MIGRANTS STILL MOVING

Went for a quick dash around early evening and found the earlier Yellow Wagtail ( or is this another one !)with a flock of 40 plus Pied Wagtail , also 20 plus Meadow Pipit . Both Willow and my wife were not impressed , but I tried to export some of my enthuiasm all the same A House Martin over Tewkesbury was my first trhis spring so our local birds can"t be far away .

Spring is spinging, I had a feeling today might a good day, and in the event I was not wrong, as soon as I had stepped out the door I could hear singing Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Willow Warbler , the latter being a spring and autumn passagge migrant in the local vicinity , but breeding just down the road at Ashleworth and in the flood meadows . There was 10 Linnet today, also 2 Ravens calling and flying low around the area. It was good to see and hear at least 9 Skylarks, a confused Little Owl called a couple of times and 6 Buzzards soared overhead. It was nice to see a flock of 14 migrant Meadow Pipits , we will soon not see anymore until late August /early September, 6 Stock Dove were on territories, just 1 Pied Wagtail over. The best birds came towards the end of the walk, with a pair of Yellowhammer in the same area that they bred last year , the male being splendid in the brightest yellow. Swallow were passing over and it appears that the first local birds are back, with a total of 8 being seen this morning. A Greater Spotted Woodpecker was calling from a dead tree, but this was eclisped by the two male Wheatears on fence posts , one of my favourite birds , finally 1 Yellow Wagtail flew over north calling. It could be even better tommorrow , but I"m going to take a early morning look at Ashleworth Ham,maybe the first Whitethroats and House Martins will be back in Tirley tommorrow, lets see in the morning

Patch Birding, The above can be tough,so I went out this afternoon not expecting great things , and in the event things were a bit better than I expected,2 singing Blackcap with 4 Chiffchaffs in the hedgerows were signs of spring.There was at least 10 Buzzards in the area, with 2 passing high to the north west possibily being migrants.3 Swallows were feeding above Town Street farm with another passing due north, 2 Pied Wagtail passed over. There was just one singing Skylark today, the usual small Linnet flock were about, maybe they will breed again this year.2 Greater Spotted Woodpeckers were calling, Stock Dove, Bullfinch, and a flock of 18 Goldfinch made up the supporting cast. Finally 2 female Sparrowhawks passed over, one high from the south east passing directly to the north .All the resident birds seem to be busy proclaiming their breeding territories, with Greenfinch being quite noticable. Lets hope for some TIRLEY magic tommorrow.

A quick dash up the road this evening in order to try and give a little coverage of the area which has been sadly lacking due to work etc turned up 2 Little Owls calling at 6.35pm. 2 singing Blackcap were obvious arrivals , but just one Chiffchaff. Red Legged Partridge were calling and the now resident small flock of Linnet were around, Hopefully work etc will slow down and I will be able to give a better account of what is happening in the next day or so .

Tirley Twittering: quick update

Tirley Twittering: quick update: A quick evening walk produced another 2 Swallow feeding in the fields near to our house and what appears to be a "new "Chiffchaff singing ne...

quick update

A quick evening walk produced another 2 Swallow feeding in the fields near to our house and what appears to be a "new "Chiffchaff singing near the centre o the village, just shows even in this poor weather migrants are still arriving.

Hello
Welcome to the first and maybe the last posting on here, brought about really by a number of fellow birders asking where Tirley Sandpits nature reserve is ?  Well the answer is there is no reserve , in fact theres not much of anything really,! Over the last 10 years I have walked the surrounding farmland on an almost daily basis noting and reporting the sighting on Mike Kings gloster birder sight. The area benefits from the Malverns to the north and the River Severn to the east, Ashleworth Ham and Coombe Hill nature reserves in close proximity .
So with my trusty companion Willow , I will try to keep you informed what birds pass through and the general ornithological feel of what is going on .
So heres goes ,
9th April, The weather was more like October really , quite a contrast  really after all the hot weather of recent days , anyway having trudged the hedgerows in the drizzle and heavy wind, I managed to find a fine male Wheatear on a fence post followed almost instantly by a Swallow heading west. 4 singing Skylarks kept going in the rain, 1 Meadow Pipit sprang from the grass. We still only have 2 singing Chiffchaff but maybe we will have more to come. A small group of 8 Common Gull on pasture , Buzzard , and 4 Linnet and a flock of 10 Greenfinch made up the best of the rest.
Lets see what the next few days bring
                             Mark