The migration has finally kicked in!!

Hi readers, today me and dad decided to do some birding round our usual haunts in hope of getting some good migrant birds. We first went to Sandwell Valley as I had heard of some Common Tern flying around the reserve which is a year tick for me so it had to be worth it. We first heard a singing Chiffchaff before even getting to the hide which was good to hear again round the reserve. When arriving we managed to get quite a few good migrants including Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper (not seen by me), and Sand Martin and Swallow. These birds were good site year ticks and were wonderful to look at as they flew around the lake. That's all to really report today here's our full sightings list,

RSPB Sandwell Valley- Sand Martin 5+, Swallow 5+, House Martin x1, Chiffchaff (heard) x1, Shellduck x2, Cormorant x1, Lapwing 5+ (many displaying), Pied Wagtail x2, Lesser black backed Gull x2, Buzzard x1, Oystercatcher x2, Goosander x1 (fem), Little Grebe x1, Reed Bunting x1, Little Ringed Plover x2, Green Sandpiper, Meadow Pipit x1, Teal x1, Common Sandpiper x1. 

I didn't see the Common Sandpiper and it would have been a year tick for me but there may be one around next week. The Meadow Pipit was a surprise for me as they are not often seen on the reserve lets hope we get some more of these birds on the reserve in the future. The pair of Shellducks are still around and this is very good news as it is possible they will breed on the reserve for the first time ever. LRP and Oystercatcher are also both in pairs so hopefully will also breed successfully this year. We didn't manage to get the Common Terns but they were spotted quite early in the morning so lets hope they turn up next week.

After our bird watch in the Sandwell Valley hide we decided to move on to Swan Pool in search of a reported Wheatear that had been seen on the horse paddocks earlier in the morning. We first arrived and scanned the fields to see if we got any luck but sadly all we could see was a quite large group of dog walkers with dog off the leads although signs are around clearly stating that the all dogs should be kept on leads because of nesting Skylarks. After an unsuccessful look in the main fields we decided to look in some of the horse paddocks fields further into the area. At first look at the fields we had no luck and could only see a Stock Dove and a few wood pigeons. But after around ten minutes we saw something running inbetween two fences in the field and luckily it turned out to be a adult male Wheatear, which was a lovely bird to watch and was also a great year tick for me. After watching the Wheatear for a while we decided to walk back to the car. Here's our main sightings from Swan Pool today,

Swan Pool- Wheatear (male) x1, Skylark x2, Canada Goose x4, Coot x4, Great crested Grebe x2, Herring Gull x1, Reed Bunting x1, Buzzard x1, Grey Heron x1, Carrion Crow Lesser Black backed Gull 5+, Stock Dove x1.

After getting the Wheatear at Swan Pool we decided to go to Bartley green Reservoir in hope of seeing a male Smew that had been reported in the week, we didn't see the Smew today and I wasn't to surprised seen as it hadn't been reported for a few days, but we did have a few other birds here's our main sightings list,

Bartley Green Reservoir- Lesser Black Backed Gull 10+, Herring Gull x1, Swallow 20+, Black Headed Gull x1, Canada Goose x3, Great crested Grebe x1, Chiffchaff x1 (heard), Sand Martin x1.

There was vast numbers of Swallows around the reservoir today and they were great to look at while they were flying close to the road, only a single Sand Martin was with them. That's all for this week there could be a post in the week but if not there should be one next weekend.

Thanks for reading and have a good week all- WMBB