Monday 5th September 2011 - Shenstone

I arrived at the patch late morning and headed over to Butts Lane.  The juvenile Black Redstart was still present at Eastfields Farm, as were 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers (♂ and ♀), a Jay and a Mistle Thrush.  There was no sign of yesterday's Whinchat in the Butts Lane/Barrs Lane area, but a ♂ Kestrel and 2 Common Buzzards were seen.  A Red Admiral butterfly was also on the wing here.

I popped to Heath Lane next where a flock of c.60 Linnet were put up by a ♀ Sparrowhawk at the large stubble field.

Stanklyn Lane was quiet, with the only notable birds being 12 Pied Wagtails in the paddocks.

My final stop was Witch Lane where I was treated to possibly the best views of Hobby I have had this year.  At one point the bird was hawking low over the cereal field and came within about 30ft of me before turning and heading in another direction.  I've got to say Hobby is definitely in my top ten favourite birds...they are just so fast and agile...quality bird!

Great Spotted Woodpeckers

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Sunday 4th September 2011 - Shenstone round up

The juvenile Black Redstart was again present today and showing well.  A number of birders turned up throughout the day to see this individual.  I returned there with Bev at around mid-day.  We had good views of the bird which was pleasing as it was a 'lifer' for my other half.  Also whilst at Eastfields  Farm there was a ♂ Blackcap showing on the far hedgerow.  A juvenile Common Buzzard was also present.

Later on that afternoon a Whinchat and 2 Wheatears were present near the junction of Butts Lane and Barrs Lane (AW).  This is a good find by Andy and is the 3rd Shenstone Whinchat of the Autumn.

There were also 20 Herring Gull in a field that was being scarified along Witch Lane (TMH)

I returned to the patch on the evening and the Whichat was still showing, perching up on the brassicas.  This bird looked like a moulting adult, possibly a ♂ (due to it's fairly prominent supercillium) but its hard to tell this time of year.

Saturday 4th September 2011 - Shenstone

I arrived at the patch mid to late afternoon and decided to check out the Witch Lane area first. On arrival, a Kestrel was present hovering over the potato field and a Common Buzzard was also up.  Further up the lane was a flock of 30 Linnet and a flock of c.50 Lapwing was seen flying over Curslow Lane.

I drew a blank at Heath Lane and the Stanklyn Lane area wasn't much better.  So I headed over to Butts Lane.

At Butts Lane there were c.60 Swallows and c.20 House Martins wheeling around and gathering on the wires.  A Corn Bunting was present on a nearby hedgerow and 2 juvenile Common Buzzard were present nearby.

I then decided to scan around the fairly derelict Eastfields farm as I have recorded Wheatear there previous Autumns.  As I scanned there seemed to be no sign of any chats.  Then suddenly a juvenile Black Redstart flew into view and landed on a fence post...result!  Not long afterwards it was mobbed by a Robin and flew behind the barns.  It then showed on/off perching on the small red brick building.  This was definitely my patch bird of the Autumn...all those hours had paid off!

Black Redstart

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Friday 2nd September 2011 - Holt and Grimley

Today, Bev and I decided to have a drive over to Grimley for a few hours.  The weather was hot and sunny so it looked good for insects.   With a drink and a narna sandwich packed we headed off.

On route we decided to check out the nearby sling pool at Holt.  Unlike last time I visited it was pretty quite here although an immature Common Redstart on a nearby hedgerow was a bonus.   Good numbers of warblers were present in the adjacent wooded area with both Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff singing occasionally.

Next stop was the north end of Camp Lane pits.  Here there were 3 Northern Wheatear present at the NW corner.  There was very little of note on the scrapes here.

We then popped to the causeway and checked out the main pool at Camp Lane.  The only waders present were a single Common Sandpiper and half a dozen Lapwing.  The highlight for me though was seeing 3 Wigeon on the pool.  These are the first I have seen back this Autumn.  Also of note on the pool were 2 Shoveller.  Little Grebes have again bred well here with a number of juvenile birds seen on the pool.  Good numbers of Gadwall and Tufted Duck were also present.  The only hirrundines recorded were small numbers of Swallows.

Dragonflies were well represented along the causeway with 4 Migrant Hawker, 1 Brown Hawker and a 4 Common Darter recorded.  A single Common Blue Damselfly was also seen.

The nice weather had also bought out the butterflies with Common Blue, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma and Small White seen.

All in all it was a pleasant way to while away a few hours.  Incidentally, the prize for photo of the day goes to Bev for her fantastic series of shots of a Comma....the last photo is an absolute blinder! (see photos below).

Wigeon

Little Grebe (juvenile)

Common Darter (over-mature female)

Comma

Photo by Bev Kernohan

Photo by Bev Kernohan

Photo by Bev Kernohan

Wednesday 31st August 2011 - Deadstone

Well after the excitement of the past few away days it was back to the usual business of checking out the patch.  To be honest it was one of those 'Deadstone' days...you know like in the old westerns where the place is deserted and the tumbleweed rolls past.

Stanklyn Lane paddocks were empty all but for 2 Linnets and the distant 'wheating' of a Willow-Chiff and Heath Lane was no better with a single Yellowhammer briefly showing being the only highlight.

I headed over to Witch Lane where things did improve a little. 2 Common Whitethroats (1 adult & 1 juv) were new in (the patch breeding birds departed a couple of weeks back).  A single Kestrel and 2 Common Buzzards were also noted.

The weather was cold, dull and grey feeling positively Autumnal and unsurprisingly not a single butterfly put in an appearance.  I went home feeling thoroughly deflated :-(

I didn't even manage a single photo but I have attached one of a Common Whitethroat from the Shenstone archives.

Common Whitethroat