Birding In Staffordshire (6 Viewers)

[PROUD POTTER]

caught up with the 1w Iceland gull at Cold Meece pools at approx 13:30 however all the gulls were pushed off by workmen at 14:00 and flew towards the tip.

they were later in fields off cotes lane close to the farm nearest the landfill site and also the field just south of cotes heath viewed from the road adjacent to the railway line.

around 500 black headed gulls roosted at copmere but only 15 or so herring and lesser black backs landed and these larger gulls left just before 17:00.

Martyn

 

[Rob1991S-O-T]

intresting report of rough legged at rugeley probaly on the chasde somewhere hopefully gets sighted again will be a good 1 for the year list

and i think the park hall long eared owl report on birdguides has given away the location abit too much by putting the name of the wood

going do local tommorrow hopefully golden plover are about or a rare canal bird come on show, then not sure about sunday

 

[Adam M]

Hi Adam

Just out of interest, were the Crossbills on Cannock Chase near the Scout Huts, Rifle Range, Butts area ? After three recent (failed!) attempts to see any on the Chase, I would be grateful for any help here.

PS After completing the double over Port Vale recently, I had better not say anything about me being a lifelong fan/season ticket holder at Notts County. Two struggling teams that play in black and white !

Cheers

Andy

they were near the scout huts but we just stumbled across them really. we walked around for sometime and saw them fly over us as we headed back to the car. think you might have to do the same and just listen for them calling.
i think there are alot of teams thath have done the double over vale. until the chester game we had lost more home games than any other team in the entire football league, making vale park the easiest place to pick up 3 points :-C

im off down uttoxeter in a bit, then hopefully blithfield and then whitmore haye, might have to buy a road map though, as i lost my other one, rather ironic really. hopefully that rough legged buzzard will show up over blithfield, i had better read up on the details of IDing them.
adam

 

[NickPomiankowski]

R-L Buzzards

Adam - beware of pale phase common buzzards - there's been one around Blithfield (still there Blith Boy?) which gets mis-identified as Osprey / Honey-Buzzard and mb RL Buzzard depending on the time of year.
Nick

...
im off down uttoxeter in a bit, then hopefully blithfield and then whitmore haye, might have to buy a road map though, as i lost my other one, rather ironic really. hopefully that rough legged buzzard will show up over blithfield, i had better read up on the details of IDing them.
adam

 

[Rockbirder]

Utch Quarry/ Poxy Quarry.

Hey up folks, bitterly cold at Utch this morning(states the obvious!) around 60% of the main pool is frozen over. The Pinkfoot is still there as well as:
2 Goosander
115 Wigeon
1 Teal
53 Tuftys
1 Common Gull
c130 BHG's
c350 Lappys
1 Stonechat
2 Snipe

A large increase in Tuftys, obviously another weather related movement of birds.

At Croxden this mornin' 3 Buzzards and a Kestrel.

keep at it folks

Andy.

 

[andyr]

Hi Adam

Many thanks for the info on those Cannock Chase Crossbills... it's appreciated. According to the West Midland Bird Club hotline (which I call almost every day now), little groups of them have appeared on the Chase over the Winter so far - but only every three or four weeks. How inconsiderate is that !
PS: By the way, if I ever hear of any WMBC hotline news that birders in North Staffs like yourself (if you are not a WMBC member) might not get to know about, I'll post it on here... because like many others down this end of the county, I really do find it very useful to read the posts of all you guys up there in Jim Morris territory !
PPS: I wasn't trying to get a dig in about the PVFC by-the-way. In fact I've been to Vale Park many times (watching them beat Notts County usually) and can relate strongly to your club/team ... ie both you and I supporting the 'smaller' team in a two-team city where the other team play in red-and-white (can't bring myself to name the other one in Nott'm !)

Thanks again for the Crossbills 'steer' - see you around the Staffs patch sometime with Jim, Neil & Co maybe.

Cheers

Andy

 

[matt4scfc]

It's not real. The council put it there to scare away the pigeons. :-O

I'm still having it as a tick!!!:-O

 

[Adam M]

bumped into andy and his dogs at uttoxeter quarry. didn't see much else, nice look at a snipe, meadow pipit and everything andy has already posted.

blithfield was practically empty from the causeway, 1 mallard, 1 coot and 2 pochard. did have a large flock of waterfowl fly towards the dam, but i was putting my wellies on and could get to my binoculars in time.

on to whitmore haye, where i saw both yellowhammer (year tick) and corn bunting (life tick) the buntings showed really well, as did a kestrel, not very often i leave the house without my camera, but today was one of them times i left it home, gives me a reason to go back though.
adam

 

[Max Radford]

The pale Common Buzzard is still knocking around Blithers. Probably the underparts appearing even paler with snow lying on the ground.

Max

 

[JimMorris]

Two From The Garden

I must have been hanging on to 54 for my garden list for nearly a year now, then just as it was to dark for a photo this Yellowhammer turned up. Just to keep me happy it came in again today to have it's picture taken. No 55 on the list. Also managed one of the Brambling. 2 males and a female coming in every day now.

 

[bull's birder]

Been watching some Opticron Discovery 8x42 WP bins on e-bay at £95 free p&p. Has anyone used these and is this a good deal?

 

[Richard Powell]

Uttoxeter Quarry this afternoon:

1 Pink-Footed Goose with Greylags, 24 Goosander, 68 Tufted, 1 Green Sandpiper, 3 Snipe, 1 Stonechat, c100 Redwing, 3 Fieldfare, 1 Common Gull.

I was hoping that yesterday's Great White Egret, at Hilton in South Derbyshire, may have made it's way a few miles west. But alas not. But worth keeping an eye out for, as the bird has moved on today.

 

[Rob1991S-O-T]

not alot birding done today
goldcrest in garden along
with grey wagtail and peid wagtail
and the black redstart was seen at 7:53 according to birdguides before i was even up

and plus the ringed billed gull is getting closer its now at sandbach flashes this afternoon hopefully either tomoz or this week it will be up coldmeece/cop mere

 

[Gronk08]

The pale Common Buzzard is still knocking around Blithers. Probably the underparts appearing even paler with snow lying on the ground.

Max

Hi All

There is one also at the top end of the A500 by the motorway, some times seen in the more posh Cheshire side of the round about, must be a snobbish Buzzard.

Tim..

 

[Johnnie Lee]

Rudyard & Garden

Had a walk around Rudyard (Heron Marsh) yesterday. Not too much around but flushed about 15 snipe in the frozen conditions. Heard the water rail again but couldn't see it - quite frustrating on the home patch.

Got my 49th garden tick in the form of a single redpoll. Quite 'lumpy' looking and greyish around the nape bird but otherwise quite brown on the mantle and wingbars. Probably a lesser but not 100% without other redpolls to compare.

J

 

[Max Radford]

Quick look at the new hide in Stansley Wood overlooking Tad Bay this evening - very posh. 6 Shoveler in Tad was the best on offer. Then a trip to the deep end; it's pike fishing weekend so the boats were going regularly through the roost, managed to see a adult Med, but no sign of last nights Iceland Gull.

Max

 

[Rob Jones]

Had a drive over to Lathkill Dale to photograph Dippers. I thought that with so much snow lying and a bright sunny day I might get enough light to get some flight shots. Wrong! Much too dark in the valley. Managed only to get OK'ish still bird shots.

I pairs of Dippers, Raven, lots of Goldcrests and a Robin so hungry it fed from my hand.

 

[terryeyre]

6 ravens and two buzzards over dimmingsdale this morning,barn owl hunting in fields nearby this evening single fieldfare feeding in garden again today

 

[JimMorris]

ID from the experts please

Is this a Black-headed gull or maybe something rarish (I wish)

 

[Richard Powell]

Its a Common Gull Jim.