Some Spring Movement... at last!!!

I wasn't planning on doing much birding today, so I stopped off en route home from work this morning at the owd patch & was chuffed to see, at last, an LRP!!... Even more surprising, was when I returned later, there was now 3 of them!!!...
Also at VP was a Redshank, 2 Curlew, several Snipe....

Whilst there at dinnertime I was chatting in the hide to Jim who then asked if I knew about the Ring Ouzel on Titt. Clee?... What??... Can you believe it, the home county information services were even crapper than usual!!!...
So, I was off like a shot to Titt. Clee!!... (I just missed out on 2 Swallow & a House Martin that flew in shortly after I left!! - Not that these are two species I'm concerned about!!).

The Ring Ouzel's were the target birds. The A49 was littered with roadworks, tractors & dickhead drivers, so it took me a while to reach Titt. Clee summit... When I reached the quarry there was already a Worcs. birder present & he soon got me onto a stunning male Ring Ouzel!! Then a 2nd bird appeared... & a 3rd!!... In fact there was at least 4 birds present today (3 male & a female)... The bird's were typically flighty & elusive, but very vocal!!...
With the Ouzel's in the bag I headed back across country back to VP to see if I could score on the Swallow's or the House Martin... I didn't!!.. But nevermind, 2 year ticks today & a fair bit of the county travelled!! With just 1 day left in March, I'm wondering how many ticks I can find tomorrow afternoon after work?.... We'll see!!

County Tick No.3!!...

It was quite a surprise when Paul Barker texted me to say that his parents had a male Ring-necked Parakeet visiting their garden for the last few evenings!!...
So, this afternoon Dave Western & myself headed off down south of the county for the very picturesque village of Stoke St. Milborough, just outside of Ludlow.
We arrived around 4pm & soon got ourselves set up on the high vantage point overlooking the garden feeders where the bird had been visiting...
We had time to watch plenty of Siskin & one stunning male Brambling frequenting the feeders... but no parakeet...
By 5pm we were starting to get a bit cold... then just after 5pm I saw a bird fly in from the north, neat, pointed wings & long tail... the Ring-necked Parakeet had arrived!!!
It was calling frequently & perched on top of a nearby willow, giving stunning views...
Paul had arrived home from work & invited us in for a much needed cuppa & a quick warm!! Thanks to Paul & his Mom & Dad for finding the bird & the brilliant hospitality!!!... My 3rd county tick for 2009 & a bird well worth while going to see... however you view the status of this species in the UK!...

No Pain - No Crane!!!

At 11pm last night, Geoff texted me to say he'd had a reliable report of 2 Crane dropping into a 'newly sewn' field nr. Muckelton!!... This area isn't too far from the Crudgington area where the 2 bird's favoured last year!!... Unable to sleep I was at Muckleton around 05:50am this morning!!... A large area to cover, but I pulled over at every gate, gap or half decent viewing area, I covered the area from the A53 all the way through Muckleton & beyond to the next village... Plenty of Yellowhammer, 4 Corn Bunting, a few Red-legged Partridge... But no sign of any Cranes!!!...

By 07:30am I had now covered the area twice & was going back for my 3rd sweep - again, I drew a blank!! With a storm moving in I decided to head to VP to check if anything had dropped in... Apart from c.10 Sand Martin, there was little of note!!
Where are all the spring migrants??... Still no LRP, no Swallow, no House Martin!!!.....
Yesterday 'Lucky' Jim scored again with a male Ring Ouzel on Titt. Clee, plus Crossbill at Bury Ditches!!!...
Still plenty of stuff to get, but at the moment (especially as I'm pissed off dipping & also am very tired!!), I'm not feeling particually great about naffin' birdin' in Shropshire!!!...

The Ball Keeps Rolling!!....

After barely 2hrs sleep I was back out & into it....

And thank the Lord I did...what a result!!!...

First visit was VP, where I instantly scored a year tick with a Chiffchaff in full-bore song right outside the main hide!! Tick No.2 for the day.
After watching the Francis Rossi of the warbler world, it was a slightly longer wait in the main hide before I'd locked onto my next bird I needed - a solitary Sand Martin flew directly through VP & off north! Tick No.3.

Then off to Whixall Moss, where I joined Andy, Dave & Pete... as I arrived a ring-tailed Hen Harrier almost took my head off!!! Great start though!!...
Then I saw Andy waving me over - they'd got the Great Grey Shrike!!!.... Indeed, the bird showed well, intermitently & distant, but good enough! Quite a good laugh was had for a while, especially for myself, as Andy & Dave 'ticked' a bird for their county year list that was so far into Wales I was surprised the sodding thing wasn't eating leeks!!!!
Then Andy called out... behind us the bird I desperately wanted, tick No.4 - Short-eared Owl!!!
A long, tiring day which started at 06:50am at VP & ended at 17:30pm at Whixall... but netted me a few 'gimme's' plus a bird that until the end of 2008 was a county bogey!!!
Knackered now... but regardless... I'm havin' a quick shave & shower, then back off to the pub to celebrate!!!...
....& I've still got 2 days off!!!...

The First Migrant!

After almost 3 weeks of zilcho ticks it was this morning, straight from a night shift I decided to go & finally hunt one down!!
With as yet no reports of Wheatear in the county I thought I'd head for the Wheatear hot-spot of Titterstone Clee & see if any had arrived yet?...
Glorious sunshine did little to abate the piercing wind on Titt. Clee summit, however it didn't take long before I was onto the first of several Wheatear present in the area!!... A year tick at last!!
A search for Black Redstart resulted in failure once again... Tired, but pleased I headed for home. I shall have a few hours sleep now, before heading back out... There are more ticks out there... & I intend to bloody well get them!!! My list has sat still for way too long... now the ball is rolling once again, I intend to keep it sodding going!!

....More to follow later.... hopefully!! ;-)

More Friday 13th Birding....

Having now, temporarily, finished night's, I sacrificed any birding yesterday to do all my household chores...(although I did stop off at VP for a quick squint - no change there!)
So, Friday having washed car, mowed lawn's, cleaned house, done washing etc... I had a free morning.. I decided to head for Stiperstone's as I haven't been this year as yet...
I did hope to find a Snow Bunting or a Dartford Warbler, no such luck (in fact, Yvonne's 2 Bewick's at Chelmarsh is another bird sp. on the yearly county Dip List!!)...
However, I did get great views of 3 Red Grouse, 2 males & a female, which are always nice to see... There were more calling, but not showing... I then stumbled across 2 male Stonechat which were holding territory, both in full summer pl. but the one bird was stunning!! I was amazed how striking this one bird was, easily the most stunning 'chat I've seen... This bird alone made the romp worth while...
Not a lot else really, had a group of 15 Raven circling the Devil's Chair... One of my fave birds the Raven, so it was great to watch their areobatic displays... Skylark & Meadow Pipit were plentiful, but nothing else of any note...
So, no year ticks, no great finds... it's all gone a bit quiet in the owd county at the mo, hope it picks up soon...

More Bleary-eyed Birding!!....cont.

With it now being 3 weeks without a year tick, things are getting a bit desperate. SE Owl, Merlin & Little Owl have all been seen recently, but I have either dipped or simply been there at the wrong time... I know spring is on the doorstep, but I do find my persistence, especially when I keep turning up empty-handed, is tested greatly!
Work & family commitments, coupled with a very thin cash flow have kept me from any serious time in the field. Which is always the key to birding Shropshire!
I stopped off at VP once again en route home from work this morning, but there was little on offer. 4 Pintail, 8 Pochard, 12 Curlew, 2 Snipe & an ad. Herring Gull (quite a scarce bird at VP!), were all of any note.
With a week off getting closer, I'm hoping to get some time in soon... & hopefully net one or two year ticks, which are proving very elusive at the moment!

Whixall Moss.

With a day off today I was trying to decide yesterday of what to do today... When a 1st w. male Siberian Thrush turned up outside Cley village yesterday I must admit I was tempted to go... But a Thursday is a day I have my daughter, so obviously it was too much to do in a morning (besides, I wanted a lie-in today!!).
.....(oh yeah, & as of 3pm today 'no sign' of the thrush... poor bugger's either karked it or done one....)

With the sun shining I thought a visit to Whixall was in order. I arrived late morning & set off across the moss. After around an hour I'd had bugger all, except quite a few Kestrel & Buzzard & of course the occaisional Crow or Raven. As I arrived on Fenn's I noticed a large bird in the distance flying low over the moss (I was hoping it was a SE Owl!!).... However, I had to settle for 2nd prize, but still very nice indeed, a ringtail Hen Harrier!!... I watched the bird for around 10-15 minutes, on & off, before pushing on.
By 2:30pm I'd had no sign of a SE Owl, & with time pressing I had to leave the mosses. I stopped off briefly to check the floods, only bird of note here was a lone Redshank.
Year ticks proving tricky at the mo, but soon enough they'll be coming thick & fast with all the spring arrivals!!... Cant wait!!!

February Sum Up!!...

February is usually always the worst month of the year, no movement as such, the weather always dire (although, this year we've had some really nice days, weather wise!), the month generally spent catching up on ticks or hoping that something good might turn up!...

This month something good did turn up!!... In the shape of a 3rd w. Kumlien's Gull at Priorslee, found by the specialist gull duo of Dawn Balmer & Peter Wilson! (who have also found 2 Caspian & a Ring-billed Gull in Shrops. in recent years!!).
The bird was only seen by Pete Nickless & Dave Western, every other county birder dipped it!! To be honest, although I'm annoyed (I was off work that day & was planning a Priorslee visit!!), at the same time I aint too concerned as this bird is a hybrid species, therefore not a 'full' tick!
....Still, I would've loved to have got it!!

I set myself a realistic target of 10 year ticks for Feb., I achieved just 7. But it was definately quality over quantity!!
The month started brilliant with a juv. Glaucous Gull at Priorslee. This bird became regular & for long periods, allowing quite a few people to see it. I ended up in Feb. seeing 2 Glaucous Gull's & an Iceland Gull at Priorslee - this place has been a goldmine for white-wingers this year!!
On my 4th visit to Painsbrook lane I finally nailed Grey Partridge, a tricky county tick, as is Willow Tit, which I nailed on Haughmond Hill in the forest car park!
However, it was definately 3rd time lucky to Haughmond where I scored 2 male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker's!!! I had stunning views of this very scarce & seldom seen bird!!

So, my county year list now sits at 112 species, & March hasn't got off to the best start, as this weekend I was struck down with a stomach bug which stopped me getting out, I was heading for Whixall for the 2 SE Owl's!! Now stuck working evening shifts I shant get much birding in now 'til end of the week...
But now March is here it wont be too long before things start moving.... watch those year list's soar!!!...