Birding at Oldbury Power Station
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A summary of 2025 can be found here.
16/1/26 – A lovely crisp, still, morning and the Common Sandpiper was still in the Pill. Also, 4 Bar-tailed Godwit at Pillhead Gout, 90 Fieldfare around and a Water Pipit with a Rock Pipit at the yacht club. (#86.)
13/1/26 – The adult male Black Redstart singing! (At bottom of tower and in waterworks.) First signs of spring; Snowdrops in the wood.
10/1/26 – 10 White-fronted Goose low downriver at 8:45am, and last seen gaining height to go over Severn Bridge. (Last here in Jan. 2022.) Also the Nuthatch again, with roving tit flock along main rhine. And fem-type Black Redstart on the jetty. (#85.)
These 3 brutes after the same large Eel: Great Black-backed Gull, Heron and (winner) Cormorant.
The other three lovely photos are from Craig Lewis; Curlews, Black Redstart, Redwing.
9/1/26 – 3 House Sparrow in Oldbury village are new for year. 25 Fieldfare and 50 Redwing around yacht club. and 18 Chaffinch in paddock. 12 Lesser Black-backed Gull flying into roost on estuary. 30 Blue Tit reported on birdtrack. (#84.)
8/1/26 – 2 Great Crested Grebe drifted upriver on tide (photo by Matt Plenty), and 7 Golden Plover flew up from fields behind Pillhead Gout (flushed by gunfire), along with c300 Lapwing and c800 Dunlin. (They all went back down there.) Also, a big flock of 45 Skylark flew up from the last field before the yacht club. And the fem-type (looks like a 1st-w male with indistinct pale wing panel) Black Redstart at waterworks. Sadly, an Oystercatcher has died after hitting the power lines over the lake. (#83.)
7/1/26 – Lois Pryce reported: a (probable) Marsh Tit heard-only in the wood by the lake, and a Marsh Harrier (female to NE over Lagoon 3); plus 250 Lapwing, 150 Common Gull and 180 Rook all feeding on muck-spread fields by road. I filled another couple of holes in the list: 2 Feral Pigeon on the towers and a Lesser Black-backed Gull. (#81 for me and #83 for all-comers.)
6/1/26 – Another 4 species added to the list this morning: a Little Owl sat on same old tree as last year, a Grey Wagtail flying near lake, a female Shoveler sat on the estuary and finally 2 Canada Goose (at Pillhead Gout). Also, 2 pairs of Stonechat and 370 Lapwing. (#79)
The lake is 100% frozen with just a Moorhen remaining (the juv. Mute Swan moved to the estuary).
5/1/26 – 6 species added to the list this morning: a Water Pipit seen well on the saltmarsh, (with Rock and Meadow Pipits, plus Skylark, a pair of Stonechat and 18 Snipe); 2 Bar-tailed Godwit in the HT roost at Pillhead Gout (with 20 Oystercatcher and 330 Curlew); pairs of Kestrel and Peregrine; 4 Greenfinch (by the Visitor's Centre); and a Little Grebe on the lake (in the only unfrozen patch, with 2 Coot). (#75 species for me at OPS so far this year.)
Just this one tiny patch of unfrozen lake left. (Hope the Mute Swan is not trapped in.)
3/1/26 – Another 3 species added to list: a Treecreeper in wood by lake, a Water Rail heard and a Siskin over. (Still no Canada Goose !) Also, a Mistle Thrush singing at Shepperdine and 12 Great Black-backed Gull included 7 floating downriver together on the falling tide. The moon was spectacular !
2/1/26 – 66 species seen in 4 hours this morning. The female-type Black Redstart around the waterworks with a pair of Stonechat, a Nuthatch and on the lake, pairs of both Tufted Duck (last here in June !) and Gadwall. Also, 2 Blackcap (Anchor Inn car park), 3 Mistle Thrush, 7 Bullfinch and 4 Cetti's Warbler. (Some species missing: Kestrel, Peregrine, Little Grebe, Water Rail and Greenfinch.)
1/1/26 – Jon Angel reported: (in fields between Oldbury and Cowhill) 100 Lapwing, 80 Curlew, 1 Little Egret and in Oldbury Pill 100 Dunlin, 1 Common Sandpiper and 30 Redshank.
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