LANDGUARD - 8th July

 A decent day with a moderate WSW breeze, overcast at first but with spells of warm sunshine from mid-morning; there was a trickle of birds offshore through the morning including a nice variety of waders heading south, consisting of 3 Bar-tailed Godwits, a Common Sandpiper (a Landguard tick!), 47 Curlew, 2 Dunlin, 5 Oystercatchers, 2 Redshank and 5 Whimbrel along with 41 Black-headed Gulls, 6 Common Gulls, 9 Common Scoter, 2 Common Terns, 2 Gadwall, 7 Mediterranean Gulls, 9 Teal, 18 Sand martins, 3 Swallows and 6 Swifts.   

Also of note were the Black Redstart family still, the lingering Chiffchaff and a confiding juvenile Stock Dove.

Stock Dove

Woodpigeon and chick

(not) LANDGUARD - 7th April

 Lovely and sunny but the biting-cold NNW wind still dominated everything you did; not my ringing day so I spent the morning walking around Alton Water, slightly inland to try and avoid the exposed coast, there was a little spread of summer migrants around the lake which comprised my first singing Willow Warbler of the year, a total of 41 Chiffchaffs and 16 Blackcaps round the circuit, plenty of hirundines over the lake comprising 200+ Sand Martins, 40+ Swallows and 6 House Martins and a Yellow Wagtail by the sailing club.   

Other birds included an adult Kittiwake off the dam (always scarce inland), a pair of Egyptian Geese with small chicks, 2 Oystercatchers and 31 Shelduck.

Blackcaps

Kittiwake

Swallows

Egyptian Geese

Song Thrush

Stock Dove

LOCKDOWN - Week One

23^rd March

                Calm, warm and sunny again with a walk round Benthall producing eight singing Chiffchaffs, the two Little Grebes, an amazing 63 Canada Geese, 4 Snipe and a flyover Rook (surprisingly rare in this airspace!) – a record 44 species on patch in one visit.

24^th March

                Another lovely, warm day with wall to wall sunshine; a walk in the morning round Benthall produced eight singing Chiffchaffs, a Cormorant over to the north (rare in Wyke / Benthall airspace), two Little Grebes still, an amazing 13 Greylag Geese (they used to be really rare here!), six Teal and some lingering winter-thrushes with 8 Redwing and 9 Fieldfare.   The highlight though were two male Wheatears in the traditional field up the Cart-track (I’ve seen them in these fields several times before, it must be a regular stop-over site), there were also 26+ Meadow Pipits in this area – a big count for round these parts.   Also seen were single Peacock and Small Tortoiseshells.

26^th March

                The lovely, sunny, warm, false start to the spring continued with the daily pattern now established – a walk to Benthall every day; birds of note comprised 10 Chiffchaffs, a male Stonechat by Benthall Hall and 2 Redwings – 42 species.

27^th March

                Still lovely, sunny and pretty warm around Benthall where birds included seven Chiffchaffs, the male Stonechat again, one Redwing and nine Snipe but the highlight was my first two singing Blackcaps with one just down the track at the reedbed and another at the stile going on Benthall Edge, just past The Vineyards – 39 species.

28^th March

                Nice an sunny again for the walk to Benthall but a chilly northerly breeze gave it an edge; birds included 9 Chiffchaffs, 2 Redwings, confirmation that there are four Little Grebes on the pools, 4 Kestrels including a displaying pair over Water Lane, a Lesser Black-backed Gull north and a single Snipe – 41 species.

29^th March

                Still dry with spells of bright sunshine but a strong and increasing, very cold NW wind made it unpleasant out in the field during the daily walk to Benthall; the unexpected highlight though was a Hawfinch which bombed north over Benthall Farm at 09:45 – only the second record for the area following one at Watery Lane on 24^th December 2017 (the autumn / winter of the huge influx into the UK).   Other birds included three singing Blackcaps just down the track from Wyke, a few Redwings hanging on (one at Wyke, twelve along Benthall Edge and six at the pools) and four Fieldfares but far fewer singing Chiffchaffs due to the weather – 41 species.

30^th March

                Overcast and chilly but with light winds; the first Blackcap of the year was singing on site (the same three were still singing near Wyke), 7 Snipe, 12 Redwing and 4 Siskin over to the west – 41 species.

Treecreeper

Stock Dove

Wheatear

Hare

Small Tortoiseshell

30th June

A quiet time in the nets; just catching recently fledged local birds although my second Stock Dove for the garden was a minor highlight.

Stock Dove

Wren

Dunnock

Treecreeper

Blue Tit

Great Tit

31st March

Walked down to Ironbridge and along the river to Cressage Bridge, then back along the lanes through Sheinton where, in the beautiful sunny weather there were plenty of signs of spring with my first Willow Warbler of the year singing just downstream of Leighton Hall, my first 11+ Sand Martins of the year scattered along the river with several birds already investigating likely looking sections of bank, my first Swallow of the year hawking over Cressage and a total of 34 singing Chiffchaffs along the whole route.

                Other birds included 4 Kingfishers in Ironbridge noisily chasing each other around, 3 Oystercatchers, a Green Sandpiper, 16 Goosanders, a single drake Shelduck, a drake Tufted Duck in Ironbridge (slightly unusual on the river!) and a single Brambling and a handful of Fieldfares still hanging on.

 

Goosander

Oystercatcher

Sand Martins

Chiffchaff

Stock Doves

Kingfisher

 

Wyke

4^th and 5^th JULY

                Just here around Wyke with obviously not too much to report but there was a couple of surprises with an adult Stock Dove caught in my nets at the bottom of the garden – first time I’ve seen one anywhere near the garden on 4^th and a Quail singing from a long grass field about 200m down the lane, he was singing on and off all morning on the 5^th – a Shropshire tick!

                An unremarkable few ringing sessions since in the short time I’ve been back in Wyke with only 33 new birds ringed revealed very few fledglings with hardly any young birds around (at least compared to last summer anyway); 6 new Bullfinches (all adults) was however, noteworthy.

Stock Dove