Sunday 13/1/2013
Overnight heavy frost calm, clear

Walk before dawn from Compton to Castlecroft Bridge, then return along canal to Newbridge and quick look at paddocks, barleyfield and Compton Park.

3 Little Grebe -Compton allotments, below Compton Lock and by the Wolves academy.
Grey Heron - 1 North over Wightwick road bridge
61 Mallard - 45 South of Compton bridge, 16 between Compton and Newbridge
4 Buzzard - 3 together in oak at South end of Wightwick Fields and 1 in tree by Meccano Bridge.
2 Sparrowhawk - 1 at Wightwick Fields and a female over S.Peter's playing fields
Pheasant - Male on Southern edge of Wightwick Fields
33 Moorhen - 17 between Compton Road and Newbridge. Only 16 recorded South of Compton Road
Herring Gull - Adult with 3 LBB Gull and 54 BH Gull at Compton Park
Tawny Owl - A pair calling from trees at Compton Hospice. A welcome encounter, after the Compton Park birds abandoned their Compton Park winter roost sight due to the housing development last year.
Kingfisher - male at Wightwick Fields
Green Woodpecker - Castlecroft Bridge area
G S Woodpecker - calling from oak by paddocks near Castlecroft Bridge
Pied Wagtail - 2 South over Castlecroft Bridge (N.B. A pair were at Compton Park wetland yesterday)
Grey Wagtail - 1 at Prefab Weir
4 Song Thrush - singing West of Wightwight road bridge, houses at Wightwight Fields, by Newbridge old station and in the middle paddock nearby.
2+ Redwing - Compton Park
Mistle Thrush - singing East of the canal at Newbridge
3 Fieldfare - 1 at Castlecroft Bridge, 2 on Compton Park
Coal Tit - 1 singing briefly at Compton Park, by Compton Road entrance
18+ Long-tailed Tits - 5+ at Turners Fields, 9 in the main Paddock and 4 at Compton Park
Nuthatch - 1 calling from Henwood Ridge near Prefab Weir
Peasley Wood Corvid Roost - arrived at 07:20 just in time to see 400+, mainly Jackdaw, with a few Rooks and Crows, lift over Smestow School and split into two similar groups, 1 heading NW, presumably to feed beyond Tettenhall and the other heading straight up the Valley. The fact that none headed South, seems to confirm the absence of flocks late last year heading over Wightwick Fields and numbers are now a fraction of the 10,000 that roosted in the area at this time of year in 2004.
151 Starling - South over Castlecroft bridge
10+ House Sparrows - in small colonies at Newbridge and Compton Park - The Compton Village colony were not in their usual canalside spot, maybe visiting local feeding stations in the cold weather.
Siskin - a single male ground-feeding at Eddy's Alders with c10 Chaffinch and c20 Goldfinch. This is highly unusual behaviour since the smaller finches are traditionally in the Alder tops at this site. The "Goldies" were mixing between ground-feeding and low-level tree feeding. This may indicate the wet Summer has produced some failure in the food source.
9 Bullfinch - 5 at Turners Fields, 2 at Compton Lock and 2+ at The Paddocks, with a soft singing male there.
3+ Yellowhammer - in canal side hawthorns by Castlecroft Bridge

44 Species.