West Midland Bird Club

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June 2008

• 19: The Little Egret fed in the shallows of the Conservation Pool. The following were also noted: four Mute Swans, four Curlews, three Little Ringed Plovers, two adult Common Sandpipers looking after two juveniles, 23 Coots, eight Lesser Black-backed Gulls, four Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a pair of Peregrines, a Grey Wagtail and three Lesser Redpolls.
• 18: The Little Egret was still present.
• 17: A Little Egret turned up, the first this year. Very encouragingly there were six adult Spotted Flycatchers with five juveniles. There were also two Treecreepers with two juveniles. Also worth a mention: three Lesser Redpolls, a Kestrel and a Redstart.
• 16: Two Oystercatchers were located. A Common Sandpiper and a Kingfisher were found. Two juvenile Grey Herons were observed. Also of interest were the following: two Stock Doves, two Common Buzzards, four Great Spotted Woodpeckers and a Jay.
• 15: Two pairs of nesting Great Crested Grebes were observed. Two Goosanders were found. The Oystercatcher was still present. A single Dunlin was reported. Sedge Warbler adults were feeding three young. There was a pair of Bullfinches, a Willow Tit and a Lesser Redpoll.
• 14: The most interesting sightings included Oystercatcher, three Little Ringed Plovers, eight Lapwings, a Curlew, a male Mandarin (thought to be injured), two Kingfishers, five Spotted Flycatchers and a Lesser Whitethroat.
• 10: Skylarks are now hardly seen at Tittesworth. However, an ascending bird was seen on nearby Gun Hill. The following were also about: two Mute Swans, a juvenile Robin, a male Common Redstart, two Grey Wagtails, a Song Thrush, a Whitethroat, two Spotted Flycatchers, a Nuthatch, a Treecreeper, and a Lesser Redpoll. More plants are now in flower including Bistort, Red Clover, White Clover, Foxglove, Oxeye Daisy, Ragged Robin, Autumn Hawkbit, Spear Thistle and Yellow Iris.
• 8: The female Goosander was still on site. A Kingfisher also around. A Rook — almost rare for this site — fed at the bird table. A Green Woodpecker, also a rarity at Tittesworth, was also seen. Five Sedge Warblers were singing, a Jay was found and a Brown Hare observed.
• 7: The presence of a juvenile Pochard was reported.
• 6: Twenty five Lapwings and five Curlews were around the Conservation Pool.
• 5: A single female Goosander was an interesting find. Four Greylag Geese flew in. A Peregrine was seen again. An Oystercatcher and two Little Ringed Plovers were also present.
• 4: A Peregrine was seen flying over the Roaches. Coot numbers had lifted to 31. There were 202 Canada Geese. This species is counted once per month. Lapwing numbers were a bit higher at 18. Ten Tufted Ducks were also present. A pair of Coal Tits was seen feeding five young and a Pied Wagtail was feeding three youngsters.
• 2: The Reed Warblers were located again and an Oystercatcher visited for the day.
• 1: Twenty one Great Crested Grebes and 26 Coots were counted, quite a high number for both species. There were also three Great Spotted Woodpeckers, three Grey Wagtails and a Lesser Redpoll.

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May 2008

• 31: A Dunlin put in a brief appearance. Two male Common Redstarts, eight Grey Herons and three Reed Buntings were also seen.
• 30: The best observation of the day was of two Reed Warblers. This species is a site rarity. The following were also present: Ringed Plover, two Common Sandpipers, 14 Lapwings, a Curlew, two Grey Wagtails, two Spotted Flycatchers, a Kestrel and a Nuthatch.
• 29: The Little Ringed Plover pair were observed around the Conservation Pool, but thus far there is no evidence of breeding. Four Song Thrushes sang lustily on site. A Spotted Flycatcher was gathering food in Forster's Wood. Undoubtedly the best sighting was of two Treecreepers servicing a nest located in a crack within a tree close to the Blackshaw Lane road bridge over the River Churnet. Twenty two flowering plants were observed including Pink Purslane, Herb Robert, Water Forget-me-not, Yellow Rattle, Hawthorn, Bush Vetch, Common Sorrel and Germander Speedwell.
• 28: Tufted Duck numbers had increased to 15. There were 92 Canada Geese present plus five goslings. Coot numbers amazingly rose to 23. A Common Tern "turned up" and once again the Barnacle Goose was observed. A pair of Common Redstarts were present so hopefully breeding will occur on site. A high count of at least 110 House Martins was made.
• 27: Coot numbers had lifted to 19, a very high number for Tittesworth. A Little Owl was observed. Two Brown Hares were seen — a frequent observation these days.
• 26: A Black-tailed Godwit was located — an occasional visitor to this site. Information was received about a Willow Warbler, ringed on site on the 19 July 2007, and which was found dead at Faro, Portugal, on 1 October 2007. It travelled 1838km in 74 days using a strategy of short hops, stop and feed. After all that effort it's a pity it wound up dead in a rat trap!
• 25: Curlews are breeding in the moorlands but a lone bird was sighted. The Barnacle Goose was spotted again and seeing a Jay was a welcome change.
• 24: The female Goosander was picked up again. Thirteen Tufted Ducks were on the reservoir. There were plenty of Swifts, Swallows and House Martins about.
• 21: Ten Lapwings were present — a high count considering this species is now breeding in the local moorlands. Three Grey Herons were noted and six — yes six! — male Mandarins; a most colourful sight. Fourteen Coots were counted; a high number for this site. The Barnacle Goose was found again.
• 19: The Barnacle Goose was still presnt. The prize find of the day was of two Kingfishers.
• 18: By far the best find was a Barnacle Goose. This species has not been seen on site for many years. Also worth a mention: a Rook feeding on the bird table, six Lesser Redpolls, two Mute Swans (very uncommon at Tittesworth), three Spotted Flycatchers, a "red headed" Goosander and two Little Ringed Plovers.
• 17: A Cuckoo was heard and the following were of particular note: five Common Terns, two male Common Redstarts, four Sedge Warblers, two juvenile Grey Wagtails, a Ringed Plover and a male Kestrel.
• 11: Two experienced birders amassed a large number of species between them including a Great Black-backed Gull (a site rarity), a Redshank, two Little Ringed Plovers, two Common Sandpipers, a Greylag Goose (an infrequent visitor to the site), four Mallard ducklings, two Grey Wagtails, two Nuthatches, two Common Buzzards, three male Mandarins, two Spotted Flycatchers and six Reed Buntings. The following butterfly species were also noted: Small White Large White, Orange Tip, Peacock, Speckled Wood, Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Brown and Holly Blue.
• 10: Mandarin, Common Sandpiper, Curlew, Sedge Warbler and Brown Hare were the most interesting finds of the day.
• 8: Four Greylag Geese flew into Churnet Bay at about 1.30pm. This species is uncommon at Tittesworth. Thirty nine species were logged, including a Grey Heron, a male Mandarin, two Common Sandpipers, two male Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a Mistle Thrush, six Garden Warblers, two Blackcaps, 10 Chiffchaffs and 11 Willow Warblers. The only butterflies on show were Orange Tip and Peacock. More species of plant were in flower including Garlic Mustard (or Jack-by-the-hedge), Ribwort Plantain and Red Campion.
• 7: The first Spotted Flycatcher of the season arrived, as did the first Common Redstart, a male. Also worth a mention were several Long-tailed Tits, a Bullfinch, a Treecreeper and a Grey Wagtail.
• 4: The best find of the day was a Black Tern. Also noted were eight Great Crested Grebes, one Little Ringed Plover, a Grey Wagtail, a male Mandarin and a Curlew.
• 3: An Osprey arrived at about 2pm but was mobbed by Crows so was unable to fish; it flew on. Three Common Sandpipers and a single Lapwing were present. Two Brown Hares were also noted.
• 2: A lone Curlew was found.
• 1: Birdsong showed that there was a mimimum of six Song Thrushes present. Also, by birdsong identification, at least 10 Wrens, about a dozen Robins, a Garden Warbler, three Blackcaps, 12 Chiffchaffs and 10 Willow Warblers were present on a small section of the site, covering no more than 20% of the area. A Wheatear was seen on nearby Gun Hill. Insects present included a Peacock butterfly and a Large Red-tailed Bumblebee. Seventeen plants were in flower, including Greater Stitchwort, Lesser Celandine, Bluebell, Butterbur, Wood Anemone, Common Mouse-ear, Marsh Marigold, Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage, Cuckooflower (or Lady's Smock) and Coltsfoot.

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Reports by Ray Perry.

• Sightings at Tittesworth in 2006
• Tittesworth Reservoir
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The Tittesworth Visitor Centre is at Meerbrook, Leek, Staffordshire ST13 8SW; map reference: SJ9960 .