For those of you who are regulars or just visit Croxall GP every now and then, I am currently talking to Staffordshire Wildlife Trust about writing a newsletter about Croxall.  I have sent off the first copy which shows an outline on what will be included in the paper.  If all is well, it will be available in early August.  There might have to be a small cost to cover postage and printing overheads.  If you are interested in a copy then you can contact me on welshweasels@aol.com.  The more people who recieve it and the more input you put in it then the more interesting I can make it.

I had a quick walk around the reserve to survey any damage.  The waters had receeded a couple of feet with about six inches in places along the track.  Crazy to think there was three feet of water at its deepest along the track just 36 hours before.  There was a lot of activity from the Common Terns and as I got closer I saw the reason why.  A Greater Black Backed Gull was harassing them.  i have seen one around before and this may be the reason why there are no chicks to be seen.  Possibly there is not enough shelter on the raft!  There was a few moulting Mute Swan around the lake along with Coot, Great Crested Grebe, and Tufted Duck.  Over at the East lake there was Canada Geese and amongst them, six Barnacle Geese. On the 21st I reported four seen, maybe two were out of view.  Again, not a proper birdwatch of the area due to the situation but I will get down there one night.........depending on the weather of course!!!!

Once again Croxall has been invaded by water......lots of water.  The floods arrived early Sunday morning and this time there was more.  Over at the Main hide the water was about six inches higher than the last flood, just reaching the bottom of the hide.  The levels were about the same over at the East hide.  Jim (the farmer) had already moved his sheep to higher ground on Friday night so all was well with them.  There was still lots of Canada Geese and amongst them there was four Barnacle Geese.  There was also a fair few Common Terns but I didn;t have any bins with me.  Other birds included Great Crested Grebe, Mute Swan, and Coot.

 Whilst eating my dinner parked up by the mill stream in Alrewas a Hobby flew low over the willow trees and landed in a tree above my van.  I managed to look out of the window at it for about ten seconds.  Mute Swan, Mallard, and Moorhen were on the stream.  I can never stop birding.

Due to computer problems it was some time since I went to the reserve and I cannot remember the events so I shall just give a list of what I saw on the day.  My apologies.

Mute Swan, Great Crested Grebe, Tufted Duck, Coot, Swift, Black Headed Gull, mallard, Carrion Crow, Grey Heron, Moorhen, Canada Geese, Barnacle Geese, Cormorant, Common Tern, Wren, Stock Dove, Common Sandpiper, Lapwing, Goldfinch. 

The Montagu's Harrier is one of Britains rarest breeding birds.  I saw my first in 2004 over at Frampton marsh. I have been trying to get up there for a while.  After a two hour drive which included several wrong turns, I turned up at a small car park.  RSPB had a small caravan, which held information, and a canopy to stand under to view incase of rain.  The site overlooked a road to a large field  and this is where the nest is believed to be.  Whilst awaiting the appearance of this wonderful bird, I watched a Marsh Harrier behind us.  The air held several Swift and Swallow whilst Skylarks were singing in flight.  Then shouts came up that the male 'Monty' was on the move.  I picked him up flying low over the fields hunting.  The bird was easy to pick up with the light grey bird against the golden crop, along with the black tips and line along the wings (Hen Harrier lacks the line).  A few of us watched it hunting for about fifteen minutes before it went out of view in about the same area that the Marsh Harrier was showing earlier.  It was still there.  On and around the car park was Pied Wagtail, Carrion Crow, Lapwing, Wood Pigeon, Black Headed Gull, and Kestrel.  I stayed for about an hour but the Monty didn't show again.

I have not been here for some time.  The water park is a circular walk, about a mile in length.  Three quarters is lake side and the other is woodland with reed margins.  Waders can be good during migration but wildfowl and woodland birds are the usual.  At the carpark Canada Geese, Mallard, Coot, and suprisingly, 60+ Greylag Geese (have been here many times and never seen one).  Carrion Crow were also lingering on the trees with people feeding bread to the ducks.  A Chiffchaff was not far away singing loudly.  A couple of Great Crested Grebe were on the the lake with a Mute Swan.  Black Headed Gulls and a Common Tern wewre flying around.  There was also a lot of Sand Martin, a few Swallows, and every now and then, an army of whistling Swifts.  They remind me of the enemy ships on Star Wars with the screaming and the easy handling (a quick look at the strange world I inhabit)!!!!!!! Sedge Warbler, Wren and Reed Bunting were singing around the walk.  The odd Willow Warbler also showed up. Greenfinch and Blackbird showed up along with a Great Tit at the feeding station.  No waders but the water levels are still high and the return migration still to get going.  This is a place always worth a good look around, pleasant too.

 

 

 

Dog walking/birding brought me to Whitemoor.  Recent visits have shown a reduction in birds around the square walk, and today was the same.  This was the second visit with no Corn Bunting.  It is a big miss when you cannot here the key rattling song of that great bird.  Todays birds were Lapwing, Stock Dove (quite afew around), Wood Pigeon, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Sand Martin, Pied Wagtail, Mute Swan (which have two cygnets in the ditch), Starling, Black Headed Gull, Magpie, Kestrel, Pheasant, Greenfinch, Dunnock, and Carrion Crow.  Not many.  Off to the lake and i did a bit of a wildfowl count.  Here is what I got.

Mute Swan - 60, Coot - 47, Tufted Duck - 32, Canada Geese - 156, Greylag Geese - 25,  Bar Headed Geese - 1 (escaped), Great Crested Grebe - 4.

Decided on a visit to Willington hoping for some wader action.  They seem to have been hit bad by the floods and the water levels were quite high and the footpath muddy.  On the way to thye first viewing platform i got Greenfinch, Carrion Crow, and Chiffchaff.  At the platform I saw a solitary Coot. Ummm, not looking to brilliant.  At the second viewing platform I got Sedge Warbler, Common Tern, Mallard, Moorhen, Wren, and Great Crested Grebe.  Not much better.  On too the final staging and I picked up Magpie and Kestrel.  At the third area, a dfew more birds came into view.  Canada Geese were hiding behind the island, Stock Dove over, Reed Bunting feeding on Reed Mace, Grey Heron, Blackbird, Oystercatcher noisily flying through, Black Headed Gull over, Swift, Wood Pigeon, Reed Warbler, and Lapwing.  On the way back to the car I picked up Cormorant and Greater Spotted Woodpecker.

Went to Croxall for a couple of hours before the Grand Prix (with hindsight I wished I had not bothered...yawn).  Had to do a bit of a clean up as there was a fair bit of rubbish, including a load of builders rubbish.  Anyway, bird wise there was very little difference than recent visits.  I had a go at a wildfowl count as numbers of Mute Swan, Great Crested Grebe, Coot, and Tufted Duck are rising.  However got distracted by other things so abondoned it.  I will be doing one soon and so people are welcome to help.  More details later.  Birds to note were; 1 Pochard, several Common Whitethroat, a male Blackcap, Skylark, Lapwing, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Nuthatch (a first for me here), 3 Little Grebes, 6 Barnacle Geese, and a small flock of Long-tailed Tits.

1 Treecreeper reported by Mr & Mrs Toohill.

 

Other news:- 1 Avocet and 3 Little Egret at Whitemoor Haye - 8-7-07.  1 Little Tern reported at Croxall 7-7-07.

 

 

 

I have been trying to get to this reserve for the past month or so but weather and health meant I couldn't so I made the effort and set off early Saturday morning.  About a two and a half hour drive and I was in Suffolk at Lakenheath car park and as I opened the door I was greeted by a Cuckoo singing from the nearby poplars.  The reserve is mainly pools and reeds with poplar plantations.  Some of the pools have viewing points.  There are no hides so it is just walking around through the reeds and viewing from the viewing points of river bank which acts as a flood defence and so is high (an artificial levee in geopgraphical terms I think).  From the visitor centre I headed through the reserve to the river.  On the way I got Wood Pigeon, Sedge Warbler, Goldfinch, Reed Warbler, Cormorant, Swift, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Great Crested Grebe, Mute Swan, Mallard, Wren, Coot, and Grey Heron.  I found my way to the river bank, climbed up and on to the path and headed for a certain poplar plantation (this will all become clear in a minute).  Along the river bank was Common Tern, Reed Bunting, Swallow, a I got an excellent view of a Bittern flying over a reed bed.  I wasn't quick enough in getting my camera out though.  Finally I got to the area which was the main purpose of this visit.  There was about ten or so folk watching the bird.  I set up and someone gave me directions for the tree.  I sat down, focused my scope and could only see leaves.  Minutes later someone cried "male on the nest".  All I got was leaves.  "Its gone".  So I got back up Spoke to another person and I had been watching the wrong tree for about ten minutes.  Anyway, repositioned myself, set up and waited.  Ten minutes went by when "male on the nest" and this time i got it. A stunning male GOLDEN ORIOLE (in capitals as it is a life tick for me).  This was the main reason for coming to Lakenheath RSPB reserve as it is the best site for breeding Golden Orioles.  The pair we were watching were the second pair to breed after one had already fledged.  anothe pair had their nest predated.  The male stayed on the nest for about a minute or so and then went.  Five minutes later it was back, again for about a minute and then it would go.  I stayed for about half an hour and had some great views, but decided to make room for someone else to enjoy the bird.  I walked to the furthest point of the reserve hoping to see Common Cranes that also breed here, but they are very shy birds and sightings of them are few and far between and very quick.  I didn't see any but I was more than happy with the Golden Oriole.  I made my way back to the car and on my way I got Moorhen, Common Whitethroat, Black Headed Gull, carrion Crow, Kestrel, Wren, and Willow Warbler.  I stopped off at one of the viewing points to have a rest before the last path to the car, hoping for Bearded Tit.  They never showed but a Hobby was hunting over the reeds and i watched it for about half an hour as it flew along the side of a plantation, catching food, and going back to its favorite tree to devour it.  Whilst watching the Hobby, a Sparrowhawk flew over with some food in its talons.  It flew into a group of trees and I lost it.  A really good day at a great reserve.   

Went for a late evening stroll to see what was around. Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Great Crested Grebe, Swift, Goldfinch, and Coot were recorded from the car park.  Also a Common Sandpiper was hiding under  the willow tree on the right hand side from the car park.  Up the track I got Wood Pigeon, a Green Sandpiper flying over, Magpie, and Blackbird.  A unidentified wader flew along the bank of the lake towards the hide.  From the hide there was 23 Common Terns on the raft which is an excellent number however since the two chicks were seen a few days ago none have been seen since!!!  Over on the East pool there was Mallard, Oystercatcher, Canada geese, 6 Barnacle Geese, Pied Wagtail, and 2 Barn Owl.  I was tryiong to photograph the Barn Owl but I was too late getting into position because as I was walking to where they show, they flew out from the trees straight at me, gave me a hiss and a screech, and then flew away.  I then set up the camera and got it set up,  hid my other gear, forgot something from the bag so had to walk about twenty yards to where my bag was and one Barn Owl came and sat on the post about thirty feet away.  I stood very still and myself and the Barn Owl had a stand off for about five minutes with me inching my way towards my bag for my small camera and the Owl looking for food and trying to work out what I was.  This was undoubtedly the best views I have ever had of a Barn Owl.  Eventually it flew off and I never saw them again that evening.

Been a bit under the weather and, funnily enough, due to the weather I have not been out as much as I would like.  However I have a few excellent trips planned for later on this year so keep reading.  Anyway, popped over to Croxall last night, mainly because driving past whilst working there was a car park full of cars.  This is a bit unusual at best of times.  I got there about an hour later and it was empty!!!!  The birds were still there though and like all birders I had my bins to hand so a quick stomp around the reserve and I got this list.  Moorhen, Mute Swan (pair down to chicks opp main hide - dont know what has had two others in two weeks), Swift (in their hundreds last night), Tufted Duck, Coot (56 in one group opp main hide with others scattered around lake), Great Crested Grebe, Oystercatcher (a very vocal pair and two others), Magpie, Carrion Crow, Great Black back Gull (hovering near Tern raft), Black Headed Gull (with GBB Gull nr Tern raft), Barnacle Geese (6 still on East scrape - although lake and scrape is as one), Meadow Pipit (first one for some time), Song Thrush, Swallow, Buzzard, Green Woodpecker, and Common Whitethroat. 

As I had the dog, I was limited to the main hide.  Water levels remained quite high so there would obviously still be a lack of wader action.  Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe + swimming humbug (juvenile GCG), Coot, and Canada Geese were observed from the car park.  A Greenfinch was singing in the carpark and a Sedge Warbler was shouting from its usual patch.  Carrion Crow, Wood Pigeon,Magpie, and Starling were noted flying around.  Near to the hide and a Green Woodpecker flew up and into the track side trees.  Can never see these things on the floor to photograph, only as they fly away making that yaffling noise.  The Common Terns were in their noisy plenty on the raft, about twelve I counted from the track.  A few Common Whitethroats were in the hide side bushes, whilst  a Herring Gull flew over.  In the hide I had a good look at the Tern raft hoping for more chicks (see 22-6-07 entry for late news on Croxall).  Unfortunetly I couldnt see one but their was upto 14 Common Terns on the raft.  From the hide I also got Grey Heron, Pied Wagtail, Oystercatcher, Mute Swan, Lapwing, Blackbird and Swift. 

 

I decided to go back to Croxall at about 20.00 hoping to see the Barn Owls which have been reported and which I have had a quick glimpse of.  On the way to the East Hide I had the same birds as above plus the Little Ringed Plover which was feeding aroundf by the solstice totom pole.  This area used to be where the LRP used to breed.  Onto the East pool and the water levels were very high with only a lake showing.  About 50 Canada Geese were on the lakes edge and a quick scan through them got me 6 Barnacle Geese, regular at Whitemoor and  Croxall however very nice to see.  A Redshank was heard but not seen along with Willow Warbler and Reed Bunting.  A couple of Wrens were vocal, and a Kestrel hovered over the meadow.  But i was here to try and phoptograph the Barn Owl.  I set up under the cover of a tree and waited for over an hour before one settled in a dead tree for about 30 seconds.  It then flew off and I saw it once again flash between trees and then that was it for the night.  I did manage to get a photograph but it was miles away.  On the way back to the car I had a look at the Tern raft and counted 18 Common Tern with about 3-5 birds feeding along the river or flying to the hide.

Took the dog for walk this evening as the weather was not too bad.  It was generally a very quite place.  A Kestrel  was hovering over the pits along with Corn Bunting and Yellowhammer singing nearby.  Carrion Crow and Wood Pigeon were amongst the trees, whilst Stock Doves were flying over.  A few Common Whitethroats were showing but not as many as usual.  A small flock of Starlings did lap after lap of their air circuit.  The odd Skylark got up and sung but again they were few and far between.  At one point the air seemed to be a mass of hirundines and whilst scanning them a raptor was being mobbed by both Swallow and Sand Martin.  It was too far to get a definate id but its actions and the hirundines activity indicated a Hobby.  I lost it as it flew over the lakes in the quarry.  Blackbird and Magpie also graced my notebook.  On the way back to the car to Yellow Wagtails appeared on top of the crop.  With the weather threatening I headed to the main lake to have a quick scan.  I got 27 Greylag Geese (most I have ever seen at Whitemoor), 88 Canada Geese, and the usual, and unfortunately untickable, Bar Headed Goose.  On the lake was Mute Swan, Mallard, Coot, Shelduck, and Oystercatcher, with Linnet, Swift, and Pheasant around.