Cannock Chase and Belvide Reservoir, Staffordshire, Britain.

A days birding with Sharon and John.

Ebird List for the Chase.

Ebird List for Belvide.

 

Cannock Chase.

I drove over to the Cannock Chase War Cemetery where I met up with friends Sharon and John, on the way I saw a Great Egret (Garceta Grande / Ardea alba) in the reeds at Tog Mere not far from the road and a second Egret further up the lake but couldn't be sure which species as I was driving.

Cannock Chase.

Once Sharon and John arrived we continued on to Springslade Lodge where we parked and the went for a walk out onto the chase, after taking a few different tracks and seeing Northern Raven (Cuervo grande / Corvus corax), Carrion Crow (Corneja Negra / Corvus corone), Eurasian Magpie (Urraca Común / Pica pica), Eurasian Jay (Arrendajo Euroasiático / Garrulus glandarius), Great (Carbonera Común / Parus major) and Long-tailed Tit (Mito Común / Aegithalos caudatus), Eurasian Wren (Chochin paleártico / Troglodytes troglodytes), Common Blackbird (Mirlo Común / Turdus merula), European Stonechat (Tarabilla Europea / Saxicola rubicola), European Robin (Petirrojo Europeo / Erithacus rubecula), Meadow Pipit (Bisbita Pratense / Anthus pratensis) and then Sharon picked up the target species in flight, a very smart Great Grey Shrike (Acaudón Norteño / Lanius excubitor) which we then watch distantly on a broken off Birch stump.

Carrion Crow (Corneja Negra / Corvus corone).

We walked around towards the area where the bird was but it was quite a way off again by the time we got around there, we saw it three more times but it was always distant and flighty but very nice to see.

We started to make our way back and bumped into a few other birders who Sharon and John knew so they spent a while chatting before we headed off back to the cars adding Fieldfare (Zorzal Real / Turdus pilaris), Common Reed Bunting (Escribano Palustre / Emberiza schoeniclus) and Eurasian Bullfinch (Camachuelo Común / Pyrrhula pyrrhula).

Scanning for the Shrike.

We decided to make our way over to Belvide Reservoir, on the way we  passed couple of groups of Fallow Deer (Gamo común / Dama dama) before we reached Penkridge.

Once at the reserve we went straight to the nearest end of the dam and scanned the water quickly finding the long staying male Lesser Scaup (Porrón Bola / Aythya affinis) which was only my second in the UK after seeing the original first for Britain which John was one of the finders of.

Lesser Scaup (Porrón Bola / Aythya affinis).

Other species seen here and from the Scott hide were Tufted Duck (Porrón Moñudo / Aythya fuligula), Gadwall (Anade Friso / Mareca strepera), Common Goldeneye (Porrón Osculado / Bucephala clangula), Mallard (Anade Azulón / Anas platyrhynchos), Eurasian Wigeon (Sibón Europeo / Mareca penelope), Eurasian Teal (Cerceta Común / Anas crecca), Common Pochard (Porrón Europeo / Aythya ferina), Great Crested Grebe (Somormujo Lavanco / Podiceps cristatus), Eurasian Coot (Focha Común / Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallineta Común / Gallinulas chloropus), Great Cormorant (Cormorán Grande / Phalacrocroax carbo), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea) and a single Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egretta garzetta).

Lesser Scaup (Porrón Bola / Aythya affinis).

We walked on around the lake to the Gazebo Hide adding Common Woodpigeon (Paloma Torcaz / Columba palumbus), Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pico Picapinos / Dendrocopos major), Pied Wagtail (Lavandera Blanca / Montacilla yarrellii), Western Jackdaw (Grajilla occidental / Corvus monedula), Black-headed Gull (Gaviota Reidora / Chroicocephalus ridibundus) and Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulgar / Falco tinnunculus) on the way.

From the hide there were good numbers of Eurasian Blue (Herrerillo Común / Cyanistes caeruleus) and Coal Tit  (Carbonero Garrapinos / Periparus ater), Eurasian Nuthatch (Trepador Azul / Sitta europaea), Dunnock (Acentor Común / Prunella modularis), Common Chaffinch (Pinzón Vulgar / Fringilla coelebs), Common Pheasant (Faisán Vulgar / Phaisanus colchicus), Northern Shoveler (Cuchara Común / Spatula clypeata) and Little Grebe (Zampullín Común / Tachybaptus ruficollis).

Peregrine Falcon (Halcón Peregrino / Falco peregrinus).

We again continued on around to West hide, the light was beginning to drop by now so finding things on the North Shore was more difficult, however we did see a flock of Greylag Geese (Ansar Común / Anser anser), a good number of Northern Lapwings (Avefria Europea / Vanellus vanellus) and 2 difficult to see Black-tailed Godwit (Aguja Colinegra / Limosa limosa).

We left West hide and walked back around to the Scott Hide, on the way we had Redwing (Zorzal Alirrojo / Turdus illacus), Fieldfare (Zorzal Real / Turdus pilaris), Song Thrush (Zorzal Común / Turdus philomelos) and just before we got there a fly over Peregrine Falcon (Halcón Peregrino / Falco peregrinus).

Peregrine Falcon (Halcón Peregrino / Falco peregrinus).

In the hide we had many of the species we had already seen but as we were checking the European Herring (Gaviota Argéntea Europea / Larus argentatus) and Lesser Black-backed Gull (Gaviota Sombria / Larus fuscus) flock, which was out on the center of the water we found an Yellow-legged Gull (Gaviota Patiamarilla / Larus Michahellis).

We returned to the car park and after say goodbye to Sharon and John I headed home and spent a nice evening with Mom, John and a couple of their friends having a drink or two.