I only had a quick whistlestop tour of Shenstone this morning so I could get back to watch the football.....wish I hadn't have bothered now!
Anyway back to the patch. Things were very quiet along Stanklyn Lane this morning all though there was a flock of 63 Starlings feeding in the one paddock. A single Swallow over the paddocks was the only other bird of note.
There were 3 House Martins over Heath Lane but as with Stanklyn it was all very quiet.
I then headed over to the south side of the patch and checked out Witch Lane. There were good numbers of gulls on the ploughed field, with 68 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 8 Herring Gulls and a 2nd Summer Common Gull. I was really pleased to pick up the Common Gull as this is only my 2nd one on the patch and only the 3rd recorded to my knowledge. You may think "Common Gull that doesn't sound very exciting"...well they aren't that common in North Worcestershire and relation to Shenstone they are a patch scarcity. Also present in this field were 2 Stock Doves and a single Lapwing which was inbeteween the polythene sheeting.
I've attached a somewhat crappy record shot of the Lapwing below (well it was a bit distant!).
The ♂ Wheatear was still present at Stanklyn Lane horse paddocks when I arrived this morning. Also, 2 Swallows were over the paddocks, a ♀ Great Spotted Woodpecker was on a fencepost and a Common Buzzard was perched at the rear of the paddocks.
Heath Lane was pretty much devoid of birds with the exception of 3 Swallows that were hunting insects over the Rape field.
At Witch Lane a Cuckoo was calling. 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 3 Herring Gulls were on the ploughed field, as were 7 Stock Doves. Whilst at Witch Lane a Grey Heron Flew over heading SE.
Good numbers of Common Whitethroat and Skylark were singing from a number of locations around the patch.
I started today's visit at Captains Pool. A 2nd pair of Great Crested Grebes have set up a nest with the female currently sitting. The original pair are busy feeding and raising 2 juveniles from their first brood. This is the first time, to my knowledge, that more than one pair has bred at Captains. A Small Copper butterfly was also seen near the pool. This was a year first..so a good start to the day.
My appetite had been whet seeing the Small Copper so I headed over to Butts Lane to see if there were any more butterflies on the wing. During this walk I picked up another two species that I hadn't yet seen this year. These newly emerged butterflies were a ♀ Brown Argus and a ♂ Common Blue.
At the drainage pool opposite the entrance to Eastfields farm were 5 Broad-bodied Chasers (3♂). I stood and watched these dragonflies for a while as the males chased each other from their territories. I was also lucky enough to see one mate with a female, who then went on to start egg laying...all fascinating stuff to behold. Also at the waters edge were 3 mating pairs of Azure Damselflies.
Late afternoon a ♂ Wheatear was present at Stanklyn Lane paddocks (TMH). This individual must have dropped in during the course afternoon, as there was no sign of any migrants when I checked earlier.
Started this mornings visit at Stanklyn Lane where a ♂ Wheatear was perched on a fence post at the rear of the horse paddocks. Also 4 singing Common Whitethroat along Stanklyn Lane and 6 Swallows. At the edge of Stanklyn Wood I picked up a patch lifer (don't get to excited) in the form of a ♂ Bullfinch. Believe it or not they are mega scarce round Shenstone and in 4 years of working the patch it is the first time I have connected with one.
At Heath Lane model aircraft field there were 2 Common Swifts...the first on the patch this Spring. Also, 2 Swallows were over the field and 2 Common Whitethroats were singing. 2 Linnets, a Common Buzzard and a ♂ Kesterel were also present. At the paddock there was a singing ♂ Yellowhammer, 2 Linnets and another singing Common Whitethroat present.
Next up I checked out Butts Lane where a ♀ Wheatear was present in the grounds of Eastfield Farm. Also present were a Pied Wagtail, 2 Swallows, 1 House Martin and a singing Common Whitethroat.
Yet more singing Common Whitethroats around the patch with another 3 along Witch Lane. 6 Swallows were low over the ploughed field near the old grainstore. Also of interest here was another Brimstone Moth.
This morning I received word that a county mega in the form of a Spotted Sandpiper had been found at the privately owned Westwood Pool, Droitwich. This stunning summer plumage bird was found by Wayne Dutton who, with permission from the owner, works the area daily as his local patch. The owners very kindly granted access to Westwood for the day and as the bird was a lifer for me I decided to go along.
On arrival I was very quickly put onto the bird by one of my fellow Worcestershire birders. I was shocked it was actually close in on the nearby damn wall. This stunning individual was showing really well and I lapped up every minute of seeing this vagrant American wader. This is the first one ever recorded in Worcestershire and a top drawer find by Wayne who, up until this bird, had been having the bleakest of Springs. Just shows its worth sticking with your patch even through the lean times.
Spotted Sandpiper - Westwood:
Spotted Sandpiper video footage - 3rd May 2011:
After leaving Westwood I decided to pop 4 miles up the road to Upton Warren NR to see the two Black Terns that had arrived that morning. I love Black Terns, they are so agile and acrobatic on the wing. Needless to say, I spent a fair while at the Moors Pool enjoying these birds. I also saw a bizarre Common Tern with no tail feathers that looked like a flying wing. It seemed to be managing ok and was flying about and fishing just like the other Common Terns.
I then decided to pop over to The Flashes. A Summer plumage Bar-tailed Godwit was present here and There were good numbers of very young Avocet and Lapwing chicks dotted around. I also noted 2 Shelduck, 2 Common Sandpipers and a number of Little Ringed Plovers.
All in all an enjoyable away day. As for Shenstone, TMH had a fall of Wheaters on the evening (see previous blog entry). Ah well, I will put some time in round the patch tomorrow.
