River Cole, Hodge Hill.

Had a walk along a stretch of the River Cole today from the Bailey Bridge to behind 'The Raven' public house up to Burney Lane, Stechford. The River Cole is getting critically low in places now, you can walk from one bank to the another, where it's normally about two to three feet deep, Mallards are supposed to swim not walk. Bird species of note that were spotted were Bullfinch (a male having a bath in the river) Swift, Song Thrush, Blue Tit, Collared Dove, Starling, House Sparrow and Grey Heron, I also saw a field mouse darting across the footpath back into the undergrowth. The House Sparrow population is thriving along the River Cole, obviously down to the habitation and plentiful food sources, it gets on my nerves when people go on about declining bird populations, when you go to the natural habitats of wild creatures, they seem to be doing all right to me, it's not rocket science.