Bill Oddie started off his birdwatching days at his local patch of Bartley Reservoir, described in one of his books as ‘a nasty bleak concrete-shored stretch of water near Birmingham… occasionally also visited by birds.’ And to be honest, he’s not far wrong there. For a reservoir that’s the size of more than 60 football pitches you’d be forgiven for expecting to see a nice variety of wildfowl feeding on the water. However, as a clean, drinking-water reservoir, with no reedbeds or muddy margins and regularly used for water sports, it’s not quite a prime bird-watching spot. Despite that, Bartley Reservoir has of course attracted a number of rarities over the years. Due to its depth, Bartley is one of the last places to freeze over in the winter or run dry in summer, providing a consistent body of water for birds to go. The last few decades have also seen the establishment of a regionally important gull roost, with the water providing a safe haven for up for 50,000 birds on cold, winter nights.

Aside from the water, the reservoir is surrounded by a good mix of habitats attractive to a range of breeding, wintering and passage birds. This includes the semi-natural ancient woodland of Bromwich Wood, the scrubby grassland of Genners Field, the wildflower-rich Bartley Meadows and a weed-covered man-made mound overlooking the adjacent Frankley Reservoir, along with arable and pastoral farmland, horse paddocks, hedgerows and St Leonard’s churchyard. Our area covers both West Midlands and Worcestershire counties and has become easier to access in recent years thanks to the work of the Friends of Bartley Reservoir who have installed kissing gates and signage at entrances and increased awareness of pathways.

Last autumn Bartley Reservoir became a new entrant in the ‘West Midlands all day bird race’, and after a successful day, a group of us decided to give it another go this year! I have to admit, I wasn’t feeling very optimistic, as very little had been seen in the preceding days. Plus, the lack of bird song always makes autumn that bit more challenging. But as I headed out towards the reservoir in the mist at dawn, the site of a Kingfisher perched in the eastern corner was the best start to the day! Not a regular bird at Bartley and there later turned out to be two of them.

As the day went on, our team of 10 birders explored every corner of our patch. The undoubted highlight came before 9am with news from Stuart of a Bonxie soaring over! Sadly, unlike the long-staying 2019 bird, it simply flew over meaning only two birders were lucky enough to see it, but it was great to have such a remarkable bird on our list for the day.

After a long stake out in Bromwich Wood, Paul added Coal Tit and Treecreeper to our list, while Steve managed to spot two Rook on the farmland at Frankley and a Tawny Owl roosting in a tree. Rob picked out a nice lemon-yellow juvenile Willow Warbler among a tit flock near St Leonard’s and Jim spotted one of few remaining House Martins flying by the tower block. I was pleased to spot a Lesser Whitethroat among the hawthorns and a Yellowhammer on the mound at Frankley and by midday we had a decent list but with a fair few birds still missing. By this point I was certainly starting to flag.

However, there was still plenty to be found and in the afternoon, Geoff had a Hobby and Peregrine flying by the church within 5 minutes of each other. Jason found a Raven and a Sparrowhawk at Frankley while Paul spotted a Meadow Pipit on the mound and a Collared Dove on the roof of a nearby house. As the evening came and most birders retired for the day, Terry was out checking the gathering gull roost and managed to secure a Yellow-legged Gull for our list. This brought our tally up to 62, an impressive total considering the challenges of our patch, but all thanks to the dedication and skill of a brilliant group of birders.

Looking forward to the Spring all-dayer when we will hopefully have plenty of bird song to make it a bit easier!

Kate Ashley