Withymoor - Amblecote, Stourbridge..... (2 Viewers)

Having drawn a blank with Quail over at the West Hagley Fields on Sunday afternoon i decided to chase somebody elses find over at Whittington or plan B a i call it.

I cycled over ystda mrning for 0830 and stopped until 1000. As it turned out it was the best part of the day round here with the sun breaking thru at about 9 o'clock. A nice male Yellow Wagtail and several Whitethroats from the top track down to Turbine Cottage. A right-hand turn takes you about 1/3 of a mile past handkerchief 'barn' to another field gate and then about 500 yards back to the road. Another couple of birders past the barn had'nt seen or heard anything. A couple of Corn Buntings were jingling away possibly 3 birds and more Common Whitethroats. There has been a noticeable increase in this species over the last 10 years in my experience. When i first started an interest in birding in the mid-60's it was undergoing a dramatic decline prompting concern into the wintering quarters of a range of sub-Sahelian migrants which is all too well known now. Have Whitethroats changed their wintering pattern? How many are rung and recovered? Has this species been the recipient of geo-locaters? With so much useless ringing being carried out, imho, research into this might yield results?

Surprising bird of the day was a male Wheatear that i flushed from the fenceline by the 'barn', easily the latest that i have seen locally - it was quite a 'dull' bird with very little blushing on the breast and not the sort of Greenland type that i would have expected at the end of May - nice all the same.

A chat with the other birders at the end of the track and then i started making my way back and heard a Quail call and so waved to the others. I then proceeded back to the bike and picked up another calling bird. A local tweeter, the previous day, said they had views of 2 birds. Unless he was incredibly lucky then were they lured? If they were then i don't agree with it, it makes the bird more vulnerable to predation when they break cover because of being lured. Some species are difficult to see and that's the way it is I'ver never seen a Quail or a Corncrake and would not condone luring. My thoughts FWIW. A Cuckoo was reported later ystda afternoon.

Reports of a Grey-Cheeked Thrush in Mayo, i'm sure there's a recipe for it somewhere

Laurie :t:

Attached - yesterdays Wheatear.

May continues and ends on an unsettled and changeable note......Not surprisingly this weeks culprit is the usual suspect - the Jet Stream! It has drifted uncomfortably near for the last few days and has placed us on the boundary of various weather systems. Fingers crossed and it will edge away with some, much-promised, high pressure to come?

Either way, for me, it has dulled the edge to my appetite for spending much time trying to scour vegetation for migrants. With bushes and trees now very much in leaf and the variable winds that we have had it has made it difficult to hear and view things so i basically haven't bothered unless i am out and about on other missions.

A couple of visits to Withymoor didn't produced a single singing warbler but did bring a low Raven, hawking Swifts and Grey Wagtails. Tufted Duck remain at 3 pairs and Mute Swan has bred for the first time in about 5 years:eek!:. Last years resident female was killed on the nest but they have fledged 4 young who are being closely watched by the young, attendant, father. In addition the first Coots have bred, just a single young or the sole remaining? A second pair have started cannabilising the Swans' nest for themselves.

An excellent record, for me, was that of an adult Great Black-Backed Gull. Appearing low over the house at about 8 o'clock one evening whilst walking back from town. The time of day meant no heat and little lift so it just drifted over. I get about 2 records a year but rarely adults so quite what a breeding bird was doing around here at this time of year only 'it' would know?

Ystda aftnn whilst returning from town i caught a scratchy sound coming from an area of 'waste-ground' opposite King Edwards School. It wasn't typical Whitethroat but it turned out to be a nice male and highlighted the value of always carrying binoculars. Again, no great shakes but i always think of the areas these birds come from and to see species that have made that journey, here, on the edge of a ring-road has a 'thing' that has always given me a buzz. I am old enough (here we go) to remember several blank years for Whitethroat in the late 60's much in the same way that i have had with Turtle Dove, Cuckoo and Yellow Wagtail over the last decade.

Talking of Cuckoos - a link to an interesting report of a possible Oriental Cuckoo on Heligoland. I remember going for one @ Spurn in the 80's, we had distant views of a bird with mixed features i don't know what happened to the record or whether it was ever submitted but this looks good.

http://birdingfrontiers.com/2015/05...nd/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Laurie:t:

Attached - first Swans for half a decade and solitary young Coot.

I have just received a text from Paul Allan-Legge with the news that Eric Phillips has died:eek!: This is sudden and tragic news, i last saw Eric a week or so ago at Whittington. Many people who look at this thread will know or be aware of Eric who was one of the regions most experienced and knowledgeable birders and probably the biggest lister in the Midlands and has records of birds found too numerous to mention but includes Britains first White-Tailed Plover.

I have no further details as yet but flags should be at half mast:C

Laurie:t:

Well said Laurie.
Great Birder & Bloke.
My last meeting , was also at Whittington, with the Ring Ouzle.
R.I.P. ERIC.

Conversely, my first meeting with Eric was when he walked up Blakeney Point in Sept 1981. There had been a huge 'fall' of birds on the Friday night when foggy weather conditions over the North Sea coupled with light rain and light Easterly breezes provided the right conditions, locally, for classic 'drift migration'.

Hundreds of Phylloscs, 50+ Firecrests, 200+ Pied Flickers and a supporting cast of 1/2 Greenish Warblers, 'Icky' in the Plantation, Juv Stinky Pinky at the Hood and a claimed party of 3 Tawny Pipits and a Red-Backed Shrike in the Long Hills.

Eric, along with about 50 other birders spent a day thrashing the Point and as it was my boss's day off I offered him and a number of others a cup of tea as, at that that time, the old Tea Rooms had been closed. As i hadn't spoke to many people from the Midlands that Summer we discussed rare birds in the Midlands and when i found out that he had found the Packington White-Tailed Plover i teased a blow-by-blow account out of him!

I make no apologies for raking up the past as some people might find it interesting

I am still in shock with regard to the sudden passing of Eric, i used to see him every couple of weeks shopping in Stourbridge and we would discuss 'the latest':C

A vigorous low with gale force winds will pass thru Mon/Tue so batten down the hatches but Wednesday onwards high pressure starts to build for some decent weather.

Laurie:t:

Attached - pic of Eric taken by Lee Evans at the recent Sandwell Valley Great Reed Warbler.

Breezy or what? Today sees the start of a ridge of high pressure developing with temperatures reaching 20 by the weekend, a slight dip for a couple of days but still dry and then warm air from Iberia bringing more high pressure and pushing the Mercury to 25c ish

This should see a re-booting of onward migration, stragglers and overshooting birds so even the Midlands might be the recipient of a goodie?

Altho breezy ystda it was mild. I spent an hour or so down at the Golden Puddle and was surprised to see about 20 House Martins and about 30 Swift whizzing around the pool - no doubt the sheltered situation brought them down to feed. In with them were 2/3 Sand Martins, not a sp i record there regularly. Swallow would have completed the set but it was not to be.

Blackcap was the only warbler heard, 4 cygnets still present, solitary pair of Tufties, single young Coot and 2 Mallard ducklings - it's all happening!

Mary Stevens Park is even quieter at this time of year but it held a single first-Summer LBB and an adult BHG. In addition a family of Goldcrests were being fed in a Yew above my head - what a racket!

Talking of LBB - Steve Backshall c/w whiny voice read from a crib-sheet covering the inland breeding and over-wintering of the spp on BBC Radio4 **** of the Day - nice to have you back Steve, have you finished wrestling pythons and annoying sharks? One of these days you will get the 'Steve Irwin Award for Fooking About With Wild Animals" - you only receive it once mate.....Like most VC's it's posthumous.

Laurie:t:

Attached - stonking Grey Phalarope @ Brandon Marsh ystda a Summer bird is anything but! Back of somebodys camera (Alan Boddington) and a 'normal' bird from Blithers. Also WM Mallard-lings and a group of 3 Common Spotted Orchids that i found last year coming up nicely.

HaHa - just noticed that the Bird Forum Police have automatically asterisked tw@t! What a limp-wristed petal-dick world some people live in.....

Laurie:t:

In search of the Holy Quail.....

A productive afternoon ystda.

After deciding to go searching for Quail over @ James' patch he duly informed me that he had had one singing earlier in the morning:C Damn, thunder has been stolen (i could tell you where that phrase comes from but....) Undeterred i cycled over and scanned the usual field and paddocks in pleasant weather. On the prevailing breeze, by Sugar Loaf Farmhouse to my surprise i picked up a calling Quail.

Not where James had had one! This bird was calling from the hay meadow opposite the entrance to the old Iverley Tip. The large gate to this has now been pulled off so access is now opened up to a nice sheltered area with plenty of scrub etc. A couple of Blackcaps were singing, Chiffchaff calling and a nice Garden Warbler feeding and singing in some bushes. The adjacent track is muddy after rain which makes hauling the bike a pain but at the other end was, what i take to be, the original Quail that James had found earlier in the day. The bird in the hay meadow was the most local Quail record for me so i was pleased. Both birds were in similiar habitat despite there being sown crops adjacent. Also noted were 4 singing Whitethroats.

Over to the West Hagley Fields. Plenty of Skylarks in the cereal plus Yellow Buntings and Linnets - no Corn Blob at either site noted. Up to the pumping station and the last field on the left, bingo!, another Quail |(briefly) calling! The first i have ever had on this patch. More Whitethroats, a total of 6 birds counted. We might not have dramatic crashing waves like Portland recently but the light afternoon breeze pushed ripples across the Barley like a Mexican wave at a football match.....I was smoking a cigar btw:eek!:...nothing stronger.

The Barley fields over at WHF are 18-24" tall and much more 'open' more like the hay fields @ Iverley and i would have thought better for Quail to call and feed in?

Lots of young about. Peregrines are being rung and a brood of 4 have been hatched in the West Midlands county......somewhere! That's good news, i shall hopefully cycle to Kiddyfiddler today and spend a couple of hours watching the birds at Weavers Wharf. I say 'watching', the tower is so high you cannot see onto it so it will have to be when food gets delivered.

Both Withymoor and MSPark same as the previous visit but without the hirundines etc.

Laurie:t:

Spent most of the day 10-5 cycling around in what was the best day of the year thus far. I toyed with the idea of bussing it to Sandwell Valley for a decent range of birds but there is as much time spent travelling as birding and from Stourbridge via Dudley to West Brom, believe me, there is NO scenic route

Another option was visiting the Peregrines @ Weavers Wharf but a check around revealed no definate posting of chicks from anybody more local so that was out. Here's a link to somebody who is on the case http://kiddyperegrines.blogspot.co....-max=2016-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=10 He's found another site on the cliffs near Bewdley, scroll down for WW.

Another bash around, a bit further afield and a couple of pints at the Anchor, Caunsall or the Brierley Hill Country Club as i call it. A quiet drink with a couple of groups of noisy, sweary builders as a backdrop, the usual range of loud ring-tones and streaming music from chav-chav thrown in! Does nobody fookin' work?

Took the dog for a mooch and had a lone gull over which looked excellent for adult Yellow-Leg. Strong sunlight on the mantle but the right tone, extensive smudgy Black on the outer primaries and a tiny White mirror a nice start to the day - certainly around here.

Sugar Loaf Farm - Swallows, House Martins etc. The hay-field Quail was still calling but right down the end of the track and i don't think would be heard with the light breeze unless you walk down there. I have had a word with a couple of people about birding and there does not appear to be an issue. The old Iverley tip site is nice and secluded and now accessible. 5 spp of warbler including Garden feeding young which is good for such a small area. A second Quail was heard at the end of the tip track in the same horse/hay paddock as previous. Surprise of the day was a nice Red Kite sparring with 5 Buzzards down at the end of the Quail track this bird was moulting the inner primaries and was thus distinctive for anybody else that might pick it up - camera was still in bike bag!

From the Anchor down the cut nothing of note but what u wud expect.

Upto Whittington and Turbine Lane/Handkerchief Barn. No sign of Yellow Wagtail or any Corn Blobs:C Or Quail! Not to worry, it was pleasant enuff. Had a chat with the nice blonde lady who lives in the barn. She got to know both Eric and Kinver Jim and is used to birders now. She asked to be informed of any details and would pay her respects.

It looks like we will miss these thunderstorms and slightly cooler before the weather builds again next week. No excuses, get out there.

Laurie:t:

The Oriental Cuckoo seems to have gone quiet, attached is pertinent features, and a comparison with Common. The right-hand bird definately looks a good candidate to my eyes

Oh, while i think about it - at some stage today the thread views should hit 100k:eek!: which isn't bad for an area that gets very little! If you think you are that lucky individual then PM me and i can arrange to meet you at the Goldfish Bowl and present you with an autographed signature

Thanks to the 300+ birders that have rated the thread and to the growing list of other contributers which helps to show the area gets a good range of stuff and fits the description of 'local' birding.

Laurie:t:

Does anybody agree with me on that right-hand bird?

Laurie:t:

The magic 100k has been passed and nobody has stepped forward to claim the prize! A pity because i was looking forward to my annual visit to the Droitwich area particularly as it coincides with the migration period:eek!:

Yesterday wasn't very productive. I decided to pay a visit to the newly constructed fishing pools at Bells Mill. Using my well-honed skills of HR, flattery and diplomatic entente i made the acquaintance of the 'owners'. Introducing and explaining myself and my interests/intentions it all went swimmingly. It is not open until the end of the month but i was allowed access as the first ever visitor. I have been given permission to visit and roam around on the condition that i tell them what i have seen so they can keep a log!

I might keep sightings of Goosander and Cormorant to myself.

The site offers promise just because it is an area of water between the river and the canal. The meadow and woodland habitats adjacent should bring a range of species down to feed, wash and bathe. The edges are a bit more bird-friendly than i have seen elsewhere i.e they are about 45 degrees rather than the usual 90. There are a couple of islands and one in particular is a 'teardrop' shape with a nice, gradual, tapering. The edges have been dotted with Juncus and Yellow Flag but you can't have everything. It is all still very new and bare so there should be a range of colonising annual plants to add a bit of colour and variety before the Summers end.

It's early days but these pools lying adjacent to the spring-fed 'Breach Pool' and the older original wet marsh which dries out in Summer but is flooded in the Winter.

Consequently the birds are thin on the ground but i did record a juvenile Shelduck last Autumn and photographed it. Yesterday there was the expected Canada Goose, Mallard and Coot but also a pair of Tufted Duck and a solitary adult Little Grebe - the first proper fisherman on site!

This could be an interesting site http://www.eurobirdportal.org/ebp/en/

Cool today or it was when i was out at 6:eek!: Better tomorrow, i have a planned visit to Muddleton but only if there are any waders present today and i don't mean Avocets!

Laurie:t:

For the terminally-bewildered that have been examining the Cuckoo photos for barring etc. It was easy-peasy to distinguish just check the eyes

Here's Martin Garners take on the Helgoland bird, slightly more in-depth than mine http://birdingfrontiers.com/2015/06/05/responses-to-oriental-cuckoo-post/ but what does he know? The IQ40 club have probably already accepted it!

What a couple of weeks of birding! It seems that getting placed in Taunton by Bristol Uni was a blessing in disguise, as I managed to find my own CATTLE EGRET 5 minutes from my accommodation! They bred in Somerset a few years ago, but seem to have gone a little quiet with a lot fewer records.

I also managed to make more visits to Ham Wall RSPB. On one occasion, I had stunning views in both flight and perched in the reeds of a male LITTLE BITTERN, whilst there was also another one barking at another location.

My return to the patch and I was greeted to a singing Quail at Sugar Loaf Farm, this follows the spate of records from the Whittington area, where according to my parents there were at least 3, if not 4. Along with also a Cuckoo (1st on patch for a long time), male Yellow Wagtail and several Corn Bunts.

A few busy days kept me away from the patch, but today (06/06/15) I was completely free and I decided to give it a good thrashing. It's safe to say we've had a QUAIL INVASION in the area. There are now definitely 3 Quails around Sugar Loaf Farm, but I would say there is possibly 4.

With 1 singing in the long grass field along the track which runs past the dump/wasteland.
Then there are 2 in the meadow on the opposite side of the road to the farmhouse.

The hay meadow opposite the entrance to the tip looks the best habitat and it's still not too tall so to have views (via yr twitter) is excellent. I didn't pin down more than one calling on my last visit but 2 doesn't surprise me.

Apart from a brief visit, early, to Withymoor ystda i didn't bother as i deemed it too windy and when it dropped i was elsewhere B

I had pencilled in Muddleton today but have informed the driver we will be Grimmers bound for a decent mooch and a couple of B in the beer garden of the 'Camp'. I should get dropped off @ Iverley/Shergar Loaf on the way back with my bike to have a kick about ca1600.

All of a sudden there are lots of nestlings about, Wrens in the pub garden, Blue Tits and Goldcrests in the bushes and Starlings on patches of grass.

A Marsh Warbler was a nice find over at Priorslee, Telford ystda. Craig Reed had tickable views of the singing bird after about 5 hours in breezy conditions. Thank god for the breeding birds @ Eckington in the 80's, i used to enjoy the annual pilgrimage and tie it in with some decent botanising on the Cotswold Limestones.

Laurie:t:

For anybody who might be headed South there is something really worth seeing with upto 4 B52's @ RAF Fairford plus rumoured 2xB1's and 2xB2's still to arrive:eek!: All courtesy of Uncle Sam as part of a sabre-rattling exercise over the Ukraine. Attached photo of 2 arriving and some 'nose-art' from which my avatar is derived

Change of plan to a local Bimble ystda. The mileage to either Muddleton or Grimmers i deemed too much for what was on show. Obviously the main pull is to find something but their has to be a carrot as well as the stick. Again with the Marsh Warbler - too much mileage altho the pics are obviously of a bird showing (not unexpectdly) better than the previous day.

Fens Pools
Quiet, 3 spp of warbler, a few House Martins and some Swifts. Ca40 LBB/Herring Gulls on Fens Pool itself. I don't really enjoy visiting the place any more, i find it intimidating and i'm not easily intimidated.

Sheepwash
An hour or so, again very quiet. 3 Reed Warblers plus other spp. A, what looked like, juvenile Grey Heron plus a single Cormorant - didn't bother with Rattlechain as i could'nt be bothered.

All the way, whilst walking the main pool, a Polish family were picnicking - the female shouting and arguing with the (presumed) father of the kid. Radio blaring and wrappers blowing into the pool:C Thanks for the cultural 'enrichment'..........Oh and the housing shortage, the driving down of wages, the over-burdened social and health facilities! The place now has a reputation for Poles to turn up with their disposable barbecues and native-brewed tins of piss and just treat it as an extension of some shit-tip town that they send their tax-credits back to! No wonder i bang on about the good old days.....

A solitary Southern Marsh Orchid in the John's Lane meadow salvaged the day and the sighting of a group of 'Community Payback' scumbags strimming the paths. Why are this lot not more high-profile so that tax-payers can see some result? They wear high-viz jackets where nobody can see them! The addition of a target roundel on the back wouldn't go amiss imho:C

Finally, a coupla hours over at the new Mecca of Sugar Loaf Mountain and Paddocks. The hay field opposite Iverley Tip gate held 2 Quail. There is a track at top and bottom of it but i would ask before mooching down, i have permission because i am naturally polite and affable. In a field of this size i find it difficult from one position to estimate more than 2 birds. Sometimes Quail fly a short distance and start calling again (never when i am about) and at other times they walk thru the vegetation so it's not easy imo. 2 more birds were calling in similiar paddock habitat at the far end of the tip track making a minimum of 4 in total.

The tip gate has now been re-hung but the first corner post has a loose strut which can be eased to one side to access the area. Just make sure that you put it back in place. I didn't click withe either the previous days Lesser Whitethroat or the Garden Warbler that i saw taking food the other day but did with Whitethroat, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler.

The week ahead looks good with a possible partial breakdown by Friday but that's a few days off for me so that's when i will pencil in this weeks bit of work!

Laurie:t:

Attached - young Robin from the pub garden, just out of the nest eyes still covered. A dedication to another well-known local birder from Fens Pools, the late, great, Alan Perry and a couple from Sheepwash - scumbag and Southern Marsh Orchid...

A couple of hours over at SugarLoaf/Iverley ystda aftnn didn't produce any Quail despite standing at downwind points at several fields so, after 5 days, they might have departed? If they have it was nice while it lasted, i didn't see any but it doesn't bother me - like Corncrake, they're meant to be elusive...I was told that some birders had been up in the morning and went further up the road so whether they clicked or not?

Noted were a brief, singing, Lesser Whitethroat - my first locally and only my second bird of the year. Whitethroat, Blackcap and Chiffchaff. Young Swallows being fed and a pair of Ravens over.

West Hagley Fields produced a couple of Whitethroat, Yellow Buntings, Linnet, lots of Sklyarks - pleasant enuff but no cigar.

Chris Packham on Radio 4 just - he said he would rather have a woodlouse in the palm of his hand for 10 minutes than watch a Tiger on the telly for 2 minutes. Stating that altho he enjoys the Springwatch thing and it's wildlife-on-a-plate for the UK's obese, armchair viewers it's no substitute for getting out there! Obviously we are all agreed but the trouble is a lot of the British countryside is crap? Nature reserves are fine and dandy but they are also no substitue for a denuded environment that's why, altho i am glad they are there, i seldom visit them these days but that's my choice.

I have been birding the fields at Hagley for a number of years now and i can honestly say that i have never seen any organic fertilizer used? There is no muck-spreading just pelleted nutrients and Nitrogen granules! What does that mean people are eating? There are a couple of fields of spuds at the moment, i 'liberate' a few bags each year but it's just water and starch - there is very little taste save what you cook them in:C The Barley that is currently being grown will be harvested so cleanly that there will be little grain for wintering birds to glean?

I expect to visit a nature reserve to see an Avocet but not a Lapwing:C

Laurie:t:

Might pop down Goucestershire at the weekend, the B52's have been joined by a couple of these.....

Gruesome goings-on at Brake Mill!

At Brake Mill Pools on Saturday the highlights were 2 pairs of Tufted Ducks, a Grey Wagtail, and 3 families of ducklings. Speaking to a couple of regulars seen at the pool they informed me that the Swan pair had had 6 Cygnets and were now down to just 2! The Swans and cygnets duly appeared on the water to confirm this. Apparently the Cob during the previous week was witnessed drowning ducklings, the female Mallard put up a good fight but to no avail. After they couple went on their way I spotted a couple of Crows land on the tree trunk that hangs over the water, they were plucking away at what looked to possibly be one of the unfortunate ducklings. A pic attached, be warned it is not for the faint-hearted!:eat:: Also to lighten the mood a pic of 4 ducklings that escaped the wrath of the grumpy Cob swan!:t:

Had nice flight views of Quail over at Sugar Loaf ystda - the first visuals on a UK Quail for about 15 years! Possibly a second bird singing but i find it difficult to estimate as it was, again, breezy. This wind from the NW needs to switch to another direction it's been a factor for the last 3 weeks and has taken the edge of local birding..........so there Not much else but it was mid-afternoon and perhaps not the most productive time but there were a couple of Whitethroats around.

Got home to find my Staffie, Bodkin, had been shut in the kitchen and for something to while away the time had decided to 'burrow' into a 4kg sack of Chappati flour that was stacked there. Only he knows why? He's 12 years old this week but is not that Grey!

The Robin has been voted 'national bird' - not surprising imho. I voted, via 2 email addresses, for it and the Blackbird. The high-profile and supposedly much-fancied Hen Harrier was never in the running altho making the top ten. Why? It might be a 'birders' bird but a national bird has not only to be familiar but has also to incorporate and represent national qualities and what better species than the Robin?

It's plucky, territorial, punches above its' weight? Holds Winter territory, even the females with a hint of a scratchy song on even the coldest, darkest days if there is a streetlight nearby. Often the only sound on a hard Winter morning! Everybody knows it from garden feeder to allotment. It's on a large % of Christmas cards until we are told by our 'enriching' friends that it is outlawed Not many Hen Harriers on Xmas cards or Bowland fells for that matter.....

The Blackbird is an under-rated songster imo and is the urban Nightingale and had my equal vote, surprisingly Barn Owl came second. The Robin has been the 'unofficial' national bird since i have been birding and quite rightly remains so. It's nice of David Lindo to provoke a referendum of 200k votes but i can't help thinking that it hasn't done his profile any harm. He is a nice guy but a shameless self-promoter whose Wormwood Scrubs blog suffers from regular hiatus due to sponsored birding jaunts etc etc - jealous? Of course.

Sighting of the day went to a superb P51 Mustang the 'Cadillac of the Sky'. This plane was in RAF camoflauge livery which i haven't seen before, worth keeping an eye on the skies over the next few days as the local Cosford Airshow is on this coming Sunday.

The stonking Ryders Mere Black-Necked Grebe appears to have departed:C but there are some nice shots by Craig Reed on Twitter.

Laurie:t:

Attached - Juvenile PhoneScoped Swallow from Sugar Loaf, Chappati Terrier, P51 'Cadillac of the Sky' from Empire of the Sun and an iconic image of HMS Hermes returning from the Falklands - when Britain was Great and before Brittania waived the rules!:-O For those of the 'PC' generation that flag is the Union Jack:eek!:

I didn't manage to get out and about ystda and did toy with the idea of getting over to Marsh Lane but have had to play it cool for tomorrow if it hasn't departed...

Managed a couple of hours over @ SugarLoaf on Thursday afternoon, quiet but pleasant enough. Still a Quail calling in the hay meadow opposite the old Iverley tip. Whitethroats and Blackcap as expected. A quick visit, earlier, down to the Golden Puddle produced a Sand Martin in addition to Swifts and a Jay. The 4 Mute Swan cygnets are doing nicely and are more than a match for anything that might try and pick them off! A singing Willow Warbler in the bushes at the back of Stourbridge Dole Office was a pleasant surprise.

Following hard on the heels of the SV Great Reed Warbler comes a cracking Melodious Warbler singing at Marsh Lane. These are excellent inland records and county firsts. It's nice that the 'urban' county is getting good records and not the usual regional hotspots. It's an old adage but 'the birds are where the birders are' is a truism. Birders favour areas with variety and water and that's where things get found but stuff could be anywhere? Having said that, time spent on the favoured areas will yield more satisfying results.

Some nice pictures from Craig Reed https://twitter.com/Midlandsbirder and Hughie King https://twitter.com/HughieKing/status/609601895347408897/photo/1

Local birder, naturalist and all round good bloke, Brett Westwood, has been presenting BBC Radio4's Tweet of the Day this week. Coincidentally he has featured a number of over-shooting spring species that can turn up and start singing in suitable habitat.

Melodious Warbler http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b038qkbj

Great Reed Warbler http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b038qkcg

Tawny Pipit http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b038qkck

Bluethroat http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b038qk9b

And Aquatic Warbler http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b038qk9b

Autumn birds can prove difficult to identify but spring birds are likely to be picked up on song so all of these are worth familiarising yourself with?

The Aquatic Warbler one is of interest with mention of the DNA work carried out to find out where this critically endangered sp winters and now they know they can advise the government of the country accordingly.

Despite a number of near misses i still haven't clicked with AW to date:C

Eyes to the skies it's Cosford Air Show tomorrow. I have long since stopped going to this and other air shows due to the lack of combat jet participants. There is a Typhoon and that, for me, is about it. Following hard on the heels of a Mustang that i watched the other day was a nice Strikemaster/Jet Provost low under the cloud base at tea-time ystda. It has a distinct 'cold war' harsh engine sound much like the Hunter and other jets of that era. Planes transit to and from the air base around here so it's worth investigating any strange noise.

Laurie:t:

Attached - a couple of Strikemaster/Provosts, ystdas plane was a Grey one.

The best laid plans.....

My chauffeur turned up for a planned jolly over to Marsh Lane, it was only when he realised that he works about 8 miles down the road that he said - sod that, i will have a look tomorrow:C Can't blame the bloke, he does that journey 5 times a week and a round trip of 80+ miles is difficult to justify for a species i have seen in France, Portugal, Spain and Morocco! I have seen quite a few Autumn birds here but not a Spring-singer.....never mind.

Plan B was Bittell where we would have popped in on the way back. Weather was excellent, low cloud breaking up and the sun beating thru. Quiet birdwise but a bit of vis-mig aircraft passage to RAF Cosford for the air show which altho reports of good displays and excellent attendance (sold out at 55k) the conditions were murkier than Bittell. A nice Yank Catalina flying boat, low distant Canberra and a fast jet somewhere in the clouds to name but 3. A pair of Common Terns were seen fishing on Upper and then flying to Lower so presume a nest is somewhere? The causeway is being repaired and the Lower has a much-reduced water level thus exposing an enormous area of shoreline. I was told the works will take another 14 weeks so it bodes well for return wader passage? The solitary Bee Orchid on the canal of 4 years ago is now ca20 flowering spikes and looked good in the wildflower sward dominated by Orange Hawksbit.

Popped in to Wildmoor Tip on the way back. It is now capped and only a few Gulls were present but surprisingly about 20 Ravens as opposed to the 60+ in the Winter. Quite why this species seems to favour this area and in such numbers intrigues me, particularly in the Summer?

Laurie:t:

Attached - Bee Orchid, my Staffie, Catalina and Ravens.