Monday 3rd June 2013
Sunny, Dry, Clear, light Easterlies Evening

Mid-section - Compton Park, Barleyfield and Compton to Newbridge

At last!! Back on the patch. And what a difference: the trees and plants certainly seem to have caught up after such a cold Spring and it was great to see 10 Swift  over Compton Park and the Eastern border of the Barleyfield.

At the Barleyfield itself it was also pleasing to see that 3 pairs of active Common Whitethroat were still holding territories around the site.

3+ singing Blackcap were also present and the Willow Warbler was also singing on the Western border along with a pair of Bullfinch. 4 Greenfinch and Stock Dove passed South West overhead.

The speed, range and movement of the swifts, make it so hard to assess overall numbers and at least nine were darting high over Compton Rough, presumed to be those seen earlier.

On the Rough, the central Willows were certainly providing a valuable food-source as a 2 male Blackcaps tollerated each other, just, to feed along with many Blue Tits and Great Tits.

2 Song Thrush were singing near Compton Lock  and a Grey Heron was perched on one of the conifer tops.

I was taking pictures of Insects and Flowers on the rough, and the extra time spent near the lock served to confirm that a Great Spotted Woodpecker was running feeding trips from the railway line towards the Smestow/Henwood Road area to the West, raising hopes of young being seen in the area again this year. A Jay flew onto the railway walk from the West so hopefully they will be successful in this area too (A family of 5 was seen between Compton Park and The Barleyfield last year).

On the canal, the Moorhen nests appear to be much more conspicuous on the canal and after finding nests with one and two in I was amazed to find a pair just South of Meccano bridge with 7 newly hatched chicks!!!!

Family parties of 4 Long-tailed Tits and 4 Carrion Crow were at The Academy along with another advanced Moorhen chick (With possibly more underneath the overhanging branches??). A Chaffinch and 2 Chiffchaff were also singing along the canal here.

Our early brood of Mallard, have done remarkably well with 5 still together just South of Newbridge, having just lost one over the last month.

At Newbridge, more confusion over Swift numbers. 11 were tearing around the village, but were these the same birds that had wandered up to Compton Park? I feel that they weren't since birds nest at Paget Road and around Compton, but short of synchronized counting at the different sites you can never be sure, given the speed of these masters of flight.I have sat at the Barleyfield and watched groups appearing to move up and down the entire mid-section of the valley in past years.

Thursday 21st March
Dry, light frost, sunny periods, moderate easterlies, daytime temp 4C

Skywatch from North end of Barleyfield 06:00- 07:00 then
Mid-section of reserve - Compton to Newbridge including Barleyfield and Compton Park

Skywatch:
Canada Goose 6 West and 1 NE
Black-headed Gull 15 SW
Lesser Black-backed Gull 14 SW
Meadow Pipit 2 N
Starling 160 SW (largest group of 90, peaked at 06:20)
Chaffinch 5 E

Mid-section highlights:
Buzzard - one flew into the college ground trees on the ridge from the South early
Sparrowhawk - usually the best time to watch birds of prey is later on in the day, when the air is warmer. However, this morning I was treated to 3 birds displaying high overhead from 6:10am!! The poor light conditions and varying heights of the birds made it hard to be sure of their sex, (i felt that it was 2 females and a male) but they took turns in performing displays involving undulating, rapid climbs and closed wing dives.
Gulls: 26 Black-headed Gulls, 3 adult and a 1st Winter Lesser Black-backed Gull and 2 adult Herring Gulls were on the playing field by the Wolves Academy.
Green Woodpecker - one was calling early from the Eastern Border and then a female spent over half an hour in an Alder at the North East corner of the Barleyfield.
Grey Wagtail- it appears we now have a settled pair, and they were noted again today around and over the Compton Park wetland site.
Goldcrest- these beautiful little birds are becoming more obvious and its so good to see them after such a harsh Winter. One was near Compton Lock.
Magpie - the Compton Park Winter roost is still forming and 25 late risers were noted around Compton Park.
Carrion Crow - Its amazing how the corvids on Henwood ridge, appear to vary daily. Some days you see just Jackdaws. This morning c15 Carrion Crows were flying around the ridge above the college.
Starlings - 2 birds were singing at their Newbridge breeding stronghold. The modern DIY culture and plastic soffets and fascia boards, fitted to properties offer no nesting opportunities, but it seems that there are still enough older properties around the village, to allow you to see these birds throughout the Spring and Summer on the roofs and t.v. aerials across the canal.
Siskin - 2 went South over Meccano Bridge, and a rowdy individual was calling as it circled over Newbridge canal bridges and houses later.

Census:
Mallard: 18 male and 4 female
Moorhen: 7
Dunnock: 10 singing: Graisley Culvert, Compton "Rough" (3), Prefab Weir, South of Meccano Bridge (2), The Academy, The Paddocks (2)
Song Thrush: singing bird numbers well down on last month: 1 at the annex of the Barleyfield and one in the Paddock.
Great Tit: 4 pairs: Compton Lock, Station Paddock, the main Paddock and Graisley Culvert
Long-tailed Tit: a good showing this morning: Graisley Culvert (2), the Barleyfield Crossings (2), Compton "Rough" (3), Meccano Bridge (4), Newbridge (2).

Total: 32 species

SUNDAY 23rd DECEMBER

NEWBRIDGE WOOD next to Newbridge playingfield, south of Hordern Road and bordering Staffs & Worcs Canal, 10am to 10.30am.

Cool, bright, WNW breeze, high broken cloud.

A brief walk through a relatively quiet wood, livening up as flocks of Long-tailed Tit (eight-plus seen), Blue Tit, Great Tit and Chaffinch started to feed in trees warmed by the early sun along the eastern edge of the site.  A Nuthatch, calling, joined them, with Wren, Robin and Dunnock heard in ground cover each side of the main path.  Magpies were active over and in the southern end of the wood, with Woodpigeon flying away over the Double Pennant boatyard towards the old railway.  Gruff warning notes from a resident Crow suggested something was about to happen, and sure enough, within seconds there were the unmistakable "cronk" calls as two Raven swept in over the trees, close together and barrelling away towards the north west low over the boatyard towards the Tettenhall Road.

Later, a flock of c.20 Black-headed Gulls circled, dipped and floated low over the cricket square on the playingfield, touching down briefly to snatch bread left for them by a dog-walker, the pure white tails and underwings of the adults lit up in the clear air.  A single Jay perched on the Newbridge wharf fence before dropping down to the canalside feeding station, and two Coal Tits fed from a garden fatholder at the back of a house in Crowther Road bordering the playingfield.

DUNSTALL PARK

10.55am to 11.40am.

Damp conditions are attracting gulls to the site's central grass area, and at least 200 Black-headed Gulls were present initially, with a small number of Lesser Black-backed Gull.  Within minutes of a rough count being made all the birds took off responding to alarm calls from at least two Herring Gull circling overhead.  There was no sign of a raptor, but none of the gulls returned, most leaving towards the NW, others towards the city.  Water levels at the racecourse lake are their highest since late summer downpours, with six Coot present, the birds almost certainly adults and immatures from this summer's two breeding pairs and their offspring.  A first-winter Grey Heron was tucked into shoreline vegetation, and at least six male and two female Teal swam close to the lake island.  Five Snipe stood partially concealed by the edge of the island (with no exposed mud or visible margins, numbers for this species are way down for this stage of the winter).  A Robin sang from lakeside bushes (an unusal location) and c.70 Crow foraged near the lake or perched in the oak copse next to the Staffs & Worcs Canal.  A male and female Bullfinch moved through bushes on the western edge of the site, and a male Great Spotted Woodpecker called from trees by the north west corner near Aldersley canal junction.  A light-plumaged adult Buzzard took off from a wood pile in the same corner, circling low over lock 20 on the Birmingham Canal and flying off towards the railway carriageworks and Oxley.                

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