Sandwell Valley (13 Viewers)

[Ixer]

With a number of regulars away, I'm not sure we can make a decent attempt at tomorrow's all-dayer. Is anybody about to give the Valley a bit of a look?

 

[yamyam]

Ruff flushed by work party per Pete carless
Good birding YAMYAM

 

[yamyam]

I'm in Italy at the moment its a shame there was no one around to participate in the all dayer I reckon we could have seen between 75 and 80 species
Good Birding YAMYAM

 

[rollingthunder]

Popped in ystda looking for flickers etc but didn't click, quiet generally - a lone female Goosander, no hirundines over the water or Swifts seen...

Laurie:t:

 

[mattgibbs]

A 3 hour visit this morning somewhat hampered by the very misty conditions. Nothing in the way of warblers apart from Chiffchaff and Blackcap. 66+ lapwing Forge Mill, 5 Cormorant, 3 Snipe, 9 R N Parakeet, 3 Willow Tit, 3 Pochard, 4 Shoveler, 6+Teal , 15+ Gadwall, a solitary Swallow, Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker.

 

[Abbeybirder]

Highlights from my first visit since May this morning - Hobby over Marsh area at 9.20am then again over main pool 9.40ish seen 10 minutes later by 2 RSPB workers over main pool scaring BHG & Lapwings main pool by Band Stand area
1 x Pochard, 4 (F) Goosander, 2 X R N Parakeet, 10 Gadwell, 9 (F) Teal and many Shoveler 20+

 

[yamyam]

Sounds like I'm not missing much in the
Valley at the moment, I'm sat out side a Bar over looking Montecatini watching Bee-Eaters and Crag Martins
Good Birding YAMYAM

 

[yamyam]

Raven over Forge Mill and a Whinchat in the Paddocks today per Mike Ixer, the best I could do was seven different Hoopoe's near to Fiuggi.
Good Birding YAMYAM

 

[Avocet123]

Great place is Fiuggi, especially around the Boniface gardens in the town, Its like a large park where you walk down the slope and sit awhile sipping the salty waters from the spa, with rows and rows of toilet cubicles each side for when the waters start to take their effect, I didnt partake as I was due to travel home next day but just like Yam Yam I saw 9 Hoopoe's flying around the tall trees in the park, not difficult to spot but made a change from Sandwell Valley and it was in 2001

 

[yamyam]

Still not a lot of news coming from the Valley I'm in Sicily on the last leg of my trip home on Tuesday
Good Birding YAMYAM

 

[yamyam]

Med Gull still present on Thursday per RSPB
Good Birding YAMYAM

 

[yamyam]

Med Gull still present on Thursday per RSPB
Good Birding YAMYAM

 

[Avocet123]

Hi Everyone
Recently noticed a glaring error in Yam Yams Sandwell Valley League Total from 3rd September 2015
It states that my Sandwell Valley Life List stands at 139, actual fact it stands at 191, having been a birder ( Not a twitcher ) in the valley since 1979 I have amended the list accordingly and reposted the league table, no other persons total have been messed with, only mine
It would seem a pretty bad lifelist if all I've seen in the valley since 1979 is 139 species, I'm not a regular poster on the forum and I don't birdwatch as often as i used to as I'm now getting older and have other interests but usually try and get down the valley once a month or so, this year myself and a friend have been conducting a wildlife survey in dartmouth park which can be found at www.wildlifeofdartmouthpark.co.uk and I've also produced a video which is on the website and also on youtube with the same name

Anyway the amended list :-
Dave Saunders, 210, Great Reed Warbler
Pete Hackett, 207, Great Reed Warbler
Tim Hextell, 200, Great Reed Warbler
Mike Mountford, 191, Little Egret
Matt Hadlington, 189, Great Reed Warbler
Hughie King, 177, Great Reed Warbler
Simon Edwards, 172, Ruff
Terry Parker, 169, Little Egret
John Clarke, 162, Great Reed Warbler
Pete Carless, 156, Crossbill
Steve Lilly, 151, Mediterranean Gull
Mike Ixer, 140, Crossbill
Richard Eyres, 126, Great Reed Warbler
Jason Davis, 109, Ruff
Richard Davis, 109, Ruff
Matt Gibbs, 99, Ring Ouzel

Yam Yam sorry for the intrusion but you have not been replying to my private messages requesting the change so I've done it myself
Happy Valley Birding Everyone
Mike

 

[yamyam]

News from last week, Redstart, Whinchat, Yellow Wagtail, Siskin c 30, Meadow Pipit X 15 and Ring Necked Parakeets X 18 per Pete Hackett
Good Birding YAMYAM

 

[yamyam]

Little Egret on island at Forge Mill per Pete Carless
Good Birding YAMYAM

 

[yamyam]

Stonechat, Spot Flycatcher X 2 and Whitethroat, many Siskin and Chiffchaff Hilltop per Tim Hextell
Good Birding YAMYAM

 

[yamyam]

A little late burst from the Valley, good stuff, I myself had to make do with Pallid Swift, Honey Buzzard and Lesser Kestrel.
Good Birding YAMYAM

 

[Avocet123]

Think I'll do Sheepwash Tomorrow, It's been such a long time, Last time I went around was to find all the Geocaches, But someone as posted some good pergerine photos on the sheepwash post on the "Stack ", not sure where that is but I'm thinking it may be on the other side of the railway, but should soon find it, Sorry Off topic, not valley related,well I need two more birds to push me past my best ever year count for the valley, not highly impressive but worthy of mention, anyway where have all the posters gone off here it seems that if it wasn't for YamYam then it would be dying a death, I will have to start putting in an appearance more often, I need to get down the valley every day, Who know's I may be able to report in the future that I have got the highest valley list consistently through the year, but it won't be this year as it is September already, but maybe a project for next year, who knows ?.
I suspect there are more readers than posters, so to encourage you all to fledge the nest and join the big wide world, Question ?, What is the best bird you think you have ever seen in the valley and why ?, Mine I think must be the Pectoral Sandpiper, 29th September 1984, Just popped down the valley for a quick look around and the Sandpiper was in the muddy sandy shallows where the RSPB's Island is now, the excavators had just left and they had just finished profiling the banks ready to fill the lake with water, with only small pockets of water around, perfect wader territory, several people saw the bird , at that time I had only been birding in the valley for 5 years or so and i think that must have been my one and only "Mega" for the valley, I'm sure many of you have seen many fine birds of your own in the valley over the years, why not share some with us , who knows it could be a very useful exercise
Mike

 

[Avocet123]

I was not going to see another "Pec" until the 6th September 1989 at Cley, so I had to wait awhile , but as I'm sure most of you would agree the first time is always the best, It's good to have memories of the birds and people, friends you make over the years Birding, I don't get around that much these days so these memories and bird logs are so important to me, a few years ago I went through all my old logbooks and put them on a software package called Bird Journal. it cost me a 100 quid but it was worth every penny as i have life lists for everything else natural history and i can find all those memories very quickly.
I remember many years ago coming down the RSPB one weekend to open up the nature centre for the day and when I got to the Forge Mill Bridge by the slipway the water level of the lake was lapping at my feet, against the advice of a valley ranger I quickly ran around the bank to where the Lake Hide used to be ( I think you call it the Bandstand ) and by the time I got to where Billy Brookes Bench is I was literally having to run through water, It got that high, Sadly I cannot recall the exact date or year but it was not a pleasant experience.

 

[Avocet123]

During Tony Whiteheads time at the valley we tried to always make the visitors trips to the valley as pleasant as possible, so a request was put out for any old carpets that people would love to donate to help deaden the noise of footsteps when moving around in the hides, The Andy Killgallon Hide, Marsh Hide and the Lake Hide, they were also to be nailed to the benches in the hides to keep peoples bottom's warm, As I didn't drive I always used to walk down through the valley from West Bromwich and this one particular day ( Sunday I think ) I got to the Forge Mill Bridge and car park and there were police everywhere, so not having the luxury of wheels i had to walk down newton road and along the other side of the river, even on that side there were police with dogs and the helicopter Alpha Oscar One flying about, with some area's taped off, Whilst at Forge Mill I had asked a WPC what the problem was but got no info out of her, so I went and spent my day at the RSPB, explaining to visitors that if they were to walk around to the bridge they may not be able to walk over to Swan Pool, Luckily by around 11 am most of the police had left, so I was able to walk home by my usual route, I got to the bridge and there was a solitary bobby stood there , I asked him what the heck had been going on and he told me that during the weekend a man walking his dog near to where the bottom corner of Hill Top Golf course meets the river and gone into the copse ( Still There ) and in the long grass had discovered the body of a man wrapped up in a carpet, so with our appeal in mind I politely asked the bobby if we could have the carpet when they had finished with it, he suggested I popped into the Police station on my way home and ask the desk seargent the question as he was not in a position to comment, I walked into the Police Station and was very quickly told no, The things I have done for the RSPB over the years !
We never got the carpet ,but at least I tried