probably be my one and only visit.
Next weekend Ros & I are hoping to go down to Devon for the weekend. We will visit Ros’ friends on one of the days and park the car up somewhere to sleep so that I can, hopefully, pick up the Glossy Ibis that has been at Topsham for a few weeks now. Well, someone has got to shut Peter H up haven’t they?
I haven’t seen as many birds as I usually do at the start of the year. I think I have 104 and I usually start with 130 – 140 but I can’t remember starting the year with so many really good birds as I have done since Jan 1st this year. I also can’t remember riding my luck as I have done with most of the best birds I have seen. Let’s hope that it is a good omen for the rest of the year.
Our first port of call was to a field at the end of a lane that was by the side of an old watering hole of Monkeymans. The Greyhound pub in Great Glen, south of Leicester on the A6. A Common Crane had been reported there and we were to go to Orchard Lane and walk to the footbridge that spanned the A6 and look from there.
We started out at a leisurely 08:15am with Ros & the dogs accompanying me today. The day turned out to be a cold, crisp sunny one. As we past Birmingham airport we witnessed a stunning sunrise that took in 6 stages of colours from Purple to red, pink, blazing orange, yellow through to the light blues of a beautiful winters morning. Absolutely gorgeous. It was a shame that we were on a road where you couldn’t stop, as it would have made for a cracking photo.
We arrived at Orchard Lane at 09:30 and straight away a birder approached the gate we were to go through. “Has it been seen”, I asked. “Eventually” he answered. He stated that he had arrived on site at 07:45 and only spotted the bird 10 minutes ago then it flew out of sight again. It was last seen in a field on the left hand side of the A6 about a couple of hundred yards north of the bridge. Well at least it was still here, albeit being elusive.
We followed the path past the farm and onwards towards the Footbridge. The track took a sharp right bend and the sunlight flooded a stubble field to our left. It was hard to see through the bright light but something caught my eye in the distance. We were about 300 yards from the bridge not thinking of the Crane because we were possibly still about 5 – 600 yards away from where it had been seen but my luck had carried on from yesterday as the Crane flew straight in front of us and dropped into the stubble field. How is that for a piece of luck? The only down side being the strong sun making it absolutely impossible to take any sort of a photo. We watched it for a while then I rang the pager company to let them know that the bird had relocated. As I spoke to Andrew (at Rare Bird Alert) the Crane took flight again and flew back over the A6 footbridge, possibly returning to where it had last been seen. I didn’t see another report of this bird until much later in the day so I have to count myself very lucky that the Crane appeared when it did.
Our next bird was the other side of Wolverhampton, at a private country estate. The bird had apparently been there for 7 weeks and the owner of the estate had decided to open up the one area where the bird could be seen. It was on the Chillington Hall estate near to Codsall (NW of Wolverhampton by about 5 miles). It was a question of back tracking, as we had to go there via the M69, M6 and M54 before coming off and going through Coven and Brewood. For once the directions were a little confusing as it stated Chillington Hall but go via the Codsall Wood Lodge gate. I made my way to Chillington Hall but couldn’t find any one that knew where this lodge was so I actually drove to this impressive hall and parked in their grounds. Straight away I added a New Year bird when a few Song Thrushes were seen on the grass in front of the hall. Some old couples were arriving at the halls car park and I approached one couple that, thankfully, knew where this lodge was. Right on the other side of the estate about a 4-mile drive from where we were standing. Off we set and eventually came across the lodge. The car park was rammed full with the only place to park way down the road we had just come on. First piece of luck. A birder just arrived back from seeing the bird and told me to wait whilst he got his car out. Just right. I parked my car right by the gate. Walking through the lodge gates I deposited the £1 into the bucket that the owner had stipulated must be paid. All these donations were going to a wildlife fund. Next piece of luck. As I walked past the gate the warden asked if I would like a lift. I thought he was joking as all the other birders were walking. “ Yes please” I replied. We drove past about 20 other birders making their way to the site. This turned out to be a major slice of luck. Arriving at the site it was obvious that the bird was showing as a line of about 20 birders were all looking through their scopes. I soon had my scope up and following the other birders directions soon found myself on my 2nd target bird – a Great White Egret – albeit over 500 yards away. I have managed 3 shots of the bird as well as taking a couple of pictures of the lake it was on. You will see how far away the bird was on one of the photos I will post in the gallery. The piece of luck was me getting the lift as within 3 minutes of getting onto the bird it flew off and went behind the wood you will see on the photo to the birds left. It hasn’t been reported since. If I had had to walk instead of ride I wouldn’t have seen the bird. Once again I seem to be riding my luck. Out on the water could be seen about ten male Goosander and roughly 20 female. A few Goldeneye, plenty of Pochard, Teal, Mallard and Tufted duck. There were quite a few Herons in the trees plus there were Cormorants dotted all over the place. You will see for yourselves what it was like, as I will post 2 photos of the lake in the gallery.
This is a magnificent estate. It’s a shame that one person owns it and the public are not allowed to venture through these grounds. It was great to be able to visit this place to see this bird but once it has gone it will be closed to the public again. As it is, you weren’t allowed to wander off the one path you were allowed to use as notices were pinned up warning you not to do just that.
Walking back to the lodge I heard a couple of Nuthatches but never saw them. There wasn’t much birdlife in the trees and it wasn’t until I got back to the lodge that I saw another bird. Ros pointed out a Grey Wagtail that was on the Lodges roof. It sparkled in the bright sunlight. It was now after 13:30 and the only other quality bird that was close by was a Bittern that had been reported at Priorlese Park in Telford, right at the side of Jnct 4 of the M54.
It only took about 20 minutes to get there and after about a 200 yard walk I came across 6 other birders. Apparently the bird hadn’t been seen since first thing this morning. They pointed out where it had been last seen so I started to scope that area. Out in the lake were quite a few B.H Gulls and L.B.B Gulls but amongst them was another year bird in the shape of 2 Great black backed Gulls. “Kingfisher” came the shout from one of the birders. I spun around and a Kingfisher flashed by me, its brilliant blue shining like a beacon in this late afternoon sunlight.
The sun was getting low giving the birds and surroundings a golden colour to them. By now all the other birders had gone and I was on my own. Out on the water I found a female Goosander as well as a few Great crested Grebe, plenty of Pochard and Tufted Duck and a couple of Mute Swans. As I worked my scope along the edges of the reed bed, in the hope of sighting the Bittern, I became aware of a slightly different duck but it kept on disappearing behind the reeds. Eventually, after about 30 minutes it came out for about a minute. Long enough to ID it as a female Scaup. Another for my year list and a total surprise one at that.
In the end 6 new birds for the year but what quality. Common Crane, Great White Egret, Scaup Kingfisher and Song Thrush. Can’t complain with that can you. On top of that it was a stunning day. Cold but sunny making everything look all bright and new. The birds’ colours shone in this bright sunlight. How different from the last few days were it has been totally horrible. All three sites visited today are new to me. The Hall being the icing on the cake. It’s a shame that it will probably be my one and only visit.
Next weekend Ros & I are hoping to go down to Devon for the weekend. We will visit Ros’ friends on one of the days and park the car up somewhere to sleep so that I can, hopefully, pick up the Glossy Ibis that has been at Topsham for a few weeks now. Well, someone has got to shut Peter H up haven’t they?
I haven’t seen as many birds as I usually do at the start of the year. I think I have 104 and I usually start with 130 – 140 but I can’t remember starting the year with so many really good birds as I have done since Jan 1st this year. I also can’t remember riding my luck as I have done with most of the best birds I have seen. Let’s hope that it is a good omen for the rest of the year.
