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...

As you would expect in mid-June, the patch year list has slowed down considerably in the last few days. That doesn't mean there haven't been a few nice additions.  Yesterday, a morning visit in nice weather gave lots of singing warblers, the best of which was a reeling Grasshopper Warbler in the Owl Field. There were two birds, possibly a pair. It was actually the first time I've ever seen a Grasshopper Warbler before  hearing it first. The female bird perched up on the fence which bisects the field and then flew off into the long grass, then a few seconds later a male popped up from below the fence and began to reel, giving walkaway views. The best birds on the lake were Shoveler , Common Tern and some really showy Reed Warblers . The patch, while there isn't the variety of migration times, is really nice at the moment with the breeding season in full swing and lots of fledglings around.  A visit in strong wind this afternoon didn't produce the passerines I saw ye...

It was so nice to get back to my patch today after a long absence. The first visit to Willington in the spring is always a year-tick fest, it's just that normally it doesn't have to wait until June! I got no fewer than 14 year ticks this morning, 7 of which were warblers. I arrived at Willington GPs at 06:50, feeling like I was up before everyone else. Apparently, though, I wasn't. Another gentleman was leaving as I arrived! Now that's impressive commitment. I was hoping to get to the platforms early to avoid other people, but I only saw 3 other birders in total on my visit from 06:50 to 09:00 and passed them all easily at 2m along the lane. I had originally been avoiding the patch for fear of it being a difficult place to socially distance, but found it no trouble at all. The view from platform 1 - the exposed mud here looks good for Common Sandpiper this year The hide is closed, of course, but instead I viewed the lake from the small platform past the hide. T...

With the recent lessening of lockdown regulations I've been able to get out a bit more in the last week and explore some local sites. With university exams I haven't been getting out as much as I'd like. But I've only able to walk from home for 8 weeks now so in the few trips recently I've seen many birds I haven't seen in several months! Last Thursday I visited a new site for me - Tucklesholme Quarry - just over the border into Staffordshire. This site was only very recently established and shows great potential. It appears to be reasonably reliable for Temminck's Stint each spring already! The hope is that this site might one day bring Bittern back to Staffordshire where it formerly bred. At the moment, the reeedbeds certainly aren't well enough established but that didn't stop me logging 8 species of warbler on my visit (missing only Reed and Willow Warbler). Record shot - testing out my Nikon P900 on fast-moving targets! There was no ...

Most birders will probably admit their birding is a fine line between a hobby and an obsession. The listing bug is so easy to catch! I've definitely strayed more towards twitching recently. Lately though, I've tried to resist the urge and focus my listing temptations elsewhere. I've decided my favourite thing is self-finding birds - nothing can beat the excitement. I know, this is far easier said than done. Every twitcher would prefer to find the bird themselves! It is so much harder, the rewards are so much more elusive and, perhaps most of all, the rules are so much greyer. I tried to make my own self-found list - something I could count and something I could try to improve. It wasn't easy. That is, until I found Punk Birder's rules. Self-finding always makes sightings so much better, such as this surprise Spoonbill on my patch in June 2017 I was late to the party, and these rules have been around for ages, but to me they were a revelation. If you haven...

The weather has suddenly changed lately, and with it there is the possibility of an interesting wader/tern. One of the first birds I heard on my walk yesterday was the distant rattle of a Lesser Whitethroat . My first of the year. I followed the sound for around 100m right to the boundary of the field but sadly the bird must have been hiding some distance over the hedge so there was no chance of a sighting. On the lake, I found a male Gadwall sleeping in the reeds on the edge, which was a good tick. There was no sign of the Wigeon from last week. As it got darker under an ominous-looking rain cloud, a group of hirundines dropped down to the lake. With them, were the birds of the day -  5 Swift . An April Swift is a challenge I always set myself each year, and I managed it on the final day of the month! What fantastic birds. The first of the year is always a thrill. Also among the hirundines, I found 2 Sand Martin . These were also my first of the year - I don't think I'...

This time in lockdown has given me a chance to look through old records, old trips and visits to sites when I was back at school. Albert Village Lake being one of them. Gull watching is something I've always found tricky, and throughout my time at school, Albert Village was my local gull-watching site. This area feels quite under-watched (there haven't been any reports on BirdGuides in a year or so) and it's a site that I intend to go back to and watch more often once the lockdown is lifted. I spent several winters watching the lake and saw a huge range of scarce gulls, including very regular Caspian Gulls. I don't know what the current status of the site is, having not been in several months, but as far as I can tell there has been little to no mention of it online as the great gull-watching site that it is. Gulls can be tricky. They can be unpredictable to find in numbers away from their roosts and can often be difficult to see well as they congregate in restric...

Being unable to leave the immediate area of my house recently, has made me grateful for my old trips to my patch Willington Gravel Pits that I used to take for granted. It's a 15 minute drive away but one of my nearest areas of wetland habitat. I have spent a long time trying to decide where to call my “patch”. Where I live there isn’t an obvious choice. I could bird the area immediately behind my house, and I do this often. But the woodland and farmland habitat and lack of water can become quite frustrating after regular birding because a lot of effort will still only yield the same selection of resident birds and nothing new. This is something I'm finding at the moment now that I am restricted to this area during lockdown. If this lockdown has shown birders anything though it surely has to be the potential that our gardens, patches and local areas have for turning up unusual birds. So what better time to get out a map and find a patch that you can focus on. Whether it...

It's been a great few days for my garden Lockdown List - I've spent a lot of time watching the skies because most additions now will probably come in the form of a flyover, until some warblers arrive. Wednesday gave a garden first in the form of 2 Grey Herons flying South. Thursday was a great day for additions. I saw 2 Mallard flying over early morning and then a singing Song Thrush was a long overdue tick. I spent Thursday night sat out on my deck listening in case of a flock of Common Scoter. Thousands of these birds have been flying over the country in recent days - their movements concentrated in the North of the country but several birders near me have got lucky. This is presumably an annual occurrence but with more people watching their gardens the scale has now been properly documented! Unfortunately, I didn't get lucky and have a flock fly over the garden but it was fun to try a form of birding that's completely new to me, and a calling Coot was a new ...

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...