Doxey Marshes v Upton Warren

We had the idea that while we are in the UK we would try to visit at least a few of what were once our regular birding sites around the West Midlands and maybe fit in a trip a bit further afield.  We have plenty of other distractions but we hoped that this vague plan would ensure that we get out and see at least some birds while we are here. 

We started by going to our local reservoirs, Blithfield and Belvide, and since then we’ve been birding on Cannock Chase, at Doxey Marshes, at Chillington and at Upton Warren, all of these places where we have spent many happy hours over the years. 

We have blogged already about Blithfield and Belvide; our time on Cannock Chase has been in the evenings, mostly looking for and at Nightjars; we spent an enjoyable sunny afternoon at Chillington looking as much for butterflies as for birds.

Just 40 miles apart, Doxey Marshes and Upton Warren, one in Staffordshire and the other in Worcestershire, are very similar in some respects but in others they are also very different.  Both are reserves managed by county wildlife trusts, both have several pools that have formed as a result of land subsidence following brine extraction, both are bisected by rivers (the Sow and the Salwarpe) and both are designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

Amongst the birds we saw at Upton Warren last week were more than 80 Lapwings, 20 Curlews, 14 Green Sandpipers, 7 Avocets, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, 2 Dunlin, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Common Redshank and several Common Terns.  We were able to watch these from several well-positioned hides that overlook the best areas of the reserve.

 Juvenile Avocet at Upton Warren

Upton Warren Flashes

Other than a few Lapwings, our earlier visit to Doxey Marshes produced no waders at all.  There were plenty of Canada Geese and at least three pairs of Mute Swans appeared to have bred successfully but really they weren’t what we had hoped for!  The view from the only hide was certainly unrewarding, the water level on what we laughingly refer to as ‘the scrape’ being suitable for ducks but not shorebirds.

 Mute Swans at Doxey Marshes

View from the hide at Doxey Marshes

Where Doxey and Upton Warren differ is in the way that they have been managed over the years and their current condition which results from that management.  Staffs Wildlife Trust has undoubtedly had difficulties to contend with.  Flood alleviation work involving the re-grading and deepening of the river have certainly had a detrimental effect and it seems that the agreement and co-operation of the Internal Drainage Board and the Environment Agency are needed before anything can be done to achieve better control of water levels.  There is also the complication that subsidence is continuing.  Four years ago the IDB and the EA were said to have begun implementation of a water level management plan to create better habitats for ground nesting and migrating birds on the reserve but there is precious little sign of that being successful or of breeding success for any of the waders that support the reserve’s status as an SSSI.  Maybe there are factors that we don’t know about.  It probably doesn’t help that the SWT newsletter Marsh Warblings, which used to keep us informed about Doxey, has been discontinued and that no Annual Report has been published since 2009.

Moors Pool, Upton Warren

At Upton Warren amongst the species that have bred on the reserve this year are Avocet, Lapwing, Little Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Common Tern and Black-headed Gull.  As evidenced by what we saw during our visit, conditions are currently just right for wading birds and local birders can certainly look forward with optimism to the coming weeks of migration season.  Worcs Wildlife Trust and everyone involved with the management of the reserve are to be congratulated.  Although we no longer visit there with the regularity we once did, it’s one of the main reasons that we continue our membership and support of WWT.  Maybe if we weren’t going back to the Algarve, we would think of moving down there.

Doxey Marshes v Upton Warren?  It really is no contest!

Staffordshire Rarities

We're currently taking a break from the heat of the Algarve, spending some time in the cool and damp UK! Forecast high temperatures today are 31° in Tavira and 16° in Stafford, so already we're wondering whether we've made the right decision.

Remarkably, our visit to Stafford has coincided with the occurrence of two rare birds locally: an adult Franklin's Gull at Chasewater and a juvenile Cattle Egret at Doxey Marshes Nature Reserve. To have any sort of rare bird in Staffordshire is in itself something of a rarity, so having two here at the same time, and in July, really is unusual.

The Franklin's Gull was seen regularly at Chasewater for more than a week, mostly in the evenings, flying in to roost. Where it was spending its days was anyone's guess. Anyway, it hasn't been seen since Saturday, so has presumably moved on. The only previous record of this species in Staffordshire was at Blithfield Reservoir in August 2006. The Cattle Egret on the other hand, only the third for Staffordshire, seems to have settled in at Doxey.

Doxey Marshes

Of course, Cattle Egrets are very common birds in many parts of the world that we visit regularly. Quite often, in Costa Rica for instance, we have seen them in flocks of hundreds and in Portugal we have only to look out of the window most evenings to see scores of them flying to roost. So why, you may well ask, were we there on Doxey Marshes yesterday evening waiting for a very brief view of just a single bird flying across the reserve? It doesn't make much sense, does it? Really it doesn't! There wasn't even a chance to photograph it. The only excuse we can offer is that the reserve is less than a mile away and it was a welcome opportunity to get some exercise.

Doxey Marshes

The return from a trip to Austria of Peter’s telescope and binoculars coincided this morning with the sun shining over nearby Doxey Marshes. It was an opportunity to see how the newly-repaired optics would perform and perhaps also to find some migrants.

We spent a couple of hours wandering across the reserve, twice popping into the only hide to dodge the showers. From a birding point of view it was predictably unproductive with just 33 species recorded but it was good to see more than 100 Lapwings and a dozen or so Common Snipe. Given the date and seeing the reports of passage waders down the road at Belvide Reservoir, we really might have expected to see more. However, for some reason management of water levels on the reserve seems to be a problem again and both ‘wader scrapes’ had way too much water on them to be of much use – one even had a Great Crested Grebe diving in it! We did think earlier in the year that this long-running problem had been resolved but obviously this isn’t the case. Very disappointing!

Northern Lapwing

As usual Canada Geese were overwhelmingly the most numerous species – we counted more than 350 – and at least eight Barnacle Geese were also present. A couple of Lesser Black-backs were amongst the many Black-headed Gulls and the ducks included a few Tufted, Shoveler and Teal – all pretty unexciting.

The 'Scrape', Doxey Marshes

A Common Buzzard and two Kestrels were probably the morning’s highlights and it didn’t take too long for attention to turn to photography.

Comma butterfly

Hoverfly - Helophilus pendulus

The main thing is that Swarovski have done a good job sorting out the optics and it will only be a few days now before some quality birding in California (Peter) and Portugal (June).

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It was sad to read this morning of the death of Mrs Marion Paton of Patagonia, Arizona. Almost anyone who has been birding in SE Arizona in the last 20 years or so will have visited Birders’ Haven or Patons’ yard as it became known. This is probably the most famous of all the birdwatching gardens in the USA and one that our Avian Adventures tour visited again as recently as May this year. Mrs Paton and her late husband, Wally, generously allowed birders to just walk in through their gate and sit down in front of a row of feeders at the rear of the house to watch the wonderful selection of hummingbirds, finches, buntings, orioles, woodpeckers and more. As someone has already written elsewhere, the Patons typified all that is good about birding and will be sadly missed.

Doxey and Belvide

On Sunday we enjoyed a day of relaxed, 'social birding' with friends, Jan and Adrian. We spent the morning at Doxey Marshes Nature Reserve and in the afternoon had a walk along the south shore of Belvide Reservoir.

Doxey is a reserve about which we have had some harsh things to say in the past. Management of water levels has been a serious problem for many years and on countless occasions we have been disappointed to find either too much water or not enough. Yesterday we were pleasantly surprised to find the whole reserve looking in good condition and if that can be maintained over the next few weeks spring wader passage should prove very interesting. A pity we won't be here to enjoy it!

We did see all the regular breeding wader species, Redshanks, Oystercatchers, Lapwings and Little Ringed Plovers, and a few more migrants were singing, including a Sedge Warbler and a Grasshopper Warbler.

By the time we reached Belvide, the day had warmed up nicely. Here, too, there were Redshanks but fewer summer visitors than we might have expected. It was surprising to see only a handful of Swallows over the water and there were still rather few warblers in evidence. Perhaps we are being impatient but, just as in Portugal, it does seem that migrants are slow in arriving. There were still plenty of birds coming to the feeders, including numerous Reed Buntings, Tree Sparrows and Chaffinches, and a few Bramblings are still being seen in the Reservoir Plantation. Although we see or hear Little Owls pretty much every day in the Algarve, it was good to see one here as they certainly seem to be fewer in the UK these days. Why, we wonder, should our attitude towards to this introduced species be so different from our feelings towards most of the others?

We are currently considering a camera up-grade and Adrian kindly loaned us his Canon 50D for the day so that we could try it out. These images were taken with the 50D and our Canon 100-400mm lens. No decisions have yet been made!

Reed Bunting

Canada Goose

Mute Swan

European Robin

Common Moorhen

Northern Lapwing

Common Pheasant

Reed Bunting

Reed Bunting