The birdwoman of Birmingham

Ocker Hill: our best bird spotting location

Harrywoman has always been fond of birds and she felt particularly sorry for the birds of Birmingham, trying to eke out a living in those unforgiving urban surrounds during our often cold and wet late winter months.
So she decided to take them under her wing! Sorry, excruciating pun I know but I couldn't resist.
Everywhere we moored, first thing was to find somewhere to hang her bird table and nut feeder where her local feathered friends could find them and she could watch them from the windows.
Even in central Birmingham they soon discovered her bankside food bank but, unbelievably, the best place of all was in a shabby little mooring arm at Ocker Hill where, amid the factories and power plants we spotted more birds than anywhere else.
Now we are back in the country we've done a tally of all the species we've spotted on our travels round greater Brum and here it is, all 32 of them. It's just birds that we've seen from the boat, not those we've spotted elsewhere:



Wren

Even in central Birmingham they came to the bankside food bank

Robin
Sparrow
Dunnock
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Long Tailed Tit
Thrush
Blackbird
Starling
Fieldfare
Chaffinch
Bullfinch
Goldfinch
Pied Wagtail
Yellow Wagtail
Redwing
Magpie
Pigeon
Moorhen
Coot
Mallard
Swan
Canada Goose
Crow
Herring Gull
Black Headed Gull
Shag
Heron
Kingfisher (two of them on a desperate stretch near Tipton)
Kestrel
Buzzard

So even in the most urban or ruinous of locations it's worth bird watching. And well worthwhile giving seeds and nuts to the small birds rather than hurling heaps of bread to the greedy and overfed ducks, geese and swans that can fend perfectly well for themselves.