Tuesday May 19 - Earlswood Lakes

If birding is a game, then today was definitely a game of two halves. In the morning I basically had a nightmare, but the afternoon brought salvation.

I had got up early to find rain pelting down. Obviously my enthusiasm kicked in. Why wouldn't it? I was birding at Earlswood by 06:05. The rain had pepped up if anything, and it caused my first wrong decision as I opted not to cross the causeway into the driving rain but rather to scan from the relative shelter of the Malthouse Lane side of Engine.

Thus after about an hour I had seen the Egyptian Goose and the usual Yellow-legged Gull plus a few hirundines, two Common Terns, and a Little Egret. My plan had always been to return home to get Lyn up, and to return later (incorporating a visit to my sister's house).

Just as I set out for the post-breakfast visit Whatsapp ping'd. Turnstone on Engine Pool (John Oates). I'd barely pressed the accelerator before he added the news it had flown. He was looking for it. 

I joined him, and we were joined by Mike Inkip. John had checked most of the likely spots, but Mike and I gave the Malthouse Lane side another look. Nothing better than a Kestrel hunting the causeway bank.

I went to my sister's, but called in again on the way back home. Almost immediately I got onto a Falcon heading away over the houses. Definitely not the Kestrel, this was a Hobby or a Peregrine. Initially it was mobbed by a large gull before briefly disappearing behind roofs. It then reappeared but just kept getting further and further away. My gut feeling was Hobby, but I was concerned that on the initial view it had looked a tiny bit too large. In the end I gave up on it. Hobby would have been my first this year, while Peregrine would have been a site tick (surprisingly). The Turnstone appeared to be absent, so I concluded it had gone.

But then....back home after lunch another message from John. Birdguides was reporting that the Turnstone was still present. I was back in the car, and pretty soon John confirmed he was watching it. 

By the time I arrived my adrenaline levels were no doubt high because I found myself sprinting the first section. 100 metres in about 30 seconds (not exactly Olympic standard). I joined John who pointed to the Turnstone. What a relief. Yes I know they are common on the coast, but this was only the third or fourth site record. It had presumably been forced to bail out when it met the wet weather this morning, delaying its migration back to the high arctic.

In contrast to my arrival, Janet and later John Sirrett, ambled up. Janet was in time to get good views, but John had only flight views before it flew off and disappeared around the trees masking part of the Malthouse Lane shoreline. We were sure it would reappear, but apparently it hasn't yet.

On the way back Janet and I watched a brood of Mallard ducklings leaping from the path alongside Engine Pool near Wood Lane car park as a curious Jackdaw ambled up, no doubt wondering whether it could tackle a duckling. The drop was the equivalent of a human jumping off the roof of a house, but of course they all landed unharmed.

Later in the afternoon the Turnstone was indeed relocated, allowing those who have to work for a living the chance to see it.

Sunday May 17 - Bannam's Wood

My patch is bordered by a rather splendid old deciduous (mostly) wood called Bannam's. From a patch point of view my only interest in it is the bit I can see from the road. However I should probably pay it more attention, so today I did.

The Millennium Way footpath winds its way up the south side of the wood from High Field Farm. At the top of the steep bit you reach the first of two benches, and it is around there it may be possible to find a Spotted Flycatcher. But not today unfortunately. Maybe too early.

 Throughout the walk birdsong rings out. By the time I reached the end of the wood I'd counted 17 Wrens, 15 Blackbirds, 11 Blackcaps, 11 Chiffchaffs, nine Robins, and eight Song Thrushes as well as numerous common Tit species. These probably make up the bulk of the sound.

Naturally I was more interested in finding the less common species. These included two Marsh Tits sufficiently distant from one another to represent half of two pairs, singing Willow Warbler and Whitethroat in the slightly less mature top of the wood, and two singing Garden Warblers.

Butterflies seemed in short supply today, perhaps because the weather is only starting to warm up now that the wind has swung round to a westerly direction. I did however finally confirm a single Small White. I'd seen several "whites" during the spring but most wouldn't stop flying and those that did had proved to be Green-veined White.

Small White pretending to be a leaf

My knowledge of plants is lamentably poor. This morning I happened upon a pretty little flower by the path which rang no bells whatsoever. Thankfully my Obsidentify App was able to name it as Crosswort. Ooh, never heard of it.

Crosswort

When I got home I looked it up. Had I found something unusual? Nah, the book said common, just one of a thousand plants I've walked passed without noticing.

I will try to pay another visit before the spring is out.

PS: Following Matt's comment it seems that Crosswort is near-threatened in Warwickshire with only 19 known sites.

Saturday May 16 - Morton Bagot

 Saturday is GMS moth morning, but as I surveyed my empty trap following a chilly night I reflected that it was a good job Tony had tipped me off that they would be ringing at Morton Bagot this morning. 

I arrived at 05:45 to find no ringers on site. Shortly afterwards Leigh and John arrived, Tony having apparently opted for Spernal STW with an eye on trying to catch "the other" male Cuckoo. Meanwhile at Morton Bagot a Cuckoo cuckoo'd in the distance.

John and Leigh set up their nets while I headed for the flash field which turned out to be empty of waders apart Lapwing, although the Cetti's and Sedge Warblers were singing by way of compensation.

Back at the nets two more ringers had arrived and warblers began to fall into their hands. First up was a female Blackcap which was aged as a "four". Leigh did explain how they'd reached this conclusion but I'm afraid I rather lost the thread when it came to understanding what that meant.

Female Blackcap

When I had arrived, a Grasshopper Warbler had been reeling near where the nets are usually placed. It wasn't long before it was caught, and turned out to be a frequent visitor, having been caught four or five times since 2024 when they first ringed it.

Grasshopper Warbler

Another good one to turn up was a female Garden Warbler, its brood patch proving it was in the process of incubating eggs. It was quickly processed and released.

Garden Warbler

An awful lot of sitting, or in my case standing, around is part and parcel of ringing studies. But while we were doing so, three Lesser Whitethroats were observed chasing each other around in the bushes and I managed a record shot.

Lesser Whitethroat

The ringers did catch a female Common Whitethroat, but on my way back to my car a nice male posed for me at the dragonfly ponds.

Common Whitethroat

To finish up this warbler related post, I can mention that yesterday I took part in the BTO's Birds in Green Spaces project by walking around Arrow Valley Lake. Highlights there were a singing Willow Warbler and no fewer than five singing Reed Warblers.

Reed Warbler

I was watching the excellent programme Iolo's River Valleys earlier this week, where the presenter stated he didn't really do warblers. He complained that they were all dowdy and not worth looking at. Needless to say, although I will admit they are generally somewhat similar, I disagree with his sentiment. I love looking at warblers and look forward to their arrival every year.

I also love waders. Could fate send some my way please.

Thursday May 14 - Morton Bagot

 It has been a somewhat frustrating week of birding at the patch. The weather has remained chilly with the wind stuck in the north. As a consequence insect numbers remain depressed, so I haven't had those to fall back on.

Meanwhile the flash pools continue to tantalise, producing just enough of a muddy corner to give hope of a wader arriving while the area in question is mainly hidden behind tall rushes.

On Tuesday a wader did arrive, but it was just a third Avocet, while the Little Ringed Plover continued to play hide and seek all week. Passerine migration is largely over, so it's just a case of trying to work out which summer visitors may be breeding. Today I thought there were three singing Willow Warblers which is the best for several years.

Willow Warbler wearing one of Tony's rings (probably)

Both Sedge Warbler and Cetti's Warbler were singing at the flash field on Tuesday, but I could hear neither today.

A couple of Starlings flew over on Tuesday. This species is very scarce here in spring and had not been recorded on the alldayer. Likewise a Grey Heron, another big day absentee, proved ridiculously obvious today.

Grey Heron in the Dragonfly Pond surveying the Water Crowfoot

The biggest frustration of all came today, when I glanced across the fields at what I initially thought would be one of the resident Kestrels only to find it was actually a Parakeet. Surprisingly it was silent and I had to watch it flying away to the north before I had a clear idea of what species it was. Obviously it should have been a Ring-necked Parakeet, but annoyingly there are known to be two Alexandrine Parakeets in the Alcester area (as well as a Ring-necked Parakeet) and it did give a very long-tailed impression when I first saw it.

The one that got away. Parakeet sp

I reluctantly decided to leave it unidentified. Ring-necked Parakeets are becoming common in the Earlswood and Wythall area, and it only seems a matter of time before they arrive in Redditch. 

Red-legged Partridges, on the other hand are fairly easy to see here, but are gold dust at Earlswood.

Red-legged Partridge posing

I did manage to see one or two non-birds here today. 

Roe Deer buck

Green-veined White

It's been very tempting to try Earlswood, but from what I can tell they have also had a rather steady week.

Sunday May 10 - Morton Bagot

This morning was cloudy with a cold fresh north-easterly. It was tempting to turn over and go back to sleep, but that wouldn't do.

Instead I joined Dave for another crack at Morton Bagot. Yesterday, Gary had discovered that the Avocets which had let the team down on bird race day had reappeared, probably chortling to themselves for messing us about.

We made our way to the flash field and sure enough they were back in residence. A Cetti's Warbler sang briefly in the distance, but there was no sign of either Reed or Sedge. The lack of Sedge Warblers in the scrape field this year is somewhat mystifying as the habitat seems unchanged.

Although the chilly wind may have been reducing the volume of birdsong this morning, we did at least hear a Lesser Whitethroat, a Garden Warbler, and a Willow Warbler back in the general area of Netherstead.

Best of all was a singing Grasshopper Warbler, probably an unmated male, paying no heed to the weather. It has helpfully adopted a small bramble patch to sing from. Although it disappears into the bush when approached too closely, reasonable views can be had from the gate between the ridge field and the dragonfly pool field looking back to the right of the footpath.

It certainly brightened up an otherwise dull day.

Going back to the WestMidlandsAlldayer, Phil Andrews has kindly supplied the league table of entrants. Morton Bagot came fifteenth out of twenty teams. Although this might seem disappointing, I actually think our total was pretty good considering our lack of significant wetland, or arable farmland. For a small, largely woodland patch our 66 species included almost all the birds known to be breeding on site.

102 Middleton Lakes (Staffs)

101 Branston GPs (Staffs)    

101 Ladywalk (Warks)                 

99 Blithfield Reservoir (Staffs)    

96 Grimley (Worcs)                      

90 Clifton Pits (Worcs)   

88 Belvide Reservoir (Staffs)     

83 Sandwell Valley (West Midlands)      

81 Upton Warren (Worcs)          

80 Smestow Valley (Staffs)      

77 Chasewater and Cuckoo Bank (Staffs)

75 Doxey Marshes (Staffs)

73 Earlswood Lakes (Warks)

68 Bartley Reservoir (West Midlands)

66 Morton Bagot (Warks)

65 Whitemoor Haye (Staffs)

65 Tuckesholme Quarry (Staffs)

62 Saltwells and Fens Pools (West Midlands)

59 Puxton Marsh (Worcs)

59 Edgbaston Reservoir (West Midlands)

I notice that one team (Clifton Pits) was allowed to compete on Bank Holiday Monday. Perhaps this means that for future events any day of the bank holiday can be utilised?

Friday May 8 - Morton Bagot

Trying to second guess where migrants are likely to turn up is nigh on impossible. Early this morning, while I slept, John and Joe were watching a Sanderling circling Engine Pool at Earlswood. No doubt it was dismayed to find no shoreline to land on, so it soon departed.

My reaction to this news, when I finally got up, was to divert to Mappleborough Green where there is a shallow pool with a wide muddy surround. Unfortunately it's also very small and it would take a sharp-eyed migrant to find it. This morning no waders were present.

I returned to my original plan, Morton Bagot. Here there is just a little mud in the corner of the nearest flash, but apart from a few Lapwings no waders were taking advantage. The reason I'm obsessing about waders is that they can make the difference between an average year and a good one. There are numerous species, and they're virtually all migratory. But you need a shoreline, or in the case of the lads at Earlswood some very good luck.

Another habitat Morton Bagot is deficient in is a reedbed. However it was still a reedbed specialist which provided today's highlight. At the flash field viewpoint as I scanned in vain for anything resembling a wader I was being serenaded by a Reed Warbler. It was struggling to make itself heard over the sound of a singing Chiffchaff and was obviously on passage in completely inappropriate habitat.

I didn't think there was much chance of actually seeing it, but I was mistaken about that. It briefly appeared and snatched an insect from the outer leaves of the bush it was occupying, and then after a patient wait I managed a lucky shot of it peeping out out to see if I'd gone.

Other birds seen or heard this morning included a Grasshopper Warbler, a Willow Warbler, a Grey Heron, and a Little Egret. I suppose the latter two count as wading birds if you compile crosswords, but not if you're a birder.

Its getting quite warm now, and a few butterflies were on the wing as I left, including a couple of Painted Ladies and some Small Heaths.

Tues/Wed May 5/6 - Earlswood and Morton Bagot

 My normal weekly routine was disrupted by a personal matter on Tuesday, but I still had time to get to Earlswood before breakfast. After an hour walking around Engine Pool the most interesting thing seen was the first sign that the shingle island is re-emerging. A pair of Common Terns was also present.

Fortunately, as I headed away I decided to stop on the bridge along Springbrook Lane in case a chat was perching on the fence. And what do you know? Whinchat.

This morning I visited Morton Bagot. It was cloudy with a cool northerly, and didn't look too promising. Things picked up when, looking back from where the Water Rail had been singing (silent or gone today), I spotted another Whinchat. This one, also a female, was perched on the top of the ancient willow at the corner of the field. It was distant, and I was only sure what it was when it took off, showing flashes of white at the basal sides of its tail, before flying miles away and then bearing to the right and ending up on a birch at the top of the ridge field.

I left it to head for the flash field, which was hopeless, and then return via the Morton Brook. I had one last piece of luck when after hearing two Garden Warblers, I detected a singing Grasshopper Warbler in the grass by the footpath near the top of the ridge. I could just about see it and tried for a photo, which I won't be sharing, before carrying on down the Netherstead side of the ridge where it turned out a second Grasshopper Warbler was singing in opposition.

This time it was singing from a bramble patch and I knew I had a chance of seeing it properly.

Well done if you can see it in this picture, but to help out here is a zoomed in view.

To add to the feel good factor three Swifts zoomed past while I was trying to nail the Gropper.

It wasn't a day for butterflies, but I did see a single Painted Lady before I returned to the car.