I guess Sandwell Valley could be described as my 'patch' because I do more birding there than anywhere else. My reticence in labelling it my 'patch' stems from the simple fact that I struggle to get down there very often these days and if I can make one trip a week I'm left feeling pretty satisfied with my efforts. It is also worth noting that my views towards the Valley will be massively biased due to my quite extensive work as a volunteer there with the RSPB.
In the name of laziness I parked in the Swan Pool car park and set off around the pool itself towards Priory Woods. There was very little of note on the water with 3 great crested grebes being of most interest seeing as one pair were hanging around the location where they have tried to nest the last couple of years. I had my fingers crossed that I might stumble upon a very early bit of weed dancing, but this proved a little optimistic (I did forget it was still January and NOT Spring). So seeing as they didn't dance for me, here is a pic of a pair having a quick shimmy in the same spot taken in late February last year.
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| Great Crested Grebes 'dancing' on Swan Pool - Feb. 2011 - Mike Ixer |
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| Gulls at Swan Pool - Jan. 2012 - Mike Ixer |
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| A record shot of a few of the herons - Ice House Pool - Jan. 2012 - Mike Ixer |
Moving through the woods everything again seemed quiet until a very quiet and high pitch noise caught my attention. I turned my gaze upwards to see a treecreeper shimmying up the tree ... followed by a nuthatch ... heading towards a goldcrest. Amazing! Nothing particularly rare but to see these three highly charismatic species, which can all be a pain to see on occasions, all in the same field of view was a real treat. Further inspection revealing a second nuthatch and a second treecreeper on an adjacent tree with a pair of bullfinches also in attendance.
Now the only disappointment which arose from this thoroughly enjoyable situation was that all the photos which I took are rubbish! It is the one problem with the camera and lens combo I carry around. The lens has a very good magnification (150mm-300mm Olympus fit which is apparently a 300mm-600mm in normal cameras) and is also very compact. However, in anything other than good lighting it struggles massively; a fact which is a problem while trying to photograph things in woodland.
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| Nuthatch in Priory Woods - Jan. 2012 - Mike Ixer |
Frustrating!
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| Treecreeper in Priory Woods - Jan. 2012 - Mike Ixer |
Anyway, I left Priory Woods and had a good look around the Paddocks with the hope that I would find a little owl after it was seen last week. Of course I had no luck finding the little blighter - it seems unlike other little owls, the Valley residents do not have a regular resting place, just a tree that you 'might' see them in. The paddocks were well populated with Turdus (and not because of the horses), the vast majority of which being redwings but fieldfare, blackbirds and mistle thrushes also featured. There was also the addition of a great spotted woodpecker, some stock doves and a collared dove to keep things interesting. I have attached a photo below to prove the little owl does exist and it is not just a myth conjured up by RSPB volunteers wanting to keep people looking. It was taken in the Paddocks 12th February last year.
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| Little Owl with Great Spotted Woodpecker - Paddocks - Feb. 2011 - Mike Ixer |
Next stop, Forge Mill Farm and a very welcome cup of tea. I went for a very quick walk through the farm and around the mile-long Farm Trail which can sometimes prove to be very productive (I've previously had woodcock, lesser redpoll, siskin, goldcrest, and more) because it is quiet due to very few people ever walking around it. It was beautiful when we had the heavy snow at the end of 2010 and the only tracks were that of foxes - no human had been down there for what felt like weeks!
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| Fox on the Forge Mill Farm Trail - Dec. 2010 - Mike Ixer |
All the regulars were on Forge Mill Lake with goldeneye being the only notable absence. Goosander, wigeon, gadwall, shovelers, teal, mallards, tufted ducks, pochard, canada geese, mute swans, a little grebe, coots and moorhens were all flying the flag for the waterfowl. 105 lapwings was a pleasing count and I could find at least 9 common snipe without the use of a telescope. Also of interest around the lake was another treecreeper with some siskin in the trees which line the banks and a song thrush in the scrub.
A final trip up to the feeders outside the old centre was disappointing because they had run out of food (something which I'm sure will be rectified tomorrow when the RSPB facilities are open again). Despite the lack of food there were dunnocks, blue tits, great tits, bullfinches, chaffinches and goldfinches all hanging around.
The walk back to the car offered me my final photo opportunity of the day, and here it is...
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| Robin - RSPB Sandwell Valley - Jan. 2012 - Mike Ixer |
As I was leaving, this was the sight that bid me farewell (along with some hail!), pretty impressive I felt...
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| Clouds - RSPB Sandwell Valley - Jan. 2012 - Mike Ixer |
Just found your blog :)
ReplyDeleteMe and the hubby are off to Sandwell tomorrow, so it's been great to read this post. We've only ever been round Forge Mill Lake, so think we've got some exploring to do tomorrow :)