Babbs Mill Nature Reserve, Solihull.

Trip out to Babbs Mill in Solihull today where unfortunately the adult Domestic Goose numbers have fell from fourteen to eight since my last visit, I didn't speak to any locals today so I have no idea why, it's even more tragic because they've only successfully bred one offspring this year. Also alarming was seeing two adult Mute Swan constantly harassing another adult Mute Swan around the lake which went on during the entirety of the visit, which will surely eventually tire the bird out, it's a pity it didn't fly onto the adjacent River Cole or even to the nearby Shard End Lake or Meriden Park but it did seem reluctant to leave the lake, hopefully they left it alone and calm was restored to the lake.

Birds seen were Blue Tit, Great Tit, Robin, Wren, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Collared Dove, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Grey Heron, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Moorhen, Coot, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Domestic Goose and Canada Goose.

Cannon Hill Park, Edgbaston.

Trip out to Cannon Hill Park yesterday entering via the entrance opposite Edgbaston Cricket Ground and just like on my last visit there were more friendly Grey Squirrel around than anywhere else I visit as well as the very sociable Moorhen, Coot, Mallard and Canada Goose communities, the Moorhen here are especially friendly including the ones who are always in the bushes by the "Sons of Birmingham" Boer War statue memorial, this years juvenile Moorhen in this area let you get very close until you push your luck and then they are off like a shot into the bushes.

Birds seen on my ninety minute visit were Blue Tit, Robin, Dunnock, Goldfinch, (fighting) Nuthatch, Pied Wagtail, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Moorhen, Coot, Mallard, Canada Goose as well as the following juveniles, Robin, Blackbird, Woodpigeon and Moorhen. 

If you've checked my Flickr since Sunday you'll notice I went to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens on Sunday partly to walk around and partly to bird watch but unfortunately it is way too wet and windy to see any birds properly but for the record birds seen who were not captive were were Blue Tit, Wren, Robin, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Tufted Duck and a female Pintail and Starling flying overhead.

Moseley Bog and Sarehole Mill.

Trip out to Moseley Bog and Sarehole Mill where JRR Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings grew up and was inspired to write the aforementioned tomes.

My last visit here was last September and thankfully the Bog has remained unchanged and was just like walking into England as it was hundreds of years ago apart from a small amount of litter. On my last visit The Mill Pond at Sarehole Mill was undergoing major renovations and had been completely drained but now it has been fully restored and looked great replete with Mallard and Tufted Ducks, apparently there is also a Grey Heron who visits often but I didn't see it today.

On the whole it was very quiet bird wise today with the most oft bird spotted by being Robin and the birds heard the most was squabbling Corvids.

 Birds seen were Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Wren, Robin, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Blackbird, Collared Dove, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Tufted Duck and Mallard.

Edgbaston Reservoir.

Overdue trip to Edgbaston Reservoir today, it's been nearly a year since my last visit. The water level was surprisingly low but nowhere near the catastrophic low levels of last summer.

The birds present all seemed to be faring well apart from one of the years juvenile Moorhen who I unfortunately found deceased near the waters edge, how it died was a complete because it had no obvious signs of trauma or injury, needless to say I moved the poor bird to a more fitting resting place.

Birds seen were Treecreeper, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Wren, Robin, Starling, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Great Crested Grebe, Moorhen, Coot, Mallard, Canada Goose and the following juveniles, Great Crested Grebe, Moorhen, Coot, Robin and Blackbird.

On my travels yesterday I saw a flock of c.200 Starling foraging on grass in the Eastside area of Birmingham City Centre and a further flock of c.100 Starling sitting on rooftops in the Ward End area of Birmingham, hopefully many of these magnificent birds will make it through the winter and grace us with the there presence for many a year to come.

Sadly my nemesis, the Sparrowhawk made a successful House Sparrow kill on Monday, as per usual it came out of nowhere and snatched a poor unfortunate bird from one of the feeders so I promptly went out in the garden but all I did was scared it off, carrying it's prey, I know it's got to eat but it really upsets me when it kills a bird in my garden when all it's come for is a bit of bird seed.

One of Birmingham City Centre's Starling population and one of this years juveniles at that.

Lady Bradford's, Castle Bromwich.

Had a walk around Lady Bradford's, St. Mary and St. Margaret church and the kirkyard in Castle Bromwich for a change, where on the whole it was very quiet bird wise but the one major difference from my last visit was the change in the vegetation, there are are now many thousand Teasel, which is good news for the Finches, also the Bramble, Rosebay Willowherb and Nettles have completely run riot leaving some of the paths completely impassable, hopefully that means plenty of Blackberries for the birds in the winter months.

Birds seen were Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Willow Warbler, Wren, Robin, Starling, Great Spotted Woodpecker, (many) Song Thrush, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Woodpigeon and Feral Pigeon.

After I got in and had a shower I was greeted to the sight of the Sparrowhawk above swooping in and narrowly missing the House Sparrows on the feeders, thankfully they flew into the pyracanthas in a flash but even that didn't stop my foe standing on top of the pyracanthas and try and grab one of my Sparrows and yes I do mean my Sparrows being as we're the only people in my house who bother to feed them around my area and invest time and money trying to keep them safe, hopefully they'll all live to see today and many more days, the garden would be a much duller place without the humble House Sparrow.

Plantsbrook Nature Reserve.

Had a trip to Plantsbrook today being has I hadn't been there for a while. On the whole it was very quiet bird wise both on and off the water.

Birds seen were Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Wren, Robin, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Grey Heron, Moorhen, Coot, Tufted Duck, Mallard as well as the following juveniles, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Moorhen (5) and Coot (2).

Luckily today I was able to police the bird feeders because I was leaving some seed on one of the feeders there was a huge pile of dry roasted nuts probably left by somebody with the the best intentions but they would have done untold damage what with the being whole peanuts and being high in salt content.

It was good to see that the huge apple tree in a hidden part of Plantsbrook which didn't have a single apple last year was bursting with fruit, with hundreds on the floor and many more hundreds still attached to the branches. It's especially good news because if we have a bad winter this year, I know from personal experience that the local Blackbirds, Song Thrushes and the hundreds of passing Fieldfare and Redwing rely on this sizeable food source, if you visit this little spot especially if there's snow on the floor you will easily see a hundred birds or more feasting on the apples.

The National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas, Staffordshire.

Birding was not the primary reason for yesterday's trip out being as it was to The National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas which is a national site of remembrance which is emerging as a world-renowned centre for remembrance, but being is it is set in 150 acres of great habitat that has been landscaped with wildlife in mind with over 50,000 trees with more being added all the time including thousands of fruit bearing trees, wildflower meadows, log piles etc and is also at the western end of the National Forest and borders the River Tame basically the binoculars were a must.

Highlight of the day was seeing a Tree Sparrow constantly visiting the (poorly stocked) feeders, needless to say the feeders were a bit better stocked by the time I left. Other birds attracted in my bird seed were a friendly Chaffinch who was unfortunately suffering from Fringilla papillomavirus, which was a shame, Dunnock, Robin, Great Tit and Blackbird.

On the large expanse of grass between the Falkland War and Northern Ireland conflict memorials there were many Pied Wagtail, possibly in the hundreds including many fine looking juveniles.

Birds seen were Buzzard, Kingfisher (on the River Tame), Tree Sparrow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Chiffchaff, Robin, Dunnock, Starling, Blackbird, Woodpiegon, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Pied Wagtail, House Martin, Swallow, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Great Crested Grebe, Tufted Duck, Mallard as well as the following juveniles, Pied Wagtail, Blue Tit, Great Tit and Long Tailed Tit.

Also worth noting is the fact that I only saw one Kestrel hovering by the side of the road on the journey there and back which seemed a bit sad, you normally see many more than that.

If your interested I shall post some of the memorials on my Flickr as well as a video of the Chaffinch pictured above.