Pype Hayes Park.

Great visit to Pype Hayes Park this morning, I did plan to go somewhere else originally but I wanted to pay another visit here after the washout last Thursday and that decision more than paid off as I was blessed with some great early morning views of the park bathed in the low Autumn sunshine and a lovely mist just above the surface which made for some great photographic opportunities.

The park itself was awash with birds including a very impressive flock of .c50 Long Tailed Tit and that's a conservative estimate, a gorgeous Song Thrush who for some reason was singing away, obviously there was also plenty of Blue Tit, Great Tit, Robin,  Blackbird and large amounts of Parakeet, the pool was much the same as previous visits with the resident Grey Heron, Shoveler, Gadwall, Domestic Duck and Mute Swan all present, then it was off to the adjacent river (the Plants Brook) where there were still pleasant surprises to be seen, first off it was notable how many Robins were to be seen along the stretch of the river I walked, they could be literally seen along the entire path I took which is always great to see, then it was great to see a pair of Bullfinch who were always just in front off me as I walked along the path, roughly in the middle of my walk along the river it was great to see my first Redwing of the year as they along with Blackbirds were feasting on the large amount of berries that there were to be found, also great to see was a Little Egret and I even saw a pair of Jackdaw foraging in the river which is not something you see everyday, the river itself is amazing clear and clean which is positive for all the wildlife that depend on it.

Birds seen today, Parakeet, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Starling, Nuthatch, Redwing, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Mute Swan, Shoveler, Gadwall, Domestic Duck, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Moorhen, Coot and Canada Goose.

Pype Hayes Park.

I was already fifty fifty about going out birding this morning as it was raining when I got up but it was only spitting so I took a chance, literally as soon I got out of the car it started spitting and even then I thought I might as well carry on, all was fine until I got to the pool when there was a torrential downpour which terminated the visit and as you might guess by the time I got home it was sunshine and blue skies, still not too worry as I enjoyed my visit all the same even if it was very brief.

There was some birds to be seen in the trees approaching the pool which were mainly small Tit and Finch flocks but by far the main hub of activity was reserved for the pool where it was nice to see a pair of Shoveler (a male and female), a lone male Gadwall, a Domestic Duck, the resident Grey Heron, Mute Swan as well as plenty of Mallard, Canada Gosse, Moorhen and Coot, also in the trees that surround the pool are sizeable resident flocks of Parakeet, Carrion Crow and Jackdaw.

Because rain stopped play I didn't get to do any more birding but it was still great to see all the bare trees mixed in with those bearing leaves in their Autumnal splendour and last but not least there was some great fungi to be found around the car park with some splendid example.

Birds seen today were, Parakeet, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Robin, Starling, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Magpie, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Shoveler, Gadwall, Domestic Duck, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Moorhen, Coot and Canada Goose.

Pype Hayes Park.

 

Nice to pay Pype Hayes Park a visit this morning even if it was a bit grey and moody and I was there early enough to miss the mass of people who where arriving as I was leaving.

There's always a good mixture of birds here even though I was quite surprised not to see any Fieldfare, Redwing or Song Thrush for that matter, the latter must have been around though it's just that I didn't spot any.

A bird that was impossible to miss were the Parakeets, they were in lots of trees around the pool which is great to see, on the pool it was great to see a female Goosander, Domestic Duck as well as plenty of Mute Swan, Mallard, Moorhen and Coot, also in the trees were plenty of Jackdaw and Carrion Crow, they seem to have had a very good breeding year here.

Talking to the residents the Grey Heron has become a 'resident' and will even come down for food in the Autumn and Winter, something which I don't see a lot as they are always off like a shot at any sign of human activity at the other locations I visit.

Other than that the other highlights are those of any other Autumnal walk, i.e. the amazing colour of the leaves on the trees and even those on the ground, the spookiness of bare trees with no leaves on at all and of course all the wonderful fungi that there is to hunt out and photograph.

Birds seen today were, Parakeet, House Sparrow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Robin, Wren, Nuthatch, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Blackbird, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Mute Swan, Goosander, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Domestic Duck, Moorhen, Coot and Canada Goose.

Southfields Farm, Coleshill.

Great visit to Southfields Farm this morning just as the sun was rising where it was great to birds leaving their roost which included c.100 Woodpigeon and c.200 mixed Corvid.

Highlights of the day was seeing c.100 Linnet, a pair of Mute Swan who have raised six healthy looking juveniles this year, Skylark singing high in the sky as well as the usual high number of House Sparrow around the car park.

For some reason two birds I rarely see here are Magpie and Feral Pigeon, yet I saw both today, both were seen in fields were the soil has recently been turned over.

Birds seen today were, Buzzard, Skylark, Linnet, House Sparrow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Dunnock, Wren, Robin, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Raven, Rook, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Pied Wagtail, Cormorant, Mute Swan, Mallard, Moorhen and Canada Goose.

Pype Hayes Park.

  

Great to pay Pype Hayes Park a visit this morning for the first time in a very long time.

The first thing that was very evident was how Parakeets have made their mark since my last visit, previously you wouldn't have dreamed of seeing one here whereas today, they were all around in the trees on the periphery of park and at one point .c50 flew overhead making a right racket, personally I think they make a great addition to the park and Birmingham in general, not sure the Corvids agree with me though because many a 'disagreement' was witnessed this morning. 

The pool was great sight with many birds on the water, in fact I've never seen so many Mallard so they probably had a great breeding season at this location this year, there was also five Mute Swan which included three of this years juveniles, also was great to see was a presence of a Domestic Duck, the only negative was seeing a Canada Goose with 'angel wing' which is something I always hate to see.

The adjacent river (the Plants Brook) was very quiet with only a Little Egret seen, I cut off the corner back to the park which is something I've never done before and ironically if I'd have stayed on my normal route I probably would have seen a Muntjac Deer because some of the locals had seen one there just before I would have been there, I have actually seen them before in that exact same spot, regardless of whether I saw it or not it's still good to know that they are still present at this location.

Birds seen today were, Parakeet, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Goldfinch, Wren, Robin, Dunnock, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Blackbird, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Domestic Duck, Mallard, Coot and Canada Goose.

Southfields Farm, Coleshill.

 

Much better visit to Southfields Farm this morning after yesterday's trip with the limited visibility, today there was brilliant blue skies but still a very low level covering of mist which was hardly noticeable once you were in the fields.

It was definitely worth a second trip within twenty four hours when I got to see the sheer splendour of the fields sown with wildflowers and seeds for the birds in the Autumn and Winter, the fields are absolutely huge and are rammed full of various plants and flowers which are beneficial to birds and insects, there was already a lot of bird activity in those fields this morning, it should be amazing in the Winter when visitors such as Linnet are here.

It was also great to see Yellowhammer which looked very resplendent in the sunshine, also good to see were many House Sparrow, Skylarks singing high in the sky and Buzzards hunting in the fields.

Birds seen today were, Buzzard, Yellowhammer, Skylark, House Sparrow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Wren, Dunnock, Wren, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Pied Wagtail and Moorhen.

Southfields Farm, Coleshill.

  

Strange visit to Southfields Farm in Coleshill this morning, even though it was great, the visiibilty was very poor due to heavy fog/mist, so on one hand it was great to 'see' the farm as I very rarely see it but on the other hand it was by far the worst bird count I have ever had there but it is what it is and it was still a great morning all the same.

The highlight of the morning was seeing (as much as I could) the massive amount of land that has been sowed for the birds in the Autumn/Winter, it was at least six fields given over especially to the birds, I also spoke to John and he is already refining how he manages the fields even more and even now is thinking of what to plant in time for Spring to attract in more insects which will in turn obviously attract more birds.

For the record birds seen today were, Buzzard, Pheasant, House Sparrow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Wren, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Carrion crow and Magpie.