tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89156761161529348722024-03-18T02:47:34.300-07:00Morton Bagot BirderRichard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.comBlogger1503125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-10955983838166561432024-03-17T07:04:00.000-07:002024-03-18T02:15:27.595-07:00Sunday March 17 - Could this be spring?<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">As is usual at this time of year I am constantly searching for signs of spring.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">A visit to Earlswood Lakes on Friday failed to bring me any Sand Martins, and I had to settle for a handful of <b>Chiffchaffs </b>around the lakes, while 20 <b>Fieldfares</b> flying east was a reminder that winter birds are still around.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">On Saturday I heard that a couple of birders, Gary J and John C, had given Morton Bagot a look and between them had seen four <b>Avocets</b>, an <b>egret sp</b>, numerous <b>Chiffchaffs</b>, and a couple of <b>Stonechats</b>.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">It rained heavily overnight, but was forecast to clear so I joined Dave for a bash around the patch this morning. Everywhere was seriously flooded and we joked that there was no chance of an LRP. We did however see a <b>Little Egret</b> with a <b>Grey Heron </b>on the scrapes before confirming that the four <b>Avocets</b> were still resident in the flash field. We logged 12 singing <b>Chiffchaffs</b> as we walked around, but were still missing that little bit of jam on top of the cream scone.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">We didn't have to wait long. Scanning the tops of the plastic tree guards Dave noticed a male <b>Stonechat</b>, and panning to the right we picked up something else. Is that a <b>Wheatear</b>? It certainly was, possibly my earliest at Morton Bagot (confirmed as earliest by five days). As clear a sign as you could have that spring has arrived.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9D1xCKMuSSjX-37Ki98d8KsGbfzKFfmHdHdOHjNJP4DwI7tI88i9QKFoKNp_KJq-BcW3FNQp0RuOF3syBpU1gKID2cSdfJu35rwduuvsDgZtyBXSNr6kdthYCbiG3dmkGAwx9bBu7nrvYh4ZPc_nknSJARz9BtuUU-zyKYGuJuLsQjMs7hl4g9RpReJPg/s4608/Wheatear%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9D1xCKMuSSjX-37Ki98d8KsGbfzKFfmHdHdOHjNJP4DwI7tI88i9QKFoKNp_KJq-BcW3FNQp0RuOF3syBpU1gKID2cSdfJu35rwduuvsDgZtyBXSNr6kdthYCbiG3dmkGAwx9bBu7nrvYh4ZPc_nknSJARz9BtuUU-zyKYGuJuLsQjMs7hl4g9RpReJPg/w495-h371/Wheatear%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" width="495" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Wheatear</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">By now the sun was starting to shine, and the first three <b>Brimstone </b>butterflies of the season hurried past. They didn't stop long enough to allow a shot, but a <b>Peacock</b> shortly afterwards did.</span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiosrG1ghuPu3PyMR5mXQZ7vNqFagqrvJ1dDuOclJJqyv1vmpQ7k-hevpS1BgTpkXOC5s7wxlRVZfjuvgrViauJiYfEZAErAtC3sYZvW5vgdmJdknLkZ9Cm5BpeY5-OzCDANcX5bL-nXVWCSuIUG7xLNz5K2Bh1Nm1KGqMunUsRCQ_jT_cTtiQnjGA6guV5/s2532/Peacock%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1760" data-original-width="2532" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiosrG1ghuPu3PyMR5mXQZ7vNqFagqrvJ1dDuOclJJqyv1vmpQ7k-hevpS1BgTpkXOC5s7wxlRVZfjuvgrViauJiYfEZAErAtC3sYZvW5vgdmJdknLkZ9Cm5BpeY5-OzCDANcX5bL-nXVWCSuIUG7xLNz5K2Bh1Nm1KGqMunUsRCQ_jT_cTtiQnjGA6guV5/w504-h350/Peacock%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" width="504" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Peacock</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">I have recently added to my collection of reference books with a book about hoverflies (Hoverflies of Britain and North-West Europe <i>Bot & Van de Meutter</i>), so I was very pleased when one appeared. </span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjViG2eqhem7g56xr2htfEIWrd_bKbuBDd4A_m3fOlmQQexdnoIhbpg8hQz5QYmWHLHL9SPabEf5v2JoqXXzd_HzeXhVe3plTxGFJTteH3wbvPq_d1UZSNvSM0yE1dHmZiVykVihxORvTBi3D9MLJGlRuA4VJ1hqcsb8ewBele70MyRx_EEDcv9BZ9BJOur/s1634/Tapered%20Drone%20Fly.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1261" data-original-width="1634" height="379" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjViG2eqhem7g56xr2htfEIWrd_bKbuBDd4A_m3fOlmQQexdnoIhbpg8hQz5QYmWHLHL9SPabEf5v2JoqXXzd_HzeXhVe3plTxGFJTteH3wbvPq_d1UZSNvSM0yE1dHmZiVykVihxORvTBi3D9MLJGlRuA4VJ1hqcsb8ewBele70MyRx_EEDcv9BZ9BJOur/w490-h379/Tapered%20Drone%20Fly.jpeg" width="490" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Tapered Drone Fly <i>Eristalis pertinax</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The book suggests that the orange forelegs would indicate it's this common species (which I think I've seen here before). I should say that there are hundreds of species of hoverfly and many cannot be identified from a photograph, so I'm expecting a steep learning curve.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I'll be putting the moth-trap out tonight........and the results are now in:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I caught 34 moths of 11 species including one that was new for me, and three others which were new for the year.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The new one was <b>Pale Pinion</b>. I've seen images of them on line so when I caught it I didn't immediately realise it was new for the garden. I vaguely thought I'd caught one in 2018, but eventually realised I was getting confused with a moth with a similar name (Pale Prominent). They may be fairly common but it's still taken me seven years of garden trapping to finally see one.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYPkNK4HY9Qk8c-h5AxZ16BNoLkJtrMe0QhvpT09gPFPh4K7PXUKXhwhS7puOAjo48bMl7jFkPWMOEOueX6gtZ7a1PjF3usABTmn3k32SyLJy8Yd05Hvj1CFP3SpXCRo7cpT8Tp8VfbHbjijpAxxx57rCq9edhBRXk6h2yvQR4KLc_G-mO2efwabA2s-t_/s3164/Pale%20Pinion.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2504" data-original-width="3164" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYPkNK4HY9Qk8c-h5AxZ16BNoLkJtrMe0QhvpT09gPFPh4K7PXUKXhwhS7puOAjo48bMl7jFkPWMOEOueX6gtZ7a1PjF3usABTmn3k32SyLJy8Yd05Hvj1CFP3SpXCRo7cpT8Tp8VfbHbjijpAxxx57rCq9edhBRXk6h2yvQR4KLc_G-mO2efwabA2s-t_/w499-h394/Pale%20Pinion.jpeg" width="499" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Pale Pinion <i>Lithophane socia</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The other three which were new for the year were my only micro, <b>Common Plume</b>, plus a <b>March Moth</b> and a very small macro, <b>Oak Nycteoline</b>.</span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjLyvvJVmHVBlgFerlK_093-8lQ7_gIf1AbfU6nTjkThJ_hMeh6fpkqMr58MyVF_c0AFu3rboKCO9USmw2ICCi967hyphenhyphenmIr3C-7H8pjh8hyphenhyphenxUaVPpWb-q6zworbdsUzRNSEwB1Psy_lLntMjfNSNrDf9X3vJU0CR6V-aIAQlrtGKc98V2RlXoZ1c6vYiDqD/s2694/March%20Moth.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2193" data-original-width="2694" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjLyvvJVmHVBlgFerlK_093-8lQ7_gIf1AbfU6nTjkThJ_hMeh6fpkqMr58MyVF_c0AFu3rboKCO9USmw2ICCi967hyphenhyphenmIr3C-7H8pjh8hyphenhyphenxUaVPpWb-q6zworbdsUzRNSEwB1Psy_lLntMjfNSNrDf9X3vJU0CR6V-aIAQlrtGKc98V2RlXoZ1c6vYiDqD/w483-h392/March%20Moth.jpeg" width="483" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">March Moth</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_736IJezcDJLb1NDnpy-BeAbUT5A_UoCwAPkh8j-iCV1cbKdChEi_At288swjk0lQhgo1xdlKNW_5MqnmNX3TJPjF6qjaNujNyM4NsvyxGs23OPRvKHtvOeykZDBiIQXXUahfsWMpPKM65bxaJ2X2JvYeL754I2FBDQy-WvGmf4U4cdGfOe6Cy0UEf2uc/s4608/Oak%20Nycteoline%20on%20Foxglove%20leaf.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_736IJezcDJLb1NDnpy-BeAbUT5A_UoCwAPkh8j-iCV1cbKdChEi_At288swjk0lQhgo1xdlKNW_5MqnmNX3TJPjF6qjaNujNyM4NsvyxGs23OPRvKHtvOeykZDBiIQXXUahfsWMpPKM65bxaJ2X2JvYeL754I2FBDQy-WvGmf4U4cdGfOe6Cy0UEf2uc/w488-h366/Oak%20Nycteoline%20on%20Foxglove%20leaf.jpeg" width="488" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Oak Nycteoline on Foxglove leaf</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">I thought I'd show a picture of the Oak Nycteoline on a Foxglove leaf just to demonstrate how small they are, for a macro.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">By doing more trapping early in the season than normal, my garden totals this year are well up for most species. For example I have caught 94 <b>Common Quakers</b> (second best total, with about three weeks before they stop flying), 11 <b>Hebrew Characters</b> (best total), and 13 <b>Clouded Drabs</b> (best total). </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-78869980137357599612024-03-13T05:23:00.000-07:002024-03-14T14:37:42.521-07:00Wednesday March 13 - Mostly about moths<p><span style="font-size: medium;">I haven't done much birding since the weekend. A stroll around Studley today produced fly-over <b>Redpoll</b></span> <span style="font-size: medium;">and <b>Skylark </b>and not a lot else.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">However, last night was mild and dry so I put the trap out and duly caught 22 moths of seven species. This fairly modest haul included three that were new for the year; <b>Double-striped Pug</b>, two <b>Oak Beauties</b>, and a <i style="font-weight: bold;">Diurnea fagella</i>.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The latter was my first since 2020 and appears to have undergone a name-change since I last trapped one. The English name is no longer March Tubic, but is <b>Early Reveller</b>. I know this because I recently invested in the latest edition of Field Guide to the Micro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, and it now gives both English and Latin names for all the species featured.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN-bSpjv5OuMoCMzoETPjI3HB3uD0HOUzB7R2TT9ShkljfD8wlARkoRBmxgsXXQThedVetW8-7m-N16f8i3LgegcpHSKkrk5QkPFmJuPfENq0OZpGjrSV2pyNQMcXdS8RKvFPpLAr3bRTCJGSqf0gIIPMxxjeJz_EFc0WRsUk6hFI6g5jQepTM_Ow2BbN1/s2209/Diurnea%20fagella.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1646" data-original-width="2209" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN-bSpjv5OuMoCMzoETPjI3HB3uD0HOUzB7R2TT9ShkljfD8wlARkoRBmxgsXXQThedVetW8-7m-N16f8i3LgegcpHSKkrk5QkPFmJuPfENq0OZpGjrSV2pyNQMcXdS8RKvFPpLAr3bRTCJGSqf0gIIPMxxjeJz_EFc0WRsUk6hFI6g5jQepTM_Ow2BbN1/w483-h359/Diurnea%20fagella.jpeg" width="483" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Early Reveller <i>Diurnea fagella</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3n78p966a5mH1Pt5tfpH18uTeMX2ozM2hDTfsLNi1-SQVAJ4thUF5Jo7fY9Ly6idhWDH2m5hrLCfXjGMOs1gN8m9tXGxptQp5tEUefJuU73QpHFnQO0qbWj6QBIF48gxK8suS1BKJ1ZVH7OgxRSU7gjtJf5V1WsQN7T8Mi0vb8HOAY68rnAgu5BJXKS9/s2481/Oak%20Beauty%20on%20plant.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1813" data-original-width="2481" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3n78p966a5mH1Pt5tfpH18uTeMX2ozM2hDTfsLNi1-SQVAJ4thUF5Jo7fY9Ly6idhWDH2m5hrLCfXjGMOs1gN8m9tXGxptQp5tEUefJuU73QpHFnQO0qbWj6QBIF48gxK8suS1BKJ1ZVH7OgxRSU7gjtJf5V1WsQN7T8Mi0vb8HOAY68rnAgu5BJXKS9/w492-h360/Oak%20Beauty%20on%20plant.jpeg" width="492" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Oak Beauty</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">I'm also keeping up my New Year's Resolution of trying to only show moths in a natural setting. It's probably a bit irritating for the moths, and some of them (like the Double-striped Pug) just fly off before I can get a shot.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Whether this continues to be possible in the warmer weather to come, we shall see. </span></p>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-87738592481075526682024-03-10T07:17:00.000-07:002024-03-10T07:29:36.031-07:00Sunday March 10 - Good day at Morton Bagot (and a good bird at Earlswood)<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">Before I get to today's visit to Morton Bagot I should wind the clock back to yesterday. John Oates found an adult <b>Mediterranean Gull </b>at Earlswood, and I was able to twitch it efficiently before doing the Saturday shop.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaNDzBiEl9tTFpvwJl6k73HkybN_p2i2cTTuOzCobndUUsYMGV8PGEsBHIeSHT6gNtDmRFypVCQuU1MqC9hkaEMK3Ts3s5yvdvThIpHT6Tn-lCGYa6Jw4q6-e96QdHRi9diiYMYacwYk8fJrpPkdmdERQjAXSaeYVthhzQgWekVe1x9guXqzUtaEAUlIUV/s4608/Med%20Gull%20-%20Earlswood.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="389" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaNDzBiEl9tTFpvwJl6k73HkybN_p2i2cTTuOzCobndUUsYMGV8PGEsBHIeSHT6gNtDmRFypVCQuU1MqC9hkaEMK3Ts3s5yvdvThIpHT6Tn-lCGYa6Jw4q6-e96QdHRi9diiYMYacwYk8fJrpPkdmdERQjAXSaeYVthhzQgWekVe1x9guXqzUtaEAUlIUV/w518-h389/Med%20Gull%20-%20Earlswood.jpeg" width="518" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mediterranean Gull with B H Gulls at Earlswood</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">They really are stunning birds. I believe this is the second there this year. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">So, back to this morning. The weather had taken a turn for the worse, but the mixture of light drizzle and heavy cloud was not bad enough to put me off. John C had visited on Saturday and it had been pretty quiet.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Dave was away (Mother's Day) so I had the place to myself. A ringed <b>Marsh Tit</b> in a hedge beyond the small pond was a decent start. The scrape field still contained a pair of <b>Stonechats </b>(the male colour-ringed and the female just metal ringed), while four or five <b>Reed Buntings</b> continued to make light work of decimating the bulrush heads.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I was trying to photograph a singing <b>Goldcrest</b> when the sound of a rush of wings proved to have come from a flock of <b>Starlings </b>heading north. Several more parties followed, and I convinced myself I was witnessing visible migration. However, I later discovered a whole load more in the flash field and so they were probably an accumulation of the birds seen "migrating". The flock was actually the largest I have ever seen here, and I would conservatively estimate 1000+.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaMhpuyYypbVYoMb8k4FbVNMo_T-TULh0VdopkxjAFBnyGU2rkx4-Pep2M7FzGeDe9ybGZo8jtkS9dU-Y1fLyr79dCvle6b8FPeK0DxNDRfTfBOidww392_mIXMDWZZhq9Rke5BujsBfA_CB9DwVzZwgEq1AmR6FgqtSLxzI_b7uO8-tEprCYmucn2aNHR/s4608/Starling%20flock.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaMhpuyYypbVYoMb8k4FbVNMo_T-TULh0VdopkxjAFBnyGU2rkx4-Pep2M7FzGeDe9ybGZo8jtkS9dU-Y1fLyr79dCvle6b8FPeK0DxNDRfTfBOidww392_mIXMDWZZhq9Rke5BujsBfA_CB9DwVzZwgEq1AmR6FgqtSLxzI_b7uO8-tEprCYmucn2aNHR/w506-h380/Starling%20flock.jpeg" width="506" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Starlings (861 in this shot). There was a smaller flock just out of frame.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Moving hastily on towards the flash field I flushed a party of 26 <b>Meadow Pipits</b> before reaching the viewing point. It was immediately clear that two pairs of <b>Avocets</b> had arrived, and I spent a considerable time trying to get all four in one shot. They were clearly two pairs, and they didn't like each other much.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2d_MzbXWxW1B5i8f68QCYFuKOdbvaaTBODct-1QFJwW_jm1ZEww_8UJZdfdQw81EYDHwJ-waGkOqPceKyQna1rEyaMFk7CJdCcxyVyQsw53-VRWKynVg2NyhyphenhypheneIf0Tm2szt9NJsbI4t4HpMHm7VJm2fASuvDHjK3FaGTpRpKtOOKL25TbU-MByjcySfh/s4608/Avocets%20get%20frisky.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2d_MzbXWxW1B5i8f68QCYFuKOdbvaaTBODct-1QFJwW_jm1ZEww_8UJZdfdQw81EYDHwJ-waGkOqPceKyQna1rEyaMFk7CJdCcxyVyQsw53-VRWKynVg2NyhyphenhypheneIf0Tm2szt9NJsbI4t4HpMHm7VJm2fASuvDHjK3FaGTpRpKtOOKL25TbU-MByjcySfh/w486-h365/Avocets%20get%20frisky.jpeg" width="486" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Avocets scrapping</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGEuq77lEKt05rODBoO41WSs5y4mVhzSRMlXAp7xjGlu7TB4604qFXy9AZ3AODIg-n3gvrPpq_d7NIkUOLqE5jIjXVc69wc2AoKkDZO9EZ1mvJ1_EAnaGjABorFdwdv42JsUPzMdmfNdNRDAxn1mTzzRQ3p_xEEMPk3CXyut6gpN7AwN7OVb-9S7S9aVqD/s3749/Avocets%204%20at%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1950" data-original-width="3749" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGEuq77lEKt05rODBoO41WSs5y4mVhzSRMlXAp7xjGlu7TB4604qFXy9AZ3AODIg-n3gvrPpq_d7NIkUOLqE5jIjXVc69wc2AoKkDZO9EZ1mvJ1_EAnaGjABorFdwdv42JsUPzMdmfNdNRDAxn1mTzzRQ3p_xEEMPk3CXyut6gpN7AwN7OVb-9S7S9aVqD/w529-h275/Avocets%204%20at%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" width="529" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">All four spatially distancing</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">In addition to the Avocets I counted 19 <b>Teal</b>, 23 <b>Lapwings</b>, and two <b>Green Sandpipers</b>.</span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-JWcY3Qd0OQnVcxL64iJfrLWsR6gdbWFzvOjx0rQuA-rVhScQ3Iv_7HbwJz6WjrGTCsNf6PgiASTORGxQMIHpg8gWjpH-wgiYDVPO_OUUZGzvN6HMpGqOjRFLHAUS2OMclRng2IX511zga6itvs0itO7Mcc3IzQ0Q-icHNPljB5yXD5roEz5g00vlZXN/s4608/Lapwings%20at%20Morton%20Bagot%20again.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-JWcY3Qd0OQnVcxL64iJfrLWsR6gdbWFzvOjx0rQuA-rVhScQ3Iv_7HbwJz6WjrGTCsNf6PgiASTORGxQMIHpg8gWjpH-wgiYDVPO_OUUZGzvN6HMpGqOjRFLHAUS2OMclRng2IX511zga6itvs0itO7Mcc3IzQ0Q-icHNPljB5yXD5roEz5g00vlZXN/w510-h383/Lapwings%20at%20Morton%20Bagot%20again.jpeg" width="510" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Lapwings (and a Starling)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSylpavoAsXftnkm0mx8ClUjZ0pc2aSQsckH-VFO9x7dgidznpiLoJPYYlyNjfVFkQ2pbjE8OYP1XaZITzoi0bBhQhqzUxKzvnd2jyj9Y0i7V-X-3ZDcTtISJg4vhARFiMg6Fvo0Kez3HWtnd1M9-bp_3abXUOBVcvq5ab0mLrWDfnZPj2e18nvfwr2wrV/s2654/Green%20Sandpipers%20at%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1606" data-original-width="2654" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSylpavoAsXftnkm0mx8ClUjZ0pc2aSQsckH-VFO9x7dgidznpiLoJPYYlyNjfVFkQ2pbjE8OYP1XaZITzoi0bBhQhqzUxKzvnd2jyj9Y0i7V-X-3ZDcTtISJg4vhARFiMg6Fvo0Kez3HWtnd1M9-bp_3abXUOBVcvq5ab0mLrWDfnZPj2e18nvfwr2wrV/w499-h303/Green%20Sandpipers%20at%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" width="499" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Both Green Sandpipers</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Slightly unusual for Morton Bagot were three immature <b>Mute Swans</b> which circled before two of them landed on the nearest flash.</span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhoAGAsXhHAfR-on2JF-V5FD6skkquwUB6rsiv2s2TNRgOFQjbMfUBI0U13Zi8gac9JgBI8Y4WmK4FG70j8SDMkCad5ZaaW6ozykqq900C7EX8p78euzjI9Uw8cU1tY-05BvDvSvEcIuEkg7QoqR59qrzdeQx11oP6NaZaiEoA5l_NeXvc1MfxfBDPhKrl/s4608/Mute%20Swans%20approaching.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhoAGAsXhHAfR-on2JF-V5FD6skkquwUB6rsiv2s2TNRgOFQjbMfUBI0U13Zi8gac9JgBI8Y4WmK4FG70j8SDMkCad5ZaaW6ozykqq900C7EX8p78euzjI9Uw8cU1tY-05BvDvSvEcIuEkg7QoqR59qrzdeQx11oP6NaZaiEoA5l_NeXvc1MfxfBDPhKrl/w493-h370/Mute%20Swans%20approaching.jpeg" width="493" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mute Swans</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">As I left the flash field the weather started to deteriorate, but I still heard my first singing <b>Chiffchaff</b> of the year and added a third <b>Stonechat</b> and a second <b>Marsh Tit </b>to the day's tally before reaching my car.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I'm quite tempted to put the moth trap out tonight.</span></p>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-8504265974885015342024-03-08T06:37:00.000-08:002024-03-08T06:37:41.403-08:00Friday March 8 <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Typical early March. The temperature gauges have been heading in the wrong direction, and it's been hard to get motivated.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Nevertheless I convinced myself my cold had gone (it hasn't) and spent Wednesday morning exploring Rough Hill Wood on the south side of Redditch. It was foggy for the entire visit, but as I was in a wood it didn't really matter. Part of the reason for the visit was that Jonathan B (still writing his book on the birds of Warwickshire) had reminded me that he was hoping for additional breeding records for the east side of Redditch which was once within Warwickshire but is now part of Worcestershire. Just to complicate matters further, Rough Hill Wood is a Warwickshire Trust Reserve and is wholly in Warwickshire anyway.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I actually rather enjoyed the visit. It's a smashing wood and looked to have plenty of potential. No Lesser Spots called or drummed to announce their presence, but I did see a <b>Marsh Tit</b> and heard a <b>Tawny Owl</b> hoot. The latter was a year-tick, but it occurs to me that I am now well off the pace and if I do stick to the plan of surveying east Redditch for birds, this could prove a pretty ordinary year.</span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjptb1T5LlhWX6aZ3tZLOKqaSkynGAbyKi93E6JTRrAfrJ0Gr6GaZAIBh_xSGXZRc5XDxVtuyTevTjMaPZdLZeG5SJUZDz8QMNOya5kLm9rJrgm40vp6T6vMSweIy02G1q0FLBIuFs3CQMWixcl_kCRX1aWai4bcO8dwCxVsZyL7riQtch4hVM4dGTtijIU/s4608/Rough%20Hill%20Wood.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjptb1T5LlhWX6aZ3tZLOKqaSkynGAbyKi93E6JTRrAfrJ0Gr6GaZAIBh_xSGXZRc5XDxVtuyTevTjMaPZdLZeG5SJUZDz8QMNOya5kLm9rJrgm40vp6T6vMSweIy02G1q0FLBIuFs3CQMWixcl_kCRX1aWai4bcO8dwCxVsZyL7riQtch4hVM4dGTtijIU/w506-h380/Rough%20Hill%20Wood.jpeg" width="506" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rough Hill Wood</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Lyn has caught my cold, but despite this we managed to keep our Thursday appointment at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford to see Midsummer Nights Dream. I'm glad we did because it was excellent.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">On the downside I got a text half way through the performance; Little Gull at Lower Bittell. This is probably the first twitchworthy (well Shakespeare made lots of words up) bird of the year, and I was well and truly stuck.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">This morning optimism got the better of me and I went to see if it was still there. It wasn't, although a flock of 44 <b>Black-headed Gulls</b> briefly raised my hopes. The visit wasn't a complete waste of time as an <b>Oystercatcher</b> appeared at Alvechurch Fisheries during my visit. </span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjks7PIHHUBEhO3OMRwcTjzQtGZ057cDUPRAnUMwKDblyoi-PcgVpQddFOzijQOMRuzxFEIUjLWiKcGyIznF_-vThf46phtOeaUifHm-whE5oIEOjzhdqNBYEuuh23I4CtXWzu3d2qSBFHeDVvAC4U2ee6vEeZ0uNoMi7QAX_I_yy5hsO8tj9KFKVNfzo37/s2915/Oystercatcher%20-%20Alvechurch%20Fishery.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1925" data-original-width="2915" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjks7PIHHUBEhO3OMRwcTjzQtGZ057cDUPRAnUMwKDblyoi-PcgVpQddFOzijQOMRuzxFEIUjLWiKcGyIznF_-vThf46phtOeaUifHm-whE5oIEOjzhdqNBYEuuh23I4CtXWzu3d2qSBFHeDVvAC4U2ee6vEeZ0uNoMi7QAX_I_yy5hsO8tj9KFKVNfzo37/w509-h336/Oystercatcher%20-%20Alvechurch%20Fishery.jpeg" width="509" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Oystercatcher</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Not exactly unexpected as they bred here last year, but still a year-tick.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">While the birding has got off to a slow start, my mothing has been a lot more promising. The frosty mornings of the last week relented slightly last night so I gave it a go. This morning the resultant six <b>Common Quakers</b> and a single <b>Small Quaker</b> plus a chilly easterly breeze told me I probably shouldn't have bothered.</span></p>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-19270723965117999522024-03-03T10:10:00.000-08:002024-03-03T10:19:34.481-08:00Sunday March 3 - Back in the field at last.<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">I'm hoping this won't be a flash in the pan, but today I actually went birding to Morton Bagot, and even had a good bird.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The background to all this is that Lyn has required more assistance than usual, and I am her sole carer. Well that was until Friday when a long-standing friend of hers agreed to stay with us for a few days to allow me time to get out. Thanks Carol. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I had arranged to attend the Warwickshire Biological Recorders meeting near Wellesbourne on Saturday, and was keen to attend. More of that later. But there was a fly in the ointment. During the course of Friday I realised I was coming down with a stinker of a cold. I even took a covid test before attending the meeting (negative fortunately), but I really suffered throughout the next day and apologise to any of the other attendees I may have given it to.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">So this morning, still under the weather, I joined Dave at Morton Bagot for a much needed bit of birding. The weather was fine and sunny, though cold. Too early for any summer migrants (though I did hear there was a Sand Martin at Upper Bittell on Saturday). There were some encouraging signs, in particular a grand total of seven <b>Stonechats</b>. One was the colour-ringed bird and I made another attempt to read its ring, but another male showed fantastically (but was unfortunately unringed).</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIOZATsx0y-xW5fBY3JYUUyz_Zj_FOrLy-cB4Sdt2RVxJIq2ure_fka0YahUyC82f-ERB8rFMPE-FkQgLZn3gkVyALj_39tCzKpM1_B2KboGgXysDn4B5PcU8gsWb9AMF0YT_xSCX3Ay4gUeF8rl5c00zWu2LR9JqAj3rtslH_O1pkzMF3PZiBe1HBbGvd/s4608/Stonechat%20-%20M%20Bagot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIOZATsx0y-xW5fBY3JYUUyz_Zj_FOrLy-cB4Sdt2RVxJIq2ure_fka0YahUyC82f-ERB8rFMPE-FkQgLZn3gkVyALj_39tCzKpM1_B2KboGgXysDn4B5PcU8gsWb9AMF0YT_xSCX3Ay4gUeF8rl5c00zWu2LR9JqAj3rtslH_O1pkzMF3PZiBe1HBbGvd/w511-h383/Stonechat%20-%20M%20Bagot.jpeg" width="511" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Stonechat (unringed)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJbCBEcY-UObVmnieqNhx0bYbit4OfgOdOAD-YPzFf-9vdpgaxTfumattrK1qtqTwShenKpZBIkSJnBg0IRVWprxtEbaaIuJXdvxPDNcVjTeB2n7U288ROieFzKo0ulsz8SnQGKftx5Ir_jt14lkmEJYBM2aZk2aszjz9WPtS4j2B46572lOuGthj10i17/s2570/Ringed%20Stonechat%2010%20or%2040%20%3F.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1706" data-original-width="2570" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJbCBEcY-UObVmnieqNhx0bYbit4OfgOdOAD-YPzFf-9vdpgaxTfumattrK1qtqTwShenKpZBIkSJnBg0IRVWprxtEbaaIuJXdvxPDNcVjTeB2n7U288ROieFzKo0ulsz8SnQGKftx5Ir_jt14lkmEJYBM2aZk2aszjz9WPtS4j2B46572lOuGthj10i17/w499-h331/Ringed%20Stonechat%2010%20or%2040%20%3F.jpeg" width="499" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colour-ringed Stonechat</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">There was also plenty of <b>Reed Bunting</b> activity in the bulrushes bordering a small pool in the scrape field.</span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiszIo3ZIXiABXYMI3hN6-NRYOCLBk5vmJ0V-dLP6PxVdluhzscUng2TKDBj7FzPw53u922PB53lW8rUXFRrwzgZleKi7frHRD8fME4GKk9O6ybfJD9SkoD2vJngtFWAD8GqLj3AE262J3Dypsfihrc1b-bqPIbdpyX63O74yTOfYIOU5k92OrvX4HSIz-C/s3257/Reed%20Bunting%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2399" data-original-width="3257" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiszIo3ZIXiABXYMI3hN6-NRYOCLBk5vmJ0V-dLP6PxVdluhzscUng2TKDBj7FzPw53u922PB53lW8rUXFRrwzgZleKi7frHRD8fME4GKk9O6ybfJD9SkoD2vJngtFWAD8GqLj3AE262J3Dypsfihrc1b-bqPIbdpyX63O74yTOfYIOU5k92OrvX4HSIz-C/w509-h375/Reed%20Bunting%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" width="509" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Reed Bunting</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">We reckoned there were about eight birds present, setting themselves up for the forthcoming breeding season.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I wish all birds showed this well. The morning's highlight was at the other end of the scale. After seeing a reasonably close <b>Red Kite</b>, Dave shouted that he had just seen a broad-winged accipiter flying through a flock of panicking Jackdaws. I missed it completely, but a few minutes later we saw what was almost certainly the same bird high and distant above Bannams Wood. From its shape we could tell it was a <b>Goshawk</b>. We watched it for about five minutes as it briefly threatened to come closer before heading off north-westwards in the direction of Gorcott Hill. At no point could any plumage details be seen, but we are starting to get to grips with the distinctive shape of a Gos, and were in no doubt about it.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">There was nothing else seen which could match this bird's rarity value, but it was nice to see four <b>Coots</b>, 26 <b>Teal</b>, and a <b>Lapwing</b> on the flash field.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">So back to last week.Stuck indoors my only hope was moths. Unfortunately the nights were generally cold and frosty and there was just one evening when I was tempted to put the trap out. The night of February 28 was also wet in parts, but I managed to catch 11 <b>Common Quakers</b> and three <b>Clouded Drabs</b>.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNsbNeb14i45ud4OOgqdGgMEaS3LPSEQ7fA4jci6lvJ3ABVY5m1beG9vt2_NA9UmQcTjrIoKuqWCZ7L4yMl2W3PxtZ_wXXBm0SdufB719lRCfWZA0o617pnXr8yzssQ0cTrREX1XBsZt43-xJ8u2Wvt73FtHKjpy5KInN9Y21xYsH443eqt3OKOOavChzz/s2813/Clouded%20Drab1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2179" data-original-width="2813" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNsbNeb14i45ud4OOgqdGgMEaS3LPSEQ7fA4jci6lvJ3ABVY5m1beG9vt2_NA9UmQcTjrIoKuqWCZ7L4yMl2W3PxtZ_wXXBm0SdufB719lRCfWZA0o617pnXr8yzssQ0cTrREX1XBsZt43-xJ8u2Wvt73FtHKjpy5KInN9Y21xYsH443eqt3OKOOavChzz/w511-h396/Clouded%20Drab1.jpeg" width="511" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Clouded Drab</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">On the subject of moths its worth saying that since the start of the year it has been mild enough to encourage me to do a lot more mothing. Previous years' pre-March efforts have been zero days trapping in 2018, three in 2019, three in 2020, three in 2021, two in 2022, and two in 2023. This year I have attempted to catch moths on seven occasions. My results are nil in 2018, 30 of six species in 2019, five of five in 2020, nine of seven in 2021, three of two in 2022, and 17 of five in 2023.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">This year I've caught 82 moths of 10 species, a massive increase.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Going back to the Recorders meeting. It was well attended, maybe sixty or so attendees, of which only five had any real interest in birds (and most of them were also experts in other fields). There were presentations on butterflies, moths, mammals plants, fungi, and bryophytes, and I just love seeing how much knowledge these diverse people had. It's hard to beat a lady interested in fungi who discovered an as yet unnamed small brown toadstool new to science in a graveyard in the county. (Mind you it had to be DNA sequenced to get the identification).</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">While I was unable to get out last week, other birders were finding a <b>Mediterranean Gull</b> at Earlswood, and confirming the continued presence of the <b>Tundra Bean Goose</b>, now back at a field near Shortwood Roughs, south of Alvechurch.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Tony has had a ringing tick at Morton Bagot, successfully catching a <b>Stock Dove</b> overnight on March 1. A common bird here, but you're not likely to catch one in a mist-net.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhueElTE41aifJxs-IosKH2Mb_OUJiwIdrcacMvXxANIr3VlWsO4cXdk4oXhFjRjH9PSVzfwy2D9XucI4Wq9xZcG3kzFfM6yyWpk84D-MtROO27_4apZhw3V39zsIpQEVJvPdsqw6TFsrAY2xNPwIl3Irr6mr0SnlLT6g185Cygh_V5fyuO6ipQkreaGFgk/s2657/Stock%20Dove%20in%20the%20hand.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2657" data-original-width="2021" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhueElTE41aifJxs-IosKH2Mb_OUJiwIdrcacMvXxANIr3VlWsO4cXdk4oXhFjRjH9PSVzfwy2D9XucI4Wq9xZcG3kzFfM6yyWpk84D-MtROO27_4apZhw3V39zsIpQEVJvPdsqw6TFsrAY2xNPwIl3Irr6mr0SnlLT6g185Cygh_V5fyuO6ipQkreaGFgk/w391-h514/Stock%20Dove%20in%20the%20hand.jpg" width="391" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Stock Dove in the hand</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">I'm not sure what the coming week has in store. Carol has gone home, but I'm hopeful that I'll be birding again by mid-week.</span><p></p>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-65420209274273533642024-02-25T04:34:00.000-08:002024-02-25T09:21:32.573-08:00Sunday February 25 - still kicking my heels<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">Although I have been out of action again this week, others have stepped up to the plate.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Arguably the most interesting news comes from one of the commonest of birds. Tony and Leigh catch an awful lot of <b>Blue Tits</b> at Morton Bagot, and they regularly re-trap them. Occasionally one is recovered elsewhere, but given that Blue Tits are not really migrants, these are generally local. So news that one of their birds flew into a mist net in Oxwich on the Gower Peninsular was quite something. The bird was a juvenile when ringed at Morton Bagot on October 12 2023, and then moved 175 kilometres west south west before being caught on February 18 2024.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05L9MtSjouj6U416GvH5LrUnAwGiosTX5EMd2IBAUV1Itu1lOP376wRnGf-JOj7JGpIuVywMxf7sus5XOZtAVpzgdSs7CAgc_iZuQ_1JGemN2slETqNx3U0mGzylZKvfHBE-3Ve7_YjjnigXGKE9uMlrK2u2CDNYks53xE7g_oLSccH4br5Clzl9Wx-AN/s3504/Blue%20Tits.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2370" data-original-width="3504" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05L9MtSjouj6U416GvH5LrUnAwGiosTX5EMd2IBAUV1Itu1lOP376wRnGf-JOj7JGpIuVywMxf7sus5XOZtAVpzgdSs7CAgc_iZuQ_1JGemN2slETqNx3U0mGzylZKvfHBE-3Ve7_YjjnigXGKE9uMlrK2u2CDNYks53xE7g_oLSccH4br5Clzl9Wx-AN/w499-h337/Blue%20Tits.jpeg" width="499" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My garden Blue Tits are likely to be much more sedentary</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The key to understanding this movement is the age of the bird. Juvenile dispersal is definitely a thing for most resident species, but only through ringing can the potential extent of these movements be revealed.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Staying with Tony's news. As darkness fell on February 20 he spent time with his trusty night-vision device surveying the fields around Morton Bagot and came up with a remarkable 11 <b>Woodcocks</b>. Only one of these was caught, and proved to be a re-trap of a bird he'd caught earlier in the winter. The surprise is that there are so many Woodcocks using the site. It just shows how day-time birding can miss the bigger picture.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Yesterday, there were two noteworthy reports. John Coombes texted me that he was watching a <b>Short-eared Owl</b> near Ragley balancing lake just west of the village of Arrow. This was right on the edge of my circle, so I convinced Lyn I could be there and back in an hour. It turned out that the bird remained for 15 minutes before being discovered by the local corvids and chased off towards Wixford. I arrived just as John texted news of its departure.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, John Chidwick was visiting Morton Bagot and discovered that a pair of <b>Avocets</b> was resident on the nearest flash. This is their earliest return to the patch. I chose not to push my luck by going for them too, particularly as they should remain for the spring. Ironically Dave went there this morning and they were no longer present. He did see a pair of <b>Stonechats</b> but not a lot else.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The other potential distraction is moths. Unfortunately the nights have got distinctly cold this week, with morning frost. Only a fool would put his moth trap out.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I put my moth trap out last night, and amazingly caught two moths. They were just <b>Common Quakers</b>, but I was very grateful for them.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9f8Uc3nfmUjV4P_cMb6v-wJplsCrxjyDs5vH2oyasHS7lS-nPyD3drpucua3EfPRxW9BVytpWW0sqSm2T-n15OhTa_eBkhcjnY1YI-IL74EV2RhBz9jk52qPhYnB5v_MBWiKIfoXxTdptH3gOgbi_d9lc1myhkCII_2lcU6sn3BSfL66Q1jwP-p7bef-r/s2415/Common%20Quaker1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2151" data-original-width="2415" height="443" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9f8Uc3nfmUjV4P_cMb6v-wJplsCrxjyDs5vH2oyasHS7lS-nPyD3drpucua3EfPRxW9BVytpWW0sqSm2T-n15OhTa_eBkhcjnY1YI-IL74EV2RhBz9jk52qPhYnB5v_MBWiKIfoXxTdptH3gOgbi_d9lc1myhkCII_2lcU6sn3BSfL66Q1jwP-p7bef-r/w498-h443/Common%20Quaker1.jpeg" width="498" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Common Quaker on frosted foxglove leaf</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">What else can I tell you? Earlswood remains very quiet, the stand-out being a male <b>Brambling</b> on a garden feeder in the village. The long-staying <b>Tundra Bean Goose</b> at Bittell Reservoir was discovered along Watery Lane, Lea End a mile east of the reservoirs yesterday.</span><div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Hopefully I'll be birding again before too long.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p></div>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-11654262460667136932024-02-20T02:37:00.000-08:002024-02-21T06:36:48.928-08:00Tuesday February 20 - Birding by proxy<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">Unfortunately Lyn still requires my full time assistance and until we find a way to alleviate the situation I am unable to go birding (unless its a quick dash to see something less usual). Fortunately I'm getting plenty of messages from friends to keep me updated. I'm birding by proxy.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Tony and Leigh have been to Morton Bagot in the last few days, ringing a <b>Woodcock</b> on the 15th, and catching 38 birds (13 retraps) on 17th. These were mainly the usual fare but included a youngish <b>Sparrowhawk</b>.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRYuTMmYUVjkjb3GkzaG8kEOCQiwXz_0RJDMdBpOC7-1OLJfUwK8sBb52c-TS5WtsAz20SHD82E5im5dFRqvlFu7TYrmN8kvCukvES1GlLXiOj6UAGpnYJ16Wz_5CYdaq6BgCk1J6Oh4Tzk3jUo57kbV4R9ZcfSbM1Of_KWQZOOUH14EraW1KjrN9dswE1/s3417/1702%205m%20Sparrowhawk.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3417" data-original-width="1810" height="614" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRYuTMmYUVjkjb3GkzaG8kEOCQiwXz_0RJDMdBpOC7-1OLJfUwK8sBb52c-TS5WtsAz20SHD82E5im5dFRqvlFu7TYrmN8kvCukvES1GlLXiOj6UAGpnYJ16Wz_5CYdaq6BgCk1J6Oh4Tzk3jUo57kbV4R9ZcfSbM1Of_KWQZOOUH14EraW1KjrN9dswE1/w327-h614/1702%205m%20Sparrowhawk.jpg" width="327" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Second-year male Sparrowhawk - Tony and Leigh</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">On February 18 they ringed at dusk and caught four <b>Reed Buntings</b>, also observing several Toads which are now out of hibernation.</span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5RVWhPRdFrqlnlr_cpdkxlUTsV7ziW8F1lbFedHHF344Ejg69t8hphhVvzxZhZt1n5tT2LErmbSgnFP_1kDWXRyWv5an_SPgAfpiGScriv4PHYNYZhrOFBlNVYhu-bhWsVEkLORulFewSLuoSPnMBD_4GUsznZ41jNmf3dsHx8xU_T8GD37amj97PkrMW/s2554/1802%20Reedbunting%20F.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2554" data-original-width="1681" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5RVWhPRdFrqlnlr_cpdkxlUTsV7ziW8F1lbFedHHF344Ejg69t8hphhVvzxZhZt1n5tT2LErmbSgnFP_1kDWXRyWv5an_SPgAfpiGScriv4PHYNYZhrOFBlNVYhu-bhWsVEkLORulFewSLuoSPnMBD_4GUsznZ41jNmf3dsHx8xU_T8GD37amj97PkrMW/w331-h502/1802%20Reedbunting%20F.jpg" width="331" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Female Reed Bunting</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">They reported seeing three <b>Tufted Ducks</b> and the usual <b>Barn Owl</b>, the latter being seen by Mike Inskip yesterday. Mike had also been to Morgrove Coppice where he saw a <b>Woodcock </b>and a <b>Red Kite</b>. John Coombes has let me know that he has seen a pair of <b>Alexandrine Parakeets </b>at Kinwarton for the first time this year, and then a juvenile which appeared from within the tree suggesting that they bred successfully last year.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">As for me, the lack of birding is an opportunity to do more mothing. Normally I do very little in February, but last night I just completed my fifth session and it proved well worth it. My count of 30 moths included 24 <b>Common Quakers</b> and also three <b>Hebrew Character (</b>nfy), a <b>Small Quaker</b> (nfy), a <b>Twin-spotted Quaker </b>(nfy, first since 2020), and best of all my first ever <b>Small Brindled Beauty</b>.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4Kq64YgHLETm9XIFDuG8vd64N-obDRd8jwRqc7mWJLc11HqnOAPS3HEX-PEA4FDZ9R_hWAWI_FPrp-_4WSlkannz0U10t8e01UT1jwsN0VSryqij5LWd93JzQCAQpzLGeHLBcbZihk0q0YWsfe3GRSjSW6QiCTE5-V8vwPh75oSaX3sEcjgTRO3x0o66/s3825/Small%20Brindled%20Beauty.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2788" data-original-width="3825" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4Kq64YgHLETm9XIFDuG8vd64N-obDRd8jwRqc7mWJLc11HqnOAPS3HEX-PEA4FDZ9R_hWAWI_FPrp-_4WSlkannz0U10t8e01UT1jwsN0VSryqij5LWd93JzQCAQpzLGeHLBcbZihk0q0YWsfe3GRSjSW6QiCTE5-V8vwPh75oSaX3sEcjgTRO3x0o66/w481-h350/Small%20Brindled%20Beauty.jpeg" width="481" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Small Brindled Beauty</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihtxqwab6jeeIXlPmbdMWSfpDoV5_tZVSIDntXXBRkQHUN_nb97nbjttvHewSC70eK738RwBsv2QBHtXLLWsZgvHdARbs0HWmsTukLbIqdcOYS3iqE_nOpEsV0R7MDmWsh3yjzOHyZYcqu9-xKNQ9eXnxIRaMneZEBEPeZbfYVCN2l3UmyULi0XxKKs8jf/s3140/Twin-spot%20Quaker.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2239" data-original-width="3140" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihtxqwab6jeeIXlPmbdMWSfpDoV5_tZVSIDntXXBRkQHUN_nb97nbjttvHewSC70eK738RwBsv2QBHtXLLWsZgvHdARbs0HWmsTukLbIqdcOYS3iqE_nOpEsV0R7MDmWsh3yjzOHyZYcqu9-xKNQ9eXnxIRaMneZEBEPeZbfYVCN2l3UmyULi0XxKKs8jf/w515-h367/Twin-spot%20Quaker.jpeg" width="515" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Twin-spotted Quaker</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4G5OKQAmA2DhKAslE8kUxDR3T6McONR28Vx5DSc69WZJSzZUvMzSo5WZcOtZItqag4D8omXZ0VWL8MBlcm0Mxsnv7dX2_p7AH0Bq1PZFwZqrFmX8FTCsLqCkhlMiqueaPu-G6yrOdWjmTZBkbLUrUKReTfCAcC89dVZvNEEL-AXPJA2Li8DNWvmYGagrI/s1963/Hebrew%20Character.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1582" data-original-width="1963" height="415" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4G5OKQAmA2DhKAslE8kUxDR3T6McONR28Vx5DSc69WZJSzZUvMzSo5WZcOtZItqag4D8omXZ0VWL8MBlcm0Mxsnv7dX2_p7AH0Bq1PZFwZqrFmX8FTCsLqCkhlMiqueaPu-G6yrOdWjmTZBkbLUrUKReTfCAcC89dVZvNEEL-AXPJA2Li8DNWvmYGagrI/w513-h415/Hebrew%20Character.jpeg" width="513" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Hebrew Character</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBdbtx75tdwNil_5RVRDftMUo33IhYFh94U1-FkKg_pIYY027XsPMenuSMqIuFQan7-HdRqpRBuuu7sa_S2dO21REoCqc5o2hA5LCF8aWM6CWQcO5RaeZzVih1t7TSCaSIPNAu2sf6QXfsGbDlhiKOOOD9b1f5bimzD7GcLN_qqtPQO3uL68vEX7QeWtY-/s3346/Small%20Quaker.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2065" data-original-width="3346" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBdbtx75tdwNil_5RVRDftMUo33IhYFh94U1-FkKg_pIYY027XsPMenuSMqIuFQan7-HdRqpRBuuu7sa_S2dO21REoCqc5o2hA5LCF8aWM6CWQcO5RaeZzVih1t7TSCaSIPNAu2sf6QXfsGbDlhiKOOOD9b1f5bimzD7GcLN_qqtPQO3uL68vEX7QeWtY-/w488-h300/Small%20Quaker.jpeg" width="488" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Small Quaker</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The Small Brindled Beauty is described as uncommon and local in Warwickshire, so I was very pleased to get one. They are noticeably smaller than the more usual Brindled Beauty (which I haven't seen yet this year), and fly from mid February (early March is typical for Brindled Beauty). </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I feel I'm making the best of it, but will hopefully be back in the field before too long.</span></div>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-58858664493420282632024-02-16T06:49:00.000-08:002024-02-17T04:13:45.128-08:00Friday February 16 - Hopwood (and a quick twitch to Earlswood)<p><span style="font-size: medium;">I finally managed to get out birding today, choosing to visit another gap in my Circle map. This time it was Hopwood, just north of the M42. In fact I parked at Hopwood Services where I was pleased to find a large flock of <b>Siskins</b> feeding on alder seeds. It was a bright sunny start, so the camera came out.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWrVT45ejMrWUpMKxd2Z0o3iwW3nmtxh34LZGP8yptjE2pQH48CHTtv9rKrIVqsglsbjxjbCu7qVQIU_34skMLywgJ8XQJUf3-YFxKwQ-bumgTi3d7su0-vFzzoUKhOiaMmSH6oQRxjFyHi1P-faopB4ciIYBLgrue2AB7I8nIAjwooWcxqQnM_NvGJC1L/s3860/Siskin,%20male%20-%20Hopwood%20Services.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2733" data-original-width="3860" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWrVT45ejMrWUpMKxd2Z0o3iwW3nmtxh34LZGP8yptjE2pQH48CHTtv9rKrIVqsglsbjxjbCu7qVQIU_34skMLywgJ8XQJUf3-YFxKwQ-bumgTi3d7su0-vFzzoUKhOiaMmSH6oQRxjFyHi1P-faopB4ciIYBLgrue2AB7I8nIAjwooWcxqQnM_NvGJC1L/w498-h354/Siskin,%20male%20-%20Hopwood%20Services.jpeg" width="498" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Male Siskin</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_VLSk33Nx6lEG1KiWcqQfgX3MQyZwH5dXPly3sMMs_e8prxNS99RGda2xUixueaNmhm0XhhY-IPQfI-tg_lCY_dduW2nuUExmeBeo3CLOLN1epyeu16QKPlVXWhaHMVeIws8p4fVJ3eIAElBuOmze4EuROf0qvtThZ2Wh6RgLxOGAZphxAKRXaNeb_8KV/s2221/Siskin,%20female%20-%20Hopwood%20Services.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1831" data-original-width="2221" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_VLSk33Nx6lEG1KiWcqQfgX3MQyZwH5dXPly3sMMs_e8prxNS99RGda2xUixueaNmhm0XhhY-IPQfI-tg_lCY_dduW2nuUExmeBeo3CLOLN1epyeu16QKPlVXWhaHMVeIws8p4fVJ3eIAElBuOmze4EuROf0qvtThZ2Wh6RgLxOGAZphxAKRXaNeb_8KV/w515-h425/Siskin,%20female%20-%20Hopwood%20Services.jpeg" width="515" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Female Siskin</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Seeing Siskins at close range in bright sunshine is hard to beat.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The map told me that a footpath led north from the Services towards Hopwood itself. What it didn't tell me was that it led through an excellent looking area of scrubland which If I'd had a bit more time might have worth spending longer in. The best bird here was probably a <b>Bullfinch</b>. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">A quick loop around some local farmland brought me one unexpected sighting as six egrets which I assumed were <b>Little Egrets</b> flew in from the direction of Upper Bittell before appearing to land in a field behind a stand of trees. These days you can't take anything for granted with Egrets, so although I hadn't seen anything to suggest Cattle Egret I did at least try to relocate them in the hope they hadn't been as far away as they'd seemed. Unfortunately, I couldn't find where they were, and I had run out of time.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Back home I made sure Lyn was OK, before noticing in a Whatsapp message that there was an <b>Egyptian Goose </b>at Earlswood. Well I only saw one around here last year, so I had to go.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhecGqX12YfcOxQFSAvUch4ePo_nRg-e_dMaN4OfSMXsg97FYrTO_GpR16I7YWYlyUz3E9YOWqLGpU_aKO2t0rWVytn9Y4VEGiA7kdjxrz4n3tZ-YTIkThfkXGW5h-RobbgL7BiMhzmQCl2rbJioAW8Ajpw0edNSzFQSwtsVbMWWXqB6Y5cklPh1d2eIYRG/s3378/Egyptian%20Goose%20-%20Earlswood.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2474" data-original-width="3378" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhecGqX12YfcOxQFSAvUch4ePo_nRg-e_dMaN4OfSMXsg97FYrTO_GpR16I7YWYlyUz3E9YOWqLGpU_aKO2t0rWVytn9Y4VEGiA7kdjxrz4n3tZ-YTIkThfkXGW5h-RobbgL7BiMhzmQCl2rbJioAW8Ajpw0edNSzFQSwtsVbMWWXqB6Y5cklPh1d2eIYRG/w509-h373/Egyptian%20Goose%20-%20Earlswood.jpeg" width="509" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Egyptian Goose at Earlswood</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">As twitches go, it was about as efficient as you can get. The bird was exactly where Tony Philp had said it was.It was also an Earlswood tick.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The recent mild weather has encouraged a few insects out. Bumblebees frequently fly past the front window, and I was encouraged enough to put my moth trap out on Tuesday night. I caught just two moths (Clouded Drab (nfy) and Common Quaker). The next night was even balmier and Lyn suggested I try again. Perhaps I should have because I later learned that Jason Waine caught 139 moths of 29 species in his garden at the other end of Redditch that night. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">I'd have been pleased with that number in July. Mind you, his garden does back onto a substantial wood.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I think I'll have another go tonight. Watch this space....The result was:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">27 moths of four species. 24 of them were <b>Common Quakers</b>, the others were <b>Clouded Drab</b>, <b>Satellite </b>(first since 2020), and <b>Dotted Border</b> (first since 2021).</span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpVQQfxxvZyEy8CzWWtCE-FyaXXqKjfR_niWPVvy_r_hCZnVEYWPqfvAc8hcnfLajxZ7Uhn8YAYZUJa3d4HVYFo0VJl2Xdv4mmPp4KaGx-5mDrxV9XJMG3rlL-598BM6hJTRyfJyr1nlIR_UPIhP7NLhUNtt6YpCgdyfWdqa4GjJZQpO0YHylbTcecX04T/s2337/Clouded%20Drab.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1722" data-original-width="2337" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpVQQfxxvZyEy8CzWWtCE-FyaXXqKjfR_niWPVvy_r_hCZnVEYWPqfvAc8hcnfLajxZ7Uhn8YAYZUJa3d4HVYFo0VJl2Xdv4mmPp4KaGx-5mDrxV9XJMG3rlL-598BM6hJTRyfJyr1nlIR_UPIhP7NLhUNtt6YpCgdyfWdqa4GjJZQpO0YHylbTcecX04T/w504-h372/Clouded%20Drab.jpeg" width="504" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Clouded Drab tastefully placed on a Foxglove leaf</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz2VgfwcxVngK8pZfXRpU58H3YydwLjs95R6RK2PFxL21GeiiqLyhNFrUJEF7ASEBX815N0fb7NLUyaj_gTMwHipLtAEs1KL0TXe8FDS5ozvnCLtNqn8IKlKeg1aA0K_igZ7ckHX3m9dnguQuJG_TN4B5VUXDU6mFVzDfqwEO0rWDUOmbkCB0fHRVcGU-g/s2440/Satellite.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1809" data-original-width="2440" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz2VgfwcxVngK8pZfXRpU58H3YydwLjs95R6RK2PFxL21GeiiqLyhNFrUJEF7ASEBX815N0fb7NLUyaj_gTMwHipLtAEs1KL0TXe8FDS5ozvnCLtNqn8IKlKeg1aA0K_igZ7ckHX3m9dnguQuJG_TN4B5VUXDU6mFVzDfqwEO0rWDUOmbkCB0fHRVcGU-g/w498-h369/Satellite.jpeg" width="498" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Satellite</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmPAtIoWr4VCAC6BqFr4F-FmKuCp_52WTW-qtZofEafLyIZ9DwYHgXPTnCMGmzbIvStoOQCU9oSz5059RBD3BePiePAXnbQfVrzrYtvMRUP1RmBRz_D9ikj3QdFgzk953eABG3GgUZnDl3jKbrT4HSKnoeO4gBkLhnAaXEwupvEBGXFBP_CRkaf4_Eru_7/s1831/Dotted%20Border.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1197" data-original-width="1831" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmPAtIoWr4VCAC6BqFr4F-FmKuCp_52WTW-qtZofEafLyIZ9DwYHgXPTnCMGmzbIvStoOQCU9oSz5059RBD3BePiePAXnbQfVrzrYtvMRUP1RmBRz_D9ikj3QdFgzk953eABG3GgUZnDl3jKbrT4HSKnoeO4gBkLhnAaXEwupvEBGXFBP_CRkaf4_Eru_7/w523-h341/Dotted%20Border.jpeg" width="523" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Dotted Border on windowsill (flew off when I tried to place on Foxglove leaf)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-22819639688936552502024-02-12T10:42:00.000-08:002024-02-13T00:27:15.529-08:00Starlings<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">Thanks to Linda and Mike Moffat I got news that the <b>Starling </b>roost in Redditch town centre is pretty spectacular at the moment.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I went there this evening and drove up to level 10 of Car Park 2 before walking the last couple of levels to the roof. From there it was possible to watch the birds arriving from 17.00, with the crescendo being at 17.20 when the birds all pile into the Leylandii below.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I estimated at least 9000 birds in total.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Its well worth a visit, but don't forget to pay £1.50 at level 4 for your parking on the way out.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I was hoping to post a video, but the file's too big for my computer. So here are a couple of photos.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSosPrfrSiwOIr2UdUmgzQF4u0DEeaS-D0z4BwDWAQro9qDXek60hNlD1I84PNwk8fTT7k_bez8lHtSj_9i6z4kVhv0hg95GbhporxS6AnJ0c4QaxtZvfBTbMD3tmA8jetDs5AgBQCnrS7R_HaZfAz_dF7j6oCdInTiquXUZv0TTiamxDofCuOA1dhDnYE/s4608/Starling%20murmuration.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSosPrfrSiwOIr2UdUmgzQF4u0DEeaS-D0z4BwDWAQro9qDXek60hNlD1I84PNwk8fTT7k_bez8lHtSj_9i6z4kVhv0hg95GbhporxS6AnJ0c4QaxtZvfBTbMD3tmA8jetDs5AgBQCnrS7R_HaZfAz_dF7j6oCdInTiquXUZv0TTiamxDofCuOA1dhDnYE/w504-h378/Starling%20murmuration.jpeg" width="504" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJVXzTtYcqfRgHxd0lB3tEFZMrfF0F-rw1N3pCrD80c_FiC7kyheaKhAE-dddxXX8VPUzT2lfbsiK1r3gO0LqL_6SjAgIwECw50ZciOdDBYnD8fPaUZfICUgrKThyLyfhuXpTnmUtUJiH0VJ0j-mwsENdvXI_mI_t36zybRMqd4BM7Bqa-qI1-r0sPRVa4/s4608/Starling%20murmuration2.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJVXzTtYcqfRgHxd0lB3tEFZMrfF0F-rw1N3pCrD80c_FiC7kyheaKhAE-dddxXX8VPUzT2lfbsiK1r3gO0LqL_6SjAgIwECw50ZciOdDBYnD8fPaUZfICUgrKThyLyfhuXpTnmUtUJiH0VJ0j-mwsENdvXI_mI_t36zybRMqd4BM7Bqa-qI1-r0sPRVa4/w511-h383/Starling%20murmuration2.jpeg" width="511" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-25944755271845802902024-02-11T06:33:00.000-08:002024-02-12T02:50:09.918-08:00Sunday February 11 - Some signs of spring<p><span style="font-size: medium;">It's been an unusual week, not least because Lyn and I went away for a couple of nights, our first "holiday" for several years. Sadly we were dogged by bad weather and poor health, so it wasn't really the bright new dawn we might have hoped for.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">In our absence, Tony and Leigh came up with the best bird, pulling a <b>Common Redpoll</b> out of their mist-net at Middle Spernal on Wednesday.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmqnuB758_xEVgi0Mbl5VPQ1GhO4YXUa1wSHiJeIO-uCY6ylUMRQAuvMNU-064TB4Lf3aFdWOEZamPFgMJTNVxlHhFAnABdFPvdnyAGaoo-viAkfJLpgzdL5bXbI5qsdvaj0SWMIjgDNC2ERm6V6HtZF0XOsf8vP5H9sv36HSKPUfT5P-hkusGnuYAd5zt/s2732/Mealy%20Redpoll%20at%20Middle%20Spernal.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2732" data-original-width="1809" height="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmqnuB758_xEVgi0Mbl5VPQ1GhO4YXUa1wSHiJeIO-uCY6ylUMRQAuvMNU-064TB4Lf3aFdWOEZamPFgMJTNVxlHhFAnABdFPvdnyAGaoo-viAkfJLpgzdL5bXbI5qsdvaj0SWMIjgDNC2ERm6V6HtZF0XOsf8vP5H9sv36HSKPUfT5P-hkusGnuYAd5zt/w381-h575/Mealy%20Redpoll%20at%20Middle%20Spernal.jpg" width="381" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Wing length 74mm and 2 grams heavier than Lesser</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrGSZW5u_lk1oA4Sd9op7Xc5cM-AqGdIghTvAWmyPbSmpsuHBomWazhtAlHlKtUvWNmnQ_VhNWVrwRq0_2ephM80r2kbfbSCVRWWHE876kZMgKDvLyWAgSGYErMM7IwBxxmvpEtzd94W_maMJxA3nNogx2uUOHEnzAw1fpH8Br4wVQoJa2u-TTwb7hTm7K/s2772/Mealy%20Redpoll%20rump%20Middle%20Spernall.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2772" data-original-width="2436" height="465" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrGSZW5u_lk1oA4Sd9op7Xc5cM-AqGdIghTvAWmyPbSmpsuHBomWazhtAlHlKtUvWNmnQ_VhNWVrwRq0_2ephM80r2kbfbSCVRWWHE876kZMgKDvLyWAgSGYErMM7IwBxxmvpEtzd94W_maMJxA3nNogx2uUOHEnzAw1fpH8Br4wVQoJa2u-TTwb7hTm7K/w408-h465/Mealy%20Redpoll%20rump%20Middle%20Spernall.jpg" width="408" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Immature male Common (Mealy) Redpoll (per Tony Kelly)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">As for me, I tried a walk around Alcester Heath, just east of Cookhill, on Tuesday. One field there was full of <b>Redwings, Fieldfares</b>, and <b>Starlings</b>, but was very hard to observe due to a combination of furrows and weeds. I also found a couple of <b>Marsh Tits</b> in a small wood below the main road.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Yesterday I gave Lower Bittell a quick look, hoping the Great White Egret which has been resident for a few weeks might be visible. Unfortunately there was no sign of it (probably on Upper), and my only year-tick was a solitary <b>Little Grebe</b> tucked into the bulrushes.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">When I've not been birding I've been finding other things to occupy my time. I have for example added a butterflies and moths Morton Bagot list page to this blog. This list contains no night-time moth trapping because I have not sought permission to trap any there, only moths seen incidentally whilst birding.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I've also deleted my Twitter (X) account after finally getting fed up of all the adverts, the algorithms dictating what content I should see, and in particular Elon bloody Musk. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">This morning I joined Dave at Morton Bagot. Our expectations were low, so we were quite happy to discover the first pairs of <b>Tufted Duck</b> and <b>Coot</b> here this year. They were taking advantage of the temporarily high water levels in the scrape field. We could almost imagine we'd got the pool back.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2In_RPhfXmiCG6SQ_88mE3gAW761VAaHGZKwXSQX2AHap_YGYehyphenhyphenzEx1v81rd4UcFGx2VxEOKH9lFe1wBYT4F5u2JFcGcpZabdnDKwYtSX2Nu45Xtnmpdqr8BctoqyZ-pRNGE9w-boQwgQvglXvyRhDKHGnJOe3gM2Z99deoY__sI10FKpg92KB4bAPLZ/s4608/Tufted%20Ducks%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2In_RPhfXmiCG6SQ_88mE3gAW761VAaHGZKwXSQX2AHap_YGYehyphenhyphenzEx1v81rd4UcFGx2VxEOKH9lFe1wBYT4F5u2JFcGcpZabdnDKwYtSX2Nu45Xtnmpdqr8BctoqyZ-pRNGE9w-boQwgQvglXvyRhDKHGnJOe3gM2Z99deoY__sI10FKpg92KB4bAPLZ/w482-h362/Tufted%20Ducks%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" width="482" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Tufted Ducks</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsuhEa_7XJk0IRxb6kAl0TWGDqdF5qDfhMgkPDCGvK4x3WIUWKGo54V8uMwC9EQtw1fgQmYHawy6PPqiwEvmlg0vXUl63oSN49fSMnlns3JiVX8oLNBcr5zLd5UVOiR1XWPtgHJEBLYNMpYONnWORdb5dVLKz8eotd7kv-Xez2LgdwPtTk9HUzYjEYn9Rh/s4608/Coots%20at%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsuhEa_7XJk0IRxb6kAl0TWGDqdF5qDfhMgkPDCGvK4x3WIUWKGo54V8uMwC9EQtw1fgQmYHawy6PPqiwEvmlg0vXUl63oSN49fSMnlns3JiVX8oLNBcr5zLd5UVOiR1XWPtgHJEBLYNMpYONnWORdb5dVLKz8eotd7kv-Xez2LgdwPtTk9HUzYjEYn9Rh/w491-h368/Coots%20at%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" width="491" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Coots</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">We found four <b>Stonechats</b>, an unringed pair on the plastic tree guards, and a ringed pair in the scrape field. The fact that both the male and female were ringed makes me wonder whether this was a different pair to those last week even though the male was sporting a colour-ring on its right leg. Even with a scope we still couldn't read it.</span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEc_YDmyJ2NfU6l9oCElzWggJYf4wgXdhE54NmiAf6_jswbHkIMUoMPzbfIiiVQNF6xgqH2FpVss0N9Ujvb0PkXurctTfW_2wy78MwEsEa1KEravyIIEwKWps5IrsGRD1-vRCMg5pyhmLwWMcbE6eemStmXu8oBpyBvK8XETdwR2oay2ldczA-vdKTakbz/s4608/Stonechat%20-%20female%20metal-ringed.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEc_YDmyJ2NfU6l9oCElzWggJYf4wgXdhE54NmiAf6_jswbHkIMUoMPzbfIiiVQNF6xgqH2FpVss0N9Ujvb0PkXurctTfW_2wy78MwEsEa1KEravyIIEwKWps5IrsGRD1-vRCMg5pyhmLwWMcbE6eemStmXu8oBpyBvK8XETdwR2oay2ldczA-vdKTakbz/w487-h365/Stonechat%20-%20female%20metal-ringed.jpeg" width="487" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Female Stonechat (ringed)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwdAMv0MogvrRa9FBx_PpUbcpP1y-vvEpJnO54ldq62jSI3SC9As92sqjyRIaNWjqFM9bhfOvTpc8gDQcy7N1w1T2vZBnlf28Bj8oQ3ncU-saBaPyHynCKSm8qIfQOHQT5YmXaGjI1tGfgXQyJJP1frySTYQ8_GPmrCjbNxBPdMaw7b0TZbxV2WVa4153d/s4608/Stonechat%20-%20male%20colour-ringed.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwdAMv0MogvrRa9FBx_PpUbcpP1y-vvEpJnO54ldq62jSI3SC9As92sqjyRIaNWjqFM9bhfOvTpc8gDQcy7N1w1T2vZBnlf28Bj8oQ3ncU-saBaPyHynCKSm8qIfQOHQT5YmXaGjI1tGfgXQyJJP1frySTYQ8_GPmrCjbNxBPdMaw7b0TZbxV2WVa4153d/w499-h374/Stonechat%20-%20male%20colour-ringed.jpeg" width="499" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Male Stonechat (colour-ringed)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">In the flash field about 30 <b>Teal</b> were displaying to each other, 21 <b>Lapwings</b> keeping them company, while the <b>Shelduck</b> drake has now been joined by his mate.</span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY59Xm_1uDx33fAQmkcUulhZ1uXO9GQwfX94KSdd2aUyeHJGy3r5qQ5Y_rcl2CGEZJDJ1qweBQc03y-EMtOyiO8770Z7oBz3oCSEdgqyvYTXyMBqwldzHb4Zdy_DVcxQUvfdCXoCcS88Jt_jMEtNJq8bkqraJLHxjHFgcLgo1wCq7Fdelo-_GbBAMLPMyV/s4608/Shelducks%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY59Xm_1uDx33fAQmkcUulhZ1uXO9GQwfX94KSdd2aUyeHJGy3r5qQ5Y_rcl2CGEZJDJ1qweBQc03y-EMtOyiO8770Z7oBz3oCSEdgqyvYTXyMBqwldzHb4Zdy_DVcxQUvfdCXoCcS88Jt_jMEtNJq8bkqraJLHxjHFgcLgo1wCq7Fdelo-_GbBAMLPMyV/w495-h371/Shelducks%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" width="495" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The pair of Shelduck</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">We also counted seven or eight <b>Common Buzzards</b> and a <b>Red Kite</b> circling on thermals over Bannams Wood.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">So even though there were no additions to the year-list, the signs of spring are unmistakable.</span></p>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-65804780753693253982024-02-05T03:30:00.000-08:002024-02-05T07:55:55.049-08:00Sunday February 4 - Trying to make things happen<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">The current birding malaise is of course due to the time of year. There seems to be little to be done about it, but Dave and I did our best at Morton Bagot. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">For one thing there was a chance that the colour-ringed <b>Stonechat</b> might still be present. Our chances of reading the ring were hampered by my forgetting to put my scope in the car, and this was particularly regretted when we duly found the bird to be still there. The camera was the only option, and I tried harder than last week to creep up on the Chat.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDpzyZ6rV6EKQr8427ysn77mF8nuL_FP84_de2xCETg9owgM7Gs8omFxcCGh6woeXBU57AXBGdCfGLgjyX5gqsM9y48zMtYkqvLcj5KdSkDU2z19fEfh7iWEmJsksCqrObrD7M_BN45hCrYBdKKNoLArxsFcshfNMZBooAwgd_TdtWo14V6kglq1ILbUh/s1127/Stonechat%20zoomed%20in.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="1127" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDpzyZ6rV6EKQr8427ysn77mF8nuL_FP84_de2xCETg9owgM7Gs8omFxcCGh6woeXBU57AXBGdCfGLgjyX5gqsM9y48zMtYkqvLcj5KdSkDU2z19fEfh7iWEmJsksCqrObrD7M_BN45hCrYBdKKNoLArxsFcshfNMZBooAwgd_TdtWo14V6kglq1ILbUh/w501-h332/Stonechat%20zoomed%20in.jpeg" width="501" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ring still illegible despite heavy cropping</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The female <b>Stonechat</b> was more obliging, but was definitely unringed. In the afternoon, Tony came down with his scope and camera, but the wind had got up and he was unable to get a clear enough view of the ringed male.</span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv15JA4euqBPG1KG87Sk3t3LXDXRT6pysPiXtMrq-udWCmcoUmFh-24qbFY2EdE1yzYzPpYN-Bb0q7PTwhCQmgJm4lZ9MxNzNtZgO5VkaGqslV5_yYhYvrnM5Z7B3JuOrdMY_H6oT6Jz8GBW11PW4fOO5Sadi39_ALdOLVW294orP6m8rlZ2ehsYjQrLqx/s4608/Stonechat%20female.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv15JA4euqBPG1KG87Sk3t3LXDXRT6pysPiXtMrq-udWCmcoUmFh-24qbFY2EdE1yzYzPpYN-Bb0q7PTwhCQmgJm4lZ9MxNzNtZgO5VkaGqslV5_yYhYvrnM5Z7B3JuOrdMY_H6oT6Jz8GBW11PW4fOO5Sadi39_ALdOLVW294orP6m8rlZ2ehsYjQrLqx/w500-h375/Stonechat%20female.jpeg" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Female Stonechat</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Another option was to count <b>Jack Snipe</b> in the pool/scrape field. This involves higher levels of disturbance than I would like, but we kicked up five <b>Jack Snipe</b> and a similar number of <b>Common Snipe</b>. I also found a <b>Barn Owl's</b> feather as I made my way across.</span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi31kgrW-9qG6z57t5AaKOMx3qdWW0WZ4fpc1c6Z97v6Ive1mzHUgJ6AEgwy-uPySjzGgUPpwa51hBnyXNZfHCtZGTqmPxDqDDyJ1CrH1PDiDXB7KjY117y3FqFosT7r-G2Z54Vkc-wGCSZsIrFkLkFnsPREhymtBH8zZD1jcVcpmHIuFLuyxvjUlqguck5/s2182/Barn%20Owl%20feather.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1692" data-original-width="2182" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi31kgrW-9qG6z57t5AaKOMx3qdWW0WZ4fpc1c6Z97v6Ive1mzHUgJ6AEgwy-uPySjzGgUPpwa51hBnyXNZfHCtZGTqmPxDqDDyJ1CrH1PDiDXB7KjY117y3FqFosT7r-G2Z54Vkc-wGCSZsIrFkLkFnsPREhymtBH8zZD1jcVcpmHIuFLuyxvjUlqguck5/w483-h374/Barn%20Owl%20feather.jpeg" width="483" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Barn Owl feather</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">There wasn't much else to commend the visit. <b>Lapwings</b> were down to just two birds, and the small party of <b>Teal </b>on the furthest flash were no longer accompanied by any Wigeon or the Shelduck.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">It remains very mild, so when I got home I decided to give the moth trap a try. Unfortunately it was windier than I had expected and the light only attracted two <b>Pale Brindled Beauties</b> and a <b>Common Quaker</b>. The latter was the first of the year, and was in very fresh condition.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdgqY4pt8m-3EPhf5g6R8HU6CIiFAugHbg8NB14eHhrbq7KUk_QHuELaER3necfORukHK816S_gRJtvFzwIdrGgoJDem6Tw0sMt9WQumCIrJQtXMVhd6WBgzkKIMMsVQdCrYgMDVhtSJOncKpOmXSKUOS4XB2s932vYD7uZBPr4UgDWgTIzM__YsLjktA/s3090/Common%20Quaker.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2226" data-original-width="3090" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdgqY4pt8m-3EPhf5g6R8HU6CIiFAugHbg8NB14eHhrbq7KUk_QHuELaER3necfORukHK816S_gRJtvFzwIdrGgoJDem6Tw0sMt9WQumCIrJQtXMVhd6WBgzkKIMMsVQdCrYgMDVhtSJOncKpOmXSKUOS4XB2s932vYD7uZBPr4UgDWgTIzM__YsLjktA/w493-h356/Common%20Quaker.jpeg" width="493" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Common Quaker</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">This species is very common in the garden in early spring. Also attracted to the bulb was an ichneumon wasp. As it was so early in the year I thought it was worth some research. This produced a name; the <b>Cream-striped Darwin Wasp </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">Ophion obscurus</i>.</span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQBoOm3bNwKHb53Hd9-JXD7ForE9F32Xwv0VXm7V0w9xVmMhJiY6XQ0FA34f_Y7oTTlu95kTHZyP6bIO2xsC_U2hT-yLZH_ph4WBNDXExOSw14Y5QhVM6K8HhRq26Gwa-7O0Xu5aKeBjk8Cv6qSocq22ZFAbqvhT_0sKfzGdDnUUaVZbwlmqGb6_ONLH-/s2355/Opheon%20obscuratus.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2205" data-original-width="2355" height="455" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQBoOm3bNwKHb53Hd9-JXD7ForE9F32Xwv0VXm7V0w9xVmMhJiY6XQ0FA34f_Y7oTTlu95kTHZyP6bIO2xsC_U2hT-yLZH_ph4WBNDXExOSw14Y5QhVM6K8HhRq26Gwa-7O0Xu5aKeBjk8Cv6qSocq22ZFAbqvhT_0sKfzGdDnUUaVZbwlmqGb6_ONLH-/w485-h455/Opheon%20obscuratus.jpeg" width="485" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Opheon obscurus</i> (or is it?)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Unfortunately there was a snag. Apparently these wasps are undergoing a process of taxonomic investigation which may lead to the ones that fly in winter being split into a different species.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">There is a reason I don't look too closely at wasps.</span></p><p><br /></p>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-56984529107905043272024-02-01T13:21:00.000-08:002024-02-01T13:27:23.446-08:00Thursday February 1 - Oldberrow area<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">This morning I decided to undertake a long walk across farmland between Morton Bagot and Henley. It basically covered much of tetrad H in SP16. I know this because back in 2008 and 2009 it formed a part of the BTO Atlas area I was working.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Unlike Morton Bagot, where HOEF has transformed the habitat since those days, the Oldberrow parish has remained a mixture of sheepwalk and arable farmland, part of which is still covered by Higher Level stewardship. It also contains a number of private woodlands which were off-limits.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Sadly, it has lost its Tree Sparrows and I didn't find any Reed Buntings or Partridges today. However I was pleased to locate flocks of at least 80 <b>Linnets</b>, 19 <b>Yellowhammers</b>, 45 <b>Skylarks</b>, and 76 <b>Starlings</b> in the parts I was able to visit. I felt obliged to stick to public footpaths, and would certainly have seen more if I had wandered more freely.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS4N0VsYFcSMwI04VODbw2FytIpY5rZ8Gss9H_Tc0HnVxAdGPBQioVid1piEpvw06n7r3HwR0eHxaZ3vk532ajoYW4syMXhOWIbj-gGeJPctIrhZhZbtuhrMUggdl57HeehamzOuLsuWNAOSzRXCuZ_BJdAjusYXcDs3ca7r_j-LaO7K2BMHODJRORCduV/s2667/Yellowhammer%20at%20Oldberrow.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2287" data-original-width="2667" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS4N0VsYFcSMwI04VODbw2FytIpY5rZ8Gss9H_Tc0HnVxAdGPBQioVid1piEpvw06n7r3HwR0eHxaZ3vk532ajoYW4syMXhOWIbj-gGeJPctIrhZhZbtuhrMUggdl57HeehamzOuLsuWNAOSzRXCuZ_BJdAjusYXcDs3ca7r_j-LaO7K2BMHODJRORCduV/w496-h425/Yellowhammer%20at%20Oldberrow.jpeg" width="496" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Yellowhammer</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">While I was pleased to see an array of familiar farmland birds, there wasn't much that was new. The best on offer being a pair of <b>Red Kites</b>, now starting to rival <b>Common Buzzard</b> in abundance. </span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMSEnPw-SSx2WNBhjGgI2URa92mTALgGyrCwEyRl4ozYOvTlVkpi7Kwtuk2mj1B2pXVXEq-0SZ7peNYUz8t92GryRsHaLuzlp091cl3sJ1HtRGZ7_OD_E9Tr22AiVU1lJAAU6FptpP9Ptp2yrwWHcTdN28wpAD6WUT61vPEY85w_4uL5b5Z55ElG2VxRpG/s1869/Red%20Kites%20at%20Foriegn%20Park.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1362" data-original-width="1869" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMSEnPw-SSx2WNBhjGgI2URa92mTALgGyrCwEyRl4ozYOvTlVkpi7Kwtuk2mj1B2pXVXEq-0SZ7peNYUz8t92GryRsHaLuzlp091cl3sJ1HtRGZ7_OD_E9Tr22AiVU1lJAAU6FptpP9Ptp2yrwWHcTdN28wpAD6WUT61vPEY85w_4uL5b5Z55ElG2VxRpG/w512-h372/Red%20Kites%20at%20Foriegn%20Park.jpeg" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Red Kites</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHmbBZ5q62g8N_bYHAgJEW_JnZ_lE_YU3uaH2xqUrfhFooNOrqZQrwMzaKaf7OtWZu0gLnjamIFxLDLfaBIfPsfwWzOURvYihGNxXb5P-AfNGY7NLtY8aEEu7_oLUR8_0Ot1AzgvhvRJZlwppRaq3AMToVVdexD1R07tMJ9ZcD2VgWCMCLTsT8o3J34WpS/s4608/Common%20Buzzard%20at%20Wawensmoor.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="389" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHmbBZ5q62g8N_bYHAgJEW_JnZ_lE_YU3uaH2xqUrfhFooNOrqZQrwMzaKaf7OtWZu0gLnjamIFxLDLfaBIfPsfwWzOURvYihGNxXb5P-AfNGY7NLtY8aEEu7_oLUR8_0Ot1AzgvhvRJZlwppRaq3AMToVVdexD1R07tMJ9ZcD2VgWCMCLTsT8o3J34WpS/w519-h389/Common%20Buzzard%20at%20Wawensmoor.jpeg" width="519" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Common Buzzard</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The walk also plugged a bit of a gap in my recent attempt to cover all of my circular patch.</span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-10643268676710015862024-01-30T09:28:00.000-08:002024-01-30T13:24:46.326-08:00Tuesday January 30 - A cunning plan (Morton Bagot)<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">I have to admit that it has been irking me slightly that a number of observers have turned up mid-afternoon this January and been treated to views of the resident <b>Barn Owl</b>, while my morning shifts have produced no sign of it.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The answer was obviously to change my schedule, and it just so happened that today was ideal. Right on cue, just before 15.00, I spotted it hunting and got a pretty rubbish record shot.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga6FDP5Lh6myEXylJ27O9YhOXCWSJcLzCmDWu_iDCxeTvhkRZhmG8QWn_O9rYAPoaexlOWJXfhEFw5BR5b4w_N38F8AZPFArHhOJ8vL2RVQaWaGzLBhFKfn-UIy_bKz2zBkoy-EBpi3xQQi5Kk7IUZDGn7Rw6lBSWRxhw9D2oYyk4jmvdDnUjfUTQqXQ5H/s4608/Barn%20Owl%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga6FDP5Lh6myEXylJ27O9YhOXCWSJcLzCmDWu_iDCxeTvhkRZhmG8QWn_O9rYAPoaexlOWJXfhEFw5BR5b4w_N38F8AZPFArHhOJ8vL2RVQaWaGzLBhFKfn-UIy_bKz2zBkoy-EBpi3xQQi5Kk7IUZDGn7Rw6lBSWRxhw9D2oYyk4jmvdDnUjfUTQqXQ5H/w479-h359/Barn%20Owl%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" width="479" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Barn Owl refusing to look round</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Shortly after I took this shot it took off and I decided to leave to hunt undisturbed.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The afternoon had more to offer anyway. You may recall the <b>Early Moth</b> I photographed at Morrisons in Redditch. Well this time I came across a wing of the same species. Suspecting Early Moth I checked it on Obsidentify, and it said 100% Early Moth (strictly speaking a late Early Moth). I then dropped the wing which floated off in the breeze and I couldn't refind it. So no photo.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The pair of <b>Stonechats </b>at the scrape field turned out to include a colour-ringed male. It's origin is under investigation.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmqViasq_9u-h4IKMcmHn7eCI6MnAapKBJbvMwCCFRFslA1gURNXrQ8PT80PIk9CBeQKF1tW0fvtHMTxWl9-0vaO_35F2mz3_q-UVfrWVJMlBwE8QSAsmpX6zpMBEaoGZkCEKa1ecs0yt5C0yG_0f_VCOP5NhguyhdQJ2F6wGwII_UcpSciYS3t5QrEChX/s4608/Stonechat%20ringed%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmqViasq_9u-h4IKMcmHn7eCI6MnAapKBJbvMwCCFRFslA1gURNXrQ8PT80PIk9CBeQKF1tW0fvtHMTxWl9-0vaO_35F2mz3_q-UVfrWVJMlBwE8QSAsmpX6zpMBEaoGZkCEKa1ecs0yt5C0yG_0f_VCOP5NhguyhdQJ2F6wGwII_UcpSciYS3t5QrEChX/w473-h355/Stonechat%20ringed%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" width="473" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Colour-ringed Stonechat</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Down at the flash field I came across four (two pairs) of <b>Wigeon</b>, perhaps some of the birds seen at Arrow Valley lake last week.</span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJf6awDofPgrwhqWq1wHIqmL5gfaUtmfusrVY3VGgjpW4DTfXJzCUh7nTdKmnszy1osho883XC-DmNEkmBVyxKuAPbCbI83_8HnP9rpqVuWcJ4c9Ha0eop6oWov0DZuwACeKT01wkP7bPiewVCYOQdmbgTGnHQntsL1G0ICuYkkPzZAj6ubdHRIFEeXFfT/s4608/Wigeon%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJf6awDofPgrwhqWq1wHIqmL5gfaUtmfusrVY3VGgjpW4DTfXJzCUh7nTdKmnszy1osho883XC-DmNEkmBVyxKuAPbCbI83_8HnP9rpqVuWcJ4c9Ha0eop6oWov0DZuwACeKT01wkP7bPiewVCYOQdmbgTGnHQntsL1G0ICuYkkPzZAj6ubdHRIFEeXFfT/w486-h365/Wigeon%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" width="486" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Three Wigeon, some Teal and a Lapwing</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The <b>Lapwing</b> flock stood at 59 at least, and I counted 31 <b>Teal</b>. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Finally, on my return stroll I spotted a <b>Peregrine</b> on the pylons, my first of the year.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHgkzuFJwiQe7daBufOI0UFOD5oOEKf8BiLqZQXHu50oxy0bhwhNFOxzarGOnEOw447GpJZCfXIoO8cng2keB0lMGJeYkVx-xTjQb-Dsh_R7XLSftXKRoHbLj_pG65tOE6Jyl8y5jwWLaSH-Mw7S8Bs36ZXua9OYWMOClvmjx9gD7a-wy7kGil2rdbqlaa/s4608/Peregrine%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHgkzuFJwiQe7daBufOI0UFOD5oOEKf8BiLqZQXHu50oxy0bhwhNFOxzarGOnEOw447GpJZCfXIoO8cng2keB0lMGJeYkVx-xTjQb-Dsh_R7XLSftXKRoHbLj_pG65tOE6Jyl8y5jwWLaSH-Mw7S8Bs36ZXua9OYWMOClvmjx9gD7a-wy7kGil2rdbqlaa/w487-h365/Peregrine%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" width="487" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Peregrine</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">A very successful visit.</span><p></p>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-29112833579943278322024-01-28T07:48:00.000-08:002024-01-28T07:50:53.041-08:00Sunday January 26 - Morton Bagot<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Once again the scrag end of winter is proving hard going. Dave and I strolled around the patch on a pleasant mild morning and saw pretty much the same species as we saw last weekend.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Still present were a pair of <b>Stonechats</b>, a range of finches in tiny numbers, an ever diminishing supply of winter thrushes, and a <b>Marsh Tit</b>. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">On the plus side, the <b>Shelduck</b> has now settled into the flash field. It could be argued that this is the first returning summer visitor. I was pleased to see that the flock of <b>Lapwings</b> was still present, the 60 to 80 of the last week is the largest January flock since 2019, but on the other hand a far cry from ten years ago when numbers peaked at 530 in Jan/Feb 2012.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTnpMZZJgVJ4zAxSERrIEbW26lk3s-Pe0HZj2DQH271N0DprsQ6iaKa2ZgSnj3E4WmIfS8Pqlv6mXx41RKV4OH69vLzMSLbj4ks4TmLt20P-6HzopQK5T6trCRqZAGkhXsvINp78t7WZQ3W_CXbxTu1C1RHmBDff_wl4Azcku1isYsBYik3ruc37fN7rll/s4318/Lapwing%20flock%20at%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2804" data-original-width="4318" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTnpMZZJgVJ4zAxSERrIEbW26lk3s-Pe0HZj2DQH271N0DprsQ6iaKa2ZgSnj3E4WmIfS8Pqlv6mXx41RKV4OH69vLzMSLbj4ks4TmLt20P-6HzopQK5T6trCRqZAGkhXsvINp78t7WZQ3W_CXbxTu1C1RHmBDff_wl4Azcku1isYsBYik3ruc37fN7rll/w499-h324/Lapwing%20flock%20at%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" width="499" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Most of the Lapwings</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The decline in Lapwings reflects the national situation and is not necessarily a symptom of the situation at Morton Bagot. </span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh44yBNo8Fi6XEC0D12nSG9YceS54dP9_BwyMf5kT65oNeGHgTFt2Io1RUEQP6n61klQ6kpz8TBFGKLTEwYUyD5JuqC7ZzT31sa7JYOoh7wEKEUs2hkHgCU3UN702-MJfI1jYEN1gEwWP2uQCiBlgNqZIsYS6Q3HyrSoPUTByoQ-G-xx2Hv2w2xGr6MPH6V/s4106/Shelduck%20at%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2952" data-original-width="4106" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh44yBNo8Fi6XEC0D12nSG9YceS54dP9_BwyMf5kT65oNeGHgTFt2Io1RUEQP6n61klQ6kpz8TBFGKLTEwYUyD5JuqC7ZzT31sa7JYOoh7wEKEUs2hkHgCU3UN702-MJfI1jYEN1gEwWP2uQCiBlgNqZIsYS6Q3HyrSoPUTByoQ-G-xx2Hv2w2xGr6MPH6V/w491-h354/Shelduck%20at%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" width="491" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Shelduck was in an awkward spot for a photo</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">At least we completed the circuit quickly enough that I was home in time to watch England complete an exceptional win against India in the cricket.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Every cloud has a silver lining.</span></p>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-71577062823319812652024-01-26T06:28:00.000-08:002024-01-27T01:35:54.137-08:00Friday January 26 - Weekly update<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">The fact that I've waited until Friday should tell you all you need to know about the week just gone. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Non birding issues kept me sidelined until Wednesday, by which time two major storms had swept through. It was windy enough on Tuesday night to convince me that I should give Arrow Valley Lake a look. I knew this would give me a guaranteed year-tick, and a single <b>Little Egret</b> duly joined the list. However, the best find wasn't new for the year. Five <b>Wigeon </b>were circling the far end of the lake as I made my first scan. I've only seen one here before (although to be fair I don't go that often). They seemed to be landing out of sight, so I hurried over but could find no sign of them. Presumably they'd come to their senses and headed for somewhere less disturbed.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">One species that really likes the place in winter is <b>Goosander</b>, and I logged 16 of them as I walked around. The shape of the lake makes it difficult to count accurately, but I'm pretty sure I didn't over-count.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJvEMnFT6DXc01FgKPOHfcoeDJ6JnJzlX9KwXuBSKimpxO8wi4uUoYOGA-kdhrHyUTtAC5H0Sg_DmAAwIswOR9tdlei6JreV_WYlq7A4SAdV9pncyljEf5asngKFRK9PYL_JANab-99djKv5DiZ9A4RlEsl1PG_QJnr7VzUJg_FTqbYxWrj8EFahFmA2V/s3828/Goosanders%20-%20Arrow%20Valley%20Lake.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2450" data-original-width="3828" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJvEMnFT6DXc01FgKPOHfcoeDJ6JnJzlX9KwXuBSKimpxO8wi4uUoYOGA-kdhrHyUTtAC5H0Sg_DmAAwIswOR9tdlei6JreV_WYlq7A4SAdV9pncyljEf5asngKFRK9PYL_JANab-99djKv5DiZ9A4RlEsl1PG_QJnr7VzUJg_FTqbYxWrj8EFahFmA2V/w492-h315/Goosanders%20-%20Arrow%20Valley%20Lake.jpeg" width="492" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Goosanders</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The middle of the week was dominated by some IT issues which jeopardised my Birdtrack records and was a bit of a downer. But I'm pleased to say the BTO have sorted it out, and I'm now correctly "sync-ed" and recording again. A female <b>Blackcap</b> in the garden yesterday was new for the year, while today I was just pleased to be out birding, even though my walk from Walkwood to Callow Hill and back through Morton Stanley Park in western Redditch could best be described as quiet.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The day was saved by a visit to Morrisons. It's not often you can say that. As I picked up a metal basket at the entrance I noticed a moth resting on the window. It turned out to be a lifer. The <b>Early Moth</b> is not a species I've ever caught, chiefly because I hardly ever trap in January. The "Early" part of its name refers to the time of year it flies not how early it gets up.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwjIpr-z09iLyEJ2lYz1J_EP1dlR1x95tUMHKh_zrJhVI4J2VYmSyJNb8-qoDKJd39unbcJpctnw5esr0vqdL4NVmv4hLNK3xC1mEqiG7TDidakn8oHnfq4M4zWWH3aQKJdA0SgI9m3a72HZCzku2d9fWxzcBQn8vMTv7fQ3aWcBwezjiz4W857iwk6FJ7/s3525/Early%20Moth%20-%20Morrisons%20at%20Ipsley.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2176" data-original-width="3525" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwjIpr-z09iLyEJ2lYz1J_EP1dlR1x95tUMHKh_zrJhVI4J2VYmSyJNb8-qoDKJd39unbcJpctnw5esr0vqdL4NVmv4hLNK3xC1mEqiG7TDidakn8oHnfq4M4zWWH3aQKJdA0SgI9m3a72HZCzku2d9fWxzcBQn8vMTv7fQ3aWcBwezjiz4W857iwk6FJ7/w497-h308/Early%20Moth%20-%20Morrisons%20at%20Ipsley.jpeg" width="497" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Early Moth</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> I admit its not much of a looker, but a tick's a tick.</span><p></p><div><span style="font-size: medium;">PS: I was encouraged by this, so put my garden moth trap out for the first time this year. The result was two <b>Pale Brindled Beauties</b>, and a <b>Common Flat-body</b> <i>Agonopterix heracliana</i>. The latter was the second for the garden (the previous one being in 2021).</span></div>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-54134981672565998852024-01-21T04:23:00.000-08:002024-01-21T04:23:28.090-08:00Sunday January 21 - Morton Bagot<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">It was back to the patch this morning. The recent cold snap has been replaced by much milder weather, but there was still sufficient ice to dissuade most of the waterfowl from returning. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I was joined by Dave as usual, and we followed the usual route, seeing most of the usual birds. I was pleased to see that at least one pair of <b>Stonechats</b> has survived unscathed. We chose not to enter the scrape field where they were, so the only <b>Snipe</b> we saw were four flying in from the direction of the flashes. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">One major plus was a considerable increase in <b>Lapwings</b>. We had counted 30 flying around over Castle Farm to the west, and then found another 59 in the flash field. At least 95 <b>Canada Geese </b>and 21 <b>Greylag Geese </b>were in the field beyond, but the only other wildfowl were 20 to 30 <b>Mallard</b> which flew over and seemed to land on the Morton Springs fishing pool just outside my patch boundary.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Small numbers of <b>Fieldfares</b>, <b>Redwings</b>, and <b>Song Thrushes</b> kept flying up in front of us. One of the latter posed nicely.</span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgayzRsyFoEtWvRfLvmM0m6TWrBRbwSGX9FXiMaA901uD9R9qGpR5eY0ANDtHmUElMEFMtNqkypbuCcOwqG7vNNS48R86kk8cUrWzLExStE6klIjJO74Qi0yLeCpr3z5jsOWKRHOIut2w2MIROfRMSU4xRwf4VkSn_4C5GxhEtm7kjTzv0up0nLWSj3dOcv/s4608/Song%20Thrush%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="379" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgayzRsyFoEtWvRfLvmM0m6TWrBRbwSGX9FXiMaA901uD9R9qGpR5eY0ANDtHmUElMEFMtNqkypbuCcOwqG7vNNS48R86kk8cUrWzLExStE6klIjJO74Qi0yLeCpr3z5jsOWKRHOIut2w2MIROfRMSU4xRwf4VkSn_4C5GxhEtm7kjTzv0up0nLWSj3dOcv/w505-h379/Song%20Thrush%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" width="505" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Song Thrush</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">What we were missing was any kind of year-tick, but as we reached the raptor watchpoint that was put right as a <b>Shelduck</b> flew over, heading south. </span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Ek-ZmN1CXtvA2vDWCz1-1zDR9tfeT562F-Wgz1wMToCCabmOSQnW8GPkhhaCKvB4xsLzozOYRXUXh99FGT5qiEkmYit7a3j4nOrhNco-sYwOS0CB9tJT2dyO41GqcGt6d8TT7BYLzV4mIP3Gt2LxeLkMMi4pFN-IDbXbb_lsv_rf1cEWjnr7nsQKt6UK/s2184/Shelduck%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1380" data-original-width="2184" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Ek-ZmN1CXtvA2vDWCz1-1zDR9tfeT562F-Wgz1wMToCCabmOSQnW8GPkhhaCKvB4xsLzozOYRXUXh99FGT5qiEkmYit7a3j4nOrhNco-sYwOS0CB9tJT2dyO41GqcGt6d8TT7BYLzV4mIP3Gt2LxeLkMMi4pFN-IDbXbb_lsv_rf1cEWjnr7nsQKt6UK/w514-h325/Shelduck%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" width="514" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Shelduck</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The birds were generally a bit jumpy, but we couldn't see the cause until Dave spotted a large <b>Sparrowhawk</b> heading past. Unfortunately I contrived to miss it. Shortly afterwards we did add a <b>Red Kite</b> to the day-list, although they are largely ignored by smaller birds, so it was unlikely to be the cause of the anxiety.</span></p>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-49252716086659873592024-01-18T07:40:00.000-08:002024-01-18T07:40:27.103-08:00Thursday January 18 - Earlswood<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">After a sharp overnight frost I decided to visit the Earlswood area hoping to at least add a few waterbirds to my year-list. But there had to be an element of roaming about the day, so I drove down Poolhead Road and began with a short walk to Earlswood STW.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I've noticed that several of the squares on my to do list are alongside the M42 and M40. Its rumbling presence really puts me off. The short walk to Earlswood STW ran alongside the M42, so I was deafened by traffic. This could be the excuse I need to admit that I didn't see very much there. A party of 10 <b>Pied Wagtails</b> and a <b>Grey Wagtail</b> within the sewage works compound were my only reward.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">As soon as I reached the lakes I realised I had miscalculated. The cold snap was the reason for my visit, but last night it must have been too cold and the lakes were almost completely frozen over. All the action was on Engine Pool. There were a couple of small breaks in the ice there, and its surface was swathed in the largest number of <b>Mallard</b> I have ever seen there. I counted 405 before something spooked them and several flew off.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The southernmost artificial island supported 10 <b>Common Snipe</b> although I've noticed they have had counts four times as large recently. They seem to roost there, which is probably why only a small number were left (and most of them flew off while I was there).</span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjEGBWYmYxTM5Mx6NE9OkmVDO-habSMjJpJPGWUgNSwW70a0Xj5A56j7XGUWtJKc_rotqUGKSKJwMPx2YB1orQx4wf-i7Fd4FggSZvLr47ly4vdMskBjzc9hk3ShEBQgVYr3wkuQzJRuwGgz82meKuyk69_GpiGk5tunZZ2gWQq7GVXGOwsVvRovGV2NNr/s3292/Common%20Snipe%20-%20Earlswood.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2181" data-original-width="3292" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjEGBWYmYxTM5Mx6NE9OkmVDO-habSMjJpJPGWUgNSwW70a0Xj5A56j7XGUWtJKc_rotqUGKSKJwMPx2YB1orQx4wf-i7Fd4FggSZvLr47ly4vdMskBjzc9hk3ShEBQgVYr3wkuQzJRuwGgz82meKuyk69_GpiGk5tunZZ2gWQq7GVXGOwsVvRovGV2NNr/w498-h330/Common%20Snipe%20-%20Earlswood.jpeg" width="498" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Common Snipe</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">There were some easy year-ticks on offer because there was just enough clear water to support three <b>Great Crested Grebes</b> and 12 <b>Goosanders</b>, along with reasonable numbers of <b>Coot</b> and <b>Tufted Ducks</b>. The drake <b>Wigeon </b>was also present, although it was among the Mallards standing on the ice.</span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0_tyU_H2NJIangozm4Z2B6Nkp0urv-xAvbu7QHs7Q1Smgi6k2Wlr7MMKkotkEiqHAj52LVqP71ud3AkSqqWS1YB6Ddp9LFD4a1OBzzn-wiJ-5R3JDYxSqILJzBXXP7n3ml_rWtyvJCewtshqLUhyphenhyphenvw8Agrnurm31J_KweF9PwIwitoGexWf_adnI3RuL-/s3788/Grebes%20and%20Tufties%20in%20a%20break%20in%20the%20ice%20-%20Earlswood.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2554" data-original-width="3788" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0_tyU_H2NJIangozm4Z2B6Nkp0urv-xAvbu7QHs7Q1Smgi6k2Wlr7MMKkotkEiqHAj52LVqP71ud3AkSqqWS1YB6Ddp9LFD4a1OBzzn-wiJ-5R3JDYxSqILJzBXXP7n3ml_rWtyvJCewtshqLUhyphenhyphenvw8Agrnurm31J_KweF9PwIwitoGexWf_adnI3RuL-/w512-h346/Grebes%20and%20Tufties%20in%20a%20break%20in%20the%20ice%20-%20Earlswood.jpeg" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A gap in the ice</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">There were plenty of <b>Black-headed Gulls</b> and a handful of <b>Herring </b>and <b>Lesser Black-backed Gulls </b>on the ice, but just as I decided I was too cold to remain, the third calendar year <b>Yellow-legged Gull</b> which has been here for much of the winter, flew in and landed.</span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4Cy_c36cTlJXD3FWYgtiL6DV0oHCm-cwBVCaw4jJEr7h59qPrv-szSFfyVrWj6Iak7nmJEDHUTfeztbPfBEdQU9rgkcdGym9B1aKJ7OA34CZio_1kZAFA7ob5WUDS8pTcKBARE8Hf87e3n-30jqoNlYK9S41ubNu13lu5YtXTRi6tSL2MYLCptPyDeNt/s4608/Yellow-legged%20Gull%20-%203%20cal%20Earlswood.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4Cy_c36cTlJXD3FWYgtiL6DV0oHCm-cwBVCaw4jJEr7h59qPrv-szSFfyVrWj6Iak7nmJEDHUTfeztbPfBEdQU9rgkcdGym9B1aKJ7OA34CZio_1kZAFA7ob5WUDS8pTcKBARE8Hf87e3n-30jqoNlYK9S41ubNu13lu5YtXTRi6tSL2MYLCptPyDeNt/w495-h371/Yellow-legged%20Gull%20-%203%20cal%20Earlswood.jpeg" width="495" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Yellow-legged Gull</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">I later discovered that I might have seen a couple of Common Gulls if I'd toughed it out a bit longer.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-35578167311432110952024-01-16T10:53:00.000-08:002024-01-16T12:57:16.405-08:00Tuesday January 16 - Sunflowers<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">Birdtrack is a fantastic thing. It's an on-line BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) site allowing you to input your records to aid their research and also for the benefit of the local county recorder. This is great, but it also allows you to "explore data" which means you can access a "recent sightings" map. This shows not only your records over the last three or four days, but also everyone else's. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">From this I learnt that a local birder, Rob S, had seen a flock of 400 finches (mostly Linnets and Chaffinches) but including two Bramblings at Beckett's Farm near Wythall.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I duly attended on a bright and very cold morning and targeted a field of sunflower heads next to the A435, where I guessed the birds would be. At the end of the field is a public footpath on which you could stand, slightly away from the traffic, looking back across the field towards Beckett's Farm. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">It was immediately clear that there were plenty of finches in the crop, but also that for a lot of the time they were out of sight. Occasionally something would spook the birds and they would all fly up, allowing some sort of estimate to be made. I couldn't get to the 400 mark, but made a conservative estimate of 120 <b>Linnets</b> and 70 <b>Chaffinches</b> plus a few <b>Greenfinches </b>and <b>Goldfinches</b>. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">This was very nice, but what I really wanted to see was a <b>Brambling</b>, and eventually I did. A female was perched on a flower head for several seconds. It chose to take off just as I got around to pressing the shutter, but I still got a recognisable image.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLLm3pbbl9Tad350Ob2LR_8XoGDbwOXrFspSikktO-AbOHD4uBFac6lZRjSxJLhlj6H9ZnqxyJiZbFdbsYRTFVgvfyoXZ2JIj3CdpGjnCJ8wb6UTjVB9biJ8ndYbcPaQF3o2xctpDiAmxWi3TuIeE6PReU9hXthsrbPiUDOxaTw7IFd0i2SzYXZxUjXSZ/s3128/Brambling%20-%20Becketts%20Farm.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2110" data-original-width="3128" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLLm3pbbl9Tad350Ob2LR_8XoGDbwOXrFspSikktO-AbOHD4uBFac6lZRjSxJLhlj6H9ZnqxyJiZbFdbsYRTFVgvfyoXZ2JIj3CdpGjnCJ8wb6UTjVB9biJ8ndYbcPaQF3o2xctpDiAmxWi3TuIeE6PReU9hXthsrbPiUDOxaTw7IFd0i2SzYXZxUjXSZ/w492-h332/Brambling%20-%20Becketts%20Farm.jpeg" width="492" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Brambling</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Not quite sharp, but how often do you get to see a shot of a Brambling in flight? So quite lucky really. I later saw what I took to be the same bird at the top of an oak tree in the same field.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Trying to record the spectacle of a lot of finches in flight is something which I find very difficult, but I gave it a go.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOTy5FMlSIZJoR_N1ge29d2YytavP_GQhEHjnG0eSAc7qSfmEEZUjOXFEi_6H2EIPPO5a38R2d7C-dYSCqBC1h-2qqIRS757ihpoaMlSZ-d2Nh-zencG0LBgsiosJPwxZajcnSyXi5pbnTpx24lCkyLPF5RUueaM8rZMQbDUybT_5nx7D7h0l4SAz657Xc/s4608/Linnets%20-%20Beckett's%20Farm.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOTy5FMlSIZJoR_N1ge29d2YytavP_GQhEHjnG0eSAc7qSfmEEZUjOXFEi_6H2EIPPO5a38R2d7C-dYSCqBC1h-2qqIRS757ihpoaMlSZ-d2Nh-zencG0LBgsiosJPwxZajcnSyXi5pbnTpx24lCkyLPF5RUueaM8rZMQbDUybT_5nx7D7h0l4SAz657Xc/w509-h382/Linnets%20-%20Beckett's%20Farm.jpeg" width="509" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mostly Linnets</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The Linnets spent most of their time out of sight, feeding on the ground. It's very much an all or nothing species in winter. I'm finding very few, usually none, as I wander around the Circle. But where the feeding is good, you can be sure that Linnets will be present in numbers. This is the second sunflower field I have seen around here, and both have been fantastic.</span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdab3QD___XCBXyi5OmHhrK9038AMzSJ2THyjEUfbFBgRdrfTfwK6J_vfj_MsRG70MsNct3ZkIC-BH0VVc8UpKCfe9AUByvurhPS0aaoNBfhVm4EzAMV3UIZqYU_LUSXgMHrNPBqEzgMl7E8iLro66ZLaC4WU4R3dl_c8rqz9NijsUqAnmGrrdLTtxglEx/s2853/Linnet%20-%20Beckett's%20Farm.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2006" data-original-width="2853" height="349" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdab3QD___XCBXyi5OmHhrK9038AMzSJ2THyjEUfbFBgRdrfTfwK6J_vfj_MsRG70MsNct3ZkIC-BH0VVc8UpKCfe9AUByvurhPS0aaoNBfhVm4EzAMV3UIZqYU_LUSXgMHrNPBqEzgMl7E8iLro66ZLaC4WU4R3dl_c8rqz9NijsUqAnmGrrdLTtxglEx/w497-h349/Linnet%20-%20Beckett's%20Farm.jpeg" width="497" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Linnet</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">After about an hour I couldn't feel my feet so I returned to the car and drove the short distance to Tanner's Green where I had planned to explore some more.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">This was more typical of my roaming, producing mainly garden birds. The highlights were a small party of <b>Siskins</b> and a <b>Red Fox</b>.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj69Bq9F4uDSTKM2LLxT3gFGxukTXM5UrYT7jhhsFIoOr4nRRayhER5LjpRnveO1XabrUwdKN00lS44hu2mDK585aQtR7EoQc_inJ9SA7dgKpPuCn8BDPl6TMIrWS-bc6m4nYM3VyafL-GjAfWDvOxtm3rPGOVdPCecIQVWQ33AVm8yfj2jf8TM0goEqAQZ/s4608/Red%20Fox%20-%20Tanner's%20Green.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj69Bq9F4uDSTKM2LLxT3gFGxukTXM5UrYT7jhhsFIoOr4nRRayhER5LjpRnveO1XabrUwdKN00lS44hu2mDK585aQtR7EoQc_inJ9SA7dgKpPuCn8BDPl6TMIrWS-bc6m4nYM3VyafL-GjAfWDvOxtm3rPGOVdPCecIQVWQ33AVm8yfj2jf8TM0goEqAQZ/w497-h373/Red%20Fox%20-%20Tanner's%20Green.jpeg" width="497" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A Fox through a hedge.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><br /></span><p></p>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-62935354559192648202024-01-14T09:29:00.000-08:002024-01-14T09:29:57.059-08:00Sunday January 14 - A change is as good as a rest<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">Morton Bagot only features today thanks to John Chidwick who visited late in the afternoon and watched a <b>Barn Owl</b> flying around.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I chose to try somewhere else, a bit different. To do a bit more exploring. My target was Coughton Fields Lane north of Alcester, and ironically it turned out to be not very different from Morton Bagot at all.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The fields on both sides of the road have been purchased by HOEF, and were therefore the familiar fare of young plantation and rough grassland. The birds were much the same as I might have seen if I'd stuck to the patch.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Two pairs of <b>Stonechats</b> were nonetheless very welcome. Further confirmation that they are well distributed throughout my wider patch. It's a far cry from the 1990s when finding a Stonechat was quite a coup. </span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_QpBNwqV_03RHtZ1cIle1P1MV4l_amoaGHtYtK0PWb9cXx17i_WT0YwsJrf-ifh5-lTDu-zU0cBMy4uZYrb_9Ha7Q14b9Ff8eKVubW7m-6BwxfWpXU978R1c4jsQEVBc18dyjgOiQ-7LYnhFeduc4bwYhUpPlAzb5FZaGaQciGz13VbXvEo5sA3ywGCHE/s3062/Stonechat%20-%20Coughton%20Fields%20Lane.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2471" data-original-width="3062" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_QpBNwqV_03RHtZ1cIle1P1MV4l_amoaGHtYtK0PWb9cXx17i_WT0YwsJrf-ifh5-lTDu-zU0cBMy4uZYrb_9Ha7Q14b9Ff8eKVubW7m-6BwxfWpXU978R1c4jsQEVBc18dyjgOiQ-7LYnhFeduc4bwYhUpPlAzb5FZaGaQciGz13VbXvEo5sA3ywGCHE/w480-h388/Stonechat%20-%20Coughton%20Fields%20Lane.jpeg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Female Stonechat</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Where the trees came to an end there was some arable farmland which gave me a <b>Yellowhammer</b>, a <b>Linnet</b>, and a few <b>Chaffinches</b>.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">A party of six <b>Mute Swans</b> heading north might have got me more excited if I hadn't heard the rhythmical thrum of their wingbeats from far away. Whoopers and Bewick's fly on largely silent wings.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Back among the saplings further reminders of the patch were a pair of <b>Bullfinches</b>, occasional <b>Redpolls</b> flying over, and a single female <b>Reed Bunting</b>. I'm finding the latter surprisingly hard to find away from Morton Bagot.</span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXyI-d1P4rOdm6qJAdxm9slU6ixgVvT3eftZPwjc0kEgJGup0YHxnifNDD_iBgfzTw5_yqjywokeE6ZiJxueycim6eumV48L4Es_Ld97sR-787hzJjaFiD5CJmmkXNdp6zr9Symk55y5JT1jdos_357JeGR2jVAR5eW4VQRyatZNNVDbvy80O4OxHihf_6/s4608/Bullfinch%20-%20Coughton%20Fields%20lane.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXyI-d1P4rOdm6qJAdxm9slU6ixgVvT3eftZPwjc0kEgJGup0YHxnifNDD_iBgfzTw5_yqjywokeE6ZiJxueycim6eumV48L4Es_Ld97sR-787hzJjaFiD5CJmmkXNdp6zr9Symk55y5JT1jdos_357JeGR2jVAR5eW4VQRyatZNNVDbvy80O4OxHihf_6/w485-h364/Bullfinch%20-%20Coughton%20Fields%20lane.jpeg" width="485" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bullfinch</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">I ended the morning with two driven circuits of Alcester looking for Waxwings. Flipping things! They seem to have leap-frogged the Circle with records from Badsey and Bidford to the south, and still some at Bartley and Longbridge to the north.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Needless to say, I didn't find any.</span></p>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-28003252022390747312024-01-13T06:01:00.000-08:002024-01-13T06:05:43.230-08:00Saturday January 13 - The dark arts<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">To say it's been a quiet week is something of an understatement. My determination to keep visiting the less enticing parts of my Circle is taking its toll. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">On Tuesday I walked from Astwood Bank to Shurnock and back. The latter place was a site I had been given as a former Willow Tit location when I took part in the Willow Tit Survey a few years ago. I didn't find any then or on Tuesday. They've definitely gone. Instead I found a <b>Coal Tit</b>, a <b>Treecreeper</b>, a <b>Nuthatch</b>, and a <b>Great Spotted Woodpecker</b> in the scrubby wood which I could well imagine used to sustain some Willow Tits. The highlight of a freezing cold day was flushing a <b>Green Sandpiper</b> from a stream at the edge of Astwood Lane.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">On Friday I went to Henley-in-Arden, and after a brief walk around the suburbs failing to find any Waxwings I walked west across a wonderful scrubby field (which is unfortunately a regular dog-walking route) to Hunger Hill. A few <b>Meadow Pipits</b> was a poor return, but it looked great as a potential Owl site. In a pathetic attempt to add a few year ticks I then drove to Wootton Pool and duly added <b>Red-legged Partridge</b>, <b>Mute Swan</b>, <b>Coot</b>, and <b>Tufted Duck</b>.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">It's a marathon not a sprint, should be my mantra this year.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, Tony has been catching <b>Jack Snipe </b>(two) and <b>Woodcock</b> (two) at Morton Bagot (and not in the scrape field he assures me).</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Which brings me to the Dark Arts. I refer to the taking of a few moth specimens during the year. I hate doing it, but its the only way to record certain species of micro-moths with any accuracy. This week Nigel, the Warwickshire Moth Recorder, contacted me with my 2023 results.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Of the twelve moths submitted, five were new for the garden, and two were the first to be confirmed ( I had identified <i style="font-weight: bold;">Dichrorampha vancouverana</i> and <b><i>Anarsia inoxiella </i></b>by photograph in 2018 and 2021, but specimens had been needed for full acceptance).</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The new ones were; <i style="font-weight: bold;">Eucosma hohenwartiana</i>, <b><i>Coleophora glaucicolella</i></b>, <i style="font-weight: bold;">Coleophora saxicolella</i>, <i style="font-weight: bold;">Elachista luticomella </i>(the first in Warwickshire since 2011), and <i style="font-weight: bold;">Bryotropha basaltinella</i>.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"></i></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGVRw0Vv1P2EDVjDNiQI2vaOUvx01SHUr7cl9H4nVQWXeXHmr8W4gPvtAxS2kJaPkj9mxXd9oFIsbNyuezuS0aO23YP49RkUWJyPoMt4VBFSUO_4_lQPqdEye_YCuj5Y9MJsKSQ7FeS5-3UnHGHhFplNCmhNXFii-BvnHFuzkXwjrLITyoh4T9FJiFz8If/s757/Elachista%20luticomella.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="584" data-original-width="757" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGVRw0Vv1P2EDVjDNiQI2vaOUvx01SHUr7cl9H4nVQWXeXHmr8W4gPvtAxS2kJaPkj9mxXd9oFIsbNyuezuS0aO23YP49RkUWJyPoMt4VBFSUO_4_lQPqdEye_YCuj5Y9MJsKSQ7FeS5-3UnHGHhFplNCmhNXFii-BvnHFuzkXwjrLITyoh4T9FJiFz8If/w455-h351/Elachista%20luticomella.jpeg" width="455" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Elachista luticomella</i> - 09 August 2023</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><br /> </i>Fortunately most moth-trapping is of the non-lethal variety.</span><p></p>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-71062919783231836232024-01-07T05:58:00.000-08:002024-01-08T08:16:51.851-08:00Sunday January 7 - Morton Bagot<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">In sunny, but cold, conditions Dave and I paid our usual Sunday morning respects to the patch. There are still a few low-hanging fruit available for the year-list, and that's just as well. We duly plucked three <b>Jack Snipe</b>, 14 <b>Common Snipe</b>, <b>Grey Heron</b>, and <b>Red Kite</b> before the pick of the day, a pair of <b>Marsh Tits</b>. </span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzZOqw74XVJ621dsLlDTZDb0OuiammF8CdQ-l8JGC5IAnmMZSXET7YYB5Q9H9YdMqSV5OGb-g_kX-0u_F8ayuA5BS5Xk5JuuRUpYqSwDR1fxqZ3oQs02NfX5XrID5WgL9H9seuy5iar1gHlmEOWdsVoTcS8IiEAsgGvIyMsL6Fit09VtKcnAh3Jgtgxh8k/s4608/Marsh%20Tit%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzZOqw74XVJ621dsLlDTZDb0OuiammF8CdQ-l8JGC5IAnmMZSXET7YYB5Q9H9YdMqSV5OGb-g_kX-0u_F8ayuA5BS5Xk5JuuRUpYqSwDR1fxqZ3oQs02NfX5XrID5WgL9H9seuy5iar1gHlmEOWdsVoTcS8IiEAsgGvIyMsL6Fit09VtKcnAh3Jgtgxh8k/w474-h356/Marsh%20Tit%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" width="474" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Marsh Tit</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">There are still a good number of <b>Fieldfares</b> and <b>Redwings</b> to sift through, and we were pleased to see an increased number of <b>Lapwings</b> (35), in the flash field. The <b>Greylag Goose</b> flock was even harder to see than last week, but didn't seem to be accompanied by anything rare. About 21 <b>Teal</b> completed the picture at the flash field.</span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3SWO8YzBUboqOFe5QRAvbVUzVS6RMcWYVq4a0lvq1n5TrDncY65eloONxgvK6uzsvAJgs5bdaums8M6qsx_nlOYtqltKhQpZG2yUIlHmeE3Tx6y50DllVdGyxFSJl_mBY-iQyohbP3TE0CwXjVd41DnqfvufjRFMlyFyCvaFR3_kha5NbDvJbe_EEEhaL/s4608/Fieldfare%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3SWO8YzBUboqOFe5QRAvbVUzVS6RMcWYVq4a0lvq1n5TrDncY65eloONxgvK6uzsvAJgs5bdaums8M6qsx_nlOYtqltKhQpZG2yUIlHmeE3Tx6y50DllVdGyxFSJl_mBY-iQyohbP3TE0CwXjVd41DnqfvufjRFMlyFyCvaFR3_kha5NbDvJbe_EEEhaL/w489-h367/Fieldfare%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" width="489" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Fieldfare</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">There was a good smattering of finches with all the expected species in small numbers, and we accumulated three pairs of <b>Stonechats</b>, assuming we weren't counting one pair three times.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Further afield, Waxwings are still absent from the Circle, but there have been a couple of good sightings of other species. Matt Griffiths heard <b>Pink-footed Goose </b>calls over Tidbury Green a couple of nights ago, with Josh Toogood also hearing some over Cofton Hackett. The belief is that these records were of the same bird(s). Meanwhile, Tony and Leigh Kelly caught an immature (maybe immature female) <b>Common Redpoll</b> at Alne Wood on Friday along with 59 <b>Lesser Redpolls</b>.</span></p>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-10138284618564342282024-01-04T06:53:00.000-08:002024-01-04T06:56:22.771-08:00Thursday January 4 - Lower Bentley<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">More gap filling took place today. My choice of venue was Lower Bentley, a rather uninspiring area of farmland west of Redditch, and to the south of a wood called The Thrift. I actually parked by the entrance to a Worcestershire Trust reserve called Foster's Green Meadow. Most of this reserve is outside my circle, and its a renowned wildflower meadow. So not really a place to visit in January.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The highlights of my walk were a calling <b>Yellowhammer</b>, a substantial flock of <b>Redwings</b> and <b>Fieldfares</b>, and an exceptionally pale <b>Buzzard</b>.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN11ejHTtRNFUT2UHIUtAi1Sm_OFFwim5j_XXNJjDwOxpQ1QqKx4qwtS-Mfu8BqEG86RFzbmjeqT9Bf5EcoQXxHg7Nlcba27p8tYLrC3haciYHd2u7BnsmOgbxQifqLnHR5oCkKZVuSCcDS6Oz08NwdHFmvKIdoy5Ev0-_3ijXs3ytg62bEWAm7fDXcZ1i/s4608/Fieldfares%20and%20Redwings%20near%20Foster's%20Green.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN11ejHTtRNFUT2UHIUtAi1Sm_OFFwim5j_XXNJjDwOxpQ1QqKx4qwtS-Mfu8BqEG86RFzbmjeqT9Bf5EcoQXxHg7Nlcba27p8tYLrC3haciYHd2u7BnsmOgbxQifqLnHR5oCkKZVuSCcDS6Oz08NwdHFmvKIdoy5Ev0-_3ijXs3ytg62bEWAm7fDXcZ1i/w479-h359/Fieldfares%20and%20Redwings%20near%20Foster's%20Green.jpeg" width="479" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Redwings and Fieldfares</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6Qs3-hi5kSqkdSOObu651HROIlSjoYtR8Y4RvD6VxW63pVmQRlUGxN9rLrUp2n8lqFWS99zHqzsLwGlcqlKk4qgm4vD2cPD9wSMY6tGspVuyY08S_PBA-qtxhMKEmWG9cmP5QBMMdc1gNnz7uMR_tGa1g8mr7wmtgOt-DTsBxePZVNhOmV6ufCOYf51x/s3745/Buzzard%20(pale)%20near%20Lower%20Bentley.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2364" data-original-width="3745" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6Qs3-hi5kSqkdSOObu651HROIlSjoYtR8Y4RvD6VxW63pVmQRlUGxN9rLrUp2n8lqFWS99zHqzsLwGlcqlKk4qgm4vD2cPD9wSMY6tGspVuyY08S_PBA-qtxhMKEmWG9cmP5QBMMdc1gNnz7uMR_tGa1g8mr7wmtgOt-DTsBxePZVNhOmV6ufCOYf51x/w500-h316/Buzzard%20(pale)%20near%20Lower%20Bentley.jpeg" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Common Buzzard (very pale version)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">I flushed the Buzzard from a line of trees. In flight it showed a white rump, and some white at the base of its tail, but not enough to get me very excited. It then landed in a tree two fields away, which explains the poor quality record shot. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">You would normally expect to be accumulating year-ticks on your second outing of the new year, but I had just three; a <b>Cormorant </b>flying west, a singing <b>Mistle Thrush</b>, and a <b>Treecreeper</b>.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I should, of course, be out looking for Waxwings. The nearest to me now are a few at Longbridge a mile north of Upper Bittell. </span></p>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-9708926796006723262024-01-01T07:39:00.000-08:002024-01-01T09:17:14.512-08:00Monday January 1 - Morton Bagot...again<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">If it hadn't been for the discovery of the White-fronted Goose yesterday I would not have been back at Morton Bagot this morning, and certainly not in the field an hour before dawn. But the chance of getting the goose on both the 2023 and 2024 year-lists proved irresistible.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">There was just one problem. The goose had gone. I had blithely imagined that geese will have roosted on the flashes as they do in September. They hadn't. My back up plan was that it would be early enough to see Owls. I saw none.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">However, before Dave arrived at our usual rendezvous time I had one little slice of good fortune. While I lurked at the edge of the tiny reed bed at the dragonfly pools I heard a <b>Kingfisher</b>, and because I was obscured by the reeds it landed in a bush right in front of me.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0s9GdnLFA_f7cJx1dXsuoK5vnobQzHLVveaJtsRsEs8RyTmX3zxG2v2kWIzTCUyr3Ci8Z7Qo4f0eQX6Uawf7Mq8h8WZTCc-PZ9MUbRn2BzSB9tgdjZUTZ57V7mQRGru8svRL1ZboQ41X-p68PXLamc4HPCcqyB6w767bBGRHssfAfNlK2SUwQ0wjVJiES/s4608/Kingfisher%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0s9GdnLFA_f7cJx1dXsuoK5vnobQzHLVveaJtsRsEs8RyTmX3zxG2v2kWIzTCUyr3Ci8Z7Qo4f0eQX6Uawf7Mq8h8WZTCc-PZ9MUbRn2BzSB9tgdjZUTZ57V7mQRGru8svRL1ZboQ41X-p68PXLamc4HPCcqyB6w767bBGRHssfAfNlK2SUwQ0wjVJiES/w496-h372/Kingfisher%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" width="496" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Kingfisher</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Bearing in mind that in most previous years there have been no Kingfishers at Morton Bagot until about July, this was quite a coup.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Dave arrived and we set off on the familiar circuit. As it was the first day of the year, every species took on a renewed significance as the list grew. Having said that, we made a conscious decision not to disturb the Snipe in the scrape field as I gathered Tony had been in the marsh yesterday and had recorded five Jack Snipe. We felt they needed a breather.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">There was renewed optimism about the Goose situation as I had seen over thirty <b>Greylag Geese</b> flying in from the south. Sadly this was misplaced and we counted just the same 37 Greylags as yesterday. Also absent were the large numbers of thrushes seen previously. We saw barely 20 each of <b>Fieldfares </b>and <b>Redwings</b>. On the plus side we saw the <b>Stonechat</b> in the scrape field and then added two more in the flash field.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit4t-GgaaG8w7tG0nS8sgZmO7l6hWFuVdTQKU0_4VmNz_w75h9qth9RYgJWZXipy2s2x-dMz6R34_95MFf78ELRCbYYlI2GyFqwpHs1cd3FXkZ7ymB-P9VamMCa2XdXm92c8-jt5u9q652AA6ngEf7cndRMcXVQAG_jC5Cvfy1wfrG-JP0EJ_kYTshd1WY/s3371/Stonechat%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2540" data-original-width="3371" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit4t-GgaaG8w7tG0nS8sgZmO7l6hWFuVdTQKU0_4VmNz_w75h9qth9RYgJWZXipy2s2x-dMz6R34_95MFf78ELRCbYYlI2GyFqwpHs1cd3FXkZ7ymB-P9VamMCa2XdXm92c8-jt5u9q652AA6ngEf7cndRMcXVQAG_jC5Cvfy1wfrG-JP0EJ_kYTshd1WY/w485-h365/Stonechat%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" width="485" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Male Stonechat in the flash field</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">On my early morning visit I had counted 40 <b>Teal</b> on the nearest flash, but now there were about half as many visible. Two <b>Lapwings</b> stood at the edge of the furthest flash, and a highlight came as a <b>Green Sandpiper</b> dropped onto the back edge of the nearest.</span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA-CL6YvUD91utGUvIZ9zmz80zEB1qEXIni7OnY-F1HuVajemyyR62WKjmyS-hpkyBTAY2xFLHekzYGnhzwNN4wbCVnIuP-9sMDlB1RGUE4lsI3JKVE2Z6k1N576SSAHHzTJiZNRGE7nJ2Ef9eE7v-4mGaR8W98TtCSosgiMjCrFrjnW5-_ZPKJ6QCbVqN/s3115/Green%20Sandpiper%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2347" data-original-width="3115" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA-CL6YvUD91utGUvIZ9zmz80zEB1qEXIni7OnY-F1HuVajemyyR62WKjmyS-hpkyBTAY2xFLHekzYGnhzwNN4wbCVnIuP-9sMDlB1RGUE4lsI3JKVE2Z6k1N576SSAHHzTJiZNRGE7nJ2Ef9eE7v-4mGaR8W98TtCSosgiMjCrFrjnW5-_ZPKJ6QCbVqN/w481-h362/Green%20Sandpiper%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" width="481" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Green Sandpiper</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Dave suggested another scan of the geese so we retreated back up the slope to give it one more go. Same result, except that we heard two of the less expected species. Firstly a <b>Yellowhammer</b> called several times as it flew over us, visible only as a distant dot, and then a squeal from the rushes surrounding the nearest flash was enough to add <b>Water Rail</b> to the year-list (and this time we both heard it).</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Our final tally was a solid 51 species (only 50 for me because I missed some <b>Red-legged Partridges</b> Dave had flushed on the walk back). </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">However I added a <b>Jay</b> to my list as I drove home.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">You can't beat the first day of the year.</span></p>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-50465619542572175902023-12-31T09:41:00.000-08:002023-12-31T10:01:06.110-08:00Sunday December 31 - Good things come to those who wait.<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">I had expected this posting to be the traditional review of the year kind of thing, but today's visit to Morton Bagot was too impressive to ignore.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">It began unpromisingly. Heavy showers had dampened Dave's enthusiasm by the time I finally arrived. Nevertheless we took advantage of a brief cessation in the bloody awful weather and headed northwards from Netherstead.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">At the scrape field the scrapes were awash. There was enough water for 47 <b>Mallard</b> to dabble in, and enough pasture for a <b>Stonechat </b>and about 10 <b>Meadow Pipits</b>. We chose not to enter, but instead to make our way to the flash field. A large flock of thrushes was assessed as containing 230 <b>Redwings</b>, 40 <b>Starlings</b>, and at least 20 <b>Fieldfares</b>. The scope was erected but no amount of scanning could produce anything rarer.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Looking across the flash field we could see the usual <b>Teal</b> (Dave counted 27), and a less usual flock of <b>Greylag Geese</b>. At some point in the next half hour I thought I saw a smaller goose among these geese. We wisely headed back up the slope to scope the furthest flash. The geese were feeding to the right of the flash and were hard to see properly. I had in mind Mark Islip's sighting of a White-front at Arrow Valley Lake earlier in the week.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">From a higher vantage point we were in a position to at least count the Greylags (37...Dave again). At last I picked out a smaller, dark goose among the Greylags. For ages it wouldn't put its head up, or would be obscured by other geese. I was hogging the scope, only giving Dave his turn when I got a clear enough view to call it a <b>White-fronted Goose</b>. We switched positions, Dave having his chance to see the bird, while I wondered how best to get a shot of it. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Eventually I headed down the slope, closer to the trees, from where I had a big enough gap to give me a chance. Without the scope it was much harder to find the bird, but eventually I did so.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEMBQj5lRwNRQkp0i-AIhux051KyqipLi-3O_PZkNQPNro3ddKiuVZ-fu8n6o1Y2z3BN1cSHbPSyExpsLsghllNF_5O8UM1rywJjUAoEVCCAMwmOVrG92H1CEi82m-oxsFCQPV7yLi5vsse5h2_liGQyLMY5t6-SO6GNE5ZNdjoreofRL3BKbhEXgoOShG/s3191/White-fronted%20Goose%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2485" data-original-width="3191" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEMBQj5lRwNRQkp0i-AIhux051KyqipLi-3O_PZkNQPNro3ddKiuVZ-fu8n6o1Y2z3BN1cSHbPSyExpsLsghllNF_5O8UM1rywJjUAoEVCCAMwmOVrG92H1CEi82m-oxsFCQPV7yLi5vsse5h2_liGQyLMY5t6-SO6GNE5ZNdjoreofRL3BKbhEXgoOShG/w480-h373/White-fronted%20Goose%20-%20Morton%20Bagot.jpeg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"Russian" White-fronted Goose with three Greylags</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Dave was far behind me on top of the rise, anxious not to lose the goose. This was unfortunate, because it meant he didn't hear the <b>Water Rail</b> which squealed from the marsh.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Around this time I received some Twitter messages from Mark Williams and Andy Harris. Evidently Mark had visited Morton Bagot on Friday, and on his way home had discovered a <b>Short-eared Owl</b> near Wawensmere Road. He hoped it might still be in the area. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I went back to encourage Dave to join me at a slightly better position half way down the slope. From here the views of the geese were better, although I only managed one more shot of the White-front with its head up.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVtvuNmlFyc8W9lSPF1X-KtKXQ9TCpdXkzlmzCCk2ez1fJy_n2rYSkScJa_tjWVxDsMm4mE4DNizKTdb7ZEJHS9QOzIsYZV4VRTz2NuAju5Y2j9ePjs4iCosb2-T5_5aSQ57q_jzy34CEmRieLt1ZLZm4SU9rOvyx2c1vnmuctnhtJrbaKjAn0ZhLQnq9p/s3570/White-fronted%20Goose1%20-%20Morton%20bagot.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2900" data-original-width="3570" height="407" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVtvuNmlFyc8W9lSPF1X-KtKXQ9TCpdXkzlmzCCk2ez1fJy_n2rYSkScJa_tjWVxDsMm4mE4DNizKTdb7ZEJHS9QOzIsYZV4VRTz2NuAju5Y2j9ePjs4iCosb2-T5_5aSQ57q_jzy34CEmRieLt1ZLZm4SU9rOvyx2c1vnmuctnhtJrbaKjAn0ZhLQnq9p/w501-h407/White-fronted%20Goose1%20-%20Morton%20bagot.jpeg" width="501" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">White-fronted Goose</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">As far as we could see, the bird lacked black belly markings and didn't have a very clear white "front", leading us to conclude it was a juvenile/first-winter bird. I rang Mark and he confirmed that the Arrow Valley Lake bird was also a juvenile. Clearly it was the same goose.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The reason I'm going on a bit about this bird is that there has only been one here before. That was an adult I had seen in flight in November 2011, twelve years ago.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">With the rain pepping up again we decided to head back, crossing the middle of the fields, hoping to flush the Short-eared Owl. We didn't succeed, but did kick up several <b>Snipe</b> and a <b>Woodcock</b>.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The White-fronted Goose becomes the 143rd species on my Circle year-list, and now is the time for a quick canter through the year's highlights.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The best find was a moth! The <b>Clancy's Rustic</b> in my garden trap in late September was the first for both Warwickshire and the wider West Midlands. Butterflies also got in on the act, with <b>Brown Hairstreaks</b> at Morton Bagot and in my garden in August/September.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYzTii74bUzq6rMQPp3ucB0rO00VDhRbhIyTLjkxs1W-ODVGcgW5-hAgAt4cLhVzJ_TmOnWfO9qmKiwB6Yp4-QRBxC-yrWrz2ssuwn7Ahn_BxA4uSkGlHVN3Eg1vvtiRVOv3T7RVp8a-R32uPu2KWqZiDsNgY-M0CVQc36GLj6f-GsAUZmV8nSSb6cUbu7/s2578/Clancy's%20Rustic1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1759" data-original-width="2578" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYzTii74bUzq6rMQPp3ucB0rO00VDhRbhIyTLjkxs1W-ODVGcgW5-hAgAt4cLhVzJ_TmOnWfO9qmKiwB6Yp4-QRBxC-yrWrz2ssuwn7Ahn_BxA4uSkGlHVN3Eg1vvtiRVOv3T7RVp8a-R32uPu2KWqZiDsNgY-M0CVQc36GLj6f-GsAUZmV8nSSb6cUbu7/w455-h309/Clancy's%20Rustic1.jpeg" width="455" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Clancy's Rustic</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW14PhyphenhyphenoRmAn6YXQUQgn_EdmnbCetBcrZ0cLBx4IOkQG1QM8-6zhSM5fhVzZQjk1uxHFAtztJ_iR-C03RWd9eT7CMtPIbp66vmAJRo98OqGmHhNEor7mlisEs-apwPfXIIkJbTnKik_jDCcyuThFChhZDyHcr1eCR7sVOvaT25w98Dhyphenhyphenc4P_Md4Jy1x32I/s2463/Brown%20Hairstreak%20underside.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1676" data-original-width="2463" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW14PhyphenhyphenoRmAn6YXQUQgn_EdmnbCetBcrZ0cLBx4IOkQG1QM8-6zhSM5fhVzZQjk1uxHFAtztJ_iR-C03RWd9eT7CMtPIbp66vmAJRo98OqGmHhNEor7mlisEs-apwPfXIIkJbTnKik_jDCcyuThFChhZDyHcr1eCR7sVOvaT25w98Dhyphenhyphenc4P_Md4Jy1x32I/w456-h310/Brown%20Hairstreak%20underside.jpeg" width="456" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Brown Hairstreak in the garden</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">As far as birds go, there wasn't really a true stand-out. There were plenty of good birds though. The <b>Kittiwake</b> we found dead in February was the only species which was new for Morton Bagot, but a <b>Goshawk</b> in August was the first since 2012, and today's <b>White-fronted Goose </b>was the first since 2011. Other quality birds at Morton Bagot were two <b>Quails</b> (June and September), a <b>Wood Sandpiper</b> in August, and a <b>Garganey</b> in September.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Further afield the <b>Nordic Jackdaw</b> near Hockley Heath earlier this month was my first in the West Midlands, the <b>Tundra Bean Goose </b>of dubious provenance at Shortwood Roughs was a Circle Patch tick, and three <b>Rock Pipits</b> at Earlswood joined some good twitched birds there; <b>Common Scoters</b>, <b>Little Gull</b>, <b>Mediterranean Gull</b>, and <b>Sandwich Tern</b>. The last of these also being a Circle patch tick for me.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOFZN1xfY0D8x1s_oj-bhPU_jmqmUirKRjMYNubz7PFx7MGtC1C8HinWWHZMf0oEKUOh28DMoKM7buzwuFkZzJL_iynl7vnxNlKK7UXMLilgM3jw7hyphenhyphent6HVCjrKDzHVqUtRuwH6_I7MO4eLw9-lEp2tUx3H-bX3nq3YQjswBHn-zTAXlnHlWzwYCbdSxgy/s3122/Sandwich%20Tern%20-%20Earlswood.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2165" data-original-width="3122" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOFZN1xfY0D8x1s_oj-bhPU_jmqmUirKRjMYNubz7PFx7MGtC1C8HinWWHZMf0oEKUOh28DMoKM7buzwuFkZzJL_iynl7vnxNlKK7UXMLilgM3jw7hyphenhyphent6HVCjrKDzHVqUtRuwH6_I7MO4eLw9-lEp2tUx3H-bX3nq3YQjswBHn-zTAXlnHlWzwYCbdSxgy/w464-h322/Sandwich%20Tern%20-%20Earlswood.jpeg" width="464" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sandwich Tern at Earlswood</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I would just like to wish everyone a Happy New Year, and hope we all find plenty of good birds to keep us going in 2024.</span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915676116152934872.post-72566735210653111142023-12-28T04:25:00.000-08:002023-12-28T04:29:44.653-08:00Thursday December 28 - weekly round-up<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">My birding this week has been affected by events. Obviously Christmas Day was out of the question, but a sunny Boxing Day morning saw me heading for Beoley for some more exploration. I parked at St Laurence's Church and strolled northwards.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">There is a place of interest there, it's described in the WMBC Annual Report as Rose Cottage. I've been quite curious to see what the draw was, and during the spring I heard from Josh Toogood. He mentioned a rough area and found a pair of Stonechats breeding. I believe I found the place quite quickly and was very impressed by the habitat.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijLQlVbo__PKyOFIUNile_PqSVdub87_dCrthvbIIQJHvu6zoJv1vk7-fWe_SLpuyG2YktHUqRom28H_DRgjldUfWABrXi94ShMiUjpNxauzf2BeLiZwE-YCJaS_WYUlVJdVjB-9j2x84cTVUl_pJ5f5jFPpVYL3HR9lUQUzqtrDNcicDvdlykHsG6tfYw/s4608/Beoley.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijLQlVbo__PKyOFIUNile_PqSVdub87_dCrthvbIIQJHvu6zoJv1vk7-fWe_SLpuyG2YktHUqRom28H_DRgjldUfWABrXi94ShMiUjpNxauzf2BeLiZwE-YCJaS_WYUlVJdVjB-9j2x84cTVUl_pJ5f5jFPpVYL3HR9lUQUzqtrDNcicDvdlykHsG6tfYw/w497-h373/Beoley.jpeg" width="497" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">It was a very large field of rough grassland, and I could just imagine a Short-eared Owl hunting over it. The downside was a fence, the shadow of which can be seen in the photo. There is clearly no access to most of the site, and I saw absolutely nothing on my visit.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Instead I wandered further up the road before diverting into the fields on a long looping walk. The highlights were a singing <b>Mistle Thrush</b>, decent numbers of <b>Redwings</b>, and a <b>Kingfisher</b> on the pool at Beoley Hall.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKTpTneGZsQxLYQOq4rhlaZ3mWrCbT5AwqiL7B4qKPMVrVr7vnb4yzKoQPRRk_jiWF23pqMXwPGLH9N02XarmktLSgDmftrjmMYbjjqBmkwHelCPaFrM0Mg1vxkZGzGgH8izul6saJPnV3RkJSjV3FODQ6WNqxW-BNPjirKFWId8wmFrjv1yQNCtxP-iD/s4608/Kingfisher%20-%20Beoley.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKTpTneGZsQxLYQOq4rhlaZ3mWrCbT5AwqiL7B4qKPMVrVr7vnb4yzKoQPRRk_jiWF23pqMXwPGLH9N02XarmktLSgDmftrjmMYbjjqBmkwHelCPaFrM0Mg1vxkZGzGgH8izul6saJPnV3RkJSjV3FODQ6WNqxW-BNPjirKFWId8wmFrjv1yQNCtxP-iD/w476-h357/Kingfisher%20-%20Beoley.jpeg" width="476" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Kingfisher </span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">This morning I was less ambitious. Lyn has tweaked a muscle so my morning was restricted to a quick visit to my sister in Tidbury Green (they had seen a Rose-ringed Parakeet on their feeder on Christmas Day) followed by a wander around a modern housing estate at Cheswick Green in the hope of finding some Waxwings.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Predictably the Parakeet was a no show, but Cheswick Green did produce an unexpected surprise. Not a Waxwing, I couldn't even find any berry-laden shrubs, but instead a <b>Stonechat</b>.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmPPi8e30wivxJqd4-55j2DfElFbOlO2M210BiAm_zPA1VRmP7cLzN5ZIjcedw34jtEt-KQxZiDw6fuy2ZMJJd76GTmftSqzmLgaB0SNEsIJaobm6iQSDoymqh0T0Dpb5J1u1G5PDXGmzZXjZ7wGUAhDIVaVt6vhjydhuu6_Vqhz5PbHh-krnhaTM8y4-V/s4608/Stonechat%20at%20Cheswick%20Green.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmPPi8e30wivxJqd4-55j2DfElFbOlO2M210BiAm_zPA1VRmP7cLzN5ZIjcedw34jtEt-KQxZiDw6fuy2ZMJJd76GTmftSqzmLgaB0SNEsIJaobm6iQSDoymqh0T0Dpb5J1u1G5PDXGmzZXjZ7wGUAhDIVaVt6vhjydhuu6_Vqhz5PbHh-krnhaTM8y4-V/w491-h368/Stonechat%20at%20Cheswick%20Green.jpeg" width="491" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Stonechat</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The bird was on the fence of a boardwalk which crossed a man-made ditch/channel which is similar to one I have seen at Tidbury Heights. I'm not sure what function these pools perform but they seem popular with the planners of these modern villages. I'm certainly not complaining.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The rest of the walk was less inspiring, several parties of <b>Starlings</b> and <b>Goldfinches</b>, and one small party of <b>Redpolls</b> which flew over.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Time has almost run out for any local Waxwings this year, but it was always odds-on that I wouldn't see any until later in the winter....fingers crossed.<br /><br /></span></p>Richard Harbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05163893602074658097noreply@blogger.com0