Chester Road Canal, Erdington.

Today was time for another trip down one of Birmingham's many canals, it always amazes me that people don't go to canals to explore the wildlife, apart from the ever present litter, they are great places to visit.

I was hoping to see juvenile birds on the water, I didn't but I did see House Sparrows flying in and out of the eaves on houses clearly feeding nestlings, there was also two holes under the guttering in a factory wall with Starlings coming back and forth with food as they were doing at the exact same spot last year, there was also a Canada Goose on a nest in exactly the same location as this time last year, under the many bridges there were plenty of Feral Pigeon juveniles and is you can you see in the third picture I actually got a photo of some.

Birds seen today were Sparrowhawk, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Robin, Starling, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Collared Dove, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Moorhen, Mallard and Canada Goose.

Sutton Park.

I had another trip to Sutton Park today, primarily to see if the Mandarin Ducks were still present and as you can see the male was but there was no sign of the female, so hopefully she is on the nest. Also in the same area as the Mandarin Duck there were at least two Blue Tits with nests in the trees.

It was nice to see Swifts back again and darting above the waters edge, as was watching a Nuthatch foraging on the forest floor about eight foot in front of me.

Birds seen today were Buzzard, Nuthatch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Chiffcahff, Goldcrest, Wren, Robin, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Grey Wagtail, Swift, Grey Heron, Mandarin Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Coot, Mallard, Domestic Duck, Greylag Goose and Canada Goose.

It was also nice to visit the Donkey Sanctuary which is located in the park for a change and to see them roaming about freely and enjoying the sunshine.

Pype Hayes Park.

Nice trip to Pype Hayes Park this morning, I had planned a trip to Sutton Park but there was a Fulvous whistling duck on Pype Hayes Pool a few days ago alas it had gone by today still this location is always worth a visit.

It was nice to see the Stock Doves are still resident here and I also got some photos of one of them at last. As per usual there were plenty of Tits and Finches around. By the pool there is a large holly tree which appears to home to plenty of Robin and Dunnock, lets hope lots of birds fledge from this tree. On the island on the pool there are now three Coots on the nest and the Muscovy Duck is definitely at home on the pool and she looks quite happy. Along the Plants Brook there were a couple of Grey Wagtail who appeared to be a pair. Other than that it's great to see all the plants, trees and flowers coming into blossom, I didn't see any butterflies but it was quite chilly early in the morning.

Birds seen today were Blue Tit, Great Tit, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chiffchaff, Dunnock, Wren, Robin, Starling, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Collared Dove, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Grey Wagtail, Mute Swan, Great Crested Grebe, Moorhen, Coot, Tufted Duck, Muscovy Duck, Mallard and Canada Goose.

Shustoke Reservoir.

Nice trip out to North Warwickshire to visit Shustoke Reservoir where there were plenty of songbirds singing and lots of birds nest building including a pair of Kestrel, Blackbirds, House Sparrows, Wrens, Blue Tits, Great Tits and Woodpigeons.

Highlights included seeing the aforementioned Kestrels nest building in a lone tree that's located in a large open field adjacent to the reservoir, observing a male singing Blackcap, seeing and hearing my first Willow Warbler of the year and seeing my first Sand Martin, Swallow and and Swift of the year. It was also nice to see a Mute Swan and Great Crested Grebe on the nest.

Birds seen today were Kestrel, Blackcap (male), Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed It, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Wren, Robin, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Song Thrush, Jay, Collared Dove, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Grey Heron, Lapwing, Sand Martin, Swallow, Swift, Mute Swan, Great Crested Grebe, Coot, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Mallard and Canada Goose.

The only downsides of the day were the very low numbers of waterfowl on the reservoir and fly fishers pool, in fact they were the lowest numbers I've ever seen. Worse than that was the bird feeders etc, have been destroyed by chavs who are no doubt also to blame the rising number of litter including many cans, bottles and tissues. Finally it was very sad to find a deceased Great Crested Grebe along the waters edge, at least now it's in a decent resting place.

Cole End Park Local Nature Reserve, Coleshill, Warwickshire.

Today trip was planned for Shustoke Reservoir but with the heavy mist and fog in the air I decided to stop off at Cole End Park in Coleshill instead which was still nice but ironically when I'd finished the mist and fog gave way to bright blue skies and sunshine, oh well I'll go to Shustoke Reservoir next week instead.

Today's lighting conditions were not ideal for birdwatching but it was still nice to see and hear some birds. Highlights were seeing, Nuthatch, House Sparrow, Wren, Dunnock plus plenty of Tits and Finches.

Birds seen today were, Nuthatch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chiffchaff, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Wren, Robin, Starling, Collared Dove, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Moorhen and Mallard.

Sutton Park.

I finally got to Sutton Park this morning after having to call the AA out because of a flat battery on the car after stopping mid journey. 

Highlight of the day was as you can see was seeing male and female Mandarin Ducks, while the male clearly looks magnificent the female also looks rather nice herself. Hopefully these will pair up and breed this year. Other than that I didn't see a lot of birds but as I've mentioned I had to have a shorter visit than I woild have liked even though I did get a couple of hours in which was spent mainly around Blackroot Pool and not the heathland which I wanted to explore.

Birds seen today were (male and female) Mandarin, Kestrel, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Goldfinch, Goldcrest, Robin, Starling, Robin, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Pied Wagatil, Grey Wagtail (including a pair), Grey Heron, Great Crested Grebe, Moorhen, Coot, Mallard, Domestic Duck and Canada Goose.

As you can see there's also one less Woodpigeon in the world, no doubt a victim of a Sparrowhawk.

Pype Hayes Park.

Nice early morning trip around Pype Hayes Park where I saw quite a few birds and bird activity being I was only there for around an hour. 

Birds seen were Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Bullfinch, Treecreeper, Chiffchaff, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Robin, Starling, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Blackbird, Collared Dove, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Mute Swan, Moorhen, Coot, Tufted Duck, Muscovy Duck, Mallard, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose and a lone Coot on the nest on the pool.

I didn't even have to get out of the car in the car park to spot a Treecreeper and Great Spotted Woodpecker, which was nice. It was also nice to see a pair of Bullfinch which is a bird I don't see very often at the location.

The only downside of the day was that an old dead tree which was home (in previous years) to Great Spotted Woodpecker and some nice Fungi in the Autumn has had to be cut done thanks to arsonist setting fire to it.