Near Kinver (April 13 2009)

Chiffchaff - silent bird flitting in trees. Heard other bird but not seen.
Canada goose - 2 on the canal.
Jackdaw - several noisy birds.

Sedgley - backyard birding (April 12 2009)

Greenfinch - very encouraging to see the pair of birds (male and female on the seed feeder, albeit briefly)

Midlands gravel pit (April 11 2009)

Greylag goose - 3 on pit.
Great crested grebe - 2 on pit.
Black headed gull - several in flight.

Midlands gravel pit (April 10 2009)

House martin - first of the year. Several feeding birds in the afternoon.
Sand martin - c.250 feeding over pit at dusk.

Oystercatcher - bird landed on one of the islands on the pit. Heard other calling birds (at least 2, but not seen).

Greylag goose - 4 on the water.

Barn swallow - 4 birds feeding over pit.

Skylark - singing over nearby field.

Reed bunting - male in pitside trees.

Total for 2009 - 82

Midlands gravel pit (April 9 2009)

Oystercatcher - single bird in flight, landed on one of the islands.
Sparrowhawk - male low in flight over water.
Greylag goose -7 birds on the pit.
Skylark - bird singing over nearby field, a second bird in flight, dropping onto field.
Cormorant - sightings of 3 birds and 2 birds in flight.
Goldfinch - 2 birds chasing each other in mating style.
Sand martin - several feeding over pit briefly.

Midlands gravel pit (April 8 2009)

Mute swan - 2 birds on water, 1 visiting bird chased away.
Canada goose - count of 31.
Reed bunting - male in pitside trees.
Cormorant - 3 sightings of single birds in flight.
Sand martin - c.50 feeding birds late in afternoon over pit.
Chiffchaff - singing bird in tree.

Sedgley - backyard birding (April 7 2009)

Dunnock - 2 feeding in birds in garden. One singing from cherry tree.
Blackbird - male and female in garden.
Common buzzard - high overhead in flight from NE to SW.
House sparrow - several male and female birds feeding.

Near Wombourne (April 6 2009)

Barn swallow - first one of the year. A single bird in direct flight, travelling north to south.

Bullfinch - male and female bird landed briefly in copse.

Song thrush - single bird in copse.

Chaffinch - male and female feeding in trees.

Mallard - several male and female birds on the canal.

Total for the year - 81

Sedgley - backyard birding (April 5 2009)

Dunnock - bird with nesting material in beak. I have located the area where they are nesting, it's in my backyard.

Blackbird - another nesting bird in the backyard, in a conifer. Male and female bird around regularly feeding.

Herring gull - 3 noisy birds in the area in flight.

Robin - bird singing well into dusk from its usual spot at the top of a mature sycamore in a neighbour's tree.

Midlands gravel pit (April 4 2009)

Oystercatcher - single bird on the shore of one of the islands on the pit.
Chiffchaff - singing bird in bushes.
Cormorant - single bird in flight.

Midlands gravel pit (April 3 2009)

Greylag goose - 7 noisy birds landed on the pit. Always a pair on there, first time I've seen this many.

Chiffchaff - bird singing from bushes. Several others singing but not seen.

Sand martin - c.12 birds passed through at dusk. Still no birds spending time on the pit feeding.

Mute swan - Pair landed and were promptly seen off by the resident birds.

Oystercatcher - calling birds in flight during darkness, but not seen.

Wall Heath (April 2 2009)

Barn owl - Driving on the A449 from Kinver, a bird flew left to right across the road 150 metres from the island by the Kingfisher club. I'm always excited to see a local barn owl but doubly so in this case, because as soon as I got home I did some boundary research and realised that the bird had flown into and over the West Midlands. So a West Mids / Black Country barn owl made me a very happy bunny indeed.

Bird seen at 8.21pm. I travel this road regularly and it's the first sighting I've had.

Near Kinver (April 1 2009)

Green woodpecker - several sightings of single bird in flight, very vocal.

Treecreeper - single bird on trunk of tree.

Chiffchaff - single bird singing in copse alongside canal.

Grey wagtail - 4 sightings of a single bird in flight along the canal. Probably the same bird.

Common buzzard - 3 sightings of single bird in flight/soaring.

Jackdaw - several in the area.

Sheepwash nature reserve, Tipton (March 31 2009)

Robin - 6 singing birds from path that goes from the entrance to lake.
Chiffchaff - 3 singing birds from the same walk as above.
Mute swan - nesting bird on pool.
Great crested grebe - bird on nest on lake.
Goosander - the number of birds has dropped but there are still 3 females on the lake.

Cormorant - On the lake, 2 birds perched on the edge of one of the islands and a 3rd bird on a post in the water.

Lesser black-backed gull - single bird in flight.

Sedgley Beacon (March 30 2009)

Linnet - first of the year, a pair in flight.

Skylark - bird singing high over the plateau, later a bird flushed from the rough grass.

Goldfinch - 2 in flight.

Grey heron - passed through in flight.

Kestrel - bird hunting over the rough grass.

Collared dove - passed through in flight.

Total for 2009 - 80

Near Kinver (March 29 2009)

Mandarin - male resting alongside River Stour.
Jackdaw - Never seen so many birds. Waves of c. 200, 250, 150, 30, 60, 80, 20, 160, 100, 180, 40, 10 at dusk in flight. A total of c. 1280.
Lapwing - 2 birds in flight, 1 calling briefly.
Mallard - male and female diving on the canal. Staying under for up to 20 seconds.

Total for the year - 79

Sedgley Beacon (March 28 2009)

Skylark - bird singing over plateau, then dropped. Later 3 birds flew from the rough grass.

Goldfinch - 1 in flight.

Dunnock - 1 adult bird and 2 juveniles in bushes. First birds seen this spring that have left the nest.

Total for 2009 - 78

Near Wombourne (March 27 2009)

Carrion crow - nest building in tree over Staffs/Worcs Canal.
Mallard - 3 males on canal.
Great crested grebe - on adjoining pool.
Jackdaw - 2 in flight.
Jay - 1 in flight.
Song thrush - 2 in far bank copse.

Near Wombourne (March 26 2009)

Mute swan - single bird on canal.
Moorhen - bird on nest in reed bed.
Mallard - several male and female birds including a mating pair.
Long tailed tit - regular trips to a spot in the hedge, likely nesting place.
Grey heron - 3 sightings of single bird in flight.
Common buzzard - 2 sightings of single bird in flight.
Lesser black-backed gull - 1 in flight over canal.
Pheasant - male in field behind canal.

Sedgley - backyard birding (March 25 2009)

Grey heron - in flight, being mobbed by a single Lesser black-backed gull.
Lesser black-backed gull. Mobbing the heron.
Dunnock - 2 feeding birds on garden. Suspect a nesting site somewhere along the ivy covered wall.

Sheepwash nature reserve, Tipton (March 24 2009)

Mallard - on River Tame. 3 males, 2 females.
Goosander - 9 females on lake.
Lesser black-backed gull - 2 on lake.
Little grebe - calling birds on lake.
Great crested grebe - nesting pair on lake.

Baggeridge Country Park (March 23 2009)

Lesser black-backed gull - single bird in flight over pit mounds/Whites Wood.

Common buzzard - 3 sightings of single bird.

Tawny owl - Usual bird in usual spot in English oak in Whites Wood.

Jackdaw - several noisy birds in Whites Wood.

Coal tit - single bird in Whites Wood.

Great spotted woodpecker - 2 females together on tree in Whites Wood.

Baggeridge Country Park (March 22 2009)

Yellowhammer - male bird singing in tree on pit mounds. First of the year and a 2009 first for Baggeridge.

Canada goose - another first for Baggeridge, 2 dawn birds in flight over Whites Wood calling.

Chiffchaff - singing bird in Whites Wood. First for Baggeridge.

Tawny owl - usual bird in usual roost spot in Whites Wood.

Great spotted woodpecker - female in Whites Wood.

Stock dove - 3 in flight from Lydiates Hill.

Song thrush - 2 in Whites Wood.

Kestrel - in flight over pit mounds.

Total for 2009 - 77

Total for Baggeridge Country Park - 51

Midlands gravel pit (March 21 2009)

Oystercatcher - 3 resident birds, often heard and seen in noisy flight circling the pit.

Cormorant - in flight.

Bullfinch - male and female in trees.

Midlands gravel pit (March 20 2009)

Chiffchaff - heard bird singing during day but not seen. Finally got to identify a silent bird as it fed in trees later in evening.

Sand martin - c.20 birds feeding very briefly over pit as they passed through at 6.10pm.

Oystercatcher - 3 noisy birds in flight. Resident on pit at the moment.

Greylag goose - 1 bird on water.

Reed bunting - male and female in trees.

Goldeneye - male and female bird on pit.

Total for 2009 - 76

Midlands gravel pit (March 19 2009)

Sand martin - first birds of the year, c.15 feeding briefly over the pit at 6.00pm

Oystercatcher - 3 birds in flight around the pit calling, also single bird.

Mute swan - 2 on pit.

Greylag goose - 2 in flight, landing on pit.

Chiffchaff - first birds of the year, 2 singing. But not seen.

Total for 2009 - 75

Sedgley - backyard birding (March 18 2009)

Herring gull - in flight.
Dunnock - 2 on garden feeding.
Robin - dawn bird singing from the top of a mature sycamore.
Lesser black-backed gull - 3 very noisy birds in circular, lazy flight, passing through.

Sheepwash nature reserve, Tipton (March 17 2009)

Lapwing - 2 in flight overhead.
Lesser black-backed gull - 2 in flight.
Bullfinch - female in bushes.
Kingfisher - 2 calling birds in flight, looking very much like a mating display.
Goosander - female on pool, 16 birds on main lake.
Ruddy duck - male on lake.
Little grebe - 2 on lake, 1 bird calling.
Teal - male feeding on small pond on island on main lake.
Herring gull - 2 in circling flight over lake.

Near Kinver (March 16 2009)

Pheasant - male in field.
Canada goose - 2 on canal.
Jackdaw - several noisy birds in the area.
Great spotted woodpecker - 2 sightings of single bird.
Kingfisher - perched on tree overhanging water.
Grey wagtail - along canal.
Stock dove - calling bird but not seen.

Sedgley - backyard birding (March 15 2009)

Blackbird - male and female around conifer, hopefully a nestimng site.
House sparrow - male and female birds in garden.
Dunnock - 2 feeding on garden.
Collared dove - 2 in garden.
Robin - singing well into dusk from the top of a mature sycamore tree.