Upton Warren (107 Viewers)

[Woodchat]

Cultivation

Soil type Euonymus grows happily in most good garden soils.

Planting These shrubs will grow in sun or light shade. The evergreen species and varieties should be grown in a spot where they are not subjected to icy winds. Planting can be done in autumn or spring.

Pruning Not generally required. Any straggly growth on the deciduous species can be cut out in early spring to retain a good shape.

Propagation Cuttings of around 7cm (3in) in length, taken with a heel, in mid to late summer

Pests and diseases Aphids can attack the deciduous species, and these should be promptly dealt with by insecticide.

Rob

You're not really advocating the use of insecticides are you, Rob?

That would be a bit of an own goal 8-P

 

[Phil Andrews]

Great to see the Moors feeding station producing regular Water Rail, Coal Tit and Blackcap, together with irregular Brambling, Nuthatch and Cetti's Warbler. Always hoping from something left-field such as Little Bunting, Hawfinch etc.

We hope to have the Flashes feeding station back up and running on the December work party (Sunday 2nd) which may bring a different mix of birds - possibly the chance of Yellowhammer, Tree Sparrow or Willow Tit. It is always worth spending an hour or so in each location to see what pops out.

PS Can I use your Brambling photo in the annual report Vern?

 

[ADRIANS PHOTOGRAPHY]

Great banter great birding what else do you need, I would like to thank everyone for their help today with the Id’s and spotting species for me.

Spent the day at the Moors Pools today and had some lifers for Upton today and got scared s-----ss (sorry about the spelling) round the North Moors but that’s another story.

Species seen today were as follows –

Blackbird, Wood Pigeon, Lapwing (58), Magpie, Robin, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Mallard, Kingfisher (2), Shoveler (25), Coot, Black Headed Gull (19), Pintail (1), Moorhen, Teal (14), Grey Heron, Mute Swan (2&2), Common Snipe (5), Canada Goose (1), Great Crested Grebe (2&3), Curlew (4), Cormorant (27), Tufted Duck, Buzzard, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Long Tailed Tit, Dunnock, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Finch, Reed Bunting, Song Thrush, Bullfinch, Redwing (40+), Kestrel, Redpoll, Pochard (4), Pheasant, Nuthatch, Sparrowhawk, Chaffinch, Rook, Coal Tit, Wren & Goldcrest (at last thanks Vern)

 

[Stone Snapper]

Great to see the Moors feeding station producing regular Water Rail, Coal Tit and Blackcap, together with irregular Brambling, Nuthatch and Cetti's Warbler. Always hoping from something left-field such as Little Bunting, Hawfinch etc.

We hope to have the Flashes feeding station back up and running on the December work party (Sunday 2nd) which may bring a different mix of birds - possibly the chance of Yellowhammer, Tree Sparrow or Willow Tit. It is always worth spending an hour or so in each location to see what pops out.

PS Can I use your Brambling photo in the annual report Vern?

Yes phil of course you can :t:

 

[ADRIANS PHOTOGRAPHY]

Just a few from today

1 Green Finch & Reed Bunting
2 & 3 Nuthatch
4 Goldcrest

 

[Phil Andrews]

Brambling Fringilla montifringilla

Brambling is an uncommon, irregular passage and winter visitor to the reserve from Northern Europe (including Russia and Scandinavia), with records most years. Sometimes a bird may regularly frequent one the feeding stations during the winter, usually in the company of other finches, particularly Chaffinches. The earliest recorded date is the 19th September 2008 at the Flashes' feeding station but the species may often not occur until the second half of the winter; the latest date is the 8th April in 1988. Brambling appear more regularly at the Moors Pool than the Flashes with more records from the second half of winter compared to the first; male and females occur in roughly equal numbers. It should be noted that there are very few beech trees around the reserve, the mast of which is a favoured food for Brambling, and birds are almost exclusively seen on the feeding stations. With such limited data the average first date (29th October, based on data up to and including 2007) and last date (2nd April, also based on data up to and including 2007) need to be treated with caution. Unfortunately there is no data on Brambling occurrence before the late 1970s.

1987 saw an exceptional year for Brambling at Upton Warren, with the Flashes feeding station holding a peak of 30 birds between the 1st February and the 8th March (the record count for the reserve), with many of the males present attaining their full breeding plumage. As a result this species was often the commonest bird present at the feeding station during this period! The below chart demonstrates what an exceptional, one-off year 1987 represented. Whether this was a genuine irruption or a localised response to the creation of the feeding station that winter is difficult to judge – “The New Birds for the West Midlands” reported that 1,700 Bramblings were present in the West Midlands region during the winter of 1986/87, making it the seventh most productive winter in the period from 1978 to 2001. The only other noteworthy count from the reserve is eight birds on the early date of 14th October 1992. More recent records relate to single birds and multiple counts have been unusual in recent years, with four birds present on the 16th December 2002 and three at the Flashes feeding station on the 1st February 2003. 2002 represented the best recent year with seven records involving eleven birds. The species is prone to having blank years such as 1990, 2001, 2006 and 2007.

 

[forgetfulelephant]

You're not really advocating the use of insecticides are you, Rob?

That would be a bit of an own goal 8-P

Oooops! Damn cut & paste! :-O


Rob

 

[Woodchat]

Oooops! Damn cut & paste! :-O


Rob

Thought so, mate :t:

 

[J_Caswell]

Spent a few hours at the Concrete Hide/lower level of New Hide,one from each.
Juv Greenfinch



[ Blackcap

 

[upstarts1979]

Birding at the Moors today

The strong cold SW slowly backed off South by 3pm. There was a dearth of passerines away from the feeding station, as birds kept low. Although the Cetti's trilled in front of the east hide and there were small numbers of redpoll, siskin, redwing & fieldfare flying over.
The snipe were active on the vegetated scrape island, jostling for a sheltered roosting site. This forced 2 jacks into the open for a brief 'bounce' and a third bird was located on the scrape's south western arm - only seen from the new hide, where Andy P (spoonbill finder) brilliantly found it. The small wigeon flock grazed and surface fed in and around the scrape and Broadmeadow pool. Otherwise pretty much as 3 days ago. The diving sub-species of shoveler has now grown to 6 birds8-P.
Wetland species: GCG 6, Little grebe 3, Cormorant 20, mute swan 4, shoveler 60+, Wigeon 6, teal 50, gadwall fem, pintail imm male, tufted 20, pochard 6, water rail all over the place, snipe 20+, Jack snipe 3, lapwing 145, curlew 15, BHG c300, Herring gull 1st winters, Buzzard 2 'grappling' over the pool, kestrel, peregrine, Raven,
B John
Just to add I had a Migrant Hawker by the east gate today

 

[upstarts1979]

The Flashes today

As the hide is being repaired I only had a brief session here.
The sheltered scrubland at the confluence of the stream (Hen Brook) and outflow channel, held a large tit flock including treecreeper and goldcrest. On the flashes the disturbance meant it was quiet other than 105 lapwing , 20 BHG and 10 linnets. A flock of greylags flew over but I could see all of them through the trees , but there was definitely more than 23 birds - couldn't 100% they were all greylags though.

The hide is looking a bit more solid and the roof now has an incline.

 

[forgetfulelephant]

Spent a few hours at the Concrete Hide/lower level of New Hide,one from each.
View attachment 413583 Juv Greenfinch



[View attachment 413582 Blackcap

You haven't lost your touch John! Quality. :t:


Rob

 

[Mary]

Cultivation

Soil type Euonymus grows happily in most good garden soils.

Planting These shrubs will grow in sun or light shade. The evergreen species and varieties should be grown in a spot where they are not subjected to icy winds. Planting can be done in autumn or spring.

Pruning Not generally required. Any straggly growth on the deciduous species can be cut out in early spring to retain a good shape.

Propagation Cuttings of around 7cm (3in) in length, taken with a heel, in mid to late summer

Pests and diseases Aphids can attack the deciduous species, and these should be promptly dealt with by insecticide.


Rob

I planted some of these in a small length of hedge a few years ago, so appreciate the above advice. So far, haven't seen anything take the berries/seeds, even though we get loads of winter blackcaps. Will watch more carefully! Can agree with the aphid problem, they were in plague proportions this year; tried useing an oil-based 'drench', but didn't really work, there were too many.

 

[PeterE]

Brambling Fringilla montifringilla

Brambling is an uncommon, irregular passage and winter visitor to the reserve from Northern Europe (including Russia and Scandinavia), with records most years. Sometimes a bird may regularly frequent one the feeding stations during the winter, usually in the company of other finches, particularly Chaffinches. The earliest recorded date is the 19th September 2008 at the Flashes' feeding station but the species may often not occur until the second half of the winter; the latest date is the 8th April in 1988. Brambling appear more regularly at the Moors Pool than the Flashes with more records from the second half of winter compared to the first; male and females occur in roughly equal numbers. It should be noted that there are very few beech trees around the reserve, the mast of which is a favoured food for Brambling, and birds are almost exclusively seen on the feeding stations. With such limited data the average first date (29th October, based on data up to and including 2007) and last date (2nd April, also based on data up to and including 2007) need to be treated with caution. Unfortunately there is no data on Brambling occurrence before the late 1970s.

1987 saw an exceptional year for Brambling at Upton Warren, with the Flashes feeding station holding a peak of 30 birds between the 1st February and the 8th March (the record count for the reserve), with many of the males present attaining their full breeding plumage. As a result this species was often the commonest bird present at the feeding station during this period! The below chart demonstrates what an exceptional, one-off year 1987 represented. Whether this was a genuine irruption or a localised response to the creation of the feeding station that winter is difficult to judge – “The New Birds for the West Midlands” reported that 1,700 Bramblings were present in the West Midlands region during the winter of 1986/87, making it the seventh most productive winter in the period from 1978 to 2001. The only other noteworthy count from the reserve is eight birds on the early date of 14th October 1992. More recent records relate to single birds and multiple counts have been unusual in recent years, with four birds present on the 16th December 2002 and three at the Flashes feeding station on the 1st February 2003. 2002 represented the best recent year with seven records involving eleven birds. The species is prone to having blank years such as 1990, 2001, 2006 and 2007.

Great work, Phil, and a signature bar-chart as well.

Peter

 

[UW82]

The strong cold SW slowly backed off South by 3pm. There was a dearth of passerines away from the feeding station, as birds kept low. Although the Cetti's trilled in front of the east hide and there were small numbers of redpoll, siskin, redwing & fieldfare flying over.
The snipe were active on the vegetated scrape island, jostling for a sheltered roosting site. This forced 2 jacks into the open for a brief 'bounce' and a third bird was located on the scrape's south western arm - only seen from the new hide, where Andy P (spoonbill finder) brilliantly found it. The small wigeon flock grazed and surface fed in and around the scrape and Broadmeadow pool. Otherwise pretty much as 3 days ago. The diving sub-species of shoveler has now grown to 6 birds8-P.
Wetland species: GCG 6, Little grebe 3, Cormorant 20, mute swan 4, shoveler 60+, Wigeon 6, teal 50, gadwall fem, pintail imm male, tufted 20, pochard 6, water rail all over the place, snipe 20+, Jack snipe 3, lapwing 145, curlew 15, BHG c300, Herring gull 1st winters, Buzzard 2 'grappling' over the pool, kestrel, peregrine, Raven,
B John
Just to add I had a Migrant Hawker by the east gate today

A good late date for the Migrant Hawker John, but there is some way to go to equal the latest date for the species in recent years which is the 27th November.

Des.

 

[Phil Andrews]

Photographs

I have been busy raiding the forum for photographs to include in the 2012 Annual Report; obviously there is a fantastic range of stonking images from a large number of togs / birders. If you dont wish your images to be used please let me know. All income from the sale of the reports is ploughed straight back into the reserve and all photographs used are fully credited.

 

[forgetfulelephant]

I have been busy raiding the forum for photographs to include in the 2012 Annual Report; obviously there is a fantastic range of stonking images from a large number of togs / birders. If you dont wish your images to be used please let me know. All income from the sale of the reports is ploughed straight back into the reserve and all photographs used are fully credited.

Use any of mine you need Phil. Let me know if you need higher res images.


Rob

 

[g.h.1]

Just a record shot of the Wigeon taken earlier in the week ( trying to get to grips with re-working my photos. for downloading to the forum ) hope I am now ready to snap and post the next "goody" I happen to see on the reserve !

 

[ADRIANS PHOTOGRAPHY]

you can use any of mine Phil if required not a problem.

Can you let me know when the report is out please.

 

[Phil Andrews]

Use any of mine you need Phil. Let me know if you need higher res images.


Rob

Thanks Rob.

Obviously there is a fantastic array of Osprey photos, of which I am hoping to include three or four, plus one on the font cover. The cover will revert back to coloured card this year so can I ask photographers to identify any images that will look particularly good in greyscale.

Adrian - will hope to have the bulk of the report finished early in the New Year to then circulator to the editors (UW82 and Wheatearlp) for proof-reading and discussion of any particular records. So aiming for say early March.