A proper go at Cannock

This morning we got up early and headed out to Cannock Chase to do a repeat of the trip I had there on Tuesday night. If you read that post you will see that I went in the drizzling conditions from 5pm onwards and managed to find Redstart, Tree Pipit and Cuckoo and came tantalisingly close to a Wood Warbler! Well if the views I had of those birds were ok then the results me and the nipper had this morning were out-of-this-world.
Only a few times have I proved to myself that old adage of "the early bird gets the worm"....one of those was whilst in Kos a few years ago when I spent five days having an evening visit around the salt pans at Tingaki and picking up one or two goodies before attempting an early morning visit (I think it was 5am! On my holidays! God knows how I swung this one past the girlfriend?). There are no words to describe the differences. I literally walked around gobsmacked ticking off Hoopoe, Tawny Pipit, Lesser Grey and Red-backed Shrikes, Marsh Harrier, Great Reed Warbler, Greater Sand Plover, Squacco Heron, Temminck's Stint, Wood Sand, 63 Stone-Curlew in one field....the list goes on. The whole place, the feel, the atmosphere was simply alive. Completely different to the afternoon visits which were, now looking back, lacking in energy (from me and the birds!).
This same difference in the wildlife can also be attributed to Cannock. The weather obviously made the difference too - today was bright and cheerful, sunny patches, actually warm by lunchtime! But the other difference which I think is important at Cannock is the tourism industry. By 9am the place was thronged with mountain-bikers and dog-walkers, horse-riders and families out for the day. This is of course the magic of the place, the way that all these activities can be catered for is a very clever management system developed by the Chase District Council (among many others) but for the birder wanting to get good views of Cannocks speciality birds I heartily recommend getting up early, being the first on site, feeling the Chase wake up to a gorgeous summer's day!

male Redstart

Wood Warbler

uncooperative Spotted Flycatcher

And so to the birds - the only one we missed was Pied Flycatcher. A shame, yes. But when you consider that within the first 300m we'd had jaw-dropping views of 3 Wood Warblers parachuting their song around a birch copse, Spotted Flycatcher at the nest, numerous Tree Pipit, and 4 Redstart I think you'll agree it was worth the effort. We parked at the Punchbowl car park again and followed the main bike track to the Stepping Stones and then along the Sherbrook Valley. It was clear that Redstart and Tree Pipit had territories right along this track, we must have seen and heard at least 7 Redstart in total, and the Cuckoo was heard again in the Valley towards the heath. Brocton Coppice was popular with the Wood Warbler, but were not singing when we returned at 1130 so the emphasis to start early was brought home to me. At the top of the Sherbrook Valley where the track opens out to heathland a pair of Stonechat (another new for the year) stood on guard, and here we kicked a pale moth out of the grasses.

After a short chase we pinned it down and got this awful photo, to prove it was a Grass Wave - my first! We also encountered Cinnabar, Celypha lacunana, Common and Silver-ground Carpet as well as Small Heath and Large White butterflies and numerous bugs and other crawlies and flyers. It really was a beautiful mornings walk and if anyone ever says again "Why do you need to go birdwatching so early?", I'll simply say "if you're an early bird then you WILL be well fed"!

A few more birds for the list

Monday 4th June -
afternoon arrived a little too soon and I was in danger of not seeing a bird all day, and when compared to the previous days stomp around Yorkshire this would have been sacriledge!! So when news of a Red-footed Falcon at Willington turned up on the internet I have to admit I nearly jumped. Then I thought "leave it a while, there's no point racing down there if it's onyl a fly-over". And sure enough an hour later there was the dreaded 'no sign' message on Birdguides. So I got on with updating my blog, and bird and moth records. That killed 2 hours, and I checked the internet again. Bugger! The earlier no sign message had been followed with at least four more positive mesages. I packed the bins and shot down the A38 and fast as I was allowed.

On arrival at Willington one very determined gentleman overtook me whilst pointing out a Lesser Whitethroat to me on song, so I decided to keep up with him. As I got down towards the end of the lane more and more people appeared to be coming away...mutterings of "crap viewpoint" and "not seen for an hour" were reaching my ears! Within minutes of standing at Platform 5 I could understand their frustrations. It appeared the bird was feeding low down over the other side of the river and the chance of seeing it through the willows at Platform 5 were very slim. A few birders had chosen to try down the other side of the Trent, and soon a text came through from one of the gathered birders to say that the bird had been found over there. My determined gentleman was one of the first off the mark, with me close behind him. We traipsed down the opposite side of the Trent (although by this time he'd outpaced me, and I thought I walked very fast!?). A few others had chosen to give this route a try and around 15 of us were stood overlooking the fields beyond the wood. After half an hour or so I picked up a bird coming up off the river, floating low over the fields and it landed in a bare hawthorn. Red-footed Falcon! Epic! Until my determined birder just pipped me to the post! He'd spotted the same bird and got his voice heard first!! The following hour was taken up watching the falcon hunt low over the fields, around the willows along the river and mostly perched in a small hawthorn hedge. My second ever RFF, and amazingly both in Derbyshire and even more amazingly only around 6km apart and even, even more amazingly only (4 years and) 10 days apart!

I also finally managed to pick out a Garden Warbler whilst watching for the falcon!
Tuesday 5th June -
An evening wander around Cannock Chase to try and pick up the specialities (yeah, I know now that this wasnt the best time to visit!). I parked at the Punchbowl and walked up to the Stepping Stones and then into the Sherbrook Valley. It was the first time I've visited this part of the Chase and I can see, despite the large amount of rain that was falling this evening, how attractive it would be to birds such as Pied Flycatcher etc. The walk was wet but very pleasurable with Cuckoo calling in Sherbrook and eventually showing over my head. A Green Woodpecker seemed to call constantly around me, and eventually gave itself up - my first for the year would you believe (see previous posts as to my frustration with this species). The only other decent bird was a Redstart that didn't seem to mind the rain. The rain was pretty persistant until around 745pm when it lifted and seemed to immediately put the Tree Pipits into song. I picked this one up in a side path along which a number of oak trees were growing. Apologies for the terribly gloomy video but it gives you an idea of the conditions.

Then there it was, slight at first, right on the edge of my hearing, but after I'd heard it I focussed on it more and it became much more positive. That fast trilling endin in a rapid flourish? A Wood Warbler, and no doubt. Just a short distance away it trilled a few more time allowig me to pinpoint its location. Alas it would not show! So I vow to return and pin down both this warbler and the Pied Flys that are supposed to be in this area. It is a great little spot some amazing spots such as along the stream at the Stepping Stones picnic area (right)

and a quick walk up one of the side paths gives views over the heathland such as this (left). Probably not the best photos in the world, and definitely not going to make it into the "Cannock Chase Sunny Day Visitor's Guide" but was gobsmacked at how wild this pace felt, despite being completely managed.

As is usual I came away with some photos of the magnificent fungus species found along my walks which continue to thwart my id skills. If anyone can put a nam to these faces then I would be most appreciative of your help.

 

Bird Yearlist - slowly edging up now at 161.