Sunday 2nd
Today I was back at Dosthill Park LNR in Tamworth to deliver another bird ID session for the local volunteers. I'd tried to time the session for the arrival of winter migrants to add to the variety of species we may encounter. Sadly the timing wasn't great as we were in a period of unseasonably warm weather and the thousands of redwing that arrived a few weeks ago appeared thin on the ground. And as for ducks... what ducks? Numbers just don't see to have arrived yet.
Despite the warm weather we had another great walk around this amazing local green space. On the river, a female goosander was fishing, our first sign of winter. No sooner had it swam around the bend, a green sandpiper took flight and flew in the same direction adding a touch of autumn. Along with a flock of long-tailed tits passing through the woodland and the expecting nuthatch, mistle thrush and other common passerines, other highlights included a kingfisher and several small flocks of redwing passing over us.
Wednesday 5th
I've been scouting around of the last few weeks looking for a suitable location to try to catch roosting redwing. Several birds have been roosting in the grounds of the Wolseley Centre so it seemed a logical location to try. Sadly the catch wasn't particularly successful with just one redwing caught, but what a stunner it was. We (Brewood Ringers) also caught several robin and blackbird, including a very nice continental race bird with a silvery edge to the feathers.
Sunday 9th
This evening we were back at Belvide Reservoir for another catch at the reed bunting and starling roost. To make the evening even more enjoyable Colin had invited over the 'Three Shropshire-teers', the three great guys that joined us in Portugal back in October - Paul, Martin and Kevin. It was great to catch up with the guys. The final catch was 18 reed bunting, 7 starling and a blue tit. We'll be back catching again in the not too distant future so keep an eye on the Brewood Ringers website and blog for more details - http://www.brewoodringers.com/
Tuesday 11th
On my way into work today I noticed a large flock of 'something' over Radford Meadows in Stafford. Intrigued I had to take a look. Fortunately the flock was viewable from Wildwood Park helping me make a quick visit. Across the canal from the park was a flock of around 400 lapwing, 40 wigeon, 100 teal and many mallard. On closer inspection there were several golden plover mixed in with the lapwing. Its certainly a sight to warm your heart on a winter day, just a shame its not really cold enough to need warming!
If you want to make a visit to the reserve to see the flocks, you can find more details here - http://www.staffs-wildlife.org.uk/reserves/radford-meadows
Wednesday 12th
I've not been to Doxey Marshes for a few weeks, but today was the day and time for another site visit to monitor the water levels around the reserve as part of the management plan. Species seen during my visit included a few winter ducks, but certainly not the numbers I'd expect to be seeing by now. Its just too warm! Teal appear to be the only birds that have increased in any real number and several hundred are now present on the reserve, whilst other ducks including 15 wigeon, several tufted duck and shoveler and the usual cast of mallard.
Also present were several redwing, a few fieldfare (my first of the year for Doxey), a male goosander, 3 water rail and a stonechat. The evening (well afternoon as it gets dark quite early now) ended watch a few hundred starling murmuring over Boundary Flash reedbed before disappearing, only to reappear over Creswell Flash reedbed as I headed for the car park. They didn't hang around long and after a few passes, they headed back towards Boundary Flash. It can only mean one thing, time to head to Aqualate Mere NNR to see their roost. Apparently its currently numbering around 15,000 so has some room to grow yet!
And don't forget you can follow me on Twitter in between blog posts - https://twitter.com/ScottoftheMarsh
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