Tag: wildlife

March 24th – Compression of the neck… herons are more and more common now. Barely a towpath ride goes by without seeing one, and on longer rides like last week, I’ll see five or six, which must be a symbol of how clean the waters are now and how the fish population must by bountiful, too. 

This proud bird was on the towpath in Pleck, just by the wall of Rollingmill Street Cemetery, pretty much the industrial heart of Walsall. Wary of me but not skittish, by dismounting the bike and taking things gently I got close enough for some decent pictures, I think.

I adore herons.

March 22nd – I’m a big fan of Middleton Lakes, the former quarry and gravel pit complex handed to the RSPB. Situated on the Tame near Kingsbury, these mixed habitat wetlands and lakes are a haven for birds of all varieties, and are now attracting bird spotters from across the country.

I remember this in the late 2000s and before, when it was an active site, with conveyors and huge machines operating; now it’s a peaceful haven. In the last couple of years though, work has been carried out installing flood defences in the form of walls and an earth dyke, which stop the Tame flowing into the adjacent canal. The work has been sensitive and well executed.

I noticed today, however, the site was a good bit more manicured than formerly; there are gravel paths snaking over the site, and the odd portacabin. What had once been almost wild seems to be being reigned back in, and I think Middleton Lakes are in danger of becoming over-managed, with little distinction between them, and Kingsbury Water Park adjacent.

This is a great place; I hope it isn’t spoiled.

March 15th – To compound a bad ride, I had to go up to Walsall Wood, and my beer magnet was at full power. Excellent, you might think. Fourteen reds in a loose group, on the field margin along the canal that borders Grange Farm, Walsall Wood. Largest group I’d seen for a while, and there were some impressive specimens.

Just one snag: there was a thin scrub-copse and barbed wire fence stopping me getting through the trees to get good photos. Immensely frustrating.

Aaargh!

March 8th – The year marches on, and so do the seasons. Slipping out into steady rain at lunchtime, I noted the Catshill swan couple seem to be returning to the old nest. One (probably the male) was loafing near the reeds, and the other was carefully weaving and packing torn fronds of rushes into a nest.

This seems way too early to me – but hen, they know what they’re doing, I guess. Wonder if they’ll top last year’s total of 8 cygnets?

March 7th – After the jumble, a ride into Brum on the canals and cycleways of the northeast of the city, and at Perry Common, north of Witton Lakes, a bit of urban wildlife that astounded and delighted.

A brook flows down from Kingstanding, collecting land drains as it goes, through Witton Lakes and Brookvale Lake, and it’s a lot healthier than it once was, although it’s still suffering from fly tipping and urban pollution. It is, however, clearly supporting a healthy quantity of fish, which this elderly heron was picking off like chocolates from a selection box.

He ignored me as he fished, 10 meters away, pausing and darting for small, silvery treasures whose luck had run out. He would then lift his bill, swallow, and once can see the fish bulge in the bird’s neck.

I was captivated for a good 15 minutes. This is great wildlife, in a very, very urban setting. There is wonder everywhere.

March 4th – A beautiful day, but still windy. The golden light of spring shone its benevolent best over the canal at Walsall, and it felt good. What was really impressive was that I saw the Pleck kingfisher again – well, actually kingfishers, as one seemed to be seeing another off the territory near the Scarborough Road bridge. I couldn’t get the camera out in time to take a picture, but there was no mistaking the twin cobalt blue flashes. They both seemed to go for cover in the trees somewhere in the bottom picture.

Interestingly, I rode the canal through to Goscote on the way home in the light, too, and saw one there. It’s clearly a great year for these beautiful little birds. I hope I get a good picture of one soon.

February 1st – Crikey, are we a 12th through the year already? How did that happen?

I passed through Ryders Mere in the morning, and expected it to be busy with twitchers for the latest rarity – a Great Northern Diver has been here for a few weeks now – but curiously, I was alone. This place is lovely, but I still find it a little barren. 20 years ago this was an opencast, and now, a peaceful haven for wildfowl.

One day, I might bump into the man of the marsh himself, Chaz Mason. That would be lovely. In the meantime, the gulls and grebes carried on as normal.

January 31st – I noted as I passed in the afternoon that the conifer plantations on Brownhills Common west of The Parade are being thinned again, as part of the ongoing heathland restoration works. It’s good to see, but I must admit, I’d probably go further here. 

The conifers were planted in the postwar period, before we really understood the importance of the heathland habitat here; they have spread rapidly and grow so thickly that little lives beneath them. This harms the biodiversity, and doesn’t provide the best environment for the deer here, who like low cover.

Restoration will take years, but it’s good to see the progress, and the physical scars will soon heal. All the cut wood here is coniferous; deciduous trees are left.

January 24th – A lost day to technical battles with the computer and other silliness. I got out late and shot over to Chasewater in the dark hoping for a decent moonlit night – but it wasn’t to be. All I got was light pollution, but it made for an interesting shot, anyway.

The lake is refilling well now, and I was intrigued to note all the separate swan families and their cygnets now dwelling on the lake had congregated together by the dam bridge. Not sure why.

Safety in numbers, perhaps? But from what?

January 19th – Again, apologies for the long-range, poor photos, but I spotted this charming chap on Jockey Meadows. He was embarrassed as I caught him going about his ablutions, but he mooched around the meadow a little before sloping off into the hedgerow. Such a fit, lithe-looking chap; there are few animals more impressive in the English countryside than a fox in his prime.

A great sight on a nippy morning.