Yesterdays visit to Kingsbury Water Park was technically not a birding trip but a visit to Tame Valley Wetlands Tame Fest which was a great day out with plenty to see and do for all ages.
Obviously while I was there I recorded all the birds I saw, they were, Sedge Warbler, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, House Sparrow, Wren, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Pied Wagtail, Common Tern, Cormorant, Mute Swan, Coot, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Greylag Goose and Canada Goose, as well as the following juveniles, Mallard (15), Coot (1) and many Greylag Goose Goslings.
Along the river it was great to see and hear so many Sedge Warbler especially as their habitat has dramatically reduced after last years 'improvements', I always say this but it really is a pleasure to see and especially listen to huge amounts of House Sparrow, they seem to have a real stronghold in this area, there was also plenty of Orange Tip and Small White fluttering among the nettles and wildflowers.
Nice trip over to North Warwickshire to visit Cole End Local Nature Reserve in Coleshill which looked really great with all the vibrant colours.
There wasn't a huge lot of bird activity but it was nice to have the walk and see the birds that I did see.
Birds seen today were, Reed Bunting, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chiffchaff, Chaffinch, House Sparrow, Wren, Robin, Starling, Song Thrush, Jay, Collared Dove, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, House Martin, Swift, Pheasant (cock) and Mallard.
I saw two separate flocks of c.100+ Starling which held many a noisy Starlings, I also see large numbers of House Sparrow, while I didn't see any juveniles locals told me it's been a good year for them.
I know that the last picture is Greater Stitchwort but does anyone know what's in the picture before, I think it's Slender Toothwort but I'm not sure.
Today was the time to visit Ward End Park for the first time for a while to see if there were any juvenile birds around and it was great to see nine Canada Goose Goslings, two Mallard Ducklings as well as juvenile Song Thrush, Long Tailed Tit and Carrion Crow as well as one nesting Coot.
It was great to get some really nice shots of the above Grey Heron, the only problem being that it was very closely watching the two very small Mallard Ducklings but the Heron was getting all it's own way as it was constantly being harassed by Carrion Crows and Magpies.
It was hard to tell how many juveniles were amongst the Long Tailed Tit flock but the flock in itself seemed very large with about twenty to thirty birds.
As on every visit I've ever made to this location, it was yet again sadly let down by the disgusting state the majority of the pool and park is in, the pool is appalling, there are so many carrier bags and general litter in the water it's unfathomable, the carrier bags (which number in the hundreds) have even got algae growing all over them, the park itself is full of 'picnickers' and general litter, I've complained many times to the relevant people but it always falls on deaf ears, this is a grand old park that the local community should be proud of and not just there to treat as one big litter bin, shame on them !
Birds seen today were, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Greenfinch, Chiffchaff, House Sparrow, Robin, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Collared Dove, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Swift, Grey Heron, Moorhen, Coot, Mallard and Canada Goose.
Another trip over to North Warwickshire today, this time to visit Kingsbury Water Park where shockingly the day started off with bright blues skies but they were soon to be replaced with clouds.
Highlights were seeing thirty Mallard Ducklings including one parent who had thirteen ! Seeing and hearing many Sedge and Reed Warbler and hundreds of Sand Martin and Swift in the air.
The only downer on the day was seeing the rotting carcass of a bird, possibly a Carrion Crow, hanging from discarded fishing line, I notified a ranger who is going to remove the poor bird when he's in the boat on Wednesday.
Birds seen today were, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, House Sparrow, Robin, Wren, Starling, Collared Dove, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Feral Pigeon, Cormorant, Common Tern, Sand Martin, House Martin, Swift, Mute Swan, Great Crested Grebe, Coot, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose as well as the following juveniles, Mallard (30), Canada Goose (8) and Coot (2) and numerous Greylag Goose Goslings who were too far away on an island to count.
Nice to go for an early morning stroll down one of Birmingham's many canals, especially as the sun came out to play yet again.
Highlights were seeing the seven Mallard Ducklings which as you can see included an all yellow one, two Canada Goose Goslings and a flock of Long Tailed Tits which included many juveniles.
Because of the water and associated habitats, factories and houses along certain stretches of the canal and of course the farmers fields there is always a great mixture of birds and plenty of them, there is certainly no shortage of House Sparrow and Starlings, both of who were seen taking food back to nests in houses and factories.
Also observed today was a Buzzard being mobbed by two Black Headed Gull and a Kestrel being mobbed by three Starlings both of which is something I don't see very often.
Birds seen today were, Kestrel, Buzzard, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chiffchaff, Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Wren, Robin, Starling, Collared Dove, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Swift, Cormorant, Mallard, Moorhen and Canada Goose.
Great morning to get out and about with sun, blue skies and hardly a cloud in the sky, the flora springing into life and baby birds of course.
Highlights of the day were seeing a pair of Goldcrest and Blackcap foraging in a Pine tree, spotting juvenile Coot (5), Woodpigeon, Jackdaw and Carrion Crow, seeing a Mute Swan, a Coot and Canada Goose nesting on the island, observing how well the rescued Muscovy Duck is still doing, seeing a few butterflies flitting around which were Orange Tip and Small White and seeing how amazing the park looks with all the trees, bushes and flowers etc, looking very colourful, sadly today I didn't see any of the resident Stock Dove population.
Birds seen today were, Goldcrest, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Greenfinch, Chiffchaff, Robin, Starling, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Song Thrush, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Mute Swan, Moorhen, Coot, Muscovy Duck, Mallard and Canada Goose.
Today is eight days on from having 'Fudge' put to sleep which was a very sad day for all concerned, at least she had a great life and loved every minute living with us and she wanted for nothing and was spoilt rotten, as was her sister 'Sukie'. Fudge was born on Sunday 1st June 1997 and was put to sleep due to ill health on Wednesday 4th May 2016 just a few weeks short of her nineteenth birthday, R.I.P. the Fudge cat, you will never be forgotten.
Lovely morning birdwatching at Shustoke Reservoir where I was again blessed with mainly clear blue skies.
I didn't think I'd top what I first saw but unbelievably I did, when I had just arrived at the Reservoir and was walking along the waters edge a bird flew up and at first I thought it was a Common Tern but to my surprise it was a Little Ringed Plover, what a great little bird to see and thankfully it came back down on the bank quite close for me to be able to observe it, then to fast forward a bit, when I was behind the fly fishers pool I could hear a male Blackcap singing and then noticed a female and then to my amazement there were a whole flock of juveniles, I was absolutely captivated watching them flying from branch to branch and chirping away, it was probably one of the best things I will see for a while.
On the reservoir there were five Mallard Ducklings, two from one family and three from another, one Coot on the nest while on the fly fishers pool there was a Mute Swan on the nest and a Coot. Above the water on the reservoir there were a sizeable number of Common Tern, Swift, Sand Martin, House Martin and Swallow.
Birds seen today were, Buzzard, Blackcap, Reed Bunting, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chiffchaff, Chaffinch, House Sparrow, Wren, Dunnock, Wren, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Collared Dove, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Sand Martin, Swift, Swallow, House Martin, Pied Wagtail, Common Tern, Little Ringed Plover, Mute Swan, Great Crested Grebe, Coot, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Mallard and Canada Goose.
Just as exciting as all of the above was getting home and looking at the bug boxes in the garden and seeing lots of Mason Bees emerging, I hope they get busy pollinating the apples in my dwarf apple tree.
