A buy one get two free birding session today which entailed three sights to visit in around the Erdington of Birmingham. First off today it was a walk around Witton Lakes which has unfortunately has always had a history of people killing birds and their young, on a previous visit there were scores of Carrion Crow which I found dead on the grass after being shot none of that today, like I said the waterfowl and their eggs and chicks have always been targeted and as you can read by the notice this year they've taken the Mute Swan eggs and injured the birds themselves, Bastards ! It was pity the Mute Swan's had decided to build their nest on the path but then again I suppose they don't know any better, I'm not going to say anymore apart from I wish I could get my hands on them. On a brighter note it was nice to see Swift numbering in the hundreds or maybe in the thousands.
Birds seen at Witton Lakes were Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Starling, Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Swift, Swallow, House Martin, Mute Swan, Great Crested Grebe, Moorhen, Coot, Tufted Duck, Silver Appleyard Duck, Indian Runner Duck, Mallard, Canada Goose and 5 Canada Goose Gosling. There were also the following nesting birds Mute Swan (1), Great Crested Grebe (1) and Coot (11). Thankfully the Mute Swan was nesting on an island far away from human interference, some of the Coot nests were very close to the waters edge but hopefully they'll be okay.
Brookvale Park.
Then it was off to the nearby Brookvale Park where there were hundreds or maybe thousands of Swift again but there were also larger numbers of House Martin and Swallow, maybe because they nest in the house adjacent to the lake.
Birds seen were Great Tit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Starling, Blackbird, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Swift, Swallow, House Martin, Mute Swan, Great Crested Grebe, Moorhen, Coot, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Pekin Duck, Mallard, Canada Goose. There were also the following nesting birds, Mute Swan (2) and Coot (4).
As always there was an excellent House Sparrow population all around the lakes and in the adjacent houses, they definitely number in the hundreds at this location, it's really nice to see the humble but ever affable House Sparrow have a stranglehold of an area such as this.
I've left the bad news to last here, sadly the Black Swan that I saw at this location back in February was found dead 3 days ago, according to the local RSPCA it died of natural causes, but with the large local Polish/Eastern European having history of killing Mute Swans and taking eggs here, I am sceptical to say the least with the RSPCA explanation.
Rookery Park.
Then it was of to Rookery Park to have some scran, so the birding was by default, I always birding even if I'm the car or near a window in the house saying that. It was worth stopping of just to see a Great Spotted Woodpecker flitting to and from a pair of trees.
Birds seen were Great Spotted Woodpecker, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Robin, Blackbird, Magpie, Woodpigeon and Swift.
Because the local chavs have set fire to the trees and bushes near Rookery House they have had to be chopped down which has left some nice cuts which I took home and built a nice little log pile for my insects to enjoy so at least a positive came out of the vandals work.
Talking of bug boxes I've spotted a few solitary bees going in and out of the boxes I've put up in the garden, which is good news and I've also had a quick look under the log piles and they are teeming with life with wood lice, spiders, centipedes and millipedes etc. Hopefully the garden will soon see young House Sparrow, Dunnock, Robin and Blackbird etc soon, very nice :)
No comments:
Post a Comment