Pollen, why do you do this to me?

Hi readers, me and Dad did a full day of birding today but as you can probably tell from the post title I was full of Hay fever for the majority of the majority of the day which made bird watching a much harder task for me to do for once. We first took our weekly visit to RSPB Sandwell Valley which presented us with a very, very early winter migrant turning up in the form of a Goosander. The bird looked as if it was a female but could have been a juvenile male as they look virtually the same at this time of year. Never the less it was strange to see one about especially in late June.

We also had nice but as usual brief views of Kingfisher flying around there could have been two individuals but what's to say the same bird didn't just do a circuit around the lake. There was no sign of the Oystercatchers today until dad came back from his walk around and told us that the birds were on the North Island out of sight from the hide. Its looking bad in terms of nesting Common Terns this year, there were two individuals on the raft but they were just wondering around and flying off regularly. Along with the terns on the raft there were also 2 LRPS about. There was no sign of any Coot chicks but a single Moorhen Chick that was quite well grown was on the marsh pool.

Things were looking very quiet and there was not much about apart from the regulars at the moment, but I still enjoyed the morning and at this point in the day I was not full of Hay Fever so was able to bird watch without my eyes crying for me and itching at the same time. Here's our main sightings from the morning,

RSPB Sandwell Valley- Goosander x1, Kingfisher x1 (poss 2), Grey Heron x1 (Juv), Buzzard x1, Herring Gull x1, Black Headed Gull x7, Lesser Black backed Gull 5+, Canada Goose 20+, Swift x1, Swallow x2, Common Tern x2, LRP x2, Coot 5+, Moorhen 5+ (1 chick), Cettis Warbler x1 (heard), Tufted Duck 5+, Mallard 5+.

Good to see a few Black Headed Gulls about the valley today. After visiting the valley we decided to continue our birding day by going up to Gailey and having a look at the Egyptian Geese that had been see there in the week. There not a massively rare bird but in my opinion a real stunner, and from information I read on the internet the two birds were the first to ever be recorded at Gailey so we thought we would have a look for the birds.

On arrival we were presented with what appeared to be a small event, a horse and carriage was about taking people up and down Gailey Lea Lane and a good number of people was about. We then got straight to the birding. At first glance there was very little around and no sign of any Hobby or Egyptian Geese for that matter. After 5 or 10 minutes we found a very large group of Greylag Geese on the main sailing lake and also noticed a few Goslings with the group. And after a good search we eventually pin pointed the Egyptian Goose and began to walk round to the geese to et better views of the bird.

Other than that there was little else about, we counted two Common Tern and numerous Grey Herons but thing seemed quiet. Here's our main sightings from the visit.

Gailey Reservoir- Egyptian Goose x1, Common Tern x2, Buzzard x2, Carrion Crow 5+, Greylag Goose 10+ (2Goslings), Canada Goose 10+. 

To end the birding day we decided to take a quick look at Clayhanger but by this time I was overrun with itchy eyes and a runny nose so our visit was very brief. Our main counts were Common Tern, Black headed Gull, and Reed Bunting. I agree not the best effort but I really wasn't to well today. I'm sure I can improve this Clayhanger report with the next thing I have to write about.

Before we got to Ryders Mere we went the wrong way (I know silly ehh) and ended up by a area called Waters view, I happened to look over the road into the field opposite Waters View and was presented with views of a very low flying Red Kite we quickly ditched the car and began watching the bird flying over the field, eventually the bird flew off quickly into the distance but you have to admit a small mistake like going the wrong way can often pay off in the birding world and on this occasion that mistake did pay off.

Red Kite is a nice species to see in the Clayhanger (more specifically Pelsall) area and its something I didn't expect to see. That's it for this week all, there may be a post in the week sometime or if not there shall be one on the weekend.

A record shot of the Gailey Egyptian Goose.

Thanks for reading have a good week all- WMBB