🦆 Cotwall End Valley nature diary
March 1 Morning walk around the local streets, grey heron in high flight along the valley. Evening walk and a pair of greenfinches and a pair of long-tailed tits in trees alongside the lane. Great to see birds pairing up, as we head into nesting season. Spotted a fox in a meadow alongside the lane.
March 2 Along the lane and in the woods with my binoculars and dog. Goldcrest, two moorhens and nine mallards on the main pool and four ravens together in flight.
March 3 Morning walk around the immediate area, a cormorant high in flight.
March 4 Morning walk in the immediate area and a pair of common buzzards soaring over western slope. Cormorant high in flight, magpie nest-building in Tennyson and great black-backed gull circling over the primary school.
March 5 Seventeen magpies on golf course fairway. Two pairs of mallards on pool. Spawn and c.12 common frogs in a temporary tiny pond formed by recent rainfall. It will dry out soon so I returned and relocated the spawn.
March 8 A pair of common buzzards soaring in the area close to our home. They’ve been paired-up for a while now, looking forward to seeing them hopefully nest in the valley.
March 9 A small group of Canada geese in morning flight, along the western ridge, heading towards Himley. I heard them first. Walk in the woodland by the heath. Garden warbler, several chiffchaffs singing. Once home, two whimbrels in SE flight across the valley. All four birds new for the year, the whimbrel is a valley lifer. Up to 48 for 2025. Two cormorants in flight over Straits.
March 12 Walk along the golf course and then across the lane and on the top end of the eastern slope. Two song thrushes. One female bullfinch. Female sparrowhawk. Two ravens calling in flight. On sheep field were c.40 redwings, goldfinches 7 and c.20. Rescued frog spawn from rainwater pool and relocated.
March 13 Similar walk to yesterday. Two nuthatch sightings. One song thrush. Several chiffchaff singing.
March 14 A morning walk along the eastern slope and golf course. I’ve heard them regularly but finally saw the first green woodpecker of the year. Up to 49 species. Six redwings. Chiffchaff singing. Song thrush singing.
March 15 Woodland off the lane, just a short walk with the dog. Pair of bullfinches. Several chiffchaff singing. Pair of stock doves. Grey heron on small woodland pond. Female sparrowhawk soaring.
March 17 Little egret in flight along the valley.
March 19 A pair of carrion crows gathering twigs on the green and nest-building in a tree in Tennyson.
March 20 First willow warbler of the year, alongside Bob’s brook. That’s 50 species for the year.
March 21 Regular lesser black-backed gull perched on telephone pole in Longfellow, early dusk.
March 24 At last, a collared dove. The first of the year, which takes me to 51 species. On the ground in Tennyson. Muntjac just in woodland off the lane.
March 25 Lesser black-backed gull on telegraph pole in Longfellow. Great black-backed gull soaring low over Tennyson.
March 26 Walk along the golf course. Three male bullfinches feeding in bushes alongside a fairway. Two muntjacs together above the sheep field, showing well. Bluebells in bloom. Early dusk walk. Eleven goldfinches in trees alongside the green. Pair of mallards in flight.
March 29 Walk in woodland off the lower lane. Four jays. Several chiffchaffs singing. Pair of mistle thrushes.
March 30 Common buzzard mobbed by a herring gull high over the valley.
March 31 A vocal muntjac showing well in woodland just off the lower lane early dusk. Male and female mallard on small pond, three mallards landing on another pool, further on.