Worcestershire Saturday double

Whoopers at the Moors

View from the Cuckoo hide

Avocet

The Flashes

There was no stopping on Saturday after a morning pits visit and another enjoyable hour in Studley, I was kindly granted access to head over to Westwood Pool in Droitwich. Warden, Wayne opened up for us to see the Black-necked Grebe that had arrived the previous day. Some fantastic scope views revealed the Grebe was most likely an adult coming out of winter plumage. The light was lucent allowing us to see the birds very red eye and much brighter plumage than a juvenile would have. I did take a couple of shots but I didn't take them until the bird was more distant, hence quality not good enough. Many thanks to Terry & Wayne for sorting access.

After a delicious scone and cuppa at Webbs (Upton cafe closed) we headed down to the Flashes to see the first of the returning Avocets. Ten have returned so far, all favouring the deep water. There was quite a crowd gathering in the main hide hoping to see the reserves Barn Owl but we favoured to head over to the Moors where we were lucky to see five Whooper Swans who joined up with the resident Whooper. It was great to hear all six take off together, so fingers crossed they have a safe migration home. 

Sanderling & Marsh Harrier at Upton Warren

Two Sanderling

Two Sanderling

Marsh Harrier under attack

 Marsh Harrier

 Black-tailed Godwit

Avocets 

Coot chicks

After completing my morning walk around Salford Priors I headed over to the Flashes at Upton Warren for a quick visit. This ended up being about four hours with the reserve being full of good birds as well as catching up with Terry "Gullman" Hinnet and fellow pitter Mike Inskip.

Two Sanderling were the original star attraction and were showing well with three Dunlin. This was the first sighting of the species since May 2013. The waders were creeping closer to the hide when everything was flushed by a Marsh Harrier hunting the far reed bed. The larger gulls mobbed the Harrier every time it tried to get near to the reeds until it eventually gave up and headed south. 

Other sightings included a Black-tailed Godwit, two Oystercatchers, Cetti's Warbler, two Shelduck, Lapwings with 11 chicks, a Shoveler, four Gadwall, 34 Avocets with just one chick & five Little Ringed Plover. Finally there were three Common Tern on the education reserve as I headed back to the car.

Upton Warren Avocets & breeding birds

Black-tailed Godwit with two Avocets

Young Avocet

Avocet

Young Avocet

Mom keeping a close eye on youngster

Lapwing

Lapwing Chick

The last day of the Whitsun holiday’s was supposed to be a day watching the cricket however heavy morning rain put pay to that so I made the most of the afternoon by heading to Upton Warren.

The Avocets were letting their young offspring have a gentle explore under close supervision. Therewere around 28 Avocets and about 23 chicks of various ages (the log book said there were 23). The downside of the Avocets on the Flashes is they are extremely aggressive to most other waders hence I didn't record any Sandpipers. A pair of Black-tailed Godwits had been recorded however only one remained during the duration of my visit. 

There looked to be two broods of Lapwing. The young chicks looked very exposed. I'm sure the mother was keeping a close eye on the 150+ Black-headed Gulls of which many had their own offspring.

A Little Ringed Plover looked to be settled on a nest under the protective cage however raising offspring in the presence of the gull colony is always very difficult. A pair of Shoveler had produced a young whilst other sightings include two Little Grebes, two Great-crested Grebes and a Common Tern fishing the Sailing Lake. As we walked back along the Flashes path (relaid by ourselves at last work party) a Cetti's Warblers gave us a very loud burst of song.

Upton Warren delights (as normal)

Straight on for the Flashes

 Little Egret

 Common Snipe

Pied Avocet 

Opted for a few hours at Upton Warren on Saturday afternoon, as normal the reserve looked fantastic and ready for an influx of migrants.

Starting at the Moors, a Kestrel hovered above the car park as I headed to the east hide. From the hide it was good to see 4 Little Egrets (a bird I've not seen at the gravel pits yet) had moved in whilst a Common Snipe was on the waters edge giving me the chance to get a digiscoped image. A pair of Oystercatchers were displaying on the near island. Other note worthy sightings included 37 Shoveller, three Lapwing, eight Teal, two Gadwall, four Shelduck and 60 Tufted Duck.

I thought I might see a Sand Martin on the Sailing Pool but had to settle for three Great Crested Grebe. As I headed towards the Flashes I picked up five different singing Chiffchaffs.

As always the Avocet were great to observe. One bird fed very close to the hide. Other sightings included 2 Raven (preparing to nest), 25 Teal, four Shelduck, three Oystercatcher, three Lapwing and a pair of Linnets. I did scan the fields a number of times for a Wheatear but they seem very slow in coming through the Midlands at the moment.

Final work party of winter at Upton Warren

 Returning Avocets

 The Flashes

 Shelduck Nest box

Turf digging for nest Shelducks

Rescue of parts from old nest box

Work party in full swing

I felt it was only right to help out on the last work party before the breeding season at Upton Warren on Sunday. Thankfully the weather was kind to us although a few layers of clothing was needed before we headed down to the Flashes.

Before work commenced we had a quick session from the hide. It was great as always to see the returning Avocet whose numbers had already reached 16. We flushed at least 10 Jack Snipe and 20 Snipe before commencing the duties. Other sightings included eight  Shelduck, 20 Coot, a pair of Mute Swan, 11 Curlew, 200+ Lapwing, two Oystercatcher, two Little Egret, 5+ Herring Gull, 50+ Black-headed Gull and a single Linnet.

A good party of 14 included Dave W, Des J, Fraser D, Ian J, John L, Mary O, Mike W, Paul, Phil W, Rich, Tim O, Tracey B, our leader John Belsey and myself were on hand to work through a number of tasks including  rebuilding the two Shelduck boxes, clearing the main breeding island of vegetation, relaying the first flash island, installing heavy duty fencing along the stretch north of the hide, clearing the smaller shingle islands, laying wood chippings along the low points of the main path and checking the fox fence.

As always there was good quality home made lemon drizzle and sausage rolls. A great effort by every one. I for one was nursing a stiff back on Monday morning.

Winter sunshine at Cley

Avocets on the marsh

Twitchers delight

Brent Geese

Marsh Harrier

Marsh Harriers in food transfer switch

Marsh Harrier

Pink-feeted Geese along Beech Road

Cley has made a remarkable recovery since the great storm surge 12 month ago and it was hard to believe Seal were swimming along the road which we crossed on the way to the marsh.

There was a nice selection of birds to watch including Avovet, Little Egret, 200+ Golden Plover, Pintail, Ruff, Little Grebe, Wigeon, Teal, Shoveller, Gadwell, Black-tailed Godwits, Dunlin, 2 Stonechats and of course the magnificent Marsh Harriers which treated us to some fantastic views. 

We then headed up Beach Road where there were massive numbers of Brent Geese and Pink-footed Geese feeding in the fields. A stunning sight once again. 

Looking out to sea there was a good number of Red-throated Divers and 1 Black-throated Diver which I was particually pleased to see as it had been an omission on my year list up to this point. A Grey Seal was feeding off the beach.

Mild weekend bring May to a close

 Avocets

Mediterranean Gull 

Common Tern

Mallards

Despite having the week off for Whitsun to spend with the boys there was very little change to the birds locally. We just don't seem to have had the normal passage in recent weeks in Worcestershire, so it's been time to just enjoy the regulars.

I spent an enjoyable few hours at Upton Warren on Saturday where the Avocets chicks stole the show. You could really see how just a few days makes a difference between the chicks. A first summer Mediterranean gull also allowed great views whilst the Little Ringed Plover chicks had just hatched. Lets just hope they get some peace from the Gulls.

My Sunday walk took me across to Earlswood again and I walked the perimeter of all three lakes including Terrys Pool. The highlights were 11 Common Terns and the low flying Swallows right in front of us.

My current year list is 224 on UK 400 only one behind my total score for the whole of 2013. On Birdtrack I stand  5th on 222, not bad considering how tough its been in the Midlands.

I've got a trip away to the Farne Islands in June which I'm very much looking forward to. Should the weather be kind I should see Rosette Terns for the first time in addition to thousands of Puffins, Arctic + Common Terns, Eiders, Shags, Cormorants, Kittiwakes. I'm also hoping to get down to the Forest of Dean on a warm evening to see Nightjar, Woodcock and perhaps a Wild Boar ! 

Nightingales and Tawny Owls star on Bank Holiday weekend

 Sunrise at Upton Warrens Sailing Lake 

 Wyre Forest

 Afternoon birding at Edgbaston

A garden Jay

 Mute Swan on Sailing Lake (Upton Warren)

 Young Black Headed Gulls

 Avocets chicks on the ground at the Flashes

Dunlin passage increased through the week

With the cricket season picking up pace with every passing week a very early start is needed to get in some good birding time as well as cricketing umpiring, taxi service for lads and of course watching the mighty Warwickshire Bears.

First stop was Upton Warren to take part in the annual all dayer in which the reserve competes against other similar reserves. On a stunning morning, I started at the Flashes where the first two Avocet chicks had hatched and were being closely watched by their mother. Linnet, Goldfinch and Reed Bunting were all busy along the hedgerows. A single Common Sandpiper shared the scrapes for feeding along with a Dunlin, Little Ringed Plover and around 30 Avocets. The first young Black-headed Gulls were also on the ground. As I headed back along the path towards the Sailing Lake a very late Fieldfare (first ever on Upton all dayer) passed over. Once reaching the Moors Pool I headed to try and find a Redstart which decided to move on very quickly. The pool held its normal suspects including a pair of Common Terns. The warbler numbers had increased dramatically since my previous visit. After a raid of Rob’s delicious Lemon Drizzle, with a pair of Sparrowhawk’s soaring to the south I headed off to Evesham to umpire my afternoon appointment.

Evesham is a very pretty ground on the banks of the River Severn and I picked a number of new species for my umpiring year list including Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Greenfinch, House Sparrow and Kestrel that came to roost in a tree on the side of the ground.

On Sunday I headed down to the Highnam Woods  on the edge of Gloucester very early to try and see Nightingales which I had not seen before. Arriving at 5.50am I did not have to wait long before the first of at least six males were singing path side. The song was superb to listen to and certainly made the journey worth while.  These woods are closely managed by the RSPB and it was interesting to note when I walked into habitat that was unmanaged the bird song dramatically reduced. The views of the Nightingales was very fleeting and if any one wants a long view they would need to spend a lot of time there.  For any one heading that way its worth remembering the car park is closed most of the time due to antisocial behaviour after dark.

With the Bank Holiday weather looking rather glorious I paid the Wyre Forest a visit with the good lady wife nice and early. It was surprising how quiet it was as we only saw two cyclists, four birders and a runner. The Wyre was as normal full of stunning birds with highlights including Pied Flycatcher, Redstart, Wood Warbler and Yellow Wagtail. The surprise of the morning was a pair of juvenile Tawny Owls who looked most inquizatitive as we watched from a distance and a Kingfisher fly pass which I’d never seen in that part of the woodland river before.

Spring work party at Upton Warren

 (Note the close cattle)

It was destination Upton Warren on Sunday for the final work party before the breeding birds return. Nine Avocet were flying over the Sailing Lake on arrival whilst the Great Crested Grebe were warming up for a spring campaign.

The work to be done was at the Flashes which is the furthest south part of this great Midlands reserve. Nineteen volunteers including my eldest lad took part in some great work which will really benefit the birds this spring and summer. First job was to help with the strimming and remove the phragmites along the shore line. Once cut we then had to transport on large canvas sheets through some heavily flooded ground as well as dodging the three new found cattle who were particularly inquisitive.  This work should encourage the cattle to feed on the fresh shoots, which will restrict its spread. 

After a welcome break which included a number of sumptuous cakes and cookies I helped Steve add some pea shingle ready for the returning Little Ringed Plover.

Our final jobs was to help with a derelict fence that needed stripping down and to support with some additional fox defences by the Sewage works.

Despite the weather turning particularly nasty it was a great team effort for a brilliant cause. Lets hope every ones hard graft gets rewards and some great migrants in the coming weeks and months.