There is a good collection of wildfowl at the site now that winter is here. The first-winter drake Smew showed on Shrub Mill Pool after a short while, and there were good numbers of Goosander present, mainly drakes. I also noted a drake Pintail on the other side of the causeway, but I couldn't locate the Common Scoter that has been around for a week or so.
I managed to get a picture of the Smew. At best, it was disappointing. At worst, it was frickin' awful!
I took a walk up to the upper reservoir, but was disappointed by the fact that the path through the woods was extremely quiet. Things improved once I reached the end of the path, as there were good numbers of Redwing about, then I spotted a further five Pintails on the reservoir.
What I'd really been hoping for was to find my own Waxwing. A pair of these elusive winter visitors turned up in Stourbridge last week. Surely it's only a matter of time before more come our way? I don't really want to twitch them unless I have to. I'd much rather see them on a local patch if I can. Here's hoping.
Next Saturday, I'm off to Stubber's Green again to see if I can spot the Caspian Gull that evaded me a few weeks back. That, I think, is probably going to be my last birding excursion of 2008.
I'll report back on that in due course, at which time I think I will also be reviewing the birding year and declaring my goals and objectives for 2009.
Until then, happy birding!
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