Chasewater Chat - 2011

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Dear Graham,
 
I have been a regular user of Chasewater for years and was confused to see signs protecting the Ringed Plovers on the site. I was researching the bird on the RSPB website, so I was more aware of where they would be on the site and I wouldn't disturb them, when I noticed that they are listed as a green list species, which the RSPB defines as:

"Green list

·    Species that occur regularly in the UK but do not qualify under any or the above criteria"

 
This seems to be contrary to your comments that the bird is endangered? It seems they are doing fine and your comments that they already have 24 young on this site alone seem to support the RSPB's listing.
 
As a further comment I would like to say that I actually like the variety of birds that can be found on the 'duck pond'. I bring my children there to see all the different types of birds - the one in your picture we actually call 'a pom-pom headed duck'! I don't see as there would be anyway to stop the breeding of the mallards - after all they do have wings and will mate with anything that stays around for long enough! I quite agreed with the comments in the General Information Leaflet produced by LDC, especially during the winter - the duck pond is a home to a whole extended family for a lot of people, it is easy to access and perfect for the children! Everyone is entitled to an opinion and different users have different requirements.
 
I find the site to be very well looked after and find the Rangers to be a very courteous and helpful group of people.
 
Yours,
 
Jenny Huges
 

Hi Jenny, some information about the protection little ringed plovers (not ringed plovers) are afforded can be found here;

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/69  (note this link is to an external website not owned or run by CWG and may take a while to load)

Hopefully when Graham is next updating the website he may be able to help more with your questions- it's not a field I am all that knowledgeable in- I expect the green/amber and red lists change all the while, but it is the Wildlife and Countryside Act that protects the interests of all UK breeding birds

All the best

Nat

Hello Jenny,

 

Thanks so much for writing; its great to hear people's points of view and opinions. The Little Ringed Plover situation is indeed rather confusing. It is a species that has only colonised the British Isles since 1938 and around 1000 pairs now breed, partly due to the special legal protection it has been given. Because of this positive situation it has been given a 'Green' status.

 

 Species such as House Sparrow, of which there are 3 million pairs and therefore 3000 times more abundant than Little Ringed Plovers, and Starling (800 000 pairs) have been given a 'Red' status because their populations are in a decline that is causing great concern.

 

Chasewater currently holds around 1.5% of the national population of Little Ringed Plovers and to put this into perspective there would have to be 45 000 pairs of House Sparrows on site for it to hold a similar proportion of the national population. I don't think I've ever said that the national population of Little Ringed Plovers is 'endangered'.

 

The 'duck pond' situation is one we could talk about for hours and as its now 00:55am and I was planning on getting up to hear the dawn chorus! If I continued the discussion there would be no point in going to bed .

 

As for the Rangers, they are indeed a lovely group of people that I respect a great deal.

 

Regards,

Graham

Hello!

Took a walk round Jeffreys Swag with my cousin and her dog this afternoon (Thursday 19th)  and as well as a family of coots (really cute tiny babies with black bodies and brown heads), we think we saw a great crested grebe.

My camera wasn't really up to the job of covering the distance even on full zoom, but I am attaching a very blurry pic - not for you to post (it's too awful), but in the hope that you may be able to confirm the identity of the bird.

I love to check in to your website from time to time to see what's happening and have also found it useful when I've seen a bird I can't identify - thanks for being there!

~Suzanne~

Hi Suzanne, yes you have yourself a great crested grebe there. They are great to watch in late winter or early spring as they have a complex courting ritual where they posture together and synchronise movements. Coot babies are very lovely to look at- very competitive little birds though, often the biggest chick will bully the smaller ones to the death as they get older! Great crested grebe babies are attractive- they have stripy heads.

All the best

Nat

Hi there, found a Dingy Skipper on CB midday today, it was on the heather/heath area. Tried to photo but rarely settled. This was a new species for me so took some time to verify id.      Bob Russon, Lichfield RSPB

Hi Graham,

Cuckoo calling on North heath,7.35 a.m.. Redshank flew over North heath, calling at 8.15 a.m 

Cheers for now, Kevin McCarthy

Re diary entry 21st April. How can you justify complaining about the presence of dog walkers and families using the shoreline when wildlife enthusiasts are out there on the water's edge photographing birds? They may well be aware of the location of the LRPs and avoid the nest sites but they are showing very little respect to the whole concept of staying off the lakebed and are blatantly advertising to the public that it's fine to be out there. It reeks of double standards. Why should LDC go to the effort and cost of protecting the birds when the wildlife group cannot even be bothered to educate the public themselves?

Nat

Three cheers for the Wildlife Group! Chasewater is one of the best recorded places in Britain with detailed records going back years. With the modern addition of such a brilliant and informative website, people are more informed about the place than ever before. None of this would be possible without dedicated experts spending hours and hours, not just happily in the field but laboriously at home poring over computers and cameras to make sure the very best information and illustration is available for all those interested. And let's face it, a superb photograph is worth a thousand words, a list of actual sightings is worth a thousand guesses. Many thanks to the recorders, experts and photographers in the group for bringing Chasewater's riches to life for the rest of us.

Jan Hume 

 I fail to see where I was 'complaining' about the presence of dog walkers etc. I was making an observation i.e. A Common Sandpiper and 8+ Little Ringed Plovers were seen on a brief visit to the South Shore which was heavily disturbed by dog walkers, families and a remote controlled buggy. And as my reason for going on the shore was to scare off a Carrion Crow that was causing extreme stress to a Little Ringed Plover I started to think that there may some justification for not fencing off the whole lake-bed this year which led to me writing the second sentence: At least the disturbance was keeping a prospecting Crow away from the Little Ringed Plovers; perhaps LDC has decided this is the best way to protect them this year (GE).

It is food for thought that last year there appears to have been greater predation of young shorebirds at Belvide than here at Chasewater and it may have been because the presence of the occasional person on the shore (particularly one who knew where the nests were) had kept avian predators away. Clearly a free for all is not being recommended as, quite obviously, the risk of accidental trampling of nests increases with every pair of feet and set of paws that go on the shore and off the lead dogs clearly pose a great threat to flightless chicks.

It would be interesting to to a survey to see what drives people to go onto Chasewater's lake bed; I somehow feel no-one would say its because of the 'blatant advertising' of 'wildlife enthusiasts'.

Graham

Graham

You and I will clearly have to agree to disagree. If I read the diary comments (and there have been many about disturbance over the years) as a complaint on the users of Chasewater's shorelines then I will not be the only one that interprets them that way. In my mind, to moan about the presence of people and then to be one of them is double standards.

The number of times I have been on the balcony shore scanning for waders and see people right down on the waters edge, exactly where those waders would be if it were not for the presence of the person. This at a time when the council are telling people to stay off. People attract people....if one person does it then others will follow. As for the crow- it's a predatory species and very intelligent. It would come back when you weren't there, double the stress.

Yes the wildlife group does do an amazing job of recording wildlife, but it should do so in a way that is respectful of the landowners wishes and the needs of the wildlife itself. Just my opinion.

Nat

Hi Graham, there were around 30 Waxwings in the alder trees behind the feeding station on the 22nd March, took some photos and will process
and email them to you over the weekend, regards Mark.

Graham, 17.00 today 4 LRPs, 1Goosander, 1 pr Goldeneye only. Gull roost very small. Perhaps of interest, Sun 08.00 1 Oystercatcher, 2 Snipe, 2 pr Gadwall, Teal, + a few Reed Buntings, very little else seen, all from sailing club. Regards Arthur

Hi there, saw around 35 Waxwings this afternoon in a tree along Cumberledge Hill Road in Cannock Wood this afternoon, they seemed very quiet, not really trilling much, perhaps saving energy now for the big fly home! Also saw a lizard basking on Gentleshaw Common , I was wondering if you knew if there are adders on the common itself, have seen them on the Chase many times, but have been promising the wife to find her a basking adder, and Gentleshaw Common is pretty convenient for us to walk over, (got a little baby in tow) . Cheers for any info, Glyn

Hi Glyn, Waxwings are always great to find. As for Adders, I think they do occur on Gentleshaw Common but I haven't seen them personally. I hope more information may come in as a result of your request. Graham

Hi Glyn, adders were definitely present last summer on Gentleshaw Common.

Regards, Nat

Hi Trev, Your duck is a domesticated form of Mallard and it seems that it is called a Crested Swedish, at least in USA.

Graham

 If anyone knows any more about these domesticated varieties then please let us know. What are your feelings about the dilution of the true wild Mallard by these bizarre varities? Is Chasewater the right place for them? Your opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Graham

 Iceland Gull in roost today 16.30, also Redshank and Oystercatcher.

 All the best Arthur 

Hi Graham,

Raven flying west over Norton East Road at 8:45am. 60+ Linnets on south shore. Drake Smew present on Slurry Pool.

Cheers for now, Kevin McCarthy

Birdforum discussion thread on the Clayhanger diver;

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=191180

Hello,

I saw a group of between 38 and 42 Waxwings at Catshill Junction on the canal just outside Brownhills on Thursday 27/01/11.  I watched them between 4.00pm and 4.30pm before they flew off towards the centre of Brownhills as it was getting dark.  Most of the time, they were high in a tree on the far (Brownhills) side of the canal and only identifiable with binoculars, but at one time they spent a minute or two onto a nearby small tree where they were beautifully displayed from just a few feet away!  Unfortunately, the failing light made their colours only dimly visible - an hour earlier would have been much better.

Russell Calvert
Nottingham

Dear Graham,

Would you please consider adding my blog - hammerwichwildlife.blogspot.com to your blog links page on the Chasewater web site. I am trying to raise the awareness of wildlife in Hammerwich Parish and would very much like to meet and talk to you about the Hammerwich side of Chasewater. I recently met Phill Ward again whilst looking at waxwings in Brownhills high street and it was very clear in our discussion how much overlaps between the Chase and Hammerwich.

regards

Robert Sharp

Link added for you

Regards, Natalie Ward

Good afternoon,

a quick sprint around the area produced,

1 x drake Smew & 9 Goosander at Chasewater (11:00) and 1 x Adult Yellow-legged Gull at Stubbers Green (12:00)

regards, 

Karl Sargent

Woodcock flushed from scrub near gate to sailing club; 12.00 today.  Bob Russon

Hi there, 15 Waxwings along Cannock Rd, Heath Hayes at 09.30 this morning, I know it`s outside Chasewater area just thought you might be interested

Regards,

Grant Hames

Graham, Roger,

Possible Caspian Gull on ice at c2.40pm (after you left, Roger) – small adult, with small dark eye, white head, long pale yellow bill, long tapering wings, angled stance compared to more horizontal Herring Gulls. However, only viewed with binoculars and bird flew with others towards tip when disturbed by horse graziers and no further sign.

Also, Barnacle Goose still present and 15 Goosander, but most flew off as above.

Kevin Clements

..............................................................................................................

Hello,

Attached are images of that I took a gull seen at Stubbers Green at c1.20pm today, which I also saw c2.40pm yesterday. I would welcome your views at whether this is a Caspian Gull.

Thank you.

Kevin Clements

Graham,

Alan Dean’s comments re gull:

Not the clearest of photos – in current light conditions that’s no surprise! However, the mantle colour; longish looking legs (with evident tibia) and their apparently washed out flesh colour; the clean white head; the dark iris and the long white tip to outermost primary look good for Caspian. The bill is perhaps a little less long and with more obvious gonys angle than ideal. Overall I’d say there are enough positives to id this as Caspian. If you saw the spread wing and can confirm black on outer six primaries and with pale ‘veins’ intruding at the base then that would be additionally supportive.

And Steve Nuttall’s:

The Caspian Gull look fine too me.

I was also concerned about the bill – it looked longer and paler yesterday (presuming it was the same bird!), but that was with binoculars, whereas today the bird was more head on, which could foreshorten its appearance. Please feel free to use images on website.

When I arrived at about 1.00pm, there were very few gulls! However, what I presume was a bird scarer went off towards the tip and hundreds of gulls soon arrived! I picked out the gull on the ice, but after a few minutes at c1.20pm it flew towards me and the tip – I could not get any wing detail.

No sign of the Barnacle Goose (but few Canadas present), though three Goosanders, 63 Great B-b Gulls and ten Common Gulls counted.

Cheers.

Kevin Clements

Graham,

Single Barnacle Goose with the Canada Geese at Stubbers Green lunchtime today (5^th Jan), also 8 Goosander on the sailing lake.

Cheers.

Kevin Clements