Wednesday May 31 - Lower Bittell

 So what do you do when you start the year with a plan to explore the local rivers, and have finished them in May? Well obviously, you start again. Talk about a glutton for punishment.

But of course its now summer...quite different. I hope. Anyway I got off to a good start. The Arrow rises north of the Mill Shrub and flows through the Lower Bittell Reservoir emerging as a stream below the dam and trickling passed Alvechurch Fishery. 

And it was here that I scanned a promising island and found a sitting Oystercatcher. It seems ridiculous that I missed the species completely last year. I went on to to find its mate too.

Sitting among the nettles

The other one. Hard to miss!

It was unseasonably cold and grey today, so insects weren't going to get a look in. In fact, it could be all down hill from here, quite literally. A pair of Great Crested Grebes were nesting on the same island, and a pair of Black-headed Gulls was also present but not obviously nesting. The rest of the pool contained Coots breeding, Mallards probably trying, and Tufted Ducks no doubt thinking about it.

Lower Bittell was almost devoid of wildfowl. I was left to note a few singing Reed Warblers, Blackcaps feeding young, and all that kind of stuff. If I'm honest, I wasn't fully engaged.

A female Green Woodpecker

Hopefully my spirits will soon rise and the enthusiasm will return.

Sunday May 28 - Morton Bagot Warblerfest

I got up early this morning to join the ringers (who got up earlier) at Morton Bagot. They were doing well for warblers, although the two most noteworthy for the site eluded them. The Garden Warbler was still singing away, and has taken to perching prominently in a very un-Garden Warbler-like way.

Garden Warbler

Later on, after the ringers had gone, I had a wander around and heard a reeling Grasshopper Warbler.

The ringing totals included no less than four Lesser Whitethroats (none of which showed or even called/sang in the field), four Common Whitethroats, a Sedge Warbler, three Chiffchaffs, and two House Sparrows (which were the first ever caught on HOEF land).

Lesser Whitethroat 

Common Whitethroat (female)

Chiffchaff having its wing measured

The only breeding warbler I didn't see was Reed Warbler, and I didn't check the pool where one had been singing last week.

The water level at the flash field is reducing, and the muddy edge hosted a few Lapwings including a recently fledged juvenile, and a Little Ringed Plover. I couldn't see any Shelducks, but didn't check the furthest flash.

Quite a few insects caught my eye, the most interesting being a Grass Rivulet moth. Seeing it was one thing, getting a photograph more problematic. I did eventually get a record shot. I'm not sure whether I've seen one here before...a trawl through my old posts has failed to produce one. Perhaps I need to compile a Morton Bagot moth life list. Another project to consider.

Grass Rivulet

Others new for the year were Mother Shipton, Silver Y, an Epiblema ag, and Yellow Shell.

Mother Shipton

Butterflies included my first Small Heaths for here this year, and for dragonflies I added Four-spotted Chasers (five) to the year-list.

Four-spotted Chaser

So its pretty much just breeding birds and resident insects now. Still fun though.

I almost forgot, my birding down the river Arrow reached its southern point at the edge of the Circle on Friday. However, this involved a stroll along the riverside footpaths in Alcester and the best I could manage was finding breeding evidence for Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail, and Mute Swan, plus yet another singing Garden Warbler. The only photographs I took were of a lot of Chub and what I took to be Minnows from one of the bridges. I don't think I'll be starting a fish list though.

Epiblema scutulana (gen det)

Wednesday May 24 - Twitching and wandering

A splendidly bright sunny day got what it deserved, a decent bird to twitch. A Sandwich Tern was found by Martin Lindop at Earlswood, and as it was a Circle tick I postponed my birthday plans to go and see it.

What a belter!

It obligingly remained all day (it's still there as I'm writing this), so I have no doubt that it is being well-watched. Also present was at least one Common Tern and a Common Sandpiper, but as is typical with a twitch I didn't register much else.

Common Tern

The afternoon was spent with Lyn at Coughton Court, where I was disappointed to see that the House Martin colony which had been busy on my last visit a few years ago was now gone. A staff member I spoke to said he believed that a decision had been taken to destroy it. All too believable.

On the plus side, a couple of Reed Warblers sang from the reeds bordering the small lake, and a Little Grebe was also in residence.

Little Grebe

I was actually birding close to Coughton Court on Tuesday, walking from the outskirts of Alcester along the river Arrow. A pleasant surprise was a small balancing lake containing seven Tufted Ducks, a few Mallard, Canada Geese, and Mute Swans. Nothing terribly exciting, but any new pools are completely welcome.

The highlight of my walk came as I paused to scan a reach of the river opposite King's Coughton. The overhanging vegetation made life difficult.

What could be behind these trees?

Peering through the foliage I noticed a couple of ducklings, and then discovered an attendant Mandarin. This is the second Mandarin brood I have come across locally in the last two years, and I hear there is another at Studley.

This was the only shot where the ducklings can be seen (middle right and bottom left)

The female Mandarin

Shortly after I took these shots I look down at the river beneath me in time to see an Otter swimming upstream beneath the surface toward the Mandarins. I lost sight of it and the Mandarins behind a tree which was obscuring my view, but I could hear the alarmed calls of the duck. I would like to think that the family escaped.

As for other creatures, I saw several Small Heaths and loads of Banded and Beautiful Demoiselles and photographed a micro moth which turned out to be unidentifiable.

Small Heath

Epiblema ag (scutulana/cirsiana/something else)

So no Great Reed Warblers for me this week, but plenty to keep me happy.

A Blackcap at Coughton Court

 

Sunday May 21 - Morton Bagot

 There is little doubt in my mind that summer is arriving earlier each year. There was a time when late May still felt a part of spring, but not so much now. If I was still purely a birder, this would be deeply frustrating. A walk around the patch today felt like Groundhog day. The same Garden Warbler was singing lustily from the same bushes, the Shelduck family remain intact (still ten duckings). The same warblers sang, the same Lapwings looked nervous, and the same Red Kite flew over us, looking magnificent in the sunshine (the Kite, not me and Dave).

There were just a few minor tweaks. A Reed Warbler has finally turned up and was singing from bulrushes bordering the new scrapes. They looked well on the way to drying up if we get no rain within the next fortnight. The Lapwings seemed a little less aggressive, so perhaps their nests have failed.

Fortunately the insects are on the rise. We added to the dragonfly tally with several probable Azure Damselflies, a teneral male Blue-tailed Damselfly, mating couples of Large Red Damselflies, and a couple of splendid Broad-bodied Chasers.

Large Red Damselflies

Broad-bodied Chaser

Butterflies were largely the same as last weekend, no sign of any Small Heaths yet, but more Small Coppers. We also flushed a couple of new micro-moths for the year. An Agapeta hamana (Common Yellow Conch) was one I recognised from previous years, but a small tortrix Dave flushed into our path was unfamiliar. It turned out to be a Pea Moth (Cydia nigricana), quite common apparently.

Pea Moth

Actually I have half an idea I might have seen one here before, but without having completed a moth list of the site I cannot be sure. Perhaps there is a point to list making.

I took the precaution of photographing any bird that stood still long enough just in case nothing unusual turned up. I give you, the Goldfinch.

Goldfinch

I plan to spend more time exploring the 10km circle this week.

Thursday May 18 - Back to the Arrow

A perfect morning for logging breeding birds and trying to winkle out the unexpected. I went back to Coughton Court and walked north to Lower Spernall and back. It's a most beautiful place for a walk, and until I reached HOEF's Haydon Way Wood I didn't see a soul.

Birdwise it was OK without being brilliant. I heard a couple of Kingfishers (possibly the same one twice), discovered that Grey Wagtails had bred, and found several singing Yellowhammers and Linnets on my return through some arable fields.

Yellowhammer

 

Linnet

The Haydon Wood section was quite different. At least three singing Garden Warblers and a singing Grasshopper Warbler all defied me to get the slightest glimpse. There were plenty of the usual spring butterflies and both species of demoiselles were abundant. 

It was left to a micro moth to provide something new. Sitting on its foodplant (I later discovered) was a Meadow Longhorn Cauchas rufimitrella. Quite common apparently, but new for me.

Meadow Longhorn moth

And speaking of moths, once I got home I decided it would be a good night to put the trap out. 

It was indeed. I caught 35 moths of 21 species, 14 of which were new for the year. The most spectacular was one I'd seen in 2018, but not since; a Scorched Wing.

Scorched Wing

For any moth addicts the best of the rest were; three Seraphims (not seen last year), a Figure of Eighty (also missing in 2022), and Ochreous Pug (only my second). New for the year in descending order of impressiveness were; Cinnabar (second for the garden trap), Pale Tussock, Peppered Moth, Chinese Character, Orange Footman, Least Black Arches, May Highflyer, Red-Green Carpet, Knot Grass, and Codling Moth.

Seraphim

Figure of Eighty

Ochreous Pug

Actually, they were all pretty impressive. May and June seems to corner the market in good looking moths (and a whole lot of tatty Pugs).

Tuesday May 16 - Shelfield (square-bashing)

 Today I decided on a follow-up visit to a tetrad I had birded in during early April. The attraction was that fieldwork for the Birds of Warwickshire which is still an ongoing project led by Jonathan Bowley had left this tetrad untouched until this year.

It was a nice sunny morning and I had a pleasant mooch through HOEF woodlands, some more mature woods, and some arable farmland. Inevitably there were few surprises, but a Shelduck which flew over was somewhat odd. I also logged seven singing Garden Warblers mainly in the dense HOEF young woodland, and a singing Sedge Warbler in a field of oilseed rape. One of a pair of Ravens was carrying a prey item towards its nest, and many other species were confirmed to be breeding.

Mistle Thrush about to stick a beakful of craneflies down its youngster's gob

Plenty of spring butterflies were on the wing, including my first Small Whites and Large White of the year.

An interesting weedy field contained some remarkably bright plants which caught my eye. They turned out to be Crimson Clovers, a species I had never heard of, let alone seen.

Crimson Clover

For a short while I thought I must have found something really good. Then I bumped into the owner of the field who told me she had sown the field with a wild flower mix, which rather explained it. She also mentioned having seen a "Woopoo". Hoopoe? I asked. "That's it" she said "on my lawn and in the apple trees. It was lovely." "When was this?" I enquired. "Oh about ten years ago" came the reply.

Another one that's got away. I wonder how many other rarities slip through the recorder's fingers.

Sunday May 14 - Morton Bagot

Dave and I arrived as the thick fog which had cloaked the landscape all morning was just showing signs of lifting. It would soon become a really nice day, perfect for bug hunting.

We had received news that the Shelduck pair now had a family of tiny ducklings (per John & Gary) and also that a Stonechat had been seen. We couldn't find the latter, but had no trouble locating the Shelduck family.

10 Shelducklings on the nearest flash

This is the third time since 2010 that a brood has been produced. It will be interesting to see how many fledge.

But I'm jumping ahead. As we made our way from Netherstead we became aware that a Garden Warbler was singing in the densest patch of scrub. This species was never regular here, but is showing signs of becoming so as the vegetation thickens out. It would be a challenge to see it, but eventually we did. Getting a shot was tricky, but I did my best.

Garden Warbler in full flow

And just to prove I can sometimes take decent shots, I stopped to photograph this:

Reed Bunting

As the sun came out we resigned ourselves to not seeing any rare birds, and started to look at insects. Eight species of spring butterflies were on the wing, the best being a couple of Small Coppers. I'm more used to seeing the second brood in late summer. They're stunning little insects.

Small Copper

We also spotted a couple of moth species; two Small Yellow Underwings and an Angle Shades. The former is regular here in spring and a day-flying moth, but the latter, although its pretty common, is a night flying species, so was more of a surprise.

Small Yellow Underwing

Angle Shades

We knew we were missing an early damselfly, and soon put that right when we located about four Large Red Damselflies. We also saw a number of pale brown female or recently emerged damselflies which may also have been large Reds, but we weren't sure.

Large Red Damselfly

Back at Netherstead we reflected that it had been a pretty decent visit. Then a Red Kite appeared and drifted circled us before being chased off by a Crow. The camera came out again.

Red Kite

I keep telling myself to stop photographing these beauties, but they are irresistible. 

Friday May 12 - Coughton Court (without paying)

 My original plan was to resume my relationship with the National Trust by visiting Coughton Court and seeing what birds etc lived there. Then I noticed they didn't open until 11.00 am. That's no good, too late for even a lazy riser such as myself. 

Plan B was to turn into Coughton Fields Road and see if I could park. This worked brilliantly, and I was soon walking towards the ford, and more importantly towards a singing Lesser Whitethroat, which for once I was able to see and photograph.

Lesser Whitethroat

Once I got to the ford I paused to see whether any drivers would risk it after the recent rain had raised the river level. 

Red Van Man going for it

It wasn't as deep as it looked, but had the beneficial effect of reducing the flow of traffic along the lane. After being distracted by Beautiful Demoiselles and Banded Demoiselles I got back to the birding and was soon rewarded with the sight of a female Goosander flying downstream. This species probably breeds on the Arrow every year nowadays, but it was a first at this time of year for me. 

I turned north and followed the river along the east side, eventually flushing a Little Egret and a Grey Wagtail but failing to find any Kingfishers. I'm sure they were there somewhere though. 

It was rather a grey and chilly morning, the wind was north-easterly, so I saw very few butterflies. As far as birds went I amassed a respectable tally of common species, and was entertained by about three Ravens getting mobbed by the local Carrion Crows.

Ravens

I think the two in the photograph may have been recently fledged. An adult had looked ragged winged, but these two characters seemed to have pristine wing feathers when they flew.

I made a mental note to return to this area later this summer. The tall poplars looked ideal for Golden Orioles and the riverside willows really should be harbouring a Night Heron or two. 

Dream on !

Wednesday May 10 - Spernal STW area

 A morning with sunny intervals and a light westerly breeze. The ornithological clock ticks from looking for migrants to confirming breeding...and being distracted by insects. I walked from Haydon Wood car-park along the Arrow as far as the northern edge of the sewage works. Don't let the phrase sewage works put you off. It was lovely.

The sewage is behind those trees

I didn't have particularly high expectations of the birdlife, so was pleasantly surprised to hear singing Cuckoo, Garden Warbler, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, and Reed Warbler while actually seeing three Mandarins, a Shelduck, a Kingfisher, a Red Kite and a feeding flock of Swifts and House Martins, with a few Swallows and a Sand Martin chucked in for good measure.

Common Swift

Red Kite slightly out of focus as usual

As the morning warmed up, insects started to get my attention. A small collection of common butterflies; Speckled Woods, Orange-tip, Green-veined White, and Red Admiral, and better still two moths; Red Twin-spot Carpet and Maidens Blush. Its so nice to see them in the wild instead of in my moth trap.

Red Twin-spot Carpet

Maiden's Blush

I also saw my first odonata; two Beautiful Demoiselles. As I'm concentrating on rivers this year, I will start a dragonfly year-list for 2023.

I also can't help pointing my camera at any other insects which catch my eye.

A male Blotch-winged Hoverfly - Leucozona lucorum

Common Dance Fly (probably)

Summer is just around the corner.