Birding In Staffordshire (5 Viewers)

[coloz]

Cracking views of 10 Crossbills this afternoon at Hanchurch drinking from a puddle of water at the side of the road opposite the metal barrier down the lane from the forestry building on the left , also a large flock of Siskins and Redpolls was knocking about , cheers Col,

 

[Rob Swift]

It does worry me as well. It also worries me that generalisations about photographers can sometimes pigeon hole us as irresponsible and feel these comments are often misplaced. Some of us, me included are appalled at the way some photographers do behave. Name and shaming is a possibility but how many times do you see bad behaviour but you have no idea who the photographer is. Non reporting of birds is an obvious solution to reduce the problem but in the end there would be nothing to report on the forum. I am the first to acknowledge that a lot of my local pictures are as a result of reading what you guys write about and it is always a great interest to me to hear about what's been seen in our area. Maybe a way forward is to be as vague as possible about locations of birds, including freezing the use of all maps on the forum. Photographers like me could request more information by private email and then the recipient of the mail has the choice to disclose or not, based probably on whether the person is known or not and can be trusted.
It's a shame that a minority spoil if for the majority.

Charlie

I would tend to agree Charlie...you can't generalize. In fact it's actually about a few individuals who happen to operate with a camera. Sometimes it's over exuberance, sometimes field craft ignorance and at worst total disregard to wildlife and fellow photographers & birders.

I remember the renowned wildlife photographer Andy Rouse telling of an instance, where a group of camo clad photographers standing against the skyline and running around the field, were complaining that they couldn't get good shots of the(funny enough) SE Owls present. AR (in his white shirt) obtained brilliant photo's. The fact that he settled down quietly, hidden away in the scrub and waited for the Owls to come to him, probably had something to do with it!

Out of interest......Is there a Wildlife Photographers book of Field craft etiquette in existence?

cheers

Rob :t:

 

[paulthomas]

I remember the renowned wildlife photographer Andy Rouse telling of an instance, where a group of camo clad photographers standing against the skyline and running around the field, were complaining that they couldn't get good shots of the(funny enough) SE Owls present. AR (in his white shirt) obtained brilliant photo's. The fact that he settled down quietly, hidden away in the scrub and waited for the Owls to come to him, probably had something to do with it!

That's the way I do it. Sit and let the bird come to me. The problem I get a lot of is idiots coming walking over to me and asking me which scope I'm using. They refuse to accept that I don't own a scope and it's a lens. And of course they've put up everything within 400 yards but that's OK because they're "birders". IME irresponsible and selfish behaviour isn't restrict to those with cameras.

 

[Nick Smith]

That's the way I do it. Sit and let the bird come to me. The problem I get a lot of is idiots coming walking over to me and asking me which scope I'm using. They refuse to accept that I don't own a scope and it's a lens. And of course they've put up everything within 400 yards but that's OK because they're "birders". IME irresponsible and selfish behaviour isn't restrict to those with cameras.

Of course it all depends on where u are sitting.

 

[The Snapper]

That's the way I do it. Sit and let the bird come to me. The problem I get a lot of is idiots coming walking over to me and asking me which scope I'm using. They refuse to accept that I don't own a scope and it's a lens. And of course they've put up everything within 400 yards but that's OK because they're "birders". IME irresponsible and selfish behaviour isn't restrict to those with cameras.

You're correct Paul with regards to bad behaviour not being restricted to photographers. There are also plenty of 'good guys' out there who have good field craft who do disturb birds whilst taking pics of them.

The only unfortunate change I have seen in recent years is an increase of very irresponisble photographers particularly when it comes to Owls and their need to get closer and closer to birds. It has also been observed that certain rare breeding birds on The Chase have been approached way too closely by photographers which is an offence in itself. If this re-occurs the police will be informed.

Yes, 'general' birders can also create disturbance which is also inexcusable, but some of the recent behaviour I have seen by some photographers has been extremely selfish and they only wanted to get the best shot possible irrespective of the birds welfare.

 

[Adam M]

Report of LSW at RSPB Middleton Lakes can be found here http://ixerbirding.blogspot.com/2012/01/middleton-lakes.html Seen on Sunday it appears.

Adam

 

[Charlie Sargent]

Madeley SW.

Two snipe present this morning

 

[Rob Swift]

River Sow Meadows, Stafford.

A quick, pre-snow fall visit to the water treatment works this morning.....

Highlights:

Chiffchaff x 3 (two feeding together & one in with the Goldcrest flock)
Goldcrest x 9
Pied Wagtail x 35+
Golden Plover x 16

On the River...
Goosander x 2
Little Grebe x 2

+ a female Blackcap visiting the garden daily to feed on apples!! :eat:

cheers

Rob

 

[chris23565]

Westport Lake Bird Report 2011

I've just completed the Westport Lake Bird Report for 2011, if anyone would like a copy then please PM me or send me an e-mail via the Westport Lake Blog and I will forward a copy onto you.
The report is in a PDF file so if you would like another file format then please just let me know.

Happy Birding.

 

[matt4scfc]

Westport Lake 3pm

Knot on edge of the ice in the middle of the main lake also 2 drake Pintail.

 

[Nick Smith]

Westport Lake 3pm

Knot on edge of the ice in the middle of the main lake also 2 drake Pintail.

thanks matt. Didn't read this till 1650 but made it down to Westport by 1710. Eventually found the knot on the ice and four of us managed to see it including Chris who ran down and saw it whilst on his hands and knees and gasping for air. A Westport mega!

 

[The Moore-hen]

thanks matt. Didn't read this till 1650 but made it down to Westport by 1710. Eventually found the knot on the ice and four of us managed to see it including Chris who ran down and saw it whilst on his hands and knees and gasping for air. A Westport mega!

Ain't it funny what 'common' national birds do to you when they are on your local patch! I was punching the air with joy at a Grey Plover at Gailey on Thursday and I've only ever had a single Knot there and that was on 30.1.93! Winter can be a good time for these type of waders, I've seen the odd Barwit too perched on the ice...but not at Gailey yet tho!

 

[chris23565]

Ain't it funny what 'common' national birds do to you when they are on your local patch! I was punching the air with joy at a Grey Plover at Gailey on Thursday and I've only ever had a single Knot there and that was on 30.1.93! Winter can be a good time for these type of waders, I've seen the odd Barwit too perched on the ice...but not at Gailey yet tho!

I'm still sucking on oxygen from the hospital!! Haven't run that hard for a bird since my days on Scilly back in the 80's, crazy!!

And congrats to matt4scfc for a excellent find

 

[Nick Smith]

Ain't it funny what 'common' national birds do to you when they are on your local patch! I was punching the air with joy at a Grey Plover at Gailey on Thursday and I've only ever had a single Knot there and that was on 30.1.93! Winter can be a good time for these type of waders, I've seen the odd Barwit too perched on the ice...but not at Gailey yet tho!

Well thats the beauty of local patches. Gutted I missed Fieldfare and Reed Bunting earlier in the day and another two Pintail afternoon. But a Westport tick - you can't beat one of those! December 2010 was my last one so I've waited a while.

 

[The Snapper]

Well thats the beauty of local patches. Gutted I missed Fieldfare and Reed Bunting earlier in the day and another two Pintail afternoon. But a Westport tick - you can't beat one of those! December 2010 was my last one so I've waited a while.

I wholeheartedly agree Mr Smith.

Even though UK and Staffs ticks are exciting, theres nothing like a local patch tick especially if you put a lot of effort in.

I had 8 Gailey ticks last year(it was a bloody good year!), and one of my most exciting was Ringed Plover!

Hoping for another good year. Gailey should be covered regularly as I will be visiting before work as often as possible and The Moorehen will be visiting on lunchbreaks during work.

I'm already dreaming of a Gropper!!! :t:

 

[alrewasbirder]

After a quick visit to the dentist in Lichfiled I noticed there was quite a few Pied Wagtails around the precinct. When I got past Argos I saw about 120 birds on the shop roof tops. Has anyone seen where they roost in an evening? Would love to see an urban Pied Wagtail roost.

 

[paulthomas]

After a quick visit to the dentist in Lichfiled I noticed there was quite a few Pied Wagtails around the precinct. When I got past Argos I saw about 120 birds on the shop roof tops. Has anyone seen where they roost in an evening? Would love to see an urban Pied Wagtail roost.

Not seen them but I've heard them.

 

[andyr]

After a quick visit to the dentist in Lichfiled I noticed there was quite a few Pied Wagtails around the precinct. When I got past Argos I saw about 120 birds on the shop roof tops. Has anyone seen where they roost in an evening? Would love to see an urban Pied Wagtail roost.

Not sure where they roost Stuart, but when I walked down the precinct as it was getting dark one afternoon last week, there were around 30 to 40 gathering together in one the 'precinct trees' near to the two post boxes outside WHSmith. If I get chance, I'll have a look Tuesday and report back on here again.

Cheers

Andy R.

 

[NickPomiankowski]

I'm sure you won't want to go all the way to Newcastle-u-Lyme but they roost in the winter along the High Street. All you need to do is find the tree with all the s**t underneath it - that will work for Lichfield too I guess :-O

Nick

After a quick visit to the dentist in Lichfiled I noticed there was quite a few Pied Wagtails around the precinct. When I got past Argos I saw about 120 birds on the shop roof tops. Has anyone seen where they roost in an evening? Would love to see an urban Pied Wagtail roost.

 

[andyr]

Not sure where they roost Stuart, but when I walked down the precinct as it was getting dark one afternoon last week, there were around 30 to 40 gathering together in one the 'precinct trees' near to the two post boxes outside WHSmith. If I get chance, I'll have a look Tuesday and report back on here again.

Cheers

Andy R.

Hi All

I watched the Pied Wagtail "gathering" as it developed in the tree next to the double-postbox in Lichfield's Precinct at dusk today. By 5pm I would estimate at least 200-250 birds were present, when their numbers (and noise !) reached it's peak. But within 20 minutes or so, and after a good deal of preening, the chattering suddenly stopped and they all went quiet. Compared with the more distant shot here, when they began to arrive, the maximum density of birds is shown in the close-up shots. Mind you, a few Waxwing eating the berries you can see might not go amiss !

Cheers

Andy R.