Link to West Midland Bird Ringing Group: https://www.westmidlandsringinggroup.co.uk/
Updates
15th December – Photographs added
7th December – Photograph added
3rd December – Photographs added
17th November – Photograph added
25th November – Photograph added
31st December 2022
Overcast, light showers, fresh south-westerly wind.
The Car Park feeders were visited by the male Brambling again, together with the female Yellowhammer, 21 Greenfinches, two Collared Doves and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.
The Crop Field held at least 200 Linnets and a pair of Stonechats showed well along the Concrete Road.
Cetti’s Warblers were heard from the North Causeway Bay and the Reedbed and a Water Rail scurried across the channels in the North Causeway Bay.
Other counts today were four Mute Swans, 27 Canadas, three Geylags, 25 Gadwall, 28 Shoveler, 335 Wigeon, 23 Mallard, 425 Teal, 13 Pochard, 17 Tufted, a Shelduck, a Little Grebe, 18 Cormorants, a Heron, one Moorhen, 27 Coot, eight Lapwing (the number of this species had dropped due to the presence of the Peregrines), ten Snipe, 35 Black-headed Gulls, 13 Common Gulls, five Herring Gulls, two Lesser Black-backed Gulls and the adult Herring Gull.
30th December 2022
Overcast, rain until late am., strong southerly wind.
Morning counts of note comprised a Shelduck, ten Pochard, seven Snipe, 15 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and nine Common Gulls, with the male Stonechat along the Flood Plain fence. In the evening, a Kestrel was hunting along the Concrete Road and, on the Flood Plain, there were at least eight Redwings and four Fieldfares.
At least one Cetti’s Warbler was in song around the Causeway area.
29th December 2022
Sunny, cool wind from the south.
The immature female Peregrine was present again, perched in the front of Siden Hill Wood for much of the morning. The male Brambling visited the Car Park feeders again and there were 60 Linnets in the Crop Field. Lastly, a Grey Wagtail flew over.
28th December 2022
Overcast, rain, fresh southerly, clearing pm.
An adult male and an immature female Peregrine were interacting over the Flood Plain and Lower Siden Hill Wood at 2.30 this afternoon, with the female flying low over Railway Pool, trying to flush any Snipe in the Marsh and put up any wildfowl.
22 Greenfinches at the Car Park feeder was a notable count following the problems this species has suffered over the last few years.
The first-winter male Brambling visited the Car Park feeders again. Two male and three female Goosanders were present on Car Park Pool in the early afternoon, along with 12 Pochard and 22 Tufted.
27th December 2022
Overcast, light showers, fresh southerly wind.
A Reserve record count of 40 Goosanders were seen in the half light of dawn by Mike Johnson, but most had gone by 8 am and there were certainly none by 9 am.
At 11.45 there was a mixed flock of about 80 Finches in and around the Back Gate Copse Alders, comprising approximately 35 each of Goldfinches and Siskins and ten Redpolls.
The Crop Field held 60 Chaffinches and at least 200 Linnets and the male Stonechat was on the HS2 fences, by the Flood Plain.
Other visitors to the Car Park feeders included a bright female or first-winter type Yellowhammer, two Collared Doves and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.
There was a marked movement of Wood Pigeons this morning, with at least 750 birds over by mid-day.
Lastly, a Kestrel was hunting the area north of the Reserve, over the Flood Plain and along the verges of the A452.
26th December 2022
Bright and sunny.
The male Brambling continued to visit the area around the Car Park feeders this morning and what was presumed to be the female Marsh Harrier from earlier in the month put in another brief appearance.
There were ten Siskins, a Treecreeper, a Goldcrest, two Bullfinches in the Back Gate Copse, whilst a Water Rail was heard from the Reedbed area. There were two male Stonechats on site today, one over by the mobile phone mast and the other along the Concrete Road. A single Little Egret fed around the margins of Railway Pool and a Redpoll flew over the Car Park.
Later in the day, the Linnet flock, reappeared in the Crop Field and at least 210 birds were counted. There was also a female Goosander and a Raven.
25th December 2022
Wishing all our members a very happy Christmas.
Sun and showers.
Aside from the regular birds seen over the last few days, there was a Shelduck on Car Park Pool for some of the morning.
24th December 2022
Sunny, light south-westerly wind.
Today’s best bird was a first-winter male Brambling, which was seen first thing around the Car Park feeders and was present for much of the day. There were also at least 20 Chaffinches either in the Crop Field or by the Car Park feeders and a roving flock of at least 60 Linnets, feeding on the Fodder Raddish in the Crop Field.
A Jack Snipe was seen to the right hand side of Oak Hide, along with three Common Snipe. There were 30 Siskin and seven Redpolls in the Alders by the South-west Pond, two Nuthatches in the Back Gate Copse along with a Coal Tit, six Meadow Pipits along the Concrete Road, at least seven Greenfinches by the Car Park feeder, three Bullfinches behind Oak Hide and 11 Redwings, 12 Long-tailed Tits and a Kestrel along the Old Road.
Wildfowl and other counts comprised four Mute Swans, 84 Canadas, a Greylag, 37 Gadwall, 38 Shoveler, 410 Wigeon, six Mallard, 360 Teal, 15 Pochard, 19 Tufted, one Little Grebe, eight Cormorants, a Heron, one Little Egret, four Moorhens, 27 Coot, 102 Lapwing, 54 Black-headed Gulls, four Common Gulls, five Herring Gulls, three Lesser Black-backed Gulls and the adult Greater Black-backed Gull. There was also a single female Goosander.
23rd December 2022
Overcast, rain.
Snipe numbers increased today with 24 counted, mostly in the Marsh. There was also a Water Rail there. Pochard numbers continue to vary with just ten this morning.
22nd December 2022
Overcast with occasional light rain showers, south-westerly wind.
Counts today comprised 421 Teal, 13 Pochard, 37 Shoveler, two female Goosanders and seven Snipe by Oak Hide.
21st December 2022
Mostly sunny and mild, light south-westerly wind.
The only birds making the log today were five Goosanders on Car Park Pool, a Stonechat by the Dragonfly Pond and a fly-through Egyptian Goose mid-morning.
20th December 2022
Sunny for most of the day, light south-westerly wind.
A Red Kite that was initially seen over the Reserve mid-morning, was later seen over Balsall Common at about 12.40.
In the meantime, Goosanders came and went during the day with a maximum of 12 at any one time, two males and ten females. The adult Peregrine put in an appearance, along with the adult Greater Black-backed Gull, and there were at least 400 Teal on site. Eight Snipe comprised four at Oak Hide and four in the Marsh north of Siden Hill Wood.
19th December 2022
Overcast, strong south-westerly wind, pools 75% iced over at 9 am, but thawing rapidly in the strong wind.
Counts today comprised 330 Canadas, a near record 530 Wigeon (550 is the record), 11 Goosanders, four Pochard, 24 Tufted, 17 Common Gulls, the adult Greater Black-backed Gull and the long-staying male Stonechat on the Concrete Road.
18th December 2022
Starting cold and icy and progressively getting milder, with rain from mid-morning, throughout much of the day.
No records.
17th December 2022
Overcast, light south-westerly winds. Pools 95% frozen over.
Today’s counts, courtesy of Graham Rowling, Dave Scanlan and Glen Giles were as follows: 5 Mute Swans, 265 Canadas, 35 Greylags, 54 Shoveler, 15 Gadwall, 495 Wigeon, 12 Mallard, 330 Teal, seven Tufted Ducks, 14 Goosander, one Little Grebe, seven Cormorants, a Heron, ten Moorhen, 53 Coot, ten Lapwing, three Snipe, 44 Black-headed Gulls, four Common Gulls, seven Lesser Black-backed Gulls, three Herring Gulls, the regular adult Greater Black-backed Gull, two juvenile Peregrines together and, lastly, 30 Linnets and 40 Chaffinches in the Crop Field.
16th December 2022
Sunny, still and cold. -5 degrees at 9 am
There were 12 Goosanders still on the Reserve this morning, with a pair on Railway Pool and two males and eight females on Car Park Pool. There were also two pairs of Tufted Ducks amongst the many dabblers present.
A Woodcock was flushed along the path to Lower Siden Hide and a Chiffchaff was seen by the Back Gate Copse. Lastly, a Lesser Redpoll was in the Alders by River Hide.
15th December 2022
Sunny, remaining cold, -6 degrees on the Car Park at 9 am.
A drake and three female Goosanders were in the small area of open water on Car Park Pool this morning. The Wigeon were progressively flying off north to feed on the Flood Plain. Reasonable numbers of Chaffinches were attending the feeding area at the north end of the Car Park where the cages have put out to protect from Crows, Jackdaws and Pheasants.
The local Whooper Swan arrived on Car Park Pool at 11 am. The bird has been at Packington for much of the last few months.
Whooper Swan – Car Park Pool – Photograph by Stef Fraczek
Goosander Car Park Pool – Photograph by Stef Fraczek
14th December 2022
Generally sunny, light northerly wind. -3.5 degrees on the Car Park at 9 am.
Wigeon numbers were at an impressive 464 this morning, although birds are often not on the pools but feeding along the River and on the Flood Plain. There were also a pair of Egyptian Geese, two Farmyard Geese and three drake Goosander, whilst a Raven again flew over.
In the late afternoon and following the trend of previous winters, the number of Goosander coming in to roost increased during the day and there were nine males and ten females, by far the best count of the autumn and second-winter period so far.
Other birds making the log in the afternoon were 45 Lapwing, two Common Gulls, a singing Cetti’s Warbler and a Water Rail heard calling from the Reedbed.
13th December 2022
Hazy sun, still, -2 degrees.
A Woodcock was flushed from the path to River Hide this morning and flew towards Siden Hill Wood. Meantime, on the pools, there was a female Tufted and a pair of Goosander, whilst a Raven went over.
Both Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Nuthatch visited the feeders by Oak Hide and a Little Egret fed around the margins of the limited open water on Railway Pool.
12th December 2022
Overcast, misty, light snow showers, down to -2 degrees.
The only birds making the log in the ever decreasing water were a drake Pochard amongst the other wildfowl, an increase in the number of Linnets in the Crop Field to 120 and the adult Greater Black-backed Gull which joined a few Lesser Black-backs and Black-headed Gulls sitting on the ice.
11th December 2022
Today’s highlight was a female Marsh Harrier which appeared just before 10, hunting over the new scrapes before landing in a tree along the river, showing reasonably well from Railway Hide. At about 10.30, it flew off towards the Lorry Park, in fact landing in the Reedbed, but subsequently departed at about 10.50 over towards Berkswell.
This was a rather scruffy, but well marked individual with plenty of pale colouring on the fore wing and a lighter tail. It seems likely that it was the same bird seen on Tuesday.
In the diminishing open water, there seemed to be fewer wildfowl this morning but there was a female Goosander on Car Park Pool where the adult Greater Black-backed Gull was joined by three Lesser Black-backs, two Herring Gulls and a Common Gull.
In and around the Crop Field there were 30 to 40 Chaffinches, ten Reed Buntings and ten Linnets, with another larger mobile flock of Linnets east of the A452, in the region of 70 birds.
A few Redwings were feeding on thorn berries around the Car Park and there were at least 40 to 50 Redwings and ten Fieldfares on the Railway Embankment.
A single Little Egret flew over and a Cetti’s Warbler was in song along Baileys Brook towards the north end of the North Causeway.
Marsh Harrier perched in tree – Photograph by Nick Barlow
10th December 2022
Sunny, cold, still, the pools mostly frozen over.
Photograph taken near to the Railway – Photograph by Bob Breach
As in previous years when the freezing up of open water reduces the feeding area for dabbling ducks, the numbers of Wigeon and Teal increase at Marsh Lane and today was a good example with 369 Wigeon and 533 Teal. The latter is not far short of the record of 591.
Whilst there were 49 Shoveler, other duck were much reduced with four Mallard and 16 Gadwall. There were, however, two drake Goosanders, but no sign of any Pochard and just a pair of Tufteds. Four Mute Swans, 182 Canadas and 70 Greylags made up the rest of the wildfowl count and there were still two Little Grebes and 71 Coot.
One Heron, one Little Egret, 42 Black-headed Gulls, two Common Gulls, one Herring Gull, two Lesser Black-backed Gulls, four Snipe and just nine Lapwing, with the other birds around the pools. Meantime, the crop field is beginning to show signs of life, with at least 70 Linnets, 20 Chaffinches, ten Reed Buntings and five Song Thrushes. The male Stonechat was again along the Concrete Road.
In the afternoon, six attended the Work Party with all the time concentrated on cutting and removing reeds from the south end of the Reedbed.
Reed Cutting at the Work Party – Photograph by Nick Barlow
Shovelers in flight from Car Park Hide – Photograph by Bob Breach
9th December 2022
Sunny, cold, light north-easterly wind.
The pools are increasingly iced over and are being kept open only by the large numbers of Teal and Wigeon present.
The adult Greater Black-backed Gull flew in at about 8.30 am this morning, with probably the same bird seen over towards Berkswell yesterday. A Shelduck flew north, a Redpoll went low over the Car Park and there were approximately 20 Redwings around the Car Park area.
Two males and a female Goosander came in to Car Park Pool in the morning, the regular male Stonechat was along the Concrete Road and there were at least 35 Linnets around the Car Park and dropping into the Crop Field to feed. In the evening, the Goosander count had increased to six males and three females and there were also four Egyptian Geese and an immature Peregrine put in an appearance as well.
8th December 2022
Sunny, cold and frosty.
The only bird making the log today was a Woodcock, which flew across the road from the small copse, just north of the Dragonfly Pond, adjacent to the A452 and off east towards Berkswell.
7th December 2022
Sunny, light north-easterly wind, heavy overnight frost.
Car Park Pool was at least 60% iced over this morning, after the sharp frost, and Railway Pool about 20%. The groups of dabbling duck are keeping the water open. A male Stonechat was on the west side of River Hide, towards the River, working its way up and down the River Blythe but was not visible later.
There were 20 Pochard spread between the pools, a Water Rail was seen along the Concrete Road and Cetti’s Warblers were heard by the Dragonfly Pond and along the North Causeway Bay.
Teal – Photograph by Mark Waring
6th December 2022
Overcast, light northerly wind.
Today’s highlight was a female type Marsh Harrier, which flew east over the Car Park at 9.30. Other raptors, including a juvenile Peregrine which made several unsuccesful attempts at a Lapwing and then ended up in a dog fight with a Kestrel for about five minutes although, in the end, both flew off.
The drake Goldeneye remained and the Wigeon numbers had increased to 345. There were also 49 Gadwall and a drake Goosander, the latter flying north over the pools.
5th December 2022
Overcast, drizzle, light north-easterly wind, brightening later.
The drake Goldeneye remained on site and the Pochard count had increased to 21, with 14 males and seven females. The adult Greater Black-backed Gull also came in to roost and, at 11.20, a Red Kite went over.
4th December 2022
Generally overcast all day and cool.
The drake Goldeneye continued to show well on Car Park Pool where the adult Greater Black-backed Gull roosted along with three Common Gulls. 149 Canadas were spread across the Pool and the Flood Plain and there were five Snipe in front of Oak Hide. Water Rails either showed or were heard in the North Causeway Bay and near Railway Hide.
Cetti’s Warblers have been quieter of late but birds were heard in the North Causeway Bay by Oak Hide and by the Dragonfly Pond.
Lastly, a pair of Collared Doves visited the Car Park feeders.
3rd December 2022
Cool, but sunny morning, light north-easterly increasing steadily throughout the day, becoming more overcast with light showers from early afternoon.
A pair of Pintail were new arrivals and spent most of the day on Railway Pool whilst, on Car Park Pool, a drake Goldeneye appeared and was presumably the same bird from a few days ago.
Other counts today were as follows: 97 Canadas, 15 Greylags, 22 Shoveler, seven Gadwall, 134 Wigeon, 13 Mallard, 118 Teal, 14 Pochard, 28 Tufted, 55 Cormorants, three Herons, one Little Egret, one Little Grebe, seven Moorhens, 63 Coot, 42 Lapwing, four Snipe, 55 Black-headed Gulls, seven Common Gulls, two Herring Gulls, one Lesser Black-backed Gull, the adult Greater Black-backed Gull, a Water Rail in the North Causeway Bay, two Ravens over Siden Hill Wood and a male Stonechat along the Concrete Road.
Stagshorn or Candlesnuff Fungus – Photographs by Bob Breach
Quite common but Bob has not seen this many on the same stump before
Silver Leaf Fungus – Photographs by Bob Breach
Although purple, named Silver Leaf as it infects certain trees and causes leaf damage
2nd December 2022
Low cloud, overcast, light north-easterly wind, clearing in the early afternoon.
The male Stonechat was back along the Concrete Road this morning and a male and two female Goosanders flew over to the north. A Water Rail shot across the North Causeway Channels whilst, on the Car Park Pool islands, the adult Greater Black-backed Gull roosted, along with at least three Common Gulls and a Herring Gull.
Six Skylarks few low over Oak Hide, heading south-west and a Linnet was bombing around the crop field. A Grey Wagtail came off Railway Pool and headed towards the Lorry Park. In the meantime, around the Car Park feeders there were at least eight Greenfinches and six Chaffinches.
1st December 2022
Dull, overcast day.
A Yellowhammer was on the feeders around the Car Park, along with at least six Greenfinches, a Reed Bunting and two female Great Spotted Woodpeckers. Five Redwings and a Fieldfare were coming into the berries in the thorns there.
A Raven and a Kestrel flew over but, otherwise, there was little else out of the ordinary.