This morning I am going on a tour around Pride Park, the home of the mighty Rams, but I was up early and decided to pop around this pit and concentrate on the sewage works.  This is one area which is really under watched.  I am going to try and make for of an effort this year.  I have already had Chiffchaff in January over the last couple of years, and a male Blackcap last January.  I am sure there is a Firecrest to be found here one day.  Back to today and I saw Chaffinch, Coot, Tufted Duck, Black-headed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Mallard, Wigeon, Blue Tit, Magpie, Wren, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, Lapwing, Grey Wagtail, Robin, and Starling.  Nothing special this time but keep tuned!!!!!!!

 

 

Over the A38 from Alrewas gravel pits you can see a ploughed field, north of the village.  There was two Whooper Swans feeding in the field.

 

 

With very little time, I had a quick look over the quarry pool to find the Scaup reported yesterday.  This is cheating but I could not help myself.  A quick look got me Wigeon, Pochard, Teal, Canada Geese, Lapwing, Robin, Coot, Goldeneye, Redshank, Tufted Duck, Starling, Scaup and Black-headed Gull.  One day I will re-pay the honour.

 

 

Between 9.00 and 10.00, me and my mother did the birdcount.  We got 5 Blackbird, 2 Blue Tit, 3 Carrion Crow, 4 Chaffinch, 1 Coal Tit, 2 Collared Dove, 1 Dunnock, 2 Greenfinch, 3 House Sparrow, 1 Magpie, 2 Robin, 5 Starling, 7 Wood Pigeons, 1 Blackcap and 2 Mallard.  Three years ago we had a wintering Blackcap and two years ago it turned up for five minutes on the day of the bird count.  What happened this year?  Yep, I missed the last fifteen minutes to get ready to go out when my mom shouted me to come quickly to the back door.  As I got there, a male Blackcap flew from one side of the garden to the other.  Unbelievable.

 

 

I have seen lots of Waxwings since I started birding a few years ago, but I have never seen them in large numbers, and as I was passing I thought I would take a look.  There was, I think, over 100 birds at the tiop of a tree when I arrived.  I got my camera out and got a few shots, then they flew down onto some berries.  I was focusing a got one shot off when a car full of lads (I would like to put something else in here but I do not want to offend the younger readers) drove passed in their over-the-top skirting and six inch wide exhaust, with the stereo banging away.  They let rip with the horn and the birds took flight.  The birds and the car full of ????? went off into the distance and did not return.

 

 

I needed to get some gulls for the year and, with the Iceland Gull making an appearance, I opted for Chasewater.  The last couple of years I have been coming here, my time has been spent next to groups of birders with me trying to find something but failing, and someone else finding the birds.  One thing I wanted to do this year was to find birds on my own steam (Scaup excluded).  I set up on the boardwalk and saw the following:- Canada Geese, Coot, Mute Swan, Mallard, Black-headed Gull, Moorhen, Pied Wagtail, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Robin, Great-crested Grebe, Mediterranean Gull, Grey Wagtail, Lesser Black-backed Gull and Lapwing.  I was well made up finding my first own Med Gull amongst all of the others. 

When I got home and looked on the Birdguides site, I noticed an Iceland Gull was present at the roost. 

I had the pleasure of the company of the Brightside Birders, Kay and Max.  They have not been around here or Croxall so I was delighted to tke them around the area and show them the delights.  Walking around the track we saw Corn Buntings, Mute Swan, Lapwing, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Dunnock, Tree Sparrow, Kestrel, Wood Pigeon, Magpie, Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer, Wren, Chaffinch, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Starling, Black-headed Gull, Linnet, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Pied Wagtail, Blackbird, and Robin.  Kay wanted to see some wild swans so we went to have a look from the bund near to Sittles Farm.  We added Canada Geese and a Buzzard.  With only a handful of swans, something was strange.  Maybe the nearby shooting had scared them off!!!!!  From there we went to the quarry pool and added Wigeon, Goldeneye, Tufted Duck, Bullfinch and Lesser Black-backed Gull.  

 

 

There was not half the amount of wildfowl at Croxall as there was last week.  Up to the Main Hide we saw Robin, Blackbird, Great Tit, Bullfinch, Black-headed Gull, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Pochard, Dunnock, Coot, Canada Geese and Wigeon.  We walked to the East Hide and around the scrape and added Rook, Magpie, Wood Pigeon, Wren, Blue Tit, Great-crested Grebe, Grey Heron, and Goldfinch.  A quick look from the Main Hide and we added Snipe and Redshank.  Pretty quiet around here this morning.  It was a good morning with some pretty good birding and some great company.  See you next weekend guys.

 

 

From the east side, we looked over towards Catholme where the quarrying is expanding to the river.  On the pools there we saw Shelduck and Goosander. THERE IS NO GENERAL ACCESS TO THIS PITS UNFORTUNATELY.

 

With jobs to do, that was the end of my birding but I had a message of Blurred Birder telling me of a Scaup at Whitemoor.  My excuse for not seeing it in the morning is that the sun reflects of the pool and usually takes until midday before the pool can be properly observed

 

I'm back.  Eight painful days to get over the lumber puncture, if you are having it soon, it is hell.  Back to birding and it was a suprise day out birding.  Saturday I had loads of jobs to do and the forecast for Sunday was garbage so I planned nothing today.  When I woke up it was sunny, so i got my stuff and headed out.  From the car park at croxall (which is, unfortunately very dirty with litter), I saw Mallard, Teal, Coot, Goldeneye, Lapwing, Canada Geese, Wood Pigeon, and Wren.  From the car park I could see that the top end of the pool was rammed with waterfowl.  last year, if you remember, I was carrying out wildfowl counts.  I cannot remember doing one when the pool was this busy.  Walking up to the hide I saw Blackbird, Dunnock, Song Thrush, Blue Tit, Black-headed Gull, Robin, Pochard, Great-crested Grebe, Grey Heron, Wigeon, Redshank, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, and Cormorant.  Instead of entering the hide, I walked through to the east side to see if anything was around.  The ducks on the small pools and scrapes were very nervous due to some local shooting, so I walked around the marshy bit for any Jack Snipe before heading back to the Main Hide.  I did add Magpie, Rooks, Goldfinch and Treecreeper.  No Jack Snipe and no Snipe lifted which is odd for that patch.  I had a look in the hide and could only add Moorhen, and on the way back to the car I had Great Tit.

 

 

This has been a very popular site in recent weeks, mainly because the birding has come alive, with good species, and plenty of them.  I took a slow walk around the square walk before going to the quarry pool.  the birds I saw were Mute Swan, Bewick's Swan, Skylark, Long-tailed Tit, Wren, Lapwing, Carrion Crow, Whooper Swan, Wood Pigeon, Cormorant, Tree Sparrow, Robin, Canada Geese, Greylag Geese, Black-headed Gull, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Reed Bunting, Canada Geese, Yellowhammer, Chaffinch, Corn Bunting, Dunnock, Magpie, Fieldfare, Starling, Jackdaw, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Kestrel and Grey Heron.  On the quarry pool there was Gadwall, Wigeon, Redshank, Mallard, Goldeneye, Tufted Duck, Teal, Pochard, Coot, and a Great Spotted Woodpecker tapping in the tree behind.    A great morning, made more enjoyable with loads of Skylarks singing above and loads of Reed Buntings escorting me around the walk.

 

 

I went home for breakfast and whilst it was cooking, my pager went off with a Great White Egret  at Sheepy Parva.  It is not that far away and me and these birds have not seen eye to eye, me dipping out on the last six occasions, on each occasion flying off just before i had arrived.  I found the place and restuarant but I could not for the life of me find a footpath.  I went passed in the car a few times but with no luck.  I don't know why but I drove up a rouad towards Sibson.  On the right I could see some flooded fields, then I noticed some birders.  I stopped and they told me the bird had flown but appeared to land on these floods.  I got my stuff out and started looking but with no joy.  I decided to go for a drive and look from a different angle.  I found various spots to scan the floods but with no joy.  I decided I had had enough and decided to go to Lichfield as I had some shopping to get.  I was just about to drive past the road I started on, heading for home, when I suddenly turned right, and back along the Sibson Road.  Why, I don't know.  I did not want to give up and decided one last try.  The birders had moved along the road and as I got to them they waved me down.  They had got it.  I got my stuff out and there was a GREAT WHITE EGRET.  I was well made up.  I watched it for a while but it was distant but recognisable.  To make the day even better, as I was travelling home along the A444, I spotted about 30 Cattle Egrets.  This was fantastic, and better still they had found a place to rest on some old trees which were kept behind some netting.  Must have been a hole for them to get in and out. 

 

All in all a good day.  I am feeling better and am ready to get out and planning my trips out for the near future.

 

Ok, I will admit it, the Cattle Egrets were at Twycross Zoo, sorry.  

Unfortunately, I am stuck at home.  I had my lumber puncture on Tuesday and have been suffering headaches ever since.  The only cure is to lie down and wait for them to ease.  That means no birding up to today and I cant see me going anywhere tomorrow either.  It is doing my head in, and daytime tv is absolute garbage.  However I do have had a bit of birding news.  Whilst people are enjoying Bewick's, Whoopers and Waxwings on my local patch, Whitemore Haye, I managed to see a Mistle Thrush in the garden, which happens to be a year tick for me.  Not a complete waste of day anyway.

 

I decided to risk the crowds and try and see the Hawfinch, which would be a county and year tick.  I arrived at the site and there was not too many people to begin with.  Now I dont know who the god of ornithology is, but he was shining on me today.  I was on site no more than two minutes when the bird appeared in a bush.  I got my scope on it, then it flew down on some seed and wasfeeding for about two or three minutes befor disappearing.  I hung aroundfor another 40 minutes but it did not show up.  The birds I saw here were Chaffinch, Hawfinch, Robin, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Blackbird, Dunnock, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Yellowhammer, Black-headed Gull, Magpie and Kestrel.

 

 

I had heard that around this area was favoured by Crossbills.  I had not had one of these birds for a few years, and this year I would like to see birds that I have only seen once or twice and years ago.  I parked up and headed off to where I was told.  I had walked a fair bit without success, so turned around and walked up a little track.  Birds I had up to this point were Magpie, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Chafinch, Greenfinch, Blackbird, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Wren, Goldcrest, and Long-tailed Tit.  As I was walking back along this track two birds flew up from the grass and into a nearby tree.  From the naked eye, I thought Greenfinch.  I pput the bins on them and id'd them as two Crossbill.  The god was really shining on me.  I was really chuffed with the brief views before they flew off.  With a pleasing feeling, I walked back to the car and added Carrion Crow, Treecreeper, Green Woodpecker and Magpie.

I was only at this site for an hour but I must have seen 15 Great Spotted Woodpeckers. Could I get a photo of any of them.  No.

 

 

With the weather conditions, I decided to get a nice hot chocolate and sausage roll and sit at the feeding station to see what was around.  I got Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Brambling, Great Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Blackbird, Dunnock, Jay, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Wood Pigeon, Magpie and Greenfinch.  Not much birding this weekend as it is FA Cup weekend and watched a couple of matches, sweated on the Derby score right up to the final whistle, and then watched the 4th round draw and see Nottingham Forest as the next opponents.  What a match that will be. 

After reading some blogs and birdguides, I decided to head for Draycote Water.  The main target was five birds - Smew, Red-throated Diver, Red-necked Grebe, Shag and Great Northern Diver.  I took the dog hoping for a nice walk around the place and hopefully see loads of birds.  However, when I arrived at the site and got my gear ready, there was 'No Dogs' signs on the gates.   then found a sign saying dogs were limited to the carpark and hill, not the path around the resevoir.  I was a tad annoyed and threw my stuff in the car to go elsewhere.  But a chap told me the main birds, mentioned above, are usually found from the wall nearby.  I took the gamble and left the dog in the car and walked along the wall up to the bend before coming back.  Birds I saw were :- Blackbird, carrion Crow, Robin, Wren, Coot, Great Northern Diver, Cormorant, Tufted Duck, Great-crested Grebe, Pied Wagtail, Black-headed Gull, Mallard, Goldeneye, Little Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Magpie, Lapwing, Canada Geese, Greylag Geese, Smew, Pochard, Grey Heron, Wigeon, Great Black-backed Gull and Moorhen.  I had reached the corner and was having a scan when I heard a, now familiar, voice, it was Martyn 'Blurred Birder' Yapp and associate.  we all walked back and I was thinking 3 out of 5 aint too bad.  We got near to where the cafe is when martyn's friend spotted the Red-throated Diver.  It was way out but it showed very bright white.  Then a chap walked past and mentioned the Shag on the jetty.  We put the scope I that direction and soon found it.  I was well made up.  We took some photos, said our goodbye, and then I went to let the poor dog out.  We had a walk around the carpark and I added to the list Dunnock, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Wood Pigeon, Raven and Siskin.  Apart from the dissapointment of the anti-dog thing, I enjoyed my time here.

 

 

With nothing coming up on the pager, apart from a Glaucous-winged Gull in Cleveland and groups of birders fighting on Cannock Chase to see the Hawfinch, I decided to head to Nottingham to get a couple of year ticks out of the way.  I saw the Lesser Scaup here a few days ago so I was hoping to add it to the list no problem.  Wrong.  I thought it had been seen this morning, according to my pager, but there was no sign of it today.  Birds I saw there were Teal, Gadwall, Wigeon, Pochard, Black-headed Gull, Moorhen, Tufted Duck, Coot, Shoveler, Canada Geese, Great-crested Grebe, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Little Grebe, Goldeneye, Magpie, Blackbird, Redshank, Cormorant, Wood Pigeon, Robin, Shelduck, Grey Heron and Common Gull.  Not a wasted trip as a few birds were needed for ther year list.

 

 

I am ot going to go on about the 'dodgyness or not' of these birds.  The Ruddy Shelduck was reported so I popped in to get it.  Whilst I was there I added Black-headed Gull, Mute Swan, Egyptian Geese, Ruddy Shelduck, Wood Pigeon, Lapwing, Carrion Crow, Greylag Geese, Bewick's Swan, Jackdaw, Stonechat, Reed Bunting, Blue Tit, Meadow Pipit, Green Woodpecker, Moorhen and Stock Dove.

 

 

Time was getting on and I was still in the mood fpr birding so I decided to see if I could add to my list at Alrewas GP.  On and around the pool there was Coot, Mute Swan, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Wood Pigeon, Wigeon, Great-crested Grebe, Carrion Crow, Stock Dove, Magpie, Robin, Blackbird, Pied Wagtail, Cormorant, Chaffinch, Starling, Pochard, Grey Heron, Teal, Goldeneye, Kestrel, Dunnock, Wren, and the reason why I came here, a Chiffchaff.  This is the second winter that I have seen these birds here.

 

 

I had an hour before sunset so I headed to Whitemore to see what was around.  I saw Mute Swan, Bewick's Swan, lapwing, Redshank, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Fieldfare, Redwing, Black-headed Gull, Greenfinch, Robin, Dunnock, Buzzard, Whooper Swan, Grey Heron, Canada Geese, Greylag Geese, Corn Bunting, Kestrel, Starling, Skylark, Goldfinch and Blackbird.  I waited around for the Little Owl to appear but it never showed up.  81 birds for the first two days, not bad. 

I decided to start my year list off today at Whitemoor, and hopefully get the usual stuff out of the way early on, oh yeeh, it is also easy to walk the dog.  I was there nice and early and got the following.  Magpie, Carrion Crow, Grey Partridge (16 were in the middle of the road where I park my car), Jackdaw, Black-headed Gull, Starling, Wren, Chaffinch, Blackbird, Lapwing, Robin, Corn Bunting (there were loads of these, around 20), Reed Bunting (loads), Dunnock, Yellowhammer, Greenfinch, Buzzard, Cormorant, Wood Pigeon, Green Woodpecker, Mute Swan, Grey Heron, Great Tit, Blue Tit and Pied Wagtail.  I stopped off at the quarry pool on the way home and added Wigeon, Great Spotted Woodpecker, and Great-crested Grebe.

 

 

After dropping the dog off at home, I headed to Croxall.  From the car park I saw Blackbird, Wren, Dunnock, Carrion Crow, and a single Raven flew low overhead.  Walking from the carpark, to the first left hand bend, I walked about 20 yards and there was loads of activity.  With the frost on the trees, I was going to do some digi-scoping.  In that one area was Redshank, Goldfinch, Wood Pigeon, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Mallard, Robin, Long-tailed Tit, Treecreeper, Fieldfare, Willow Tit, Great Black-backed Gull, Cormorant, Redpoll, and Black-headed Gull.  I set the camera up on some Goldfinch, took a couple of shots which looked OK, when I noticed a flashing sign saying 'no card'.  I had left my memory card in the computer at home.  Gutted.  I gave myself a public telling off (no-one around thankfully), and carried on.  Up to the east side I added  Pheasant, Redwing, Teal, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Goldeneye, Snipe, Shoveler, Canada Geese, Song Thrush and Pied Wagtail.  Into the east side and all of the water was frozen over so no waders or ducks, and the only other birds I added was Rooks.  Back at the car and I found some Siskins in the trees.  Nice.

 

 

After breakfast I decided to head for Nottingham to get a couple of year ticks.  As I got in my car I recieved a message from Martyn (Blurred Birder).  There was two Ruff on the grass by the quarry pool.  I decided to head over and get them.  I parked in the quarry entrance and scanned the grass and quickly picked two Ruff with Lapwing and Redshank.  Then Martyn turned up and whilst we were talking we saw Coot, Mallard, Teal, Grey Wagtail, and Green Sandpiper (the strange bird which I have caught a quick sighting by the pigs).  A chap then turned up in his car and told us that a Whooper Swan was in the field by the microlights.  We drove over there, parked up and found the bird.  However, it was not a Whooper Swan, but a Bewick's Swan,  and not one but two adults and a juvenile.  We both got on the phones to various people and soon people were coming to see these great birds.  My plans for Nottingham were out of the window and I spent the rest of the day around Whitemoor.  I added Kestrel, Skylark, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Whooper Swan, and Greylag Geese to the list.  A Little Owl was seen in the usual tree but I could not see it as the light faded.  Also a Lapland Bunting (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)had been reported in with the Corn Buntings whose numbers had increased to between 40 and 60 birds counted.  Brilliant.  On the first day of 2009, Whitemoor came alive and although I spent most of the day there, it was well worth while.