Sedgley Manor (1 Viewer)

This is a new thread. It is mainly concerned with birds seen/recorded in the 'ancient' Manor of Sedgley, but also any other wildlife/natural history of interest. To 'set the scene', here is a brief overview of Segdley Manor, and the main areas of interest, although birds can be seen and found anywhere. This is just to kick things off. I will post tomorrow on the main areas of interest, area/boundary of recording area and reason for the chosen area.

happy Birding

Hi Sedgley Birder. I live just down the road so I look forward to your posts.

Not heard of the Manor before, but I go up Sedgley Beacon often in the hope of migrants!

Looking forward to your posts tomorrow!

MB

As promised here is the info regarding Sedgley Manor, sorry it is a bit drawn out, but it sets the scene and why I have chosen the boundaries for the area I have defined. The boundary is based on the 1844 tithe map which includes the nine villages that made up the 'ancient' Manor of Sedgley. It also makes for any interesting and different title/theme and includes a good variety of sites and habitats locally (See Sedgley Locally History Society (SLHS) website from which this info and map boundary is taken from).

Sedgley Manor comprises of the following nine villages - Sedgley (obviously!), Gospel End, Coseley, Upper Gornal, Lower Gornal, Woodsetton, Ettingshall, Cotwall End and Brierley (now Bradley). Total area is 7590 acres, with a boundary of @17.5 miles. It stretches from Himley in the west to Gospel Oak in the east (@5.5 miles, and Ettingshall in the north to Gornal Wood in the south (@3.5 miles). For the main, most lies within the Dudley Borough, but Gospel end encompasses Baggeridge, Himley and Penn Common to the west, Park Hill & Ettingshall to the north and Wednesbury Oak to the east which are located outside of the Dudley boundary but are within the 'ancient' Manor of Sedgley.

These days the recording area can be roughly split into two - Urban to the east of Sedgley and 'countryside' to the north, west and south of Sedgley.

There are a number of open spaces which are of local importance as identified in the 'Action Plan for Nature Conservation in Dudley (1995). and the 'Black Country Nature Conservation Strategy (1994). The latter includes all sites at the time within the West Midlands covering Dudley, Walsall, Sandwell and Wolverhampton>

These are the main sites identified within the Sedgley Manor which are SINCS, WCA's, SSSI's and LNR's. Wrens Nest is the only NNR within the recording area.

The following sites of interest in the recording area are:

Alder Coppice
Sedgley Beacon - (highest point in the West Midlands County @ 777ft), and the largest area of Limestone Grassland (CG3 category) within the West Midlands
Sedgley Hall Farm Park
Hurst Hill and Turls Hill (Swanbrook Valley)
Coseley Canal Cutting
Cotwall End/Moden Hill/Turners Hill (not Turners Hill in Rowley Regis!)
High Arcal & Tenacre Fields
Wrens Nest & Parkes hall Res
Ruiton Quarry/Holloway (Has a fantastic population of Southern Marsh Orchids)
Baggeridge/Himley/Penn Common - Surprising how few records come from this area considering the range of habitats. I remember Wood Warblers breeding at Baggeridge?

Open water is a scarce habitat within the proposed recording area, which is why I have opted for the 'abcient' boundary as it encompasses the open water and wetland areas found at Baggeridge and Himley.

Birding and natural history recording will be mainly undertaken by pushbike and on foot - The best way to see more things, get fit, plenty of fresh air and minimize your carbon footprint! If you have an interest in plants, areas of wasteland, cracks in the pavement and gaps in wall provide plenty if interest!

Although most of the countryside in the recording area is to the north, south and west of Sedgley, the urban environment can be jus as rewarding.

Right! That has got the into to the thread done and has set the scene and boundaries1 I look forward to posting my own sightings and welcome those of others as well as your thoughts on this tread.

Please feel free to contribute and I look forward to reading future postings and maybe meeting other like minded people as I travel around Sedgley Manor.

Happy Birding

Gavin - Sedgley Birder

Sedgley - it's my manor!......

That's quite a remit and a lot of interesting habitats, Gav, there are probably a few birders doing bits and bobs but they do not use or report on BirdForum.

Hv u got any motorised transport these days to assist in the coverage?

C u for a B at some stage:t:

Loz:t:

rollingthunder said:

That's quite a remit and a lot of interesting habitats, Gav, there are probably a few birders doing bits and bobs but they do not use or report on BirdForum.

Hv u got any motorised transport these days to assist in the coverage?

C u for a B at some stage:t:

Loz:t:

Click to expand...

It may seem like a rather large remit, but as far as birding goes there are obvious areas to look at which might produce rewards for your efforts. Around here the key is not to be despondent and think positive! With birding you can expect the unexpected, but only if you have your bins with you! I did not last week, but am 100% certain I had a Ring Ouzel flyover and land in the top of a tree. The flight, washed out colouring excluded Blackbird and Mistle Thrush. The fact that it landed in the top of the tree and showed to me the characteristic 'nervous' behaviour that I associate with ROuzels. Plus it was big and chunky. Sedgley Beacon and Cotwall End are ideal sites for passage Ouzels as is Swanbrook Valley/Turls Hill. Plenty of horse fields and paddocks orientated on a northerly direction. This is one area that I will be looking at more as it is just down the road. Although mostly 'horse fields' it has a good range of scrub and woodland, some of which is on limestone. It also includes the now disused sewage beds which are developing nicely. Although fenced off, access can be gained discreetly with a set of wire cutters!
The whole of the recording area can easily be accessed on foot and pushbike.
I think it has a lot to offer if you are not focussed on wasting money chasing rarities. Great if their is something good to see, but don't forget all the other things to see.
Looking to get back to motorised transport, but need to consult the eye doctors at the end of May Re - Laser surgery that has been carried out due to Diabetes. Don't ignore Diabetes, it affects all parts of your body. Most importantly your eyes. If you can't see well. you can't bird etc... Health warning over! Anyway hope to see you soon, see what's doing!

Sedgley Birder said:

It may seem like a rather large remit, but as far as birding goes there are obvious areas to look at which might produce rewards for your efforts. Around here the key is not to be despondent and think positive! With birding you can expect the unexpected, but only if you have your bins with you! I did not last week, but am 100% certain I had a Ring Ouzel flyover and land in the top of a tree. The flight, washed out colouring excluded Blackbird and Mistle Thrush. The fact that it landed in the top of the tree and showed to me the characteristic 'nervous' behaviour that I associate with ROuzels. Plus it was big and chunky. Sedgley Beacon and Cotwall End are ideal sites for passage Ouzels as is Swanbrook Valley/Turls Hill. Plenty of horse fields and paddocks orientated on a northerly direction. This is one area that I will be looking at more as it is just down the road. Although mostly 'horse fields' it has a good range of scrub and woodland, some of which is on limestone. It also includes the now disused sewage beds which are developing nicely. Although fenced off, access can be gained discreetly with a set of wire cutters!
The whole of the recording area can easily be accessed on foot and pushbike.
I think it has a lot to offer if you are not focussed on wasting money chasing rarities. Great if their is something good to see, but don't forget all the other things to see.
Looking to get back to motorised transport, but need to consult the eye doctors at the end of May Re - Laser surgery that has been carried out due to Diabetes. Don't ignore Diabetes, it affects all parts of your body. Most importantly your eyes. If you can't see well. you can't bird etc... Health warning over! Anyway hope to see you soon, see what's doing!

Click to expand...

Sorry forget to say that the idea for starting this thread was to get more people contributing! Have a moth lamp that I have not used in years. Time to get it out, dust it off and start using again. Most of what I caught and released were common species that you would expect in an urban garden. What really pleased me one night was trapping two Latticed Heaths associated with heathland. The nearest area of heathland of any size is Kinver/Penn Common.

Well I can certainly say I cover a good range of those locations. My walk home is across the Wrens nest, past Parkes Hall and across Tenacre fields. Had 2 Stonechat, Pochard, 2 Tufted Duck and a Greylag Goose at varying points this spring so worth a look out.

The Beacon is an area I work often, and I have seen 2 Ring Ouzel, and Stonechat up there.

I also do Baggeridge at various points of the year, and the area's surrounding that.
Look forward to your sightings from the 'doorstep'

MB

Look forward to more postings - always carry a pair of 'bins - i do:t:

Laurie:t:

midlands birder said:

Well I can certainly say I cover a good range of those locations. My walk home is across the Wrens nest, past Parkes Hall and across Tenacre fields. Had 2 Stonechat, Pochard, 2 Tufted Duck and a Greylag Goose at varying points this spring so worth a look out.

The Beacon is an area I work often, and I have seen 2 Ring Ouzel, and Stonechat up there.

I also do Baggeridge at various points of the year, and the area's surrounding that.
Look forward to your sightings from the 'doorstep'

MB

Click to expand...

Thanks for your posting. I look at your site and encourage your enthusiasm! I have been birding and looking at many of these sites over the last 25 years. With the internet and Bird forum there is a greater opportunity to contribute to wildlife recording and building up our knowledge of what we record in the local area. Setting up the thread covers areas that some local birders/naturalists already cover. Birding locally can be pretty depressing at times, if you mainly focus on birds. It is always good to see good birds locally, but they are only transient. Migrants will drop in at a suitable locality and feed up/rest, but that does not give us an overall understanding of the 'quality' of the habitat. This can only be determined from the soil upwards. An open field full of pretty yellow ragwort is not indicative of a good area, quite the opposite! I gave up twitching a while ago, because early starts and late finishes were too much, and standing around waiting for hours for a rarity to appear did not appeal. As someone who drove up to 40,000 miles year, the last thing you wanted to do was drive several hundred miles on a weekend. My aim is too bring anybody that lives or gets out in the Sedgley manor to contribute records. Birds are not the be all and end all, although the main reason why we are motivated and get out there. Don't forget why the birds are there. As birders we are observers and notice a lot of things going on - Changes in the quality of habitat, fly tipping etc... All this needs to be recorded and reported.

ATB - Sedgley Birder

The following sites of interest in the recording area are:

Alder Coppice
Sedgley Beacon - (highest point in the West Midlands County @ 777ft), and the largest area of Limestone Grassland (CG3 category) within the West Midlands
Sedgley Hall Farm Park
Hurst Hill and Turls Hill (Swanbrook Valley)
Coseley Canal Cutting
Cotwall End/Moden Hill/Turners Hill (not Turners Hill in Rowley Regis!)
High Arcal & Tenacre Fields
Wrens Nest & Parkes hall Res
Ruiton Quarry/Holloway (Has a fantastic population of Southern Marsh Orchids)
Baggeridge/Himley/Penn Common - Surprising how few records come from this area considering the range of habitats. I remember Wood Warblers breeding at Baggeridge?



Happy Birding

Gavin - Sedgley Birder[/QUOTE]

Some good underwatched areas in Sedgley, Gavin, especially Beacon hill which does deserve good coverage during migration times.
The actual highest point in the West Midlands is Turners Hill (889 feet) which is another underwatched area at times of migration though this can be put down to access problems around the golf course.

Oops! Silly mistake. I've been up thee enough times and quoted that it is the highest point in the West Midlands., I think the Beacon is joint second highest place, on par with Top Church in Dudley. Quick boot around in Sedgley today whilst out shopping produced plenty of Swifts (presumably due to low cloud), four Blackcaps and a single Chiffy were the only things of note.

Gavin :t:

Whats it like up the Beacon. Is there much disturbance from dogwalkers, and is there much ASB?

I've been birding thirty years and never been up there :eek!:

steve_zodiac said:

Whats it like up the Beacon. Is there much disturbance from dogwalkers, and is there much ASB?

I've been birding thirty years and never been up there :eek!:

Click to expand...

Sedgley Beacon is good because it is a high point, and it has a large reservoir. The downside is the reservoir is underground and used for pumping water to the surrounding area. Being located within an urban area their are plenty of dog walkers, but generally I do not think they present a problem. Although I have recorded Curlew, Whmbrel and Golden Plover, they have all been flyovers. Most migrants during passage are not that bothered. I have always recorded Wheaters on the higher ground. The surrounding fields, esp the horsey fields or valleys within the limestone grassland area are worth checking for Ouzels. It is the sort of place you can go to and se bugger all most of the time. It is always worth a quick half hour if you are in the area. There are plenty of access points and local roadside parking. Don't think ASB is much of a problem these days, as there are barriers to prevent people driving motorcycles onto the site. If you live local the best time is early morning during the spring, but anytime if you are passing and half hour to spare. If you manage to get up there, do not forget to post your sightings.

ATB:t:

Not been out locally to bird, due to a head injury from cycling. Wake up call to finally get a safety helmet! Helmet has arrived and I will be out tomorrow down the Swanbrook Valley/Coseley to check out what is about, esp breeding warblers. Will post tomorrow what I see.

Gavin - :t::t:

Birdwise it was 'dead' along my walk from my home in Upper Gornal, across Tenacre field, past Parkes Hall Res, around Mons hill, then down to Baggeridge, onto Cotwall end and back into Upper Gornal.

Hundreds of Common Spotted Orchids in a regular spot on Mons Hill. And high hundreds if not in the thousands of Southern Marsh Orchids at Baggeridge. Some Orchids still being ID'd so will post list after. Willow Warbler singing around the mounds, 2 Dingy Skipper butterflies, and many Common Blues the highlights.
MB

A female Pintail spent the entire day on Parkes Hall Reservoir today, showing quite nicely at times, a nice surprise for my usual walk this morning!

Female Pintail back on Parkes Hall today!

Ruiton & Holloway

A walk around today was reasonably productive. Ruiton & Holloway forms an important part of the local site network linking Cotwall End with Swanbrook Valley and Sedgley Beacon. Most noteable were @ 60 Redwings, 1/2 doz Fieldfare, Mpipits, @ 20 Goldfinch, Goldcrest and a couple of Skylark.

Below is a map showing the approx area that Ruiton & Holloway covers. Didn't have my camera to take more detailed photos of habitat, but will hopefully do so on next visit.

Always thought the fields/ scrub adjacent to the Holloway looked good! Glad to see someone is 'working' the area. Certainly a fairly expansive area so it has to get a number of decent birds.

Seen anything on there in the past Gavin?

Tenacre and Parkes Hall

Tuesday 24th Feb - Cool with light breeze, excellent light.
07.55 - 09.10

Almost felt spring like with a couple of Song Thrush singing.
Not much of note on Tenacre. Highlights being four Tufties (3m/1f) and three Goosander:eek!: on Parkes Hall Res including one very fine looking
male.:eek!:


Sedgley Birder