Blind Institute / Colton Hills (August 29)

An afternoon walk over local farmland. While watching a couple of lesser black-backed gulls in the sky I saw a very high swift. I haven't ticked one for a few days so it was nice to see summer still hanging on.

Other birds included: wood pigeon (numeous adults and juveniles on fields), common buzard (2 soaring/ flight), kestrel (in flight / hovering).

Bywell near Hexham, Northumberland (August 28)

While my wife and others went shopping at the Metro Centre, I headed north on the A1, across to the A69 and then pulled off, parked up and walked the local lanes.

Highlights weren't birds but a) a rabbit ran across the road being pursued by a weasel b) a hare in a stubble field c) a salmon leaping on the River Tyne.

Birds included: herring gulls (numerous on fields), common buzzard (several including one being mobbed by a carrion crow), lapwing (adult and juveniles on field), mistle thrush (c.10 on ploughed field), kestrel (in flight being mobbed by a carrion crow).

Newastle-Upon-Tyne, Northumberland (August 27)

Off to the north-east for a couple of days while my youngest daughter's band records an EP in studios in Gateshead.

On the journey on the A1 near Rainton in North Yorkshire c.100 lapwing circling over a field next to the road.

Went for a long walk once in Newcastle, starting at The Quayside and walking downstream so very much an urban / industrial route. Numerous herring gulls, several lesser black-backed gulls as well as black headed gulls and a single great black-backed gull.

Other birds included: cormorants (several including 13 perched on river-side factory roof), kestrel, swallow, mute swan (3 adults and 2 juveniles on river by Millennium Bridge), blackcap (female eating elderberries).

On the evening while walking along the river, four goosander flew overhead above the Millennium Bridge heading upstream.

Kings Bromley (August 26)

Driving home at 2.30 am, a barn owl perched at the side of the road. I stopped the car and had a brief view of it before it flew away.

River Dove, Derbyshire (August 25)

I saw a single great black-backed gull in flight over Rushall on the way there and also another over the Dove. Also a single lesser black-backed gull in flight.

Two kingfisher sightings, likely to be different birds. Numerous swallows in the area. On the river itself a single mute swan and a juvenile moorhen.

Tawny owl calling after dark but not seen.

Red Lane, Gospel End Village (August 24)

The last field on the right had 21 black headed gulls on it. A single lesser black-backed gull overhead in flight.

A single stock dove on same field as gulls. Just a juvenile moorhen on the lane pond, but it's just a visibility issue as to what I see there at this time of the year.

Other birds included: wood pigeon (adults and juveniles), greenfinch (adults and juveniles), grey wagtail (in flight), great spotted woodpecker (in flight), mallard (female in flight).

Wolverhampton (August 23)

Two swifts heading in a southerly direction over the Whitmore Reans area of Wolverhampton.

Whites Wood, Baggeridge Country Park (August 22)

A short walk around the wood, which was very quiet. Highlight, without any doubt, was a lesser spotted woodpecker. The bird was in flight, from the direction of the visitors' centre, flying into Lydiates Hill.

Other birds included: collared dove, great tit, long tailed tit. I did say it was quiet!

River Dove, Derbyshire (August 21)

A couple of female goosander in flight downstream. A while later two birds that I was unable to sex flew past the opposite way, so likely to be the same ones. Three individual kingfisher sightings, all of birds flying low on the river and downstream.

Other birds included: swift (several), black headed gull (numerous - one flock had c.100 birds), chiffchaff, great black-backed gull (3 distant birds soaring/in flight), lesser black-backed gull.

Staffs/Worcs Canal (August 20)

Following the sighting of the barn owl the other day, tonight I went on an after-dark walk around the area. Having a dog means I can kill two birds with one stone, so I get to bird and she gets her walk.

I covered about two miles but not even a sound never mind sight from an owl. Until I was right back at the car that is and a group of noisy tawny owls were heard (but not seen) across fields. So at least I had something to write about.

Sedgley (August 19)

This is the time of the year when I keep more than a casual eye on swifts. We have a reasonable visit every summer from the birds in the area where I live but they have been missing recently. So today I went on a local walk specifically to see if they have all gone. I saw just the one bird. Back at home a single lesser-black backed gull was circling over the house.

Tipton (August 18)

Several swifts over the Victoria Park area of the town.

Staffs/Worcs Canal (August 17)

A late fishing session, it was almost dark by the time I got there so didn't get chance to do any birding as such. A barn owl flew across my path though so that more than rescued the situation. I have seen them a little further down the canal already this year.

Heard tawny owl but didn't see them even though they were in the immediate area.

Black Country pool (August 16)

An eel fishing session on a Black Country pool. Arrived late so it was practically dark and combined with the atrocious weather meant that I didn't get to see much at all.

A couple of lesser black-backed gulls flew overhead, a grey heron fished the margins well into dark and mallard and moorhen were on the water.

Red Lane, Gospel End Village (August 15)

After yesterday's hobby, there was only one place I was heading today. Didn't see the bird though.

The lane pond had moorhen visible (2 adults, 2 chicks, 1 juvenile). On the return walk along the lane a chick and a juvenile were feeding on the field alongside the pond. The juvenile was 20 metres away from the water, the chick much closer.

Other birds seen included: swallow, long tailed tit (several juveniles), swift, stock dove (in flight over last meadow on right), common buzzard (4 calling birds in flight / soaring), house martin, greenfinch (adults, juveniles).

Red Lane, Gospel End Village (August 14)

A late evening session. Red Lane is not a birding hotspot, in fact in years I have only ever seen two people walking down down there with binoculars. So when I see something special it makes it all the more exciting.

Hence tonight when I saw a hobby fly right in front of me I was really thrilled. Walking down the lane the bird flew from right to left just below Westgate Farm and then over the fields diappearing beyond the ridge. The bird flew directly into the sun for much of the 20 seconds that I got to see it, but I had a good enough view.

Other birds included: moorhen (adult, juvenile and chick on the pond), goldfinch (5 adults and juveniles), kestrel (female), house martin, swift, swallow.

Dudley Canal (August 13)

Out on a fishing session, the weather was so bad that by the time I arrived to fish at 8.00pm it was practically dark. Consequently the bird list was low with those seen including: mallard (female), moorhen, dunnock. Heard tawny owl once dark but didn't get to see the bird.

Penn Common (August 12)

A short walk around the pond area of Penn Common. It did coincide with some sharp showers but if we only went birding in good weather we wouldn't be out that often.

A whitethroat was gathering insects and dropping into a low bush that was a likely nest site. A little further ahead in the nesting scale was a male blackcap and 2 juveniles in a dense hawthorn bush. There may have been more birds, but that's all I could see.

A flock of c.100 starling around the pond. In the field system beyond the common a scan with the binoculars revealed a distant red-legged partridge.

Red Lane, Gospel End Village (August 11)

Another short visit to Red Lane. On the pond saw 2 moorhen adults and 2 chicks. There are often house sparrows in the area as well, today saw a male and a female. There is one bush in particular that, if they are about, that's where they will be found. And that's where I saw them.

Several goldfinches about, both adults and juveniles. Lots of swallows including birds perched in trees (see picture above). Other birds included stock dove (2 birds in flight over last field on right), willow warbler (adult calling) and swift.

Red Lane, Gospel End Village (August 10)

The vegetation and undergrowth on the lane pond is such that it's difficult to get a totally clear view at this time of the year, but managed to see 2 adults, 2 chicks and 1 juvenile moorhen (pictured above).

Lots of juveniles around of other birds too including swallow, goldfinch, greenfinch, blue tit.

Single stock dove on the bottom field on the right. Several swift, all very high in the sky.

Red Lane, Gospel End Village (August 9)

After a week's birding on Anglesey it was back to earth with a bump! Red Lane is a local walk that I enjoy doing. It's a paved lane and due to the fact that there are just a couple of farms and a water plant at the end it has minimal traffic.

The moorhens on the pond have had another successful brood of young. I heard them but could only see one juvenile due to the dense vegetation and undergrowth.

Other juvenile birds around included great spotted woodpecker, long tailed tit, goldfinch and greenfinch.

The bottom field area on the right is great for stock dove and today I saw 3. Other birds on the walk included willow warbler, collared dove, starling.

Anglesey adventures - Day 7 (August 8)

Last day of the holiday and another visit to Cemlyn Bay. Nothing new to be seen, but after an absence most of the week of sandwich tern I counted 7 birds, both adults and juveniles. And guess what - I didn't have my camera with me so couldn't capture them on film.

The common tern and arctic tern were there as usual along with stonechat (adults and juveniles), red-breasted merganser (the female and the juveniles were on the grass alongside the lagoon preening and basking in the sun), redshank, curlew, turnstone, dunlin and lapwing.

Saw 3 little egret and a further 2 while walking back to the car. I couldn't be absolutely sure, as birds could have passed in flight, but I'm pretty certain that they were all individuals, thus making a total of 5.

On the drive to the site 2 raven were perched on the roof of a barn alongside the road. Again a missed opportunity with the camera.

Video clip of turnstone, dunlin, ringed plover: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kf7f77L8jI

Anglesey adventures - Day 6 (August 7)

Back to Cemlyn Bay for a morning walk along the shingle bank that divides the sea from the lagoon.

The red-breasted merganser female and juveniles were still there (pictured above). They kept their distance but I did get excellent views with the scope. I also managed to capture them on film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5IARZZYZSc

Other birds included: little egret (2), curlew (32 on grass on far side of lagoon), wheatear, redshank (9 seen at one time), dunlin (several), turnstone, ringed plover (several).

Anglesey adventures - Day 5 (August 6)

Back to Cemlyn Bay which is just down the road from where we stayed. There are good numbers of terns present but not as many as when last visited the site at the beginning of June 2007. The sandwich terns were absent today but numerous arctic terns and common terns.

A female red-breasted merganser was on the lagoon with 11 juveniles in tow. Other birds included: stonechat (male, juveniles), little egret (single bird), curlew, wheatear, dunlin (c.20 birds on lagoon islands), turnstone (3 on beach), ringed plover (several on beach), redshank (2 on lagoon).

You can view video footage of the terns here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7kJi4YIuSI

Also saw my favourite British mammal today - a brown hare on the headland at Cemlyn Bay at dusk.

Anglesey adventures - Day 4 (August 5)

Very wet day today - well it's Wales after all! A brief walk around woodland near Llanfair PG. Not much doing at all - lots of herring gulls (pictured above) as always though and oystercatchers visible on distant shorline of the Menai Strait. Also saw first swifts since being on the island.

Anglesey adventures - Day 3 (August 4)

As the sun shone bright in the sky I visited the RSPB reserve at South Stack, Holyhead. I was there at the beginning of last June when the cliffs and the sea were alive with guillemots, razorbills etc but this time round they were all gone.

The choughs (pictured) were still there of course and I got some good footage of them. You can view the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kBMrA4X7Ws

Also got a shot of a meadow pipit on the heather that is everywhere along the coastal reserve, which you can see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmGsQtKKsfE

Other birds seen included kittiwake, stonechat, willow warbler, raven (2 birds flew overhead and then soared in the immediate area producing some stunning acrobatics), wheatear (juvenile).

Anglesey adventures - Day 2 (August 3)

In the morning visited the very local Cemlyn Bay nature reserve. There is a steep shingle beach and then beyond that a lagoon with two islands. It's an excellent place and one of my favourite birding spots.

The tern colony had numerous arctic terns and common terns around, both adults and juveniles. I had to search hard for sandwich terns though but I did manage to spot a single bird in amongst the others.

It's been a few years since I've come across little egrets (pictured above) so it was a pleasant surprise to find 3 of them on the lagoon.

Other birds at Cemlyn Bay included oystercatcher (group of c.25 birds on shoreline), curlew (7 birds in rough grass on far side of lagoon), turnstone (5 on beach shoreline), dunlin (numerous birds), ringed plover (several on beach and lagoon), redshank (2 birds on lagoon).

A Clifftop walk later in the day at Bull Bay produced more turnstones (2 birds landed on rocks) and stonechats (male and female) while a similiar walk at Cemaes Bay had me watching a group of 5 rock pipits (adults and juveniles).

Video clip of little egrets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARIxTpg_76k

Anglesey adventures - Day 1 (August 2)

After just one day, 'Birding in and around South Staffordshire' uproots to Anglesey as we go on our annual family vacation. On arrival, while my wife and girls do the food shopping in Holyhead's Tesco, I pull in down the road and spend an hour at Penrhos Coastal Park.

Coming from a land-locked background it's always a novelty to see certain birds on the sea and the first birds I saw on open water were four great crested grebes diving 200 metres from the shore. Adult and juvenile swallows were also feeding low over the shore and calm sea.

In the evening I had a walk around our caravan park near Llanfechell. Numeous herring gulls (pictured above) on the fields and in flight. The odd lesser black-backed gull in amongst them but no other gull species.

Whites Wood, Baggeridge Country Park (August 1)

I didn't have long to bird, so while my wife was at her parents I visited the local Whites Wood, which is part of Baggeridge Country Park. Whites Wood is very diverse as far as tree species are concerned and I may as well have focused on the trees, as the birds were pretty scarce. It is a good autumn through spring place to bird but at the height of summer can sometimes be hard going. In all honesty I should have gone elsewhere, but I like the challenge, plus time was limited.

Several swifts were feeding over adjoining fields, as were a couple of house martins. Several juveniles were in the wood including wren, great tit and robin. The wood itself was very quiet and apart from the calling of juvenile birds, the only bird singing was a wren.

So my first entry to the blog doesn't exactly set the world alight. But if nothing else, my blogging will be honest. However at least Twinkle my Bedlington Terrier (pictured above) enjoyed herself. She accompanies me on all my walking birding sessions (as opposed to when I'm birding while fishing). So it's a good time to introduce her to the blog as well, right at the beginning.