There's a storm coming (two storms actually). Today's was nothing special, the wind from the south-west making it unseasonably mild and annoyingly windy at Morton Bagot.
The fact is that to gain any benefit from stormy weather in the Midlands you need to be birding at a reservoir, or at least a large pool. Not Morton Bagot. But I was there anyway, perhaps feeling guilty at having ducked out of my normal Sunday stroll.
The birding highlight was a Grey Wagtail flying over Netherstead, which just about says it all. The flash field gave me 46 Lapwings and 30 Teal, while the drier areas produced two Stonechats, and about 10 Skylarks.
A Brown Hare stole the show. I guess the strong wind was carrying my scent away.
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| Brown Hare |
Plan B was to head for Arrow Valley Lake. The wind dropped as I arrived, and so did my optimism. However it had its moments. A Kingfisher, 11 Goosanders, and a Reed Bunting were the pick, while the 100+ Black-headed Gulls were not accompanied by any Kittiwakes.
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| Goosanders |
The council workers were enthusiastically chopping down trees. Redditch District Council may have misread the Green Agenda policy. It's rewilding guys, not dewilding.
Finally, moths. I have decided to put my trap out less often this year, but will still be targeting warmer nights. Last night was pretty mild (though possibly too breezy), but I gave it ago and duly caught two moths. One was another Pale Brindled Beauty, but the other was a very nice Spring Usher.
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| Spring Usher |
Interestingly both of these moth species last appeared in my trap in 2019. It could be just a coincidence, or maybe they have a cycle of 'good years" every three years. Pure speculation I know.
Friday sounds like it will be wild, but February storms often disappoint. Kittiwakes will be the birds to look for.
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