Periwinkle
Tame Valley Birder
Kestrels have bred and been studied for many years at Aston Uni
http://www1.aston.ac.uk/about/environment/kestrels/
http://www1.aston.ac.uk/about/environment/kestrels/
Kestrels have bred and been studied for many years at Aston Uni
http://www1.aston.ac.uk/about/environment/kestrels/
I live in the city centre and I'm happy to find this thread.
I've got a 'flat list' of about 30 species just behind the new library. Plenty of mistle thrushes and most other common 'garden' birds - greenfinch, goldfinch, chaffinch, great tit, blue tit, long-tailed tit, dunnock, wren. Some extra interesting birds have been a little egret flying up the canal, a jay last winter when there was the eruption of them, and then warblers (chiffchaff, whitethroat, blackcap). Also had both redwing and fieldfare feeding outside.
Not bad for a city centre! And that doesn't include the regular peregrines and range of gulls.
I'll let you know of anything else...
Wow SJHall - nice one on the Kingfisher. I've seen them on the Rea, Cole and Bourn. Guess it could have been from the Rea or the Canal?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/88816303@N08/
Back in the late 80's when the WM Bird Club were surveying black redstarts in the city, passage skylarks were seen at one derelict factory off Rocky Lane.
In addition to black redstarts breeding and over wintering there, it was also good for butterflies.
Before the metro was built, came across several hundred golden plover. at another derelict site. Apparently, they turned up there each year.
Up to 1000 Golden Plover were regular in winter at the old Wednesbury Tube & Bilston Steelworks sites in the 80s, 90s & early 2000s until development interfered. Brown field sites held numerous birds. I personally saw 3 Ruff, 6 Redshank, up to 3 pairs of LRP (breeding) ,passage Wheatears , Black Redstarts, Yellow Wags, Dunlins, Snipe, Jack Snipe & numerous Gulls. Skylark, Meadow Pipits, Pied Wags, Lapwing & Linnets were regular breeding birds. Who says brown field sites are less important than green field sites? Wrong!
Hughie King.