Thur 17 January 2013                   mid morning

hard o/night frost  dull & bleak         Wightwick Fields & Pool Hall res

peace and quiet in the English countryside

On arrival at  Castlecroft Bridge and surveying Wightwick Fields all looked quiet apart from a single mistle thrush sat on a phone wire near the bridge over smestow brook,but on nearly reaching said bridge a noisy dog walker flushed a male kingfisher briefly onto an old fence near by,it then flew east to perch in a brook side bush at the eastern boundary of W/field where it showed really well for over 5 mins, it  then flew off east. Just minutes later and only 200m west I found probably the same male perched up again on the edge of the brook where it stayed for another 5 minutes before plunge diving then flew off west along the brook. I came across it again later even further west. I made my way off a v/quiet W/Field back to Pool Hall lane and west towards Pool Hall. I stopped briefly and listened,total silence, the peace and quiet of the English countryside at its very best (or worst). On arrival at Mopps Farm bridge I noticed a flock of sheep behind Pool Hall house had churned up their temporary field,although distant chaffinch were noted. On closer inspection from the top end of the public footpath to Perton Mill Farm (which the electric fence has blocked) I estimated 50 chaffinch also 6+ pied wagtail and at least 2 meadow pipit, 100+ starling were further away towards the smestow but no sign of Angus's redwing or fieldfare or skylark or yellowhammer.

 A frozen Pool Hall res

below the dam

A short walk took me to a frozen Pool Hall res with a small area of open water containing 22 coot, 2♂ teal 2♀ teal, 78 BHGull with a further 20 odd below the dam, a single grey heron stood on the ice, about 25 canada geece stood on the dam with 2 white hybrid geece,(maybe the snow goose type I had on 6th was one of these). The mute swan family was on the canal by Mopps Farm bridge,a short walk along the tow path was my first cold weather birds 3 cormorant flying towards me from the north east,as I watched they flew a complete circle and headed off back where they came from. A buzzard called as I approached Wightwick Fields and I found it sat on a phone wire post. A yellowhammer sat in the bushes near Castlecroft bridge and as I walked into the field 3 linnet flew south from a tree by the brook over my head calling and towards Pool Hall lane. Scanning the fields and finding nothing I headed back to Pool Hall lane where a green woodpecker was probing the truck of a large ash tree and a single goldfinch was searching it's canopy. As I continued I flushed 5 linnet from the hedge which flew back towards the canal.