Pype Hayes Park.

Had a trip to Pype Hayes Park and a walk up to the grounds of the Ramada Hotel. Not a great count on the birdwatching front today, either way birds spotted were Jackdaw, Wren, Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Dunnock, Robin, Moorhen, Mute Swan and the four remaining Cygnets. There was also plenty of Grey Squirrels collecting acorns. I also  saw a dead rabbit and a three legged dog ! More photos on my Flickr  which I'm shamelessly promoting ;) Don't forget it's the return of Autumnwatch  this Friday on BBC2 at 8:30, essential viewing !

Lady Bradford's, Castle Bromwich.

Another trip to Castle Bromwich today. Birds spotted were Buzzard, Kestrel, Jay, Song Thrush, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Robin, House Sparrow and Starling. I also possibly saw some Fieldfare that were scared off by the Buzzard but they flew off past the sun so I didn't get a proper look at them, either way the Fieldfare will be with us soon. More tales from the undergrowth and other pics from today on my Flickr.

Shard End Lake.

Early morning trip to Shard End Lake today. Birds spotted were Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Willow Warbler, Robin, Collared Dove, Dunnock, Starling, House Sparrow, Grey Heron, Moorhen and Tufted Duck. It was great to see Jays talking advantage of the late summery weather and flying to and from acorn trees for acorns to hoard for the winter. More photos (and other nonsense) on my Flickr.

Pype Hayes Park and Plantsbrook Nature Reserve.

First off today was a quick trip to Pype Hayes Park to see if the Cygnets are doing okay and unfortunately was greeted to a sight of one dead, upside down in the water, which is shame because as you can they're getting quite big now. Birds seen at Pype Hayes were Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Robin, Starling, Jay, Song Thrush, Grey Wagtail, Nuthatch, Mute Swan, Moorhen and Cygnet (4) The it was off to Plantsbrook to be greeted to a shopping trolley dumped in the first pool, which we shipped out of the water and took to the tip. Birds spotted were Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Robin, Jay, Grey Wagtail, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Grey Heron, Moorhen, Tufted Duck and Great Crested Grebe. The rubbish in the last picture was left behind by a so called fisherman, pop bottles, cans, sandwich packets, tissues, disposable barbecues, gloves, fishing line etc... It looked a proper tip ! That was not including the four bags of crap picked up around the other pools. It makes you feel like not going sometimes but you can't let the underclasses win, can ya ? Especially when there's some great Funghi out there at the moment. More Funghi photos from today on my Flickr.

Salford Park, Aston.

Another walk around Salford Park and along the adjacent canal. Birds spotted were Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chiffchaff, Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Robin, Kestrel, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Mute Swan and Cygnet (5). The Goldfinch was a flock of forty plus in amongst some eight foot high buddleia along the canal with a few House Sparrow in there in the mix as well. As you can see the Mute Swans and five Cygnets are still doing well.

Garden watch.

Woke up this morning, opened the curtains and was greeted to a sight of House Sparrows, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Long Tailed Tits and a Blackcap. There must have been at least forty House Sparrow, four each of Blue Tit and Great Tit, a flock of eight Long Tailed Tit, and a single male Blackcap on the fence which is notable because last year I had female Blackcap in the garden but I didn't see any males.

Babbs Mill Nature Reserve and Yorks Wood, Kingshurst.

Another trip to Kingshurst today where birds spotted were Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, House Sparrow, Song Thrush, Grey Wagtail, Mute Swan, Tufted Duck, Moorhen, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, Cormorant and Cygnet (5). I don't always pick up the litter (because you'd spend your time doing nothing else) anyway while I was in the Yorks Wood, I just had to pick up this plastic packaging, because there was a lot of it and as I doing so this frog popped out from underneath it and promptly hopped off into the wood, it was only about 2 inches long. The highlight of the day was being as it was a bit quiet on the bird front was finding the (as you can see in third picture) 'Fuligo Septica' which is a type of slime mould and is more commonly known as dog vomit slime mould obviously because of it's yellow bile coloured appearance.