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Today I was going to Norfolk but went to bed last night not feeling too good so I decided not to set the alarm. I woke up at 07:30 not feeling too bad so Ros & I decided to stay local and it was decided to go to Upton Warren for a few hours.
Upton Warren is a split reserve that is set between Bromsgrove and Droitwich. If any of you are familiar with the M5 around that area (just north of jnct 5) you will see some radio arial masts. They are positioned at the edge of Upton Warren flashes section.
The reserve has a flashes section which is situated to the far side of a training sailing & canoeing lake and the Moors section which is half a mile north of it.
We arrived just after 09:30 and it started raining as soon as we arrived. The first birds seen were a flock of approximately 50 Siskins and almost immediately a flock of about 50 Fieldfare arrived and proceeded to go from tree to tree. A little further in and 20+ Redwing were seen on one tree and a few minutes later were joined by about another 20 or so of them. In the surrounding trees and bushes there must have been over 50 Goldfinch.
Arriving at the garden hide the first bird seen was a bit of a shock. A juv Sparrowhawk was perched on a bush just in front of the hide. It was about 30 feet in front of us and just sat there unconcerned with the fact that dozens of birds were flying all around him. We were there for almost an hour and it stayed motionless for the whole time we stayed. (And my camera is u/s-how's that for luck) Other birds in the garden area, were over 30 Reed Buntings loads of Chaffinches and Greenfinches and plenty of both Blue & Great Tits. Also in front of us were 8 Tree Sparrows and two of them came within 8 feet of the hide. To the other side of the hide could be seen possibly more than 300 Lapwing, 200 Teal, 5 Common Snipe and a few Mallard. Moving on to the tower hide didn't produce anything other than 27 Curlews that flew in just as we were about to leave. By now the rain was becoming torrential and the mist levels were dropping, so much so that the radio masts were quickly disappearing under a shroud. Time to move onto the Moors but as we passed the Hide we noticed that the Sparrowhawk had gone from the bush. Just then it flew straight across us and disappeared over the flashes. Just as we walked towards the car park Ros pointed up in the air just as a Peregrine loomed out of the mist but then vanished equally as quickly into the gloom the other side of the reserve.
The Moors
We were greeted at the car park by the sound of the Cetti's warbler but this time it didn't show itself. We were to hear another on another part of the reserve but again we didn't see that one either. Walking up the pathway we came across about 20 Fieldfare then about the same number of Redwing. The water in front of the new hide was filled with water birds. A few Pochard, plenty of Teal, possibly 200 or more Lapwing, an adult and two juvenile Great crested Grebes, Little Grebe, 4 Lesser black Backs, 3 Cormorant, 3 Grey Heron, 4 Mute Swans, loads of Coot and a few Moorhen, 7 Common Snipe plus a Kestrel drifted onto some telephone wires and was quickly chased off by one of the Crows. As we were about to leave a very familiar sound of a Kingfisher reached my ears. As I turned to the direction it came from a Kingfisher hurtled by at breakneck speed. At last I had seen my bogie bird for the year in Britain.
We left this hide to go to the tower hide that overlooks the feeding station. All the usual birds were there in good numbers plus three male and two female Bullfinches. These Bullfinches come to within a few feet of the hide and thinking how good some of our members are with photography I was wondering what sort of shots could be taken by some of them. Stunning ones I have no doubt.
It was time to go home as the rain was becoming relentless and the temperature was beginning to rapidly drop. As we came away from the hide a Green Woodpecker flew out of the trees near to us. A couple of Long tailed Tits were seen along here as well. As we reached the car park a huge number of birds flew from out of the trees about 200 yards away from us. They seemed to be all Fieldfare and it was hard to work out how many there were as birds seemed to be coming from all angles. There were at least 500 but there could have been a 1,000 or more of them.
Only about 3 hours spent here but all in all a very satisfying time was had by both of us.
A note for Ian. If you read this, this reserve would be ideal for the Tree Sparrow. A flock of 16 have become resident and they come very close to the hide, sitting on the branches out in the open. Bullfinch would also be an excellent photo as well and would be easy for some one of your expertise.
Upton Warren is a split reserve that is set between Bromsgrove and Droitwich. If any of you are familiar with the M5 around that area (just north of jnct 5) you will see some radio arial masts. They are positioned at the edge of Upton Warren flashes section.
The reserve has a flashes section which is situated to the far side of a training sailing & canoeing lake and the Moors section which is half a mile north of it.
We arrived just after 09:30 and it started raining as soon as we arrived. The first birds seen were a flock of approximately 50 Siskins and almost immediately a flock of about 50 Fieldfare arrived and proceeded to go from tree to tree. A little further in and 20+ Redwing were seen on one tree and a few minutes later were joined by about another 20 or so of them. In the surrounding trees and bushes there must have been over 50 Goldfinch.
Arriving at the garden hide the first bird seen was a bit of a shock. A juv Sparrowhawk was perched on a bush just in front of the hide. It was about 30 feet in front of us and just sat there unconcerned with the fact that dozens of birds were flying all around him. We were there for almost an hour and it stayed motionless for the whole time we stayed. (And my camera is u/s-how's that for luck) Other birds in the garden area, were over 30 Reed Buntings loads of Chaffinches and Greenfinches and plenty of both Blue & Great Tits. Also in front of us were 8 Tree Sparrows and two of them came within 8 feet of the hide. To the other side of the hide could be seen possibly more than 300 Lapwing, 200 Teal, 5 Common Snipe and a few Mallard. Moving on to the tower hide didn't produce anything other than 27 Curlews that flew in just as we were about to leave. By now the rain was becoming torrential and the mist levels were dropping, so much so that the radio masts were quickly disappearing under a shroud. Time to move onto the Moors but as we passed the Hide we noticed that the Sparrowhawk had gone from the bush. Just then it flew straight across us and disappeared over the flashes. Just as we walked towards the car park Ros pointed up in the air just as a Peregrine loomed out of the mist but then vanished equally as quickly into the gloom the other side of the reserve.
The Moors
We were greeted at the car park by the sound of the Cetti's warbler but this time it didn't show itself. We were to hear another on another part of the reserve but again we didn't see that one either. Walking up the pathway we came across about 20 Fieldfare then about the same number of Redwing. The water in front of the new hide was filled with water birds. A few Pochard, plenty of Teal, possibly 200 or more Lapwing, an adult and two juvenile Great crested Grebes, Little Grebe, 4 Lesser black Backs, 3 Cormorant, 3 Grey Heron, 4 Mute Swans, loads of Coot and a few Moorhen, 7 Common Snipe plus a Kestrel drifted onto some telephone wires and was quickly chased off by one of the Crows. As we were about to leave a very familiar sound of a Kingfisher reached my ears. As I turned to the direction it came from a Kingfisher hurtled by at breakneck speed. At last I had seen my bogie bird for the year in Britain.
We left this hide to go to the tower hide that overlooks the feeding station. All the usual birds were there in good numbers plus three male and two female Bullfinches. These Bullfinches come to within a few feet of the hide and thinking how good some of our members are with photography I was wondering what sort of shots could be taken by some of them. Stunning ones I have no doubt.
It was time to go home as the rain was becoming relentless and the temperature was beginning to rapidly drop. As we came away from the hide a Green Woodpecker flew out of the trees near to us. A couple of Long tailed Tits were seen along here as well. As we reached the car park a huge number of birds flew from out of the trees about 200 yards away from us. They seemed to be all Fieldfare and it was hard to work out how many there were as birds seemed to be coming from all angles. There were at least 500 but there could have been a 1,000 or more of them.
Only about 3 hours spent here but all in all a very satisfying time was had by both of us.
A note for Ian. If you read this, this reserve would be ideal for the Tree Sparrow. A flock of 16 have become resident and they come very close to the hide, sitting on the branches out in the open. Bullfinch would also be an excellent photo as well and would be easy for some one of your expertise.
