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

Sun 14 April 0915-1030...........

Spring has sprung, finally, judging by the species range of migrants that are now being seen locally - thank god for that!

Spent a pleasant hour or so but little of note - i intend visiting at least twice a day until i go to Lisbon :eek!:in order to try and find something of interest. If i do i will post straight away, here's hoping

LBB Gull - 3 adults on the water and a group of very noisy 'long-calling' birds above.
Tufted Duck - up to 4 pairs
GSWoodpecker
Sparrowhawk
House Martin - 2 birds over the railway line.

Spent a few hours at other sites i.e. Fens Pools and Sheepwash, notes posted on relevant threads.

Laurie:t:

rollingthunder said:

Greg, just out of interest, where was this? I am only local and can have a mooch....

Laurie:t:

Click to expand...

Hi Laurie,

The info is already in the public domain from my twitter feed (@Greg_EvansUK) so there's no harm in repeating it here:

Female or 1st year Black Redstart present just before midday at SO 92122 83710. Around area of large willows in the middle of Stevens Park, Wollescote. This area is right in the centre of the park just off the main footpath downhill from the main car park. The bird was very visible and mobile, feeding on the ground before flying back to a perch when disturbed.

I did go back on Sunday morning armed with my camera but typiclally there was no sign, not suprising given the amount of disturbance.


Cheers,

Greg

Nice find,:eek!: unfortunately it is the 'other' Stevens Park - i would have put the location as Lye and Wollescote in order to avoid confusion with Stourhole

Black Redstart is just another migrant i would'nt feel any need to suppress the sighting. If they were breeding then that would be a different matter. I had a female taking food/worms at a suitable site in SB about 8 years ago and did'nt report it at the time.

ATB Laurie:t:

rollingthunder said:

Nice find,:eek!: unfortunately it is the 'other' Stevens Park - i would have put the location as Lye and Wollescote in order to avoid confusion with Stourhole

Black Redstart is just another migrant i would'nt feel any need to suppress the sighting. If they were breeding then that would be a different matter. I had a female taking food/worms at a suitable site in SB about 8 years ago and did'nt report it at the time.

ATB Laurie:t:

Click to expand...

Exactly my thoughts Laurie, a here today, gone tomorrow migrant. I fully agree regarding the location Birdguides picked up the report off my twitter feed and decided that it should be filed under Stourbridge.

Fair enough, i should'nt think that anybody working at BG knows where Stourbridge is never mind L+W! I have posted a few bits and bobs on there so they probably have that as a 'locale'.

Mon 15th April.............

As migrants are 'in' i thought i would spend an initial couple of hours biking around areas adjacent to Withymoor such as the bit of grazing and pool next to Corbett Hospital and the woody 'dingle' that runs adjacent to Brettel Lane down from the 'Clockfields' estate.

Nothing particular of note but Chiffchaffs singing at a number of places as expected. Withymoor @ 10am only held 4 pairs of Tufties and 4 ad LBB's.

Scooted down to the ground around the Foster and Raistrick works just up from the Moorings in Stourbridge. There is some scrub on the canal side adjacent to the river altho there is now no longer access to the side with the buildings as these are being renovated for a medical centre.

Let's hope they incorporate a big needle exchange for the local miscreants!

The one thing that this site has that is completely lacking at Withymoor is a number of shrub sallows, which at this time of year, are full of catkins providing a good nectar source for invertebrates. There is a particularly large one down by the river and this was being used by about half a dozen Chiffchafs and a Willow Warbler. More CC's and 2 more WW's were present in other areas.

Withymoor 1330-1530.........

2nd visit of the day in superb weather - i thought i would add to the experience by taking a can of beer, discreeted about my person! As i am usually wearing a baseball cap and accompanied by a couple of Staffies i would'nt want to give the local chavs a bad name

Buzzard
Sparrowhawk
Chiffchaff - single singing on the embankment
Tufted Duck - 4 pairs still present

In the two hours spent there it was interesting to note the comings and goings of small parties of Herring and Lesser BB's, usually as single species groups.

Bird of the day goes to a smart-looking adult Yellow Legged Gull :eek!:that just appeared from nowhere, circled and then moved on. There was also the second appearance, in week of the lesser known 'Dangly-Legged Herring Gull'' from last week..........

Laurie:t:

Below - YLG in the BDT.

Tue 16th April...........

A general poke about with one specific visit to Withymoor which produced a good number of feeding and a singing Chiffchaff.

Had one or two other bits to do and then it was just too windy to be able to bird. Spring might be here and the variety of migrants is improving but nothing settled, weatherwise, by any means!

Link below to migrant and weather issues.......

http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=3723

Laurie:t:

Brake Mill Pool

Swallows are back, four seen hawking over the water this afternoon. Grey Wagtail and 2 x Buzzard also good to have had good views of.

Wed 17th April........

In a word - cr@p!

I have found it almost impossible to try and look for anything in this wind, nothing is feeding out in the open and nothing is calling/singing today (Thur) should be the peak but it will be windy almost everywhere:C

Saturday, however, looks settled and sunny.

Withymoor ca1600

A quick visit proved, as expected, fruitless with 3 male and 4 female Tufties and a pair of distant Buzzards being blown about like scraps of paper........

Nothing at all of note on Mary Stevens Park @ 1700.

On a more interesting note there was a report of a dead Baillons Crake:eek!: found at Slimbridge ystda. I still have to click with one unfortunately. The species has a huge range thru Europe and right over to Asia and includes no less than 7 sub-species. Birders in Arabia and Israel record them regularly in the little bits of wet habitat on passage but they are much more difficult in Europe. Last year the RSPB undertook a Spring survey for calling Spotted Crakes at a selection of reserves with suitable habitat and a number of BC's were recorded along with the target species. They might even have bred but unless juveniles are seen it is difficult to prove.

The reason why i am mentioning this is that this species could appear anywhere in the West Mids and a calling male is the best way to nail one!

Below - link to a video of the well-watched Autumn Juvenile at RSPB Rainham last year....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeGRAeaA-dA

Happy hunting:king:

Laurie:t:

Below - recording of the Maltraeth Spring male, very distinctive almost Frog-like and a moribund individual, maybe if they put tags on all the rare species it would make identification easier?

Singing Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Blackcap and Chiffchaff recorded at Brakemill yesterday, plus male Swallow hawking over the pool.

Thur 18th April.............

Not over-productive, virtually nothing singing - hopefully things will start to show and make a noise now that the wind is due to moderate.

Foster and Raistrick ca1100

Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff and Blackcap (male) noted over by the large flowering Sallow on the river adjacent to the closed-off bridge.

Withymoor ca1400

Tufted Duck - 4 males, 5 females.
LBB Gull - 3 adults plus mixed-age flock of 8 birds over.
Mute Swan - the, presumed, sub-adult male seen to attempt copulation with a the reluctant resident female:eek!:

Have'nt seen any Black Headed Gulls for about a week now, wonder where they have all gone? I have carried out a bit of detritus removal around the overflow and this has resulted in about a 3/4 inch drop in water over a 3 day period. Does'nt sound much but it has exposed a lot of marginal area for passage waders. I will also collect 'twiggy' material and pile it up for potential nesting etc. This should make it easier for any waders to walk and feed on these areas easier. One can only hope, there have been Common Sandpipers thru the area and i have recorded them in each of the last 3 Springs.

Mary Stevens Park ca1700

LBB Gull - single adult.
Tufted Duck - pair.
Goosander - quite surprised to see 7 birds present (6F1M)

Hopefully better stuff today and over the weekend.

Laurie:t:

Fri 19 Apr.............

I thought i would have a short walk to take the pulse of the migrants so i meandered down from the Penfields ( AKA Poundfields) down to Stourbridge Tip, over to the Viaduct and back. The route selected has a good mix of scrub and trees upto 7-10 metres. What was the most noticeable was a good number of singing Blackcaps with the odd Willow Warbler and a few Chiffchaffs. Nothing eye-popping it just gives me some idea of species and numbers. The early flowering shrub Willows are especially productive and allow excellent views of feeding warbles due to the lack of leaves!

Mary Stevens Park @ 1700 did not set the pulse racing with only a single adult Lesser Black Backed Gull present of note:C

Most of the birding that i do locally just covers semi-man made but not managed habitats. I do not tend to bird at managed reserves for several reasons but primarily because i like to find my own stuff and i usually have dogs with me. Having said that, without reserves in this tiny country there would be far less species present. If a new bird, for me, turned up at UW then i would be down there like a flash, no pun intended...............clutching my 3 quid of course

Below is a link to an article and the importance for reserves for rare breeding visitors, i do tend to agree with the commenter with regard to the amount of bling and leg iron than the creature is encumbered with but it's a neccesary evil i suppose.

http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=3727

It was nice to see some familiar Spring flowers putting in an appearance. Most notable was a 'rash' of Butterbur down by the Viaduct. You are, supposed to be able to wrap a lump of butter in the leaves and it should keep from melting, i've never tried it but the underside of the larger leaves produced after the showy flowers are covered in fine downy hair and should be a good insulator so there must be some truth in it?

Below is a picture taken of a couple of flowers, it belongs to the compositiae family and as such the flowering heads are a colony of flowers - just like a daisy. Interestingly the flowers commonly seen are the females, the male flowers are on seperate plants and account for about 1 in 100 colonies. I have only ever seen a group of male plants, locally, on the Stafford/Worcester canal near the Stewponey, the flowering head on the male plants have a much looser more open shape as illustrated by the 2 pictures.

Laurie:t:

Had walk down Lakeside this morning 07 20 am. Had my 2nd Little Grebe down their this Year. 2 Pair Tufted Ducks.Chiffchaff nr Football Pitchs.
Wednesday Nr withymoor School had a nice surprise Adult Yellow Legged Herring Gull with 2 Herring Gulls.

Saturday had with my Nephew Glen Kirby Woodcock nr Dudley Golf Coarse.
On sunday we had great veiws of the Male Ring Ouzle Nr Warrens Hall Stables. One of the best looking Males i have had.Also 2 House Martins.

Wednesday Between Ounty John Lane & county Lane Stourbridge had 5 Male Wheatear.

Hi Paul - was'nt going to post until 2moz but i got down there at 7.30 and was surprised to see Little Grebe - at, more or less, the same time as last year when the single was joined by another but after a couple of days of prospecting and much 'whinnying' they departed for pastures new.

I don't know whether you hv noticed but i cleared the debris by the overflow and it has had a marked effect on the 'edge' level, dropping by between 4 and 6 inches exposing a lot of marginal habitat. This is noticeably being used by Coots and Moorhens to feed - it would be nice if it pulled in a wader or two:eek!:

Will post sightings tomorrow along with the rest of todays stuff......

Laurie:t:

Sat 21 April.............

What difference a day makes!

Nothing spectacular to report and a perusal of various websites gives the impression that altho migration is finally with us and new species are being reported every day there are no regional rarities and indeed very little nationally. Since Xmas it must have been one of the quietest periods for 'rare' birds in Britain for quite some time?

An hour and a quarter down at Lakeside/Withymoor produced only the second record or Little Grebe for me (details above). Unfortunately i did'nt bump into Paul but did manage to point the bird out to an interested local whilst his dog (Dexter) spent a fruitless 15 minutes trying to mount one of my Staffies! 4 male and 3 female Tufties were still present and there were a few Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers feeding with a couple of male Blackcaps singing on the embankment for good measure. Single Buzzard and a lone Swallow heading North over the Poundfields rounded things off.

Bimbling about locally, in the afternoon, produced more of the same with good numbers of the 3 warblers already mentioned. Nice to see and hear more Willow Warblers.

What's in a name?

I love words, their meaning and their origins/etymology. It is said that Latin is a 'dying' language. Maybe in the spoken context but not as far as Natural History is concerned. As everybody knows, the Linnaean system of binomial nomenclature (with a third name for subspecies) serves a couple of really important purposes. Firstly it gives a descriptive name to an individual species within the context of its' relationship with others of the same grouping and it is a universal description unlike the Common or Vernacular system that people use to describe the same species that is widespread over a region.

I have had to resort to using the Latin name for birds and plants in France/Spain/Turkey and Maroc over the years when bumping into like-minded souls but without a common language.

A good example is the humble and formerly widespread Lapwing. It has at least 3 common or vernacular names that spring to mind. One describes it by colour - the Green Plover, one by sound - the Peewit and one by it's distinct flight particularly during the display season - the Lapwing. Incidentally the group (Vanellids) are thus described due to their flight action resembling the vanes of a windmill and Vanellus vanellus is the type species for the group.

I digress, i will use 2 of the species seen ystda to illustrate how wonderfully descriptive the Linnaean system can be and bear in mind it was being used to describe species with the most rudimentary of optics, little in the way of guides and.............NO internet!

Plenty of Chiffchaffs about, that is........Phylloscopus collybita. From the Greek originally Phyll (leaf) and oscopus (watcher) and collybita (moneychanger) and when you think about it the Phylloscs do stare at catkins and the underside of leaves a lot and the song could resemble the 'chinking' of coins together?

The other species concerned is the Little Grebe seen ystda. Tachybaptus ruficollis or Tachy - (fast cf tachograph) baptus (sinking, to baptise) ruficollis - Red/rufous necked. The fast-sinking redneck. Great stuff imho and all grist to the birding mill.

Below - a link to Carl Linnaeus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linnaeus

Laurie:t:

Little Grebe and some other 'fast-diving Rednecks'...........

Sun 21st April.............

Despite being dry and with sunny spells there was a decidedly cool edge to the breeze today, even more than on Saturday.

Warblers were thin on the ground, to say the least, I had 2 singing Willow Warblers @ Withymoor at about 8:30 and that was it! The birds recorded over the last few days have probably moved on now anyway. There is very little insect activity in these cool conditions which does'nt help:C

Withymoor 0815-0930

In addition Sparrowhawk, Jay and 5 Tufties (3m2f).

The Little Grebe is still present for the 2nd day. I made a point of taking a scope with me in order to sex and age the bird. It is not a bright individual so presume either a female or and immature. The eye appears dark and not Red and the mark on the gape is a pale 'Lemon-Yellow' and not flushed. I would suggest it is an immature, non-breeding bird, which means it might hang about? We shall see.

West Hagley Fields 1300-1400

Produced the highlight of the day. Spurred on by Pauls garnering of 5 male Wheatears i had a poke around. These fields are higher than you would think and in the chill S/SW light breeze i headed for the 'pool' down at the junction with County Lane which affords a bit more shelter. The hunch paid off with a, highly mobile, group of 6 wheatears (maybe more) minimum. 2 males and 4 female-types! In addition lots of mixed Corvids and Pigeon/Doves. Passerines represented by odd Yellow Buntings and a party of ca12 Linnets drinking at the pool.

Mary Stevens Park yielded...........zilch.

Migration continues apace but little to set the pulse racing locally - a good example is the UW forum where the page for comments remained the same all thru the weekend! It's not all doom and gloom some nice bits and bobs are coming in on Scilly with Hoopoe, Woodchat and Short-Toed Lark altho the latter was taken by a Merlin:eek!: Hopefully i shall be re-acquainted with all these and more in a week or so birding the Tagus Estuary and further into the Portugese hinterland...........

The weather should be reasonable this week as high pressure is reported to be centred over Biscay, temperatures in the Midlands should be a more equable 16C+ from Tuesday onwards - good hunting.

Laurie:t:

Below - this is what i call migration, imagine this on your way to work. The lucky git works at the ringing station in Eilat and these 2 pics are part of about 3,000 :eek!: (conservative count) Levant Sparrowhawks roosting on the ground and on fences and trees prior to lifting off on the first thermals of the day and continuing their journey North onwards thru the trans-Caucasus! Spring migration in Southern Israel was 'quiet', to say the least this year, things look like they are picking up.

Hi Laurie,had a bit of luck Tea Time, outside Sainsburys 5 15 had my 1st Red Kite for Local Walk. Came low across Football Fields, circled then flew off heading towards Quarry Bank Park aera. Brilliant Stroke of LUCK.

Excellent, i too had my first over the pool a week or so ago! Hopefully not too long before they breed somewhere local (prob Worcs)......

Mon 22 April.........

The weather continues to hinder migration and feeding. OK so some Lesser 'throats are in as is a range of warblers with the odd Redstart and Whinchat. Also Rouzels are about but seem to be lingering, which is good for anybody year-listing (except Adrian), this possibly means that they are avoiding moving on due to weather?

Again, there was a cool edge to yesterdays wind which has swung to the SW/W - the next few days should see a lull in the breeze and a subsequent rise in the temperatures to something between 14-17c:eek!: depending on shelter and location.................before tumbling back down to single figures over the weekend:C. The Winter without end has merged into a Spring without a beginning with hardly a noticeable transition period save for a lengthening in the daylight which technically is about 12 and a half hours or so, depending on cloud cover.

It looks like Westerlies for the rest of the month due to our old friend 'The Jet Stream' which has now moved to more or less its' normal position for the time of year.

Below - a link to a BBC weather blogger that i follow with regard to weather-related seabird deaths off the North-East coast recently.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/paulhudson/posts/Return-of-westerly-wind-brings-relief-to-sea-birds

I only had time for an hour or so at the world-reknowned migration watchpoint of Ridge Hill which yielded Chiffchaff and a few Blackcaps with a local Buzzard that was noisily advertising its' territory and diving with feet extended which was quite entertaining on an otherwise unproductive day in the BDT.........

Laurie:t:

Only a week to go.............

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2267057

Tue 23 April.........

Finally, a really nice day with plenty of sunshine and the wind actually warm!

The rest of the week looks to be mixed with temperatures taking a tumble over the weekend down to single figures:C Late March-mid April can often bring 1-2 weeks of nice, warm, settled periods - particularly in Scotland. Not so this year!

Withymoor 0830-1000

Quiet with 4 pairs of Tufty still present and the 'skinnydipping' Redneck still active. In good light today it looked like a summer-plumage adult - it's all down to decent light Blackcap and Chiffchaff singing on the embankment. A couple of Swallows zoomed in, picked up some water and then off to the North. Water levels look good now that i have removed a proportion of the debris impeding the outflow! I will take a rake down today and pile up sections of the edge where it will increase the length of bare mud. This is noticeably being utilised by both Moorhen and Coot whether any waders pop in to take advantage remains to be seen.

Both Swans were observed stripping leaves off of some overhanging Willow, dunking them in the water before swallowing them.

I did'nt manage much in the way of bimbling due to other committments but notable for singing Blackcaps around town.

Laurie:t:

Below - clear skies all round........Watching for Spring.

A quiet walk around Ounty John & County Lane late Afternoon, 7 Wheatear(4 Males), Num SkyLarks, Up to 3 Pair Yellow Hammers, 4 Swallows, Small flock of Linnets. 4 Adult Lesser Black Backed Gulls on Ploughed Field & Green Woodpecker calling.

Wed 24 April.............

Did'nt have a great deal of spare time and only managed a brief glimpse at Mary Stevens Park @ 1715, just a couple of adult LBB's - bumped into another birder for a change unfortunately forgot to ask his name?

Locally UW had a pair of Pied Flys, couple of Whinchats @ Clent and Blithfield scored with a smart-looking Whiskered Tern:eek!:

There are a few Iberian Chiffchaffs being found at present, probably overlooked or underheard in the past. I remember hearing them in Portugal for the first time a few years ago and thinking that the song had a more 'rounded' sound to it - a bit like the difference between Coal and Great Tit? Anway, worth keeping your ears peeled for any aberrant calls and songs. After all, somebody has to find them and why not one locally........

Below is a calling bird from Tarifa and a singing vagrant from South Yorkshire.

Nationally here is a link to the highlights from the last week.......

http://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/weeklyroundup2013no16.aspx?s_id=1025725227

Laurie:t:

Below - a lucky find for somebody in Staffs yesterday:eek!: