Week One – January 1st to 7th 2022,
Biking Birder VI and
Biking Birder History
A week goes by and birding
opportunities have lacked because the focus of the week was getting as far
north as my unfit legs would take me, heading towards the long-staying and
hopefully not leaving Belted Kingfisher.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-59880364
January 1st And He’s
off!
Birds in Mum and Dad’s back garden in Romsley, North
Worcestershire, UK include Norman, their beautiful Aston Villa-coloured
Nuthatch. Always brilliant to see Norman come to their bird table. Titmice
include Blue*, Great*, Coal* and Long-tailed* and a lovely male Great-spotted
Woodpecker* fed on the RSPB fat blocks.
Buzzard* and Raven* are added to the
list as I cycle away towards Stourbridge, Stock Dove* too.
The first day ends with my BIGBY, Big
Green Big Year list standing at 26, a total that reflects the lack of any visit
to a nature reserve.
Back in 2010, the year of my first Biking Birder advneture BBI, my first day of birding was at
the excellent Sandwell Valley RSPB reserve. I ended that wonderful day with my
bird list on 39.
https://bikingbirder2010.blogspot.com/2010/01/im-off-and-cycling-biking-birder-hits.html
In 2015, my second Biking Birder adventure, BBII, started at Upton Warren, a superb Worcestershire Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve just south of Bromsgrove, my ex-patch from a time when I was a Special Needs teacher and I saw 53 bird species. Great to start with so many friends to have a natter with. Life as a Biking Birder is often very lonely.
https://www.worcswildlifetrust.co.uk/nature-reserves/upton-warren
https://bikingbirder2016.blogspot.com/2016/01/january-1st-2016-new-start-in-quest-for.html
January 2nd and 3rd
Heading towards Aqualate Mere, Shropshire.
From Stourbridge High Street on the 2nd to
Aqualate Mere, arriving there at 3.00pm on the 3rd, each day involves
a short distance cycling compared to my previous exploits with a sleep in an
unused, fortunately, disabled toilets. Rain had started to pour on the
afternoon of the 2nd and finding the toilets was lucky. I sit and
watch my beloved Aston Villa lose to Brentford and afterwards slept well.
Cycling had been tough and the mountain bike that I had
instead of my usual touring bike was sluggish, partly because of the lack of
muscle on my legs but also because of the gear configuration and overladen
weight. Maybe a bike change will be required in the spring.
Kestrel, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Rook and Mallard were
the only birds added to the BIGBY list on the 2nd. The day ends with
my Bigby list now at 30.
Back in 2016 I had seen a Hoopoe in Kingswinford!
https://bikingbirder2016.blogspot.com/2016/01/january-2nd-hoopoe-for-list.html
The cycle to Aqualate Mere on the 3rd is mostly
along small, narrow country lanes and bird seen includes Lapwing*, Grey
Heron*, Pheasant*, Sparrowhawk*, a lovely big female that flies
across an adjacent field at head height before crossing the lane in front of me,
Wren*, Song Thrush* and Moorhen*.
Aqualate Mere, a reserve I had never been to before despite
my living for ten years in nearby Wolverhampton, turned out to be large with an
excellent bird hide and nearly all wildfowl were on the far side of the water!
I had come here to try and see a reported Ferruginous Duck but without a
telescope the chances of seeing it were slim indeed.
Birds I did see here include new to the list birds; Cormorant*, Mute Swan*,
Great-crested Grebe*, Canada Goose* and Tufted Duck*, Gadwall*,
Goldeneye* and Coot* on the water, together with Marsh Tit*
on the nearby feeder. Cetti’s Warbler* and Water Rail* Mozarted and
pig squealed from the reedbed.
Lovely to watch so many Titmice, Nuthatch and Robin close by attracted by the large feeder.
A couple of close Tawny Owls* keep me awake in the
night!
The Bigby list ends the day on exactly Fifty.
January 4th to 7th Peddle, Peddle,
Peddle!
More birding at Aqualate Mere in the morning of the 4th,
a small boat came on the water, apparently the Environment Agency doing some
sort of survey and this moved the duck around the lake closer to me. Scanning
the large flocks of duck and Coot, Pochard*, Shelduck*, Little
Grebe*, Teal*, Wigeon* and Shovelor* were listed but no
sign of the Ferruginous. Two birders with scopes arrived but had no luck with
the rarity. We had a sort of disagreement over the identity of the Marsh Tit. I
was convinced it was Marsh. One of them said it was Willow. His friend refused
to say, preferring to sit on the fence over the identification. Marsh Tit* it
remains on my list.
Biking Birder III - 2016
Grey Phalarope at the superb Slimbridge W&WT centre on the 4th of January, 2016 was the highlight bird of a location I am always thrilled to visit, no matter what birds are there.https://bikingbirder2016.blogspot.com/2016/01/4th-january-2016-to-slimbridge.html
😊😋😉😊😋😌😋😍😌😋😊😉
The next few days involve pushing and cycling, going from
small Shropshire and Cheshire towns such as Newport, where a small number of Pied
Wagtails* came in to roost in the trees of the Parish church, Market Drayton
and Middlewich until I reach where I am now, comfortably ensconced in a lovely
big double bed in Winsford. The last time I was in this town was back in 1975
when I met Noel Edmonds whilst hitchhiking from Chester to see Aston Villa!
Sleeping quarters over the last few nights varied between a lovely hotel in Newport and a shed in Adderley. I kid you not, I was lucky to meet Barry the gardener of the local church, who told me of the shed. It was minus 5C that night and there was nowhere available within my cycling range.
Inflatable mattress and a very good quality four season sleeping bag meant that
I not too cold overnight, as long as I keep myself tucked down deep inside
the bag and rub my thick socked feet together occasionally. It was so cold
that I didn’t even peep my head out to watch the Test Match on my Smartphone.
Those who know me know of my obsession with world’s best sport, other than
Green Birding that is.
Another night is spent in a fabulous Air B & B, the first
Air B & B I had ever spent a night in. The owner, Sarah was just brilliant,
conversational and kind with her offers of drink and food. Sarah didn’t need to
give me a bowl of cooked beetroot to add to my lentils but she did. The place
was spotless and her small cockapoo or whatever they call them, DiDi was
delightful if rather randy! LOL.
Birds seen en route includes a nice flock of Golden Plover*,
two Treecreepers* in a roadside Oak tree, a single Mistle Thrush*
on a school field, small flocks or individuals of Fieldfares*, gulls in
one field includes Great Back Backed Gull* and a lane when approaching
Winsford had Greenfinch*, around twenty of them. At the end of Friday the
BIGBY list stands at 63.
The aim in week two of the Biking Birder VI adventure is to
get to Samlesbury, the location of the Belted Kingfisher, hopefully see that
bird and then head towards Southport’s Marshside RSPB Reserve, my local patch
back in 1977 and 78 and Martin Mere W&WT centre.
I have a history of dipping Belted Kingfishers in Britain and
seeing them in Florida has never been much compensation for that!
Wish me luck.
Love to you all, Gary
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