Bird Watching Magazine Warwickshire Sightings

I will be continuing to compile the Warwickshire sightings  for the South using Jon's expertise in 2016. If you do have any sightings that are unique or haven't been published elsewhere please email or tweet me with them. It is amazing how often people mention the sightings when I'm out and about. Let's hope we have some great birds to report on throughout the year.

Quick start to February at the Pits

Yellowhammer

Pied Wagtail

Fieldfare

Yellow-legged Gull 

Oystercatcher on Pophills

  Sleeping Pintail

Salford Priors Church

Dunnock

Heavy rain and wind has once again battered Salford Priors this week causing the nearby River Arrow to break it's banks. A midweek meeting about the pits restoration took place with representatives of CEMEX, RSPB, Warwickshire County Council, West Midland Bird Club and three of the regular recorders which I'll do a separate blog about as soon as I can. 

My abdomen woes have continued but I've definitely had some improvement. Patch visits have been time limited but I've still managed to record three patch year ticks.

Chris Lane had recorded a Yellow-legged Gull in January but I'd not managed to see it myself. Thankfully I found what we think was the same bird early in the week on the main pit keeping company with two Herring Gulls. Three Lesser Blacked Backed Gulls were also recorded on a midweek visit.

When recording the impressive count of seven Green Sandpipers on Pophills, our annual Oystercatcher flew onto the island for it's visit of the year. Reading the other blogs and reports, they seem to be returning to their breeding grounds everywhere this week. Shelduck numbers increased to a maximum of four birds however only two were present on Sunday. Skylarks were singing high above the fields in three different locations.

Both Paul and I have been searching hard to try and find a Brambling in with the finch flocks around the orchards. Whilst no Bramblings were located, the orchards contained good numbers of Yellowhammer, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Fieldfare and Redwing. 

Three birds outstanding on the patch list at the ends of January were Nuthatch, Tawny Owl and Little Owl so I've been trying every crevice possible within the boundary to find these birds. Thankfully I finally managed to see a Nuthatch in the Salford Priors church yard. Tawny & Little Owl next week ………….

2016 Targets

From my 20 targeted birds in 2015 I managed to see Wryneck, Wood Lark, Pallid Harrier, Spotted Sandpiper, Red Phalarope, Wilson Phalarope, Long-eared Owl and Shore Lark.

In addition I added the following to my life list :- American Golden Plover, Black Stork, Black-eared Wheatear, Blythes Reed Warbler, Crag Martin, Ferruginous Duck, Greater Yellowlegs, Gull-billed Tern, Hudsonian Godwit, Hudosian Whimbrel, Isabelline Shrike, Laughing Gull, Melodious Warbler, Pied-billed Grebe, Olive-backed Pipit, Penduline Tit, Red-backed Shrike, Ring-billed Gull, Sabines Gull and Semipalmated Sandpiper.

This years keys targets are the following. Whilst a good number are unlikely to occur I would drop everything (well most things) to try and go if possible.

1) White-Tailed Eagle
2) Corncrake
3) Storm Petrel
4) Honey Buzzard
5) Short-toed Eagle
6) Franklins Gull
7) Great Spotted Cuckoo
8) Caspian Tern
9) Cream-coloured Courser
10) Ivory Gull
11) Bee-eater
12) Roller
13) White-billed Diver
14) Little Auk
15) Collared Pratincole
16) Lady Ampherst's Pheasant
17) Spotted Crake
18) Long-tailed Skua
19) Icterine Warbler
20) Radde's Warbler

Around Gloucester birding

Hawfinch

Yew Tree Brake

Dipper

Forest of Dean

Tack Piece

Scaup

Pintail

Two birding friends kindly offered me a couple hours round Gloucestershire as the one was trying to see 150 species in January. With nothing very far from the car and plenty of painkillers inside me it was nice to get out. 

Hawfinch was the first bird in the notebook as one sat up nicely at Parkend. We didn't have any luck up at the church for Crossbills so we headed to Wenchford Picnic Area where a Dipper was feeding just beneath us. At Cannop Ponds we saw a dozen Manadrin and three Goosander before heading to Yew Tree Brake where we finally saw a Crossbill. Whilst we did stop at New Fancy the weather wasn't very kind so chances to see a Goshawk were unlikely.

Our final stop was Slimbridge as the weather moved in. Our sightings from along the Holden pathway included large flocks of Dunlin, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Barnacle Geese, Black-tailed Godwit, Wigeon whilst other birds of note including a few year ticks three Avocet, 50 Pochard, 40 Redshank, 15 Curlew, 300 Pintail, 110 White-fronted Geese, 118 Bewick Swans and a Greater Scaup.

Many thanks to Pete Walkden for his fantastic images of Hawfinch & Dipper.

Tour with Charlecote massive

Last year I met @1stbirdoftheday for the first time via Twitter. He visited the pits one summer evening so he kindly returned the favour by showing me round Charlecote and surrounding area. 

Whilst their Charlecote patch is very spread out (car essential) and has no water there are some fantastic areas which wildlife blossoms. Species recorded included two Little Owl, 250+ Linnet, 50+ Yellowhammer, 10+ Brambling, two Corn Bunting, 20 Reed Bunting, 10 Lesser Redpoll and three Roe Deer. Just shows what you can see in an hour. 

Draycote winter roost

Roost watch

White-fronted Geese

White-fronted Geese

Great Crested Grebes

Goldeneye

Drake Goldeneye & Smew

Diving time

Goosander

Great Northern Diver as light faded

After a very quiet morning last Sunday doing my garden watch recording I supported the Warwickshire birding planned roost at Draycote Water. A brief walk allowed some nice views of the drake Smew and 45+ Goldeneye. I'd never seen so many Great Crested Grebes, whilst I counted 145 there was probably more. 25 Tree Sparrows & a Kingfisher were additions to the year list whilst other sightings included 6 White-fronted Geese, 12 Goosander, 42 Canada Geese, 22 Cormorant, 8 Grey Heron, 30 Little Grebe,  six Meadow Pipit, 10 Teal and four Wigeon.

A roost had a fantastic turnout of twenty Gull enthusiasts of which the main finds were an adult Glaucous Gull (picked out by Tim Marlow), possible adult Caspian, 3 Mediterranean Gulls as well as a blanket of Blacked-headed and Common Gulls. Many thanks to the kind lady who baked a lemon cake. Nice to meet a number of new friendly faces and a few old ones.

Leucistic surprise

On a short walk close to home this morning with Chris Lane we found this leucistic bird in the hedgerow. The bird must have been feeding in the crop seed. From the obscured view I did manage to get a couple of record shots in poor light. 

Both Chris and I thought it was a leucustic Yellowhammer however I'd welcome any other opinions.