THURSDAY 11th APRIL 2013

Dunstall Park

Dull, damp, overnight rain, 10.15 to 11.30am.

It's a ducks de luxe day down at Dunstall

At last, an end to a seemingly endless run of freezing high-pressure easterlies, when nature seems to have been suspended, and wildlife has been barely ticking over.  Some proper weather now, still a wee bit cold, but what a pleasure to walk after the rain, to smell the damp, and to see the first faint signs of green on trees and bushes.  A singing Goldcrest, four Siskin and a bumble bee in the garden yesterday lifted the spirits, so with the Compton barleyfield starting to produce migrant birds for Chris and Geoff,  it's off to Dunstall to see what, if anything, has arrived, and equally importantly, to see what intends to stay.  As usual, colder on the course itself than in the car park, so put on an extra layer, and move out alongside the central grass and drainage ditches.  Nothing on the grass, no migrants, it's late now for gulls, so a brisk walk towards the lake, where at least 15 Canada Geese are grazing or noisily defending nesting territories.  Five young Coot from last year's broods are feeding as usual on top of the grass banks, while at least two pairs of adults are again building nests (some were started and then left during one of the brief lulls in the cold spell).  With at least ten adult birds present, it could be a record breeding year for the species.  A pair of Moorhen are briefly visible by the concrete run-off apron for the Smestow brook, the Mute Swan pair glide out to feed alongside the rafts of vegetation, and from the same area come the shrill calls of Little Grebe.  They're not seen, but a pair has been here for at least three weeks, and with any luck they'll nest (birds last bred here in 2000, when one out of three hatched youngsters fledged).  The telephone-ring song of a  Reed Bunting is eventually traced to a male perched on a bankside bush, but there's no sign of a mate.   On the other side of the lake are three pairs of Teal, resting at the base of the site's steepest bank, a place they have favoured over the past few weeks as they sheltered from the bitter winds.  Near to them a pair of Gadwall (they first arrived in January) move out from the water's edge, shadowed by a single male, as two pairs of Mallard rest on the grass.  A good day for ducks becomes even better as a handsome male Shoveler escorts his partner into the middle of the lake before they both take off and rise to circle before heading off towards the city, their spatular bills obvious against the dull sky.  Then effortlessly and gracefully from the semi-enclosed end of the lake near to the brook run-off, the morning's star emerges, slim, elegant, his sleek head and sawbill pointing out towards the deeper water, a first-summer male Goosander, the first of his species to be seen at the site this year.  He's not yet the real deal in plumage terms, but already what an imperious, superb bird he is.  Regional nicknames include the Yorkshire label "Jacksaw" and the Sussex tag "Spear Duck".  The species only started to breed in Britain in the 1870s, and since then wintering birds have been recorded in increasingly large numbers all over the country.  Breeding is still largely confined to northern Britain, but a few pairs have nested in Worcestershire and Staffordshire.  The first Smestow Valley sighting came in 2002, and wintering birds have been recorded annually since then over and on the canals and on the racecourse lake.  Numbers peaked in 2009 when eight were seen together on the  lake on January 12th, but falling water levels at the site meant that numbers dropped subsequently.  Last year's sodden summer filled the lake again, so hopefully totals will rise once more.  This record was bang on the average date for the last West Midland departures for late winter and spring, and our bird conformed to migration patterns by leaving late morning towards the north.  Five duck species listed, and it's time to go, but first a check of the local Rooks, two nests, one occupied, in the oak copse corner near the Water Bridge, and two pairs sitting on nests in a tree used annually in recent years, again canalside and nearer to Aldersley junction.  So, both breeding sites being used, but nest numbers at a minimum following two difficult foraging years for these early-nesting corvids.   A Mistle Thrush, another early breeder, performs his laboured song from the top of a beech, a Nuthatch calls from a nest tree near the canal junction corner, two Greenfinches weeze away along the Birmingham Canal side of the racecourse, and  a Goldfinch sings from near one of the locks.  Back at the car park, a Pied Wagtail calls as it dips away from the hotel roof.  Booked in for nesting, no doubt . . .               

NB.  Dunstall Park is a restricted commercial site.  Acess is strictly controlled.