Shenstone Birder

Tuesday 2nd to Sunday 7th March 2021

Tuesday 2nd March 2021 - Stone

There were 6 Lesser Redpolls still present along Heath Lane this afternoon showing reasonably well in the sunshine and periodically feeding on the weedy vegetation at the edge of the model aircraft field. Also showing well in the sunshine was a humble Dunnock. An often overlooked species but I like them.

Lesser Redpoll (Acanthis cabaret)

Dunnock (Prunella modularis)

Friday 5th March 2021 - Stone/Summerfield

Today I visited an area of private farmland which falls within my local patch that I have been very kindly given permission to record the birds and wildlife on. I won't elaborate as to where this is or name the farm as I respect the farmer's privacy but I will share with you some off the wildlife I see there in this blog.

Notable arable birds recorded included 9 Skylarks and 5 Meadow Pipits. Also of note were 14 Redwings and surprisingly a Grey Wagtail that was flitting about near the manure piles.

Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)

Sunday 7th March 2021 - Hartlebury Common

Today, I thought I would take advantage of the continuing fine weather and visit Hartlebury Common to look for some early Spring invertebrates. It was actually a lot quieter on that front than I had hoped for although, on the Lower Poolands area, I did record quite a few Pine Ladybirds, a 7-spot Ladybird & a Gorse Shieldbug amongst the Gorse.

Pine Ladybird (Exochomus quadripustulatus)

Gorse Shieldbug (Piezodorus lituratus) & 7-spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata)

Friday 26th to Sunday 28th February 2021

Friday 26th February 2021 - Pound Green Common

Today's weather conditions were sunny and mild so I headed over to Pound Green Common to look for reptiles. Adder was my target species but sadly I had no joy on this occasion. That said I did see my first basking Common Lizard of the year which made the walk worthwhile.

Common Lizard (Zootoca vivipara)

Also of note at Pound Green was a male Linnet back on territory busily singing away.

Linnet (Linaria cannabina)

A feature I like at Pound Green Common is the old moss covered ant hills of the Yellow Meadow Ant. They make for a really interesting feature at the site.

Yellow Meadow Ant (Lasius flavus) ant hills

Saturday 27th February 2021 - Stone

The nice mild weather continued and on visiting the Heath Lane area of Stone I saw my first butterfly species of the year, a Small Tortoiseshell. That said there was very little else of note during my able around.

Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)

Sunday 28th February 2021 - Hartlebury Common

For a third consecutive day the nice weather continued and for today's walk I visited Hartlebury Common. It was great to see that the water levels were back up at The Bog and both a Moorhen and a pair of Mallards were present. On the nearby Rush Pool a second pair of Mallards were present.

The Bog at Hartlebury Common

Whilst walking the Common I decided to check on a few of the reptile mats to see if they were still in situ and was surprised to find an early instar Oak Eggar moth caterpillar basking on one. Result! and the undoubted species of the visit.

Oak Eggar (Lasiocampa quercus) larva

Monday 22nd to Thursday 25th February 2021

Monday 22nd February 2021 - Spennells Valley Nature Reserve

After hearing from a mate who works for the Rangers Service that the Common Frogs were showing en masse at the ponds on the reserve, I decided to pay Spennells Valley a visit.

As I approached the ponds the noise was incredible with the air full of the sound of the Frogs purring croaks. Visually the sight was just as impressive with 100+ Common Frogs on the big pond surrounded by masses of spawn. The middle pond held a further 11 Frogs and the small pond 26 Frogs.

Common Frog (Rana temporaria)

Tuesday 23rd February 2021 - Captains Pool

Today I paid a quick visit to Captains Pool and was greeted with seeing my first returning Great Crested Grebe of the year. Sadly it spent most of its time at the rear of the pool near the island which didn't make for good photo opportunities. So, as they are such a beautiful bird when they are in breeding plumage I have added a photo from my archives.

Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus)

Thursday 25th February 2021 - Burlish Meadows

The weather was fairly mild today with bright sunny spells so I decided to have a walk around Burlish Meadows for a change of scene. Initially the walk was fairly quiet although I was treated to nice views of a male Kestrel hovering over the former landfill area.

Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)

On arriving at the pond I was pleased to see my first Coltsfoot of the year in bloom with around 30 flowers dotted around the ponds edge.

Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)

Whilst there I decided to sit by the pond for a while to chill out. As I sat there I noticed some movement in the water and a huge Common Toad popped up right by me and just hung there in the water facing me. He looked like he was about to mug me for my lunch money! Needless to say I did the sensible thing and took some photos.

Common Toad (Bufo bufo)

Tuesday 16th to Saturday 20th February 2021

Tuesday 16th February 2021 - Stanklyn & Stone

I started my walk around Stanklyn today by checking out the paddocks. I was greeted with the sight of two Common Buzzards sat on nearby posts there that were turned away from each other, looking very much like an old married couple that had just had a tiff.

Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)

Further along the lane at the sheep field there were now 3 Stonechats present. This increase wasn't surprising as we were now into the prime Stonechat migration period with a number of birds passing through these lowland arable areas as they return to their upland breeding sites.

Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola)

I then headed to Butts Lane (Stone). All was pretty quiet there although I was treated to views of a female Sparrowhawk that flew in and perched on a fence post for a while.

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)

Thursday 18th February 2021 - Stanklyn

I only had chance for a whistle-stop visit to the patch today so I stopped off at Stanklyn Lane to see how many Stonechat were present. Only 2 Stonechat (a male & a female) remained today and interestingly this was the last date that I recorded any present there this winter.

Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) ♀

Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) ♂

Thursday 20th February 2021 - Elmley Lovett

Today I decided to have a walk around Elmley Lovett. What took me by surprise was the sheer numbers of Stock Doves that had dropped off in one of the large field there. I estimated that there were c.300 Stock Doves present. The photo below shows just a fraction of the birds present there. Nearby the flock of c.1000 Linnets were still present feeding within the weedy field margins.

Part of the large Stock Dove (Columba oenas) flock

Tuesday 9th to Friday 12th February 2021

Tuesday 9th February 2021 - Stone

3 Corn Buntings (1 singing) and 12 Lesser Redpoll were of note up at Heath Lane today. Large numbers of Redwings and Fieldfares were feeding in the sheep fields.

Lesser Redpoll (Acanthis cabaret)

Corn Buntings (Emberiza calandra)

Thursday 11th February 2021 - Garden (Kidderminster)

I spent a little time just watching the birds visiting my garden feeding stations today and was very pleased to record my first garden Siskin of the winter feeding on the sunflower hearts. Also of interest was the ever-present one-legged Pied Wagtail that was visiting throughout the day to feed on the dried mealworms. This bird first started visiting in late December and has been coming to the feeders daily ever since.

Siskin (Spinus spinus)