18 March

With some fine Spring weather I just had to find time for a little birding. The changing of the guard started with the wintering Pochard flock departing during the week, dropping from 30+ to just one bird by Thursday. The Wigeon flock which has been steady at five birds all winter departed on Wednesday. Wildfowl have been incredibly low this winter with no Shoveler, Goldeneye and just a single Teal so far this year.

Wednesday was a stunning day and I recorded 53 species during the morning which was the best I have managed so far this year. Whilst I saw nothing special there was just a lot more around, with a birds preparing for the breeding season. I had an enjoyable ten minutes watching a pair of Treecreeper doing the human equivalent of "Can I buy you a drink", There were a few singing Song Thrush and an obvious fall of Chiffchaff with several seen.

The weather returned to normal towards the end of the week being overcast and colder. A flock of 30+ Fieldfare flew over and I also located a flock of 8 Redpoll. On Tuesday four Siskin were seen. It has been an unusually poor winter for these two species as they usually occur in good numbers making the most of the food available in the riverside Alders.

Finally, on Friday during my second visit I came across three Sand Martin, which for me heralds the start of Spring. My earliest Swallow was on the 17 March so I will be trying hard next week to see another early arrival!

Elsewhere, at Whitacre Heath NR I saw my first Lesser Spotted Woodpecker for two years and that took six visits! Whilst a brief visit to Middleton RSPB saw a smattering of waders with Oystercatcher, Redshank and my first LRP for the year seen.

Finally, Severn Trent are introducing parking charges for the Reservoir, I wish they would introduce charges for people walking their dogs off the leads. I have noticed that over the years the car park has also become popular with Camper Vans and Mobile Homes as an overnight stop, I suppose it is cheaper than using the official Camping & Caravan Club sites which seem to be springing up all over the place!