Sunday October 27 - The new normal

 I wasn't expecting to post anything more for quite a while, but birds have intervened. The good thing about the little blighters is that they fly, they migrate, they give you a chance even if you are confined to barracks.

So yesterday morning I couldn't help noticing that birds were moving. Flocks of Woodpigeons headed south every so often during the first couple of hours of daylight, and I eventually counted 275 of them, mostly from the bedroom window. 

As luck would have it that was exactly the right place to be when, at 08:40 I turned round from talking to Lyn and spotted three white birds approaching from the north. I grabbed my binoculars and confirmed they were swans. Within seconds I realised they were not Mute Swans, but were actually either Bewick's or Whooper Swans. I could see the yellow base at the base of their bills, and I tried hard to assess the shape of the yellow colour. They were soon lost behind the whitebeam growing to the left of our front garden. A dash downstairs to the back garden proved futile. Nevertheless a quick check of the Internet confirmed my suspicion that no Bewick's Swans have arrived at Slimbridge yet, so it seems very likely indeed that these birds were Whooper Swans which arrive a month or so earlier. In fact it may be relevant that three Whoopers were reported flying south over Seisdon near Wolverhampton just an hour and a half before my sighting.

For the rest of the morning I managed to watch from the driveway which was better for seeing birds which call as they fly over. This added 94 Redwings and a few Skylarks and Chaffinches to the morning's haul. 

Meanwhile Dave and the ringers, Tony and Leigh, have been visiting Morton Bagot over the weekend. They found the first two Jack Snipe of the autumn along with 15 Common Snipe, and two Stonechats. 

Greenfinch - Tony Kelly

The ringing totals included a Blackcap, four Redwings, five Greenfinches, eight Goldfinches, and three Reed Buntings.

The exciting day of movement was also noticed at Earlswood where John O and Matt G counted 4,310 Woodpigeons and a Hawfinch in the space of two hours. Two of the latter have returned to Tardebigge churchyard, and Birdguides is full of reports of them.

This morning by contrast, there appears to be no movement of birds going on over the house whatever. 

Things could be a lot worse.

Saturday October 26 - Getting out less

 Well the good news is that Lyn is back home. Now the hard work begins. It will take a while before she is able to regain some independence.

My last birding was at Earlswood on Tuesday, the highlight being 700 Woodpigeons heading south in just over an hour. It was a bit of a gloomy morning and the only bird I photographed was a Kestrel.

One thing I have allowed to lapse is my garden moth-trapping. I've not attempted to catch anything since the middle of September. This means I have missed a number of common species which only fly for two or three weeks. But now I'm housebound for the foreseeable, there is the opportunity to resume.

Last night, which seemed fairly mild and calm, the trap was set and I attracted just four moths. Two of these were new for the year; a Barred Sallow a species I catch every year in small numbers, and only my second Juniper Carpet (my last was in 2019).

Barred Sallow

Juniper Carpet

I even saw a few birds, the most noteworthy being a male Blackcap.

So for the next few weeks there's a patch in need of additional coverage if anyone fancies giving Morton Bagot a go.

Monday October 21 - Getting out more

Circumstances beyond my control continue to leave me with extra time on my hands, so rather than sit at home twiddling my thumbs waiting for hospital visiting hours to begin I've been getting out birding every morning.

The weather over the last few days has lurched from gales and rain to pleasant and mild, but none of it has produced any locally unexpected arrivals as far as I can tell. I've paid two visits to Earlswood. In thick mist on Friday I established that the Yellow-browed Warbler had gone and found almost nothing in compensation. Having said that, I do like the scrublands south of Windmill Pool and was moved to photograph some impressive lichen there.

Probably Ramalina farinacea

Next day I was at Morton Bagot at dawn, and joined the ringers who had had to furl their mistnets due to some persistent drizzle. Just as it eased I got news from Lyn that they might be moving her to another hospital (they didn't), so I aborted the visit and headed towards the car. Ironically this meant I was in the right place to see a male Goshawk powering its way towards Bannams Wood, and then to see and hear a Yellowhammer calling as it made its way south. Unfortunately, neither bird presented a photographic opportunity.

On Sunday I had a couple of hours at Earlswood in light drizzle before the wind pepped up and Storm Ashley blew in. It was quiet.

Mallard ignoring the storm

Today I was back at Morton Bagot, determined to give it a longer look. The cloudy weather and still conditions turned out to be not much use for encouraging visible migration, and the morning passed uneventfully. The birding highlight was a female Blackcap, while the usual species included five Stonechats dotted about, 23 Common Snipe, and more Song Thrushes than Redwings, though I only logged 11 of the former.

Stonechat

Reed Buntings seemed to be everywhere, and I counted 17 of them. My most interesting find, just because I hadn't seen them before, were some strange clumps of white stuff in the grass which my phone told me was a species of Slime Mould. Even better, when I got home and tried to find out what it was I came up with the wonderfully named Dog Sick Slime Mould, a description which I certainly wouldn't argue with.

Dog Sick Slime Mould

I suspect that as my phone app didn't want to commit to a full species name, other species of similar slime moulds are available.

Thursday October 17 - Morton Bagot

 I was up at the crack of dawn this morning and went straight to Morton Bagot, having had to miss out on Sunday.

The early start meant that I was in the right place at the right time to watch the visible migration of over 200 Redwings, a similar number of Woodpigeons, and 80 Starlings all headed south-west or west. I know it doesn't sound particularly exciting, but I find the spectacle thrilling to watch.

Also present in enhanced numbers were Reed Buntings, Goldfinches, and Song Thrushes. At least four Stonechats were present, along with two Green Sandpipers, 18 Teal, and 11 Snipe.

Redwing

Kingfisher with tiny fish

Meadow Pipit

There was nothing particularly unusual on offer, with the possible exception of two Peregines vocally disputing possession of a pylon.

The good news is that Lyn's operation was successful, but she is currently being monitored in hospital. When she comes out I anticipate that this blog will fall silent for a while as she'll need lots of t l c.

Sunday October 13 - Out of action

 Unfortunately I found myself unable to go birding over the weekend. 

Fortunately the birds don't care about that, and migration carried on regardless. I counted 34 Redwings heading west and two Swallows going south early on Saturday morning, so even from the house you can feel a part of it in some small way.

So this post is just a round up of the exploits of others locally. Tony was ringing at Morton Bagot on Friday, and was pleased to catch a Redwing among other birds.

Redwing - Tony Kelly

Dave put in a shift at Morton Bagot this morning, counting 17 Snipe, 52 Teal, two Stonechats and a few Redwings.

Meanwhile the Yellow-browed Warbler continued to frustrate would-be observers at Earlswood, showing well to the fortunate few, and just offering up occasional bursts of calling to the majority. I'm not entirely sure how many have been located in the West Midlands over the last few days, but I've heard of at least six.

I'll just count myself fortunate to have participated in the fun.

Friday October 11 - Earlswood Lakes

 Early this morning the temperature had plunged to zero, and I found myself scraping the frost off the car and wondering how I had missed the aurora borealis visible to so many overnight. I looked, it wasn't there.

The plan was to revisit Earlswood where both the Yellow-browed Warbler and the Lesser Whitethroat had been seen again yesterday. I was particularly keen to see the latter because John Oates' photographs showed a bird with plumage tones suggestive of the Siberian race blythi. Unfortunately without capturing it or obtaining a dropping to check its DNA there was little chance to prove it either way.

I arrived in bright sunshine and saw four Snipe and a Shoveler on Engine Pool.

I'd convinced myself that conditions overnight would have persuaded my target species' to head off to who knows where, and on reaching the pumping station there was nothing to suggest otherwise. A flock of 11 Redwings heading south was all I had to show for fifteen minutes of standing around.

John Oates arrived and offered to show me where he had seen the Lesser Whitethroat. Shortly before we arrived at the spot, a welcome "chi-wee" told us that at least the Yellow-browed Warbler was still present. More standing around ensued, followed by a little exploring, before the bird in question showed itself. Unfortunately it was in a sallow between us and the fierce morning sun, so my faint hope of getting a photograph in the thirty seconds or so available went out of the window.

There was also no sign of the Lesser Whitethroat. One good thing about standing around chatting, apart from the company, was the opportunity to record whatever was flying over. Thus we added several Skylarks, a Siskin, Meadow Pipits, and more Redwings to the morning's haul.

A few more birders arrived but by the time I had to leave, the Yellow-browed had fallen silent and could not be relocated. My final noteworthy record came from Malthouse car-park where I heard a Redpoll flying over.

Wednesday October 9 - Yellow browed Warbler at Earlswood

What is it they say? "I love it when a plan comes together." I visited Earlswood Lakes this morning with Yellow-browed Warbler firmly in mind. 

My plan was to study the bushes carefully and hope for the best, a bit like every October day to date. It never works.....until it does.

I'd reached the Scrublands at the end of Windmill Pool, and heard a Chiffchaff. Shortly afterwards I heard a different call. It was distant, but sounded like a Yellow-browed Warbler. I couldn't quite believe it, so chose not to. Instead I headed along the dog-walkers track towards the road hoping I would hear it again. There was nothing doing, so I returned to the pumping station where I almost immediately heard it again. The more it called, the more sure I was. I decided to take the plunge and inform the Whatsapp Group.

The occasional "che-wee" calls on this lovely video of a Sallow bush are made by the bird. The much closer calls are made by Robins etc. 

About half an hour later John Oates arrived, and he wasn't messing about. It started calling again, so we waded towards the sallows. He played a recording of its call at it and like magic the bird appeared. We had sufficient views to confirm it, big eyestripe, two wing-bars, the lot. What a star.

I couldn't have been happier. The only downside was that neither of us got photos. A little while after John Sirrett arrived I had to leave, but John Oates was still intending to get a shot so I'm hopeful of a result later on.

While we listened for it, a Siskin and seven Redwings flew over.

 

PS: Early in the afternoon John Oates managed a record shot of the bird which he has kindly allowed me to include on the blog. 

Yellow-browed Warbler - John Oates

I've also heard that John Sirrett saw the bird and also a Lesser Whitethroat. Interesting!

Sunday October 6 - Morton Bagot

 A cloudy morning with a little drizzle from time to time and a very light south-easterly.

I was joined by Dave, fresh from a holiday on Scilly, so it was probably down to earth with a bump for him. Tony was also on site ringing, and had caught a Treecreeper before we reached him.

As for us, it wasn't too bad. At least 65 Teal were on the nearest flash along with a single Green Sandpiper. We had earlier flushed about a dozen Snipe from the scrape field, and I suspect they were now on the flash field although we could only see one.

Also present in the scrape field were a pair of Stonechats, about 20 Meadow Pipits, and about 10 Linnets. We regularly saw Jays all morning, and at least four Kestrels. 

It wasn't the ideal weather for taking photographs, but the fact they are on display at least means that the blog is still working as it should.

We saved the best till last as five Swallows and 22 Redwings flew over. The largest flock of the latter were accompanied by a single finch or bunting, but they were too far away to give us a chance of identifying it.

Tony's results for the weekend were as follows:

Great Spotted Woodpecker 2

Blue Tit 47 (25)

Great Tit 13 (9)

Long-tailed Tit 3

Goldcrest 3

Treecreeper 2

Chiffchaff 5

Blackcap 5

Robin 2 (1)

Dunnock 3

Wren 2

Meadow Pipit 27

Chaffinch 2

Greenfinch 20

Goldfinch 8

Reed Bunting 4

Reed Bunting  - Tony Kelly

For the next few weeks one might expect loads of Scandinavian migrants to be darkening the skies. It's an exciting time of year.

Friday October 4 - Earlswood Lakes again

 This afternoon I found myself visiting Earlswood Lakes again, not on spec this time. Instead I was twitching a pair of Common Pochard. It seems crazy to an oldie like myself that Pochards require a special visit. Back in the day blah blah blah..yes I know, boring! 

Anyway this should have been a quick turn up, see them and leave kind of twitch. If I'd had any sense it would have been, but having not seen them on my initial scan I chose to walk to the causeway in case they'd flipped over to Windmill Pool. They weren't there either, so on my walk back I decided to do what I should have done in the first place and check the other side of the rafts.

And there they were, a smart drake and his dowdy companion.

 

Blogspot is playing up again, but I have managed to post my record shot of the Pochard this time.

I feel that the days of this Blog might be numbered.

Thursday October 3 - Earlswood Lakes

 With the wind still from the east, and after two or three days of drizzle this morning's sunshine encouraged me back into the field. The West Midlands still feels like the poor relation compared to almost every other part of the country.

Where to go? I opted for Earlswood, and began by checking out the scrublands at the end of Windmill Pool. Here I found three Chiffchaffs but nothing more exciting. 

Moving onto the lakes themselves, a couple of hours of reasonably careful birding added nothing better than a couple of Swallows and a trickle of Meadow Pipits heading south.

A Kingfisher posed on one of the rafts, so at least my camera made a brief appearance.

I didn't see any other birders, but evidently they were about because upon returning home I learned of a Stonechat, a Red Kite and some Redwings in various parts of the site.

Maybe I'll be luckier next time.