RSPB Coombes Valley, Staffordshire, 13th March 2012

The RSPB's woodland reserve at Coombes valley in Staffordshire, as the RSPB web site and the staff and volunteers who run the place freely state, is better in later spring and in summer. With that in mind, Natalie and I made our way there on a sunny afternoon in March for a stroll in the oak/birch hanger woodland, which occupies one of the walls of a wooded river valley, and through some recently replanted woodland, which occupies the other.  We walked down a steep and winding path through the young woodland, listening to birdsong but seeing little except for a few blue and great tits. We sat for a while on a bench and enjoyed the birdsong. Wrens, robins and Dunnocks sang for us but sightings were relatively few. It was a stunning day, and the sky a wild, deep blue, the sun still warming us, the leaves still being in bud. Natalie saw her first butterfly of the year, probably a small tortoiseshell but it was a little distant.

The ancient woodland is beautiful and wonderfully managed. Moss and lichen grows well here, and lines the tree trunks, relatively free from industrial pollution. Bracket fungi, and other curiously shaped fungi grow from the standing deadwood. Several birds were already singing although it was early in the season, and few were to be seen. 

Coombes valley

We sat down for a while beside a pond in the valley bottom. As we approached it the water seemed to boil with the kicking feet of randy  Common Frogs (Rana temporaria), but, wise to our presence by the vibrations our feet made through the ground, they swiftly disappeared when we arrived. A huge mat of frogspawn occupied one end of the pond, and an island with a few trees in it stood in the middle. A small brown bird appeared and began to climb up one of the boughs. It disappeared from view periodically as it climbed in a spiral up the bough, but it had a scruffy appearance, and a distinct supercillium. The Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris), a bird no bigger than a great tit, and wonderfully camoflaged in brown, grey and the golden brown which catches the sunlight, is something of a woodland icon. It has a long, downcurved beak for extracting insects from the bark of trees. Coombes Valley's most famous occupants are its Redstarts (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) and Pied Flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) but these do not arrive from their wintering grounds until late April, but the treecreeper is a woodland resident. It's fascinating appearance makes it something of a favourite of mine. As we watched the treecreeper, and a few Coal Tits (Periparus ater) doing theirn acrobatics in the trees in front of us, from above the valley wall appeared a spectacular pair of Buzzards (Buteo buteo) which afforded us lovely views for several minutes.

We walked further down the woodland trail beside the river and hoped to see more dippers but did not.  Down by the valley floor seemed one of the busiest places, with coal, blue, great, and long tailed tits apparantly in every tree, smart nuthatches pursuing their upside-down lifestyle. Winter finches seemed in short supply, many of them, presumably, heading for the more boreal woodlands in which they breed, but I caught sight of the brightest male Siskin (Carduelis spinus) with a dark crown on his bright yellow head, through a small gap in the trees. There were plenty of Chaffinches alighting occasionally in the trees. Low in the valley seemed the birdiest spot, with a considerable gathering of passerines. 

Sparrowhawk!

We then took in the views offered by the large, woodcock-shaped seat at the top of the trail named after this iconic woodland species, and saw the sun beginning to set over the woodland, as long-tailed and coal tits did their last bit of foraging for the day. Hopes of a Roding woodcock were not met and we walked back towards the visitors centre. We were about to leave when a Sparrowhawk passed over our heads generating numerous alarm calls from the passerines. He circled for a few moments before departing. not long after, another buzzard, of which the site seemed to have many, soared over us. It was a wonderful place and I look forward to returning later in the year, while a few of its iconic summer migrants are back. As we walked we saw plenty of blackbirds and a Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos), an increasingly uncommon sight. As the light faded a tawny owl began to hoot somewhere in the woods below. 

In a perhaps misguided and rather epic attempt to get back into Leek via cross country footpaths, we got very muddy, but were also lucky enough to inadvertantly flush what, through the darkness, I am sure was a Tawny Owl, from one of the oak trees bordering a farmer's field. It was an epic walk to Leek.

The following morning we had one more Staffordshire site to visit before I had to make my way back home. We visited Biddulph Grange country park, another wooded valley site, although this dominated by more ornamental plantings, including various conifers, and stands of Rhododendron, the latter recently thinned as part of an attempt to eradicate a disease affecting some of the trees. Here we saw a few coal tits, and a charming pair of Grey Wagtails (Motacilla cinerea) in the brook which runs through the park. They bob about on the rocks in their fast-flowing river habitat, and, despite their name, are quite striking with yellow bellies. A couple of smart little wrens were also present in the woodland undergrowth. I could have stayed with Natty and watched the wagtails for some time, but unfortunately I had to leave the park and, having spent as much time out as we could, pick up the pace to catch my coach home from Hanley bus station.

Grey Wagtail at Biddulph Grange CP