Midlands Birding Blog

It's a common birding dilemma. Do you do a patch year list? But then what if you want your list to count the Cirl Bunting you see on holiday? So instead you do a UK year list. But then where's your reward for finding that Osprey over your patch, when you can see them easily at Rutland Water? My 2021 Greener Year List hopefully combines the joys of both. Allowing you to count all the birds you see but rewarding you for finding them closer to home. If 2020 taught us anything in birding it was of the joys that can be had in staying local, with many birders now opting to do this on a permanent basis. With this 2021 GYL, local birding is, rightly, weighted higher and rewarded but a trip further afield still counts towards your list. This is a list which reflects the growing movement to limit birding carbon footprint and engage in greener birding. The Rules: The Points: (all distances are as the crow flies) Walking/cycling from home: 30 points If driving/using motorised transport: Wi...

In an isolated tree in the middle of Southgate shopping centre in Bath, hundreds of Pied Wagtails flock together to roost on winter nights. I never would have noticed them, had I not been walking by late one night last year and wondered why the tree still had leaves in the winter. It was only on a second glance that I realised those "leaves" were moving! Since then, I've been back many times. There are few things more peaceful than standing on a cold winter night in the middle of a busy city watching these birds huddled together, sleeping peacefully overhead. For me, birding has always been an escape and a way to release stress; this sight has to be up there as one of the most calming. During my three years of university, I have shown the Pied Wagtails to many non-birding friends, and every time without fail they've been met with reactions of surprise and awe, and invariably seem to spark an interest in why they're there and what sort of bird they are.  The Wagtai...