An appeal from Earlswood Wildlife Partnership

An appeal from Earlswood Wildlife Partnership – we urgently need volunteers to help us carry on our work of enhancing the biodiversity of Earlswood for the benefit of its wildlife, now and in the future, and to raise awareness in the local and wider community of the wildlife around them.

We work with local groups e.g. scouts, guides and U3A, as well as Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and Canal and River Trust, and run walks and information sessions helping all ages to learn more about the fascinating wildlife we have in our area. We are also involved in wildlife surveys and other voluntary projects.

If you have an interest in the wildlife of the area and would like to get involved and help us to enthuse others about our surrounding wildlife, please get in touch via ewp2010@btinternet.com to learn more. The more people championing local nature the better for everybody - we look forward to hearing from you.

Earlswood housing development risk update

My last two posts on here were about potential housing development taking place within the Earlswood recording area and unfortunately this post will be a third, to provide an update on current state of the matter. There have been several "Call for Sites" undertaken by the councils covering the Solihull borough and Stratford district parts of the Earlswood area since I've been birding it, and the latest for the Solihull Local Plan Review has recently been publicised with many blocks of land on patch submitted by agents and landowners for consideration:

These areas include one of the two main areas for breeding Skylark and the main area where singing Yellowhammer have been recorded. It also encompasses pockets of woodland, scrubland, permanent pasture and farm ponds. Indirect effects such as increased numbers of people, dogs and cats putting pressure on the wildlife and habitats in surrounding areas including Clowes Wood and New Fallings Coppice SSSI and the lakes would be likely too. On a positive note though, the former location of the heathland that gave Fulford Heath its name hasn't been proposed this time, raising some personal hope that this field, currently permanent pasture surrounded by woodland shelterbelt, might be restored to heathland one day.

In the Stratford district part, which falls under the South Warwickshire Local Plan area, there were a good many areas in Earlswood proposed for that "Call for Sites". Somewhat fortunately, the next stage of the plan has seen no areas in this part of Earlswood taken forward for the "Preferred Options" consultation. However, there are three very large areas near the boundary which are being considered further, again likely to put more indirect pressure on the wildlife and habitats of Earlswood:

Lastly, the Tanworth Neighbourhood Development Plan allocated the field along Earlswood Common by the nursery as a site for a small-scale housing scheme, and a planning application for 11 houses was submitted this winter. I put in an objection due to the lack of consultation with Natural England despite the site's location close to the River Blythe SSSI, potential impacts on the SSSI meadow which has held Common Snipe numbers of county importance and attracted other notable bird species, and the loss of semi-improved grassland and mature hedgerow used by amber- and red-listed bird species, when there are numerous other fields nearby with less wildlife interest. The application is still pending consideration.

More threat of development in and around Earlswood

My last post on here was about a threat of development in the Solihull Borough part of Earlswood, and unfortunately this one will have the same theme as it appears that the Stratford District part of Earlswood now faces a similar risk. Stratford and Warwick District Councils are working together to produce a new South Warwickshire Local Plan to cover their combined geographic area. This plan will determine where, when and how housing and other development will occur up to the year 2050. It is at an early stage and currently a consultation is being undertaken on a number of options including the creation of new settlements and expansion of existing settlements.

Some of these options will affect the Earlswood area if taken forward. In recent weeks, since the consultation started, there has been much discussion on social media regarding Wood End being considered in the Local Plan as a possible site for a new settlement. The indirect effects of this are obvious for those of us who've witnessed changes in the local area since the Dickens Heath, Tidbury Green, etc developments over the last few decades.

There has been a "call for sites" that has resulted in several areas of land within the Earlswood area itself being put forward, mainly by developers. There is also a second "call for sites" currently underway alongside the consultation. These sites have yet to be assessed by the local authority for suitability for inclusion in the Local Plan as development locations, so are less concerning at this stage, despite covering a very large portion of Earlswood. For the latest details on these sites, see this page on the Local Plan website.

Call for sites up to early February.

More concerning is another option being considered for development around the edges of existing settlements (Issues S4 and S7 in Chapter 4), as the list of such settlements includes Earlswood. There are 22 "Small Settlement Locations", of which Earlswood is one, that have had analyses done "for intermediate scale, chiefly residential, development for between 50-500 homes in any one location". The analyses for Earlswood are in Appendix 2 of the South Warwickshire Settlement Analysis. Delving further into this, in the Technical Evidence documents, it appears that land at Earlswood under consideration in this option is a sizeable area to the east of Shutt Lane and Earlswood Common, which includes the National Trust's Old Moathouse Farm estate and Earlswood Moathouse Nature Reserve. The kind ladies who gifted their land to the National Trust for preservation as a "bird sanctuary" would be turning in their graves! The land to the east of Earlswood Common is known to have a population of Great Crested Newts.

"Small Settlement Location" at Earlswood

There is also mention of "M42 Widening – land either side of Junction 3a to help reduce congestion where the M40 joins the M42". There are ancient woodlands that adjoin the motorways there.

The consultation can be viewed at https://www.southwarwickshire.org.uk/swlp/issuesandoptions. If you have any comments to make on it, be sure to send them in before the deadline of March 6th!

Property developers seeking to build at Fulford Heath

Property developers are currently trying to get the Fulford Heath area of Earlswood included in the Solihull Local Plan as an area designated for future development, which would then make it easier for them to get planning permission. The draft plan is due to be independently examined by planning inspectors from September 27th, and there is a possibility of the land being added to the plan if the inspectors agree with other local authorities that the plan is short of a few thousand homes for house-building requirements.

The developers are seeking to change everything, even the placename as they're promoting it as "Fulford Green"! More houses would put more pressure on the lakes, woods and local wildlife in general. This is something to keep a watchful eye on...

Further info at:

https://summix.com/projects/land-at-fulford-hall-farm/?fbclid=IwAR1bnPZ2Wt8lqPVB2_LtCEpKOW8czCJQwUJfMjO1bBWD3Rm60WePh0b57Yg

https://ldn-collective.com/insights/fulford-green-a-21st-century-garden-village

https://cllrkenhawkins.co.uk/2021/08/06/land-at-fulford-hall-farm-promoted-as-fulford-green/ 

A facebook group for discussing the Fulford Heath development has been set up at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/368528731424491

Earlswood all-dayer - Spring 2021

Well, with the easing of COVID restrictions, this year's Earlswood spring all-day birdwatch went ahead, which was a massive relief after we weren't able to do one last spring due to the first lockdown. The all-dayer took place last Saturday (May 1st), and I'm very pleased to say that we set a new record for the highest number of bird species found during a single day at Earlswood, with a total of 78 bird species found by the team! A fantastic result, and following our highest ever autumn total on patch last year! Our previous highest total ever was 77 species during the all-dayer in spring 2016.

Species totals for previous spring all-dayers have been as follows:

2019 - 64 spp

2018 - 64 spp

2017 - 65 spp

2016 - 77 spp

2015 - 65 spp

Like the autumn all-dayer last year, a large proportion of Earlswood's birders took part. Also, at the lakes, the habitat is excellent at the moment with a lot of exposed shore at all three pools (including Terry's Pool for the first time in living memory), plus there are some path and road closures which appear to have reduced human visitor numbers in general to the area, coupled with the easing of national travel restrictions allowing people to go elsewhere, encouraging birds like waders to stick around. I think these are the main reasons why we got such a brilliant result, despite there being limited signs of bird migration!

The star birds on the day were two long-stayers, both of which had been present for some days: a female Ring Ouzel at Manor Farm and a Greenshank at Engine Pool. Other highlights included a very late flock of 27 Fieldfare at Springbrook Farm, a female Wheatear at Engine Pool, up to 6 Yellow Wagtail at Windmill Pool, and a Hobby over Earlswood Common. Probably for the first time ever on a spring all-dayer, we didn't record Mute Swan as the local pair are nesting outside the patch area. Another miss was Sedge Warbler, one of which had been at Spring Brook Scrubland for some days prior.

A great effort by the team, which comprised John Bishop, Jon Chidwick, Brian Earl, myself, Ash Grove, Yvonne Heward, Bill Ingham, Janet James, Mike Jeeves, Pete Morgan, John Oates, Joe Owen, Tony Philp, John Sirrett and Jim Winsper - thanks to all for their participation in the field. Further thanks to John Sirrett for collating the species list on the day. The full list was as follows:

1. Black-headed Gull
2. Blackbird
3. Blackcap
4. Blue Tit
5. Bullfinch
6. Buzzard
7. Canada Goose
8. Carrion Crow
9. Chaffinch
10. Chiffchaff
11. Coal Tit
12. Collared Dove
13. Common Sandpiper
14. Common Tern
15. Common Whitethroat
16. Coot
17. Cormorant
18. Cuckoo
19. Dunnock
20. Feral Pigeon
21. Fieldfare
22. Garden Warbler
23. Goldcrest
24. Goldfinch
25. Great Crested Grebe
26. Great Spotted Woodpecker
27. Great Tit
28. Green Woodpecker
29. Greenfinch
30. Greenshank
31. Grey Heron
32. Grey Wagtail
33. Greylag Goose
34. Herring Gull
35. Hobby
36. House Martin
37. House Sparrow
38. Jackdaw
39. Jay
40. Kestrel
41. Kingfisher
42. Lapwing
43. Lesser Black-backed Gull
44. Lesser Redpoll
45. Lesser Whitethroat
46. Linnet
47. Little Egret
48. Little Ringed Plover
49. Long-tailed Tit
50. Magpie
51. Mallard
52. Marsh Tit
53. Mistle Thrush
54. Moorhen
55. Nuthatch
56. Oystercatcher
57. Pheasant
58. Pied Wagtail
59. Raven
60. Reed Bunting
61. Ring Ouzel
62. Robin
63. Rook
64. Sand Martin
65. Skylark
66. Song Thrush
67. Sparrowhawk
68. Starling
69. Stock Dove
70. Swallow
71. Tawny Owl
72. Treecreeper
73. Tufted Duck
74. Wheatear
75. Willow Warbler
76. Woodpigeon
77. Wren
78. Yellow Wagtail

Greenshank, Black-headed Gull and Tufted Ducks at Engine Pool, 01/05/2021 (Brian Earl)

Within the West Midlands as a whole, a total of 33 sites participated in the all-dayer on the same day. Earlswood fared quite well again! Well done to all who took part, and thanks to Phil Andrews who has once again collated the following results:

103 - Branston GP

103 - Ladywalk

101 - Middleton Lakes

  97 - Grimley

  93 - Belvide

  91 - Upton Warren

  91 - Chasewater

  84 - Marsh Lane

  83 - Dairy Farm

  81 - Sandwell Valley

  81 - Venus Pool

  78 - Earlswood

  76 - Coney Meadows

  76 - Doxey Marshes

  75 - Alvecote

  75 - Whitemoor Haye

  75 - Stoke patches

  74 - Coombe CP

  73 - Highgate Common

  73 - Sutton Park

  69 - Coventry patches

  67 - Morton Bagot

  67 - Puxton Marsh

  67 - Salford Priors GP

  63 - Wyre Forest

  63 - Northwick

  62 - Smestow Valley

  62 - Edgbaston Reservoir

  60 - Halesowen patches

  57 - Little Aston

  54 - Avon Meadows

  50 - Babbs Mill

  48 - Kings Norton

Further details for each patch may be posted later on.

Matt

Earlswood all-dayer - Autumn 2020

This year's Earlswood autumn all-day birdwatch took place on Saturday 5th September, and it was a day to remember with a total of 71 bird species found by the team - our highest ever autumn total on patch! Previous autumn species totals have been 63 in 2019, 69 in 2018, 63 in 2017, 57 in 2016 and 56 in 2015. It was also our second highest all-dayer total ever, the spring 2016 all-dayer total of 77 species remaining Team Earlswood's best.

Everyone enjoyed it and I thoroughly did, I think particularly as we weren't able to do an all-dayer in the spring this year due to the COVID-19 restrictions. I put in about 9.5 hours of effort and some of the other team members put in several hours each too, this along with the slightly higher than usual number of participants contributed to our excellent result. Water levels at the lakes were falling but weren't particularly low on the day, with only small amounts of shoreline, and despite the pleasant weather there was still small amounts of bird movement evident.

Personal highlights for me included finding a female Redstart along Springbrook Lane, the first Meadow Pipits (5) of the autumn over Manor Farm and a Green Sandpiper flying over the lakes. I also saw a Teal on Engine Pool and a late Common Whitethroat in Spring Brook Scrubland. A Spotted Flycatcher at Springbrook Lane found by John Oates, a Peregrine over Windmill Pool seen by Joe Owen, and a couple of sightings of Yellow Wagtail (firstly by Ashley Grove) were amongst the other birds of note seen over the course of the day. Ashley also had a possible Arctic/Yellow-browed Warbler along Gypsy Lane but didn't get enough on it and it wasn't seen again unfortunately! Our most surprising omissions were Mistle Thrush and Kingfisher. Nevertheless, a great effort by the team!

Many thanks to Jon Chidwick, Ashley Grove, Yvonne Heward, Harry Hopkins, Janet James, Mike Jeeves, Peter Morgan, John Oates, Joe Owen, Tony and Barbara Philp, and John Sirrett for their participation in the field, and extra thanks to John Sirrett for collating the species recorded during the day. The full list was as follows:

1. Black-headed Gull
2. Blackbird
3. Blackcap
4. Blue Tit
5. Bullfinch
6. Buzzard
7. Canada Goose
8. Carrion Crow
9. Chaffinch
10. Chiffchaff
11. Coal Tit
12. Collared Dove
13. Common Tern
14. Coot
15. Cormorant
16. Dunnock
17. Feral Pigeon
18. Goldcrest
19. Goldfinch
20. Great Crested Grebe
21. Great Spotted Woodpecker
22. Great Tit
23. Green Sandpiper
24. Green Woodpecker
25. Greenfinch
26. Grey Heron
27. Grey Wagtail
28. Greylag Goose
29. Herring Gull
30. Hobby
31. House Martin
32. House Sparrow
33. Jackdaw
34. Jay
35. Kestrel
36. Lesser Black-backed Gull
37. Linnet
38. Long-tailed Tit
39. Magpie
40. Mallard
41. Marsh Tit
42. Meadow Pipit
43. Moorhen
44. Mute Swan
45. Nuthatch
46. Peregrine
47. Pheasant
48. Pied Wagtail
49. Raven
50. Redstart
51. Reed Bunting
52. Robin
53. Rook
54. Sand Martin
55. Siskin
56. Song Thrush
57. Sparrowhawk
58. Spotted Flycatcher
59. Starling
60. Stock Dove
61. Swallow
62. Swift
63. Tawny Owl
64. Teal
65. Treecreeper
66. Tufted Duck
67. Whitethroat
68. Willow Warbler
69. Woodpigeon
70. Wren
71. Yellow Wagtail

Within the West Midlands as a whole, a record-breaking 32 sites participated in the all-dayer on the same day, producing another record of 140 bird species observed. Earlswood fared quite well, finishing on a higher or equal total compared with other patches that normally score higher than us, and probably coming as close to Upton Warren's total as we ever will! :D

Well done to all who took part, and thanks to Phil Andrews who has once again collated the following results:

104 - Belvide

  96 - Branston GPs

  94 - Ladywalk

  90 - Grimley

  90 - Middleton Lakes

  89 - Venus Pool

  85 - Chelmarsh

  85 - Sandwell Valley

  82 - Bittell

  82 - Chasewater

  79 - Salford Priors GPs

  76 - Alvecote Pools

  73 - Upton Warren

  71 - Dairy Farm

  71 - Earlswood

  71 - Marsh Lane

  70 - Coney Meadows

  70 - Whitemoor Haye

  69 - Doxey Marshes

  68 - Sutton Park

  63 - Draycote

  63 - Morton Bagot

  63 - Stoke patches

  60 - South Coventry

  58 - Highgate Common etc

  54 - Avon Meadows

  54 - Blithfield

  53 - Edgbaston Reservoir

  51 - Sheepwash

  49 - Plantsbrook etc

  46 - Little Aston SWT

  46 - Halesowen (2)

  42 - Halesowen (1)

Further details for each patch have been posted by Phil here.

Fingers very much crossed that the spring all-dayer next year will be able to go ahead...

Matt

Advice on Earlswood birding during the COVID-19 lock-down

Posted 24/03/2020
Updated 26/03/2020
Updated 18/04/2020

New guidance issued by the National Police Chiefs' Council has been posted on the facebook page of Alcester Police, regarding travel for exercise. They say:

"The NPCC guidance below sets out a range of 'likely' and 'unlikely' reasonable excuses. It is worth reading the statement on the first image to get a better understanding of how the excuses are to be interpreted."

All three pages of guidance as follows, but those relevant to exercise/birding are on the first two:

Much of the below is still applicable though, particularly in terms of risk of coming into contact with infected people at the lakes and woods during nice weather, and the need to suppress rare/scarce bird news to discourage twitches/gatherings.

Birders should not be driving to Earlswood to exercise during the lock-down since this involves non-essential travel. The following is addressed to birders who live within walking distance of the areas of Earlswood they can legally exercise at.

Hi folks,

In light of the nationwide coronavirus (COVID-19) lock-down announced yesterday evening, please follow government guidance first and foremost when going about local birding. The government are still permitting people to leave their home for "one form of exercise a day" (including walking) alone or with members of their household, exercise starting and finishing from their home.

A number of Earlswood birders live within the patch recording area and will still be birding from their gardens or whilst out exercising during this time. Recognising this, and following some discussion between local birders regarding patch bird news dissemination over the course of this pandemic, we would like to recommend the following:

• If you wish to post updates and photos about Earlswood birds publicly on social media, please do so only for regular bird species and only after nightfall. Regular birds are residents and annually-occurring visiting species which are unlikely to cause a twitch or other gathering of birders. These reports and photos provide interest and pleasure to those of us who are no longer able to visit the patch, and help us to keep in touch and feel less isolated. Posting after nightfall will help to reduce the likelihood of birders acting upon instant news.
• Please do not share news or photos for rare/scarce bird species at Earlswood publicly on social media, until the lock-down is officially over. Rare/scarce birds are any species which do not occur every year, or which are annual but infrequent or particularly popular with observers, and can hang around, i.e. twitchable, such as Black Tern.
• Exceptions to this might be posting news/photos of untwitchable rare/scarce birds, such as those flying over or in nocmig recordings on patch, on social media. For example, a repeat of the 2 White Storks that flew over last year.

The key point here is to use some common sense and consider the consequences of putting news out, to prevent non-essential travel and potential gatherings. If in doubt, please drop me an email or DM.

Since the start of the lock-down, there have been reports of angling, picnicking and large numbers of walkers around the lakes still during the nice weather. Therefore, exercising at the lakes (and probably the woods) has a higher risk for coming into contact with infected people than other accessible areas. 

Anyone exercising at the lakes or woods should also consider the following:

• In places around the lakes and woods, it will not be possible for people to pass each other at a safe 2-metre distance apart, due to some paths being narrow and/or very muddy.
• The wooden fishing platforms around Engine Pool are potentially useful for avoiding close contact with other people, but some of them are rotting in places and potentially unsafe to walk on.

These recommendations are open to further discussion and amendment. The situation in terms of birders using Earlswood during the lock-down will be monitored, in case there is a need for full news blackout.

Wishing everyone to stay safe and well.

Matt

Earlswood all-dayer - Autumn 2019

The Earlswood autumn all-day birdwatch took place earlier this month, on Saturday 7th, and the team recorded a total of 63 bird species over the course of the day. This was our joint-second highest autumn total, last year's result (when the habitat at the lakes and especially Engine Pool was excellent) being the highest to-date. Previous autumn species totals have been 69 in 2018, 63 in 2017, 57 in 2016 and 56 in 2015.

Despite the fairly high water levels and scarcity of terns at the lakes so far this year, we noted Oystercatcher, Green Sandpiper and Common Tern, which were amongst the most notable species found, along with a fly-over Yellow Wagtail. Also, 13 Shoveler at Engine Pool was a high count for the patch, the most I'd personally seen at the lakes since 13 way back in 2008! A new element of the all-dayer this time was the use of a nocmig recorder by John Oates to detect birds calling as they fly over the area, which might otherwise be missed by observers, particularly at night-time; this picked up Tawny Owl, which was also reported by Yvonne in the evening, but still it was worth a try and will hopefully be used in future all-dayers!

There were a few species which were likely around the patch but missed, including Pheasant, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Skylark, Mistle Thrush, Linnet and Reed Bunting. Unfortunately I had to throw in the towel mid-afternoon, as I got a bad headache; otherwise I'm sure the list would've gone up by a couple at least. ;)

Many thanks to Jon Chidwick, Yvonne Heward, Janet James, Mike Jeeves, John Oates, Tony and Barbara Philp, Jenny Renowden, John Sirrett and Jim Winsper for participating. Many thanks to John Sirrett also for collating the species recorded during the day, the full list was as follows:

1. Mute Swan
2. Greylag Goose
3. Canada Goose
4. Teal
5. Mallard
6. Shoveler
7. Tufted Duck
8. Little Grebe
9. Great Crested Grebe
10. Cormorant
11. Grey Heron
12. Sparrowhawk
13. Buzzard
14. Moorhen
15. Coot
16. Oystercatcher
17. Green Sandpiper
18. Black-headed Gull
19. Lesser Black-backed Gull
20. Herring Gull
21. Common Tern
22. Feral Pigeon
23. Stock Dove
24. Woodpigeon
25. Collared Dove
26. Tawny Owl
27. Swift
28. Green Woodpecker
29. Great Spotted Woodpecker
30. Sand Martin
31. Swallow
32. House Martin
33. Meadow Pipit
34. Yellow Wagtail
35. Grey Wagtail
36. Pied Watail
37. Wren
38. Dunnock
39. Robin
40. Blackbird
41. Song Thrush
42. Blackcap
43. Chiffchaff
44. Willow Warbler
45. Goldcrest
46. Long-tailed Tit
47. Blue Tit
48. Great Tit
49. Coal Tit
50. Marsh Tit
51. Nuthatch
52. Treecreeper
53. Jay
54. Magpie
55. Jackdaw
56. Carrion Crow
57. Raven
58. Starling
59. House Sparrow
60. Chaffinch
61. Greenfinch
62. Goldfinch
63. Bullfinch

It was very nice to have a few drinks with John Sirrett, Jim Winsper and Mike Inskip in the Red Lion at midday, and I think we should make a pub meet a regular part of future all-dayers! :)

Within the West Midlands as a whole, a record-breaking 24 sites participated in the all-dayer on the same day, but Earlswood didn't fare so well from this perspective. Some of the patches are smaller than ours, and I can't help wondering how much better our total might be if our bits of farmland were better for wildlife (no Yellowhammer records so far this year!). Still, as they say, it's the taking part that counts! Well done to all who took part, and thanks to Phil Andrews who has collated the following results:

100 - Belvide Reservoir

  99 - Middleton Lakes

  95 - Branston GP

  92 - Ladywalk

  92 - Grimley

  88 - Sandwell Valley

  84 - Upton Warren

  81 - Chasewater

  77 - Bittell Reservoirs

  74 - Brandon Marsh

  74 - Dairy Farm NR

  73 - Marsh Lane

  72 - Venus Pool

  70 - Salford Priors GP

  69 - Alvecote Pools

  69 - Sutton Park

  66 - Doxey Marsh

  65 - Elmdon Park

  64 - Shustoke Reservoir

  64 - Morton Bagot

  63 - Earlswood

  63 - Whitemoor Haye

  60 - Saltwells / Fens Pool

  55 - Draycote Water

Till next year...

Earlswood all-dayer - Spring 2019

A total of 64 bird species were recorded at Earlswood during the West Midlands spring all-day birdwatch yesterday. When putting this into context with our previous spring all-dayer totals, it's interesting to note that, with one exception, we seem to have a tendency to record a very similar number of 64-65 species each year! Previous totals as follows:
2018 - 64 spp.
2017 - 65 spp.
2016 - 77 spp.
2015 - 65 spp.

The weather conditions yesterday weren't great for migration at this time of year really, with a cool northerly wind, and apart from good numbers of hirundines at the lakes there appeared to be few other new arrivals. The most notable birds reported were Lesser Whitethroat, Cuckoo, Raven, Skylark and Common Sandpiper. All of the resident species were recorded, but amongst the visitors that weren't, Common Tern was the most surprising. The full bird list in alphabetical order was as follows:

1. Black-headed Gull
2. Blackbird
3. Blackcap
4. Blue Tit
5. Bullfinch
6. Buzzard
7. Canada Goose
8. Carrion Crow
9. Chaffinch
10. Chiffchaff
11. Coal Tit
12. Collared Dove
13. Common Sandpiper
14. Coot
15. Cuckoo
16. Dunnock
17. Feral Pigeon
18. Goldcrest
19. Goldfinch
20. Great Crested Grebe
21. Great Spotted Woodpecker
22. Great Tit
23. Green Woodpecker
24. Greenfinch
25. Grey Heron
26. Grey Wagtail
27. Greylag Goose
28. Herring Gull
29. House Martin
30. House Sparrow
31. Jackdaw
32. Jay
33. Kestrel
34. Lesser Black-backed Gull
35. Lesser Whitethroat
36. Linnet
37. Long-tailed Tit
38. Magpie
39. Mallard
40. Marsh Tit
41. Mistle Thrush
42. Moorhen
43. Mute Swan
44. Nuthatch
45. Pheasant
46. Pied Wagtail
47. Raven
48. Reed Bunting
49. Robin
50. Sand Martin
51. Skylark
52. Song Thrush
53. Sparrowhawk
54. Starling
55. Stock Dove
56. Swallow
57. Swift
58. Tawny Owl
59. Treecreeper
60. Tufted Duck
61. Whitethroat
62. Willow Warbler
63. Woodpigeon
64. Wren

Three of the team including myself went for drinks at the Red Lion, and I wonder if others might be interested in doing this at a local pub in future all-dayers? For me as a lightweight, a couple of pints meant that birding for a couple of hours afterwards was, erm, interesting but at least now I know Rosie's Pig and Doom Bar taste good! 😁 Here's a few members of Team Earlswood at the causeway!

Left to right: John B, Janet, Jim, John S, Jon C

Earlswood came 15th out of a record total of 23 sites across the midlands that participated, which was pretty good considering most of the patches with better scores are managed nature reserves or gravel pits. Sites and species totals for the day as follows:
  1. Ladywalk - 102
  2. Middleton Lakes - 97
  3. Branston GP - 91
  4. Brandon Marsh - 90
=5. Belvide - 89
=5. Grimley - 89
=7. Upton Warren - 84
=7. Chasewater - 84
=7. Salford Priors GP - 84
=7. Sandwell Valley - 84
 11. Marsh Lane - 82
 12. Doxey Marsh - 70
 13. Venus Pool - 69
 14. Dairy Farm NR - 65
 15. Earlswood - 64
 16. Morton Bagot - 63
 17. Elmdon Park - 60
 18. Avon Meadows - 58
 19. Halesowen patches - 57
 20. Edgbaston Res - 55
 21. Sutton Park - 51
 22. Fens Pool / Saltwells - 50
 23. Trittiford - 47

My thanks to John Sirrett for collating the bird species reported at Earlswood over the course of the day, to Phil Andrews for collating the site totals for the all-dayer overall, and to the following 11 birders who made up the rest of Team Earlswood this spring: John Bishop, Jon Chidwick, Barry Durman, Paul Fitzgerald, Yvonne Heward, Janet James, Mike Jeeves, John Oates, Joe Owen, John Sirrett and Jim Winsper. The next all-dayer in the autumn will probably be in early September.

Earlswood all-dayer - New Year's Day 2019

For the first time ever, some midlands patches including Earlswood competed in a winter all-day birdwatch on New Year's Day this year, like those we've been doing each spring and autumn in recent years. The results with species totals were as follows:

1. Belvide - 77
2. Middleton Lakes - 76
3. Sandwell Valley - 74
4. Upton Warren - 70
5. Doxey Marshes - 66
6. Whitemoor Haye - 61
7. Morton Bagot - 58
8. Earlswood - 56

So we came last, but with a superb adult male Common Scoter being found at Engine Pool, who can complain?! A great start for hopefully another productive year. Earlswood day list with initials for single-observer records and scoter as follows:

1. Mute Swan
2. Greylag Goose
3. Canada Goose
4. Mallard
5. Shoveler
6. Tufted Duck
7. Common Scoter (JM et al.)
8. Goldeneye (JJ)
9. Goosander
10. Little Grebe (JK)
11. Great Crested Grebe
12. Cormorant
13. Grey Heron
14. Sparrowhawk (JOw)
15. Kestrel (JD)
16. Moorhen
17. Coot
18. Golden Plover (JHS)
19. Common Snipe (TRP)
20. Black-headed Gull
21. Lesser Black-backed Gull
22. Herring Gull
23. Feral Pigeon (TRP)
24. Stock Dove (MPG)
25. Woodpigeon
26. Collared Dove
27. Tawny Owl (MPG)
28. Green Woodpecker (JJ)
29. Great Spotted Woodpecker
30. Grey Wagtail
31. Pied Wagtail
32. Wren
33. Dunnock
34. Robin
35. Blackbird
36. Fieldfare
37. Redwing
38. Song Thrush
39. Mistle Thrush (JJ)
40. Long-tailed Tit
41. Blue Tit
42. Great Tit
43. Coal Tit
44. Marsh Tit
45. Nuthatch
46. Treecreeper
47. Jay
48. Magpie
49. Jackdaw
50. Carrion Crow
51. Raven
52. Starling
53. House Sparrow
54. Chaffinch
55. Goldfinch 
56. Bullfinch (JJ)

Thanks to John Bishop, Jon Chidwick, Judy Donath, Harry Hopkins, Janet James, James Kenny, Joe Martin, Joe Owen, John Sirrett, Rob Strong, Tony and Barbara Philp for their reports and/or offering to fill in gaps in the list. Rematch in the spring!

Proposal to close Braggs Farm Lane to traffic

Solihull council have proposed to close Braggs Farm Lane to traffic by installing a gate in the middle of its length. Further info is in the screenshots below, kindly forwarded to me by John Sirrett.

I must admit I rarely drive along the road, and the reduced number of vehicles using it could benefit wildlife and make it more pleasant to walk along. However, in case any readers were unaware of this proposal and would like to comment to the council about it, I thought I'd post the information here. Consultation ends on Friday this week.

Twitter

For the latest Earlswood bird news, please visit www.twitter.com/earlswoodbirds

N.B. You don't have to join Twitter to view updates.

A personal review of 2016, 2017 & the past eleven years

A really long one, sorry - it's been in the pipeline a while and built up!

Birds of Earlswood 2016

2016 was pretty good, the grand total of 128 species recorded being similar to 2015. Two species were patch-firsts, namely 2 Black Redstarts in private horse pastures at Manor Farm from April 8th-9th (MPG et al.) and an Egyptian Goose at Mereside Pools on December 24th (T.R. Philp). A stunning summer-plumaged Black-necked Grebe at Engine Pool from June 6th-7th (MPG et al.) was perhaps the bird of the year though, as it was also the first record at the lakes since 1955, it showed reasonably well and lots of people got to see it. A Firecrest in Little Clowes Wood from December 30th (J. Asbury et al.) was another highlight which I was fortunate to see. On the downside I missed four species which otherwise would've been personal patch ticks: a Pied Flycatcher at Terry's Pool on April 26th (M.J. Inskip et al.) and a Scaup at Windmill Pool on July 5th (J. Oates et al.) were both twitchable if only I hadn't been working during the afternoons they were discovered, whilst an Osprey flying over the Norton Lane area on August 31st (J. Oates) and the Egyptian Goose both didn't stay long.

Black-necked Grebe (John Oates)

Black Redstarts, first-winter male on left (Matt Griffiths)

Firecrest (Jon Asbury)

Egyptian Goose (Tony Philp)

Birds of Earlswood 2017

So on to 2017, it looks like we finished on 126 species, which is very slightly below average for Earlswood. Nevertheless there were several highlights:

• Great White Egret: our star bird of the year, a first for Earlswood and presumably the same individual was involved on each of the three occasions it was seen, but sadly only two observers got it. It flew over Windmill Pool on October 18th (MPG), then over Engine Pool on October 31st and November 22nd (J. Oates). It was extra special for me as it was an outright lifer and also my 160th bird species for the patch!

  

  Great White Egret (John Oates)

• Common Scoter: for a species that was last seen at the lakes in 1996, it was very surprising that there was not one but two records this year! Five males were at Engine Pool on June 29th (J. Oates et al.), and two males with four females were also at Engine Pool on August 21st (M.R. Jeeves et al.). I was immensely relieved to see the August flock after missing the June one - many thanks Mike!

  

  Common Scoters - June flock (John Oates)

• Osprey: a satellite-tagged male called "Number 14" flew over the lakes on April 13th (MPG, T.R. Philp, P.C. Stainton). He had been at the island of Bioko, Equatorial Guinea for most of the 2016-17 winter, started migrating north on March 23rd, and visited Welford-on-Avon (Warks) on the evening of April 12th and the River Dove at Marchington (Staffs) on the morning of April 14th. He then spent the summer in the Lake District - details from Ospreywatch. I'd anticipated seeing this species at Earlswood for some years, so it was great to finally find one, and I've enjoyed reading about his past and subsequent movements.

  

  Osprey (Tony Philp)

• Firecrest: the bird from 2016 stayed in the woods to at least March 8th (several observers), and was seen with a second bird on February 11th (J. Asbury). A third bird visited Terry's Pool on October 17th (J. Oates).

  

  Firecrest in October (John Oates)

• Barn Owl: one hunting at a private marsh near the lakes on November 15th and 17th (MPG, P. Fitzgerald) was my first at Earlswood since 2010, and followed a sighting of probably the same bird near Shutt Lane about three weeks earlier.
• Hawfinch: nationally 2017 will surely be remembered as the year of the great Hawfinch influx, and thankfully Earlswood didn't go without. A flock of six over Windmill Pool and a single over Spring Brook Scrubland on October 20th (MPG) were the first, followed by three over Terry's Green on 23rd (MPG), a single over Spring Brook Scrubland on 30th (MPG), a single over Springbrook Lane on November 1st (J.H. Sirrett), two perched in trees at Earlswood Moathouse NR on 4th (J. Oates), calls heard over Terry's Pool lagoon on December 11th (MPG), and a bird perched in trees near Windmill Pool from 26th-27th (MPG). Whether some of these records involved the same individual birds loitering around the wider area is open to debate, but they are always special to see, even though most were brief fly-overs.

  

  Hawfinch (John Oates)

I ended on 114 species at Earlswood for 2017, my lowest patch total since 2010, sadly due to putting even less birding time in compared to previous years. Embarrassingly I failed to get Garden Warbler and Rook, but on the flip side it was great to add Osprey, Common Scoter and Great White Egret to my patch life list. Outside of Earlswood, the year was an important one for me as I finally managed to get into my desired career - in April I got a new job as a seasonal ecologist, which is just brilliant being paid to do work I enjoy!

10 years of birding at Earlswood

October 5th 2017 marked my 10th anniversary of serious patch-birding. I'd done a little birding at Earlswood during my teenage years, but it was only after my first ever twitch going to see a Grey Phalarope at Windmill Pool on October 5th 2007 that I truly became hooked and fell in love with Earlswood. The last 10 years have mostly been the best years of my life and it has all been thanks to finding purpose and enjoyment at my beloved patch.

Grey Phalarope (Vince Garvey)

There have been so many personal birding highlights for me over this time, but co-finding the Night Heron and watching it over the two weeks it hung around would have to be my all-time favourite, closely followed by twitching that life-changing phalarope. Finding scarce birds on patch is always a thrill, and for me included six more firsts for Earlswood: a Yellow-browed Warbler (2nd county record!), Cetti's Warbler, the two Black Redstarts, a Short-eared Owl, Avocet, the Great White Egret and a flock of six Whooper Swans!

Night Heron (Dave Hutton)

Yellow-browed Warbler plumage notes (Matt Griffiths)

Other finds that particularly stand out in my memory are the Black-necked Grebe, the Osprey, an eclipse male Garganey, redhead Smew, the last two records to-date of Ruddy Duck, two fly-over flocks of Bar-tailed Godwits, a summer-plumaged Turnstone found very early one morning, a Little Tern during very heavy rain, a flock of three Sandwich Terns, single Kittiwakes on five occasions, a fly-over Waxwing clearly very lost, two single Ring Ouzels, two single Wood Warblers both singing their amazing song, four single Firecrests, four flocks of fly-over Crossbills all in the same year, and a Hawfinch in 2015 which flew over the lakes and out of sight only to be relocated in a yew tree thanks to my local knowledge and a bit of a sprint! On the downside, I've dipped quite a few notables, probably the biggest miss being a Hoopoe at Manor Farm, but no species that would require a great miracle for one to occur at Earlswood again!

Hoopoe (Rich Greer)

Patch-birding has brought me into contact with many wonderful people, birders and non-birders alike, and I've struck up friendships and acquaintanceships as a result. It's been a massive help for me in dealing with social anxiety issues I have. My enquiry about putting a tern raft on Terry's Pool led to the formation of the Earlswood Wildlife Partnership, a group which has done much good work for local wildlife since. I credit one of its committee members, ecologist Paul Wilkinson, in playing a major part of increasing my interest and experience in surveying bats, reptiles and amphibians, through the surveys and walks he organises and by bringing me into contact with other wildlife enthusiasts. He and several birders, but especially Paul Fitzgerald, and in years gone by Jon Yardley and Jon Bowley, have encouraged me to venture outside the patch boundaries to visit new areas, providing me with valuable new wildlife experiences and personal development that I can apply to Earlswood, my current job and life in general. Three more wildlife people have been really good friends and mentors: Charlene Jones, John Oates and Manda Tomkins. At risk of missing someone out, I'd also like to give special mention to Jon Asbury, Kevin Bates, John Bishop, Jon Chidwick, Rich Greer, Yvonne Heward, Ron Hill, John Hunt, Mike Inskip, Janet James, Mike Jeeves, Martin Lindop, Steve Lloyd, Donna Mallon, Tony and Barbara Philp, Craig Reed, Jenny Renowden, Bob and Cheryl Roberts, John Sirrett, Phil Stainton and Jim Winsper for their good company whilst at Earlswood, even if only on brief occasions or no longer visiting 😊 I'm truly grateful to all birders, ecologists and other wildlife people who I've had positive interactions with on patch and in the wider midlands area, even if I don't always seem to appreciate the company, from brief chats and offers of help to some bigger things, and I'm sorry I can't mention everyone else who've been positive!

Just a few of you - lots more I need for the photo collection! ;-)

---

Most of the above I wrote earlier this year back in January and now, 9 months on, I've just completed 11 years on patch and it will soon be time to review 2018! All very late I know - time just whizzes by! There has been a significant change in my life this month and it was World Mental Health Day yesterday, so it seems appropriate to publish this reflective post now rather than later. Part of the next bit I was of two minds whether to include or not as I'm not sure how people will take it but feel it has been a significant part of my patch-birding experience, even if not all positive.

Recent and future changes in my patch-birding

A few people have commented on the reduced amount of time I've been spending at Earlswood in the last few years. My usual explanation that I've been busy with uni and work is true, but there have been other reasons.

Firstly, Earlswood gets a lot more coverage by birders these days than it used to, and sometimes I feel less compelled to visit the patch when I know it's been checked already, especially if I have other pressing tasks to do. Having said that though, the increased presence of other birders is great for bird-recording and rare birds being found, and I'm very happy to share the patch with others, and thankful to those who share their finds so that other people can twitch them.

Secondly, in 2015 I met someone at the lakes who for the first time in my life I felt a special connection with. The lovesickness that later followed was the worst kind of emotional pain and depression I've ever experienced and sometimes made me feel too demotivated to go out, I suffered mostly in secret and when I visited the lakes sometimes they seemed to only serve to remind me of her. Some days I just had to give Earlswood a miss and it was easier when I knew other birders had been around already. It took me until about the second half of last year to come to terms with the experience as best as possible, but I got there in the end! I should perhaps add that I don't regret meeting her, and her success in being in her chosen career was inspirational and helped motivate me into returning to uni later that year, to help me achieve similar, although doing a masters during a poor phase in my mental health has been very tough.

I haven't fully finished my masters yet but I think it's played a key part in helping me get into my chosen career. This month I made further career progress by becoming a permanent full-time graduate ecologist! If all goes well it will mean I've achieved one of my life ambitions, and I can start working towards two of my others. Once I finish uni, I have a list of other things I'd like to do, amongst them cracking on with writing my book and seeing some new places around the UK. To be honest, Earlswood alone is no longer enough to make me happy. Unfortunately all this means I'll have less time for patch-birding, but I'm certainly not giving it up and there will be even more scope for other birders to make good finds!

I'm not sure if anyone will have managed to read this far! 😆 As always, many thanks to everyone who has tweeted, emailed, texted or phoned their wildlife sightings to me. All the very best x

Matt

Earlswood all-dayer - Autumn 2018

A total of 69 bird species were recorded during the Earlswood all-day birdwatch yesterday, our best autumn total to-date (cf. 63 in 2017, 57 in 2016, 56 in 2015). Engine Pool currently having probably the best waterbird habitat on patch in living memory helped - a combination of muddy shores, algae blooms and almost no big fish in the water meaning lots of food available.

Many thanks to John Bishop, Jon Chidwick, Janet James, Mike Jeeves, John Oates, Joe Owen, John Sirrett and Jim Winsper for taking part, especially as it rained for a large portion of the day and there is little shelter. Also many thanks to John Sirrett for collating most of the species recorded during the day, the full list in alphabetical order is as follows:

1. Black-headed Gull
2. Blackbird
3. Blackcap
4. Blue Tit
5. Bullfinch
6. Buzzard
7. Canada Goose
8. Carrion Crow
9. Chaffinch 
10. Chiffchaff 
11. Coal Tit
12. Collared Dove
13. Common Sandpiper
14. Coot
15. Cormorant
16. Dunlin
17. Dunnock
18. Feral Pigeon
19. Gadwall
20. Goldcrest
21. Goldfinch
22. Great Crested Grebe
23. Great Spotted Woodpecker
24. Great Tit
25. Green Woodpecker
26. Greenfinch
27. Grey Heron
28. Grey Wagtail
29. Greylag Goose
30. Herring Gull
31. Hobby
32. House Martin
33. House Sparrow
34. Jackdaw
35. Jay
36. Lesser Black-backed Gull
37. Linnet
38. Little Grebe
39. Little Egret
40. Long-tailed Tit
41. Magpie
42. Mallard
43. Meadow Pipit
44. Mistle Thrush
45. Moorhen
46. Mute Swan
47. Nuthatch
48. Pied Wagtail
49. Raven
50. Reed Warbler
51. Ringed Plover
52. Robin
53. Sand Martin
54. Shoveler
55. Skylark
56. Song Thrush
57. Snipe
58. Sparrowhawk
59. Starling
60. Stock Dove
61. Swallow
62. Teal
63. Treecreeper
64. Tufted Duck
65. Willow Warbler
66. Woodpigeon
67. Wren
68. Yellow-legged Gull
69. Yellow Wagtail

Earlswood all-dayer - Spring 2018

Team Earlswood recorded a total of 64 bird species on patch yesterday. It was a sunny, hot day with little cloud or wind, and lots of human disturbance in the usual areas, so certainly not an ideal day for picking up migrants. Highlights included our first Whinchat and Yellowhammer of the year, whilst 4 male Reed Bunting was a good count.

Some common species were notable by their absence, but 64 is actually not our worst total: previous spring all-dayers at Earlswood have finished on 56 species in 2015, 77 species in 2016 and 65 species last year. Many thanks to John Bishop, Chris Charles, Jon Chidwick, Janet James, John Oates, Joe Owen, John Sirrett and Jim Winsper for their contributions. Also many thanks to John Sirrett for putting together the following list of species recorded, in alphabetical order:

1. Black-headed Gull
2. Blackbird
3. Blackcap
4. Blue Tit
5. Bullfinch
6. Buzzard
7. Canada Goose
8. Carrion Crow
9. Chaffinch
10. Chiffchaff
11. Coal Tit
12. Collared Dove
13. Coot
14. Cormorant
15. Cuckoo
16. Dunnock
17. Feral Pigeon
18. Goldcrest
19. Goldfinch
20. Great Crested Grebe
21. Great Spotted Woodpecker
22. Great Tit
23. Green Woodpecker
24. Greenfinch
25. Grey Heron
26. Greylag Goose
27. Herring Gull
28. House Sparrow
29. Jackdaw
30. Jay
31. Kestrel
32. Lesser Black-backed Gull
33. Lesser Whitethroat
34. Linnet
35. Long-tailed Tit
36. Magpie
37. Mallard
38. Marsh Tit
39. Mistle Thrush
40. Moorhen
41. Mute Swan
42. Nuthatch
43. Pheasant
44. Pied Wagtail
45. Reed Bunting
46. Robin
47. Rook
48. Sand Martin
49. Song Thrush
50. Sparrowhawk
51. Starling
52. Stock Dove
53. Swallow
54. Tawny Owl
55. Treecreeper
56. Tufted Duck
57. Wheatear
58. Whinchat
59. Whitethroat
60. Willow Warbler
61. Woodpigeon
62. Wren
63. Yellowhammer
64. Yellow Wagtail

Earlswood amphibian & reptile survey, 2016-2017

At a site in Earlswood last year, I saw a female Great Crested Newt (GCN) in a pond partially covered in ice on February 24th - a very pleasant surprise given how early it was in the year and also because the species appeared to have not been recorded at Earlswood since the 1980s! I was interested in finding out how many GCNs might be using the site, so later in the spring during sunny weather I returned and found two males and four egg-laying females at a different pond but within the same site. There was also at least 32 Smooth Newts at the two ponds on that occasion too, which was impressive! Hoping more GCNs might be present, an evening torch survey was undertaken with assistance from Warwickshire Amphibian and Reptile Team (WART) member Louise Sherwell, but only two males and a female were found.

Smooth Newt and Great Crested Newt (John Oates)

This year, the second pond was covered with duckweed for much of the spring making observation difficult but on May 26th, with the help of Agni Arampoglou and Vicky Philpott of WART, another evening torch survey was carried out and single male GCNs were seen in both ponds at the site - a low number probably because it was late in the egg-laying season for this species. It seems that only a very small population may be present, making them vulnerable, but fortunately the site is managed specifically for wildlife.

Ponds at Clowes Wood meadow and a private farm were also surveyed this year, and although no GCNs were found at these, both held Smooth Newts and my observations elsewhere at Earlswood indicate that "Smoothies" are common and widespread in the area. Most methods of surveying for GCNs require a licence from Natural England, and I am grateful to Louise, Agni and Vicky who are all licence-holders for their help during the last two springs. I hope to get a licence for myself next year, which will hopefully make it easier to arrange surveys with local landowners and potentially allow other ponds supporting GCNs to be detected. If any local landowners have ponds that would be suitable for surveying, please get in touch.

Agni, Vicky and Tony Philp also helped me set up a reptile survey at a private site next to the lakes, using 11 sheets of corrugated roofing material supplied by Earlswood Wildlife Partnership, which I then monitored during the summer. A Smooth Newt was found basking on top of one sheet, and a young Toad was resting under another, but sadly no reptiles were found. The hope is that Slow Worms might be present as the habitat looks suitable for them, and although the sheets have now been brought indoors for the winter, the survey will recommence next year.

Common Toad under reptile refugium sheet (Matt Griffiths)

Smooth Newt on reptile refugium sheet (Matt Griffiths)

Matt

P.S. I originally wrote this for Earlswood Wildlife Partnership, and I am grateful to them for allowing me the use of their reptile refugia.

Earlswood all-dayer - Autumn 2017

A total of 63 bird species were recorded during yesterday's Autumn all-dayer at Earlswood, which was a great result considering the pleasant weather and large amount of disturbance at the lakes (cf. 57 spp. in 2016, 56 spp. in 2015). Many thanks to John Bishop, Jon Chidwick, Janet James, Mike Jeeves, John Oates, Tony Philp, John Sirrett and Jim Winsper who also took part, and extra thanks to Mr. Sirrett who collated sightings during the first half of the morning. Species list as follows, highlights in bold:

1. Greylag Goose
2. Canada Goose
3. Mallard
4. Shoveler (1)
5. Tufted Duck
6. Pheasant
7. Little Grebe (at private site)
8. Great Crested Grebe
9. Cormorant
10. Grey Heron
11. Sparrowhawk
12. Buzzard
13. Kestrel
14. Moorhen
15. Coot
16. Lapwing (1)
17. Common Sandpiper (2)
18. Black-headed Gull
19. Lesser Black-backed Gull
20. Herring Gull
21. Stock Dove
22. Wood Pigeon
23. Collared Dove
24. Swift (5 - quite late)
25. Kingfisher
26. Green Woodpecker
27. Great Spotted Woodpecker
28. Swallow
29. House Martin
30. Grey Wagtail
31. Pied Wagtail
32. Wren
33. Dunnock
34. Robin
35. Whinchat (2)
36. Wheatear (3)
37. Blackbird
38. Song Thrush
39. Mistle Thrush
40. Blackcap
41. Common Whitethroat
42. Chiffchaff
43. Willow Warbler
44. Goldcrest
45. Spotted Flycatcher (1)
46. Long-tailed Tit
47. Blue Tit
48. Great Tit
49. Coal Tit
50. Marsh Tit
51. Nuthatch
52. Jay
53. Magpie
54. Jackdaw
55. Carrion Crow
56. Raven
57. Starling
58. House Sparrow
59. Chaffinch
60. Greenfinch
61. Goldfinch
62. Linnet
63. Bullfinch

Somehow no-one managed to find Treecreeper though!!! Bat box checks with Earlswood Wildlife Partnership were a nice distraction for 4 hours, and the session was probably the best I've attended in the six years the project has been running, as we had five species including two scarcer ones: a Leisler's Bat (for the second consecutive year) and a Whiskered/Alcathoe/Brandt's Bat (droppings collected for DNA analysis to ID later). Later on, I also had a very close encounter with a young Badger at a new sett - all in all, a great day :-)

We had no hopes of beating most of the other patches that also participated, given that they were mainly premier birding sites, but we came second-from-last. West Midlands all-dayer results were as follows:

1. Middleton Lakes 95
2. Belvide Reservoir 94
3. Grimley 91
4. Draycote Water 85
5. Ladywalk 84
6. Sandwell Valley 82
7. Upton Warren 81
8. Venus Pool 80
9. Earlswood Lakes 63
10. Whitemoor Haye 61

Valley Road car park to be closed

Valley Road car park is to be closed for a 6-month trial, a decision which has been made with no consultation with birders who regularly use it. It was a nasty surprise when I found out, and very disappointing, especially as two people involved in the decision know full well I regularly use the car park and had talked to me about other things in recent months, but not about this! One of the reasons for the closure is fly-tipping, but I can't see how closing it will stop that as there will still be space there for rubbish, albeit behind a fence/barrier. I just hope other birders don't feel discouraged by this like I am...

Some email correspondence below for further info.

---

I was very disappointed to learn that a decision has been made to close the Valley Road car park for a 6-month trial, without any consultation with users of the car park. I and other birdwatchers regularly use this car park because it is accessible early morning when the other car parks are closed, and it provides convenient close access to the causeway, which is a favoured observation point for us. The car park is also regularly used by C&RT and their contractors, especially those who cut the grass along the dam/causeway and do the monthly safety inspections. Other visitors also use it, and although it has low vehicle capacity I disagree with the statement that it is rarely full of cars as this varies depending on time of day and whether weekday or weekend - generally it is well used at weekends and during nice weather, like the other car parks but on a smaller scale. I took the photo in this link on Thursday evening last week: https://twitter.com/earlswoodbirds/status/885626937955295232

With the local population set to increase as more houses are built at Tidbury Green and Dickens Heath, more car parking may be needed in the future, not less. Closing this car park may encourage anglers who currently use it to park more along Malthouse Lane, especially at night when the other car parks are closed - poignant given the possibility of night fishing being allowed in future. It also won't remove antisocial behaviour from the Earlswood area as a whole as undesirables will simply go elsewhere to the dam, other car parks such as the Reservoir pub's, or the quieter lanes. Converting the car park to a planted area also won't necessarily stop fly-tipping there, as people could still drop rubbish on the plants from the road.

Surely if people are willing to take responsibility for closing the car park, they could take responsibility for improving and maintaining it? Perhaps removable bollards could be used there? I could help remove litter if provided with a picker and bags.

Kind regards,

Matt

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Hi Matt,

thank you for contacting us directly.  I am aware that you have raised this on your Twitter account.

We have worked well together in the past so I am sorry that you are against this trial.

I am also rather disappointed that you don't seem to appreciate that we have monitored and explored all the possibilities that have been open to us.

I am sending the reply that I sent to Janet James, I believe you know Janet. 

However I will add that your suggestion of removable bollards was discussed as an option but discarded as it would not stop fly tipping.

I draw your attention to the fact that C&RT were present at the meeting which made this decision and have offered some financial help towards completing the work.

Your offer of help with litter picking is appreciated but the problem is greater I'm afraid than litter picking.  When we had the meeting in Valley Rd., including District Cllr., our MP, Sgt. Bob Shaw, Ian Lane from C&Rt, Parish Council representative and Res. Assoc. representatives, we had to stand amongst men's underwear, a pair of denim jeans, bags of assorted rubbish and the debris was noted which had accumulated at the back of the site.

Depressing sight.  Residents should not have to tolerate this as I'm sure you will agree.  This of course is the tip of the iceberg of ASB associated with this parcel of land.

You mention people taking responsibility for improving and maintaining the site.  The whole point of this trial closure is because nobody will take responsibility or spend any money on it.

We can find nobody willing to take ownership, we would much prefer it if somebody came forward.

It requires money of course to make it work as a viable car park. Dumped cars set alight, overnight sleepers, fly tipping and acknowledged drug dealing don't make it very attractive for a possible responsible organisation with funding.

Yes, it may put a few more cars elsewhere but that problem already exists and has to be dealt with.

The Causeway is on the list, along with Valley Rd., for the extra police patrols which we have successfully campaigned for over the last 2 or 3 years.

I will say that we have noticed a reduction in the last 6 weeks of fly tipping.  As for the number of cars parking there, I do regularly monitor this, I'm in and out often at different times of the day, as a resident.

There are no easy answers here Matt, we did a clean up there and took away 14 bags of assorted debris, a quantity of bedding from the back of the site, and the human waste issues associated with overnight sleepers. Asbestos panels and loads of broken glass.

There are people living right behind this land.

You mention lack of consultation but, as a Res. Assoc., we do our best to find the best outcome for the local community.  The residents of Earlswood make many compromises to accommodate the visitors to the lakes.

I did speak to users of the car park, most said that if it was such a problem then close it. 

It is impossible to please everyone of course and it is a trial and will be evaluated at the end of it.

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Dear Ms. James,

The decision to trial a closure of this car park was taken at a meeting attended by our MP, the police, Canal and River Trust, our District Councillor and representation from our Parish Council.

The suggestion of a six month closure came from the police.  We, as a Res. Assoc. do not have the power to take action without the full support of those people mentioned.

It was agreed unanimously by those at the meeting.

Why do we need to take this action you may ask if you have not fully acquainted yourself with all details.

We can find no trace of an owner of the land.  This means nobody takes responsibility for maintenance or management of the land.

Streetscene, at S.D.C. have been cooperative in cleaning up the area when there has been fly tipping.  This has been a regular occurrence.

We are grateful for this as the land does not belong to S.D.C. therefore they do not have to accept any responsibility towards its maintenance.

We have people sleeping there overnight with the resulting rubbish and human excreta left behind.

We have had recently a car dumped there and then set alight.  There are two mobile homes directly behind and there was great concern for their safety.

The other issue which is ongoing is the use of this area to deal drugs.  This usually takes place in the hours of darkness although not solely.

Whilst monitoring the car park, such as it is, we have noted that it is rarely full, with a maximum of eight cars, mostly there are just one or two cars throughout the day.

I would also point out that overnight fishing is illegal at Earlswood Lakes so there should be no vehicles associated with fishing in the hours of darkness.

Whilst the residents of Earlswood understand the needs of visitors they are entitled to peace and quiet in the hours of darkness and the early hours of the morning.  This is not unreasonable.

Ms. James, you suggest that we improve the area in Valley Rd., but with no ownership, who do you suggest pays for this? Do you think that we haven't explored options?

The Res. Assoc., made up of local residents, is well placed to know all the recurring problems we have accommodating the visitors to the lakes

The residents of Malthouse Lane have to put up with far too much as it is and this area in Valley Rd. attracts anti social behaviour. 

We are trying to remove these unacceptable elements not encourage them.  If you live here I'm sure you would agree with this.

I would suggest that, in the early hours of the morning, you park in the Red Lion car park.  By walking along Wood Lane you can take the path down to the lakes therefore disturbing no-one. I would also suggest approaching Tanworth in Arden Parish Council asking if the Malthouse Lane car park hours of closing in the summer months could be reviewed and a sign for the car park be reinstated.

We do not want anybody parking anywhere in the hours of darkness, residents deserve their hours of peace to live and sleep.

This is our view and we would prefer the area to be taken over and managed but this is not an option that has been taken up by any of the interested parties.