The
Common Crane has become a bit of a local bogey bird for me over the years, especially as I painfully missed out of one flying over my old house in Polesworth one morning when I was brushing my teeth! Earlier in the week my good pal
Snapper Richards managed to add the species to his County list when one made a brief appearance near Cannock. I lived in hope that it would reappear somewhere within the West Midlands region and thankfully it did. The only issue was that Britain's first twitchable
THAYER'S GULL had been found just a few hours drive away in North Lincolnshire. It was a tricky choice!
After a few wrong turnings I finally managed to locate Radford Meadows just south-east of Stafford and after a quick stroll along the canal the target bird was soon located. Even at some distance a crane is not a bird you can miss! The bird showed well as it grubbed around in the damp meadow but it always remained safely out in the middle of the reserve hence the poor record shots below.
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COMMON CRANE
Radford Meadows SWT, Staffordshire |
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COMMON CRANE
Radford Meadows SWT, Staffordshire |
Another highlight was a pair of rather elusive
Garganey. They favoured a narrow brook that was hardly visible from the towpath but luckily they chose to rest up in small reedy area that was viewable for a brief period. Other birding highlights included the odd singing
Chiffchaff and on the mammal front a
Red Fox and a pair of
Brown Hare.
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Garganey (female & male)
Radford Meadows SWT, Staffordshire |
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