Thursday April 9 - Morton Bagot and Earlswood

Before I get on to today's excellent birding, I need to mention that yesterday Janet from Earlswood paid a visit to Morton Bagot and made a recording on her phone of a bird she didn't recognise. It turned out to be the song of a Water Rail. Yes that's right song. I can only recall hearing its actual song once, at Upton Warren years ago. I would describe it as a gentle "poop poop poop purrrr" An extraordinary sound. The call was coming from exactly the same spot I'd heard one calling at the end of March, and could well mean that the species will become a new addition to the site's breeding list. Janet also saw a "Swan" flying over, presumably a Mute Swan, but only the second this year.

Anyway, back to this morning. I had decided on a quick pre-breakfast dash around the northern end of the site. Yesterday's warmth and sunshine had been replaced by cloud and a distinct chill. I started by heading for the Water Rail spot, but sadly there was only silence.

Of course the patch was anything but silent. At least two Willow Warblers, and four Blackcaps were singing amidst a chorus of resident species. The buzzing calls of Redpolls were heard as odd birds flew over. I thought for a second I heard a Whitethroat call, and some time later managed to see it, albeit distantly. This turned out to be my earliest ever, by one day.

The flash field contained the usual Avocets, though just four, plus 16 Teal, two Shelducks, and a Snipe. Then I detected the big one.

No, not the Coot, although I was pretty pleased to see it occupying the Kingfisher Pool, so presumably different from the one on the Dragonfly Pool. The big surprise was my earliest ever, by a long way, Cuckoo which called from somewhere a little beyond the pool occupied by the Coot. Although it sounded quite close, I had a hedge in the way and no further calls followed. My guess is it was just passing through.

Earlswood. 

After breakfast I opted for Earlswood, in no small way because Matt had Whatsapp'd a juicy list of migrants headed by a Swift. It would have been great to see one so early in April, but although there was still about 80 Sand Martins and smaller numbers of Swallows and House Martins present, the Swift had disappeared by the time I arrived.

However I was just in time to see the Shelduck Matt had found just as it was flying off.

Surprisingly my second record for the site this year. 

I then discovered a newly arrived Common Tern, Earlswood's first of the year.

I joined Matt on the causeway as a first-winter Common Gull flew in. We chatted for a while, Matt commiserating with me on my failure to see his Swift. He could however point me in the direction of a Common Sandpiper which I saw but couldn't photograph, and an Oystercatcher which proved more co-operative. But was also asleep.

I just love April. Every day brings new birds, and although nothing seen or heard today was rare, it's really great ticking them off as they return for the summer.

Tuesday April 7 - Tardebigge Reservoir

 With the weather now set fair, for at least two days, I decided to take a bit of a punt on Tardebigge Reservoir. It sits near the top of a hill with views stretching as far as the Malverns to the south and Clee Hill to the north-west, Upton Warren seems but a stones throw away. 

Maybe some hill-top specialists might have paused for a while? Perhaps an Osprey might glide north? Or maybe not.

I did have one passage bird en route to the hills, but it was just a male Wheatear occupying the middle of a ploughed field below the famous canal locks.

I stood around for nearly an hour watching almost nothing passing overhead. A couple of Swallows which looked suspiciously like local birds on a feeding sortie, six Black-headed Gulls presumably from Upton, and a pair of Mute Swans on a day out.

Eventually some raptors got up, and among the circling Buzzards was a single Red Kite. But they're not quite the novelty they once were.

I was struck by how many Chaffinches were singing, double-figures compared to the ones and twos I now hear at Morton Bagot. At least one, probably two, Willow Warblers were present, with a similar count of singing Blackcaps. But the main warbler on show was the Chiffchaff, with at least nine present.

Chiffchaff eyeing me suspiciously

So I suppose the plan was unsuccessful, but I still enjoyed the morning.

Sunday April 5 - Morton Bagot

With a howling gale overnight, and a brisk southerly this morning, the obvious move would have been to go to Earlswood. But Dave and I stuck to our guns and paid another visit to the patch.

The early signs were promising. A single Meadow Pipit and a newly arrived male Stonechat at least hinted at passage. A couple of Swallows headed north, barely stopping to feed. The Chiffchaff and Blackcap count rose steadily to totals of eight and four respectively.

But what we really wanted was something new, and that was supplied when we tracked down a singing Willow Warbler to the hedge bordering the Morton Brook where it showed well in one of the few sheltered spots.

Once a common sight, the Willow Warbler is becoming more like a passage migrant in the Midlands as global warming shifts the breeding areas ever northwards.

We also heard the Cetti's Warbler again, and I predict this species will soon become just another tick in the notebook as they establish themselves here. Mind you, we were still no nearer to actually seeing it, let alone getting a photograph.

We counted six Avocets, 14 Teal, a Lapwing, a few geese, and a very distant Green Sandpiper on the flash field. My first Speckled Wood of the year fluttered by, but defied my attempts for a record shot.

It feels like game on for spring.

Saturday April 4

 The last few days have felt like a waiting game. I've been birding each day, often with a plan in mind, but have seen little to inspire.

On Thursday, with the weather still distinctly chilly, I sky-watched from the causeway at Earlswood for a couple of hours. I was hoping to get lucky with a fly-over Osprey, but as usual I had bought the wrong lottery ticket. Instead I saw nine Sand Martins two Swallows, Sparrowhawk, Red Kite, and three Buzzards. 

The plan wasn't entirely stupid because this is exactly the time of year the Scottish birds are returning from Africa, and indeed one had flown over Blackwell Golf Course at the edge of my Circle the day before, and another over the Birders Store in Worcester on the day of my vigil. I have a lousy record with Ospreys; 29 in forty-five years but only about five were not twitched, and four of those were in autumn.

On Friday morning I paid an early morning visit to Mappleborough Green, but it was pretty dire. Even the Little Ringed Plovers seemed to have gone.

This morning my moth trap contained just five moths, three of which were Brindled Beautys, so at least new for the year.

With the mothing over so quickly, I had time for a dash to Spernal STW to join Tony and his team who were ringing there. Cetti's Warblers seemed to be singing everywhere, and I even saw one of them in the field. Tony reckons there are six or seven on site.

I'd been hoping for a Willow Warbler or something like that, but the only migrants were a couple of Swallows, Chiffchaffs, and Blackcaps. Less regularly seen birds included a Kingfisher, and a pair of Shelducks.

The weather is predicted to warm up over the next few days, so things can only get better.

Tuesday March 31 - Mappleborough Green

The plan for this morning was to go to Mappleborough Green with the intention of seeing some waders, and then try Cobley Hill in the hope of locating a Wheatear. 

Part one went well, but not in the way I'd expected. The left hand flash produced a Green Sandpiper, a Snipe, and a Little Ringed Plover along with 21 Teal. Despite trying my best to keep out of sight, the ever alert Teal soon flew up and although some returned, I knew any on the right hand flash might include some of them. Further adding to the confusion, the Little Ringed Plover also took off, and appeared to head away towards Redditch.

I reached the right hand flash, saw a few Teal and noticed that the Little Ringed Plover there now had a friend. And they were getting on very well.

I scanned the field and didn't see anything else. But on checking the images at the back of my camera I found I wasn't keen on the photos I'd taken, so I thought I'd turn around and take a couple more. Just as well!

My initial scan couldn't have been as thorough as I'd thought, because this time I got straight onto a male Wheatear.

Earlier, I'd also seen six Fieldfares and a couple of Meadow Pipits.

It was tempting not to bother with Cobley Hill, but other hilltop migrants might occur. In the event I was pleased to see two pairs of Lapwings breeding, while migration was limited to a single Meadow Pipit heading north.

Sunday March 29 - Morton Bagot

 This post covers two days, Saturday and Sunday. So yesterday morning my moth trap contained just five moths, none of them even new for the year. Having got up early I decided to pay an early morning visit to the patch. In the bright sunshine I thought I should at least photograph something.

The highlights were a new record count of 13 Avocets (11 on the nearest flash and two on the furthest), a distant Peregrine which flew in from the north before turning tail, the drake Shoveler, and a pair of Shelducks which I noticed could only be seen distantly from the road and were invisible on the furthest flash from the usual watchpoints.

The white dots are Avocets (and a LBBGull). Not much of a group photo.

This morning was cloudy and cold, but was far more productive for birds.

Dave joined me as usual, and we quickly established we could see four Red Kites, a pair over Bannams and another pair to the west, another record count for the site. Rather less satisfactorily the Avocets numbers had dropped, although we did eventually tally ten.

But this was to be a day for site ticks. As we approached the Kingfisher Pool Dave said "Did you hear that?" I'd heard nothing, so was surprised to be told he'd thought he'd heard a distant Cetti's. After about 15 minutes of silence, Dave was starting to doubt himself, blaming his woolly hat and maybe a Blackbird. We settled down to count the Avocets, but while drinking his coffee Dave suddenly leapt to his feet and shouted Swallow. Fortunately for me it briefly reappeared and I duly added it to my patch year list. Seconds later, a bona fide Cetti's Warbler blasted its song into our ear. Almost certainly the bird the ringers caught last week, it was nevertheless a patch tick for us both. Trying to see singing Cetti's Warblers is very challenging, and it didn't help that this one didn't sing, or even call, again. Around this time we also witnessed a Kestrel making a successful kill. It emerged from the grass with a Vole in its talons and proceeded to eat it while perched on a tree guard.

Two more patch year ticks were to follow. The first was a Feral Pigeon which flew across the field behind us. It's actually quite hard to get an untainted one here, as racing pigeons sometimes fly over, and occasionally one of the farms releases some from a loft. As far as I know, neither issue applied with this bird.

Finally, and I mean finally, a bird I'd just about given up on this year appeared. A Coot was back on the dragonfly pond where it had nested last year. We used to find them all over the site, but only this one pool (the only one with a bit of reed surrounding it) is suitable. It normally turns up in February, so I was more than pleased to see it.

The hunt for a Wheatear goes on, and this year I've noticed even Meadow Pipits are in short supply. I have no explanation for that.

Friday March 27

 There was nothing wrong with today's plan, it just didn't pay off. The morning dawned grey and drizzly, so I reckoned Earlswood would be the best bet. I was dreaming of Kittiwakes, Little Gulls etc and indeed the former were well represented at the West Midland's larger reservoirs.

I had an inkling of what to expect when an early morning Whatsapp from Joe mentioned a Mandarin and later a Swallow. By the time I got there neither remained, but eventually things did pick up.

Two Sand Martins were the first I'd seen since my very early one three weeks ago, and finally two Swallows appeared, along with at least one more Sand Martin. They were not my earliest Swallows, but I'm always slightly relieved when the first ones make it back from their incredible journey the southern Africa.

Swallow

The Yellow-legged Gull was still present, but otherwise it was just a case of checking out the regulars.

Tufted Ducks

Yellow-legged Gull 5cy (on right)

On Tuesday I went to Morton Bagot. It only gets second billing because I didn't take any photographs. The highlight was a further increase in Avocets to ten birds (eight on the nearest flash and two on the furthest). The Egyptian Geese seemed to have gone, while Teal numbers were down, but the drake Shoveler and the Shelducks were still there.

Before going home on Tuesday, I paid a very quick visit to Lower Bittell, peering at fields of sheep. A Cattle Egret had been seen there on Sunday (along with the wintering Great White Egret). Sadly I only saw the latter.

It looks like being a cold night so I'm not expecting much from the garden moths, but anything interesting turns up I'll add it to this post.