Archie's British Birding Blogz

Red Cross

Birdwatching Blogs - BlogCatalog Blog Directory

Archie's British Birding Blogz - AQUATIC WARBLER in South Warwickshire - 28/09/2009

Monday 28 September 2009 - AQUATIC WARBLER in South Warwickshire - 28/09/2009

Monday 28th September 2009

AQUATIC WARBLER in South Warwickshire

Armed with some sketchy information I made my way over to Salford Priors Pits tonight in the hope of seeing yesterday's suppressed juvenile AQUATIC WARBLER. It appears that a select few West Midlands birders were tipped off about the sighting immediately but news failed to be broadcast to a wider audience until nearly 5.30pm, giving me little chance of connecting with this County MEGA before dusk.

This is the type of thing that makes me really mad. I understand that there is sometimes a need to suppress sightings for the good of the birds, for the benefit of other wildlife or for the protection of habitat. There might also be other reasons like health and safety or privacy issues. All of the above however fly out of the window during instances like this. If you need to suppress information then fair enough but keep the information to yourself..... tell no-one!

Anyway I managed to see the bird well but briefly on two separate occasions this evening as well as enjoying a few prolonged flight views. If you want to see this bird then please see the Google Map below for further details but please do not enter the site until AFTER 5.00pm when the quarry workers clock off. As a bonus those present this evening also enjoyed such County scarcities as Whinchat, European Stonechat (2) and Common Raven. An Osprey was also in the area earlier on in the afternoon.

This is just the third regional record (WMBC recording area) of AQUATIC WARBLER after a juvenile was trapped and ringed at Oakley Pool in Worcestershire on the 19th August 1983 and another juvenile was found at Kites Hardwick, Warwickshire on 29th August 2005.

Tuesday 29 September 2009 - Aquatic suppression!

Posted by Anonymous

Glad you managed to see the bird, no doubt the chosen few will use the access excuse whilst everybody else twiddles their thumbs. Shropshire used to be prone to this sort of thing whilst a select few increase their County list as the expense of others.

Arch Responds: Cheers mate, maybe you'd like to join my recently formed pressure group 'Kick the West Midland Birding Clique'? It's aim is to rid the region of those few miserable, bitter old men who obtain a twisted pleasure from restricting news of local rarities or scarcities to within their select circle. Some consolation is that within the next 20 years or so most of them would have died out.

Edited by ArchieArcher69 on Tuesday 29 September 2009 at 2:42 AM

Permanent Link

Tuesday 29 September 2009 - Aquatic Warbler

Posted by John J

Glad you seen it Arch, I must be the only Warwickshire birder left to see it now! :-(

See you on Scilly hopefully watching a MEGA Yank Warbler :o)

Arch Responds: Well get your 'hard hat' on and your 'high viz' and go see it, it's a little belter. Well worth a mangled foot in a conveyor belt. :o)

Too true about the Scillies mate, I'll be there 'squeeking and pishing' through the pittisporum hedges trying to lure out that elusive Worm-eating Warbler! :o) Can't wait!

Edited by ArchieArcher69 on Wednesday 30 September 2009 at 2:19 AM

Permanent Link

Tuesday 29 September 2009 - suppression grrrr!

Posted by Steve Keen

Loved the Sandhill story, good to see it's trying to get closer to those of us too weedy and poor to put in that sort of effort.... but suitably dismayed that it's not just Hampshire that suffers the 'suppression for the sake of it' problem. I'm still clench-knuckled at the recently-announced acceptance of a 35-day singing Pallas's in the Cunty last year. It was a County tick for most then, and very few others have had it since.

WHY ARCHIE, WHY???

Anyway, keep up the good work cheering me up.

Arch Responds: I can't answer that one mate, maybe some student with more time on his hands than our goodselves could do a thesis on the subject. If I find a decent bird I love nothing more than getting as many people to see it as possible but obviously other folks have different agendas.

As for the Sandhill Crane I'm gutted for a few of my close pals who were due to visit Orkney this weekend. Hopeful it will become available on the Mainland and be accessible to the masses.

Thanks for reading!

Edited by ArchieArcher69 on Wednesday 30 September 2009 at 2:25 AM

Permanent Link

Wednesday 30 September 2009 - Aquatic....not fantastic!

Posted by The Moore-hen

This bird has stirred up quite a hornets nest with Midlands birders but has just brought to light what we have all known for quite some time..that 'West Midlands Birding' is not held on a level playing field! We all know about the 'Worcs Mafia' who keep news to themselves until they have all seen it then release it to 'Joe Public' to fight over later, it looks like this has spread to Warks now and as the other bloke stated has been 'the norm' in Shropshire since time began. Luckily Staffordshire is pretty much suppression free except for one elderly gent who I think is still alive and kicking (well not kicking...he would never condone that kind of behaviour). I may be in semi-retirement while me and the missus do up the house but I could have got the Aquatic on Sunday, would have been nice but won't lose sleep over it, I'm just not as bothered as some of the grumpy birders who kept it for themselves...don't see the point myself but maybe as I get older, I'll get grumpy (like happened to me dad).

Arch Responds: Shut your face Moore-hen, there's no way that you'd have moved for the bird on Sunday afternoon as you were probably sitting in Argos looking at the latest range of hair straighteners before heading off home to cook Mrs Moor-hen her Sunday roast whilst she had her feet up watching the EastEnders omnibus! :o)

Edited by ArchieArcher69 on Wednesday 30 September 2009 at 8:29 AM

Permanent Link

Thursday 1 October 2009 - Aqua Tick Warbler

Posted by OtherBloke

Has this bird been trapped and now sporting a bright shiny chav type ASBO leg ring? I remember the suppressed White Tailed Plover in Shropshire and had a passport sized picture of the suppressing culprit down my local pub that I used to place in the bulls-eye.....God did that improve my aim!

PS: Archie are you sure that you saw that Sandhill Crane? I only ask because on Lee Evans's site he mentions 4 paragraphs of 'twitchers' and nary a mention. Perhaps you weren't in the peripharal vision of his 'good' eye?

Arch Responds: Hehehehe! At least news on the Warwickshire White-tailed Lapwing got out OK, it's a shame I was just three years old at the time.

As for LGRE, I don't think that he waste his time on 'low listers' like me. I'm no threat to the twitching elite. :o)

Edited by ArchieArcher69 on Tuesday 3 November 2009 at 6:29 AM

Permanent Link

<- Last Page :: Next Page ->

About Me

Aye up folks! My name is Adam 'Archie' Archer, a birder from the West Midlands of England where the birds maybe slightly sh*te but the birders are among the best in the World. This is simply a blog about my birding experiences from my beloved Isles of Great Britain. I have been fortunate to see many great birding spectacles from Unst at the highest tip of Shetland to pelagic trips off the coast of the Isles of Scilly. I have also included sightings from around my home in North Warwickshire and my local patch Alvecote Pools a Site of Special Scientific Interest that straddles the Warwickshire & Staffordshire borders. Birding is a great hobby.... so please relax, smile & enjoy it. WARNING: SOME CONTENT MAY OFFEND! PLEASE NOTE THAT ANY COMMENTS LEFT ON THIS BLOG ARE NOT NECESSARILY THE VIEWS OF MY GOODSELF.... SO THERE!