July 31st B N Grebe,

Black-necked Grebe (juv) ......Photo by L Johnson.

Todays Black-necked Grebe at the pool is possibly one of the juveniles that has been present at Drayton Bassett pits over the last few weeks, and was also seen at nearby Coton lake earlier this week. The last record for the pool was during Sept 2006.
Previous Records as follows.
08-09-06 (2 birds)
08-11-05
01-09-02
31-03-99 (5 birds)
11-10-98
06-10-97
27-09-87
09-01-83
22-09-80.
S Seal.........
Black-necked Grebe (juv)......Photo by S Seal.

Black-necked Grebe (juv)......Photo by D Hutton.

July 31st.

Black-necked Grebe (juv) ....by Steve Seal.

7 Common terns (3 x juveniles) and Common Sandpiper at 10-30 this morning. S Seal , D Hutton.
A phone call around 2-30 from Lee Johnson to say he had found a juvenile Black-necked Grebe at the eastern end of the pool. (Nice one mate). Also present were now 5 Common Sandpipers, 2 Yellow Wagtails were heard, only 2 Common Terns left from this mornings seven , and a Kingfisher made to flybys. S Seal, D Hutton L Johnson and B Duckhouse.

July 29th.

Hobby over at 13-30 .
L Johnson.

July 23rd.

With the weather getting warmer more like july supposed to be , i made a lunchtime visit to see what Butterflies were on the wing. What first caught my eye was a Peregrine mobbing a Buzzard over the wood behind the car park, unfortunatly i only had my small lens so any photos were vertualy impossible. A steady walk around the pool produced nothing special just a Green Woody, Nuthatch, Blackcap and Whitethroat. Butterflies noted were 16 Large White, 19 Small White , 33 Meadow Brown , 37 Gatekeeper , 2 Green-veined White , 15 Ringlet and one each of Comma , Small Tortoiseshell , Large and Small Skipper.
S Seal....
Comma.

Gatekeeper.

Gatekeeper.

Gatekeepers.

July 22nd.

Common Sandpiper still present today ,and Butterflies noted on the meadow were Small Tortoiseshell, 12 Meadow Brown and 2 Gatekeepers .
J Harris....

July 21st.

An early visit this morning i arrived at 6-30 but still not early enough as dog walkers and joggers where already their , so any waders on the shore line would have already been disturbed. Their were 4 Red-legged Partridge just in front of the car park , and 2 Common Sandpipers feeding in front of the sailing club . The Tree Sparrows have been productive this year as 2 adults and 11 juveniles were feeding on the dockweed and nettles at the back of the sailing club. Also there were 2 Whitethroats , 9 Goldfinch and 11 Blue Tits. A visit to the small pool produced 2 Mistle Thrush , 2 Green Woodies, and 3 juvenile Grey Wagtails. Also noted 2 Buzzard , 1 Common Tern , 3 L B B Gulls , Great Spotted Woody , Nuthatch and 2 Blackcaps.

Red-legged Partridge.

Dragonflies and Butterflies were on the wing catching the early morning sunshine ,3 Black-tailed Skimmers , 2 Common Darters , and a Broad-bodied Chaser . Also 2 Large Whites , 4 Gatekeepers , 4 Large Skippers , 18 Meadow Browns , 9 Ringlets and 5 Speckled Woods.
S Seal...

Common Darter (female).

Gatekeeper.

July 20th.

Pied Wagtails use a wide range of habitats and can often be found near water. They are a familiar site around Shustoke being an all year round resident.

Numbers increase with passage birds during spring and autum migration , with around 80 birds present along bixhill lane in march this year.

Pied Wagtails roost communally in winter, often using factroy buildings or trees near street lights for warmth, but in extremely severe weather some will migrate to the Continent. This bird was photographed on a cold frosty morning on 6th April after a night of heavy snow.
S Seal...

July 18th.

Very quite on the pool this morning, just one Common Tern, 159 Coot, 93 Mallard, 38 Great Crested Grebe , 2 Little Grebe , 11 Tufted Duck , 2 Mute Swans and 6 Canada Geese. Other birds noted were 8 Swift, 35 House Martins , 8 Pied Wagtails , 2 L B B Gulls , 1 Whitethroat and 1 Tree Sparrow. Very few Butterflies on the wing due to a strong south west breeze, just 3 Large Whites, 1 Gatekeeper , 8 Meadow Browns , 2 Large Skippers and 2 Ringlets.
S Seal....

July 15th.

Had a walk around the pool this evening, the weather was sunny with a strong south west breeze. As useual for this time of the year it was very quite, birds noted were 2 Common Terns, Blackcap (female), Chiffchaff in song, Great Spotted Woody, Grey Wagtail and one Common Sandpiper. Their were a few Swifts and House Martins coming and going over the pool but no great numbers. Ths first Southern Hawker off the year was noted by the sailing club, and a handfull of Butterflies which included Comma, 5 Ringlet, 6 Large Whites, 3 Large Skippers , 1 Orange-tip and around a dozen Meadow Browns.
S Seal, D Hutton.

July 13th.

Coot.

The Coot is one of our most numerous and widespread waterfowl, nesting around lakes, gravel pits and resevoirs. A few pairs breed around the pool and on the nearby river. During this month we will slowly start to see numbers increase , around several hundred will make there way here to overwinter. Numbers are swollen considerably by immigrants from north west europe. At present there are 108 birds on site, previous figers are...685 Sept 04, 655 Dec 05, 530 Jan 06, 592 Oct 07.
S Seal....

Coot.

July 11th.

When i visited the pool this morning at around 9-30 i was surprised at the amount off Hirundines hawking over the water, possibly braught in by the heavy showers they were feeding on newly hatched flies. An estimated count off around 800 House Martins, 600 Swifts and about 350 Sand Martins but no Swallows were noted at all. In front off the sailing club one Common Sandpiper was feeding along the shore line, and three L B B Gulls were loafing on the water , and a Buzzard circled overhead. But the highlight for me was only my second Oystercatcher at this site in the last twenty years . Braught down by the heavy showers it was feeding on worms along the grass bank at the western end , but alas was soon flushed by a dog walker. There are occasional records most years as they breed in the nearby Tame Valley. S Seal.....
Oystercatcher.

Oystercatcher.

Oystercatcher.

July 10th.

Two Common Sandpipers present this afternoon.
(J Harris).

July 4th.

Sunshine and Butterflies.
With the sun out i decided to have a steady walk around the pool this morning in hope off seeing a few butterflies. Usually things are very quite on the bird front during the month off july, but it can also turn up a few supprises. Wildfowl totals were 108 Coot, 110 Mallard, 21 Great Crested Grebe, 3 Little Grebe and 10 Tufted Duck. Other birds off note were 2 Garden Warblers, 3 Whitethroat, 4 Coal Tit, 1 Tree Sparrow, 1 Great Spotted Woody, 2 Buzzards, 1 Nuthatch, and just 1 Common Tern. The Tern numbers have suffered at the pool this year due to the flooding at the start off the breeding season which destroyed most if not all off there nests at nearby Kingsbury WP.
Butterflies noted today were, 45 Meadow Brown, 15 Ringlet, 8 Speckled Wood, 4 Peacock, 2 Small Copper, and just one each off Common Blue, Large White, Large Skipper and Comma.
S Seal....
A view off the western end in the sunshine.

Common Blue (male).

Small Copper.

Speckled Wood.

Ringlet.

Meadow Brown.

Comma.

July 2nd.

I usually stay away during the months of June and July as they are rather quite on the bird front but very noisey on the human side, what with kids running around , dogs barking everywhere and boats on the water , all that does very little to inspire me to do some birding. If you are not put off by this activity their should be a good selection off Butterflies available.
S Seal....
Peacock.

Speckled Wood.