News from the Marsh

Still quiet! Gareth paid one of his regular visits today, This will be the last update for a few days as I have got quite a busy weekend lined up.

12-240pm

Little ringed Plover - 2 on mere
Hobby - seen several times across Marsh,Mere and sewage works
Gadwall-1male on swag
Cormorant - 3 over mere
Mallard-7young on mere
Oystercatcher - 2 on mere
Raven - 1 thru the mere
Reed warbler-2singing pelsall rd pool+1 singing on swag
Pied wagtail-collecting food on marsh
Red Deer - 6 on marsh
Canada goose - 17 young on mere+ 5 young on swag

I think that all the regulars will agree with me when I offer a sincere vote of thanks to Gareth for helping to make this a particularly well covered and exciting Spring, I hope you all have a peaceful and pleasant Bank Holiday weekend - Chaz

News from the Marsh

Gareth has been visiting again interesting that he had a Peregrine as I am working in Walsall at the moment and the birds on the Town Hall seem to have disappeared here is what he saw:

Clayhanger
1030AM-245PM

An idiot on canoe on mere from 12pm 1pm
Sedge Warbler - 1 singing at Pelsall Rd pool, 1 singing on swag
Mallard - now 7 young on mere
Greylag Goose - 1 on mere
Canada Goose - total of 14young on mere+ 5young on marsh
Common Tern - 21 on mere
Coot - 4young+ 3young on mere
Oystercatcher - 2 on mere
Meadow Pipit - 2 singing near mere
Reed Warbler- 1 singing on marsh
Gadwall - 1 male on swag
Mute Swan - pair on swag
Grey Wagtail - 1 over swag
Tufted Duck - 35 on mere most later moved to swag with canoe on mere
Lapwing - 1 on marsh area
Peregrine- 1 sub adult female at 140- 145pm caused chaos attempted to half heartedly catch Oystercatcher, Black Headed Gull and Common Tern. Made easier to count terns

On monthly review you write 2 Arctic Tern on 14th when there was at least 8 birds seen
(I stand corrected then!)

Final word on the Ruddy Duck issue, just a thank you to everyone who has contacted me with expressions of support. This does not signify any contention or disagreement between anyone involved (Kev is well aware of the strong feelings that this issue still provokes and I am sure may miss the presence of Ruddy Duck just as much as I do) but some of the comments received have been very reassuring and I am pleased to know that I am not alone in my disgust at what went on (it is something that I actively campaigned against at the time through reading and researching source materials and appealing to a range of organisations and political representatives none of whom seemed interested in reading anything that could give reason to abandon the cull)

I suspect those who have read the exchanges will appreciate that this is one of those rare issues that really gets under my skin. Apologies to anyone who was disappointed by the apparent contentious nature of recent posts. - Chaz

News from the Marsh

Many thanks to Kev Clements who paid a visit this morning;

More evidence of successful breeding by Black Headed Gulls and yet another colour ringed bird seen, Little Ringed Plover - Cuckoo - seven Common Tern - eleven Lesser Black Backed Gull - at least twenty-nine Tufted Duck.  All I can add is the Cuckoo on the set aside, presumably several (?) who were still waking me up at dawn today - not complaining, just saying! As far as I am concerned being woken by Cuckoo is something I have learned to value - have a good rest of the week - Chaz

Ruddy Hornets Nest (as Usual)

Having hinted at my feelings about the on-going Ruddy Duck cull there have already been responses and it seems it never never ceases to be a controversial subject. I am actually quite aware of the realities of the situation and have previously discovered evidence from reputable sources that the cull went ahead despite significant evidence that contradicted accepted belief about British Ruddy Ducks and the alleged negative impact of them on the Spanish White Headed Duck population (I actually had a letter published which originally quoted page and paragraph from a wildfowl trust report to this effect, but these references were removed from the published document).

This morning I received a text from Kevin Clements berating me for suggesting that the removal of the Ruddy Duck as the West Midland Bird Club logo was political as this action was already planned and had nothing to do with the controversy that raged about the debate. Here is what he wishes to say on the subject:

"If criticising West Midland bird Club on blog please be accurate: Ruddy Duck was not "dropped" from logo and sits alongside Grey Heron. As it happens we are currently considering changing logo and have asked members for ideas but difficult choosing one species relevant to whole region; any thoughts welcome"

"..I have no desire to reopen the RD debate but I believe that the timing of the logo change to include GH (Grey Heron) was deliberate."

"Organisations change logos for various reasons including to rebrand and market themselves tho not always popular. We can dwell in the past or move with the times. I believe that WMBC logo will change again and that some will like it and others won't. All ideas welcome" 

Who am I to contradict these words from an esteemed representative of the W.M.B.C. However, as I inferred in my response to Kev, if the removal of Ruddy Duck from its prominent place on WMBC documentation and publications was coincidental, it was a bloody unfortunately timed one! Within an hour of my posting I had received a text from Yvonne agreeing with my comments so it is not only myself who suspects that it was deemed to be a politically expediant time to undertake the process of logo change. I will leave the reader to decide if they agree or not.

The one aspect of Kevin's response that I disagree with profoundly is the remark about dwelling in the past.

NO I still contend that the Ruddy Duck debacle was instigated politically, contradicted known information about the movement of UK Ruddy Ducks, was based on misinformation about the true status of both White Headed Duck in Spain and also without due regard to the movement of escaped Ruddy Duck from collections in mainland Europe (A Colour Ring project with Ruddy Duck in one area revealled a maximum movement of an individual of fifteen miles in a five year study!).

If we move on from this and allow it to be forgotten - it can happen again. Some major Conservation bodies were complicit in what amounted to the genocide of a naturalised species that was effectively inert in our environment and which was never proven guilty of a detrimental effect anywhere else. This was done against the wishes of a substantial proportion of their memberships and without consultation of that membership. If you think that is OK then put the Ruddy Ducks behind you - personally I hope that this debate goes on to haunt those organisations for many years to come.

Finally, the new W.M.B.C. Logo - I am not a member so I can't influence this but dare I suggest that someone put forward RUDDY DUCK as a candidate? Lets face it there is an organisation out there using the Dodo as a logo to commemorate its existence, should we not also wish to commemorate the Ruddy Duck and the wonderful enhancement it gave to many a day of birding in the Midlands? - Chaz

News from the Marsh

What a brilliant image! And its one of ours.
This Photo taken on the Marsh today by John Smith

Monday and back to work! I am still enjoying the novelty of being awakened at about 04.30 by Cuckoos and John Smith has obviously also been inspired by this years influx and obtained the shot of one today that really captures the spirit of the bird - what a world if we were ever to loose these altogether? Don't think it can't happen, I remember flocks of Corn Bunting and parties of Red Legged Partridge at Clayhanger. Not to forget our resident Ruddy Ducks, murdered in the name of conservation politics by a policy based on assumption and inaccurate information.

Anyway, don't get me started, I wont re-join the R.S.P.B. until they concede that they were wrong to back the policy, and as for the West Midland Bird Club, after years of proudly displaying the Ruddy Duck as a much loved trademark they dropped it as soon as it became politically embarrassing and replaced it with something really charismatic - A Grey Heron (sorry, you might not be picking up all of the sarcasm there).

Gareth was over again today but is having to get used to a bit less excitement than he's had lately. He does seem to have confirmed the first breeding by our gulls though:

730am 930am
Me+dad (kevin clements)

(Yes Gareth - I do know who your dad is! I'm dim - but NOT THAT DIM!)
Clayhanger
Gadwall- 1 male on mere
Mallard -12young on mere
Tufted Duck - 19 on mere+2 on marsh
Black Headed Gull - 2young on island on mere
Little Ringed Plover 2 on mere
Cuckoo- 2 singing- 1 on grassy area next to sewage works and 1 Ryders Mere
Lesser whitethroat- 1 singing on marsh

Many thanks to Gareth and Kev for the records and to John for one of my favourite pictures this year. My wife loves it too, I took her to show her the cuckoos on Friday - Chaz

PS. - Don't worry Kev, I promise not to call you Dad when I see you about - it'll be our secret - C

Its a warm and pleasant Sunday - so back to normal then?

Unlikely - but its probably my star bird today

Yep - its hard to believe that any of this weeks bedlam actually happened as a warm and bright Sunday morning seems to have reverted everything back to its default 'average Spring day' setting.

Gareth actually walked here and was present from about three-o'clock and the best he could turn up was four Cuckoo and a Little Ringed Plover (which was one more LRP than I found, but then some of us got the Cuckoo while still in bed!). My star bird was a toss-up between a Willow Tit that actually showed brilliantly for a change and an unseasonal Rook which overflew the Mere being mobbed.

Clayhanger Marsh

Cuckoo (4) - Reed Warbler (4) - Sedge Warbler (1) - Common Tern (2) - Buzzard (1) - Oystercatcher (1) Willow Tit (1) - Yellowhammer (1)

Ryders Mere

Common Tern (4) - Oystercatcher (1) - Rook (1)

And here is what Gareth saw:

Clayhanger Marsh/Ryders Mere

0530am -920am. After walking here from Wolverhampton I was up at 3
Cuckoo- 4+ singing birds- Pelsall Common as walked up Wolverhampton Road, Ryders Mere, 2 marsh area with 2 birds seen extremely well
Canada goose - 5+2+5 +2young on mere + 4 young on marsh
Little ringed plover - 1 on mere,
Oystercatcher - 2 on Mere, also seen on marsh
Tufted duck - 33 on mere
Gadwall - 1 male on marsh at 6am but flew north west
Mute swan - pair on marsh,
Sand martins collecting feathers on marsh-interesting
Common tern 11 on mere. Also using swag
Water rail - 1 on Pelsall rd pool
Crow - carrying what looked like duck egg off island with trees.
Lapwing - 2 in marsh + pair with 2+ young in fields by brook below mere.
Lesser Whitethroat - singing Pelsall Road pool.
House Martin- collecting mud in marsh
Sedge wblr- 2 singing on marsh, 1 on Pelsall road pool.
Reed Wblr - 1 singing on marsh
Coot - 4young on mere

Will Spring still have a sting in its tail, I suspect so? I just hope that its something that gets the blood pumping and not something naff. It takes a lot to get me worked up these days, today I have  turned down a lift to go and see the Dusky Thrush in Kent (more because of economics rather than apathy) but I have to confess that racing from one end of Britain to another has lost a lot of its appeal these days. I must be getting old.

Have a nice week everyone - Chaz

***Possible Rarity Reported***

I have had a report of a probable Woodchat Shrike seen on the north edge of the S.S.S.I early afternoon. The bird was seen briefly (twice) initially flying into a tree before being disturbed by horse riders and flying east along the perimeter and across the east paddocks, being lost to sight between the pit mound and Clayhanger Lane.

Both observers had seen the species before and one of them has extensive experience of Woodchat and describes the bird as having a long tail, pale wing panels and a brownish cast which would be suggestive of a female specimen. I have been over and together we did an extensive search of the area where it was lost to sight but to no avail.

The habitat, rough grassland with fence lines and gorse bushes is ideally suited for this species and it could be relocated but there are possibly too many suitable areas for what is a comparatively small shrike to be concealed.

As I write this one of the finders is still on site, Gareth is due to arrive and Tony Stackhouse is going over when he is available.

I have returned home, but am ready to drop everything I am doing when that phone rings!

Cross everything! - Chaz

P.S. Gareth was unable to relocate the bird but did find a Yellow Wagtail