Thursday October 31

Today was a momentous day. I am now officially a gentleman of leisure. My retirement send off yesterday went very well and I ended up in a pub playing darts before staggering off home. So I was feeling a tad delicate this morning.

This morning's weather couldn't have been much better for birding, a light north-easterly and high cloud. Thrushes were piling in all morning and I ended up with totals of 267 Redwings and 155 Fieldfares. With them came a Brambling, 16 Lesser Redpolls, 25 Meadow Pipits, and two Siskins.

It was one of those days when you suspected the big one was out there if only you could find it. I couldn't, or it wasn't.

Never mind, I did decide it was time to have a kick through the marsh. I had suspected that the lack of Snipe on the flash field could be a result of them all being in the marsh. I was right; 45 Common Snipe and two Jack Snipe were flushed without too much effort.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

The camera didn't have much of an outing, but there's always tomorrow, and the day after that, and the next day etc etc.

Just kidding Lyn xx

Sunday October 27

Following two days of unremitting rain which has raised water-levels throughout the patch, today was a day of wall to wall sunshine. After scraping the ice off my car this morning I was relieved that the roads were completely free of icy patches.

Dave arrived promptly and we set off along the road, for a change. As usual this tactic failed to deliver anything worthwhile, and once back in the fields we discovered the ringers packing up their stuff. They assured us that they hadn't caught anything unusual.

The highlight of the first hour was a dozing Roe Deer by Netherstead copse. The usual view is at best of an anxious looking animal ready to flee within seconds.

A chilled-out Roe Deer

The field behind the pool was pretty lively; 150 Linnets, about 15 Skylarks, at least four Yellowhammers and about a dozen Reed Buntings periodically broke cover to swirl above the stubble. We also counted four Stonechats.

At the flash field most of the action was on the nearest flash. 48 Teals awoke as we peered at them, and before long took flight, only to disappear behind the sedge. Less concerned by us were six Shovelers and two Little Grebes. On the furthest flash we could see a few Lapwings, and earlier we had counted 33 of them flying over. We assumed these were the birds we could now see.

Our highlight for the morning was two Bramblings which flew south over the ridge field. We also heard the odd Siskin and Redpoll, but saw very few Fieldfares and Redwings.

Despite the bright sunshine, I had not photographed a single bird by the time we were back at Netherstead, so a preening Great Tit had to suffice.

Great Tit

Rarer birds are available, but not at Morton Bagot it seems.

Juniper Carpet - garden

I only caught two moths, a wasp, and a cranefly last night in the garden. Scarcely worth the electricity (Lyn said), but I would counter that one of the moths was new for the garden; a Juniper Carpet.

Juniper Carpet

Juniper Carpet is described as local, but widespread. It seems to have spread due to the proliferation of cultivated junipers, and is often found in suburbia. My most recent distribution reference for Warwickshire shows none near Redditch, but that was published in 2006.

The other moth was a Barred Sallow, fairly regular in our garden at this time of year.

Wednesday October 23

Thick fog this morning caused a very delayed start. I arrived just before noon as the fog was finally dissipating to leave a largely sunny afternoon with a very light south-easterly.

It didn't take long to find my first Fieldfares of the autumn. About 15 were discovered at the south end before heading north-east and being rediscovered in trees bordering the flash field.

Fieldfare

At least 70 Linnets were also present, along with three Yellowhammers, about eight Reed Buntings, six Stonechats, and at least 24 Meadow Pipits.

Yellowhammer

As I approached the flash field I heard the distinctive calls of a Brambling. It seemed to be coming from an oak tree, but as I searched for it I heard a Chaffinch calling in flight, and with hindsight I suspect the Brambling may actually have been flying over with the Chaffinch.

The flash field itself produced the usual 200 or so Greylag Geese, 23 Teal, a few Mallard, and five drake Shovelers. Further along the Morton Brook I discovered that the Little Grebe was still on the Kingfisher Pool, and I got a shot of it as it sheltered among the branches of a partially immersed tree.

Little Grebe

It was warm enough for quite a lot of insects to be on the wing, and these included a Migrant Hawker and a Common Darter.

Three Redpolls flew west, the first since one flew over in June.

Pretty good for an afternoon session. The main significance of the Brambling for me was it has allowed me to equal my previous highest species score for a single year. I've managed to record 117 species on at least three previous occasions. Just one needed for the record, come on you Golden Plovers, come to Morton Bagot!

Sunday October 20

Cloudy at first, sunnier later. A light north-westerly.

I arrived a little earlier than Dave, so tried a vismig to pass the time. After 40 minutes I had counted 172 Woodpigeons, 38 Redwings, 11 Chaffinches, one Siskin, and 11 Meadow Pipits heading south or west. So not massively impressive, and I'm afraid it set the tone for the rest of the morning.

Once Dave joined me we ambled round, starting at the south end. At the side of the road were some large whitish fungi, which I am hoping someone can help identify. I have tentatively gone for Giant Funnel, but neither of us know much about fungi, so a re-identification is quite possible.

In fact I've now had a response from David Antrobus of the Warwickshire Fungus Group confirming it is likely to be either Giant Funnel or Trooping Funnel. They can only be distinguished from one another by looking at their spores under a microscope. Result.

Giant Funnel or Trooping Funnel

A Mistle Thrush was the first here for several months, five Yellowhammers further increased the largest count this year, and we also counted three Stonechats before reaching the flash field. Here the usual Greylag Goose flock was present, but duck numbers seemed lower, with just 22 Teal and about 30 Mallard present. A flock of 17 Lapwings were visible on the furthest flash.

A small surprise at the Kingfisher Pool was a Little Grebe, probably the one seen last week.

Finally, the Barn Owl was not in the barn, but the floor was strewn with pellets suggesting recent occupation.

Back garden mothing

I put the trap out last night, and soon found myself clinging to the parasol I had erected to protect it from a heavy shower. The wind had got up and I was worried the parasol would take off (as it has done in the past). Fortunately the shower passed, and I was able to remove it to allow unimpeded access for the rest of the night.

One moth landed on the kitchen window, but had disappeared by the time I found a pot. It was a largish carpet moth, and I suspected Common Marbled Carpet.

This morning I found just three moths and a caddis-fly in the trap, and the carpet moth wasn't one of them. Instead there was a Black Rustic (new for the garden), a Green-brindled Crescent, and a Large Yellow Underwing.

Black Rustic

Black Rustic was very much on the radar. While I was a member of the Warwickshire Moth Facebook Group last year (until facebook started to alarm me) I had noticed other members catching them routinely, so I am pleased to finally see this presumably widespread moth.

Thursday October 17

A largely sunny morning after a chilly night. I saw a small patch of frost beneath a hedge, but the day was soon quite mild with a light south-westerly.

After seeing a small party of Redwings over my house this morning, I was hoping this would be replicated at Morton Bagot, but actually there were just a few in the hedgerows, and no overhead passage at all.

That said, I did manage to break my patch record count for Stonechats. A total of nine comprised six in the chat field and three in the ridge field.

Stonechat

I wandered down to the south end where there are still reasonable numbers of Meadow Pipits, and I saw the first of an eventual count of three Yellowhammers. This is the largest count of a very poor year for the species here.  At one point the corvids and pigeons seemed restless and spooked, which led me to check the pylons. Sure enough a Peregrine was hunched up there.

The sunshine encouraged quite a few insects to fly around, several Red Admirals and one or two other dark butterflies, a couple of Migrant Hawkers, and one or two unidentified Darters.

Migrant Hawker

The pool still has a fair bit of water in it, while the nearest flash is full of water and ducks, and the furthest flash has a bit of an edge and was full of Greylag Geese and a few barely visible Lapwings.

The highlight was first Little Egret for a month or two, which flew towards the furthest flash.

Little Egret through a hedge.

The Wigeon seems to have gone but I counted 37 Teal, 61 Mallard, four Shovelers, and 201 Greylag Geese. So still no shooting, which is good. I counted 55 Pheasants, which suggests that some have been released nearby. At one point I heard a quad-bike backfiring its way around the strip field, so I wondered whether someone was trying to encourage them to leave the safety of Morton Bagot.

I'm currently two species short of breaking my record year list for birds on the patch, but the wait for a new bird is now stretching my patience. Its a good job its a lovely place anyway.

Sunday October 13

Heavy rain during the early morning led to a delayed start and to Dave opting to visit Marsh Lane GP. In fact the rain abated by 10.30 am and I made a start by heading to the south end. A small flock of Linnets, Meadow Pipits, and Pied Wagtails were being harassed by a female Sparrowhawk, and in the resultant confusion up popped a pair of Stonechats and a Yellowhammer.

Yellowhammer

The early afternoon was characterised by plenty of birds to look through, but no real stand outs. At the flash field there were 205 Greylag Geese, 25 Teal, 11 Shoveler, and a drake Wigeon. The Kingfisher Pool produced a Kingfisher (heard only), and some rather nice bracket fungi.

More Linnets and Goldfinches added to the feel that there were plenty of birds around, while the hedgerows revealed five Redwings, eight Song Thrushes, at least 45 Blue Tits, three Chiffchaffs and two male Blackcaps.

Finally a party of nine Siskins flew over, the largest party since January.

Thursday October 10

Richard was held up on the motorway so we had rather a late start. It was sunny at first and cloudy later with a light to moderate westerly.

There was little sign of migrating birds, but the nearest flash produced an unexpected Little Grebe (second of the year), and the first pair of Mute Swans since the spring,

Little Grebe

Earlier we had seen four Stonechats in and around the chat field, and a Yellowhammer had flown over. Four Chiffchaffs remain.

Stonechat

There were only two Shovelers left on the flash pools, and Teal seemed less in evidence too.

Butterflies comprised several Red Admirals, a Comma, and a Green-veined/Small White, while dragonflies were a few Migrant Hawkers, Common Darter, and Ruddy Darter.

Common Darter

Noon Fly

You can tell its a bit quiet when you start photographing flies.

Sunday October 6

A very pleasant morning for a stroll, sunny with a light north-westerly. Stroll we did, seeing birds, not so much.

A party of about 25 Redwings shortly after we got going was not the herald of significant visible migration. Three Stonechats remained in the chat field, several Jays flew back and forth on their usual mission to cache as many acorns as possible, and a couple of Swallows were taking advantage of the numerous flying insects.

At the flash field there had been an increase in Teal to 54, but Shovelers remain stable at 12, Mallard at 76, Greylag Geese totalled at least 208, and 35 Lapwings and three Snipe were the only waders.

The hedgerows are full of berries

The morning's highlight was seen a Barn Owl fully awake in the back of the barn which it tends to use only in response to overnight rain. We chose not to disturb it, so no photo was taken.

Insects on the wing included several Red Admirals, Commas, Migrant Hawkers, and unidentified Darters.

We have a theory that the lack of migration is due to heavy rain on the east coast blocking everything from proceeding further. The birders there will be having a fantastic time, once they dry out.

Scarce Bordered Straw in the garden - Oct 4

I took the trap out last night and was pleased find 25 moths, including two that were new to me, in the trap this morning.

The new ones took me a while to identify, and I am yet to hear from JS with verification. They were a Scarce Bordered Straw, and a Grey Pine Carpet. The latter is very similar to the Spruce Carpet, but after much deliberation I have decided it was this species.

Scarce Bordered Straw

Grey Pine Carpet

Among the other moths, I caught my first Red-green Carpet of the year.

Red-green Carpet

After sending a tweet out (claiming the moth to be a Frosted Orange), I found an image on UK Moths of a Scarce Bordered Straw which more closely matched my image than Frosted Orange does, so I think it could be a scarce migrant and not the fairly common resident I thought it was. I have since had plenty of confirmatory tweets.

The moth is an irregular visitor to Warwickshire. There were none in 2016, 20 in 2017, and one in 2018.

While searching the fence for additional moths, I came across a quite extraordinary looking Harvestman species. It turned out to be Dicranopalpus ramosus ag. The ag bit signifies that taxonomists recently split was was the easiest Harvestman to identify because of its super-long legs and split cranial palps into two species only identifiable from a specimen under the microscope.

Dicranopalpus rmaosus ag

Finally, a Redwing flew over calling.

Friday October 4

A cloudy morning with a light south-westerly, and some drizzle arriving at 11.00am.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a flock of 50 Redwings heading silently south-west shortly after arriving. Two further small parties (also silent) gave me a day total of 70. This is quite an early record for here, and all the more noteworthy given the numbers.

At the chat field I found a small party of Stonechats, and later added two more in the strip field giving a total of seven for the day.

Stonechat

There were still a few hirundines around, I counted seven Swallows and seven House Martins, and also logged five Chiffchaffs and seven Goldcrests, possibly indicating an arrival of the latter species.

Throughout the morning I had been expecting to hear shotguns going off, but there was not a peep from them. Perhaps the season hasn't started yet. The absence of disturbance was great for wildfowl. A herd of 216 Greylag Geese dominated, with just six Canada Geese. A Sparrowhawk caused the Teal to leave the comfort of the sedge and allowed the count to total 41, along with 14 Shovelers, 80 Mallard, and two Wigeon.

Female Wigeon

Perhaps the most surprising find was a diving duck in the deepest part. I concluded it was a juvenile Tufted Duck although the bill shape had me wondering about a Scaup species until I scoped it and confirmed a hint of a crest and no grey feathers in the mantle.

Juvenile Tufted Duck

It would have been nice if had been something rarer than Tufted Duck. Dream on.

I tweeted a picture of the bird and caused some discussion among local birders with opinions so divided that I thought I'd better go and have another look.

The bird was nowhere to be seen, but it still seems fairly clear that it is indeed just a juvenile Tufted Duck.

Wednesday October 2

The ringers have been down to the patch today. They caught 104 birds of 11 species as follows:

Kingfisher 1
Blue Tit 47 (nine retraps)
Great Tit 11 (three retraps)
Skylark 1
Wren 1
Dunnock 2
Meadow Pipit 21
Greenfinch 8
Linnet 4
Goldfinch 6
Reed Bunting 2

They were particularly pleased to catch the Skylark as it was the first they have caught on Heart of England Forest land.