Withymoor - Amblecote, Stourbridge..... (1 Viewer)

A 3 1/2 hour blast around some local Notspots turned out to be not particularly rewarding, cool temperatures and a distinct edgy breeze did not help.....

An hour or so up at the Waltons looking in suitable habitat for Ring Ouzel produced zilch so still a blank Spring for me. 3 spp of warblers singing and a solitary Fieldfare on the way past Nimmings Car Park.

Dropped into Kidderminster to look at the Weavers Wharf Peregrine situation. The Chimney has a reasonable amount of dried droppings down one of the sides. I wouldn't have said 'fresh' but one of the local shoppers confirmed the birds presence - either that or Jackson Pollock has risen and has taken up residence! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Pollock I can only summise that the female was sitting and the male is away hunting. I shall return in a week or two and things should be a lot more lively with mouths to feed.

On to Hurcott and an ample supply of smelling salts. No hirundines and a couple of Great Crested Grebes. There were a couple of photographers sitting on the edge of the pool all cammo'd up with sniper type lenses. God only knows what they were hoping to photograph but there they were. There used to be a nice tree that had fallen over into the pool but even this has now been removed so no perches for passing Terns here! I have never visited an area so good-looking yield so little with depressing regularity. I noted 2 Reed Warblers burbling away in the background.

Finally finishing over at Whittington on the Turbine Cottage track. 5 Wheatears (2m3f) salvaged the day plus some Swallows, a scan of the telephone wires didn't show any perching Corn Blobs:C

Obvously more time spent perusing would possibly produce but tbh it was too cold and as i had access to some wheels sometimes it's nice just to hit places. The weather is due to moderate a little bit for the Bank Holiday, let's hope so, i really don't like this cold stuff.

A couple of friends are now in Georgia having flown into Tblisi. They have hired a car and texted me with 9 Guldenstadts Redstarts, an Alpine Accentor and a male Garganey - a good start to a 2-week trip, bring on the Great Rosefinches:eek!:

Amid all the hysteria of the #maltaslaughter climbdown it's important to realise the scale of bird-killing, associated with the mafia fraternity, on Cyprus. This government has the power and assets to actively do something about this disgraceful situation http://www.birdlife.org/europe-and-central-asia/news/another-killing-season-cyprus

Laurie:t:

Attached - "Jack the Dripper".

Walk round Wyre Forest this late morning,early Afternoon. Along railway line, down Dowles Brook & Knowles Coppice.
Wood Warblers (num), Dippers (3), Pied Flycatchers 3 (Male), 2 (F/Male). While in Knowles Coppice, Goshawk over.
Heard Num Tree Pipits also Redstart heard only.
Marsh Tit calling nr Dowles Brook. Num House Martins around. Butterfly species only Speckled Wood & Oronge
Tip. Also 2 Munjac Deer.

Nice stuff, did well with the Gos...

Laurie:t:

Altho i don't see and definately don't find very much around here - it doesn't take a lot to make the day whether it's a Whinchat or a Wheatear it's all relative to what you expect and "Great Expectations" it is not!

I would, however, like to record what i see and not have to invest in lots of expensive equipment (not an option), not have to lug bulky equipment around (again, on a pushbike, not an option) and not risk punch-ups, altercations or being socially shunned (perhaps already an option?) by aggressively pushing birds for selfish interests (ooh-err matron).

Don't start me on Iphone tape-luring (already covered elsewhere and you know who you are), lamping and/or ringing for ringings' sake (feel free to peruse the website of the mid-Wales ringers for an exercise in self-indulgence).

A bit of discreet 'pishing', i feel, is acceptable and is firmly in the realms of fieldcraft whereas blundering around and pushing is not. Birders need to be as self-regulating as the Maltese hunters ought to be. You can publish as many guidelines as you wish but discretion, courtesy and respect for the bird is paramount - the welfare of the bird is the priority.

https://porelplanetaphoto.com/noticias/a-conservation-photographers-code-of-ethics

http://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/BAWC_Photographing_Schedule_1_birds.aspx?s_id=448164464

I purchased, a few months ago from Brians' shop @ Worcester a new 'scope. I did'nt need it but wanting and needing are two completely different things. I already have a couple of Kowas and a nice 'old skool' Bushnell Spacemaster a superb piece of kit and the original 'compact' job. I went for a 50mm Opticron MM3 based on reviews etc. The reasons being is that i wanted a 'new generation' optic, gas-filled, light and short. This would encourage me to take it with me at all times in the unlikely event that i found anything worth looking at. That was the theory, in practice i haven't taken it out as much as i thought but despite this i am very impressed with the quality, light-gathering and zoom lens throughout its' range of 12-36x.

It has also proven its' investment on a couple of trips abroad, the secondary reason for purchase.

It is obviously not in the league of the 80-95 Zeiss/Kowas/Swaros but it's not 2 and half grand either:eek!: I am not a regular 'scope user as i prefer quality binoculars and fieldcraft to seawatching and boring reservoirs but each to their own.

The other reason for buying the MM3 was the option of being able to digiscope which is a relatively cheap, value for money method of recording your sightings. I acquired an out of contract Iphone 4s with a cracked front screen and a knackered battery. The latter was replaced with the genuine article and the screen works fine as it is, a testament to the build quality.

The sticking point was the adapter, initially around the eye-watering 60 quid mark i winced and..........made my own, in the best DIY 'Dunkirk spirit'. For less than a quid, job sorted. The trouble was it was a very tight fit, didn't align flat and was bloody time-consuming and awkward to set up and use!

I took the plunge and bought the Opticron adapter at £39.95p + £3 p+p.

It fits like a glove, i retain the Iphone in the holder, the quality is superb and i hope to now utilise the scope as i intended. Will post accordingly:eek!:

Laurie:t:

Attached - the original with Opticrons own for comparison and on the MM3.

Cool was the only way to describe first thing, (0800) for me, ystda mrng. A robust male Blackcap was singing in the car park @ 0530 with a light hum from Stourbridge Ring Road the only other noise. Withymoor held 3 pairs of Tufties and 4 Grey Wagtails with a solitary Pied for company. The only warbler heard was, again, Blackcap on the embankment. It's only a 45-minute snapshot an obviously changes throughout the day. I need to start visiting in the evening now May is here.

An afternoon ca2 1/2 hours was unproductive to say the least but it was just too cool for insect activity. A Whitethroat @ Sugar Loaf Farm was nice. The bird was in a hedge not visible or singing but just the odd churr, that buzzy bit you sometimes get at the end of the display flight. Swallows around the buildings and Blackcap, Stock Dove, Buzzard and that was it. The 'Thrilling Fields' over at West Hagley produced singing Skylark, Yellowhammer and Linnet plus again another male Whitethroat but this one was very vocal and flighty as if he was on "West Hagley's Got Talent"

Having grumbled at the lack of variety and passage it's important to bear in mind that migration is 'broad front'. MY old mate Edddie Myers, whose local patch is that Cley, Norfolk (Permit Required) place obviously does well all year round. Having said that - he had his 1st Common Sandpiper of the year ystda:eek!: I had Common Sand, Whinchat, Swallow, Wheatear and Yellow Wagtail well before Eddie recorded any of these spp so it's all relative. Don't mention House Martin, i had one in Shropshire 3 weeks ago!

I have been snapping away with the new Digi-combo. It's excellent and much more user-friendly now. There are limitations of course. You have to focus the scope first and then the iPhone will auto-adjust. The MM3 does not have a lens-hood which is unfortunate, it means i shall have to make one as angled light has an effect on the iPhones' ability to read the image info also a lens hood protects the objective lens and shields from rain - they always miss something off! There isn't a bit of expensive birding kit that doesn't need modding?

Another useful feature is the shutter operation. As stated the camera 'button' on the iPhone is feather touch but not touching, particularly on higher magnifications is a must, so.....You can use the voice-activited Siri but you need an Internet connection, there are some voice-activated apps available or.....you can use the Apple earphones +/- volume clicker bit to use as a shutter release! Easy-peasy except i don't have any! A phone call to the lady who gave me the 4s and a quick cycle ride (on the route planned already) and sorted - works gr9, just need some birds now

With Malta in the birding headlines it's important to keep Cyprus to the fore http://www.birdlife.org/europe-and-central-asia/news/another-killing-season-cyprus

Laurie:t:

This caught my eye on Twitter the other day, a superbly subtle watercolour by the extremely talented Darren Woodhead - Willow Warbler in Hawthorn, tbh i had to look twice to find the bird.

That watercolour is stunning Laurie!:t:

Whittington this morning, Wheatear 3 m & 1 f, 1 each of Corn Bunting and Yellowhammer both singing (but not in the same tree ), Woodpecker drumming in the distance, Raven over and calling several times whilst I was on my walk, Buzzard x2, Skylarks braving the cold wind and singing high up in the sky. The star for me today was a Yellow Wagtail who showed a few times along the track in the bare trees and also in the field with the Wheatears! I did not walk down to Turbine Cottage as the rain was threatening and the wind felt raw at times!

The people down at that cottage are surly and insular and if they could they would close the track.....but they can't:t:

Nice mix, good to hear some Wheatears are still about and of course the 'little mover'.....

Laurie:t:

International Dawn Chorus Day tomorrow http://www.idcd.info/

Todays' was a washout:C But migration still continues.....somewhere.....somewhere like.....Eilat!

150 thousand Honey Buzzards in 4 hours this morning, this follows on from 250 thousand and 11K Levant Sprawks ystda:eek!:

Now that's what i call migration?

Attached pics by Timmy Jones - lucky git. HB's plus a couple of LSprawks.

Laurie:t:

I seem to have got the day wrong for the Dawn Chorus! As long as am always one day late for my funeral......As for today, May the 4th be with you

A couple of visits, including this morning, down to the Golden Puddle and no change, Tufties are down to 1 pair, Swans still incubating and Chiffchaff/Blackcap in the vegetation. I did watch a male Mallard struggle to bash and swallow a huge Frog ystda - nature in the raw.

A cycle up to the Shergar Hill paddocks on a reported Redstart was against the wind all the way and i struggled in strong gusts to see anything altho i managed 4 sp of warbler including Whitethroat and my first Garden Warbler of the year in the rather promising-looking hedges bordering the bridle-paths. These hedges are relatively tall and thick with some lengths having adjacent bramble sections. The radio mast appears give reasonable views over the surrounding cachement with the Malverns, Clee, Bredon and the Cotswolds all visible.

For those wishing to make a name for themselves elements of the UW 'ratpack' are now in the Eastern Med chasing Lesbians or something like that so the time is right for that 'crippler' altho you will probably have trouble getting the record accepted

The BBC's 'Living World' continues to delight with a run of selected repeats introduced by Chris Packham. Yesterdays' was an episode from a 2000 meeting with David Lack and covering the Oxford Swift Project - the longest running of its' kind in the World. Fascinating insight, particularly with regard to the juveniles and flight activity, the correspondent, Lionel Kellaway wasn't aware that they were called "Devil Birds" - that's why i like my presenters to have a working knowledge of the subject rather than alleged eye-candy like Kate Fumble the dumb-downed blonde and Steve Backshurt who just wants to pose and strangle everything.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05ss4rb

I could do the bloody job but i didn't go to Oxbridge, don't have the contacts and am not gay so the BBC would not be interested

I met David Lacks' son Peter when we were both being interviewed for a job for English Nature for the position of Summer Warden on the Isle of May many years ago - i didn't get the job because they wanted a ringer, they knew i was only a trainee so why did they bother? Anwyway i had a night in Edinburgh and got Black Grouse, Merlin and Short-Eared Owl.....from the train:eek!:

The interesting adjunct to these BBC repeats is that there are updates where applicable - in this case the info that geo-locaters give and the fact that the Swifts appear NOT to roost at night, just staying aloft because..........they can! To me, the Swift is the Summer bird and the sound of them, even around Stourhole IS summer altho a local street that had a linear colony has now gone as somebody had some UPVC work done and all the others copied in order to keep-up-with-the-Jones' much in the same way as hideous block-paving that used to be the fad.

Finally, still on Swifts, a little gem from Lack was the choice of nesting material. Certainly around Oxford until the demise of the English Elm its' seed used to be the prime choice. Since the decline of the spp they now use feathers and bits of vegetation but all this has to be caught in the air. Elm is now in seed and the profuse supply of the stuff is in a few places locally where Elm suckers persist - it is very distinct, pale-Green and when shed from 25-30 metre tall trees, when they were extant, would easily be picked up and taken to moderate heights on its' papery 'wings' to land, germinate or be caught by the 'devil bird'.....

I haven't seen a Swift yet but anticipate sometime this coming week.

Laurie:t:

Attached - Elm seed singular and in the fruiting cluster.

Just to keep you updated on some of my sightings from this bank holiday weekend:

Saturday: (pretty quiet)

2 Garden Warbler (dump)
2 Whitethroat (dump)
3 Chiffchaff (dump)
1 Little Owl (finally caught up with it! in the large oak tree with hole in the horse paddock at Sugar Loaf Farm)
3 Swift (flew North)



Sunday:

2-3 hours of Vis-Mig from top of hill along Sugar Loaf Lane

1 HOBBY (flew west) - 1st of the year, flew towards Kinver area
1 Yellow Wagtail (north)
9 Swift (north)
4 Sand Martin (north)
15 House Martin (north)
1 Peregrine (east)

Around Iverley Park Farm:

1 fem. Common Redstart (in hedgerow south of IPFarm farmhouse/below mast on hilltop - bird was only viewable when flushed from hedgerow and tricky to locate perched in the hedge - and require unethical fieldcraft to see)

1 Lesser Whitethroat - singing in the hedgerow close to the Little Owl tree!

Also 5 Whitethroat, 1 Garden Wabler, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, 1 Corn Bunting (in flight only) in the general area

After my heavy vis-mig session on sunday, just as I had packed the scope away (typical) I picked up a Kite sp. drifting fairly low to the SE. Without time to get the scope set up again, I had to grill it through the bins. All features were compliant with BLACK KITE (a species which I have seen many times on my travels across Africa and Southern Europe). However the bird continued to drift away from me before disappearing behind the trees. I would have loved an extra couple of more minutes view of the bird to just to be 100% certain and put my mind completely at rest. This is a Mega for the midlands, and means doubt will always be cast into your mind. However, there have been 2 sightings in the Midlands, 1 the day before at Drayton Bassett, Staffs and 1 today in Oxfordshire! If only I'd have had my camera on me/kept my scope up a little longer!


Monday: (quiet)

1 singing Garden Warbler (dump)

More Whitethroats, Swifts and House Martins around

BloorGriffiths said:

Just to keep you updated on some of my sightings from this bank holiday weekend:

Saturday: (pretty quiet)

2 Garden Warbler (dump)
2 Whitethroat (dump)
3 Chiffchaff (dump)
1 Little Owl (finally caught up with it! in the large oak tree with hole in the horse paddock at Sugar Loaf Farm)
3 Swift (flew North)



Sunday:

2-3 hours of Vis-Mig from top of hill along Sugar Loaf Lane

1 HOBBY (flew west) - 1st of the year, flew towards Kinver area
1 Yellow Wagtail (north)
9 Swift (north)
4 Sand Martin (north)
15 House Martin (north)
1 Peregrine (east)

Around Iverley Park Farm:

1 fem. Common Redstart (in hedgerow south of IPFarm farmhouse/below mast on hilltop - bird was only viewable when flushed from hedgerow and tricky to locate perched in the hedge - and require unethical fieldcraft to see)

1 Lesser Whitethroat - singing in the hedgerow close to the Little Owl tree!

Also 5 Whitethroat, 1 Garden Wabler, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, 1 Corn Bunting (in flight only) in the general area

After my heavy vis-mig session on sunday, just as I had packed the scope away (typical) I picked up a Kite sp. drifting fairly low to the SE. Without time to get the scope set up again, I had to grill it through the bins. All features were compliant with BLACK KITE (a species which I have seen many times on my travels across Africa and Southern Europe). However the bird continued to drift away from me before disappearing behind the trees. I would have loved an extra couple of more minutes view of the bird to just to be 100% certain and put my mind completely at rest. This is a Mega for the midlands, and means doubt will always be cast into your mind. However, there have been 2 sightings in the Midlands, 1 the day before at Drayton Bassett, Staffs and 1 today in Oxfordshire! If only I'd have had my camera on me/kept my scope up a little longer!


Monday: (quiet)

1 singing Garden Warbler (dump)

More Whitethroats, Swifts and House Martins around

Click to expand...

Did u manage to scribble down any notes no matter how brief?

A word of caution James, before you descend into regular 'unethical fieldcraft'. Failure to arrest this behaviour could result in being banished to a wetland reserve in the Droitwich area! From whence you will be introduced into the 'dark arts' of tape-luring, Bittern-baiting and endlessly stocking bird-feeders as punishment.....You have been warned

There are endless guides on the subject but the maxim of the welfare of the bird being paramount is all anybody with half a brain and not in a care-home needs to know imo.

That's a half-decent range of Spring migrants. Consequently you have lost your position ploughing the lonely furrow on that patch. I won't be deserting the West Hagley Fields, Mary Stevens Park or the Golden Puddle but will be taking in Shergar Loaf Paddocks and the two adjacent farms plus the hilltop migration point with its' commanding views. The habitat provides more scrub, taller hedges, a range of hedgerow trees and is relatively sheltered. The regime of 'horsiculture' means fences and the general detritus that this hobby generates - all grist to the mill and provides a patchwork of feeding areas.

You will probably have to let the 'Kite' go but as there were regional records either side and day of your sighting your ID will be self-convincing. If you are familiar with Black Kite whether it is the Southern European subspp or the Yellow-Billed African one then they are not difficult on good views but as you know, distance, light and angle means eliminating the other spp such as Marsh Harrier etc.

I spent a couple of hours ystda aftnn mooching around and altho i didn't click with Garden Warbler again did have several Whitethroats, Chiffchaff and the ubiquitous Blackcaps which seem to be everywhere at present. In addition several Swifts, my first of the year, from around the radio mast and a pair of wheeling Ravens that seemed intent on making a passing Carrion Crows' life a misery so perhaps a nest somewhere?

The wind was still an issue but down on the paddocks etc the benefit of those hedges becomes apparant. If you do, however hear of anybody that wants them traditionally 'laying' then, being probably the only person around that carries out this sort of work, i would be willing to advise and quote accordingly!

Yesterday saw the London 'all-dayer' record broken with 117 spp garnered by Dominic Mitchell and a crew, pretty good, i took part in a Staffordshire version and i think we had 111 finishing on Yellowhammer IIRC.

Still most of May to go so plenty of time for lots of migrants and possibly something local to spice up the grapevine - there's only one way to make it happen, don't be a legend in your own living room - #getoutinthefield8-P

Laurie:t:

Attached - from Birdguides, perhaps the rarest bird in the UK ystda and poss the rarest in Europe?

The strong winds and cr@p changeable weather over the last 2 days means that i haven't bothered with any birding save for looking at the skies for a passing Skua whilst either shopping or going to the B

There has been some good coastal passage with some nice shots of the afforementioned group including all 4 spp down near Portland and Chesil so that's great if you live in that Dorset place! Severnside has also had Skuas so there is hope for something windblown and 'wrecked' by the weekend:eek!:

Things should quieten down over the weekend with a more Spring-like feel to the season with the dropping of wind-speed and less showery conditions means temperatures should rise. The Mercury should reach the magic figure of 25c widespread over Southern/Central England next week|8)|

The grim news of 3 male Hen Harriers that have gone 'missing' in the Bowland area is a kick in the teeth for the lobby and conservation interests:C

This will have been deliberately carried out, despite the high publicity and furore that this will generate, because basically 'they' can. The RSPB can make as many la-di-da 'Skydancer' videos and that life-size fluffy 'Harry' can tour the land but it needs the gloves taking off imo. The RSPB needs to up its' game, the plodz need to be a lot more pro-active, the public particularly the birding public need to be more vigilant and pressure needs to be targeted at the landowners.

We do not, AFAIK, have the crime of vicarious liablity at present. This means landowners can, with impunity, liase with their Neanderthal staff without fear of prosecution or retribution. The fines are paltry and do not reflect the gravity of the crime. After all - what is the price of the life of a Hen Harrier? Answers on a postcard pls.....

The rural judiciary come from the same area so there will not be the same enthusiasm about jailing their own. The Conservative government has roots, property and interests in this aspect of the(ir) countryside, tax-paying townies and the great unwashed can go and piss up a rope as far as they are concerned. The RSPB need to stop cosying up to the landed gentry from which they draw long established influence in their upper echelons. After all, if Natural England have to 'transfer' a member of staff because they witnessed Prince Harry and a friend murder 2 Hen Harriers in the Sandringham area what chance do 'we' stand in prosecuting anybody? I recall an incident in Hertfordshire where a number of either Swans or Herons were shot, people cautioned and bailed, guns confiscated but the case collapsed because the prime evidence had been 'lost' by the Police - the evidence being the birds in question! Habeas Corpus or where the fook is the body?

Either way don't hold yr breath for anybody being arrested anytime soon. This is the sort of stuff the Maltese gun lobby love - shooting illegally of rare birds and nothing is done whilst high-profile birders and do-gooders flood their island twice a year.

Todays TOTD, hosted by the fit-looking Miranda Krestovnikioff is the Marsh Warbler OK she's not a birder per se but is a Scientist/Biologist rather than the contract bimbo or the pumped-up poser that have been guesting of late! For those of a certain age the Marsh Warbler 'reserves' around Bredon Hill are but a distant memory. A series of overgrown nettle-beds that were the breeding grounds for the UK's remnant population. I went there annually in the 80's to not just year-tick but to be enthralled by the length and variety of the species' song. I don't think there are any left, the habitat is still there but the birds are either stopping further South or not bothering with the area. Huge RSPB reedbeds are not what the species seems to require in Blighty?

A 2-minute BBC link http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b020xvlw and a typically much longer blast from Xeno-Canto http://www.xeno-canto.org/233416 Wing-length, supercilium and plumage details can all be safely put aside when seperating from Reed once the critter gets into full swing. Should you be fortunate to suspect a passage male Marsh Warbler singing on territory then FFS get a recording on yr smart-phone for evidence! Maybe even upload it to XC as the site says there is not a single UK submission in nearly 500 recordings....

Laurie:t:

Attached - i don't suppose the Tory-sponsored Bowland wing-tagging scheme has helped much.....

An interesting and thought provoking post from you today Laurie! Not that all your other posts aren't of course!

Grim news indeed of the 3 missing male Hen Harriers!!:C

When I viewed the 'Skydancer' video that came through on email the thought did occur to me that maybe the money spent in making the video could have been utilised in a better way to help the cause of the Hen Harriers than a 10minute 40 second long video!


I have never seen or heard a Marsh Warbler, I wonder if I ever will?
A lovely description by Miranda "A dawn chorus condensed into a single bird"!


Now then off out birding or off out to vote...I have a hard decision to make now!:-O

Song is the key Pam, away from the former "traditional" Marsh Warbler sites i found one whilst working for a week, instructing on a Dry-stone walling course in the Symonds Yat 'loop'. Pre-Internet days but i had only just visited the birds. It sang from a section of hedge for about 3 days before moving on. I went back 6 weeks later for another course and was entertained by the Peregrines that had breed on the 'rock' both parents and 4 young being taught to hunt by chasing the local herons in the fields adjacent to my work site:eek!:

Never caught up with a singing Marsh Warbler abroad, had suspicions on visual migrants but i'm not good enuff to prove it but now i am 'digitally capable' and can put up fotos for others to ID - the world is my oyster

The RSPB are between a rock and a hard place, they need members, they need money and the need publicity.....My problem is is that the punching with regard to bird persecution issues is not hard enough. If the UK is to be seen as a leader in this sort of thing then we have to not only address this with severe punishment, heavy fines, highlighted publicity and vicarious liability we have to deal with issues with the EU such as Cyprus and Malta?

Mark Avery has advocated to "occupy the butts" now that sounds a tad gay to me but he means the shooting butts on the driven Grouse moors where Birds of Prey are either non-existant or mysteriously 'disappear' during the breeding season! I would advocate 'destroy the butts' most are dug into the ground so the shooters are at eye-level. They take quite a while to construct but only minutes to dismantle and the cavity filled in! I have been informed that it is 'breaking the law', quite what law is being broken from something that is home-made, DIY and hasn't required or needed planning permission, to me, is dubious open to question and would not stand up in a court of law?

Laurie:t:

Attached - occupy or destroy? The choice is yours.....

Hopefully the promised ridge of high pressure about to arrive from the continent will provide settled weather next week but the fly in the ointment is an area of low pressure to the North of Scotland, haven't we heard enough of the Pictii (the Painted Ones) this week?

Following Dawn Chorus Day there has been a notable decline in pre-sunrise birdsong and thru-out the day but i put this down to the inclement, changeable and cool conditions. I haven't had much enthusiasm, i've got a couple of mates who have been 10 days in Georgia and have been sent pictures of huge Redstarts and Rosefinches with even bigger mountains as a backdrop:C A notable passage of Honey Buzzards @ Tblisi must have been the first of the Eilat passage of the previous few days? They will have missed Georgias' first live Spur-Winged Plover @ Batumi. They are currently spending 3 days in Istanbul to finish and texted me with a report of a Yellow-Legged Gull that had managed to catch an Alpine Swift:eek!:

A couple of visits to Withymoor with up to 3 pairs of Tufties to show for it, water levels are high, Swans are incubating and both Chiffchaff but mainly Blackcap vocal locally. A single Swallow over Aldi in Stourbridge was my first 'town' bird of the year.

A BBC Dawn Chorus programme is available http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b05ttkx2/dawn-chorus-the-sounds-of-spring It has no narration and covers 3 habitats, a number of species are covered but a lot aren't mentioned i think just a quick species name on the part of the screen where the sound is would have made the programme more informative.

In 1967 the Moody Blues released their ground-breaking concept album Days of Future Past. The whole album is a classic must-listen with it's fusion of classic and progressive rock. A symphony of the unfolding day.

A link to The Day Begins/Dawn is a feeling https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YN0A4jEBIo It's over 9 minutes long, the lyrics describing the first rays of sun are mood-setting.

Another concept album was Roger Glovers' (Deep Purple) The Butterfly Ball, oodles of tracks by each of the creatures attending the (May Day) ball - this is the dawn chorus and.....Get Ready! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18Avk_8q1yg

It's World Bird Migration Weekend so hopefully it bodes well for the remainder of the month.....

Laurie:t:

I've just seen this, another 'Big' day today.

http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=5000

Laurie:t:

A single Swift over the sheep fields at Brake Mill Pools was my first of the year, hopefully plenty more to see anon. Swallows and House Martins hawking insects over the pool were a pleasure to watch, how I longed through the dull, grey Winter months for their return! Goldcrest, Whitethroat, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Wren and Raven were the remaining highlights this morning. Roll on the warmer settled weather, the wind felt raw at times this morning!

Sedgley Birder said:

Did u manage to scribble down any notes no matter how brief?

Click to expand...

Hi all. Have been away for the past few days without decent internet access.

Didn't really scribble any features down on paper. But the general features I managed to get where a bird of prey (stating the obvious); bird was lacking a deeply forked tail unlike that of a Red Kite, and had had brownish upper parts and mantle, with less contrast than what you would see on Red. Upper part of tail was also brown. The bird also did not have a prominent white window in the underpart of the wing (again unlike Red).

On first seeing the bird could tell was a Kite sp. purely from its flight; with angled wing position and general flight 'jizz'

But as Laurie said I will have to let it go which is a bit of a shame. Pretty confident it was one, having had a lot of experience with Black Kite in S.Europe, and Africa as well as Yellow-billed Kite in S and E.Africa and Black-eared Kite in India. But the views and light just weren't good enough to confirm.

Also Laurie, in terms of unethical fieldcraft, I agree that the bird's well being is always top priority! I am not a 500mm lens wielding bird photographer 3