A most unusual find.

[John]

Today I visited the Wyre Forest, near Bewdley, Worcestershire. This is a very large forest that contains a small meandering stream called Dowles Brook. It has breeding Dipper, Kingfisher and Grey Wagtail as well as the odd Mandarin pair along its stretch.

The stream flows for a few miles under an umbrella of low branches from the trees growing at the side of the stream and from the river Severn it doesn't see clear daylight (by that I mean unobstructed daylight) for possibly a couple of miles or so. To give you an indication of the type of Forest it is the birds that breed there include Redstart, Pied Flycatcher and Wood Warbler.

Imagine my surprise then when deep into the forest on the stream I found a Cormorant. What that was doing there I have no idea. I can only assume it has swam up there from the River Severn when that river was under ice. It would have difficulty flying back to there because of the low lying branches and because of that if it doesn't find its way back to either the Severn, or where the stream opens up to clear daylight (possibly nearly two miles away in the other direction) it will possibly starve as there isn't enough food in that stream to sustain it. There aren't that many fish in there so what it will feed on goodness only knows.

I photographed it on the stream and on the woodland floor, which just doesn't look real for such a bird.

Below I have added three of the photos I took.



John

[Littlesparrow]

A nice looking bird, I assume jt will swim back to were it came from when its ready.