Lutley Wedge 26/12/10 1.40pm (0/-1°c) Cold grey and overcast. S breeze

Highlights of a quick visit this afternoon were 11 Lapwing flying over heading West at 1.50pm, and a single Common Snipe which also flew West.

Also seen:-

19 Fieldfare

6 Redwing 

2 Herring Gull

12 Yellowhammer

Lutley Wedge 25/12/10 10.40am (-6°c) Freezing cold/snow cover (overnight severe frost -8/-9°c) Sunny, clear skies.

GBB!

As the snow and ice continued to grip the Midlands and the rest of the U.K, hundreds of Lesser Black-backed Gulls were on the move this morning flying over mainly to the North, with smaller numbers of Herring Gulls and Black-headed Gulls mixed in with the flocks. The Larid highlight however was a superb adult Great Black-backed Gull which i picked out flying North with 14 L.B.B Gulls at 11.10am (and only the 2nd record of Great Black-backed Gull at Lutley Wedge, since the first in December 1998!)

Although in the Midlands as a whole Great Black-backed Gulls are classed as a 'fairly common winter visitor', the winter distribution in the West Midlands is very low only 1% and even Worcestershire only 5% according to 'The new Birds of the West Midlands 2005'. This is presumably why it's taken me 12 years, and the coldest December for a 100 years to record Lutley's second! It was worth the wait!

Also seen:-

5 Lapwing (1 >E) (4 >NNW)

40 Fieldfare

10 Redwing

1 Siskin

Spot the GBB! 25/12/10

Great Black-backed Gull (middle) and Lesser Black-backed Gulls 25/12/10

Lutley Wedge 24/12/10 11.20am (-1°c) Freezing cold/snow cover. Scattered cloud and sun. Light N wind

Highlight today was a smart adult Common Gull which flew over heading East with 4 Black Headed Gulls, otherwise apart from a couple of Siskin flying over it was more of the same with Fieldfares making cold weather movements.

165 Fieldfare (91 >W/SW)

16 Redwing

2 Siskin >N

Fieldfares and Common Gull 24/12/10

Halesowen West Midlands 23/12/10 Waxwings

'More Trillers!'

A flock of 13 Waxwings flew over my garden at 10.07am totally ignoring all the apples i had put out to attract them, and landed in trees nearby on Bassnage Road for a few minutes before flying off again. 

 

Waxwings Halesowen West Midlands 23/12/10

Lutley Wedge 23/12/10 11.00am (-2°c) Freezing cold, light snow showers, overcast, (overnight hard frost -5/-6°c) N/NW wind.

There was a noticeable hard weather influx of Fieldfare today, with at least 184 flying over mainly to the South and West in an attempt to escape the freezing weather and snow covered ground.

Hard Weather movements 11.00am-12.15pm

184 Fieldfare (74 >W) (57 >S/SW)

22 Redwing

2 Song Thrush

4 Raven

also seen:- 4 Raven, 1 Common Buzzard and 14 Yellowhammers at Grange Farm 

Fieldfares 23/12/10

Lutley Wedge 19/12/10 10.40am Freezing cold (-6°c) with 16+cms of snow. (overnight severe frost -13°c!!) Cold ENE/N wind

'Life in the freezer' on the patch this morning! Temperatures plummeted to a record low of around -13°c overnight with at least 16 cms of snow still on the ground, from the heavy snowfall on the 18/12. Some cold weather 'escape movements' were noticeable over the top footpath, with the highlight being 2 Curlew that flew over heading West at 11.23am (these are the first winter records of Curlew at Lutley Wedge). A few Lapwings also flew over fleeing the freezing conditions including a flock of 7 flying at high altitude rapidly >West at 12.35pm, along with increasing numbers of Fieldfares and Redwings.
Hard Weather movements 10.40am-1.30pm
2 Curlew >W
9 Lapwing (7 >W) (1 >SSW) (1 >NE)
79 Fieldfare (48 >S/SE) (19 >W/SW) (2 >E) (3 >N)
57 Redwing (30 >S/SE) (12 >N/NW) (9 >W) (2 >E)
1 Song Thrush >W/NW
8 Skylark (7 >E) (1 >SW)
53+ L.B.B Gull
11 Herring Gull
2 Raven >E

Frozen Lutley looking South to Clent Hills, and Ice crystals 19/12/10

Curlew and Lapwing heading West 19/12/10

 Redwing and Herring Gull 19/12/10

Lutley Wedge 15/12/10 12.40pm (4°c) Cold and overcast. Cold NW wind

A quick visit this afternoon to Wassell Grove Pools. The highlight on a fairly quiet day was a large flock of 55+ Siskins feeding in the alder trees around the pools, until they were flushed by a hunting Sparrowhawk. Also seen:-  21 Redwings, 1 Fieldfare, 7 Bullfinch and 1 Common Buzzard.

Halesowen West Midlands 13/12/10 Waxwings

I found yet another flock of 42 Waxwings in Halesowen this afternoon, noisily 'trilling' from the top of a tree on Highfield Lane/Park near the junction with Chapel Street at 12.35pm before they  flew off to the SW.

Lutley Wedge 07/12/10 10.00am (-8°c) Freezing, clear skies with hoar frost and ice/snow (-9°c overnight)

An incredible hoarfrost covered everything this morning, after last nights freezing fog cleared as the temperature plummeted to a new record low of at least -9°c!  Not surprisingly given the arctic conditions there were some more signs of hard weather movements, with 1 Common Snipe, 3 Lapwing and 5 Cormorants seen flying over. Winter thrushes were again obvious feeding on berries in the hedgerows amongst the thick covering of hoarfrost. The Redwings especially could be in for tough time of it soon, when they exhaust the dwindling berry supply, especially as the freezing weather is forecast to be around into January!

3 Lapwing >W

1 Common Snipe >ESE

5 Cormorant >E

20+ Redwing

21 Fieldfare (19 >NE)

21 Siskin (20 >S/SE) (1 >NE)

'Redwing and hoarfrost' Lutley Wedge 7/12/10

Halesowen West Midlands 07/12/10 Waxwings

The Waxwing invasion continues! 

I found another 6 Waxwings at 09.30am today at  Bassnage Road/Foxhunt Road Halesowen, and managed to get a short sound recording and a few record photographs, before the flock flew off 'trilling' high to the South at 09.38am.

Waxwing/sonogram (Halesowen West Midlands)  7/12/10

Waxwing 7/12/10 by Lutley Birder

Lutley Wedge 05/12/10 11.15am (1°c) Cold, clear skies with hard frost and ice/snow (-3°c overnight)

The ground on the patch today was still frozen hard and covered with ice this morning caused by the slight thawing of the lying snow over the last few days re-freezing overnight, making conditions underfoot treacherous. 
The highlights birding wise were 2 Common Snipe which flew over at 12.35pm . A few winter Thrushes were still around in the hedgerows with 30+ Redwing and 2 Fieldfares seen, and I also managed to get a good sound recording of one of the Fieldfares which was perched in the hedgerow along the Top Footpath. Also seen of note :-  1 Goldcrest, 10 Siskin, 6 Bullfinch, 2 Red-legged Partridge, 2+ Common Buzzard, 3 Herring Gull >N/NE and 13 Black Headed Gulls (including 1 carrying a leg ring). 

Fieldfare (Sonogram) Lutley Wedge 5/12/10 

Fieldfare calls Lutley 5/12/10 by Lutley Birder

Lutley Wedge 02/12/10 11.20am (0°c) Cold grey,overcast, 3/4cm of snow, snow showers. NNE wind

The patch Waxwing record was well and truly smashed today! A superb flock of 32 Waxwing flew in from the north at 11.40am and continued swiftly south towards Clent. Also 1 Common Snipe, and 11 Golden Plover flew high over the Top Footpath, and a influx of 45 Skylark were in the fields by Grange Farm. 
32 Waxwing >S
11 Golden Plover >W
1 Common Snipe >SW
 45 Skylark
43+ Redwing
2 Fieldfare
1 Herring Gull >WSW

31 of the 32 Waxwing flying south! Lutley Wedge 2/12/10

Common Snipe v Wood Pigeon 2/12/10

Lutley Wedge 01/12/10 10.45am (-1.4°c) Cold grey and overcast with heavy snow showers. Biting NE wind (-6°c windchill)

Finally the Waxwing invasion reached the Lutley Wedge recording area! I found 2 Waxwings near Lutley Lane this morning, perched in the top of a Leylandii tree near the junction with Portsdown Road/Snowdon Grove at 10.45am, and a short while later at Grange Farm, I heard another Waxwing calling as it flew over. These Waxwings are only the 3rd/4th records for the local patch, so a real red letter day! 

The freezing cold wind and frequent heavy snow showers throughout the morning, made for tough birding conditions along the Top Footpath, but there were more signs of hard weather movements, in breaks between the blizzards. There were the first signs of Skylarks beginning to flee the freezing weather and more Lapwings flew over, with a noticeable influx of Redwings flying over and feeding in the hedgerows.
15 Lapwing >W/SW

101 Redwing 

8 Fieldfare
8 Skylark >SW
1 Siskin >S

Waxwing and Lapwing Lutley Wedge 1/12/10

01/12/10 Halesowen, West Midlands. 'Waxwings part 2!'

I found another flock of 18 Waxwings very near to my home today at 10.20am. The flock were perched in the top of a tree on Bassnage Road/Foxhunt Road Halesowen. They were only present for about 5 minutes giving me just enough time to take a few record photographs, though sadly the light wasn't great due to the onset of blizzard like conditions! I also made a  sound recording of the 'trilling' calls before they flew off.

Waxwings (Halesowen West Midlands 1/12/10)

Waxwing Sonogram 1/12/10

Waxwing calls, Halesowen West Midlands 01/12/10 by Lutley Birder