Technical issues resolved

I'm having a problem updating this account so the blog is suspended for a while.

Panic over. I think I've sorted it. Phew. 

The blog is now up and running again.

Tuesday September 8

 After a rather warm night the day dawned grey and mild with a light westerly. The feeling that I should have been trapping moths was reinforced when I reached Morton Bagot. Insects were everywhere, particularly gnats. 

The birds were thrilled. Every other treetop and hedge was crowned by crazily flying gnats, and warblers, tits, and House Sparrows were making sorties to pick them off. I counted five Blackcaps, 11 Chiffchaffs, and both Lesser and Common Whitethroats enjoying the feast. 

Ivy flowered in the hedgerows and the hum and buzz of bees and flies was almost deafening. I made slow progress due to the abundance of passerines feeding or zipping from bush to bush. As on Saturday I noted a flock of Siskins, maybe a dozen or so, but this time I added a single Lesser Redpoll as it flew over. Actually the only other species which was different from those recorded on Saturday was a calling Marsh Tit at Stapenhill Wood.

A Grey Wagtail flew over Netherstead before I headed towards the pool field. Here I found three Stonechats and two Whinchats. At the flash field I noted that the female Pintail was still present, but while I was making my way along the footpath something disturbed all the ducks causing them the fly around. Three Shovelers flew off, revealing their spatulate bills to good effect.

Shovelers

When I got to the viewing area beneath the trees I could find no trace of the Pintail. At least an eclipse drake Wigeon was showing much better than on Saturday.

Wigeon

Two Lesser Black-backed Gulls were standing with 23 Lapwings, making a nonsense of my struggle to see any gulls on Saturday. My one regret came at the Kingfisher Pool when, having decided that none were present I blundered up to the pool flushing a Kingfisher which had been sitting quietly just ten metres away.

As compensation I scanned the algae coating the pool and found my first Small Red-eyed Damselfly of the year. I had concluded that the local population had disappeared having not seen any during August.

Small Red-eyed Damselfly

I walked back past the docks and nettles which support hundreds of crickets, mainly Dark Bush-crickets and a few Roesel's Bush-crickets. One of my favourite butterflies, a Small Copper, posed perfectly.

Small Copper

I reached the dragonfly pools and spotted a dragonfly recorder counting dragonflies. Determined to meet him I strode over and let him know about the Small Red-eye. He introduced himself as Alan, and told me he had seen several on the pool. After I was was diverted by another species of cricket, a Long-winged Conehead among the grass stems, I rejoined him to continue our conversation.

Long-winged Conehead

Alan pointed out a fine male Common Emerald Damselfly and the numerous coupled  Common Darters.

Common Emerald Damselfly

I plan to be back with Richard B on Friday, our first visit since Covid.

Ringing update - Sun 6 Sept and Mon 7 Sep

 Tony Kelly has kindly shared the details of the Group's ringing activity from Sunday and Monday. They were trialling a new walk-in net for capturing Meadow Pipits with some success.

Inevitably they recorded some birds I didn't see on Saturday, catching a Grasshopper Warbler and seeing a Red Kite.

Grasshopper Warbler - per Tony Kelly

The full catch on Sunday was:

Blue Tit 7 (inc 2 re-traps), Great Tit 1, Chiffchaff 1, Grasshopper Warbler 1, Lesser Whitethroat 1, Whitethroat 1, Wren 1, Meadow Pipit 5, Goldfinch 1, Reed Bunting 1

Lesser Whitethroat - per Tony Kelly

Meadow Pipit - per Tony Kelly

On Monday they caught six Meadow Pipits in the new trap, plus others using a triangle of nets. The total count was as follows:

Blue Tit 10 (inc 2 re-traps), Great Tit 3, Chiffchaff 3, Meadow Pipit 13, Reed Bunting 1.

Interestingly they also had three Grey Wagtails, a relatively scarce species on the patch, bounce out of the nets.

5 September - WestMidsAllDayer

 So here we are again, another all day endurance test to enjoy. Having missed out on the Spring one due to Covid restrictions it seemed as though more teams than ever were taking part. My team was mostly just me, although Mike Inskip joined me for an hour in the late afternoon. I forgot to tip the ringers off again, and they seem to have chosen Sunday to visit.

Like last year I was on the patch a little too late to record a Tawny Owl, but my pre-breakfast stroll still started at 06.00 when it was just starting to get light. By 08.00 I had recorded 40 Species including Mistle Thrush, Grey Wagtail, Green Woodpecker, Sedge Warbler, Snipe, Little Owl, and Coal Tit none of which I was to see or hear for the rest of the day.

Sedge Warbler

Neither Sedge Warbler nor Mistle Thrush have been seen here for several weeks, while the high water-level in the flashes had led me to write off any chance of waders other than Lapwing. I also saw a Kingfisher, and 15 Siskins. I heard the latter's calls all day, and they seem to have joined the Goldfinches to feed on thistle heads. The early sun revealed several Blackcaps, Lesser Whitethroats, and Whitethroats as well as the Sedge Warbler.

I was back just after 09.15, and set off for a proper look at the flash field. Here there had been an influx of dabbling ducks, and the usual Mallard and Moorhens had been joined by a Pintail (first this year and only the fifth record for the site), two Wigeon, and two Shovelers, while the Teal numbers had swelled to 67. Who needs waders? 

Pintail

The first Wigeon since the winter

I also located some Whinchats in the pool field. Initially I thought there were two individuals, but my late afternoon visit revealed there were actually five, just one short of the site record.

Whinchat

One other valuable record was added at the flash field. I could see some Greylag Geese looking skyward and thought they could be eying a raptor. They weren't (it was just some Mallards flying in) but I did spot a Swift as I scanned about. I am sure this will be my last here this year, a species I was not expecting to see today.

The rest of the morning became a bit of a slog as I hauled myself down to the south end via the old Curlew Field, all for a Meadow Pipit, and three Linnets. However, things improved as I reached Netherstead at 13.20 when I saw a Cormorant over Bannams Wood, and then flushed my only Greenfinch of the day. So that was 58 species by lunchtime.

I was back again at 14.30 and after a fruitless time around the church I parked by High Field farm and walked back along the road under Bannams Wood hoping for the woodland species I was still missing. Woodlands in September are dreadful places to birdwatch, especially in the afternoon. After 20 minutes of near silence I picked up a faint tapping noise. It was, as I suspected, a Nuthatch, bird number 59. My plan had been to walk through the village in the hope of seeing a Collared Dove, but just then Mike Inskip pulled up after spending a few hours on his own patch (Middle Spernal) where he had seen a Stonechat. I told him what I had seen, and he glanced at his watch. He was due back at 16.30 but could just have time to try to see the Pintail and Whinchats. I decided to join him.

As we strode down from the church another of my missing species piped up from a hedgerow tree, a Treecreeper. We reached the flash pools and the Pintail was still present. Next was the pool field where we saw the Whinchats and then had the bonus of a male Stonechat.

Stonechat

The walk back was rather rapid, as Mike was now late, but as we reached the road a pair of Collared Doves flew in and perched on wires. This species is definitely declining here, perhaps due to agriculture being replaced by trees.

I drove back to Netherstead but my last two hours added only a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls as my final species. My total for the day was 63 species, one fewer than last year, but not bad.

I could list all the birds recorded today, but its easier to list the ones I didn't see. Song Thrush (difficult in September as they are moulting), Chaffinch (also moulting and much declined as a breeding species here in the last few years), Marsh Tit (should have seen one somewhere), Peregrine (not on the pylons today), Sparrowhawk (I saw one from our living room but that doesn't count), Starling (scarce here until the winter), Black-headed Gull (where were they?), Green Sandpiper (water-level too high).

You never see everything.

PS: I found a tiny moth on our kitchen window when I got home. It is some kind of Mompha and may be Mompha divisella which is quite a scarce species.

Mompha bradleyi

Actually, its probably just a pale example of Mompha propinquella. Further research will be required to clinch it.

Update: The recorder, Nigel S, has identified the moth as Mompha bradleyi and stated it was the first for the 10km square. Interestingly the species was only detected in the UK in the 1990s after a number of specimens of M divisella were reexamined. I'm not sure what its current status is in the UK, but it seems my record is a very useful one, and given its close similarity to divisella I'm pleased to have got quite close to the right species in my own research.

More moth stuff

 Following last week's Moth Night(s) I have been checking the jam I smeared on our apple tree every night. I strongly suspect that the big moth from last Saturday night was a Clifden Nonpareil, but having only seen its underside I couldn't be sure and was hoping for a second coming.

On Thursday night I did find a big moth, but it was an Old Lady. New for the year and only my second in the garden but a bit disappointing. 

Last night the trap went out, and I caught another one. This moth looked much tattier than the one on the tree the night before, so either its a hard life being an Old Lady, or its a different one.

Old Lady - nice and fresh

Old lady - worn and tatty

The rest of the catch was a little bit dull if I'm honest. The only species new for the year was Centre-barred Sallow, and there were six of them. They seem to be a common autumn moth here.

Centre-barred Sallow

The actual numbers were quite good, a reflection of a relatively mild night. The full list of the 65 moths caught is as follows:

Common Plume 1, Light Brown Apple Moth 3, Celypha lacunana 1, Agriphila geniculea 5, Common Marbled Carpet 1, Brimstone Moth 1, Willow Beauty 1, Dusky Thorn 5, Vine's Rustic 2, Pale Mottled Willow 1, Copper Underwing 2, Old Lady 1, Flounced Rustic 5, Centre-barred Sallow 6 (nfy), Large Yellow Underwing 21, Square-spot Rustic 9.

Wasps continue to be a problem. I got up very early (05.30) in the hope of beating them to the trap, but I was too late and several ended up in the utility room. I did however see a Fox as I peered out first thing.

Twitching the Red-backed Shrike - 03 Sept 2020

 I could stand it no longer. This morning I headed for Sutton Park to see the Red-backed Shrike. 

It had all the hallmarks of a typical twitch. First navigate your way through unfamiliar territory to the site and follow the instructions from whichever Rare Bird site you follow. On arrival you will be greeted by a dog-walker who tells you he spoke to a birder and "things had gone quiet". After you have digested this puzzling information an actual birder will appear, in this case Nick Barlow, and reassure you that all will be well. The bird is over yonder and you will see it.

At this point, with Nick leaving, another familiar face turned up. I hadn't seen Steve Cawthray for decades, and he was very happy to accompany me to the Shrike and then give me a tour of the best places to see other migrants.

A small group of birders, some also familiar from my misspent youth, were watching the Shrike. What a fabulous bird.

If ever a bird was designed for birders to marvel at it is the Red-backed Shrike. Not only do they perched prominently and look wonderful, they can also put on a show. The above video demonstrates what happens when an unsuspecting bumblebee meets a Red-backed Shrike for the first and last time.

Adult male Red-backed Shrike

In the last four decades I've seen 28 Red-backed Shrikes in the UK, but they've almost all been juveniles. I have to think back to the early 1980s when the last pair bred at Santon Downham in Suffolk to find my previous adult male. 

The gorse bush next to the birch favoured by the Shrike briefly supported a Wheatear.

Soon Steve was guiding me towards the Crabs. This turned out to be series of Crab Apple trees where he was sure we would see Redstarts. Did we ever! Without even trying particularly hard we recorded at least 10 Redstarts in about half an hour. Apparently they don't even breed in Sutton Park, they were all migrants.

Redstart

The views were excellent, not like the distant views I generally manage at Morton Bagot. The majority seemed to be males too.

We then headed for the Lower Crabs, where Pete Forbes had seen some Spotted Flycatchers. Soon enough we found them, Steve thought about five. Once again, very photogenic.

Spotted Flycatcher

Finally, a word about Sutton Park. It's an amazing oasis of heather, birch and conifers on the edge of the Birmingham conurbation. I was starting to get a serious attack of patch envy. Admittedly dog-walkers were everywhere, but its so massive that it doesn't matter.

If I lived on the north side of Birmingham I would be there all the time. But as it is, I'll be doing my best at third division Morton Bagot in the autumn all-dayer on Saturday, and that'll be great too.

Tuesday September 1 - still sticking to the patch

At this time of the year there are distractions everywhere, birds to go for. A week ago I made the right decision when choosing not to twitch the Greenish Warbler in Staffordshire. It was not seen in the afternoon after its discovery. This weekend I may have made the wrong decision. A stunning adult male Red-backed Shrike is currently present in Sutton Park. I very nearly went there this morning but the news of its continuing presence missed my departure for Morton Bagot.

Fortunately I've had quite a nice morning. An adult Peregrine was sitting on a pylon, and within a few minutes of seeing that I found a female-type Redstart in the hedge between Netherstead Farm (under construction) and the paddocks.

Peregrine

Redstart

Although this is the same hedge as the last two sightings here, this is surely a different bird.

I ended up taking a slightly different route, missing out the chat field. Several Blackcaps, and other warblers were seen before I spotted another birder. He turned out to be Martin from a part of Redditch which is close to where I live.

We ambled to the flash field where Martin quickly spotted the Little Owl as it flew up into the foliage of its favoured oak. The flashes themselves just contained 38 Teal, and 29 Lapwings. However there was a surprise in store for us as the Goldfinch flock was accompanied by several Siskins. It's hard to get shots of Siskins here, so I spent the time I should have taken to count how many there were, trying to get a shot.

Siskin - probably a juvenile.

It looks like it will be a good winter to see Siskins. The first ones appeared over our house in June with a few Crossbills, and although there seems to have been a lull since then, I have noted odd Siskins calling over the garden again in the last week, and so an early autumn arrival seems on the cards.

Martin and I parted company, and I continued back to my car. I went through the chat field where there were no chats, and in fact I didn't add anything else of significance.

Will I be going to see the Shrike? The next two days we have visitors, and so on. So that's probably a no.

I'm a rubbish twitcher.