Hmmm, somewhat late in the year to be starting a whole new blog on a whole new subject, but hey, who cares? And does anybody actually read this s**t anyway?
But with my currently running blog (please see my Venus Pool blog), having almost no updates (due to VP being totally naff currently), I was getting a bit bored so decided to do this little one instead!! Okay? Right then, here we go folks - hold on, it's going to be a very rough ride and I expect most of you to fall asleep in sheer boredom!!
I wont be going back too far (because I simply cannot be bothered to trawl through all my notes...yep! I actually keep notes!!), so we'll begin on the 18th April 2006 when I went to a beautiful local spot and a big favourite of mine - Bridges: This site is situated between the Long Mynd and Stiperstones and is a very picturesque narrow, lightly wooded valley with a small stream running at the base. My reason for visiting was simple, this is an excellent spot to relax into a spot of easy birding. As I parked at the small layby by the old stone bridge, I was overjoyed to see an entire family group (at least 4 generations - with dogs in tow!!), enjoying a nice day picnicing and generally making enough noise to scare off every bird within a twenty mile radius, by the lovely quiet stream. Undettered, I crossed the style and did my best yob impersonation (making sure they clocked my wealth of 'hard-man' tattoos), as I walked past so that they wouldn't follow me! My utter disregard for family outtings rewarded me with not one but two brilliant male Pied Flycatchers. My first target bird scored within just a few yards. Excellent, now where are the others? I scanned the top of the steep ridge and was amazed to get straight onto my second target bird, a male Common Redstart!! This was going too well, surely it would end? And it did, right then, apart from two more Redstarts squabbling in a tree above me, I saw nowt else!! Nevermind.
04/05/06 - Ercall Woods: A morning stroll up The Ercall with my daughter in tow (Wrekin's too damn steep!!), was rewarded with three Wood Warbler's all in great voice. Also a very showy Garden Warbler, but little else to quench my birding thirst....and Erin was getting well p***ed off with Daddy... so time to go! Nice spot though, and a cert for Woodie!!
12/05/06 - Bayston Hill: This is where I have chosen to live, in a modest little cottage with my family, it has four pubs (all rough and we dont like strangers, so stay away!!), a very naff Spar, an excellent butchers (chilli sausages are to die for here!!) and of course, a cheap booze offie sandwiched between a chippie and a kebab house. What a lovely rural scene it makes, too. Anyway, we are surrounded on all sides my agricultural land and is generally good for birds! Today, whilst walking my dog in these afore mentioned fields, I was very happy to see two Yellow Wagtails in the 1st field from my house, they bred here last year!! It's possible to walk all the way from my house to Bridges (see above) along The Shropshire Way - totally irrellevant piece of information for you there!
19/05/06 - Bayston Hill: We'd just got back from visiting relatives in Leicestershire, as we got out the car I pointed to a Cuckoo sat in a nearby tree calling away to my wife & daughter (who were both totally uninterested), when a second Cuckoo landed in another tree just 50yds away and began out-calling the first!! Awesome, 2 Cuckoo's outside my front door!!! Who say's Shropshire's s**t for birds? (Well, okay, yeah it generally is!).
26/05/06 - Wood Lane NR: So, I'm at work and Geoff, the county recorder, send me a text saying that there are 4 Avocet at Wood Lane!! What?!!! The last record of Avocet in Shropshire was about 3000BC!! I cannot miss this tick. Okay, get a grip Jase you knob, let's get confirmation, so in the next 30 minutes I run my mobile phone bill up by about £80, but manage to get my mates Rob & Andy winging their way out there. At 12:30pm Andy rings and say's " Yeah mate, they're still here but are being mobbed by Shelducks, get here quick!!".
I'm in Telford, at work, miles away. Sod it, I'm off!! I leave work regardless of being fired and leaving empty mouths at home, and, without bins (they're at home - dick head!!), I race off to Wood Lane (at one point, overtook two police cars at 90mph on the Shrewsbury bypass!!...but they ignored me, thank heaven for shift-change time!!). Anyway, I ended up following my mate Jim to Wood Lane and we arrived together, Jim gave me a loan of his bins as he was going to be photographing the birds anyway. After initially going to the wrong hide, we were soon staring at the 4 Avocets!!! What a county tick! They were constantly getting up, due to being chased off by a family of Shelducks, but did eventually settle again. I left at 14:35 hrs....the Avocets flew off (for good), a few minutes later!! Had I gone home for my bins, I would've missed them!!
18/06/06 - Whixall Moss: How could I possibly top Avocet in Shropshire this year? Well, read on...
A ring-tailed Hen Harrier had been reported on the moss on the 11th June and I can remember at the time thinking what an unusual time for Hen Harrier being there and actually joked about it with my mate Mike as being a possible Monty's!! Oh boy!!.... On Sunday 18th I recieved a text of a possible Pallid Harrier being on Whixall!!! What?!! No way man. But, around 15:00hrs my mate Andy (another Andy from before!), called me saying, with huge excitement in his voice, "Get up Whixall now, this bird aint a f***ing Hen Harrier!!".
Off again like a total lunatic I drove. I arrived at the moss to find Andy, Geoff & Jim already there on the bird....a totally awesome 1st summer female Montagu's Harrier!!! A county 1st, no less! We watched the bird on & off for over 30 minutes, totally gobsmacked. What a bird!! We were soon joined by Alan, Paul & Phil with Rob & Damo en route. Unfortunately Rob & Damo dipped it and Paul and Phil only got brief views, but that didn't stop this being the major highlight within the county since, possibly, the Lesser Scaup last year!!? Maybe even better than that?
Anyway, I really cant be arsed to write any more yet, so for now at least, traaa! |
