Saw (and heard) another common tern near the canal. Probably the same bird as saw yesterday.
If I see it, I blog it......... birds...butterflies...flowers...trees...mammals...
Staffs/Worcs Canal (May 20 2010)
Walking back to the car after the overnight fishing session, saw my first common tern of the year. I saw one bird at first in flight and then a pair, likely to be the same bird on its own and then with another. Takes me to 82 for the year, and apart from a curlew I saw in Wales all have been local and without much effort. Shows what's out there doesn't it.
Staffs/Worcs Canal (May 19 2010)
An overnight fishing trip and arriving late I saw a reed bunting singing in canal-side bushes and heard a cuckoo calling in the distance. (They always seem to be in the distance).
Highlight though, the badger's sett nearby. Managed to film adult and young badger, here they are on film.
Sedgley - backyard birding (May 18 2009)
Two greenfinch briefly in the back garden. They were in the cherry tree and didn't quite make it to the feeding station, but as we don't get many finches full stop in the garden, even that was an encouragement.
Sedgley - backyard birding (May 17 2009)
A single herring gull passed through quite low this morning. Don't get many of those in the area, mostly black headed gulls in the winter and lesser black-backed gulls in the summer.
Staffs/Worcs Canal (May 15 2010)
Along the local canal tonight and saw three species of butterfly: green-veined white, peacock and orange tip. Also heard a cuckoo call once at dusk.
Sedgley - backyard birding (May 13 2010)
Seven lesser black-backed gull perched on the school roof behind our home. Calling as well, always reminds me of the seaside when I hear that!
Sedgley - backyard birding (May 12 2010)
Haven't seen any swift in the area since they first appeared a week or so ago, so well pleased to watch four dusk birds in typical noisy chasing style. I know that a building where they previously nested opposite to my house has been renovated and I fear that particular site has gone forever now.
Sedgley - backyard birding (May 11 2009)
We have a pair of dunnock nesting in a conifer and was concerned to see a magpie take some interest. But it's deep in a tight tree so they're safe.
Found a garlic mustard plant growing, which is a new one for the garden. Weeds? No such thing. They're all flowers.
Sedgley - backyard birding (May 10 2010)
A first for the garden for me as I saw a sparrowhawk in late dusk hunting-mode flight. It was just beyond the backyard and flew into a tree. Hope it didn't get any of the finches that are around, they are few in number as it is.
Staffs/Worcs Canal (May 5 2010)
A first for me as I saw an otter on the canal. I get regular sightings on rivers but a new one on the canal. Saw it at 00.49am and it came right through where I was fishing, only diving once it became aware of my presence.
Staffs/Worcs Canal (May 4 2010)
On the canal at dusk and again watched the badger around their sett. There are definitely two animals at least and they both have different characters. They way they react when they know I'm there is a point of case. One sniffs and then goes off on its way but the other sits there peeping at me through the grass, as you can see on the videos I recently put on.
Dudley (May 4 2010)
Stuck in traffic by the Black Country Museum at 4.38pm when I saw a female goshawk over the Castlegate area. It was high in the sky and heading lazily in the direction of Netherton. It made me think how many people were cursing the slow movement on the roads, yet it was that which had opened the door for me to look around while I waited. Every cloud has a silver lining and all that stuff. Takes me to 81 birds for the year, apart from 1 all seen within a short radius of home.
Staffs/Worcs Canal (May 3 2010)
Two sightings of a single kingfisher low in flight over the canal and a group of c.8 swift passing through - my largest numerical sighting of the species this year so far.
But the highlight and my reason for being there as far as nature was concerned, was for the badger. I saw a couple of creatures and got them on film which speaks more than words ever will.
Badger video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZSsOcdQvv4
Sedgley (May 3 2010)
The first swift of the year in our area, noticed two birds first thing this morning. Great to see them back although the weather is anything but summer-like today.
Sedgley - Tipton (May 2 2010)
A late afternoon car journey between the two destinations and spotted regular small groups of lesser black-backed gull in flight. A total of c.30 birds.
Staffs / Worcs Canal (May 1 2010)
A fishing trip on the canal and was again privileged to watch badger at dusk. There are at least two separate animals and it's an excuse to go back fishing to the same spot again. This time round had good views of both creatures.
A skylark singing high in the sky over neigbouring fields. As is often the case I heard it before I saw it.
Noticed several new flowers coming through along the towpath including green alkanet, garlic mustard and lesser spearwort.
Staffs/Worcs Canal (April 29 2010)
Out on a fishing trip and I thought I had seen badger the night before during darkness. But this time they were confirmed as I managed to capture them on film before it got too dark.
Once it was dark properly though I had an amazing sight as I watched two badgers feeding on the far bank skyline and a tawny owl fly over them, just a few feet above.
Too dark - and happened too quickly - to get on camera but one that will live in the mental memory card for a long time.
Here's the video of the badgers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKVUUH2clsA
Fens Pool Nature Reserve, Pensnet (April 28 2010)
A quick visit while I was doing a hospital run to nearby Russells Hall. High in the sky were a swift and a house martin.
The Fens Pool on arrival had 9 lesser black-backed gull and 2 herring gull on it. Three lapwing were circling around and landed on grass alongside the pool.
A male sparrowhawk was hunting low over the ground in a hawthorn bush section and a little higher just over the tops of the bushes a kestrel was also in hunting mode.
Sedgley (April 28 2010)
Saw my first swift of the year this afternoon, two birds high in the sky just to the east of Sedgley centre. Takes me to 80 species for 2010.
Staffs/Worcs Canal (April 27 2010)
A female mallard on the canal with 10 young that looked like they have not been out of the nest very long. My first fledglings of the year.
A colony of bluebell flowers on the far bank of the canal in full bloom.
Sedgley - backyard birding (April 26 2010)
A group of c.6 lesser black-backed gull in the area today. They were very noisy, that's what alerted me to them in the first place. Living by a school where the kids throw food on the floor, we get lots of gulls who get fed well. The birds were in lazy, low flight and often went down to collect something.
Video of brown rat (April 25 2010)
Not my favourite creature I must confess. This video was taken on a recent fishing trip. It was at this venue a few years back I woke in the night to find a brown rat on the pillow next to me. Not nice!
Video of great crested grebe (April 25 2010)
Added a video to YouTube of a pair of great crested grebe in summer plumage. These were filmed on a recent fishing trip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hY64nPIHd4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hY64nPIHd4
Highgate Common (April 24 2010)
A quick walk with Twinkle my Bedlington Terrier, so a sort of killing-two-birds-with-one-stone exercise. Although not literally of course, I wouldn't want to even tread on an oil beetle. The signs are up in the area that they have been sighted, so that's great news.
Saw my first whitethroat of the year (up to 79), well several actually, many of them singing. Other singing birds included willow warbler and yellowhammer.
A pair of common buzzard soaring high overhead and a kestrel spotted hovering several times.
Did catch a brief glimpse of what looked like a small tortoiseshell but the only other butterfly I saw and identified was a small white.
Staffs/Worcs Canal (April 23 2010)
A fishing trip on the local canal, so just a few hours at first light and not mobile. Saw a female mallard fly to her nest, which isn't unusual of course. Except that this one is 12 feet up a tree. Will be interesting when the young hatch.
Saw my first mistle thrush of the year, can't believe it has taken me so long. It takes me to 78 for 2010 anyway, crawling along as I always do.
The lesser celandine are really showing well once the sun gets up. Everything is at least a month behind though, I'm usually enjoying these in early March not the end of April.
Staffs/Worcs Canal (April 21 2010)
Birthday boy am I today and an early morning fishing trip on the canal was my present to myself. Singing birds included blackcap and willow warbler, both showing well in bankside vegetation. On the far bank a pair of jackdaw were busy around a nesting site in a hole in a tree. This is a regular spot where birds nest. Also saw a treecreeper and a stock dove.
Lots of lesser celandine are coming through now, albeit late because of the harsh winter we have had. A healthy colony of butterbur on the grass verge next to the canal itself.
Sedgley Beacon (April 20 2010)
A very quick visit to Sedgley Beacon at lunchtime, with the specific hope of seeing if any wheatear were around. I see migrating birds every year on the site but unfortunately not today.
There were no whitethroat either, they haven't set up residence yet. There are usually a good number of birds to be seen and heard.
The birds I did see were the usual suspects such as greenfinch, great tit, blue tit and so on. A good number of house sparrow - male and female - around the entrance at the top of Beacon Lane.
Quite a few carline thistle still showing from last year on the west slope, along with coltsfoot in certain places. Lots of dandelion everywhere, in full bloom.
Back on track (April 20 2010)
Can't believe that I haven't updated the blog for 12 months. Anyway it's time for me to get back on track I think. I wish there was an app that I could use from my Blackberry, but then again as I tweet on a very regular basis, including all my nature sightings, that would be an unnecessary duplication anyway.
So the idea of a write-up appeals to me, it's something different. Might not be every day though as it's from my laptop, but I'm sure there won't be too many free days to be honest. Plus I have put my twitter link on the blog, so in the event that I do see something worthwhile and people are in the area then the information is there immediately.
Another positive is that I have put a stats counter on the blog. At the end of the day, even if you enjoy writing, there's no point in doing so just for yourself. So hopefully a few visitors will make it worthwhile.
Thanks for stopping by. Here's to some wonderful postings of the natural world in and around South Staffordshire. I live just in the 'West Midlands' but that's not a county! It's an adminstrative 'thing'. I'm a Staffordshire lad and that's historically where I live not some created political boundary!
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