Belvide Reservoir - 26 Mar 19

Some pictures from another visit to the West Midlands Bird Club private reserve at Belvide Reservoir, just over the border in Staffordshire.

Now in full breeding plumage drake Tufted Ducks are ‘black and white’ with exaggerated tufts.

A trio of Tufties here with two drakes vying for the attention of the duck. He looks a bit of a spiv to me! Note the sex-difference in eye colour.

Caught in mid-jump the duck is about to dive for food – these ducks eat plant material not fish.

Two battling Coots once again demonstrate their ability to walk on water. 

One of the local Pheasants in stunning plumage well lit by the sun. 

An adult Black-headed Gull flying by on a mission. 

And the underside of an adult in breeding plumage. 

And another.

A pair go a-chasing. 

The Black-headed Gull colony is getting paired up and ready to breed. They are a noisy and quarrelsome species and some great shots of flying and displaying birds can be caught. One hovering in ‘full cry’.

Another hovering bird making its presence known. 

And about to touch down. I assume that what sound like a cacophony of calls to us enables individual birds to recognise each other.

I'm not sure whether this calling bird is being greeted or told there is ‘no room at the inn’. 

Even on the deck all is not calm.

So they have webbed feet then. 

Two birds inbound to land. Strange serration effect on the spread primaries of the leading bird. 

The primaries are well-spread on this bird too.

This Mediterranean Gull ringed in Poland seems to have settled in amongst the Black-headed Gull community. Here it seems to be collecting nesting material. There are many instances of these species hybridising when no mate is available for a Med Gull.

Perhaps making overtures to one of the Black-heads? 

This shot shows the difference in head pattern, head colour – the Med Gull is solid black – and the stouter redder bill.

The bill shown well here as is the complete lack of black in the body and wing feathers.

Stock Dove a species often difficult to approach. It is a smart pigeon with a glossy neck patch and dark spots in he folded wings. No white in the neck separates from the larger Wood Pigeon. Note too the eye does not have the strange-shaped iris of Wood Pigeon.

The neck patch changes colour with the angle of the light

One of the specialties – a fine Tree Sparrow. There are up to 30 of these birds in a small colony here. 

It was a sunny day so there were insects abroad – here a bee. It looks like a mining bee and is probably Andrena scotica – no vernacular name.

The harmless Bee-fly (Bombilius major). It uses its proboscis to such nectar from deep in flowers.

Here we see the hoverfly Eristalis tenax or Common Drone-fly. 

And a plan view of the same individual.

The markings are variable on this species – here is a different specimen. “drone-fly” because they resemble the drones (males) of hive bees. The short antenna separate hoverflies from true bees.

This one has been amongst the flowers and is covered in pollen. Hoverflies are important pollinators of wild flowers and unlike bees they don’t take it away to make honey.

Another plant I am struggling to ID. The leaves suggest a deadnettle and perhaps Hen-bit Deadnettle. However that has pink flowers. The most common blue flowers in the same ‘Mint’ family are Bugle but the leaves are all wrong and the blue flowers lack the darker throat shown here. I could always lapse back to the ‘garden escape’ catch-all!

(Ed Wilson)

Belvide Reservoir - 18 Mar 19

Here are a few photos from the WMBC’s Reserve at Belvide

The star of the show – a fine adult Mediterranean Gull. Note the jet-black head, the blood-red bill with a black band, the prominent white ‘eye lids’ and the all-white wings.

A nice contrast in plumage and posture with Black-headed Gulls.

Here we see all the features well. Note also the rings on both legs. Research by WMBC members has tied the code ‘PRK6’ to a ringing scheme in Poland – which seems no more ‘Mediterranean’ than Belvide.

A flight shot. It really is a most arresting bird and can look more like a Barn Owl than a gull. The wings often look ‘paddle-shaped’ – compare with the pointed wings of the accompanying Black-headed Gull.

Less rounded here as it turns. What a stunner.

Another fine comparison.

And in flat light we see that the inner wings are less dramatically white.

Now for a few Black-headed Gulls pictures showing adults in full breeding plumage.

Two birds pass close.

One taking off from a breeding island. We note that the head is not truly ‘black’.

A gull about to take a (rather distant) bath. This plan view turns provides a very good illustration of the features of an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. The wing tips obviously darker than the rest of the wings – on Greater Black-backed Gull there would be little if any contrast. A pure white tail and a very broad white trailing edge to the secondaries.

About to enter the water and opening the primaries so we see through them and they no longer look dark.

An identification challenge!.

(Ed Wilson)  

Venus Pool - 11 Mar 19

On a fine and only slightly breezy morning a visit to the SOS Venus Pool was in order. Plenty of bird activity proving that I was, at times, pushing my camera rather beyond its capabilities to pick out and stay locked on to flying birds. Unless I am willing to upgrade and lug a heavy SLR-type camera around we will all have to put up with a bit of blurring at times I am afraid.

Several Mute Swans here – we need a pair to settle in to Priorslee at the moment. Here one tucks up its undercarriage as it goes for a fly.

And circles past, probably headed for the fields alongside the River Severn.

Another trio leaves. The middle bird has a greyer bill indicating it is an immature.

Greylag Geese overhead, probably a pair: the larger, lower bird likely the male.

What seems to be a pair of Canada Geese flying by – the smaller female in front.

A birding magazines used to run a competition showing bad bird photos challenging readers to identify the species involved. Here is my contribution. Though it is not too hard ....

Ah! all is revealed as this drake Shelduck touches down.

And another drake in flight. With five birds present there was a lot of flying about.

Here canted over to show the upper wing markings.

And another comes in to land.

And splash-down.

My favourite: a drake Gadwall. Here showing full breeding plumage with fully grown buffy scapulars.

A trio of Gadwall departing: two drakes on the left with a duck on the right. Note the very different tail markings as well as the small but obvious white speculum.

Here a pair : the chestnut in the wing of the drake is very apparent.

A drake Wigeon calling – a far-carrying ‘wee-oo’ note. Interestingly it looks as if this bird has managed to bend its lower mandible – or is it a trick of the light?

This drake in good light. Note the ‘tail’ on this bird: it is easy to see that it is related to the Pintail.

A rather odd-looking duck Wigeon. It is likely a first-year bird with rather subdued orange flanks and obvious white fringes to some of the feathers. No ideas about the white spot behind the eye, an area which is usually darker than the face.

Two pairs of Wigeon in flight, the drakes with the white panels in the wings. Note the pointed tails and the rather pointed wings, often angled back in fast flight. Enables distant flocks to be identified.

Great light on this duck Shoveler. The blue of the forewing is just about visible when the wings are folded.

On the flying bird the blue forewing is very obvious as is the green speculum that runs the full-length of the secondaries.

And here a duck Shoveler.

Seen departing is this adult Cormorant showing its white head plumes and the white thigh-patch. The bare skin at the base of the bill becomes brighter as well in the breeding season.

Here the white on the thigh is rather more evident.

Several noisy Oystercatchers were present: here one flies by.

A rare opportunity to grab a shot of a Snipe in flight.

So I welcomed two of them together.

And again.

I know it is not very sharp but could not resist showing the angle that this Snipe is adopting as it prepares to land.

Two Moorhens apparently taking part in a dance competition.

A single Moorhen beautifully lit.

A Coot walking on water.

No it is not running backwards: it is doing what Coots like doing – chasing. Note that the wings are paler than you might expect and that the secondaries are tipped white.

Chasing like this.

A study in black (Coot) and white (Black-headed Gull).

Many Black-headed Gulls still about. Many of them first-year birds – as are these two ...

... and this one with a crick in its neck.

A first-year flies by.

At this time of year first-year birds seem keen to pick up sticks and fly around with them, probably ‘training’ for nest building next year. Often any bird that picks up a stick is chased by others. Here two birds pick up their own sticks.

The Black-headed Gull formation flying team. Here four of seven are adults with black hoods.

These six Black-headed Gulls are not in quite as neat a formation.

Six Lapwings compete for the formation flying award.

A passing Wood Pigeon shows the white shafts in the primaries.

Seem to have caught this passing Magpie while it is ‘blinking’. Many bird species have an extra eyelid, the nictating membrane. This is translucent, often showing pale or even, as here, white. It allows them to keep the eye moist while maintaining full sight.

A ‘compare and contrast’ showing the size difference between the adult Lapwing and the male Pied Wagtail.

The same male Pied Wagtail being dwarfed and ignored by the feeding pair of Gadwall.

A trio of Hebridean Sheep are kept here to mow some areas of vegetation. Whether these are ‘pre’ Hebridean’ I am unsure as the web tells me that this species normally has two pairs of horns.

(Ed Wilson)