Updates:
30th and 31st July – Records updated
8th July – Record updated
4th July – Record updated.
23rd July – Record updated
Work Party Dates:
3rd September 2019 – 6 pm
5th October 2019 – 2 pm
9th November 2019 – 2 pm
7th December 2019 – 2 pm
31st July 2019
Blustery westerly wind, overcast, mostly dry.
A Black-tailed Godwit showed well on Car Park Pool this morning before flying on to the extensive floods at Patrick Bridge where it fed with Lapwing, Black-headed Gulls, Starlings and wildfowl. There were four Green Sandpipers on Car Park Pool first thing.
Black-tailed Godwit – 31st July 2019 – Photograph by John Hunt
There was a steady trickle of hirundines and Swifts south through the valley over lunch time and the early afternoon, with up to a dozen Sand Martins, two Swallows and two Swifts at any one time, but a turnover throughout the two hour period.
There were a least five Chiffchaffs between the Aeromodellers game cover and the river.
Other birds today included two Common Sandpipers, one Little Ringed Plover, nine Mute Swans and five cygnets, a pair of Wigeon, three Shoveler, three Teal, five Gadwall broods extending to 21 ducklings, 26 Tufted broods extending to 102 ducklings, 72 Greylags, 45 Canadas, eight Little Grebes and a juvenile on Car Park Pool plus three broods of three, five and four on Railway Pool, a juvenile Water Rail in the north causeway bay, two Little Egrets, 35 Lesser Black–backed Gulls around the flood plain and ten Swifts Over.
30th July 2019
Very wet all day.
There were no records.
29th July 2019
Sunny warm, light south westerly wind.
Two Green Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper and two Little Egrets were present on the Car Park Pool islands whilst the pair of Little Ringed Plovers with a youngster were on Railway Pool.
A Sedge Warbler showed well by Oak Hide where it is clearly busy feeding young.
There were lots of butterflies along the banks this morning with a least 20 Gatekeepers, 20 Meadow Browns, a Common Blue, a Peacock, three Essex Skippers (behind the car park feeder on the bank there) and four Small Skippers.
28th July 2019
Heavy rain showers, cool westerly wind.
Waders were much the same as previous days, namely two Green Sandpipers, one Common Sandpiper, the adult Little Ringed Plover and the chick from Railway Hide Pool.
Three Common Terns came in high from the east at 10:15 and carried on. There were some Tern passage throughout the Midlands today.
Other birds included two Little Egrets, a Kingfisher in the causeway bay where there was also a Hobby which nearly caught a Sand Martin; a migrant and fledged Little Ringed Plover from elsewhere on Car Park Pool, three Shoveler, two Wigeon and a Willow Warbler by the back gate.
27th July 2019
Unsettled, some rain, particularly in the afternoon.
The pair of Little Ringed Plovers and chick were still visible from Oak Hide where a Sedge Warbler was seen collecting food.
Two Little Egrets were on Railway Pool and a pair of Whitethroats and a female Blackcap were visible from Railway Hide itself.
Other counts and birds of note included six Mute Swans, 76 Greylag, a Greylag Canada Cross, two Canadas, a pair of Wigeon, 14 Teal, one Shoveler, 28 Gadwall and four broods (three on Car Park Pool, one on Railway Pool) 40 Mallard, 30 Tufted and 24 broods extending to 133 ducklings and including one group of 30 (11 Cormorants, eight Little Grebes and two broods, three below Railway Hide and five in the River Hide bay) three Herons, 17 Moorhens, 71 Coot, four Lapwings, one Green Sandpiper, two Common Sandpipers, a Kingfisher which flew past River Hide, flying along the river, a female Sparrowhawk, 40 Sand Martins and five House Martins.
26th July 2019
Bright, some cloud, occasional sunny intervals, rain in the evening.
The pair of Little Ringed Plovers with a single chick were present in front of Oak Hide today with other waders limited to two Green Sandpipers and a Common Sandpiper on Car Park Pool where there was also a Little Egret.
Two Ravens came from the Siden Hill Wood area and flew over the railway line.
Along the Old Road there were two Purple Hairstreaks and two Chiffchaffs.
25th July 2019
Very hot, temperatures up to 34°C at least.
A pair of Little Ringed Plovers have hatched out a youngster on the Railway Pool islands, they seem to be a pair that must have nested out of sight in front of Oak Hide, a pair nesting nearer to River Hide may have deserted although it is just conceivable it is one and the same, but unlikely.
Additional birds today were three Green Sandpipers, one Common Sandpiper and a Grey Wagtail.
24th July 2019
Sunny and warm.
Water Rails appear to have bred again in the north causeway bay with two juveniles seen this evening.
Wildfowl counts included eight Teal, a pair of Wigeon, one Shoveler, 14 Tufted broods extending to 83 ducklings, four Gadwall broods of 15 ducklings; there were also four Little Ringed Plovers, two Common Sandpipers and two Little Egrets.
23rd July 2019
Cloudy Start, soon turning hot with hazy sunshine
There were singles of Little Ringed Plover on Railway Pool and a Common Sandpiper on Car Park Pool this morning and still plenty of bird song with Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap and two Reed Warblers singing around the back gate / railway area whilst in front of Railway Hide at least five Whitethroats were playing together in the scrub there. A Kingfisher flew north up river, calling.
A brief work party involved around pulling the Ragwort from the west shore of Car Park Pool and further Willow and Alder control.
In the evening a count of over 80 young Tufted Ducks was recorded along with seven Gadwall broods and a roost of over 300 Jackdaws in Siden Hill Wood.
22nd July 2019
Sunny and warm
Over the Old road this morning there were ten Swifts that were clearly on the move and a Hobby hunted over the Dragonfly Pool along the Old Road. There were two Common Sandpipers, three Herons, a drake Wigeon and a Little Egret on Car Park Pool and two Little Ringed Plovers and one Green Sandpiper on Railway Pool with three Stock Doves over.
21st July 2019
Mostly sunny but breezy.
Two Hobbies over Car Park Pool were only the second birds seen this year after just a single record in May. A Red-headed Goosander on Railway Pool was the first for some weeks and other birds comprised two Green Sandpipers (one on each pool), two Little Ringed Plovers on Railway, 11 Teal, one Raven, 20 Rooks on the flood plain, four Swifts, five House Martins, a Swallow and three Common Sandpipers. There was a Willow Warbler behind Railway Hide.
20th July 2019
Increasingly sunny after showers in the morning.
Eight Pochard on Car Park Pool this morning were a relatively out of season surprise.
Other counts today comprised six Mute Swans, 75 Greylags, nine Canadas, a pair of Wigeon, four Teal, a Drake Shoveler, 22 Mallard, 39 Gadwall and four Grebes, 23 Tufted and 17 broods of 80 ducklings, six Cormorants, four Little Grebes, one Great Crested Grebe, one Little Egret, two Herons, 12 Moorhens, 38 Coots, one Oystercatcher, 89 Lapwings, four adults and two fledged juvenile Little Ringed Plovers from elsewhere, two Common Sandpipers, two Common Terns, 46 adults and 23 juvenile Black-headed Gulls, three Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 20 Swifts over.
Odonata included two Brown Hawkers along the Old Road and on the Dragon Fly Pond a good count of six Ruddy Darters and seven Emerald Damselflies. There we also four Emperors there.
19th July 2019
Generally Wet
There was a Little Egret and two Common Sandpipers on Car Park Pool and a steady passage of hirundines most of the day, with a maximum of 60 Sand Martins and eight House Martins at any one time.
18th July 2019
Fine and sunny, clouding over from the west with light rain the evening.
The birds noted in the log today were two each of Little Ringed Plover and Common Sandpiper.
17th July 2019
Temperatures into the mid 20s again, with hazy sunshine.
Some maintenance work was undertaken on Car Park Pool islands this morning and the Ragwort was pulled from the field in front of Car Park Hide to add to the pile that John Hunt had pulled from elsewhere on the Reserve.
Whilst on the islands at least 12 Tufted Duck nests were found. Two Common Sandpipers frequented the margins of the pools, a Water Rail called from the north end of Car Park Pool and three Swifts were feeding over Siden Hill Wood as they moved south. There were plenty of butterflies present today including at least two Marbled Whites in front of Car Park Hide.
In the evening additional birds were as follows, one Kingfisher in front of River Hide, five Oystercatchers, a third Common Sandpiper, two Little Ringed Plovers, a pair of Wigeon, six Teal, two adults and a juvenile Common Tern plus one new chick on Car Park Pool, 57 juvenile Black Headed Gulls, eight Gadwall broods totalling 32 ducklings and 14 Tufted Grebes totalling 66 ducklings including one brood of 15 nests. Six further Swifts moved through.
Plants helpfully noted by Russell Tonks included Great Lettuce in flower, just inside the gates from the cottages, Canadian Fleabane in the car park, good displays of Lady’s Bedstraw, particularly on the path down to Car Park Hide and Common Knapweed and Common Centaury (including the white flowered variant near the picnic bench by the back gate) present generally around the Reserve.
16th July 2019
Mostly sunny and warm – temperatures into the mid 20s.
Two Common Sandpipers and two Little Ringed Plovers were present on Railway Pool this morning whilst a ringing session in the back gate copse yielded one adult Song Thrush, 13 new juvenile Blackcaps and one adult, two juvenile Chiffchaffs, two juvenile Great Tits, an adult Robin, a juvenile Garden Warbler, two juvenile Reed Warblers and two adults, one of which was a re-trap from the 5th August 2016 and a Common Whitethroat.
15th July 2019
Mostly sunny, light north-easterly wind.
A Kingfisher was seen this morning in front of the causeway screen overlooking Car Park Pool whilst on that pool, there was Common Sandpiper and two each of Little Egret and Heron.
A pair of Little Ringed Plovers were seen on Railway Pool along with a Teal and Whitethroats continued to show in front of the hide where a Comma was nectaring on brambles.
Both Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler were seen in the back gate copse and a Green Woodpecker showed well around the car park.
14th July 2019
Drizzly, mild, light northerly wind, clearing slowly pm.
A Great White Egret was present briefly at 6 am but was driven off by other birds, mostly Gulls. A rufous phase female Cuckoo showed briefly in the hedge lines north of the mobile phone mast whilst, on the flood plain, there was a flock of over 60 corvids which included 37 Rooks (22 young), 20 Crows and the rest were Jackdaws.
The birds on the pools were limited to a single Common Sandpiper, three Teal, a female Wigeon, one Oystercatcher and two Great Crested Grebes. An adult Willow Warbler was feeding two fledged young opposite the car park gate and other family parties included one of Treecreepers on the south side of the Old Road game crop. Three young Swallows, two juvenile House Sparrows, two juvenile Pied Wagtails, one juvenile Whitethroat and two juvenile Goldfinches were around the buildings at Patrick Farm where redevelopment of the old cattle buildings will start this week.
On the freshly cut grass near the mobile phone mast, there were 26 Starlings and 76 Lapwings whilst, in the area, there were a number of young Whitethroats. Overhead, there were six Swifts and four Sand Martins were feeding.
A Cetti’s Warbler called in the blackthorn near the top gate and there is still plenty of Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Wren song along with occasional Blackbirds and Song Thrush.
As it warmed up during the day, Ringlets, Meadow Browns, at least six Marbled Whites and a Painted Lady showed between Railway and Oak Hide.
13th July 2019
Mostly overcast, occasional sunny intervals, light overnight rain.
The best birds were in the evening when a flock of 12 Black-tailed Godwits plus a smaller wader, possibly a Ruff, flew over the causeway hide at 17.48. They did not land. Other waders included two Common Sandpiper and a single Green Sandpiper, one Little Ringed Plover and 102 Lapwings.
Other counts today comprised eight Mute Swans, 82 Greylags, one Greylag / Canada Hybrid, a drake Shoveler, a pair of Wigeon, eight Teal, 11 Mallard and two broods (three fledged on Railway Pool plus a brood of four new ones), 24 Gadwall and five broods (Car Park Pool: 2,2,3,4; Railway Pool: 8), 18 Tufted and two broods (two on Car Park Pool and three on Railway Pool), two Little Egrets, one Heron, three Great Crested Grebes, two Little Grebes, ten Cormorants, ten Moorhen, 78 Coot, 180 Black-headed Gulls (65 adults and 120 juveniles), three Lesser Black-backs and four adult and two juvenile Common Terns.
At least two Purple Hairstreaks were visible in the oaks along the Old Road, north from the car park.
12th July 2019
Cloudy, north-westerly wind.
No records.
11th July 2019
Sunny spells in the morning, light rain pm and overnight.
On Railway Pool this morning there were three Little Ringed Plovers whilst, on Car Park Pool, there were two Common Sandpipers and a Little Egret. Plenty of butterflies were seen in the warm weather, including Comma, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell and still numerous Marbled Whites.
In more unsettled weather in the evening, a Redshank came in to roost with the Lapwings in Car Park Pool whilst, overhead, there was at least one Swift and five Sand Martins.
A single adult Lesser Black-backed Gull spent 15-20 minutes constantly harassing two young Tufted families. It was occasionally mobbed by Black-headed Gulls and Common Terns and moved away for a few seconds before returning and when it was not having a go at the Tufteds, another one or two adults would take over. None of them were ultimately successful, with the younger brood of two moving to the north edge of Car Park Pool and limited shelter offered by the vegetation there. The older brood of four young Tufteds with the female stayed in the centre of the pool but the Lesser Black-back decided they were probably too big for it. The persistence was noteworthy with the attacks lasting at least 25 minutes, tiring for both the Lesser Black-back and the Tufted in equal measure.
There were four fledged juvenile Common Terns still being fed on the islands on Car Park Pool, a small group of Starlings came in to roost and there were two fledged Whitethroats by the south-west pond.
10th July 2019
Sunny intervals, warm, light south-westerly wind.
Early morning records included a Common Sandpiper and two Little Egrets on Car Park Pool and three Little Ringed Plovers on Railway Pool. Records later on as the day developed included the Whooper Swan, a third Little Egret, the drake Wigeon, a drake Shoveler, 160 juvenile Black-headed Gulls, five adult Common Terns and four fledged juveniles, one Oystercatcher, five Gadwall broods and four Tufted broods, plus seven Sand Martins.
There were two White-letter Hairstreaks and two Purple Hairstreaks around the Aeromodellers and two Whitethroats in front of Railway Hide.
9th July 2019
No records.
8th July 2019
Overcast.
There was a single Common Sandpiper on Car Park Pool this morning and in the back gate area, another ringing session yielded, amongst other things, a juvenile Cetti’s Warbler which bred this year, a juvenile Bullfinch, 11 juvenile Blackcaps and one adult, one juvenile Garden Warbler, four juvenile Chiffchaffs, three Robins of which only one was an adult, a juvenile Great Tit, two juvenile Wrens, two adult Willow Warblers and a juvenile Song Thrush.
A little later on a Little Ringed Plover was present on Railway Pool and the Whooper Swan had returned to one of its trips to Packington and was on the flood plain.
Other birds noted today included a Garden Warbler north along the Old Road, a Little Egret on Car Park Pool along with a Snipe, two Green Woodpeckers and two Whitethroats on the railway bank and Comma and Gatekeeper Butterflies on the path to Railway Hide.
7th July 2019
Mostly sunny.
There were two Common Sandpipers on Car Park Pool this morning and three Little Ringed Plovers on Railway Pool, along with two pairs of Teal. 30 Swifts were feeding over Siden Hill Wood and butterflies included at least 50 Marbled Whites, four Purple Hairstreaks, one Comma and a Small Heath. The latter I think would be a new butterfly for the Reserve.
6th July 2019
Mainly overcast, some light rain.
Today’s counts were as follows: six Mute Swans, 39 Greylags, 17 Gadwall and three broods, one male and two female Teal (the potential breeding of Teal has now been questioned by the original finder on the basis that no young have been seen since and it is conceivable that in the short view they were young of Gadwall), a Drake Wigeon, 21 Mallard, 42 Tufted and two broods, four Great Crested Grebes, three Little Grebes, five Cormorants, two Herons, two Little Egrets, 11 Moorhen, 57 Coot, nine Lesser Black–backed b, 125 adult Black–headed Gulls and 215 juveniles, four Common Terns and five juveniles, 61 Lapwing, two Oystercatchers and a colour-ringed juvenile, four Little Ringed Plover, 20 Swifts and a Cetti’s along the Old Road. The Cetti’s in the Reedbed area has gone quiet but was heard on the evening of the 4th. There were two Green Woodpeckers around the car park and a handful of Sand Martins feeding over the pools.
One Purple Hairstreak was seen in the Old Road oaks and, on the Dragonfly Pond, there were seven Emerald Damselflies, one male Ruddy Darter and one Small Red–eyed Damselfly.
5th July 2019
Sunny and warm.
It was really quiet for birds this morning with just one Little Ringed Plover and a Wigeon, but a minimum count of 60 Marbled Whites between the car park and Railway Hide is another record. The first Gatekeeper of the year was also recorded.
4th July 2019
Sunny, warm, south-westerly wind.
Two Purple Hairstreaks were actively flying around the top of the third main Oak, north of the car park gates. They were on the top of the one beyond that with the large Tit box on. Plenty of Ringlets and Meadow Browns were in flight along the Old Road, along with two Red Admirals and a Comma, and there was a Marbled White in the car park.
The West Midlands Ringing Group (formerly Brewood Ringing Group) undertook a ringing session in the back gate copse this morning and ringed 32 new birds as follows: five Wrens, one Song Thrush, 14 Blackcaps, one Blackbird, one Sedge Warbler, three Garden Warblers, three Robins, two Chiffchaffs, one Great Tit and one Bullfinch. There was also a Dunnock re-trap from 2018 and a Wren, originally ringed as a juvenile in 2018. The Bullfinch was a male and had hatched last year. 27 of the birds were this year’s birds and included three Garden Warblers, which were relatively fresh out of the nest.
A singing Cetti’s Warbler was recorded from Bradnocks Marsh.
A singing Sedge Warbler was recorded from Bradnocks Marsh and the ringers had a Barn Owl both seen and heard by the back gate having come from the area near the lorry park.
3rd July 2019
Sunny and warm, light north-westerly wind.
The first Purple Hairstreaks of the year were in the Oaks along the Old Road, just north of the entrance gate and there were still two White-letter Hairstreaks visible on the Wych Elm by the Aeromodellers, with others seen along the bridle path opposite Marsh Lane.
Flowers recorded by Russell Tonks included Common Meadow-rue on the right hand side of the path approaching Packhorse Bridge, Lesser Stitchwort on the left hand side of the path approaching the picnic bench near the back gate where there is also Agrimony, lots of Meadowsweet generally throughout the Reserve and Imperforate St. John’s wort, now in flower on the right hand side of the Old Kenilworth Road between the main entrance and the Dragonfly Pond.
In the evening, seven attended the Work Party with a variety of jobs successfully undertaken and this included strimming along the path sides, particularly to River Hide with the hedge also cut back, Willow and Alder control, strimming around Railway Hide, clearance of the north causeway channels, gate maintenance and some weeding of the smaller island in front of Car Park Hide. Many thanks to those who attended.
2nd July 2019
Occasional sunny intervals, mostly cloudy, north-westerly wind.
Waders new in today comprised two Common Sandpipers and a Green Sandpiper, all on Car Park Pool but, aside from this, it was quiet.
1st July 2019
Sunny intervals, west, north-westerly wind.
A Kingfisher flew over the north causeway bay this morning and there was a juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker at the Oak Hide feeder. Two White-letter Hairstreaks showed well on the Wych Elms by the Aeromodellers, today viewed from the path up to the Aeromodellers. Much depends here on wind direction and sun.