First Sand Martin for Compton Park Wetland

28th July 2013 p.m

3+ House Martin over Compton Park Wetland. The results of what, at first seemed like an inadequate planting scheme at the new wetland now appear to be amazing, viewed through the security fencing. I really hope this area is maintained and policed in the future, because it really does look like a valuable habitat addition.Thanks for this has to go to the Wildlife Trusts for reminding developers that you cannot just walk all over mother nature!!!!

On the Barleyfield things were quiet so I turned my attentions to the world of insects!!

I am still on a steep learning curve in my bid to become a competent amateur naturalist, but as I keep adding to my knowledge, then my updates will be of interest to others who notice the wildlife of Smestow Valley as they enjoy their walks through the reserve.

First up- how to sex Red-tailed Bumblebees!! This is quite an easy one:

Large size and simple black coloration with red tail - a female.

Much smaller and note the small amount of yellow in bands
on the head and base of abdomen - the male

Bees can be highly variable and this male is showing
 much more yellow around the head.

Next up a bit more of a challenge - Skipper Butterflies!! These beautiful small butterflies are relatively easy to find on the Barleyfield at the moment. However to sex them we have to look for a line or scar on the upper wing (the sex gland). Also we have to be on the look out for the rarer Essex Skipper. We are right on the edge of the range for this species and to identify it you have to look closely at the antennae!! The underside of the antennae are black in the case of the Essex Skipper and brown in the case of the commoner Small Skipper.

However not much is simple in nature and if you look at the antennae on the following two pics of Skippers seen on the Barleyfield and Eddy's Alders, you will notice that they are highly variable!!! Anyone who has more experience in this area of the natural world, please email me your tips for field identification, as it's not quite as easy as it looks!!!

This example of Small Skipper is showing visible areas of Brown on the antennae

This example appears to show all black antennae with
no striping or definition at all!!

To finish, here is perhaps the most beautiful insect you could wish to encounter on the Barleyfield. Its a type of Longhorn Beetle:

Strangalia maculata - in it's attempt to avoid being eaten, this species has
 evolved to look like a Wasp and in the process has provided
 us with a stunning insect to encounter on walks where
Parsleys and Hogweeds grow. The larvae feed on wood so a
 nearby scrub or woodland edge is necessary for it to colonize a meadow. 

Tuesday 30th July 2013 - late evening

Dry calm and bright after days of intermittent storms and showers. Cooler (c20C)

A late walk to Compton village brought a couple of nice surprises.

First Compton Park wetland attracted 13 Swift 2 House Martin and a single Sand Martin, all swooping low over the water to feast on the insects which had gathered on such a calm evening. It will be interesting to see just how many Swift and hirundines we get here over the coming weeks as passage gets under way.

A young Green Woodpecker was also calling from the Wetland area.

At Compton Rough a pair of Tawny Owl were moving slowly South along the railway line, just before dusk, having emerged from nearby.

Beyond the rising flies, a graceful

grey visitor journeys onwards . . . 

Dunstall Park


Wednesday 29th May 2013, calm, cool, overcast, rain later.

The duller the day, sometimes the brighter the bird, and so it proved as 20-plus House Martin and at least three Barn Swallow hawked at the northern end of the racecourse, presumably following flies emerging from the grass, the damp conditions keeping the insects and birds low, the flocks moving back and forward just above ground level as they fed.  Behind them an indistinct shape, moving at treetop level along the Staffs & Worcs Canal  towards Aldersley junction, small-gull jizz and colour, but wing beats and wing shape wrong, so adjust the bins, and sure enough our first Common Tern for the year is clearly in focus, now altering direction and flip-flopping its way up the Birmingham Canal 21 locks towards the city, grey and white, graceful and lightweight, eventually disappearing beyond the railway viaduct and the Stafford Road.  Always a sight to lift the spirits, the species is an annual but infrequent visitor locally in mid and late summer, sometimes joining flocks of returning Black-headed Gulls on Dunstall Park or following the line of the canal to and from Pool Hall lakes just south of the Smestow Valley.  This one appeared to have a food item hanging from its bill, suggesting it may have been fishing at Pool Hall, along the canal or even at the racecourse lake (in June 2004 a pair stayed for at least three days at the lake, one presenting small fish to its mate and helping Lapwings drive Grey Herons away from the island).  Nesting has been recorded at Belvide Reservoir near Brewood and at Sheepwash Urban Park near Tipton, and with migrating birds late this year, this one may have been following the line of the Birmingham Canal to the latter site.  Whatever its destination, it's given a lift to this topsy-turvy season.  So, on to the lake itself, where Canada Goose youngsters now number 14, two pairs of Coot are feeding a total of seven chicks (at least two other pairs are still sitting), a female Grey Wagtail is picking her way along the shoreline, two Sand Martin are hawking low with at least two Swift and a small number of House Martin,  and our lone Lapwing continues its island vigil (no sign of a male Green Woodpecker which the previous Sunday (May 26th) had called loudly from lakeside bushes before dropping down to feed along the grass margins of the concrete apron below the open culvert of the Smestow brook).

(NB.  Dunstall Park is a commercial restricted site.  Access is strictly controlled.)

PS.   Geoff has asked me to tell you that he heard a Common Cuckoo (sadly now a bird infrequently recorded here and in many other parts of the UK) last Sunday morning (May 26th)  from the Compton barleyfield as it called from somewhere along Tettenhall ridge.  Problems with a broadband connection while he moved house means he's been "off-screen" for more than a week.  If his internet provider gets its act together, he'll be back soon . . .               

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THURSDAY  18th APRIL 2013

Dunstall Park

Strong north westerly wind, cold, broken cloud, 10am to 11.30am.

It's always worth waiting for the waders

All the action seemed to have been at the Compton barleyfield last week, so a visit to the racecourse on Thursday seemed to be in order.  A strong wind and bright sun meant  conditions weren't easy at the lake, but almost immediately a flash of white drew attention to a small dark bird that appeared to have landed on a patch of spiked vegetation near the shoreline. The lack of exposed margins will probably mean fewer wader sightings this year, but this one had chosen to come down during its migration journey, the site's second Green Sandpiper for 2013, its white undersides clear as it stood motionless on top of what would have been open water in recent years.  Five or so minutes later I heard it call as 13 adult and three immature Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew up, and despite a search of the shoreline, it was not seen again.  Soon afterwards a single Lapwing left the site and headed off in its rolling jerky way low towards Newbridge. It may have been checking out the lake for others of its kind, as at least one pair of the species has nested there for many years.  Three Snipe crouching motionless on the lee side of the island brought the wader total for the morning to three species.  The strengthening wind and glittering water made it difficult to pinpoint and stay with  two Barn Swallow and a couple of House Martin as they flicked back and fore over the surface, but close attention to one bird's erratic flight action revealed a light-bellied, brown-bibbed Sand Martin, almost certainly the first record for the valley this year.  Elsewhere on the lake at least four Coot pairs were building nests, the Gadwall pair upended in the shallows and  a Little Grebe appeared briefly among vegetation in which it and its mate are almost certainly nesting. Just one pair of Teal were still present, at least three pairs of Canada Geese were sitting, and a male Reed Bunting sang from the island.  Black tail feathers sticking up from two nests in the nearby oak copse suggested two pairs of Rook were sitting, and a check soon afterwards of rookery nests further along the site's north western edge showed another two were occupied.  A male Shoveler flew high across the site towards the city, two Nuthatches called from trees near the raceourse's north western corner, and song from a Blackcap and at least three Chiffchaff showed that good numbers of migrant warblers were now arriving along the valley.  A pair of Bullfinch were among other birds bringing the number of species seen during the visit to 34.  Things are getting better . . .    

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