A few hours in Staffs / Sth Derbyshire

[John]

The weather first thing this morning was very cold and very dark. I didn't feel at all like going birdwatching but I knew that at some time in the day I would have to go and get a sack of Sunflower Hearts as we had almost run out.

The place I go to is about 40 miles away but their price is so good, and the quality is excellent, that it is worth the drive to go there.

I left just after 13:00 to a brightening sky. It had also turned quite warm so I decided to take all my gear with me and call in a few places on my way back home.

As I approached the seed farm the sky was beginning to take a turn for the worse as the clouds were getting quite dark. Once the seed was purchased I decided to carry on to Blithfield in the hope of finding the reported female Garganey. That turned out to be a forlorn hope as I couldn't find it anywhere. In fact there wasn't too much unusual out on the water with the exceptions of one male Ruddy Duck and few females and quite a few Goldeneye.

My next port of call was Whitemoor Hayes which is in-between Burton on Trent and Lichfield. There had been a reported Greenshank there and I hadn't seen one yet this year. Approaching Whitemoor my heart began to sink as the sky was turning a decidedly dodgy dark grey. At Whitemoor I started my walk towards the pits, scanning the first pit, but couldn't find the wader. Out along the distant banksides I could see 3 Redshank, a couple of Common Sandpipers, an Oystercatcher and a LRP as well as a few Goldeneye out on the water.

Moving further around the site I walked past a piece of land that looked as though it had been freshly turned over. It was littered with rocks and boulders but a movement caught my eye. Lifting my bins I was soon looking at my first Wheatear of the year. In fact as I scanned further around I found another four more. I tried for a movie of one of them but as I focussed up something yellow shot past my vision. I looked up, put my bins to my eyes, and lo and behold my first Yellow Wagtail of the year came my way. Thankfully I just had enough time to grab short videos of both species. The light conditions were totally against quality photos but at least I got one movie of each species and also a couple of stills as well.

Moving further around the reserve I could hear, then see, a few Skylarks and Pied Wagtails. They were on the move far too much to attempt photography so I carried onto the new pit in the hope of seeing the Greenshank and a couple of Avocets that had been reported. The Avocets were easy. They were about 300+ yards away and stood out like shining beacons against the backdrop of dark water. I managed one record shot of one of them plus a short movie. Again the conditions were against anything better. Scanning the rest of the pit I found three Dunlin, another LRP, a couple of Shelduck, Redshank and on the far bank a surprise White Wagtail, the first I have seen in Britain for a while, but no Greenshank.

Walking back along the bank of another pit I found a few more Redshank and Oystercatchers and out on the water were plenty of Sand Martins and Swallows skimming just above the water. Still no Greenshank so I decided to call it a day at this site and move onto Walton on Trent, after the Great grey Shrike that had been there all this year. I had previously photographed this bird on 28/01/2006 but it was sunny then. Today was a different matter.

Arriving at the site I soon found the bird but it was possibly 500 or more yards away. After a few minutes the Shrike took flight and landed possibly a hundred or so yards nearer to me.

The clouds had completely changed to a malevolent, menacing looking sky full of foreboding darkness. At the same time the wind had suddenly disappeared and the air took on a depressive feel as all went totally calm. It felt really weird and I must admit that I didn't enjoy being there in those conditions so I quickly lined up my scope, attached my camera, fired off a couple of movies and a quick photo before packing up and going home.

I have placed images below of three of the birds seen today. I'm sorry for the quality but believe me at the distances I was shooting, and the conditions I was shooting in, it is a wonder I got any images at all.

John

[Wild-Woman]

Hi John. Even though the weather wasn't good (you made it sound scary actually), a good birding session it seems.Yellow wagtails really are very yellow aren't they!! Nice to hear about your trip John. I enjoy reading them :-) ww

[paulthomas]

You were on my local patch then John It's quite amazing how quickly Whitemore Haye has been colonised by the wildlife. The main lake is not that many years old but is already a favourite with winter wildfowl. Even had a couple of Little Egrets there earlier this year No sign of the Avocets as I cycled back past there this afternoon. They may well be the same pair that were at Blithfield a few days ago.

[carlj]

Bit far south for us public transport types. But just goes to show what is on our doorsteps!

[Wolfhill]

Sounds like an enjoyable day out all the same. I never even knew you got White Wagtails, let alone in the UK.
Fergus

[John]

Originally Posted by paulthomas

You were on my local patch then John It's quite amazing how quickly Whitemore Haye has been colonised by the wildlife. The main lake is not that many years old but is already a favourite with winter wildfowl. Even had a couple of Little Egrets there earlier this year No sign of the Avocets as I cycled back past there this afternoon. They may well be the same pair that were at Blithfield a few days ago.

Hi Paul

I have been going there for a few years and have watched it progress from very little to what it is now. You never know what will turn up there, remember the Bufflehead last year. Also 17 Bean Geese were there for quite a while last year also. Short eared Owl have been in good numbers in previous years but this year only the odd is being reported.

The new pit looks excellent for waders at the moment and I can honestly think that it may well challenge Drayton Basset soo for the odd mega.

John

[paulthomas]

Originally Posted by John

Hi Paul

I have been going there for a few years and have watched it progress from very little to what it is now. You never know what will turn up there, remember the Bufflehead last year.

No

Originally Posted by John

Also 17 Bean Geese were there for quite a while last year also. Short eared Owl have been in good numbers in previous years but this year only the odd is being reported.

Croxall Lakes just around the corner is the best place for Short Eared Owls. I'm told they were quite reliable in turning up at about 3:30-4:00pm this last winter. Maybe next year I'll stop later and get to see one

[John]

Originally Posted by paulthomas

No


Croxall Lakes just around the corner is the best place for Short Eared Owls. I'm told they were quite reliable in turning up at about 3:30-4:00pm this last winter. Maybe next year I'll stop later and get to see one

Your right not to remember the Bufflehead as I just realised that it was the year before that it turned up. 31/05/2004 to be exact.

The SEO's haven't been as reliable as previous years at both Croxall and Whitemoor. At Whitemoor I have had up to 7 birds at a time and I seem to recall someone reporting 9 there on at least one occasion.