Plantsbrook Nature Reserve.

A trip to Plantsbrook this morning, of which for us early risers started out very foggy and misty but did eventually turn out to be a nice sunny day by about 11:00 am. Easily the highlight of the day was seeing some male and female Tree Sparrows, the first time I've ever seen them in Birmingham, I'd put some apple, bird seed and fat ball on the fence in the car park, when all the usual Tits, Finches and Buntings etc were helping themselves when all of sudden said Tree Sparrows appeared, personally House Sparrows are one of my favourite garden birds, the garden wouldn't be the same without them so it was a real pleasure to see some Tree Sparrows especially as their decline has been even more dramatic and tragic than their House Sparrow cousins. Another highlight was to see a Great Crested Grebe on the nest, they've probably got the best looking chicks of any waterfowl, there was also six Coots on the nest. I also noticed two birds that were ringed today, namely a Tree Sparrow and a Robin. Birds spotted were, Tree Sparrow, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Wren, Reed Bunting, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Bullfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Robin, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Grey Heron, Cormorant, Mute Swan, Great Crested Grebe, Tufted Duck, Moorhen, Coot, Canada Goose and Mallard. The disgusting amount of black bags and litter dumped in the Plants Brook that you can see in the last picture has all been photographed and documented as well as all the manufacturing components, packing and even distinctive masking tape and will forwarded to the relevant authorities and I will name and shame them if and when I find out who the culprits are, I can't stand litter in the first place so fly tipping winds me right up especially in a nature reserve, unfortunately this part of Plantsbrook backs onto an industrial estate with vandalized fences which is shame because its frequented by Wrens, Robins, Great Spotted Woodpeckers and Jays in particular. Anyway back to happier times, the House Sparrows in the garden are frantically gathering twigs and weeds etc. to line their nests for this years young, I love to watch the adults teaching the chicks how to feed and forage and the chicks fluttering their wings, also in the garden, yesterday in fact, I had some Long Tailed Tits in the garden, foraging about the apple tree and feasting on the fat balls, that was until next doors cat made an appearance, which was a shame. So now really is the time to get out and about, with all the birds and wildlife getting ready for a busy Spring and Summer, I'd rather be out and about, unlike both of my boring neighbours, whose life consists of work, shopping or staying in, when they could be out enjoying all the wonderful nature and wildlife there is to experience out there.