Shenstone Round Up....

Hi all, back to the important business...the wildlife.  Below is a summary of some of the highlights from my patch visits over the last week.

Tuesday 12th February:
The Stanklyn fields were very quite and i didn't have a sniff of a Corn Bunting today.  That said i did hear my first patch Skylark of the year up singing.  Nearby a Green Woodpecker was feeding in the paddocks.

Heath Lane was far more productive with 46 Fieldfare and 1 Mistle Thrush  feeding in the fields there.  A ♀ Great Spotted Woodpecker was in the trees next to the Islamic School.  3 Common Buzzards were also present in the Heath Lane area.

My final stop off was Back lane.  Perched along the fence line there, at the side of the sheep field, were a Grey Heron and a Common Buzzard.

Common Buzzard - Heath Lane, 12th February 2013















Thursday 14th February:
The first thing that struck me on today's visit was the increase in Skylark activity perhaps due to the arrival of blue skies and sunshine!  3 Skylarks were seen chasing over the stubble at Butts Lane, whilst another was up singing.  2 Common Buzzards were up soaring over the trees at the rear of Stone Manor and 42 Fieldfare were in the field behind the Islamic School.

At Heath lane there were a further 2 Common Buzzards present at the model aircraft field.  A ♂ Kestrel present at the paddock.


Saturday 16th February:
I started my patch visit at Stanklyn fields where 3 Corn Buntings and 18 Chaffinch were noted.  2 Common Buzzards were present at the paddocks.

The undoubted patch highlight of the year came along Barrs Lane when a stunning Red Kite came drifting over.  It circled over the stubble field twice before heading off NW.  The Kite was not wing-tagged and is the first one I have seen at Shenstone since 2011.

At Witch Lane a flock of c.100 Chaffinch was present (no sign of any Brambling unfortunately).  Also, 2 Cormorants flew over heading SE.

Elsewhere, a ♀ Goosander was present on Captains Pool (TS)


6 comments:

  1. Hi Jason, I know that in much of the UK the Skylark can be seen all year round but just the name conjures up warm, sunny days so your mention of more activity gives a real promise of Summer which is very encouraging :-) Well done on the Red Kite, they are beginning to be seen more here too.

    I may have said before but that's a beautiful header!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well Done with the Red Kite, we get the odd wanderer down here, anytime from now until April/May, Nice Buzzard pic too :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks Jan. The Fieldfare in the header photo was actually in my back garden feeding on the berries during the recent cold snap. I also get overwintering Skylarks on my patch but the increased activity certainly made me think spring was round the corner!

    Cheers Alan. Red Kite isnt a breeding species in Worcestershire yet so any local sighting off them is pretty special!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Brambling seem a bit thin on the ground this winter Jase ?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Jason. My wife and I were sure we saw a Red Kite on Saturday lunchtime,heading towards Stone, but as we could not get to binoculars quick enough were not 100% and did not say anything. Looks like we may have been right.Made our day, thanks mate.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Warren - They certainly do. I saw 2 on patch early winter with 1 male kicking around for a few weeks but I havent seen him again since Jan. A bit poor really considering that in the past we have had flocks of 40+ here!

    Mike - No probs...glad I could confirm what you saw

    ReplyDelete