Coton roost

Wednesday 13th January 2010

Man to Farmer; '6 of your hens have stopped laying'

Farmer to man; 'how the hell do you know that'


Man to Farmer ; 'I've just run em over'.

Sorry about the above, least said the better I think. Anyway I did manage a bit of birding I hadn't anticipated. After a bit of work at College I had some business to attend to in Sutton so I popped into Coton pools on the way back. I was glad I did as despite the quite heavy snowfall there was some good birding to be had from the hide. I met Julian Allen on the way round to the hide, which was nice. Nice for me anyway, as although I would like to think my Gull identification skills are improving I've still got a long way to go compared to Julian. A Green Woodpecker flew through the snow as we approached the hide and gulls were flying over in a steady stream for the evening roost. We had flight views of one drake and 2 redhead Smew, and a further bird on the water, so there are at least 4 Smew remaining. Also, a pair of Common Shelduck flew in. A Cetti's warbler foraged in the grass tussocks, rarely showing itself. Julian got to work on the roost and eventually picked out an adult Caspian gull and then an adult Yellow legged Gull. It was quite a small roost so we were lucky to get both the two rarer gulls.

A dash for the Berwick's

Tuesday 12th January 2010

Just in time for many birds a thaw has set in. Saw a Mistle Thrush with a worm and a Song thrush with a snail today. Both were foraging in the leaf litter under the main avenue of trees at Coombe Abbey. No sign of the Lesser spotted Woodpecker though. Birds are still not out of the woods yet though (if you'll excuse the expression) as energy reserves must be desperately low with spring still a long way off but at least many species have a chance now.
More tick and run birding today I'm afraid, not the way I like to do my bird watching but sometimes circumstances dictate. Managed to get across to Bretford to see a couple of the Berwick's Swans which dropped in yesterday. They were joined by the rest of the flock a little later making a total of 17, a significant flock for Warks.

Fancied a Chinese

Smew, Coton pools

Smew

Water Rail, Coton

Water Rail

Smew

Smew

Smew

Smew

Bullfinch, Hams Hall

Chiffchaff, Hams Hall

11th January 2010

A quick in and out today so to speak, still abit now and again is better than none at all. So target species had to be Mandarins at Hams Hall as I didnt have the time for Draycote, and I wasnt sure of the access situation anyway. Walked along the Tame from the station to Ladywalk but no Mandarins. Species of note included : Green Sandpiper 2, Goosander, Bullfinch 5, Chiffchaff 3, Green Woodpecker 2, Stock dove 3, Common Snipe 2, and Grey Wagtail - numerous. Called in at Coton lakes and had good views of Water Rail and Redhead Smew from the hide.

Great grey Shrike in Warwickshire

Great grey Shrike, Grandborough Warks.

Great grey Shrike

A blizzard of Linnets

Sunday 10th January 2010

After bemoaning the lack of directions for the Great grey Shrike near Grandborough I was indebted to both Steve Haynes and Richard Mays for sending me very precise instructions on how to get there. Having dithered about yesterday I made a relatively early start with the threat of further snow showers later in the day. Met Richard, Dave and Colin on route who confirmed I was heading in the right direction. The lanes were drivable with care and I was soon parking up just as the snow got heavier. After a short walk I met up with Kevin and Jeff who showed me where the bird had been. They assured me the Shrike would pop up again on the wires when the snow eased off. The snow continued for another 15 minutes during which time a huge flock of Linnets entertained us with a formation flying exhibition. When the snow stopped the Great grey Shrike appeared on the wire as predicted. Quite distant but well worth the effort.

What next?

Threatened species ? Barn Owl in the Tame valley last winter

Threatened species: Bittern at Brandon Marsh last winter.

Friday 8th January 2010

What do all the images I took at Ladywalk Nature Reserve the other day have in common ? None of the birds are feeding- the berries have all gone, theres little or no ice free water to fish in theres no damp edges for the Water Rail to poke about in. Add this to the Kestrel trying to catch Pied wagtails in a supermaket car-park and you can assume times are hard for many birds. The feeding stations at Ladywalk were doing a roaring trade with a large number of species benefitting from the efforts of Steve Cawthray but not all species are as lucky. The unusually prolonged freeze up has created a layer of 'permafrost' covered by a layer of snow which stops many species except those with quite long bills feeding on invertebrates in the leaf litter. For many ground feeding species seeds are covered by the carpet of snow and many are forced to eat tree buds as an alternative. Snow also hides rodents from Owls and Raptors. Having built up healthy numbers of Barn Owls, this winter could have devastating effects on the Barn Owl population in the Tame valley for example. Species that rely on water to feed will also struggle, Kingfishers and Bitterns may well perish if the freeze up lasts much longer either through starvation or increased predation from equally desperate predator species. Some may be forced to move to running water if they can find it but risk becoming more exposed. I fear that Cetti's warblers which were beginning to establish themselves in the Tame valley may again become a rare sound in Warwickshire.

OK, we've had hard winters before and species survive in time but the problem is that this time populations of many resident species are so low through a variety of reasons that they may never recover winter losses. Sorry its a bit doom and gloom but having gone on in the past about the scarcity of many 'farmland' species in the past I think that while there may always be vagrants to twitch, the bread and butter birds we grew up with in our countryside may soon attract the attentions of birders because of their rarity value and not for being part of our local natural heritage. Lets just hope a thaw sets in sooner rather than later.

Ladywalk in the Snow

Ladywalk N.R. in the Snow

Brambling

Brambling

Grey Heron

Ice Rail

Ice Rail

Fieldfare

Brambling - single bird in riverside trees opposite stables.

Thursday 7th January 2010

Getting a taste for this winter birding, blue skies, snow, good light, no wind, cold, just need a few birds. While I think of it, saw a Kestrel trying to take Pied wagtails in the ASDA car park at Tamworth. I'm not sure how successful it was but like most predators Kestrels can be very inventive and opportunistic.

I spent most of the day at Ladywalk Nature reserve. There was a flock of Fieldfare around the reserve car park and at least 15 Gadwall and a Goosander on the river. On the walk to Riverwalk hide a pair of Linnet were feeding on weeds along the river bank and a single Brambling was in trees opposite the stables. I was sure I'd had a brief glimpse of an unseasonable Curlew but it was probably a Woodcock as it landed in cover. Great spotted and Green Woodpeckers were seen but there was no sign of any Bitterns while I was there. The only bird seen on the ice was in fact a Water Rail. After a quick look in hide B it was time for a coffee and a chat at Polly's. The girls were as usual very enthusiastic in telling me about the Bullfinches, Woodpeckers and other birds they had seen from their mobile Cafe. Back at Tamworth I searched in vain for a fuse for my wiper blade motor. Clearly a lot of other people had blown the fuse by trying to clear their windscreens with the blades glued to the glass by ice. Be warned.

Where theres Muck

Bentley in Winter

Nuthatch

Dunnock

Bentley Woods

Grey Wagtail

Grey Wagtail

Meadow Pipit

Meadow pipit

A friend of Jan

Wednesday 6th January 2010

Heavy snow lay all around, deep and crisp and even, at least around Bentley Woods it did. I love the scrunching sound of walking in fresh snow in your wellies. Even in the bright afternoon sunshine the snow clung to the branches of the trees giving the woodlands a magical atmosphere with barely a sound to be heard. That is if you don't count the barking hounds at the Gamekeeper's cottage as you follow the path in from the Plough and Harrow pub. A Nuthatch near the entrance was the first bird to be seen. It wasnt till I passed a large pile of manure in the field that the next species were seen a pair of Grey Wagtails and at lest 6 Meadow pipits were feasting on the steaming heap. Access is very limited in the woods but there are a network of paths which allow some access to certain areas. Other birds seen were Great spotted Woodpecker, Sparrowhawk, Goldcrest, Wren, Great tit, Blue tit. Coal tit and Common Buzzard were heard.