There's snow Valley like Sandwell Valley...

So Saturday came around and it was time once again for the monthly guided walk which I lead alongside fellow volunteer Alf. I have to admit to being a tad apprehensive when I read the weather before bed the previous night and saw this.

Wind chill of -12, that's ridiculous! My spirits were lifted when I arrived at the Valley and saw just how crisp and beautiful it looked in the surprisingly still conditions; and news that up to eight ring-necked parakeets had already been seen just served to buoy my mood further. Seeing as the South Bank is now closed for the planned surfacing works, we had already decided to take the walkers a short way down the colliery road in search of parakeets, so the news that they were there and not being too shy was encouraging.

Seeing as I didn't have my camera with me (because it would be pretty bad form to be photographing while in theory leading and saying 'interesting' things) there are unfortunately no photographs of any of the birds we saw but I can confirm that we did indeed catch up with the parakeets - we saw one and heard a couple more. The other bonus was a very obliging kingfisher who was happy to just perch beside the river for everyone to admire through Alf's telescope - in fact he followed us up the river (the kingfisher, not Alf - though come to think of it, he also did). His tolerant disposition was of course indicative of the freezing conditions rather than his natural temperament and we found a few more 'obliging' birds along the rest of the walk.

It was sufficiently cold that only a small area of water remained free from ice and this was viewable from the hide. These freezing conditions can provide fantastic birdwatching and photographic opportunities, but I would implore people to stay a respectful distance from the birds because they require every ounce of their fat and energy reserves to survive - they do not need to be wasting energy flying away from perceived dangers! In this small area of open water there were numerous water birds vying for position and this gave the walkers a brilliant opportunity to study all the differences between the different species. There were goosander, goldeneye (which kept disappearing for prolonged periods, presumably diving under the ice to feed), shoveler, tufted duck, gadwall, wigeon, mallard, coot and black-headed gulls.

All-in-all it was a very successful walk which resulted in two year ticks for moi and 41 species for the viewing delight of walkers. Here is the full list:

Walk Sightings - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

As we finished the walk the snow was just beginning to fall and by the time we were leaving the reserve, the chances of returning on the Sunday to lead a work party were looking increasingly remote.

Sure enough, as I was thinking about removing myself from the sublime warmth of bed on Sunday morning I received the phone call to say the reserve would not be opening and therefore I would not have to try and motivate people to remove blackthorn scrub in the snow - I would be lying if I said I was disappointed at this news. So after a lazy morning the white blanket outside had receded faster than an ageing man's hairline and it seemed like a waste not to go out and have a walk on what was turning out to be a fine day.

Beth and I wrapped up, packed up and headed off for our chosen destination ...... Sandwell Valley! Why bother you may think, having been there the previous day. Well we decided to explore the other side of the Valley and had a fantastic time doing so.

First we hit the Forge Mill Farm Trail which didn't have too much to offer by way of excitement until a flock of at least 75 fieldfares flew over noisily 'chucking' at each other. Then there seemed to be a lot of disturbance amongst the birds who were previously trying to keep a low profile. Blackbirds, redwings, lapwings (which presumably had moved to the slightly thawed field from the frozen lake), many smaller birds and even the magpies were sent scattering for an apparently unknown reason - unknown up to the moment when a large female sparrowhawk flew straight down the opposite path which we had earlier been walking along. As we finished the trail we (and by we, I mean Beth) spent some time feeding the pony who lives with the goat on the farm which provided surprisingly large amounts of entertainment - I would post the video but I think that would lead to a displeased girlfriend!

Next off to Swan pool for a loop around the lake, down Salters Lane, through Sandwell Park Farm, through Priory Woods, past the Paddocks and back to the car park. The lake was almost completely frozen and so there was very little of interest, but Salters Lane held my highlight of the day. In the field on the right just after you cross the M5 were half a dozen golden plovers with the lapwings. Despite the fact that they are by no means a rare bird, these were the first I had seen in the Valley and it showed that what I had heard about golden plovers being "a cold weather bird" was true.

Golden plover - Sandwell Valley - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

Not only a new Valley bird (have to be careful how I use that expression) for me, but also another year tick - doing well with three in a weekend. Sandwell Park Farm provided a brief energy boost in the form of a Mars Bar and into Priory Woods we surged. The herons at Ice House Pool seem to have reconsidered their early nesting urges which I wrote about a few posts ago; their numbers dropping from 25 a couple of weeks ago to just 4 in the heronry on Sunday. The pool itself was virtually completely frozen with the small bit of open water being watched by some gadwall, mallards, coots, a single little grebe and this very attractive male goosander who resembled a naval destroyer when patroling the water.

Male goosander - Sandwell Valley - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

The Paddocks were still well frozen so the bird life had moved elsewhere to feed and again, frustratingly there was no sign of a little owl anywhere! On the home stretch around the final bit of Swan Pool heading towards the car park this kestrel was kind enough to pose for a couple of pictures. Unfortunately my photo fun was brought to an abrupt end before I could get the shot I wanted because my battery died and I made the school boy error of not bringing a spare.

Male kestrel - Sandwell Valley - Feb. 2012 - Mike Ixer

And so concluded the weekend. Much fun was had by all and many birds were seen.