Cheers Steve

Tuesday 10th February 2009

Poor start good ending - I made a bad decision in going to look for finches and buntings at Maxstoke in the early afternoon, the birds were there but I was looking directly into the sun, yes sun, remember that. Looking along the hedges I could make out Yellowhammers but not much else. A few Red legged Partridge strutted about the stubble seemingly aware that the shooting season had finished. I moved on to Kingsbury Water Park with the stark warning not to walk on the ice. In fact the ice was so thin not even the ducks were risking it. The walk along the canal was pleasant but largely uneventful. A Grey Squirrel hung down vertically to reach the last few Rose hips hanging on by one foot. A Kingfisher kept a measured distance ahead of me as I approached Fishers Mill bridge. Then the phone rang. It was Steve Cawthray with news that there were a pair of Brambling at the main feeding station at Ladywalk. Now I could tell you that I played it cool and scanned the Fishers Mill pools first but I'd be lying. I legged it back to the car. Well Brambling have been rather few on the ground so far this winter. I met Steve as I approached Sainsbury's hide, the Brambling (113) were still there, feeding well with good numbers of other finches, Marsh tit and Water Rail. A Little Egret flew over the river as I walked back from Riverwalk hide and a small group of Siskin were in the Alders along side the river.

Drip,drip, drip

Monday 9th February

Not a great deal to report I'm afraid. Pottered about bits of woodland at Bentley and Baddesley but didnt see much. The flock of Lesser Redpoll and Goldfinch were still at Baddesley Common but much smaller than last week and no sign of any Mealys. I was getting seriously dripped on now, a mixture of snow melt from the trees and rain. Time to get in a hide so, as I hadn't been to Whitacre Heath for quite a while I thought I'd give it an hour. Willow tit and Great spotted Woodpecker were on the feeders near the car park with several Treecreepers in the wood. In lieu of birdlife I became intrigued by the tracks in the fast melting snow. I'll have a go at identifying them when Ive got nothing better to do, I'm sure theres a useful website somewhere.

Hot tips on ice

Saturday 7th February 2009

OK time to get back to some serious birding, but where? The snow covered hills of Merevale and Baddesley north of Atherstone were worth a look. The woodland on Baddesley Common was quiet but below the wood on the edge of the new plantation was a flock of c30 Lesser Redpolls with one bird identifiable as a Mealy Redpoll. After checking the Rowans at Grendon I got a text from the voice of the Tame valley, well the voice anyway - Tom Perrins. Tom had located an Iceland gull and a Med gull at Dosthill. As I was almost there I carried on to Dosthill where I found Tom and Julian Allen. To my amazement the Iceland Gull (112) was still there, walking on the ice with large number of assorted gulls including at least 1 Yellow legged Gull. A Teal had a lucky escape when it was hit by a Peregrine in mid-air but managed to fly on. After all the excitement it was time for a sit down and a coffee at Broomey Croft. Another message came through to the effect that Adam Archer had found a probable Greenland White fronted Goose at Alvecote. Other birds at Alvecote included 2 Kingfisher and several Common Snipe. After a gander at the goose and a stop at the farm shop to stock up on Pork pie it was time for home to watch an unconvincing performance by England, who seemed to lack any sort of cohesion. Could be another frustrating 6 nations campaign.

A snow 'event'

Friday 6th February 2009

Just a few images of common birds in the snow(and ice) over the last couple of days.

Thanks

4th February 2009

Firstly I'd like to say thanks for all the positive comments I've had about about the blog since I started. Its good to know that somebody out there is looking at it. Trouble is, it gets a bit repetitive at this time of the year in terms of birds so its not always as interesting as you'd like it to be. However, I did get one new bird yesterday, so read on.

The day started at Curdworth, checking the stubble fields for Corn Bunting. There were 30 or so Fieldfare but no Corn Bunting, again! So on to Hams Hall, The white Common Buzzard was on station, literally, but no Firecrest. 3 Chiffchaff were seen, along with the usual Grey and Pied Wagtail, 3 Song thrush and a single Redwing. On the river the number of Teal had increased since the previous week and the elusive Common Sandpiper was finally pinned down. After a coffee at Polly's it was on to Kingsbury Water Park. With the recent bad weather I thought the Short eared Owl might be showing on Richard's meadow during the early afternoon but I thought wrong. I did enjoy watching 3 Goldeneye displaying from Sita hide though. Walking on up the canal the only sighting of note was Mondeo man, very common in these parts. Ever confiding, John passed on a wealth of news and gossip before moving on to explore Dosthill. Shortly afterwards I met Lee Johnson, having seen little of note around Fisher's Mill we went back for another vigil at Richards Meadow. As the sun sank and the Corvids and Gulls headed to roost Lee's sharp eyes picked out a Woodcock. I just managed to get on it before it dropped into cover. The Short eared Owl finally put in an appearance hunting over Richard's meadow before moving to the sheep field in front of the hides at Cliffe pool.

Brandon Marsh

Tuesday 3rd February


Fed up with the almost hysterical way the media was treating a bit of snow I had to get out today. I decided on Brandon Marsh because I thought access wouldn't be a problem. It was very pleasant walking round in the sun, the pools were partially frozen and the vegetation had a covering of snow. As usual the Robins queued up to be photographed but other species such as Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Great spotted Woodpecker, Siskin and Redpoll were less obliging. A single Raven flew over and a variety of ducks: Mallard, Shoveler, Goldeneye, Teal, Gadwall, Tufted duck, Pochard and Shelduck were seen from East Marsh hide. I had hoped for another glimpse of the Bittern but eventually gave up as my extremities became numb. I retired to the coffee shop to find Paul Doherty still extoling the virtues of Arundel on a winter's day.

Fortified by the hot beverage I went back for more, I explored the West Marsh area but didn't find anything to add to the list. Back in East Marsh hide I was told I'd just missed the Bittern in flight. I decided to wait, as the temperature dropped my companions left. It was only when I was alone that the Bittern appeared on the ice.

Congratulations !

1st February 2009

Just failed in my quest to see all the regular resident species in Warks during January: I missed out on Lesser spotted Woodpecker and Corn Bunting. Actually I didnt realise it was a quest until a couple of days before the end of the month! Had a quietish few days in a birding sense over the weekend as Jan and I were entertaining some long time friends from Oh-Ahhrr land. We did however, have a stroll round around Draycote where all 4 Great northern Divers were in close proximty just off Draycote bank. I managed to get a photograph of 3 of them on my mobile phone. Also had a Shag on the pontoons.

Finally congrats. to Steve Haynes on an outstanding effort to see as many bird species as possible in January. At the time of going to press Im not sure how many species he ended up with but its probably a world record. Anyway a jolly good show from a local lad!