Quick walk around Ward End Park and the lake this morning where I never would have guessed what the highlight of the morning would have been, namely that of eleven Tufted Duck juveniles, seven in one family and four in the other which is something that most years I don't get to see, also great to see was a hybrid Mallard Duckling, pity there was only one though.
Literally as I said there was no House Sparrow I just happened to hear some, I'm glad to see that they still have a presence there, as per usual the park was corvid city, with many Carrion Crow and Magpie on site.
Birds seen today were, House Sparrow, Goldfinch, Long Tailed Tit, Chiffchaff, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Little Grebe, Moorhen, Coot, Tufted Duck, Mallard and Canada Goose.
Juveniles seen today, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Coot, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow and Magpie.
Nice visit to Meriden Park in Solihull this morning which apart from a few dog walkers and a couple of drunkards was very quiet, sadly it was very quiet bird wise as well, still nice to have a half decent walk though.
There's work being done on the lake to divert Kingshurst Brook to make the water free flowing to stop the build of silt/sediment and to remove the lake altogether, when complete, the area of the existing lake will form a new wetland
with reeds, a wet meadow, tree planting, two ponds and a restored
Kingshurst Brook watercourse, which all sounds very well but this work was started in July 2019 and now looks a complete mess because as per usual with these projects they are all fine and well when they are started but the upkeep is a slightly harder task, it now just looks like a real eyesore, they were no nesting Mute Swans for the second year running, large parts of the lake and island is inaccessible to the waterfowl, with the Mallards having to all huddle together by the bank and for the first time ever visiting a location such as this I didn't see or hear a single Coot, beneficial to wildlife, hmmmmm.
It's a shame really as there are a good variety of trees here as well as an abundance of wildflowers, both naturally occurring and sown over the recent years, there doesn't seem to be the right balance in the work being done, it's a real shame for the waterfowl as the water is actually 'theirs' and now it's slowly being taken away from them or being made inaccessible.
Birds seen today were, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Goldfinch, Wren, Robin, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Moorhen and Mallard.
Nice trip to Kingsbury Water Park today which took in almost the same route as last Tuesday in reverse and starting and ending at the Church of St Peter & St Paul where there were a few rain showers which were not predicted at all, still didn't spoil the trip though.
The day started well with the sighting of a juvenile Blackcap in the church grounds which was equalled by the sighting a juvenile Nuthatch and Grey Wagtail later in the morning, other juveniles seen were Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Carrion Crow and Magpie.
As last week there were hundreds of both Greylag and Canada Goose present, which is especially strange as you normally get roughly fifty maximum Greylag, but when I thought about it, I'd say a good half are this years juveniles which is possibly down to less people being present at the park due to the lockdown restrictions and the lack of water sports such as Water Skiing this Spring, lets hope there isn't a cull of either due to this population explosion.
Unusually the Cygents in the photo only had one parent present, lets hope it's nothing untoward though, as Poles/Eastern Europeans are know to kill and eat Mute Swans at this location and that's a fact as well as I've found deceased Mute Swan's with just the breast meat missing more than once at this location and nobody will convince me that a Fox would only take meat from the breast and leave the bird splayed out on it's back.
The only negative points were that there was a bit more litter than last week (of which I did pick up and dispose of), dog poo bags hanging from tree branches and arson had been committed on a big pile of cut down trees that were clearly meant for a further use but thanks to the vandals they now have no use at all.
Birds seen today were, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Nuthatch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Wren, Robin, Collared Dove, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Swift, House Martin, Swallow, Common Tern, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Great Crested Grebe, Moorhen, Coot, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Greylag Goose and Canada Goose.
Great visit to Kingsbury Water Park in North Warwickshire this morning where it was fairly overcast but no rain until the very end of the trip.
It's always great to see juvenile and nesting birds, today I saw six Mute Swan Cygnets, fourteen Coot young as well as the following young birds, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Robin, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow and six Coot and two Great Crested Grebe on the nest.
Also seen but too numerous to mention where Mallard Ducklings who easily numbered in three figures with not far behind that number were Greylag Goose Goslings with at least fifty seen, in fact I've never seen so many Greylag and Canada Goose at this location before, their numbers were both in three figures.
Also seen were Rabbits...lots of them, plenty of Cinnabar Moth Caterpillars and many types of insects but strangely enough not very many Butterflies.
The most surprising thing about the day was the amazing lack of litter, I literally saw hardly any which makes a change.
Birds seen today were, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chiffchaff, Reed Bunting, Blackcap, House Sparrow, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Starling, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Raven, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Pied Wagtail, House Martin, Swallow, Swift, Cormorant, Common Tern, Lapwing, Little Egret, Mute Swan, Great Crested Grebe, Moorhen, Coot, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Greylag Goose and Canada Goose.
