It’s been a summer of unremitting heat and sunshine – which, in short bursts, would often get smiles on people’s faces, but when the temperatures soar into the 30Cs on a regular basis, rain is absent for weeks on end and the vegetation turns an unhealthy colour, being outdoors is not quite the pleasure it usually is.

Summer is generally a quiet time for the club, as families go on holiday and children (or grandchildren!) break up for several weeks holiday.  A slight change this year – courtesy of our new events organiser, Cath Sinclair – is the introduction of what we’re calling ‘Birding Buddies.  These are evening events on the first Tuesday of each month involving a short birding walk somewhere followed by a pub visit to socialise with fellow members.  The social element allows people to get to know each other better, and ensures more continuity of contact across the whole year, for those who want it.

And so far, it’s gone down well.  Twenty people attended the first of these events at the end of June, visiting Sheepwash and birding from the hides, then moving on to the nearby Miner’s Arms for refreshment, discussion and chats!  Ironically, that evening saw one of the few spells of worthwhile rain – great for the gardens but not so good for our vision of sitting in the pub garden in the sunshine!

The second “BB” event took place earlier this month, starting around the Visitor Centre and Wildlife Centre, then reassembling at the Knockerdown pub just up the road.   We plan to travel down to the Cromford Canal for the next one, which will be on Tuesday, 1^st September.

Our other regular events – the indoor meetings and talks in the Visitor Centre’s Henmore Room over the winter period – are also now imminent.  The first will be on 15^th September and will see Tony Slater present his Birdwatchers’s Photographic Diary.

We’re also planning a longer-range club trip in October – to Rutland Water (precise timings and meeting point to be decided) so hopefully a number of members will be able to make that.

The indoor meetings are invariably on the third Tuesday of the month and continue throughout the chillier period until March.  Keep your eyes on diary of events in each newsletter which will detail the latest ‘what’s on’ activities.

One more thing: Please note that the Wildlife Centre is closed until further notice.

 

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Below are the dates of upcoming events.  Remember – all indoor meetings are held in the Visitor Centre’s Henmore Room, beginning at 7.30pm:

** TUESDAY, 1 SEPTEMBER ** – Our next ‘Birding Buddies’ walk will be at Cromford Canal, followed by  a visit to The Boat Inn in the village [the location of the next ‘BB’ on 6^th October is to be decided]

** TUESDAY, 15 SEPTEMBER ** – Talk: Tony Slater skips us through his Birdwatchers Photographic Diary

** SUNDAY, 18 OCTOBER ** — Trip: Rutland Water

** TUESDAY, 20 OCTOBER ** – Talk: Dennis Bohm’s description of the springtime migration across the the Adriatic Flyway will be the centrepiece of this evening’s annual joint meeting with Derbyshire Ornithological Society

 

POLE VAULT!

Just how far do individual birds travel?  The system of bird ringing gives us information that partially provides the answer – and Carsington can sometimes play a role in the story.

Take the juvenile Black-headed Gull that was ringed in Poland in May 2024, then seems to have taken a liking to the English Midlands, 1,400km away, with ring recoveries at Ogston (Sept’24), Tittesworth (Jan ’25) and Derby’s Kedleston Park in February 2026 – just nine days before Simon Roddis spotted it at Carsington, 643 days after its original ringing.

So, where to next?

 

WADER BONUS AS WATER LEVELS PLUMMET AGAIN

This time last year, the reservoir report focused on plummeting water levels, and once again – as demands elsewhere kick in – Carsington’s levels have ebbed away significantly, leaving a lot of open muddy areas that are particularly attractive to waders.

Over previous few weeks, an impressive selection of waders have looked down and liked the look of Carsington’s tempting offering of wide expanses of mud.

Two Cattle Egrets were a highlight in August, while a few weeks earlier 15 Little Egrets in late July reflected the changing conditions, and there were a few pleasant surprises as Avocet, Turnstone and Greenshank showed up.  August 6^th saw a good wader ‘drop’ with 8 Common Sandpipers, 2 Green Sandpipers and a scarce and elegant Wood Sandpiper has now been around for a couple of weeks.  Sanderling and Ruff were among the later additions to the 16 wader species logged during the first half of August.

Canada Goose numbers peaked in June at 1,182, and up to three Egyptian Geese were also being regularly seen.  A waterfowl highlight was the emergence of three (far from ugly!) cygnets among a Mute Swan Flotilla of 21.  Autumn’s swelling water fowl numbers include Teal, up to 264 during August’s WeBS count, when 726 Coot and 354 Mallard were also counted

Black-headed Gulls have clearly had a successful breeding year, and gull numbers in the roost are also being boosed by other species, notably Lesser Black-backs.  An adult Caspian Gull was regularly recorded in July and August, and Yellow-legged and Mediterranean Gulls are occasionally viewed.  Terns have been around, too, most being Common until a Sandwich Tern popped in on 1^st August, then 6 Arctic Terns were noted on the 6^th and 18^th August.

Ospreys breezed through on the 20^th and 31^st May, but it’s been a relatively quiet period for raptors.  The daily maximum of Red Kites is just three, a single Marsh Harrier was around on 26/27 July, Hobbies were noted on a number of occasions hunting over the water in June and July, and Peregrines continue to find Carsington a profitable venue for a quick snack.  A single Tawny Owl was identified on two dates in July.

Hirundines arrived in a rush in early May, when up to 600 Swallows, 200 Sand Martins and 50 House Martins were counted on individual days.  A few weeks later, the maximum complement of 226 Swifts was recorded.  All of this presaged the usual wave of summer migrants – from the Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps of March to the latter arrivals such as Spotted Flycatcher in early May.

Though not the easiest to pick up, Redstart and Lesser Whitethroat were regularly found in the fields beyond the Wildlife Centre, Whitethroat inhabited WLC creek and Garden Warbler joined the larger group of Sedge Warblers on Stones Island.  More surprisingly was the Cetti’s Warbler heard calling on the 14^th at Hopton End.

There were plentiful indications of breeding success among the smaller bird species, including a family party of Spotted Flycatchers and 6 Grey Wagtails alongside 50 Pied Wagtails on 7^th August.  Two species that are not captured that regularly at the reservoir – Green Woodpecker and Kingfisher – were recorded on a number of occasions in the early days of August.

  

‘BIRDING BUDDIES’ MAKE IT A REGULAR MONTHLY GET-TOGETHER

For the second successive month, the Birding Buddies event attracted a healthy number of members, who turned up at the Visitor Centre at 6pm, then walked steadily around Stones Island, pausing at several points to try to identify some slightly unusual birds.  We had a tit species near the playground, which was initially thought to be a Coal Tit, but photographic evidence seemed to prove it was a Willow Tit.  

Then, among a mixed group of young and adult birds on Watersports Island, someone picked out a dappled bird (likely juv) with a relatively erect posture that the non-expert crew almost managed to convince ourselves was a Turnstone … but sadly after further consideration, we concluded it was much more likely to be one of the young Black-headed Gulls!).   It did, though, turn out to be a good session for waders and Redshank, Lapwing and both Green and Common Sandpipers joined the sightings list – along with Little Egret, of which a good number were seen.

The full list we managed to scrabble together was as follows:  Magpie, Long Tailed Tit, Canada Goose, Coot, Carrion Crow, Lapwing, Little Egret, Cormorant, Green Sandpiper,  Redshank, Woodpigeon, Goldfinch, Blackcap, Mute Swan, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Gt Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Common Sandpiper, Moorhen, House Sparrow, Sparrowhawk

Then, of course, it was the second order of the day — off to the pub to discuss …. well, whatever people wanted to discuss, but it was a lively session with some bonding.  Interestingly in this prolonged hot, humid and dry period of weather, it actually began to rain a little before 9 (as it had done during the previous event), barely freshening up the Knockerdown’s garden.

The next Birding Buddies will be on 1 September (to Cromford Canal, followed by a pub in the village).  We are contemplating what to do for 6 October, when it will likely be too dark to begin at 6pm  By then, of course, we will be well into our indoor season of talks, but we hope to find ways of continuing to meet.

 

 

KNOW YOUR COMMITTEE – Here are the club officials and their contact details……..
Committee Post	Name		Telephone	Email Address
Chairman and Publicity	Gary Atkins		01335 370773	garysatkins@aol.com
Treasurer	John Follett		01332 834778	johnlfollett@virginmedia.com
Membership secretary	Dave Horsley		07900 597230	daveat2602@hotmail.com
Recorder	Rob Chadwick		07876 338912	rob.chadwick322@gmail.com
Events co-ordinator	Cath Sinclair			mrstrellis@kirk-ireton.uk
Secretary	Louise Sykes		01335 348544	louise.sykes5065@gmail.com
…..and the website address is:   https://www.carsingtonbirdclub.co.uk
Webmaster	Richard Pittam	n/a		Contact Richard via the website

 

Following our AGM in March, there has been a changing of the guard on the committee – as we say farewell to Chris Lamb who, as our events coordinator, has for a decade planned and executed an enjoyable array of walks, trips far and near and talks delivered at our indoor meetings over the autumn and winter periods.  I’ve made that sound rather final, but we will still see Chris around from time to time on members’ trips and talks; meanwhile, many thanks to him for his committee duties.

Voted onto the committee at the AGM, with a brief to support the club’s events, is Cath Sinclair, who tells us a little about herself in a short article later in the newsletter.  Cath will get involved in the same range of activities and has already brought ideas for fresh opportunities for members to get to know each other a little better.  She observed that there are sizeable gaps in the calendar (particularly over the summer), with no events planned.  Cath hopes that we can fill some of these – initially with some relaxed evening outings comprising a short walk followed by a visit to a local pub, where members can share their experiences and knowledge of birding (though conversational topics can and will, of course, range wherever they go!). 

We plan to stage the first of these at the end of next month (see diary dates below).  We are approaching the summer hiatus, so feel free to come along armed with binoculars, memories, your latest sightings, year list, questions and a bit of a thirst!

Before that, on 10 May there is a chance to get up to speed with the bird song of migrants and resident species (without the help of the Merlin app!) when Simon Roddis leads the now established spring birdsong walk.

A piece of sadder news is the passing of one of our longer standing members, Bill Murray.  He lived in Mickleover and, along with his wife Gill, was one of the earliest birding enthusiasts to join CBC in the mid-nineties.  Gill died a few years ago, and Bill had not managed to get along to any events for a while but he was steadfast in both retaining his membership – and often gave us additional generous donations.

Gary Atkins

 

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY …

10 May – Spring Birdsong Walk at Carsington Water, led by Simon Roddis (meet 9am, Visitor Centre)

30 June – As mentioned above, Cath Sinclair is inviting members to a combined walk/pub chat. We plan to meet at 6pm at Sheepwash car park, then adjourn to the Miner’s Arms, Carsington (the talk will not be restricted to bird life!)

15 September – though some time off, this is an early reminder that our indoor season will resume on this date, with a talk – ‘Birdwatcher’s Photographic Diary’ – by Tony Slater

STORK AND SKUA HEAD THE EARLY YEAR RARITIES

We’ve been watching the steady drift north of heron-like species in recent years: the Little Egret would still have been a bird of wonder 25 years ago, the graceful Great White Egret has become a more regular visitor over the past several years, and since then we’ve seen Cattle Egrets, Spoonbills and Glossy Ibises all call into Carsington – and even Common Cranes seem to be moving up country.  Now, during April, another in the same bracket – a White Stork – made a brief appearance on site.

To be fair, this bird was almost certainly not a truly wild bird (there was a known ‘escape’ of several storks from a collection that had staff from there whizzing around the country attempting to recapture their charges!).  But Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has also announced a plan to reintroduce this impressive tall bird with a wing span of more than two metres at its Willington Gravel Pits reserve (just 12 miles south of Carsington as the stork flies), and it stands to reason that yet another formerly exclusive continental bird will straddle the English Channel as our climate changes.

This bird, along with an Arctic Skua – not seen at the reservoir since 2019 – were among the 126 species noted last month, which represented a record haul for the month of April at Carsington.

A Ring-necked Duck, only the third for the reservoir (though individuals have been seen regularly at other Derbyshire sites), was among the WeBS count on 19 April, which was nevertheless also memorable for the low number of other duck species: just 70 Mallard, 47 Tufted Duck, 33 Gadwall and 18 Coot; the grand total of 480 water birds compared with 824 last April.

Mandarin, Goosander, Shelduck and Shoveler have added variety, and a scarce Red-throated Diver dropped in briefly on 3 May.

Noisy Oystercatchers, chasing around the site in small groups, reached an impressive total of 20 in February.  Other waders seemed to be staying away during the early part of the year, but they made up for it in April when 16 wader species were recorded, including small numbers of Dunlin, Sanderling, Ruff, Greenshank and Common Sandpiper.  Bar- and Black-tailed Godwits joined Curlew and Whimbrel, along with a single Turnstone, and a scarce Jack Snipe was found on three dates early in the month.

More than matching the Oystercatchers for volume, good numbers of Black-headed Gulls have established breeding colonies, notably on Horseshoe Island.  Among scarcer gulls, there were eight Kittiwakes noted on 7 March, seven Little Gulls in late April and a Caspian Gull has been recorded over a dozen times during March and April.

It’s been rather more of a tern-fest during this period, though, with a magnificent 36 Black Terns around on 24 April, 26 Arctic Terns quartering the reservoir four days later, and smaller numbers of Common, Little and Sandwich Terns also boosting the species list.

Raptors have been relatively quiet, with only one Osprey through on 5 April, and the maximum daily count of four Red Kites being well beaten by the 21 Buzzards aloft on 2 April.  It’s been good to report that both Barn and Tawny Owls have been recorded each month during late winter and early spring.

Right about now is the exciting time for migrant lovers.  With Chiffchaffs over-wintering, the first true arrival from their winter territories as usual was Sand Martin on 10 March, followed later that month by Swallows and Blackcaps, both first noted on the 26^th.  During April, the migrants arrived thick and fast: chronologically, they were Willow Warbler (4^th), Redstart (8^th), House Martin and Sedge Warbler (10^th), Pied Flycatcher (16^th), Whitethroat (19^th), Garden and Reed Warblers and Swift (all on the 21^st), Lesser Whitethroat (24^th) and, into May, Spotted Flycatcher (2^nd).

Meanwhile, April bid farewell to the last Redwings and Fieldfares, and among resident species, a highlight was the first Grey Partridge on site for 15 years.  Skylark song, a true presage of spring, was heard every month from February, and Siskin and Redpoll have remained present in decent numbers.

On a perimeter walk on the final day of March, top bird was Robin with 177 counted, followed by Blue Tit (135), Wren (124),  Chiffchaff (112), Blackbird (82), Great Tit (65), Dunnock (50), Song Thrush (32), Goldfinch (29) and smaller though still healthy numbers of Coal Tit, Nuthatch, Bullfinch and Treecreeper.  Five days earlier, six Willow Tits were also found.

EVENTS ROUND-UP

Indoor Meetings — We finished our 2025/26 programme of indoor meetings in March with a talk by Katie Thorpe, the site manager of the Middleton Lakes RSPB Reserve, describing the conservation work led by the RSPB to bring the Bittern back to this reserve. Always a popular birding location for our members, it was very interesting to hear more about the behind the scenes work which goes on all year round to create such a marvellous wetland habitat for wildlife.

Moving outside… A very healthy turnout of 16 CBC members made the journey up the M1 on Sunday 7 March to the Old Moor RSPB Reserve for our first members’ trip of the year.  Leaving the visitor centre we broke up into smaller groups to explore the walking trails which lead to the several hides that overlook reedbeds, various sized pools and scrapes.

By the time of our visit the numbers of wintering ducks had started to decrease, but there were still reasonable counts of Shoveler, Wigeon and Teal on the various pools. A pair of Goosander and a female Goldeneye provided some variety, and three male Common Scoters were a very unexpected bonus for our list.  Due to the high water levels, waders were much harder to find. Lapwings were the most numerous, along with a handful of Avocets, Oystercatchers and Black-tailed Godwits and a single Redshank and Dunlin.

Moving on to the reedbed paths our target bird was the Bearded Tit, a species which is often elusive and best picked out by its pinging calls.  Some members of our party were lucky enough though to see a small number flitting across the tops of the reeds.  A Marsh Harrier quartering the reedbeds was much easier to follow and a pair of Peregrines were spotted perched on a distant electricity pylon.

By the end of the day a very fine total of 55 species had been recorded by the group, comprising: Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Shoveler, Gadwall, Wigeon, Mallard, Teal, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Common Scoter, Goldeneye, Goosander, Pheasant, Woodpigeon, Moorhen, Coot, Avocet, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank, Dunlin, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Marsh Harrier, Buzzard, Peregrine, Kestrel, Magpie, Jay, Carrion Crow, Bearded Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chiffchaff, Cetti’s Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Robin, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Siskin, Reed Bunting

… And moving on — After 10 years on the CBC committee as the Events Coordinator, it’s sadly time for me to step down. Nicole and I have moved house to a village near Leek in Staffordshire to be closer to our family. We will hopefully still be able to make some of the outdoor trips and indoor meetings, so it’s not a total goodbye as such!  I’m very pleased that Cath Sinclair who has joined the committee has kindly offered to take on some of the activities of planning both indoor and outdoor events for our members, and I will be helping Cath as much as possible as part of the handover process.

Chris Lamb

 

A NEW FACE ON THE CBC COMMITTEE – CATH SINCLAIR

For those who don’t know me, I thought I’d write a few words to introduce myself, so here goes: My name is Cath and I have volunteered to join the committee with responsibility for ‘Events Support’ so I will try to help the committee with organising the winter lectures and the day trips … So, if you have any ideas on either topic please get in touch!

I was very fortunate to be brought up in a family which was interested in nature and went walking regularly in the countryside close to where we lived in Bristol.  My Dad was a zoology lecturer specialising in animal parasites and researching lizard behaviour – and several childhood holidays were spent camping in Italy so Dad could catch lizards (he had a special permit to import them live to the UK).

I studied biology and geography at university and currently work occasionally as a walking group leader.  Having spent a few years living in Europe for my husband’s job, we’re now settled in a friendly village near Carsington Water.   I took up birding during Covid and consider myself to be at a level between beginner and intermediate.   At the end of March (when writing this) my year list stood at 93 … but I won’t be aiming for 200!

Apart from my Events brief, I’m also interested in facilitating some more opportunities for social interaction within the Club, for example a monthly evening walk/pub meet up (see the diary dates block on page one for our first one of these – on the 30^th June) and a WhatsApp group.   Please do get in touch if you’re interested or if you have any other ideas for expanding our social activities.

Most memorable bird sighting: first view of Avocets in the Exe Estuary, experienced with my Dad a couple of years ago

Favourite birding site: WWT Slimbridge

Favourite nature podcast: The Wandering Ecologist by Penny Green

Favourite bird related book: A Curlew in the Foreground by Philip Coxon

 

 

KNOW YOUR COMMITTEE – Here are the club officials and their contact details……..
Committee Post	Name		Telephone	Email Address
Chairman and Publicity	Gary Atkins		01335 370773	garysatkins@aol.com
Treasurer	John Follett		01332 834778	johnlfollett@virginmedia.com
Membership secretary	Dave Horsley		07900 597230	daveat2602@hotmail.com
Recorder	Rob Chadwick		07876 338912	rob.chadwick322@gmail.com
Events support	Cath Sinclair
Secretary	Louise Sykes		01335 348544	louise.sykes5065@gmail.com
…..and the website address is:   https://www.carsingtonbirdclub.co.uk
Webmaster	Richard Pittam	n/a		Contact Richard via the website

 

 

**** ATTENTION ALL MEMBERS — IT’S ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION TIME! ****

Apologies for the strap-line above to all those members – now the large majority – that have already renewed their 2026 memberships, but it IS that time of year and these days I’m being whipped by our super-efficient membership secretary Dave Horsley to get the message out to those few that have yet to make up their minds … or simply to realise another year has whizzed by!

Yes, another year has indeed begun, and again it’s been a cool, dark and very damp start.  Birding opportunities, except for those ultra-dedicated types, have been few and far between as almost constant rain keeps most of us off the slithery paths and out from under the dripping trees.

We are planning a trip early next month, however, where the weather won’t be such a hindrance as Old Moor (see below) has plenty of hides, a large visitor centre and cafe and toilets.  Do come along on 7^th March if you want to get a few extra species onto your year-lists, particularly if yours – like mine – is a bit threadbare.

The indoor meetings have been staged as usual … no snow or ice cancellations this season thus far.  And jolly entertaining they have been; see Chris Lamb’s article later detailing these.

A few things at the reservoir have changed that you may not be aware of.  The watersports centre (always busy with waterborne, fishing and cycling activities) has closed and awaits interest from a new tenant.  Lane End hide was closed for refurbishment, but thankfully is now open again, and there are plans to remove the small Janet Ede hide that was often subject to flooding and was considered to be located too close and low down to the shoreline whenever the reservoir was full.

Having said that the drastically low water levels that existed for much of the second half of last year, have risen to 90 per cent plus in the early part of 2026, which may attract more and different birds onto site (though the disappearance of the exposed mud may disappoint a few!).  You will find details of sightings over the past three months in the usual reservoir report on page two.

There is news of efforts to improve knowledge about and, therefore, the future conservation of Swifts in the Derbyshire Dales.  Halfway through a Lottery-funded two-year project, the focus in 2026 will include an effort to recruit volunteers to undertake surveys at locations in Ashbourne and Matlock – and there are contact details should any of our members wish to be involved.

Gary Atkins

 

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY …

7 March – trip to Old Moor, the prolific RSPB reserve in South Yorkshire, near Barnsley (see mention in the article on page 3 for more background).  Meet at the reserve car park 10.30am.

17 March – talk by Katie Thorpe on ‘Bringing a boom to Middleton Lakes’ (do note that this talk will be preceded, at 7pm, by our AGM)

10 May – Spring Birdsong Walk at Carsington Water, led by Simon Roddis (meet 9am, Visitor Centre)

‘OUR DIVER’ GOES MISSING … BUT PLENTY MORE TO KEEP US INTERESTED

As we drifted into 2026, our regular recorders became increasingly worried that the Great Northern Diver that had faithfully returned for winter duties at the reservoir for a decade and a half had not shown up – and their concerns were borne out when it slipped well past its latest previous date.  A juvenile bird had arrived in December and remained for the first two days in January, but since we have been Diver-less.

But there were still plenty of great sights and surprises to come over the winter period – paramount being a Bittern, which is a first for the site.  It was seen as recently as 17 Ferbuary, and the precise circumstances (location, etc) are still being investigated, but an accompanying photograph was proof positive.

A Little Owl that had emerged earlier in the year – the first on site for seven years – was seen on three consecutive days in November, then on occasional days until 5 January.  Another October find, a Firecrest was seen again in November and January, two Twite (as species not seen at the reservoir for 22 years) were identified in November, and of all the species totally unexpected in December was a very tardy Swallow, vainly trying to catch up with its much earlier counterparts heading south.

December was also the month that our first-ever Ring-necked Parakeet was observed; the arrival of this noisy parrot, albeit brief, is not altogether surprising as it seems to be another species, having populated the home counties, is now moving north.  It tends to prefer urban environments but a few more are now being seen in the countryside of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

An impressive group of 16 Whooper Swans were seen on 17 November, which proved a good date for water birds as 150 Pink-footed Geese flew over, and two scarce Red-breasted Mergansers turned up.  Teal numbers topped out at 936, noted during the January WeBS count which also noted three-figure counts of Wigeon, Gadwall, Pochard and Mallard, and Canada and Greylag Geese.  Up to 34 Barnacle Geese (our usual peripatetic flock) have been seen, while two of the much scarcer White-fronted Geese were identified on 5 January … though this is scant return for the large number of White-fronts entering UK airspace, with quite a number being logged in Derbyshire.

Coot, normally in four figures during the winter, had inexplicably slipped to single digit counts with the water at lower levels but had slowly risen, along with the water, to 145 in January.  Goosander, Goldeneye, Pintail, Common Scoter and Red-crested Pochard have been among the scarcer duck species around the site.

Autumn and winter is also a time to keep eyes skyward for large flocks of birds migrating.  Woodpigeons are often moving in huge numbers, and 20,000 were counted in just a few hours on 17 November, 1,000-plus Starlings have been counted more than once, and corvids, particularly Jackdaws, have often been seen in sizeable flocks.  The arrival of winter thrushes included a count, in December, of 1,680 Redwings and the gull roost contained large numbers, too, with up to 5,000 Black-headed Gulls, 2,500 Common and 1,500 Lesser Black-backs.

A Kittiwake was evident on 16 November, and an increasingly regular Caspian Gull called in on several days that month and during December and January.  A single Mediterranean Gull was recorded on seven dates in November, when a Little Gull was also logged on the 17^th.

Wader species totals have not reached double-figures yet, but rather satisfyingly, Golden Plover have been on the recorded list in November, December and January, when a good flock of 20 were seen on the 16^th.  The first returning Oystercatcher was back by mid January.  Small numbers of Woodcock have also appeared every month over the winter, often at Hopton End, with three spotted as recently as 17 February.

As well as the Little Owl (which hasn’t been seen since 5 January), Tawny Owls have revealed themselves rather more often, and a Barn Owl was observed hunting to the left of Sheepwash hide and in the process of doing so flushing the nearby ducks.

For those needing Willow Tit for their 2026 year list, up to two are seen and heard regularly in the vicinity of the Wildlife Centre.  Stones Island is a good place to find healthy numbers of Linnets – up to 100 – and some of our less regular passerines that visit in the winter to join the residents have included Brambling, Crossbill, Redpoll and Siskin.

 

EVENTS PAST …

Looking back, regular visitors to our winter season of indoor meetings have been able to enjoy talks embracing a variety of topics.  November’s presentation was from Tony Davison, who treated us to some fantastic photographs of the amazing birds and animals he encountered during a recent trip to India – including, of course, the iconic Bengal Tiger.

Birds and islands was the theme for our final talk of 2025 in December, with David Parkin explaining how many islands around the world – due to their remoteness and prolonged isolation – have evolved some very distinct and unusual birds.

Kicking off the new year at our January meeting, the highly entertaining Nick Martin described his quest to find 200 British birds in a calendar year.   From climbing snowy mountains in search of Snow Buntings to taking a boat trip to see Puffins on our offshore islands, Nick travelled far and wide to successfully reach his target.  February’s talk was by Mike Vickers and featured the birds of Jordan, a fascinating country which is on a major migration route between three continents and has a remarkable diversity of natural landscapes.

 

… AND FUTURE

Looking ahead, our final indoor meeting of the 2025-26 programme is on Tuesday 17 March.  Katie Thorpe – site manager of the Middleton Lakes RSPB Reserve, a popular birding destination our members have enjoyed previously – will be telling us about the conservation work led by the RSPB to bring the distinctive booming call of the Bittern back to this wetland habitat.  Please note that this meeting starts at the slightly earlier time of 7.00pm, with our club AGM taking place immediately prior to Katie’s talk.

For our first trip of the year we will be heading to the Old Moor RSPB Reserve near Barnsley (postcode S73 0YF) on Saturday 7th March.   This is something of an old favourite as it invariably produces a good list of birds.  Facilities on site include a visitor centre, café and toilets and there are a number of hides and viewing screens.  There is also another good site very close nearby (and also with a hide) which, time permitting, is generally worth a short visit. 

We aim to meet in the car park at Old Moor at 10.30am.  Please let Chris Lamb know if you plan to attend by email at cflamb@yahoo.co.uk.  For more information visit the RSPB website here:

https://www.rspb.org.uk/days-out/reserves/dearne-valley-old-moor

 

Our ever-popular annual Springtime Birdsong Walk at Carsington Water will this year take place on Sunday 10 May.  The walk will once again be led by Simon Roddis, one of our very experienced bird recorders, who will help us to identify the birds we see – and, just as importantly, hear.  The walk will last about two hours starting from outside the Carsington Water Visitor Centre at 9am.

 

COULD YOU HELP DERBYSHIRE’S SWIFT POPULATION?

Decreasing Swift numbers in the UK has been a worry for some time, and Derbyshire Dales is no different to many other regions, but a dedicated group in our area decided to do something about it, bid for a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and in 2024 was awarded funds covering a two-year project.

Initially, to fill in gaps in knowledge about Swift distribution across the county, the project sought to provide data to support decision-making, to conserve and increase nest site availability and develop a conservation model that can be upscaled.

During 2025, project members carried out 170 Swift surveys at 11 locations across the Dales and found 358 Swift nests at 238 properties.  Those findings are shown here in the associated graphic (right).  Furthermore, the surveys identified those nest sites that are high risk – located in buildings in need of repair, for example – which helped the project to plan nest box installations in target areas, those being in Darley Dale, Bradwell, Tideswell, Youlgreave and Wirksworth.  If you live in one of these areas, you can register interest in a nest box by logging on to https://bit-ly/nestforswift

“In 2026, once the Swifts return in May, we will be carrying out a second survey season – to include three new locations, Ashbourne, Matlock and Hathersage, allowing us to extend our assessment of Swift populations to 14 locations,” informs the project’s Community Engagement Officer, Charly Crump.

“We are, therefore, now urgently looking for volunteer surveyors for those new towns.  We’d love to hear from residents of Ashbourne, Matlock and Hathersage who would like to volunteer; full training is given and you can sign up at https://bit-ly/swiftvolunteer … or e-mail our project co-ordinator Clare at cmead@derbyshireswiftconservation.org “

Ahead of those beautiful birds arrival back in the UK, the project is kicking the new season off with a free celebration event for all ages at The Whitworth in Darley Dale.  If you would like to come along, urges Charly, save your spot at https://bit-ly/homesforswifts

 

KNOW YOUR COMMITTEE – Here are the club officials and their contact details……..
Committee Post	Name		Telephone	Email Address
Chairman and Publicity	Gary Atkins		01335 370773	garysatkins@aol.com
Treasurer	John Follett		01332 834778	johnlfollett@virginmedia.com
Membership secretary	Dave Horsley		07900 597230	daveat2602@hotmail.com
Recorder	Rob Chadwick		07876 338912	rob.chadwick322@gmail.com
Events co-ordinator	Chris Lamb		07836 368037	cflamb@yahoo.co.uk
Secretary	Louise Sykes		01335 348544	louise.sykes5065@gmail.com
…..and the website address is:   https://www.carsingtonbirdclub.co.uk
Webmaster	Richard Pittam	n/a		Contact Richard via the website