There’s me thinking it would be a quiet Friday afternoon, winding down for the weekend, when one phone call later I am running up to Jubilee wetlands to see a cracking adult white-winged black tern! It was still present at about 4.30pm. It is rather mobile, but hasn’t moved beyond the jubilee area. At times it was flying rather close to the benches which are up the river side of Jubilee. Fingers crossed it stays for the weekend!
Also on jubilee are 20+ black-tailed godwits. They plonked themselves by the river screen and are looking smart in their orange plumage. A sign that autumn is on the way! Green sandpipers have also been bobbing about this week. Still plenty of LRP’s, ringed plovers, lapwings, redshank and oystercatchers kicking about. Our avocet families are also doing well. The 3 from the first brood are fully fledged, independent of their parents now. The 2nd brood are nearly 3 weeks old and growing quick. They are becoming more challenging to see as the daisies grow on the islands, but with a wait they appear feeding merrily! Juvenile common terns are also on the wing, the sandy backed youngsters testing out their fishing skills without much success. We have had 4 pairs nest on the reserve, and at this time of year our population is boosted by youngsters from further afield (Kingsbury water park is the most likely place as they have a nesting terns), so there can be anywhere between 10-40+ terns flying around. 2 med gulls touched down this week, worth checking the gulls out and listening for their distinctive call.
Nearer to the car park, a rather tame jay has been posing for photos. I am no photographer, but this was taken with my I-phone only a few meters away while it was happily jumping in and out of the grass hunting snails. A common enough bird, but one which rarely hangs about for you to get a good look at, this is a rare treat!
We will endeavor to keep this blog updated on a weekly basis, but to keep your finger on the Middleton Lakes pulse check out our RSPB Birmingham, Black Country and Warwickshire facebook page and follow us on Twitter @RSPBMiddleton. If you enjoy taking photos, we would love for you to add them to our Community page. To keep up to date with Middleton and other sightings in the valley check out the tame valley birding blog http://tamevalleybirding.blogspot.co.uk/