A lot of the regular species were about today with our 3 Stock Doves returning and staying around throughout the morning, a Grey Wagtail turned up late in the morning for a short period. We had 4 Grey Herons about all morning, and 3 female Teal were also about. A single Kingfisher flew across as we opened the hide but wasn't found again to my knowledge. A more scarcer bird for the valley was a single Common Gull sitting with Black headed Gulls for most of the morning, and a single Little Grebe was sitting in the reeds also throughout the morning.
We also had a Feral Pigeon about which is not a recognised species but something seen less often on the reserve so it was a nice addition to the morning. We also had a number of Sand and House Martins, a single Swallow and a few Swift flying around throughout the morning, that's all species of Hirundines in one morning, not bad, not bad at all. Here's the main sightings from the morning,
RSPB Sandwell Valley- Stock Dove x3, Buzzard x1, Lapwing 10+, Swift x1, Mute Swan 10+, Canada Goose 20+, Great Crested Grebe x3, Little Grebe x1, Tufted Duck 5+ (8+ ducklings), Mallard 5+ (x8 ducklings), Coot 10 (multiple juveniles), Goldfinch 5+, Grey Heron x4, Black headed Gull 30+, Common Gull x1, Kingfisher x1, House Martin x1, Sand Martin 4+, Swallow x1, Teal x3, Feral Pigeon x1.
After a morning at Sandwell Valley we decided to take a trip over to Upton Warren, we had heard of a few Dunlin and a couple of Black tailed Godwits had been about so we thought it would be worth a look. Neither of these species turned up but we still had a few good highlights we had throughout the afternoon.
We started off with a brief look at the sailing pool that plucked up a couple of Great crested Grebes feeding and so e Mallards, but it was expected that the sailing pool would be quiet. We proceeded to the Flashes where we hoped to get a few good species.
We managed to get 4 Avocets in total, and multiple Green Sandpiper along with a couple of Common Sandpiper. there were also a few Curlew about which I haven't seen in a while this year. A single Little Ringed Plover was wading about also. We also got a few Stock Dive and a lovely looking Linnet giving us a few good birds and we had only just started.
After a while at the Flashes we decided to move n to the Moors pools. I had read bird news in the day and had heard of a fly threw Hobby so I was hoping for a year tick with this species. Although the Hobby didn't return while we were about we did manage to see the Ross's Goose which is a first for me although its more than likely escaped I have never seen the species before so it was a good spot for me. A Sparrow hawk also caught something and flew through. There was a good number of Little and Great crested grebes about, also we had a couple of Bullfinch on the feeders. Plenty of Lapwings were about and also a good number of Common Terns. Here's our main sightings from the afternoon,
Upton Warren-
Sailing Pool- House Martin 5+, Great crested Grebe x2, Mallard 5+.
Flashes- Curlew 3+, Greylag Goose x2, Green Sandpiper (multiple), Avocet x4, LRP x1, Black Headed Gull 20+, Lesser Black backed Gull x2, Lapwing 10+, Common Sandpiper x2, Linnet x1, Goldfinch 5+, Stock Dove x2.
Moors Pools- Ross's Goose x1, Sparrow Hawk x1 (fem), Black headed Gull 30+, Little Grebe 5+, Coot 20+, Canada Goose 10+, Common Tern 5+, Lapwing 5+, Sand Martin x1, Buzzard x1, Bullfinch x2, Greenfinch x2, Herring gull x1, Cormorant x1, Great crested Grebe 5+.
Well that's it for this week folks, it's been a good week, with me and Jihn successfully twitching a Caspian Tern at Rudyard reservoir and the Ross's Goose at Upton Warren I think I can safely say its been a good few days of birding for me personally.
Thanks for reading enjoy the week all- WMBB
No comments:
Post a Comment