State of the birds - North of the valley

Time for my conclusions from the trip North of the valley on 2/2/2013!!!! (I always used to hand my homework in late!!!)

I always believe in looking for silver linings. So I am going to run through the negatives that came from my trip from Compton to Calf Heath along the canal system, before finding the light.

1. I was amazed that in 9 hours of birding, I failed to record Yellowhammer, Linnet, Tree Sparrow, Willow Tit/Marsh Tit , Skylark, Red-legged Partridge and Grey Partridge. My reference point for comparison was my days between 1978 and 1990, when I covered pretty much every square inch from Chasewater through Kingswood, Newlands Lane, Bridgtown, Four Crosses, Four Ashes and down to Calf Heath. In Winter, the above species were literally 10 a penny on farmland and around hedgerows. I know that I could have ventured to particular sites close to my route and located a few of these specieson Saturday, but back in the quite recent day, these birds quite literally came to you!!!

2. Although I managed to tick Kestrel, Kingfisher, Meadow Pipit, Treecreeper, Redpoll and Greenfinch, they were all singles. Even the Golden Plovers in the past would have numbered more than 2!!!

3. The overall feel of birding in the countryside has changed completely. The notebook of my young days on such a trip would have read "Flock of" this and "covey" of that and "mixed group of" the other. So much of Saturday's birding was watching singles or looking out over vast expanses of countryside and seeing little or no noticeable bird activity at all.

My negative conclusion is therefore that my instincts tell me that the countryside is becoming sterile. I remember seeing a program where they showed that the actual full structure of a strand of human DNA had been documented in dozens of massive hard-back books on a big book-case.

I feel that our mad pursuit for cheap food and the destruction of insect "pests" has done two things: it has taken the "glue" out of the farmland ecology - the web that holds it all safely together, and secondly that in some way the chemistry has been affected by mans sprays, feeds, herbicides and pesticides has affected breeding success and the general attraction of the fields and margins to our feathered friends.

To sum up really needs one of our 100 top Briton's. So over to the main man, that in 2006 asked whether we can save our planet?.........

"In the past, we didn't understand the effect of our actions. Unknowingly, we sowed the wind and now, literally, we are reaping the whirlwind. But we no longer have that excuse: now we do recognise the consequences of our behaviour. Now surely, we must act to reform it - individually and collectively, nationally and internationally - or we doom future generations to catastrophe."..... Sir David Attenborough

So where is the silver-lining?........

...............in the valley.

32 species were noted between Compton Bridge and the northern edge of the valley on Saturday morning. A further 3 species were added on my afternoon return. Furthermore the highest concentrations of Little Grebe, Bullfinch, Moorhen and Song Thrush during the 6 mile walk out were actually in the valley and our patch produced the only Green Woodpeckers, Ravens and Meadow Pipit of the day.

The diverse habitats that exist in Smestow Valley provide a good range of species in a relatively small area and that must surely be the silver-lining, but one to be managed and protected through co-operation and the sharing of information.

I am planning a trip beyond the South end of the valley over the next few weeks. I will be travelling from Compton Bridge, out to Pool Hall, Trescott, Slingwood, Freehold Way, Furnace Grange, Seisdon, the Trysull sandpits, Awbridge, Bratch Locks and back via Langley Hall and the railway walk.

Anyone with helpful knowledge of these areas, please email me at the sightings email address, so that I can plan the day. This trip will be interesting in that Yellowhammer, Reed bunting, Tree Sparrows and maybe the Corn Bunting, that have been reported along the Bridgnorth Road are targets and it will be good to see what, on the face of it makes the South better than the North for farmland species.

Any help with this will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.