Withymoor - Amblecote, Stourbridge..... (1 Viewer)

[rollingthunder]

All quiet down at Withymoor with no sign of the Water Rail.
A pair of adult Herring Gulls and a flyovervGreat Spotted Woodpecker took my year list to 29:t:

Finally got around to watching this yesterday.
Set in the Altai mountains bordering Mongolia it chronicles a 13yo Kazakh girl who being the eldest child of a reknowned Eagle hunter wants to carry on the tradition..........but is a girlie:eek!: Despite disapproval she climbs and acquires her own 3 month old Golden Eaglet and the rest as they say.....

It makes for a good story with spectacular wild scenery and highlights the bond not just between hunter and Eagle but Father and Daughter:t: Like all native people living close to theclandcthey have an unwritten respect for wild animals that does not need codifying in law. Tradition demands that birds are returned to the wild after 7 years to continue the progeny of the future hunters.

The film won plaudits and profits went to a foundation to ensure the girls education as a Doctor but she still flies Goldies - well worth a watch:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

Golden Eagles are long lived and don’t start breeding until about 5 and easily manage 10 possibly 15 years of only having to replace themselves to maintain the status quo. Despite the current impunity with which owners of Grouse Moors and their braindead employees appear to enjoy (courtesy of a cosy cartel comprising the Judiciary, Police and a support network) there are lots of wild places where raptors die naturally and not from instant lead-poisoning, insidious baited toxins or dangling from a pole trap:C

One such place is Jura and attached is a brief chronicle of a 22yo female picked up a few years ago:t:

https://www.birdguides.com/news/golden-oldie/

Good birding -

Laurie:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

This rather smart bird ticked the boxes for an adult-type Yellow-legged Gull down at Withymoor ystda ca1130. The legs were Greyish but there is seasonal variation so i have read (Garner et al).

A hunting female Sprawk flushed everything but took my year list to 31 species.
60 is achievable, 75 with scarcer common migrants we shall see...

My recording area is small about 350 x 500 yards. It includes the freshwater pool, edge, marginal and adjacent scrub, young trees with no cavities, a small Greater Reedmace clump (with Lesser nearby) a bit of sown wildflower meadow and a section of railway embankment with colonised scrub/trees 50% Birch.

Good birding -
Laurie👍🏻

 

[rollingthunder]

First reported on the 8th Dec and last seen by me on the 8th Jan this bird i had presumed to have moved on as a month is a good run and beats the only other record by.....a month! A one-dayer about 5 or 6 years ago following an overnite freeze found a calling bird in and around the Typha bed.

The ‘Withymoor Swamphen’ was out along the shoreline yesterday between the overflow platform and the loafing area under the overhanging Willows where the Mallard loaf on sunny days. I have usually seen it when feeding in scrubby leaf litter and when it nips down to the waters edge to wash worms as do waders with lug or ragworm on the coast.

A mate, following my text, spent an hour to no avail:-C The bird is well cammo’d and by no means easy but it’s nice to know it is on its way to completing a 2nd month at the Golden Puddle:t:

Good birding -

Laurie:t:

 

[Allan N]

withymore pool

The Water Rail was still on the shore of Withymore pool this morning showing well but briefly as it waled from one piece of scrub to the next, Nothing much else about, just a pair of Pied wags.

 

[rollingthunder]

The Water Rail was still on the shore of Withymore pool this morning showing well but briefly as it waled from one piece of scrub to the next, Nothing much else about, just a pair of Pied wags.

Cheers Allan.
Keep posting any sightings i need some backup on here:t:

Laurie -

 

[rollingthunder]

Gulls.....

If you don’t take an interest in them in the West Midlands during Autumn and Winter then you are not going to see a lot except at managed nature reserves imho.

The local large Razzers e.g. The Bittells, Edgbaston and Bartley hold large numbers of the larger species at roost a large % of which leave after first light and make their way to farmland and a range of habitats for daytime feeding. Around here good numbers gather on fields that are being ploughed and of late areas that have been spread with eggshells as a sort of crude slow release Calcium operation. Alas a number of ca15-20 mile cycle rides this year and last has yielded very little on fields that held good numbers regularly a couple of years ago around Hagley, Churchill etc:-C Smaller numbers gather locally at balancing pools e.g. Netherton, Sheepwash and Fens Pools so it looks like targeting those more frequently.

Withymoor held ca100 BHG’s ystda.
Mary Steven’s Park about 250 BHG’s (400+ on Tue).
Brake Mill Pool ca 75 BHG’s.
Larger Gulls were noted but only a pair of LBB’s static on BMP.

The Closure of 2 local tips has not helped the one near Kidderminster held thousands and the recently capped one at Fairfield produced not only Iceland regularly but also held 60-90 Ravens during the Winter:eek!:

Good birding -
Laurie:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

Sat 26th Jan

Ca250 BHG’s at Mary Stevens Park + 2 Herring - an adult & a 2w/3cy.
Ca75 BHG’s at Withymoor + 4x ad LBB’s & an ad Herring Gull.
Water Rail still present feeding on the mud by the Sainsburys inflow.

Attached - Rail, 2 smart Gulls and a imm male Shoveler from WMoor in Oct.

Good Birding -

Laurie:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

Water Rail still presentvdown at Withymoor yesterday lunchtime as per these shots from Andy Daniels:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

All quiet on ystdas visit apart from the Withymoor Swamphen which is proving very active feeding both on open mud and in the usual leaf litter under the scrub.

A marauding male Sparrowhawk spooked about 30 BHG's but this smart adult Herring Gull on the raft paid little attention.

Good Birding -

Laurie:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

Wed 30th.

Withymoor.
30+ BHG’s and LTTit - yeartick, list now stands at #32 75% froze over.

Mary Stevens Park.
Ca150 BHG’s 75% froze over.

An hour spent up at the West Hagley Fields, first visit for 3 months, now i know why. Hardly a passerine in sight, why? No food that’s why - this is the reason for endless birdless acres in the countryside - overmanaged, clipped, sprayed and farmed to death:-C

There were about 200 Wood Pigeons on the field harvested for Spuds in October.
I would normally see a few Skylarks, a flock of Linnets and maybe a mixed Finch group plus resident Yellowhammers and Stock Doves but zilch.

Good birding (but not around here) -

Laurie:t:

 

[the Harborne Flyer]

farmland birds

Wed 30th.

Withymoor.
30+ BHG’s and LTTit - yeartick, list now stands at #32 75% froze over.

Mary Stevens Park.
Ca150 BHG’s 75% froze over.

An hour spent up at the West Hagley Fields, first visit for 3 months, now i know why. Hardly a passerine in sight, why? No food that’s why - this is the reason for endless birdless acres in the countryside - overmanaged, clipped, sprayed and farmed to death:-C

There were about 200 Wood Pigeons on the field harvested for Spuds in October.
I would normally see a few Skylarks, a flock of Linnets and maybe a mixed Finch group plus resident Yellowhammers and Stock Doves but zilch.

Good birding (but not around here) -

Laurie:t:

Too right Laurie, every week I do a walk somewhere across fields using public footpaths and apart from winter thrushes it is very hard to find regular farmland birds.

 

[rollingthunder]

Too right Laurie, every week I do a walk somewhere across fields using public footpaths and apart from winter thrushes it is very hard to find regular farmland birds.

We do have them, this patch nestles between Stourbridge Golf Course and Hagley and it is not a bad little bit of ‘farmland’ with permanent pasture a bit of sheep from time to time and either cereal and or spuds. Adjacent are little copses and a bit of horsiculture there is also a series of continuous thick hedges albeit kept too short imo (i speak as a profesional hedge-layer as well). The problem lies with the efficiency of whatever is the crop(s) that year - there is so little left behind...

There are good numbers of breeding Yellowhammers and Linnets, some Stock Doves and both Sprawk n Buzzard have nests and Raven has prospected and is only a matter of time with nearby breeding pairs. I consider both Goshawk and Red Kite will nest or attempt with the next decade. Corn Bunting hangs on with at least singing males and food being taken over the last few years and Stonechat both Winter and Summer.

Another attraction is that the area at one point borders 3 counties in 3 fields which can make for interesting records..........potentially A good example would be a couple of years ago when i had my 1st and earliest ever Wheatear there on March 10th. One of 2 males was feeding in a West Midlands field and flew into the Worcestershire field. This was a day earlier than the first one claimed in the latter and could well have been the earliest ‘reported’ for the region:eek!: Had the bird flown on continuing its trajectory it would have reached the South Staffordshire field.....but it didn’t:-C

Being on the urban fringe it is unlikely to be developed any further but that doesn’t stop requests from interests in the West Midlands for even more housing. Around Stourbridge itself virtually all the ‘Brown field’ sites have gone which makes for an even more depressing scenario. On the bright side migrants also pass through and Whitethroats continue to increase with no less than 8 singing males last year:t:

All the best and Good Birding -

Laurie :t:

 

[rollingthunder]

The Big Freeze continues with both Withymoor and Mary Stevens Park 90% frozen.

Yesterday (31st) yielded little with ca25 BHG’s and 2 ad LBB’s at WM and ca125 BHG’s at MSP...

No sign of the Rail but the half a dozen resident Moorhens were actively foraging in the leaf litter so it’s probably still skulking.

Good Birding -

Laurie:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

Withymoor 90% frozen ystda...

3 adult LBB’s noted and a 1w Herring along with ca50 BHG’s - all put up by a marauding Sprawk.

Good Birding -

Laurie:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

Withymoor 98% froze over ystda, a handful of BHG's whilst i was en-route to Fens Pools.....

On a brighter, literally, note i have just had an 'Armchair' tick - it's only taken.....32 fookin years:eek!:

one of those 'better pop over just in case it gets accepted' - everything comes to he who waits.....

Good Birding -

Laurie:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

Again all quiet at Witymoor for the hour i was down there anyway but it was comparitively a heatwave compared to the last week and the bulk of the ice had gone leaving just thin sheet over about 1/4 of the pool.

The only large Gulls present were a single Herring and Lesser Black-backed on the raft. The literature generally says there is little discernable difference in gender sizes with perhaps males being upto 5% bigger but can be 10-15% on the 'larger' species. Allowing for posture and angle these two birds were noticeably different, i would say about 25%. Herring Gull is a bigger bird than LBB on biometrics and always look more chunky and brutish imo. This could have been a large male Herring and a smaller female LBB?

Sun was out in force ystda and as usual mantle tones on birds vary depending from which angle you are viewing them. I am on the lookout in Winter for the Northern subspecies of both of these birds i.e 'argenteus' Herring and 'fuscus' LBB both forms being slightly darker:t:

Good Birding -

Laurie:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

No visit yesterday but Paul Legge had great views of the Water Rail feeding out in the open along the muddy sections - this bird has been present since the 8th of December through thick and thin and several freezeovers - well done you:t:

Good Birding -

Laurie:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

Quiet at Withymoor during my jaunt 11-12.
Ca50 BHG and a feeding Green Woodpecker.
200+ BHG at Mary Stevens Park but no large Gulls.

In addition to the obliging Water Rail Paul had a male & female Goosander.

Good Birding -
Laurie:t:

 

[rollingthunder]

The last couple of days have seen a few more of the large Gulls mixing with from
90-200 BHG. Paul Legge has clicked with a pair of Goosander and had a Little Egret over nearby Sainsburys but it did not land at Withymoor where we have had 3 records in about a year now.

I count Gulls for a couple of reasons.
In Autumn i like to see the ratio between adults and newly fledged young particularly the BHG and it helps divide the ratios when ageing them. I usually reckon on underestimating but the example below was a surprise to me.
I initially guestimated at ca125 but to my surprise there were about 25 either hidden or flying about, 125 on the open water, about 30 on the raft and another 25 loafing with the Geese and Ducks on the edge which made in excess of 200.
I will be a bit more circumspect particularly down at Mary Stevens Park as my estimates of 4-500 could be well out and there might be approaching 750 BHG.

Good Birding -

Laurie:t: