Midlands Birding Blog

With an end to restricted travel getting closer every day, I'm sure everyone reading this is keen to get out and spread their birding wings. I know I certainly I am. But to avoid you wishing away these next few weeks or months, my post this week is going to be a series of 'Low Carbon Birding Challenges', to make the most of our local birding scene before we can all travel further afield, and before some of us forget about the spots that we've grown to love over the last year. A Lockdown Birding Bucket List Top 10 if you will.  Hopefully, it might help us to rekindle our love for our local area, a love which might have worn quite thin over the last few months of being forced to visit it exclusively every day! I hope this highlights a few positives that we can take away from this past year of enforced local lockdown birding, and maybe some that we can continue to enjoy after lockdown and beyond. If there are any you haven't done already, there's still time to give...

Something that’s always been difficult for me has been finding the line between listing and watching, between enjoying a rare bird and appreciating what I see every day. It’s something you might call the Birder's Paradox - how can I truly enjoy a rare bird if I forget to enjoy those that are more common? I started to think about what birds symbolise 'home' to me. What birds do I see every day and often forget to give a second glance.  Back home in Leicestershire, this might be the birds on the garden feeder - the Goldfinches, for example - along with House Sparrows and Blackbirds. In my uni house in Bath, larger birds are the main cast - Herring, Lesser-black Backed and Black-headed Gulls are everywhere. Cormorants are common and there's always a Pied Wagtail on the road outside. It struck me how different these were. A Goldfinch in the single tree that I can see from my Bath apartment would be a breath of fresh air, and I find myself celebrating a garden Pied Wagtail b...

We all need a bit of a boost right now. Fortunately for me, and for many of you reading this post, birdwatching provides some much needed relief in this difficult state of the world. Birding offers a mindful and uplifting escape that remains even throughout the pandemic. Sure, we might not be able to travel to a bird reserve or maybe even our local patch, but I've put together some birding activities that just about anyone can enjoy even now. Hopefully, they provide you with some of the mindfulness and joy that we could all do with at this time. Perhaps the key to all this is that nature is unchanging in the face of all the problems in the human world. Nature can provide great solace during the harsh reality of the pandemic. Watching a Goldcrest foraging in a pine tree today is just the same experience as it was 5 years ago, and it's this normality that we all crave right now. Being present and enjoying the birds you are seeing couldn't be a better way to experience mindful...

I finished last week on 66 species, far surpassing my expectations. At the end of the last post , I wondered what other surprises were in store for the patch this year, but I didn't expect the first one to come so soon. After a walk with my family on the 9th we drove over the Staunton Harold Reservoir road bridge on our way home. From the fleeting view I got from the moving car, I thought I saw the Ring-Necked Duck with the Tufties. The bird had been present from late December through to the 2nd of January, at which point it had moved to nearby Foremark and not been seen again. Obviously, from this fleeting view I didn't really trust my instinct and assumed it must have been a Tufted Duck seen at speed. I presumed the bird must be long gone, with no sightings at Staunton Harold for at least a week. I had been back a few times in the days in between and had no sign, and many others had done the same. The following day, I walked back to the area, which has been so productive for ...

Looking back now, it was quite fortuitous that the young birders decided to compete in a patch challenge in 2021. When Joe first suggested the idea in December we were all very keen, having regularly discussed our own patch birding during 2020 it seemed like a fun idea to introduce a bit of competition. We might not have guessed though that local birding would soon become the only form allowed in the third lockdown that hit the country at the start of January. It was lucky that my 2021 birding plans were already prepared for this. The rules are that we must have a specified 5 square mile continuous area that we call our patch. Most people have a smaller area than this which gives them somewhere manageable to cover regularly, but the large limit allows us to discover or test out new areas without feeling restricted. The other key rule is that we must walk or cycle around this area. My birding began on New Years Day when I did a short, but very successful, walk around the fields behind m...

It finally happened. I hit 50 species from the garden during lockdown, and it feels great! The bird that took me over the line was rather unceremoniously a Great Black Backed Gull . They're not exactly my favourite bird but I celebrated it like it was! Helpfully, it came north over the house with 2 Lesser Black Backed Gulls. So there was no question mark over its size. I can't quite believe I've hit 50 so quickly. Before lockdown my all-time garden list stood at just 54. I guess it shows I just wasn't looking hard enough, because now that I've put in the effort for a few weeks, I'm approaching it fast. The next and biggest target is to beat this total - 55 would be incredible. They're getting harder now no doubt, but Swift will eventually be a given, and Red Kite and Hobby certainly renewed my faith in surprises. Garden listing is very much a personal endeavour. It's based on personal targets, and while you can encourage and discuss with others, ...

Just after I had written my previous post yesterday complaining about how additions to my garden list were now in the hands of surprises, a surprise came! A  Hobby flew east, high over the house. Not only is this my earliest ever Hobby, but it's also a full garden tick. And it certainly wasn't one I was expecting. In fact, in less than an hour I had a total of 3 new garden lockdown ticks. Swallow  was perhaps an overdue one but nonetheless the first Swallow of the year is always a thrill. Finally, I joined the Red Kite club, with one circling distantly to the south in the direction of Ibstock. I have never seen one even within 15 miles of home before so getting this from the house was almost as much of a surprise as the Hobby! In any case, these additions bring my total to a tantalising 49. The 50th will certainly be a cause for celebration...

In the last few days, my garden lockdown list has slowed down considerably. After being stuck on 45 for almost a week, I had my first House Martin of the year from the house on Thursday. These birds nest on the estate each year but sadly this one didn't stick around. This takes my garden list to #46 since lockdown. I think I might have done "too well" early on during lockdown and now there are no ticks left for me to get! New additions are definitely drying up, though Swallow, Swift and maybe Whitethroat should be on their way. I always have the chance of a Kestrel or Rook drifting over too. But after that, it's pretty much down to surprises! I've been going on walks for exercise most days - mostly around my town and usually without binoculars - but yesterday I finally managed to make it to the nearby lake south of my town (quite a long walk away) and got a few new additions. I don't normally get to see Green Woodpeckers very well - but this one po...

If you're like me, you'll be continually trying to come up with ways to satisfy your birding hobby without leaving the house. I've tried to put together a list of all the ideas I can think of: Garden Birding: of course the most simple thing you can do is bird watch in your garden or from your window. 'Lockdown Listing' has become really popular among birders. I'm on 45 from my suburban estate garden. Set a target for your garden and see how many you can see! Don't forget to upload your sightings to BirdTrack to help the BTO's citizen science initiative. Patch Birding: just like with garden birding, lockdown doesn't have to mean the end to birding itself. Find an area you can walk to and visit here on your daily exercise walks. You don't even need to take binoculars - practise your naked eye/sound identification. If it's a new area you haven't birded before, who knows what you could turn up - you'll probably know it better than...

This week's lockdown listing has consisted mainly of garden birding. I have been out on a couple of short walks in the fields behind my house though. These brought a couple of new lockdown ticks in the form of Red-legged Partridge, Jay, Green Woodpecker and my first Willow Warbler of the year, singing from the plantation along the Ivanhoe Way. This is such an evocative sign of spring. As soon as I got back from my walk, I opened my bedroom window and saw a phyllosc. warbler in the garden. It had a long primary projection and pink legs, then sure enough it sang. Willow Warbler . A fantastic record for the garden and not one we get often. #41. I had to wait until Thursday for my next addition. A Mistle Thrush flew over with nest material and a very distant Pheasant finally barked loud enough from the fields to be heard from the house. Yesterday started with another two Mistle Thrushes. Why is it that as soon as you first see a bird they're suddenly everywhere?! But the ...

I've been diligently watching my garden for the past few days to increase my BWKM0 Garden List - I've now joined a league with other Leicestershire birders and the competition is tough to beat! Over the past few days I've managed to add several new birds though: Saturday:  the day got off to a great start with a Raven and a Black-headed Gull in view at the same time - a double addition! A Pied Wagtail flew over in the evening Sunday: no new birds came until the evening until 3 Redwing and 2 Fieldfare flew over in quick succession. Somehow my first Starling  also put in an appearance. Monday:  difficult day with some rain but a male Reed Bunting was a great find. Tuesday:  the Reed Bunting was seen several times today, but the first new addition came when 2 Canada Goose flew loudly east. Although not a garden tick, we rarely see Reed Bunting and rarely a male! This takes my garden list to 32 species. I'm now impatiently waiting for the summer migrant...

In support of the fantastic Champions of the Flyway competition which has sadly been cancelled this year (as with everything else), I tried to record as many birds as I could today during my exercise walk and from the garden. This is a competition I'd love to take part in some day. My walk this morning took me underneath the bypass along the Ivanhoe Way and out into the farmland beyond it. It was a beautiful morning - warm and very still - which was great for listening for birds singing. Drumming woodpeckers, singing Chiffchaffs and my first Blackcap of the year made for a fantastic spring soundscape. This is as close as it gets to a wetland habitat near to my house - this pool had Moorhen and Mallard In total, I recorded 39 species on my walk. Which I am really pleased with, especially considering the complete lack of water (aside from a few algae covered ponds) anywhere near me. The main highlights were a huge number of Yellowhammer, a Mistle Thrush, Stock Dove, Raven and L...

I've been birding since I was very small but it's always been a private hobby of mine - shared only with close family. It was only recently that I decided to become more of an active member of the birding community and I've loved it so far. There is such an active internet community for birding that it would be a real shame not to engage in. Now, more than ever I think, is a fantastic time to connect with other birders, with many birders now restricted to garden birding or satisfying their birding fix online. This is the perfect opportunity to take to social media, blogs and other platforms to share birding experiences and connect with other like-minded people who are going through the same withdrawal that non-birders just won't understand! So please follow me on Twitter @mattcowardbirds and reach out if you're in a similar situation. I'm always keen to speak to other birdwatchers, including those who like myself have previously kept birding as their private...

I've added a couple of new birds to the lockdown bird list in the last two days, namely Sparrowhawk, Coal Tit and Lesser Black-backed Gull. These are all birds I've seen in the garden before but they are by no means regular and more observation has shown them to be far more regular than I'd thought - I've seen the Sparrowhawk 3 times in the last two days. This brings the list up to 24. It's slow progress but I'm hoping the effort will be rewarded with some fantastic new sightings like the Peregrine two days ago. Taken with the Apexel Zoom Lens As well as listing I've been trying out a new zoom lens that I've bought for my phone. I've never been a photographer and have never felt the urge to spend a large amount of money on a camera that I don't feel I'd get enough use out of. So I'm always looking for new ways to photograph birds I see without one. Photos are so vital if you find a rare bird that I feel I need a way to get a ...

With the country now in full lockdown and leaving the house allowed only for exercise once a day, the patch (which is a 15 minute drive away) is now well and truly off limits. To fill the bird watching shaped hole it's left, I have discovered the Birdwatching at 0km (#BWKM0) initiative led by Steve Gale to encourage people to make garden lists while in quarantine in their homes. I have been amazed at the fantastic birds others have found in their gardens already just by watching them slightly more closely. I was skeptical at first; I have a suburban garden but am extremely lucky to have an area of scrubby trees directly behind the house which has meant my garden list currently stands at 54. Previous highlights have included such fantastic birds as Waxwing, Brambling (for several winters this was the most regular bird at the feeders!), Golden Plover (over) and Nuthatch. Bullfinch is also our most abundant garden visitor - we are lucky enough to have a resident group of at least 9...