What did I tell you

2nd April 16             evening                mid section

sunny & warm,    13-12°c,  1007 mb,  S 9-7 mph

 Rain this morning prevented me from doing the valley, so I ended up at Belvide Reservoir , where I found a singing blackcap. But this evening in sunny and warm conditions I found a another singing blackcap, albeit only briefly. Ian saw a male near Compton lock on tuesday but not singing.

Great Spotted Woodpecker	1 >> SW over	The Paddock
Blackbird	9 singing	mid section
Song Thrush	5 singing	mid section
Blackcap	1 singing	The Paddock
Chiffchaff	3 singing	mid section
Coal Tit	1 singing	Station Paddock
Chaffinch	3 singing	mid section

1st singing chiffchaff

25th March 16               morning                  mid section

sunny & warm,   8-13°c,   1014 mb,   NW 10-SSW 9

 In the mid section that is,  ( gazz had 1 singing last Sunday at Dunstall Park). I was hoping for more on a lovely sunny warm day. A singing blackbird was also my first this year ( Ian's had song in his garden ) A pair of sparrowhawk soaring above Barleyfield was the best of the rest.

Sparrowhawk	pair	pr soaring over Barleyfield,
Buzzard	3 soaring	Tettenhall Ridge
Green Woodpecker	calls	Tettenhall Ridge
Wren	8+ singing	mid section
Dunnock	4+ singing	mid section
Robin	9+ singing	mid section
Blackbird	1 singing	Station Paddock
Song Thrush	2 singing	Barleyfield
Mistle Thrush	1 singing	Top Birches
Chiffchaff	1 singing	The Paddock
Goldcrest	2 pair	mid section
Long Tailed Tit	1 pair	Station Paddock
Coal Tit	1	Station Paddock
Great Tit	4+ singing	mid section
Chaffinch	1 singing	Station Paddock
Bullfinch	pair + 2♂	mid section

Didn't see Ian but we seem to have had a similar day

3rd November 15            morning              mid section

O/cast & gloomy,  8-9°c,  1016mb,  SSE 5-S 2 mph

As Ian found, most of the action was up the top of Barleyfield. Redwing, more blackbirds than usual, more song thrush than usual, plus 9 greenfinch. Elsewhere I had 3 fleeting glimpses of the kingfisher on the Smestow off the Prefab bridge and the feeders by the boats at Newbridge wharf produced coal tit x3 plus more greenfinch and three bullfinch. Two little grebe off Meadow View early and probably the same two north of Meccano on the homeward journey. ( none of which was the summer plumage bird ). So if Ian had the s/p individual that's three today.

Little Grebe	2 ( 1 just N + 1 S ) Meadow View,  later same 2 Meccano Br,
Moorhen	5 imm	S&W Canal
Kingfisher	1	1 fleeting views Prefabs smestow,
Wren	1 singing	Compton Rough
Robin	10 singing	mid section
Blackbird	6\8	Annex Barleyfield
Song Thrush	4\6	Annex Barleyfield
Redwing	c20	Barleyfield
Coal Tit	3+	Newbride boats feeders
Chaffinch	1♂+	Newbride boats feeders
Greenfinch	15+	9 Top Roses,   few NBb feeder,
Bullfinch	2♂ 1♀	Newbride boats feeders

Kestrel returns (again) and grey wagtail a&s (at last)

17th July 15           morning                mid section

mostly cloudy,warm, 17-18°c, 1008mb,  SW 8-10 mph

The kestrel we had over most of last winter was a 1st winter male ( ie born last summer ) the bird I had today was a 1st summer male ( ie 1 year old, born last summer. get it )( I know it's confusing, wait till we get into the gull family, ie 1w, 1s, 1cy, 2w and on and on. the bigger gulls have 4 years as immatures ) anyway. Its likely that its the same individual that has paid us a visit two or three times over this spring/summer.

  The grey wagtail on the brook by the Prefabs looks like the male of the pair that nested near Meccano bridge earlier this year. At last i've had a front on view before it's flown off today.

   Apart from the above it's been a very quiet day, indeed week.

  

News from wed 15th.  a family of 8 mistle thrush were on the field east of the Wetlands before being flushed.

Mallard	few	Staffs & Wocs
Kestrel	1 1s ♂	1  1s ♂  hunting over Barleyfield,
Moorhen	2 juv	1 juv Wetlands,   1 juv Prefabs,
Black Headed Gull	13	Compton Field
Lesser Black Backed Gull	odds over	mid section
Swift	odds over	mid section
Swallow	1 over	The Paddock
House Martin	20+	mid section
Grey Wagtail	1♂	1 washed out ♂ ( from Sb nest ? ) Smestow  Prefabs,
Wren	4 singing	mid section
Dunnock	1 singing	The Paddock
Blackbird	2 singing	1 Paddocks,  1 Barleyfield,
Song Thrush	2 singing	The Paddock
Mistle Thrush	4 ( 2+ imm )	Wetland Fields
Whitethroat	calls	Hanging Grds,
Blackcap	1 singing	Hanging Grds
Chiffchaff	3 singing	mid section
Long Tailed Tit	c6	Station Paddock
Chaffinch	2 ( 1♂)	Graiseley Culvert,
Goldfinch	few	mid section

Missed the Massive Redwing Movement and Twitter Feed to Connect us to Nature

Friday 11/10/13 - Moderate NE, overnight light rain, clearing : Barleyfield "vismig"

A frantic day on the work and home front yesterday meant that I was left to read about the tens of thousands of Redwing that had reached Britain on favourable winds.

An incredible 33,082 were recorded over "The Pinnacle", Sandy, Bedfordshire, in just four and a half hours yesterday morning!! A more modest 2,600 had passed over Black Bank in Staffordshire.

I hit the patch this morning, knowing that winds were more northerly and were likely to halt movements, but still wanted to get some idea as to whether the valley had witnessed some of this event.

It was immediately clear, on arriving at the Barleyfield that birds had got this far West. There was a "movement" of birds west, but aside from 3 groups, the largest holding 35 birds, the rest were grounded birds that were lifting from overnight resting places.

A one hour vismig produced the following, before fading:

Canada Goose  37 SW
Mallard - 5 SW
Cormorant - 4 High SE and 1 soon after heading South - all adults
Black-headed Gull - 65 SW
Woodpigeon - 19 SW - apparently still too early for migrants on the favourable NE
Pied Wagtail - 4 SW
Meadow Pipit - 4 grounded birds, lifted off the Barleyfield and headed SW
Redwing - 150 - c50 on migration West and the other c100 were grounded birds, lifting and heading low West. 55 of these were around the Lower Alders.
Song Thrush - 1 South
Blackbird - 6 coping remarkably well heading West on the cross wind.
Starling - 10 local birds SW and 7 presumed migrants heading West.

MOVING MOUNTAINS NATURE NETWORK (MMNN) -TWITTER FEED

As part of the push towards connecting more people with wildlife, I have now set up a Twitter feed on this blog, that will provide you with updates regarding wildlife events, issues and sightings. They are all my comments or retweets, and will not include personal or provocative opinion from others. Media releases will be shown, where I feel that they are relevant to the understanding and protection of wildlife.

MMNN members who follow us on Twitter will benefit from having their events and causes highlighted on this blog.

I hope that this adds to your experience, whilst visiting us!!

Thank you.