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Lucky to have some well-managed farmland in South Staffs & walk this morning produced 6+ Corn & 5+ Reed Bunting, c20 Yellowhammer, c50 Linnet, pair Stonechat & 2 Raven. Highlight though was a Staffs ✅ Dotted Bee-fly, still a rare insect in the county David Emley Andy Roberts

Highlights of local Wolverhampton walks on Fri pm & yday am were singing Cetti’s Warbler & Green Sand. In garden yday pm sev species of bee inc Hairy-footed flower, Gooden’s Nomad plus Ashy, Tawny & what I think is a new one Chocolate Mining Bee? ⁦Dave Hutton⁩

A quick visit to Pendeford Hall Lane produced 3 x #LocalBigYear 10k additions: drake Gadwall, male Whitethroat & 2 RL Partridge also 1+ LRP still. A smaller grey goose NE with 4 calling Greylags at 12:50 frustratingly didn’t come within range of ID with just bins jamie dunn

Quick visit to Pendeford Hall Lane at c11:00 & Greenshank heard calling on arrival but couldn’t locate on flood so maybe departed 🤔 also drake Gadwall & singing Lesser Whitethroat Staffs Bird News jamie dunn

Red Kite circling over Codsall as I left work at 17:15 was the final addition for April to #localbigyear 10k list taking it to 98. This time last year I was on 101 when actually trying! A host of species missing this year still inc Bullfinch, Snipe & a host of summer migrants

Morning in Pool Hall area for #westmidsalldayer & 56 species seen with andy dent inc 3 nfy for 10k: Cuckoo north at 08:45, Hobby & Yellow Wag. Also Cetti’s, Lesserthroat, Little Owl, drake Goosander, Little Grebe, 4 Lapwing, Raven Staffs Bird News Gareth Clements Kevin Clements

Morning walk from Castlecroft to Dimmingsdale along canal produced first singing Garden Warbler of year near Dimmingsdale end (103 for 10k circle) also 2 singing Cetti’s & 1 Willow Warbler Staffs Bird News Red Kite circling high over Finchfield at 11:45 & Hobby low NW Gareth Clements

A singing Pied Flycatcher before work is always a good start to any day & also took my 10k year list up to 104. Hard to drag myself away into the office after 30mins of watching & listening to it belting out it’s song

Left my 10k for once this am for a twitch to the new WMI site near Four Ashes to see the 2 Temminck’s Stint found earlier by Steve Richards and probably as close to my old stomping ground of Gailey Res as I’m ever going to see one! Cheers mate for the find 😊

So one minute I’m finished the pond in the garden, the next I’m racing to Belvide to see ⁦BELVIDE BIRDING𓅪⁩ American Golden Plover, a Belvide, Staffs & WMBC ✅ (232/286/303). Pond filling up nicely now & celebratory 🍷 going down a treat! 😊

You can tell it’s ‘summer’ when the highlights aren’t bird related… Morning walk on Highgate Common (aka Crufts) produced a Slow Worm & Hummingbird Hawkmoth plus c5 each of Garden & Willow Warbler. Fem Azure & 3 Large Red Damsel in garden at the newly extended pond in anoon

First venture for couple of weeks after bad back was productive: 3 Grass Snake under a corrugated sheet the highlight also Slow Worm under another. 2 Reed Warbler were a 10k year ✅ (107) also 2 Red Kite, 2 Peregrine, Garden Warbler, Common Hawker, Four-spot Chaser, Small Heath

Stone-curlew on Dunstall Racecourse, Wolverhampton this evening was a real surprise (old) Staffs ✅ (288) & only 3 miles from home in my 10k circle! Thanks to Kevin Clements for the refind & arranging access for all. Great to see so many local birders for a catch up too 😊

First summer-gulling session at West Park this pm & no Yellow-legged found amongst the 10 Herring, 186+ LBB & c10 BHG inc a West Midlands Ringing Group ringed black with white lettering 2HCA. Also 2 Tufties, 15 Greylags, 4 Mute Swan, 2+ RN Parakeet @WestMidsBirding

Another local Osprey slipped thru the net last night when 15mins too late on site for the Gareth Clements bird. Did add male Grasshopper Warbler (reeling from 21.25) to the local year list (109) also Reed & c5 Willow Warbler, Little Egret & a Muntjac

Well my mind is totally blown! 🤯 I only popped down to watch as there’d been an influx of Sedge and then this is pulled out the net. Lots of head scratching at first, especially from a non-ringer like me, but it soon started to sink in this was something special Gareth Clements

A 3hr search for migrants at Furnace Grange, Trescott on 19/8 produced just single ad Lesser & Juv Common Whitethroat, thus proving it’s generally very hard going birding unfashionable sites near Wolverhampton…& not always Paddyfield Warblers and Stone-curlews! Gareth Clements

Finally found Redstart (113) for 10k year list today in paddocks off Ebstree Lane, Seisdon & it was a cracking male! Also Juv/1w Yellow-legged Gull with 135+ LBB & 25 Herring Gull, ad Hobby, Imm f Peregrine, 3 L Egret, Gt C & 4 Little Grebe in the area Gareth Clements Staffs Bird News

Like many others I’m getting fed up with the Ads and general vibe on Twitter / X & have just done my first post on Bluesky featuring exclusive non-crippling photos of yesterdays Redstart 😉🤣 If you’ve nothing better to with your life follow me: @themoorehen.bsky.social

Started late today, so late I even managed to miss todays show from the 1w Caspian Gull in West Park by c30 mins 🥴 only saw 33 species with 7 Shoveler & 2 adult Peregrine the only noteworthy sightings