Smew at Kemerton Lakes Nature Reserve

This week I have visited Kemerton Lakes Nature Reserve which is managed by Kemerton Conservation Trust. The 46.5 acre wetland reserve lies at the foot of Bredon Hill and was designed out of a formal gravel pit. The main lake is quite similar to the main pit at Salford Priors and shows what can be done with genuine conservation work. As well as the main lake there is a woodland, reedbed and fields so the chance of anything. 

The reason for my visit was to try to see the drake Smew which had relocated from Holt Fleet but now in striking plumage. You can only really view the water from one of the provided hides. This looked very new with a boardwalk. 

The Smew was around 100 metres from the hide feeding well but on occasions went in-between the reeds beds which explains why on occasions visitors had not seen the bird. It's hard to believe it's the same scruffy red head I saw back in 2018.

Other sightings included 7 Wigeon, 8 Shoveler, 10 Little Grebe, 3 Cormorant, Sparrowhawk & a Greater Spotted Woodpecker. 

A very classy reserve and I will be returning very soon. 

Home & away birding

Main Pit

Pophills

Smewtastic

Fishing Pool

View through the trees

Camp Lane - Grimley

Roadside view

American Wigeon 

Smew

Not a great deal happening at the pits. With some decent birds around Worcestershire we were certainly hoping for a change from the normal. 

Sightings & counts from last week included :-

22/11 (CL MC) - 2 Goosander, 6 Pochard, 10 Shoveler, Peregrine, Green Sandpiper & 3 Snipe.

24/11 (ND) - 2 Wigeon, 6 Pochard, 20 Shoveler, 40 Lapwing, 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 1 Common Gull, 170 Fieldfare, 200 Starling, 30 Meadow Pipits, 15 Skylark & Green Sandpiper.

25/11 (ND) - 7 Pochard, 86 Teal, 23 Black-head Gull, Common Gull, 3  Lesser Black-backed Gulls & Green Sandpiper.

On Monday I decided on a change of scenery and headed over the river to Grimley. First stop was Holt Fleet where my target species was flushed twice within the same visit. On arrival I was pleased to see the first two winter drake Smew still on the fishing pool only for a dog walker to flush them, thankfully they moved onto nearby Sling Pool. After scoping them at distance I walked along the road to try and take a few shots through the trees. This was going quite well until a birder walked straight down the pool with no field craft flushing the ducks. Some people just can't help themselves. 

I then headed down to Grimley where I caught up with Brian Stretch who had earlier had a Siberian Chiffchaff, only 3 Commons during my time before we headed up to Wagon Wheel where the American Wigeon showed very well for us. Also present were 160+ Wigeon, Little Egret & a Common Sandpiper. Two nice bonus year ticks on a quality morning. 

I'm already planning next year with two trips already booked to Dorset & Spurn. 

Tern Tuesday

Twitchers at Draycote

Yellow Wagtail

 Black Tern (Salford Priors GP)

 Black Tern (Salford Priors GP)

Turnstones & Ring Plovers

 Common Tern causing the stir

 More dodgy shots in poor light

Red-headed Smew just before dark

With a day booked off for recovery after the Scotland trip I couldn’t resist a trip over to Draycote Water first thing to see two White-winged Black Terns reported the previous evening. The views were always distant but you could watch them well through the scope flying around with 25 Black Terns & 2 Arctic Terns.

With an apparent huge Tern passage going on across the country I was keen to make sure we never missed out at the pits so I headed there directly but could only find a Turnstone, two Ringed Plover and a male Mandarin down at Abbots Salford.

In the evening I returned with Paul and we had a bumper session. First scan revealed 3 Black Terns & 6 Common Terns of which 4 took off. One of the remaining Terns had a very dark beak and we were very hopeful it could be a Rosette Tern. The light was awful making photography very difficult but I did take a few rough grainy shots that indicated it was a Common Tern with a dark beak. Strangely enough Belvide looked to have a similar bird the following morning. However the photos on Twitter were only showing the bird perched. Our bird clearly showed black on the trailing edge (broader & greyer) of underwing whilst Roseate Tern is usually all white with no trailing edge,  Arctic Tern has a narrow well defined black trailing edge.

In the final minutes of scanning a small bird landed in the north east corner of the pit, on closer inspection it was a red headed Smew ! This was my first record of the species at the site. The bird seemed very tired as it went to sleep also straight away.

December delight at Upton Warren

Great White Egret

The worry of missing a Red-headed Smew at Upon Warren proved to much in the end, so I flew out of work an hour early and headed down the M5 to find many other birders had the same idea. There were very smartly dressed birders on show on the edge of the sailing pool !

The bird was showing fairly distantly and not well enough for a digiscope. I did return the following morning before sailing to get some better views and was also treated to an over head flyover by a Great White Egret which had been onsite since the previous Sunday.

This was the eighth record at Upton Warren (twice – 2 birds were recorded) of one of the scarcest ducks you can see in Worcestershire. The most regular Smew to be seen in the Midlands is the drake that generally turns up after Christmas at Draycote Water. It’s a good year at Upton Warren attracting Red-necked Phalarope, Red-necked Grebe, Red-backed Shrike, Great White Egret and now Smew. Roll on 2016, Upton is back !

Strictly Draycote

 View from the feeder end of the water

A treble - Smew, Goldeneye and Great Crest Grebe

Close up of Smew

Draycote Water

A cold and clear forecast made me determined to make the most of Saturday morning with a couple of good hours birding at Draycote Water. The afternoon would be spent at the NIA (Barclaycard Arena) watching Strictly Come Dancing for the wife's birthday. 

The drive took around an hour and I duly paid my £2.50 parking fee. I headed straight down Farborough Bank where I located the wintering Drake Smew among the Goldeneyes and Tufted Ducks. A super looking duck and I managed to grab a couple of digiscoped images.

There had been a couple of White-fronted and Pink-footed Geese reported lately however there was no sign out on the water or in the fields behind. There were big numbers of Great Crested Grebes along the bank whilst the Pied Wagtails flew constantly backwards and forwards feeding on the rocks.

I then headed round to the far end where I caught up with a flock of around a dozen Tree Sparrow. They did seem to be rather on edge and were not hanging around to be digiscoped. Heading back around the waters edge there were 20 Goosander whilst my first Kingfisher of the year flew past out looking for an early lunch. 

Sadly no time to try out the coffee and cake in the visitor centre, next time perhaps. 

Draycote delivers

          

 Draycote Water

 Long Tailed Duck

 Tree Sparrow

 Smew

 Great Northern Diver

Goldeneye

After being stuck down with a bad reaction to a course of tablets my kind doctor prescribed, I thought I’d opt for an easy walk to help me get back on my feet at Draycote Water near Rugby. The reservoir lies to the east of Coventry so took about 45 minutes to reach.  Signage was good for first time visitors like myself. The parking cost was £2.50 for an all day ticket which personally I was happy to pay given paths, parking, toilets facilities and visitor centre.

There is a five mile path that surrounds the reservoir but given I wasn’t still 100% I opted to try two smaller walks either side of the Visitor Centre. There were good numbers of Goldeneye accompanied by Tufted ducks and Great Crested Grebes.  As I headed towards the south east corner I located the reported Juvenile Great Northern Diver. Like the Diver at Swan Lake, Sandwell he dived for long periods and it was interesting to look up they can dive up to 60 metres beneath the surface.

Looking left towards Hensborough & Saddle Bank I picked up a Long Tailed Duck swimming at the back of the Tufties. I manage to grab a record shot in very grim light.

I followed the path a little further to get some great views of Tree Sparrow in a hedgerow which I was told was a great spot to see these elusive birds. You could clearly see the Chestnut cap, white cheeks and black cheek spot. I’d only seen Tree Sparrow in Norfolk previously so it was good to get a year tick close to home.

After exploring this end of the reservoir I returned to Visitor Centre and headed up the Farborough Bank. The bank was full of Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails. A great spot for Wheatear and Yellow Wagtail come the spring ! Within a couple of minutes I’d found what I was really after…….a drake Smew. This Scandinavian or Russian stunner gave some stonking views before flying off to the other side of the reservoir.