Slowly improving (Local sightings 26th Feb to 20th March)

Salford Priors GP

Little Ringed Plovers

Common Buzzard

Red Kite

Common Toad

Displaying Red Kite

Common Buzzard

Long-tailed Tit

Brimstone

Reed Bunting

Chaffinch

 

Wheatear (Mark Clarke)

March is always a bit frustrating, a bit of sunshine and we expect fireworks. Sadly it's not really until April things begin to change. The first Little Ringed Plover was back on the 10th March whilst a single Wheatear was photographed by Mark Clarke on 17th March.

WeBS count. 6 Little Grebe, 6 Cormorant, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 26 Mute Swan, 16 Greylag, 44 Canada Geese, 0 Shelduck, 8 Gadwall, 90 Mallard, 14 Shoveler, 2 Pochard , 4 Teal, 45 Tufted Duck, 12 Moorhen, 75 Coot, 2 Oycestercatcher, 1 Snipe, 2 LRP, 20 Stock Dove, 36 Skylark, 10 Meadow Pipit, 1 Grey Wagtail, 2 Cetti’s Warbler, 8 Buzzard, 2 Red Kite, 1 Brambling, 40 Fieldfare & 2 Raven.

Other local sightings

Coughton Little Owl

Garganey (Pirton Pool)

Pirton Pool, Worcester

Avocet (Upton Warren)

Avocet (Upton Warren)

Glaucous Gull (Frankley)

I've been staying very local recently for my birding and there has been some nice birds about. Too busy for lengthy blog this week I'm afraid. I've recorded 126 species this year to date.

Family Holiday birding in Cornwall

Osprey

Dunlin

Black-necked Grebe

Chough

Stunning coastline in all directions

Red Admiral influx

Southern Migrant Hawker

Wheatear

Stonechat

Dunlin

Little Stint

Little Stint

Ringed Plover

Curlew Sandpiper

Little Stint

Curlew Sandpiper

Just home from a fantastic week away with the family staying just outside St Just in West Cornwall. We spent lots of time enjoying some amazing scenery around the coastal paths and enjoying the most unbelivable house where we stayed.

I managed to get out and do some birding each day of which I'll summarise the sightings. Chough were seen on every costal walk in varying numbers, anyone will do well to miss them.

Hayle - 5 Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Whimbrel, 3 Greenshank, 150 Dunlin

Portgwarra - 5 Fulmar, plent of Gannet, Wheatear, Whinchat & Stonechat

Drift - Juvenile Osprey, 5 Green Sandpiper, 2 Common Sandpiper, Great Crested Grebe

Kelynack - 4 Pied FLycatcher, 10 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Tree Pipit, 15 Willow Warber, 6 Chiffchaff

St Gothian Sands - Black-necked Grebe, Yellow Wagtail, 2 Little Stint, Swift, Whimbrel & Greenshank.

Godrevy - 24 Grey Seal, 2 Wheatear

2 Sandwich Tern, 9 Wheatear

Rouzling around over Easter

                                                   Bredon Hill

                                 Common Redstart (Cleeve Common)

                                      Ring Ouzel (Cleeve Common)

                                          Ring Ouzel (Cleeve Common)

                                         A very elusive Ring Ouzel

                                 Common Redstart (Cleeve Common)

                     View of Cheltenham Racecourse from Cleeve Common

                                            Female Wheatear 

                                            Green Woodpecker

                                             Redshank (Grimley)

                                               Garganey (Grimley)

                                          Yellow Wagtail (Grimley)

                                              Lapwing (Grimley)

                                          White Wagtail (Grimley)

                                         Yellow Wagtail (Grimley)

                                                 Teal (Grimley)

                                             Black-necked Grebe

                                             Black-necked Grebe

                                              Birding in Oldbury

Easter holidays gave me extra time to get outside and undertake some quality birding.

I broke up on Thursday so I visited the pits very early where I recorded the sites first House Martin, a female Merlin (flushed on farm building) & 4 Little Ringed Plover. Rob Evans noted a valuable year tick when he picked up a Curlew flying through.

On Friday, Mrs D and I did a 3.8 mile circular romp around Bredon. The walk was actually better than the birding due to a cold north easterly wind blowing in our faces. We were hoping for an early Ring Ouzel but searching was difficult. We had to satisfy ourselves with a Common Redstart, 4 Red Kite, Meadow Pipits, Mistle Thrush and finally a singing Blackcap.

Blackcaps had arrived at the pits Saturday morning and there were three Willow Warblers in song. From there I met the Squire for a steep 4 mile walk up Cleeve Common near Cheltenham. As we headed up we passed many singing Chiffchaff, a Willow Warbler and a very showy male Common Redstart. When reaching the summit the walking wasn't over as we needed to do a great deal of searching for a Ring Ouzel. We did find a male but the bird was very elusive so we had to be satisfied with some distant views. 

After a quick recharge of batteries we headed to Grimley in the afternoon where the reported Chanel Wagtail had moved on to pastures new but there was an excellent cast of birds including a Cattle Egret, Yellow Wagtail, drake Garganey & Redshank.

Sundays count at the pits noted an increase of the LRP's to 5 and a female Wheatear was new. I managed to finally get a photograph of the Green Woodpecker that has teased me for weeks.

The weekend was wrapped up with a visit to the Chemical Pool close to my office near Tipton where a Black-necked Grebe has been found. The bird was in stunning summer plumage however viewing was very limited so I made a hasty retreat to the M5 & headed home.