Lady Bradfords, Castle Bromwich.

A morning trip to Lady Bradfords in Castle Bromwich. Birds of note spotted today were Kestrel, Chiffchaff, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Blue Tit. Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Wren, Robin, Dunnock, Jay, Song Thrush, as well Grey Heron and Mallards flying overhead. Every time I go out lately I always see quite a few Greenfinch, let's hope they're making a recovery from 'Trichomanas Gallinae' which killed millions of birds (including half a million Greenfinch - a third of their population) because it made their throats swell and caused them to strave to death because people don't clean their feeders or birdbaths regularly (or at all.)

Shustoke Reservoir.

A strange trip today to Shustoke Reservoir, the day started off foggy and misty (you could barely see fifty foot in front of you) then two - three hours later, it was almost like a summers day. Easily the highlight of the day was my virgin spot of not one but a pair of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, fortunately it was about ten minutes after the mist had lifted and it was a perfect spot at the top of a medium sized tree and with the sun behind me, you could see the one for a good five minutes, ironically the next spot a couple of minutes later were a pair of Great Spotted Woodpecker. All bird species spotted today (despite the early foggy weather) were Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Buzzard, Kestrel, Pheasant, Grey Partridge, Chiffchaff, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Robin, Dunnock, Tree Sparrow, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Part Albino Carrion Crow (Black body with white feathers) Pied Wahtail, Gadwall, Pochard, Little Grebe (a male and female) Great Crested Grebe, Mute Swan, Tufted Duck, Mallard and Canada Goose. There was also nine fisherman on the Shustoke Fly Fishers Pool, you can see three on the seventh picture. Strangely today I didn't see any Grey Squirrels or Rabbits, I did see plenty of Bees though.

Salford Park, Aston.

A trip today to Salford Park in Aston, around Spaghetti Junction and the adjacent canal. Salford Park is right by the famous 'Villa Park' home of the greatest football team the world has ever known - 'Aston Villa Football Club.' Spring has definately sprung, because today I saw a couple of Chiffchaff, my first of the year, which was without a doubt, the highlight of the day ! All bird species spotted today were Chiffchaff, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Wren, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Robin, Tree Sparrow, a couple of Kestrel, Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Magpie, Great Crested Grebe, Mute Swan, Coot, Canada Goose, Mallard and Cormorant. Being as it was a warm sunny day there was 10 different fisherman there, one reckoned he'd had a 22 pounder and his mate a 25 pounder, but then again they had both had a few (or more) beers. Coming soon - Vinnymans Pylon Blog, ha ha ha ;)

Titford Pool, Sandwell.

A trip today to Titford Pool in Sandwell, in Yam Yam land 'were them don't talk proper, aye it.' Titford Pool is 511 feet above sea level, and is under Junction 5 on the M25 and is a sizeable body of water, fishing is permitted on the pool, in fact I saw a couple of fisherman while I was there. There is also plenty of wooded area surrounding the pool, with a wide variety of trees, including plenty of pine. All bird species spotted today were Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Wren, Robin, Dunnock, Blackbird, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Moorhen, Coot, Tufted Duck, Mallard and Canada Goose, talking to one of the locals I had just missed a Kingfisher, which was a bit annoying. Today was the first day of the year that I've noticed lot's of butterflies, I'm no good at identifying them though. While I was walking around the pool, I heard a huge splash and saw this long tail disappearing under the water, acccording to the local I mentioned earlier it was probably a Pike that is something of a local legend, it is rumoured to be at least 15 years old and is massive, I'm not lying, it scared the shit out of me. Arrr, it was bostin !