2005
28
Feb
Mon
27
Feb
Sunday
26
Feb
Sat
Chasewater:
Fly Pool – Pair of Great Crested Grebes with at least one chick
Swag
– Male Smew .
Jack’s Wood – 1 pair Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 1 Green Woodpecker, 4 Jays .
Highfield Farm – 9 Teal (GE).
(80 Waxwings at Brownhills at mid-day (PW).)|
|
|
|
25
Feb
Fri
Chasewater: Male Smew by dam. Mixed flock of Redwing and Fieldfare in fields by Pool road (GR).
Highfield Farm – 11 Teal (GE)
(40 Waxwings at Lindon Drive, Brownhills at 08:00 (GE).)24
Feb
Thurs
Brownhills West: Sparrowhawk very active at Noon (RJ)
Digiscoped by Robert Jeffrey >>>
|
|
23
Feb
Wed
No white wing gulls in near blizzard conditions (IW)
Cuckoo Bank: 2 Short-eared Owls, 7 Common Snipe, 3 pairs Grey Partridge (6 birds), 4 Pheasant, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 1 Stonechat, 150 Skylarks (GR).
|
|
22
Feb
Tues
|
Gorse fire below dam (GE) |
 |
21
Feb
Mon
Chasewater: 1 male Smew, 5 Teal (GE).
(20+ Waxwings at Brownhills (GE) and at 16:35 around 12 passed over the north end of Norton and flew towards Norton East Road (SB).
Cuckoo Bank: 3 Short-eared Owls (WMBC)
Snow dusk (GE) >>
|
|
20
Feb
Sunday
Gull Roost: 5400 Black-headed Gulls, 42 Great Black-backed Gulls, 578 Lesser Black-backed Gulls still slightly outnumbered by Herring.
16 Red Deer on Cranebrook Heath (GE)
Brownhills - 100 Waxwings
at Silver Court (BC, PW).
1 Buzzard (per GE)
Two of 16 Red Deer on Cranebrook Heath (GE).
19
Feb
Sat
Chasewater: 1 male Smew, 3 Shovelers, 3 Teal (GE), 5 Gadwall (PJ), 89 Goldeneye, 109 Tufted Ducks, 5 Goosanders (SB).
12 Waxwings in New Road, Burntwood during the morning and another small flock flew past the Rugby Club at 16:30(GR). Around 70 were at Brownhills until midday with up to 15 during the afternoon until 16:45 when 60 briefly appeared before departing towards Chasewater (PW).
Old Vicarage – 1 pair Great Spotted Woodpeckers, carpets of Snowdrops (GE).
2 Ravens over Burntwood (RS).17 Red Deer on No Man’s Bank at 07.00 am (SB).
|
|
 |
18
Feb
Frid
Chasewater: 1 male Smew, 1 Oystercatcher(GE).
No ‘white-winged gulls’ but 1 albinistic first-winter Herring Gull (GE, PJ, IW).
No Waxwings seen flying to roost but 60 at Brownhills at 15:20 (GE) and 25 were back at Boney Hay (GR).
Cuckoo Bank: No S E Owls seen (GR).
|
|
|
|
17
Feb
Thurs
16
Feb
Wed
Good numbers of large gulls in the roost. Herring Gulls outnumbering
Lesser Black-backs but no white wingers, just the Herring with the white
greater coverts(IW).
150 Waxwings at Brownhills left at 12:00 and reappeared at 16:00 (GE, PW).
No birds were
seen flying over Chasewater from 16:.15 (IW) but
18 flew over Hednesford Hills from the direction of Chasewater and
Eights Wood at 16:42 – indicating the birds are still roosting on the
Chase.
15
Fen
Tues
152 Waxwings at
Brownhills (GE)
Cuckoo Bank:
6 Short-eared Owls (GR).
Link
to Local Development
Framework
announcement about the future of Highfield Farm
14
Feb
Mon
Swag - 1 male Smew (SB). 4 Cormorants including 1 ‘sinensis’ type (GE).
110 Waxwings flew north over the west shore in five parties between
16:35 and 17:10 (GE, PJ, PW). (Up to 50 were at Brownhills (WMBC)).
No Man’s Bank/Norton
- 11 Tree Sparrows, 1 Fox, 15 Red Deer including 2 stags(SB).
13
Feb
Sunday
Swag - 1 male Smew, 88 Goldeneye, 2 Kingfishers (GE), 105 Tufted, 4 Goosanders (SB).
150 Waxwings flew north over the west shore in seven parties between 16:20 and 16:50 (JA, PJ, NS, PW). (Up to 40 were at Silver Court, Brownhills at 09:30 (RJ), 24 at 13:50 (GE) and 160 at Lichfield during the day (PW).
|
|
|
|
|
|
12
Feb
Sat
Chasewater: 1 first-winter Glaucous Gull, 1 male Smew, 160 Waxwings flew north over the west shore in six parties between 15:45 and 17:15 (Up to 14 were at Silver Court during the day, rising to 40 prior to flying off to roost at 15:40 (NS, PW) and 150 were at Lichfield (PW).
North Shore – 3 Jack Snipe (ICW, MY)
Highfield Farm – 8 Stock Doves, 9 Teal (GE).|
|
11
Feb
Frid
Cuckoo Bank: 2 Short-eared Owls and 1 Hare. A dead Hare was seen recently probably killed by a dog (GW)
The deer cull is back on again, the signs were back up this afternoon and shooting was going on from 1645, shooting from a Range Rover (GW).
|
|
|
Tufted drake © N Stych |
10
Feb
Thurs
9 Feb
Wed
Chasewater:
1 first-winter Glaucous Gull (a paler bird than last night’s), about 40
Waxwings flew north along west shore at dusk(GE, PJ, IW).
60 Waxwings at Silver Court before flying towards Chasewater at 15:30 (PW)
8 Feb
Tues
Bat species: 1 medium/large bat sp flew over west shore, dipped down over water and flew off over wood. Perhaps not quite long winged enough to be Noctule but too large to be Pipistrelle/Daubentons (GE, PJ, IW). Discussion on Chasewater Chat
Gull Roost: 1 first-winter Glaucous Gull, 1 leucistic adult Herring Gull and 1 first-winter bird with white greater coverts, 20 Great Black-backed Gulls (GE, PJ, IW).Cukoo Bank: 2 Short eared Owls, Buzzard soaring, 4 Stonechats, 2 Grey Partridge, 2 Common Snipe, 50+Skylarks, 4 Yellow hammers (JH).
7 Feb
Mon
Feeding Station: 6 Bullfinches, 3 Reed Bunting, 8 Brown Rats (SB).
North Shore: 3 Red Deer, 4 Stonechats (2 pairs), 15 Long-tailed Tits, 1 Common Snipe, 5 Ruddys, 6 Goosanders (SB).
6 Feb
Sunday
Swag - 1 male Red-breasted Merganser (flew north at 12:40), 1 male Smew, 88 Goldeneye, 7 Ruddy Ducks, 2 Kingfishers (SB, GE, PJ, NS, IW, PW).
(450 Waxwings at Silver Court before dispersing during mid morning. 40
later at Norton Canes (GE)
1 leucistic Herring Gull in roost (JB).
Cuckoo Bank:2
Short-eared Owls, 2 Grey Partridge, c200 Skylarks (GJM)
|
|
|
|
5 Feb
Sat
Swag
- 1 male Smew, 10 Goosanders, 2 Kingfishers (SB, GE)
300 Waxwings at Silver Court, Brownhills at 10:00 am (TH)
Cuckoo Bank: 1 female Merlin, 1 Short-eared Owl (WMBC), 9 Common Snipe, 2 Grey Partridges, singing Willow Tit in Eights Wood (GE), 2 Ravens, 9 Teal, 25 Mallard (IW), 1 Kestrel, Skylarks singing (BC, DS).
No sign of the Pink-footed Geese and no confirmation of any Bean Goose record.
|
|
|
|
4 Feb
Frid
Cuckoo Bank: 1 SE Owl (SB).
Pinkfeet by John Harris
|
|
3 Feb
Thurs
Chasewater:
Smew in Fly Bay, 6 Goosander, 6 Common Snipe,
2 Jack Snipe (GR).
Iceland Gull again in roost (IW).
Cuckoo
Bank:
15
Pink-footed Geese, 2 Short-eared Owls, Stonechat, Common Snipe (JH).
Geese still need a thorough check for Bean Geese, 2 of which have been
claimed today.
Flocks of 5 and 22 Waxwings flew north at dusk (BS, PW).
|
|
|
|
2 Feb
Wed
Gull
Roost:
Although there was no sign of a Glaucous Gull there was another (third
of the year) odd pale winged adult Herring Gull (GE, BS, IW).
Feeding Station
- 4 Bullfinches, 10+ Blue Tits, 10+ Great Tits, 3 Tree Sparrows, 3 very
large Brown Rats (BR).
(200 Waxwings in Brownhills and 150 at Baron’s Court, Walsall Wood (PW)).
Cuckoo Bank:
15 Pink-footed Geese (or 3 Tundra Bean Geese and
12 Pink-footed Geese (WMBC)) were flushed on 2 occasions
by a helicopter; they circled then landed again, 5 Short-eared Owls, 3
Stonechats, 5 Common Snipe, 4 Grey Partridge, 50+ Skylarks, 10+
Yellowhammers, 7 Red Deer (JH).
|
|
|
Pinkfeet on the 3 Feb |
1 Feb
Tues
Up to 500 Waxwings at Silver Court, Brownhills (NS), about 100 near the Yew Tree in Norton Canes at lunchtime (SB). 100+ Cherwell Drive, Brownhills West (RJ).
Cuckoo Bank: 15 prob Pink-footed Geese in grassy field north of main track. (Need checking for Tundra Bean Geese), 2 Stonechats, 2 Grey Partridge (TW).