Wednesday March 30 - Mostly seeing nothing

 I can't help thinking that the day I should have gone birding was Tuesday. A flock of 80 or so thrushes (probably Redwings) flew west as I strolled to the paper shop. Perhaps a sign. Unfortunately that was the one day I couldn't get out.

Instead I had taken Lyn to Morgrove Coppice on Monday afternoon to take advantage of the wheelchair accessible path. We didn't see much, but it was sunny and still warm enough for a few Peacocks and Brimstones to be on the wing.

This morning, in cold grey conditions I opted for Earlswood Lakes. I had hoped for a hirundine or two, but there were none. Instead, summer was represented by a few Chiffchaffs, and a singing Blackcap.

One thing noticeable about Earlswood though, is how tame the common birds are. They are regularly fed and have obviously got used to the constant procession of walkers, dog-walkers, and birders. So I had fantastic views of a Goldcrest with a beakful of feathers for its nest, a pair of Treecreepers prospecting for a nest site, Nuthatches, Tits, Wrens, and Robins all just feet away.

Treecreeper

Nuthatch

The drake Wigeon which has been here for some time, was just as unconcerned and close. I heard a Redpoll, and a Meadow Pipit going over, and saw a pair of Grey Wagtails around the causeway between Engine and Windmill Pool. A Reed Bunting was singing in spite of the chill.

Wigeon

About 40 Black-headed Gulls chased the few available insects above Engine Pool, the rafts supported two or three Common Snipe, and I counted three Shovelers, 34 Tufted Ducks, three Herring Gulls, three Cormorants, and 13 Great Crested Grebes. 

Sparrowhawk at Morgrove Coppice (Monday)

It was all very different from the fleeting and distant glimpses of birds at Morgrove Coppice.

One day I'll be able to complete a post about a scarce bird or a spectacular bird movement, but today was not the one.

Sunday March 27 - Spring applies the brakes

 A typical Spring, warm sunny days lull you into a false sense of security, then the wind swings into the north and door is slammed shut. This morning was noticeably cool with a very light northerly breeze, and it looks set to get really cold this week.

Dave joined me as usual for our Morton Bagot fix. No amount of field scanning could get us a Wheatear, but there was enough in the flash field to keep us interested. Two Avocets were seen on the furthest flash before we discovered two on the nearest. We checked back to the furthest, and eventually the two there reappeared, so yes four Avocets in total.

Two Little Egrets flew out of the field before landing again somewhat distantly. 

Little Egrets

The pair of Shelducks was still in residence, and we eventually counted six Shoveler (four males), 22 Teal, and a couple of Lapwings. The highlight was a Green Sandpiper feeding on the narrowest of edges at the back of the nearest flash.

Green Sandpiper

Female Shoveler

Nine Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and a Herring Gull appeared from the direction of Redditch, and at least five Black-headed Gulls dropped in.

We headed back, hoping for any evidence of Spring. It was too cold for insects, apart from bumblebees, and plenty of Chiffchaffs were singing. A Blackcap was the first here this year. There were a few migrant Meadow Pipits showing, we counted 12, and Reed Buntings seemed more obvious than usual although only one of the five or six males we saw was singing.

The final corner of the ridge field provided evidence that winter has not gone yet as we flushed at least 50 Redwings, the most for a while. In fact even these birds were more likely to be migrants heading north. A rare visit to the south end produced a pair of Stonechats, the first for about a month.

On the drive out I couldn't resist calling in at the church to check for Black Redstarts. There has never been one there, and I didn't break my duck. However, another Blackcap was singing, and the resident Mistle Thrush flew up into a tree.

Mistle Thrush

Always nice to see. In fact, although signs of Spring were few, it felt like it had been a pretty good visit.

Friday March 25 - twitching here, twitching there

 When I signed up for the #LocalBigYear challenge I imagined myself swanning about, finding the odd good bird, and generally exploring as much as birding. 

But with a hint of easterly in the breeze, all that can quickly go out of the window. Today was all about twitching other birder's finds. It started out with a message from John Coombes that a Cetti's Warbler had turned up on his patch at Kinwarton.

I duly drove down there, and quickly located the bird. Typically it was singing loudly and was very difficult to see. I saw it in flight a couple of times but hardly at all once it had landed. John joined me, and for a while we wondered whether there were two birds. The male was singing with its normal gusto, but we also heard a sub-song. We couldn't prove it either way.

Also present was a pair of Little Grebes, the first in summer plumage I've seen this year.

Little Grebe

I had a quick look at the Golden Plover field on the way back, but they were not present. Continuing on to Arrow Valley Lake I counted about 28 Black-headed Gulls but nothing with them, and noticed that at least four Blackcaps have arrived.

Blackcap

That was supposed to be the end of the day's birding, but after lunch Neil D messaged me with news that Chris Lane had found a pair of Garganey at a tiny pool behind Norgrove Court last night. 

I found them quite easily and managed some shots of the male before withdrawing.

Garganey

I wasn't quite sure who knew about them, so left without getting a shot of the female and without a clear view of the drake. I've since seen some belters on Twitter so I rather wish I'd tried harder.

It's nicer to find your own birds, but making sure you see someone else's can come a close second.

Wednesday March 23 - Yesterday

 This post is all about yesterday. Another sunny morning saw me heading to the patch to try to see the Wheatear found by Tony the day before yesterday. That is, on Tuesday. This could all get very confusing.

The upshot was that I couldn't find it, although I did get a Morton Bagot year-tick ( I'm still not doing a Morton Bagot year list). A pair of Tufted Ducks were lurking on the dragonfly pools.

Tufted Ducks

I reached the Flash field to find pretty much the same birds as at the weekend; the pair of Avocets, 20 Teal, four Shoveler, four Shelducks, three Black-headed Gulls, three Lapwings, and two Lesser Black-backed Gulls. The most novel wader got up from the Red-backed Shrike field, a Snipe.

At least there were a few butterflies on the wing in response to the warmer weather; a Small Tortoiseshell, and a Peacock being the two that were close enough to identify.

Peacock

Back home I put the moth trap out and caught 30 moths, none of them unexpected species: 11 Common Quakers, 11 Small Quakers, three Clouded Drabs (nfy), two Hebrew Characters (nfy), two Early Greys (nfy), and a Common Plume (nfy).

Tuesday March 22 - A whizz around the Circle

All plans were shelved this morning as I headed up to Lower Bittell hoping to see an Oystercatcher (I can't believe I'm doing this) before returning to the Plover field at Middletown for another look at the Golden Plovers.

The Oystercatcher had been at Alvechurch Fisheries at the weekend, but seemed to have moved on by the time I got there. However the visit to Lower Bittell had a couple of highlights. Watching from the canal towpath I saw a couple of Grey Wagtails before two Sand Martins gave me a #LocalBigYear tick, and even a photo opportunity (of sorts). My first Small Tortoiseshell of the year rested briefly before fluttering off.

Grey Wagtail

Sand Martin

The rest of Lower Bittell was rather disappointing. The waterlevel has drowned all the mud so evident back in February, and the reservoir was dotted with numerous fishing boats leaving little room for the 30 or so Tufted Ducks, three Great Crested Grebes, and a few Mallard and Coot.

I decided to bite the bullet and head down to Middletown to sift through the Golden Plover flock. I counted at least 164 Golden Plovers in a bewildering state of plumage moult. I'm going right off any thoughts of a Yank Goldy, and nothing leapt out at me today.

Golden Plovers

More Golden Plovers

I attempted to film the main flock to give an idea of what it was like. 

https://youtu.be/VCwUGxXeSws

In case the film won't play, I've added the Youtube link. My hope had been to film them in flight, but apart from a small party which flew in as I arrived, all with gleaming white underwings, I didn't see any in flight.

My final throw of the dice was a quick look at Haselor scrape, but it turned out that there is still no mud there, so it was just the usual Teal, Shovelers (two), and Shelduck (two).

Meanwhile, at about 17.00 Tony K was finding the first Wheatear of the year at Morton Bagot. Spring has definitely arrived.

Sunday March 20 - A tricky one

 Its not often I'm confronted with a bird I'm struggling to identify, but that's what happened today.

The morning began at Morton Bagot in bright sunshine with a very light easterly blowing. Dave joined me and we started our usual circuit with just a little more optimism than last week. Several Chiffchaffs were singing, but try as we might, we couldn't add a Wheatear to the list.

Chiffchaff

Reed Bunting

As we approached the flash field I got a text from John Chidwick. He had seen a pair of Avocets here yesterday. Within a few minutes, so had we.

One of the Avocets

As usual the two birds kept well apart, so you'll have to take it from me there were two of them. The furthest flash hosted five Shovelers (four males), 16 Teal, a Lapwing, a Little Egret, and a Shelduck (with two more on the nearest flash).

So far, so not at all tricky. That all started when Dave noticed a flock of about 100 dots (like a moving mist) miles away towards Studley. They were Golden Plovers, and we later got a much better view as 23 Goldies flew west, right over our heads. My camera was tucked away in my bag at the time, and perhaps it was this that made me resolve to check out the large field at Middletown on the way home.

I arrived to find a flock of at least 44 Golden Plovers in the centre of the field. The camera came out and I took a few shots. Scanning with the scope I found a few smaller groups, and one of these contained a very interesting looking bird. It looked worryingly like an American Golden Plover. But these things can be tricky, particularly if the bird is asleep, miles away, and partly obscured by lumps of mud and Golden Plovers.

The one in the middle

What should I do? I considered flushing it, but there seemed every chance it would just fly off without allowing a view of its underwing, leaving me none the wiser.

I went home, sent some tweets, and mulled over it. Eventually, I could stand it no longer and I went back.

This time the light was harsher, and the group of three birds were not where I'd left them. Eventually I located what I think might have been the original bird. I tried stalking it, but was overcome with guilt at entering the field, and was finding it impossible to even see the bird with binoculars. I could only see it in the scope, and I have to admit that in different light the whiteness of the supercilium was lost.

Just a dull, tatty Golden Plover?

My only shot of it awake

On one occasion some Golden Plovers flew over, but the bird didn't budge. 

All very tricky, and just a bit vexing. If anyone's read Bill Oddie's Little Black Bird Book (and if you haven't, I recommend you do) there is a chapter entitled Brightening up a dull day. Perhaps that's all I was doing.

The field, if anyone's interested, is on the west side of the road between Studley at the Jubilee Pub and  Middletown.

Friday March 18 - Wootton Pool

 About a dozen years ago Dave and I spent a lot of our time carrying at BTO Atlas work in SP16, the Henley-in-Arden square, so we got to know it quite well. Perhaps too well, for I have been a little reluctant to visit the part of my Circle which coincides with SP16. Familiarity breeds contempt.

But this morning I thought it was about time I visited the most substantial body of water in the Henley area, Wootton Pool. There are access issues, but it can be viewed through the trees from the other side of the River Alne.

The visit wasn't too bad. Nothing to Tweet about, but a nice male Shoveler, at least 28 Tufted Ducks, four Great Crested Grebes, a Cormorant, and the expected Mallards, and Greylag Geese. I wonder what I missed this winter.

Shoveler

The intervening foliage means that the only way to get an image was to stick the camera on auto and hope for the best.

The sunny morning was not ideal for encouraging any passing Sand Martins to stop. They seem to be in short supply this year, but it's bit early to start getting concerned. 

I walked up the Alne and eventually had a fleeting view of a Kingfisher, and found a handful of Reed Buntings, and Linnets. A few Chiffchaffs were singing, but there were few other signs of spring.

The drive back home gained me two roadside Brimstones, and I am seeing a few bees in the garden, and ants in the utility room. The weather is set fair. It won't be long now.

Tuesday March 15 - Pitchers Oak Wood encore

This morning I decided to revisit Pitchers Oak Wood, but this time to cover all of it. The conditions were ideal, being mild and windless. In the back of my mind was the hope that I might find a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Fat chance.

In fact I rediscovered another birder. I had made the acquaintance of Adey about five years ago when I was paying regular visits to Arrow Valley Lake, and he was working for the council Parks Department there. He is very knowledgable about birds and, I discovered today, about Fungi. It turned out we were both trying to see the Marsh Tits which were certainly present in January. He confirmed my worst fears, that Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers used to occur here but no longer do so. Adey is now retired, and his enthusiasm for creating biodiverse habitat at Arrow Valley Lake seems not to be shared by his former employers. The habitat improvements he championed have not been maintained. A great shame.

I didn't manage to find any Marsh Tits this morning, my most notable birds being a calling Green Woodpecker, a singing Chiffchaff, and a Raven.

One of the numerous Great Spotted Woodpeckers

There were plenty of Siskins singing. Like Redwings they sing in early spring, and there is every chance that they too will have departed for the north by late April. But, unlike Redwings, a few may stay to breed.

I also broke my duck for butterflies this morning. A Brimstone was flying around a sunny glade, and a small dark butterfly (probably a Small Tortoiseshell) flew over a tall hedge as I was returning to my car. In fact, Lyn saw a Brimstone yesterday as it flew through our garden, but I managed to miss it.

Sunday March 13

 A largely cloudy morning with an increasingly strong south-westerly. Dave and I resumed our efforts to find something new at Morton Bagot. The omens were good. A Red Kite flew by shortly after we set off from Netherstead.

Red Kite

Always nice to see, but not even my first at Morton Bagot this year. 

A little further on I heard a snatch of Chiffchaff song. Dave missed it so we paused, expecting it to sing again. It didn't, and to our surprise there were no others for the rest of the morning. 

We reached the flash field to find the water level still high. Optimism deflated slightly. Scoping from the top of the rise revealed only the usual Teal, a female Wigeon, a couple of Black-headed Gulls, six Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and a Lapwing. 

The nearest flash contained an ever increasing stock of Shelducks. Initially just a pair, but then a second pair flew in and there was much head-bobbing display and chasing as the original pair sought to assert their ownership. Then a fifth bird (a male) arrived and confusion increased.

One of the females finds itself the object of attention

Eventually they sorted themselves out and we were left with the original pair.

Meanwhile, behind the flash field a large assembly of corvids, Jackdaws and Rooks, took to the air. We didn't see the cause, but an adult Peregrine had flown by earlier, so maybe they were just jumpy.

Corvids

We ambled back, accepting that spring remains elusive. Two pairs of Lapwings displaying over the unplanted HOEF land was a reminder that it won't be long to wait though.

Friday March 11 - plodding on

 A morning of grey skies and a forecast of rain to follow, coupled with me feeling slightly off colour, led to a slow walk around Arrow Valley Lake this morning.

I suppose I was hoping for an early Sand Martin, or a "different' gull. One bird present in spades was Siskin, and my count of 78 was probably lower than the true figure. With the Siskins I heard a couple of Redpolls and was offered a brilliant photo opportunity by a splendidly pink male sitting in the bushes near the river. Unfortunately the camera was in my bag, and within seconds the bird joined the surrounding Siskins as they flew off over the lake. Oh well!

At least the Chiffchaffs have arrived. I counted five singing males around the lake. A passer by asked me if I had seen the Otter. I knew that Tony K had seen one here last week, and so I walked slowly up the river before staring at the island in the hope of a bit of luck. There was none.

There were over 100 Black-headed Gulls present to keep me interested, but nothing with them. A Kestrel drifted over as I neared the end of the walk. I haven't seen many here, so that was probably the best bird.

I wasn't going to mention moths, but since this was another quiet day I will. 

On Wednesday night the garden trap went out and the morning revealed 10 moths sitting in the egg boxes (plus one which gave me the slip as I tried to move the box indoors). It was nice to see Common Quakers again, all in immaculately fresh condition, but there were eight of them. Also present was a tatty Chestnut, which had emerged from hibernation, and a very smart Small Quaker, which is the one I'm going to show you.

Small Quaker

They were all left to sleep in the egg-boxes until dusk when they left to get on with the business of producing the next generation.

Tuesday March 8 - Coughton Wood

 There is a large wood just south of Sambourne which I have never watched birds in. Ironically I did once go there at dusk on one of David Brown's moth-trapping events (before I even owned a trap), so this morning I was keen to see what birds I could find.

My hope was that I could winkle out a Crossbill or two. I quickly established it looked good for them, but I didn't find any. Instead there were stacks of Siskins twittering from the tops of the conifers, and also one or two Lesser Redpolls. Whether they stay to breed is currently unknown.

Siskin - male

Lesser Redpoll

Once you've established that a predominantly coniferous wood has no obvious Crossbills, you are left with a limited selection of other birds to look at. Coal Tits and Goldcrests rivalled the Siskins in numbers and in their ability to hide from view.

The wood was mighty impressive and can be viewed from a bridle path. Heart of England Forest now owns it and have been improving the habitat. There are large stands of birches, and some interesting open areas which could bear fruit in future.

The nearest thing to a surprise was a calling Chiffchaff which eventually broke into song. My attempts to photograph it were largely thwarted, but I did get a couple of blurry record shots.

Chiffchaff

Nice to know they are back.

Catkins

Fallow Deer

I'm so used to seeing Roe Deer, that I almost overlooked the Fallow Deer staring at me through the trees.

I'm looking forward to returning later in the spring.

Sunday March 6

 It continues to be cold, grey, and very un-spring like. Dave and I went through the motions at Morton Bagot, meeting Tony who was ringing - mostly Blue Tits. Not that we were doing much better.

By the end of the morning we had recorded 47 species, none of them unusual for the site. On the journey in, my car flushed a Mistle Thrush below Bannams Wood. On reflection, that was probably the bird of the day.

The main feature was the large number of corvids, mostly Jackdaws, feeding in the fields from below Morton Springs fishery and over towards Studley Castle. I wrote 400 down in my notes, but made no serious effort to count them, and suspect the actually figure was much higher.

Very few birds were singing, and flocks of Starlings and Redwings added to the winter feel. The flash field contained the usual 30+ Teal, and 21 Lapwings, while the continued presence of a pair of Shelduck, and at least four Coot was a nod towards spring.

Fieldfare

In desperation we wandered slightly beyond the usual circuit, recording a few Siskins and Fieldfares whilst failing to relocate the 30 or so Black-headed Gulls we had seen heading away from the flash field.

Two pairs of Buzzards displayed in the usual places, but in all honesty this was one to forget.

Friday March 4 - Filling the gap

 It is generally understood that there is a starvation gap for seed-eating birds at the end of winter. The same might be said for birders. Where the birds are concerned a solution can be supplementary feeding by concerned nature-lovers. In my case the question is how to fill the gap in my year-list once I've run out of wintering birds and am waiting for the summer migrants to trickle in.

After changing my mind several times this week, I decided my best bet was to go back down to the Coldcomfort Wood/Alcester Heath area. In years gone by I might have hoped for a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker or a Curlew. These are both classic March/April birds which are now spiralling to oblivion locally.

It was chilly, and a bit grey. Not much chance of an early butterfly to break the winter blues. However, the day was brightened by the sound of a singing Yellowhammer. The fields along Coldcomfort Lane were largely stubble, so they should be good for that hunger gap. Indeed there must have been some sustenance available because I added small flocks of Linnets and Chaffinches, and one or two more Yellowhammers.

Yellowhammer

At the end of the lane lives a chap with the right idea. A well-stocked feeder on the edge of the wood, opposite his house, was alive with Tits, Nuthatches, Chaffinches etc. I paused for several minutes to watch the action. Several Coal Tits and Marsh Tits joined the fray, and eventually so did one of at least four Great Spotted Woodpeckers present in the adjacent wood. But no small cousin turned up. 

I ventured into the wood (very muddy), and listened in vain for any "quee quee quee" calls or longer than usual drumming. The wood and its neighbours form part of the Ragley estate and there are numerous signs warning you not to leave the footpath. At the far end of the wood was a large flock of Fieldfares, Redwings, and Starlings. A Raven croaked in the distance. The temptation to stray was enormous, and might have been irresistible if the right woodpecker had perked up, but none did. Perhaps they've gone from here too.

So no happy ending this time. I do, however, have some Morton Bagot news. The ringers have been active, with a little night-time adventure bagging them a Woodcock. 

Woodcock per Tony Kelly

What a stunning bird.

Tuesday March 1 - Meteorological Spring

 So here we go, Spring is here. The Met Office says it starts today, so that's the cue I needed to start recording breeding birds.

What to do? I decided to "officially" record some of the early breeders. This meant a trip to the two heronries I have come across during February to count the occupied nests.

Heronry A contained five nests, and heronry B 10 nests. I don't suppose heronries are a big secret, but one of these was at a private site which hadn't been reported to the County recorder for over 10 years, so I'll say no more about it.

I also kept an eye open for rookeries, and noticed three (two of them with Lyn on our way to Stratford). 

Everything else was pretty much a case making a judgment about whether to count birds as potential breeders yet or not. It's still very early, but broadly speaking I regard singing birds as likely breeding birds which may need confirming later.

At Arrow Valley Lake a Mute Swan was sitting on a probable nest, while Great Crested Grebes were getting frisky.

Displaying Grebes

Winter was still hanging on to the winter visitors, with plenty of Siskins at Arrow Valley Lake, and 160 Redwings, a few Fieldfares, and three Grey Wagtails at another site.

Siskin

Grey Wagtail

At Arrow Valley Lake two Chiffchaffs were flicking about, refusing to sing, searching for insects. I decided to call them early passage migrants.

It was distinctly chilly all day so it's very much a case of Spring in name only for now.