Southfields Farm, Coleshill.

Great visit to Southfields Farm in Coleshill this morning where the ground was lovely and frosty, gorgeous blue skies and the sun was just coming up upon my arrival which made for some excellent scenery and photographic opportunities.

I sadly didn't see any Yellowhammer which was a shame because I expected to do, but I did see c.200 Linnet, (two flocks or the same one twice) of c.50 Redwing and last but not least Fieldfare.

Overall, it was actually quite quiet, but it was obviously nice to get out regardless, it probably hasn't been cold enough for a long period yet for a huge amount of winter visitors yet, I was quite surprised to see so many Linnet, but they've clearly remembered from previous years that there's always food grown for them on three sizeable sections on the farm.

Birds spotted today were, Linnet, House Sparrow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Dunnock, Robin, Redwing, Fieldfare, Jay, Blackbird, Starling, Pheasant, Woodpigeon, Raven, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Moorhen and Mallard.

Shustoke Reservoir.

Great visit to Shustoke Reservoir today, where it was actually nice for it to be windy, overcast and dull, partly because all the Autumnal colours really stood out, and it's also nice to embrace this time of the year rather than sitting in the house all day constantly scrolling down your phone with the heating on full blast like my neighbours.

Song bird wise it was very quiet with not many seen at all, the wind didn't probably help as it was hard to hear the birds as there was a lot of noise 'coming off' the water, around the water's edge there were good numbers of Goldfinch and Linnet feeding as well as a fair few Pied and Grey Wagtail, there was also c.50 Lapwing who always seem to settle by the Shustoke Sailing Club probably because there's minimal human and arrogant and selfish dog walkers, as per usual there was plenty of the latter who despite all the signs saying dogs must be kept on a lead and under control at all times still let their dogs run riot, also as per usual any of them that said morning to me got the cold shoulder, I don't like being ignorant, but I have no time for these people. 

On the reservoir there was obviously all the water fowl you'd expect to see but also with the nice additions of Pochard and Gadwall.

In the farmer's fields there were huge numbers of Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Woodpigeon and Black-Headed Gull, it was also brilliant to see my first Redwing of the year plus a nice little flock of Starling, it's actually a real pleasure to see these magnificent birds in their natural habitat and not in some shopping centre seeing them scrabbling around for food people have dropped, it's obviously always nice to see Starlings, but I'm sure you know what I mean.

Being as it's Autumn, you're clearly going to see many wonderful colours as the leaves die and drop off, but it's also the best time to see lots of wonderful Fungi, even though there was plenty around to find, it was especially exciting to find slime mould, with some great examples of Dog Vomit and Salmon Coloured Slime Mould to be found, don't know why, but I always find it quite exciting to find some.

Birds seen today were, House Sparrow, Linnet, Goldfinch, Robin, Wren, Dunnock, Redwing, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Blackbird, Starling, Collared Dove, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Lapwing, Cormorant, Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Mute Swan, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Pochard, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Mallard and Canada Goose.

Pype Hayes Park.

Nice visit to Pype Hayes Park once I'd gained entry to the car park when the gates were unlocked nearly an hour and fifteen minutes late, typical shoddy Birmingham City Council behaviour, still at least the rain held off until near the end of the visit, no sunshine or blue skies today though.

On the pool, it was great to see some Goosander present as well the resident Grey Heron, a pair of Mute Swan, a Domestic Duck and even an Indian Runner hybrid, there were also at least three Little Egret seen along the adjacent Plantsbrook.

Around the park, there was a good deal of Carrion Crow and Parakeet to be seen, as was more than one flock of Long Tailed Tit.

There wasn't as many Fungi to be found as I thought there might be, but interestingly there was plenty of Ragwort to be seen in full flower, one there for the climate change deniers.

Birds seen today were, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Robin, Dunnock, Parakeet, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Must Swan, Goosander, Domestic Duck, Indian Runner hybrid, Mallard, Canada Goose, Moorhen and Coot.

Babbs Mill Local Nature Reserve.

Good and bad visit to Babbs Mill Local Nature Reserve and Yorks Wood Local Nature Reserve in Solihull this morning.

The bad was definitely the sight of so many dead birds on the water which was one Grey Heron, two Mute Swan, six Canada Goose and countless Mallard just as bad was seeing people still feed the waterfowl, it certainly doesn't look very good for the forthcoming Autumn and Winter.

Talking of the Autumn, it was great to see so many spectacular colours of leaves today, it is easily the best time of the year apart from Spring when the birds are breeding, the only downside was the Autumnal weather, it was raining when I left, sun and blues skies when I got there, a pattern which carried on throughout the visit, of course this season also means another thing, the return of Fungi with lots of species spotted today including, Southern Bracket, Honey Fungus, Sulphur Tuft and Candlesnuff Fungus.

On the lake it was great to see one of my favourite birds, namely that of the Shoveller, it was a pleasure to see the following migrants, Gadwall and Wigeon sadly the number of Mallard was shockingly low, the avian flu appears to have already taken a devastating toll on their population.

The Parakeet residents are in good numbers, they could be seen and heard all throughout today's visit, it was also good to see fairly good numbers of Blackbird who already doing their best to strip the trees and bushes of their berries.

Birds seen today were, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, House Sparrow, Nuthatch, Wren, Dunnock, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Pied Wagtail, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Shoveller, Gadwall, Wigeon, Mallard, Little Grebe, Moorhen, Coot, Greylag Goose, Domestic Goose and Canada Goose.

Pype Hayes Park and Plantsbrook Local Nature Reserve.

Two visits this morning, first off it was to Pype Hayes Park which like both locations visited this morning was very quiet both birding and people wise, pity I can't normally have the park almost all to myself, sadly the pool was a disgrace, as you can see it was a 'carpet' of green algae, why it's been left to get in this state God only knows, terrible shame to watch the waterfowl wading through those murky waters, wouldn't expect anything better from Birmingham City Council though to be honest, it was nice to see a lone Teal on the water though, as well as the resident Grey Heron and a large army of Mallard.

Around the park itself as well as the usual suspects there could be Nuthatch heard, Parakeet flying over and a lot of Carrion Crow and Woodpigeon present.

Birds seen this morning were, Nuthatch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Robin, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Cormorant, Parakeet, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Teal, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Domestic Duck, Moorhen and Coot.

Then it was off to Plantsbrook Local Nature Reserve where the water apart from the two smaller pools were in much better condition, the main problem from a birding point of view was that you could hardly see any of the water as the trees and bushes have completely taken over, which I suppose does have the advantage though of making the water an even safer haven away from humans, ironically the tree vandals from Birmingham City Council turned up towards the end of the visit, you couldn't miss them they were the very loud, shouty sweary people, luckily there were no young children around as their language was appalling!

As was the case with Pype Hayes Park there wasn't a single Canada Goose present which was highly unusual, it was great however to see Great Crested Grebe, a pair of Domestic Duck and Cormorant, sadly no Mute Swan seen though.

Birds seen here this morning were, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Parakeet, Cormorant, Great Crested Grebe, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Domestic Duck, Moorhen and Coot.

Shustoke Reservoir.

Great visit to Shustoke Reservoir this morning which was obviously to see the birds and wildlife but also to see how low the water levels are and it didn't 'disappoint', they were shockingly low which I suppose is no real great surpise, still amazing when you see it with your own eyes, it is currently being topped up by water from the adjacent Fly-Fishers Pool, can't see that making much of a difference but at least they are trying to do something about the situation all the same.

On the water itself that was also fairly strange, not a single Mute Swan or Canada Goose but there were a lot of (maybe over fifty in total) Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail and even Yellow Wagtail with plenty of this year's juveniles in attendance, I've never seen so many at one location, they were clearly loving the waters edge where there will still many insects in and around the algae, there are also a lot of Teasel and wildflowers just down from the grass on the edges of the reservoir of which Linnet have taking a real liking to, first time I've ever seen them venture that far away from the fields, that could possibly be though as some of them have been intensely farmed and there are clearly plenty of seeds and insects around the reservoir, good to see a fair number of Cormorant on the water as well today, above the water there were a few Swift and Swallow but the House Martin number were in their hundreds, always great to see them flying overhead, it was also good to see Lapwing and Common Sandpiper it fairly decent numbers.

Birds seen today were, Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Goldfinch, Robin, Wren, Dunnock, Linnet, Grey Heron, Cormorant, Lapwing, Swift, Swallow, House Martin, Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Yellow Wagtail, Common Sandpiper, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Magpie, Great Crested Grebe, Liitle Grebe, Moorhen, Coot, Tufted Duck and Mallard.

Southfields Farm, Coleshill.

Great visit as always to Southfields Farm in Coleshill, North Warwickshire this morning, where the weather was just about perfect.

First off, I must mention how spectacular the two wildflower meadows are looking at the moment, they must be almost every wildflower imaginary present which makes for a wonderful riot of colour, they were literally buzzing with huge amounts of butterflies and insects which was great to see.

As I have said many times before, the sheer amount of House Sparrow you see on the farm is truly spectacular, hard to put a number on how many there are, but they are definitely in the 'hundreds' especially with this year's juveniles.

In the fields there were obviously Skylark, Yellowhammer, Blackcap and Chiffchaff as well as all the other birds you'd expect to see and hear on a farm managed with birds and the wildlife being a high priority.

Birds seen today were, Buzzard, Kestrel, Skylark, Yellowhammer, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Wren, Starling, Blackbird, Swift, House Martin, Pied Wagtail, Raven, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie and Mallard. 

Due to many unsavoury visitors and incidents ever since Covid, public parking on site is now not permitted without a permit, you have been warned!