Friday October 30 - Earlswood Lakes

 The forecast fog failed to form here in Redditch, so I was hopeful the planned visit to Earlswood Lakes might be worthwhile. By the time I left the house reports of five Pochard and a Redshank implied that visibility was clear there too.

On arrival I quickly spotted the party of Pochard on Engine Pool, although the Redshank was harder to locate. Eventually it flew into view on the Engine spit.

Pochard

Redshank

While I was hanging around the causeway, hoping to locate the Redshank, a Rock Pipit appeared and circled me, calling regularly. It then landed on the wooden fence along the causeway, where it gave me plenty of time to photograph it before taking off. Unfortunately I messed up the opportunity, so I've nothing to show and no-one else to blame.

After taking off it seemed to be heading down Windmill Pool, where John Oates also heard it. Later still, what I suspect was the same Pipit flew back over the dam, silently this time, and disappeared to the north.

I'm wondering whether fog elsewhere may have caused migrants to become disoriented and end up flying over fog-free Earlswood. At least six Wigeon frequented Engine and Windmill, John saw a Green Sandpiper at Windmill which I soon heard over the causeway and briefly saw flying to land at Engine, a young Common Gull  appeared (John later had two), and finally a Lapwing appeared over Engine (John later seeing three).

Lapwing

All these birds have in common their scarcity at Earlswood, while none are particularly rare in the Midlands. 

I finished my visit at the south end of Windmill where a Little Grebe and at least 30 Teal were present.

It was all just enough to constitute a good morning.

Wednesday October 28 - Morton Bagot

 The wind has now eased to a light westerly. I joined the ringers, Tony and John, who considered the conditions still a bit on the blowy side.

Nevertheless there was a constant trickle of catches while I was there, while overhead there was some migration of Woodpigeons (178 south), Starlings  (75 west), Redwings (171 west), and Chaffinches (12 west).

At least fifty of the Redwings flew down to investigate the taped Redwing song being played to lure them in, and similarly a number of Redpolls were attracted to the area where the nets were set.

The highlight was a different species. Siskin is rarely caught at Morton Bagot, so the guys were very pleased to catch an immature male. 

The Siskin looking a bit scruffy after being liberated from a cloth bag

The Lesser Redpoll

A quick look at the rest of the site revealed a Stonechat and a fly-over Yellowhammer, while the flash field contained only 11 Teal.

The full ringing details for today and October 19 (mostly today though) were:

Blue Tit 7 (3)

Great Tit 8 (8)

Long-tailed Tit 1

Redwing 6

Dunnock 2 (1)

Lesser Redpoll 7

Siskin 1

Sunday October 25 - Morton Bagot

 I have to be honest, its been another tough few days. At a time when the UK seems snowed under with major rarities (Nutcrackers, Rufous-tailed Robins and the like) my personal contribution has been zilch.

Today I was joined by Dave, but strong westerlies are not ideal at Morton Bagot, and in two hours we managed to find a Stonechat and hear a Redpoll. Not really the stuff of dreams. On Thursday I slogged around Earlswood for even less.

Never mind, there is one set of organisms you can fall back on at this time of year, fungi. Not that I know anything about them, but with plenty of technology available these days its worth having a go.

These are my highlights:

Sheathed Wood Tuft at Earlswood

Blushing Bracket at Earlswood

Geastrum sp (possibly Sessile Earthstar) at Earlswood

Shaggy Inkcap (aka Lawyer's Wig) at Morton Bagot

Probably Stubble Rosegill at Morton Bagot

These, and several others, have been submitted to either irecord or inaturalist (according to how confident I am) in the hope of contributing to the official records, or at least getting some expert feedback.

Tony Philp at Earlswood has been particularly helpful in pointing me in the right direction.

Just for the record, last night my moth trap caught four moths (three familiar species), a Hornet and a Common Wasp. 

Tuesday October 20 - Earlswood Lakes

 The title of this post may be a little misleading as it actually covers two days. 

So I will begin with Monday the 19th. I had not intended to go birding at all, despite the clement weather. However a message from Matt caused me to make my excuses and dash over to Windmill Pool, where he had found a Dunlin.

This common coastal wader is increasingly infrequent in the Midlands, and within my geographical sphere is becoming barely annual. Happily for me I saw it straight away, exactly where Matt said it was.

I was under a certain amount of time pressure, so having made my way through the scrublands to the bottom of Windmill to tick it off, I was obliged to retrace my steps. At least I also saw a Chiffchaff and found a Stonechat before my departure.

Matt meanwhile had seen a Great White Egret in flight over Terry's, and flushed a Rock Pipit from the dam.

Today it drizzled all day. The wind was supposed to be still in the east, but it seemed virtually still to me. I felt I deserved to find a good bird, but after a soggy hour or two I had to accept that my best "find" would be six young Common Gulls. They weren't really playing ball for a photo, being spread across various parts of Engine Pool, so I could only get a shot of one of them.

Also present was the fifth calendar year Yellow-legged Gull, the Little Egret, and another Chiffchaff (this one between Terry's and Engine Pool).

Here's to better luck next time.

Sunday October 18 - Morton Bagot

 At last the winds have swung around to right direction. The boring westerlies which have blown for weeks have been deflected by a high pressure system over Norway. If you are a birder, that is exactly what you want in October.

I was up before dawn (Dave having decided to visit his Mum on the east coast), and was determined to viz-mig at Morton Bagot for that vital first couple of hours from daybreak. Ideally, you need some kind of focal point, a hilltop or a reservoir dam. I picked the highest point on the footpath and waited.

My numbers are likely to pale into insignificance compared to others, but they weren't too shabby for here: 370 Woodpigeon going south, 283 Redwings going west, and a few nice surprises. New for the year (for here), was a Brambling which I only heard, and five Wigeon which may have come from the flash field. Chaffinches just got into double figures, but there were very few Meadow Pipits and no Skylarks or Fieldfares as far as I could tell. Three Redpolls were the first of the autumn, although they landed in a silver birch so may not have been on migration. A Peregrine appeared twice, the first time chasing a startled Woodpigeon as it tried to keep up with the rest of the flock. Fortunately for the pigeon, the Peregrine gave up quite quickly.

After returning home for breakfast, I was back out by 10:00 to have a walk round. Starting at the church I headed for the flash field where I found 33 Lapwings and 24 Teal. The barbed wire fence has now been completed, but it was still possible to see the Kingfisher Pool, where fittingly enough a Kingfisher was in residence. At the moment the nearest flash is partially visible from the HOEF side of the hedge, so maybe things aren't as dire as I'd convinced myself last week.

On my way back I decided to walk around the old pool field (currently dry as a bone). This was an inspired move as I flushed a small bird along the fence, and was then gobsmacked to find that it was a female-type Redstart.

This is very late for a Redstart. A Black Redstart, though rare, would seem much more likely in October. But the pale throat, breast, belly, and flanks with a hint of orange on the otherwise whiteish undertail coverts all pointed towards Common Redstart.

I've tried a little research of West Midlands records, and there are a few Staffordshire and Worcestershire records later than this. However, I haven't found a later Warwickshire one (though to be fair I only went back as far as 1988).

Other noteworthy birds included a Yellowhammer, a Siskin, and a Snipe. Maybe it is too soon to jack it all in as Morton Bagot Birder.

Sunday October 11 - Morton Bagot

 There's lots to talk about this week, not all of it good news.

The most interesting titbit came from Tuesday, when one of Tony's Meadow Pipits proved to be a re-trap. Normally, re-traps aren't big news because they tend to relate to residents such as Blue Tits which are around all the time. It would have been unusual for a Meadow Pipit to remain for any length of time, and it turned out that Tuesday's bird had first been caught as an immature at Morton Bagot on October 26 2025. So this bird was passing through Morton Bagot almost a year later, presumably having hatched in northern Britain and on its way to the south coast or beyond. It seems almost certain therefore that this Meadow Pipit was following exactly the same route as it had 12 months ago. Has anybody ever proved such a thing before?

On the same trapping session Tony caught a male Stonechat, and although we saw seven in total today, none of them got photographed, so here is Tony's bird.

Stonechat by Tony Kelly

I suppose I'd better get to the bad news. Yesterday John Chidwick reported that the route to the best place to view the nearest flash from had been blocked by whoever owns the Kingfisher Pool. Sadly, we will no longer be able to get a proper view of the nearest flash. They are also in the process of constructing a fence to prevent anyone from going there. Of course it's their land and they have every right to do that. But from our point of view it will further diminish the experience of birding at Morton Bagot. At least the habitat will remain, we just won't have a clear idea of what's there.

The path now blocked by brushwood

The only place to view the flashes from now is the traditional spot, although that is becoming more difficult every year as the vegetation grows.

The traditional viewing place

The first Redwings of the autumn are starting to appear. I saw eight over Earlswood on Friday, and two or three here today. We noticed a small movement of Skylarks during the morning, and a single Grey Wagtail flew south.

I've been counting the moths in my moth trap. 25 on Friday night included five Black Rustics and a White-point, which were new for the year. 

I'll have to decide whether to continue blogging at the end of 2026. Maybe I should do a new blog referencing the fact I'm getting more and more interested in other wildlife (I was trying to identify grasses today!)

Morton Bagot Birder's days may be numbered.

Tuesday October 6 - Foster's Green

 In a departure from the norm, yesterday I visited one of the very few Worcestershire Trust reserves to be found within the Circle.

It doesn't look that exciting does it? However, its unassuming appearance disguises a wealth of wildlife. Not birds particularly, but plants. 

At this time of year most are underground or in a vegetative state, but there were a few autumn specialities to find. My target, though I didn't find it, was a crocus-like flower called Meadow Saffron. To be fair I hadn't a clue where to look, but the noticeboard assured me it should be there. Maybe I was too late (or too early).

Fortunately other plants I hadn't seen before were available.

Devil's-bit Scabious

The other plant highlighted on the board was Devil's-bit Scabious, and I eventually found a single flower spike.

I'm rather new to botany. Previous attempts have tended to start in February and peter out by the end of April, so I have to say I'm finding it hard. My phone app helps a bit, but is rather unreliable. At least it cuts out leafing through pages and pages of a field guide trying to match what you are looking at with an image.

Here are some plants I have identified using a mixture of the app, field guides, and the excellent Nature Spot website.

Pepper-saxifrage (slightly gone over)

Rough Hawkbit

Lesser Hawkbit

Agrimony (in seed)

I plan to come back in spring, and again in summer when the place should be transformed into an oasis of olde England set against a backdrop of green "improved" pasture which modern day Britain has become.

I did see and hear a few birds while I was staring at my feet; Skylarks and Meadow Pipits were going over, a Blackcap and a Goldcrest called in the hedge, and a Siskin also called as it headed south.