The intervening week has seen a slow but steady arrival of Summer migrants. To my mind and checking my dates things
are slow - the major factor unless everything has died in the
Sahel is the weather. Blocking systems have now been replaced by colder than seasonal norm air temperature precipating the arrival of Snow on Saturday morning:eek!: Low pressure from the North will be replaced this week by a slowly building high which will, surprise surprise, go
Penduline Tits up just in time for the Bank Holiday and
Stourbridge Beer FestivalB
The 10-day forecast shows Wednesday as the best day for Sun for the next 10-14 days:C
Having said all that midweek did see a couple of decent days and a veritable
'fall' of birds locally. Tuesday saw lots of Blackcaps and a large overnight arrival of
Willow Warblers. At a favoured spot at
Withymoor i estimated ca40 leaf warblers in and around it with 3/4 being Willow Warblers. Other sites visited including
Iverley Paddocks and
Tip held all three sp with more Willow Warblers - they have since appeared to have moved on. Blackcaps now seem to be the most obvious songster in and around Stourbridge.
My first
'Nettle Creeper' (look it up) of the year popped up out of a hedge over at the
West Hagley Fields midweek. It didn't sing and characteristicly dropped back down to skulk so whether it was a male or a female remains unclear. Oddly it showed in the same section of hedge as my first records the previous 2 Springs - how faithful is that! The cultivated fields over at WH adjacent to
County Lane (to the left) and all the way over to
Worcester Lane are ALL West Midlands to all those that visit and submit records. There are acres of suitable feeding habitat for passage White Wagtails, Pipits and Wheatears but thus far the latter have only been picked up in the field immediately adjacet to County Lane - i managed 4 males on Tuesday along with a male Stonechat right over the other side near the new Playing Fields.
It is always worth craning your neck outside the gates of the Pumping Station to check the concrete settling pool. Most of the small area is hidden but Mallard frequent it, it's the only standing water for the area and it's surrounded by hedge and scrub. I intend cutting back some of the boundary hedge on the field fence side at some stage to allow a look in from the far side - i will update as and when.....
In a mix of surprise, incredulity, envy and annoyance a belated record of a Summer plumage
Grey Plover, for 5 mins, in the field below the Pump Station has been passed to me from a couple of weeks ago. I don't even record Lapwing in there and presume this was a passage bird forced down briefly by rain? Either way a stonking record anywhere in the Mids especially a racked-off field on the edge of Stourbridge:eek!::C
Yesterday started out with a local dawn chorus within 1/2 a mile of the house. A beautiful morning with nobody about, crisp underfoot and brilliant Blue skies. Nothing of note, the usual suspects including a potential drug-dealer turning up in a 30 grand car at 6 in the morning - number taken accordingly and relayed to the plods. Starling feeding young, Goldfinch gathering nesting material and Greenfinch in 'butterfly' display flight plus 3 spp of Warbler doing what they do ..... warble.
The day then tumbled down becoming increasingly less productive with the weather looking great but deceptively cold with little insect activity except in the most sheltered of areas. Areas visited included
Fens Pools, Netherton Hill, Netherton Razzer and Withymoor and not a single hirundine noted:C
Fens Pools held a sprinkling of warblers, nothing new, all straining to make themselves heard above 3 specimens from the local chav farm that careered around on a couple of, presumably, stolen motorbikes. The only time you will associate the word 'career' with them i would have thought.... 3
Common Sandpipers were present on the little bit of edge habitat that is left on the Middle Pool - my first for the year so i will be checking Withymoor now they are moving through. The top Fens Pool has now refilled thus closing off this potential avenue of pleasure to passage waders as per Canal and Skiver (un)Trust guidelines that dictate that only select areas must be made suitable for wildlife i.e. those that have Kingfisher perches and the odd cuddly Water Vole to thrill the visitors to the canals that don't actually pay whilst giving the resident boaters an ever harder time....
Netherton Hill was unproductive, the current warblers were evident but no Lesser Throat. A hunting male Kestrel was present but he needn't have to catch any prey for a sitting mate as she was shot by local Pikey scumbags from the
Lodge Farm Inbred Estate:C Other sites visited were equally unproductive - i had intented visiting the Hagley 'Vegas' but couldn't be arsed and had a couple of beers in the
Dook William pub with a couple of mates, yes i do have them, another mate had Cuckoo over at Clee Hills yesterday. A nice record but i told him it wasn't local birding and was wasting fuel:C
Good Birding -
Laurie:t:
