Tuesday 2nd April - Shenstone

Early afternoon I decided to spend a few hours working the local patch as there had been a very small number of passage migrants reported in the county the previous day.  the weather was very mild and spring-like and the sunshine was a real spirit-lifter!

Stanklyn Lane was very quiet but for two Yellowhammers that were in one of the paddocks.  There was little else of note with no sign of the large numbers of winter thrushes that had been present. 

Heath Lane was also quiet with the usual ♂ Kestrel being the only bird of interest.

I then decided to head over to Butts Lane to undertake my walk across the fields and back around the lanes.  This provided to be far more productive on the bird front with 12 Skylarks and 9 Linnets flushed.  A Red-legged Partridge, a Common Buzzard and a single Meadow Pipit were also noted.  The invertebrate side of things was poor though with a single Honey Bee being the only one of note.

Witch Lane, Curslow Lane and Back Lane were all devoid of birds and I felt that the day was going down the pan rapidly.  So, I decided to have a break and nip to Hartlebury to get some bits and bobs from Wigley DIY. 

On the way back home I decided to hit the patch again and check out Stanklyn Wood (from the lane) in the hope of a Chiffchaff or the like.  The woodland was partly flooded and on the flood water that had spilled over from Stanklyn Pool there were 2 Teal (1♂, 1♀)...Result!  This was a patch year tick and only the 2nd time I had recorded Teal there.  However things were about to get even better....

On heading back to my car I scanned across the paddock, just past the 90° bend, that looks towards Stone Church.  This has been one of the least productive areas of the patch and your lucky if you get a Carrion Crow or a Magpie in there to be honest...but not today.  On the near slope was a cracking ♂ Ring Ouzel...Get in!  This is the 4th record for the patch and the 2nd that I have self-found.  It's hard to express in words the excitement you get in finding this spring passage migrant on low-level farmland, as they most often tend to drop of on the county's high point's on there way back to their upland breeding territories.  Bird's like this are what patch watching is all about!

♂ Ring Ouzel - 2nd April 2013


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