As I launched into this introduction, I was afraid the four inches of snow that fell overnight might puncture the good start we’ve had to our indoor meetings season – but no, it was a close thing but Severn Trent opened their car parks, and the speaker was keen to come, so our latest talk, on the Kruger National Park, was able to go ahead. Fourteen attended, which was gratifying, and sizeable audiences had turned up for the first two topics – Extremadura, then the successful reintroduction to the UK of the iconic Osprey. It was a particularly good job we’d bought some extra cups to cope with refreshments at October’s joint meeting with DOS when nearly 30 turned up for the Osprey talk.
Since the last newsletter we have also undertaken two trips – a long-range one to Frampton Marsh and one closer to home at Willington Wetlands (see report on pages 2/3).
We have been conducting quarterly meetings with some of Severn Trent’s ranger team to identify where we, as a club, can help out with habitat development at the reservoir – most particularly by investing some of the additional funds we’ve accumulated over the past couple of years thanks largely to the fund-raising efforts of Louise and John Sykes at various events across the county.
These meetings with Severn Trent have been productive in mutually apprising us of our respective goals and where these might coincide. One thing we had been targeting was some improvements and additions to feeding stations in and around the hides; however, these plans have been put on ice by concerns for the welfare of the Red-listed Willow Tit, which a scientific study indicates is suffering wherever thriving species such as Great and Blue Tits compete fiercely for food and breeding sites. Bird-feeding therefore may become more selective on site and large feeding stations may for the time being not be encouraged by our hosts. We will continue these quarterly sessions to discuss habitats and how CBC can practically help.
With the next newsletter not out until February, I should tell you that membership renewals will be due in January, and for the first time in over TWO DECADES we are raising the subscription rates – from £7.50 to £8 for single and £10 to £12 for family memberships. Still pretty good value, I hope you agree, bearing in mind, the events programme, the newsletters, the website and the annual report that we make available to members each year.
JOIN US AT OUR UPCOMING INDOOR MEETINGS
Our 2024-25 season of indoor meetings is well underway, and below is the list of remaining scheduled talks, all of which are on the third Tuesday of the month, in the Henmore Room, beginning at 7.30pm except for the March meeting when a 7pm start will allow for our AGM:
17 December: David Parkin will talk to us about ‘Birds and Islands’
21 January: Award winning photographer Paul Hobson returns with ‘Wild Britain’
18 February: Max Maughan shows us highlights from that global wildlife gem, ‘Costa Rica’
18 March: ‘North West Year’ sees Chris Galvin describe birdlife to be found in major estuaries
WHAT A CAST LIST – EAGLE, DIVERS AND GANNETS AT CARSI
Over the past three months some big surprises turned up at the reservoir – none bigger than a juvenile White-tailed Eagle, a sighting people may have doubted but for a splendid photograph provided with the record. White-tailed Eagles have been reintroduced in discrete parts of Britain over the past couple of decades but being discreet is no part of a young bird’s make-up and, cruising well away from their home patch, they occasionally pop up in unusual places – like Carsington Water.
We also had a very early Great Northern Diver, on 21 October, but it was another wanderer and did not stay long, and the previous month another rarity – a Black-throated Diver – turned up, the first of this species on site since 2011. Gannets are another species that don’t usually stray too far from their source of food, the sea, so visits to Carsington are scarce; the previous showing of this elegant species was 2021 but we had one turn up on 24 September, then three more a week later.
In recent days a female Ring-necked Duck was identified. This was only the second record for the site, the first having been 19 years ago. A Red-crested Pochard has taken a liking to the reservoir, recorded 30 times during late summer/autumn, and the visiting winter ducks have been building their numbers nicely including up to three Pintails and four Goosanders and the first Goldeneye in October. Coot is always a good indicator and their numbers exceeded 1,100 during the November WeBS count, while Greylag numbers have bloomed recently reaching 743 by late October.
Grebes have been doing well, with a maximum of 73 Great-crested counted, while four Black-necked Grebes were a nice surprise on 12 October, and the following day saw 23 Whooper Swans touch down. Great White Egrets have been seen each month, albeit sparingly, and a still-scarce Cattle Egret was around on 29/30 August.
A dozen wader species were logged in August and September, including Golden Plover, Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, Whimbrel and Green and Common Sandpiper, yet only two were noted during October. It was a fairly light Osprey passage, with several individuals in August and just one in September; a single Marsh Harrier in late August and a Merlin a month later added variety to the raptor haul, which included 11 Red Kites on 26 October … but the star bird of prey has to be that White-tailed Eagle.
The gull roost has also been large – ‘uncountable’ at times, according to our top gull spotter, Richard Lowe. In among the 5,000-plus roosts of mainly Black-headed, Lesser Black-backed and Common Gulls, Richard and our other sharp-eyed recorders have picked out Mediterranean Gulls on three dates, Caspian Gulls on ten dates and regularly a small number of Yellow-legged. The tern passage included two Black Terns in September.
Autumn’s the time when many of our smaller birds return to warmer climes for the winter. One species that stayed much longer than usual was Pied Flycatcher, last noted on 2 September, nearly a month later than its previous latest timing. Other latest dates for some of those summer visitors included Lesser Whitethroat, Redstart, Sedge Warbler and Sand Martin in September, Blackcap, House Martin and Swallow in October. Meanwhile, winter arrivals were more numerous as Redwing arrived in early October, a flock of 1,914 logged on the 17th, smaller numbers of noisy Fieldfares and also Siskin, Lesser Redpoll and a flock of 11 Brambling in early November.
Large movements of our more common species also mark this time of year: the maximum daily count of Woodpigeons, moving south, was 11,500 on 13 October, while 3,150 Starlings were counted two weeks later.
Carsington did not miss out on a couple of westerly influxes from Europe, recording Yellow-browed Warbler in October, the first example of this delicately marked warbler since 2021, and a few more Hawfinches than usual flying over in recent weeks. Meanwhile, a site record 46 Reed Buntings flew out of Hopton Reedbed on 25 October, and Rock Pipits were noted on four dates that month.
GOOD NUMBERS OF MEMBERS ENJOY TRIPS, NEAR AND FAR
Double-figure groups of members have attended the two club trips arranged over the past two months – most recently, on 17 November, to Willington Wetlands, and at the end of September to an old favourite, Frampton Marsh.
Following a membership survey indicating a liking for some trips to be closer to home, we decided on the DWT reserve at Willington for our autumn outing – and it attracted a very healthy turnout of 14 CBC members who were rewarded with a morning of fine weather – just before the rain began – and variety of birds to enjoy.
Not surprisingly, wildfowl and other water birds were the most plentiful, with Mallard, Tufted Duck, Coot and Canada Geese seen in good numbers, along with Cormorants and Great Crested Grebes. A pair of Shoveler were spotted later to add to the list.
Spotting and identifying three different species of egrets present at the reserve became a theme for much of the morning. First was a Little Egret, spied from a heightened viewing platform; that was followed by a pair of Great White Egrets. Later on four Cattle Egrets were picked out on the far side of the lakes, three of which were showing their typical behaviour moving busily between the feet of the resident cows. Not to be outdone by their white cousins, several Grey Herons were also seen.
Smaller birds were proving much harder to find though. At least three Cetti’s Warblers were heard as we walked along the path, along with Bullfinches and a small flock of Redwings which flew over. A single Buzzard and a Kestrel swooping down to catch its prey were the only birds of prey to be seen.
Unfortunately we were unable to spend any time in the hide as it was already full to capacity when we got there, but we completed a full circuit around the reserve – taking in a number of other gravel pits and wetland areas – via the newly opened circular walk, adding the odd species to our group total of 34 species, which were as follows: Canada Goose, Egyptian Goose, Mute Swan, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Shoveler, Great Crested Grebe, Coot, Moorhen, Lapwing, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Great White Egret, Cattle Egret, Buzzard, Kestrel, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Cetti’s Warbler, Blackbird, Redwing, Bullfinch, Robin, House Sparrow and Linnet.
Another fine turnout of 12 CBC members made the journey to the Frampton Marsh RSPB Reserve on the Lincolnshire coast on Sunday 6 October. This is a favourite destination, which we have visited a few times before and always offers a good selection of wetland birds and an occasional rarity.
Meeting up in the Visitor Centre with its panoramic views over the reserve, we spent some time checking through the ducks and waders on show. The unmistakeable sight of a pair of Spoonbills on one of the islands was an early highlight of the day. Always an exciting bird to see, Spoonbills are being seen more commonly and have now successfully bred in a number of UK locations.
With the arrival of autumn the numbers of ducks and geese were starting to build up. Wigeon and Teal were by far the most numerous, with smaller counts of Shoveler and Shelduck. Later on a small group of Pintail added to the variety and Brent Geese were feeding on the tidal marshes. A lone Whooper Swan, believed to be an injured bird which has remained at the reserve throughout the year, was also spotted.
Apart from the many Lapwings and a flock of Golden Plover seen early on in the day, relatively small numbers of other waders were present. A handful of Redshank, Ruff, Dunlin and Black-tailed Godwits were logged, along with a single Bar-tailed Godwit. Some keen eyes in the group picked out a pair of Snipe in the edge of the reeds, with one then obligingly moving out into the open. About 20 Avocets were also dotted around the various pools.
Moving on to birds of prey, a Marsh Harrier was often observed during the day quartering the reedbeds, along with at least one Kestrel hovering over the fields. A distant Peregrine sitting on a fence post in the fields behind the Visitor Centre was seen by a few of us, and a Red Kite was also spotted flying above the road leading into the reserve.
Smaller birds were in fairly short supply though, with the exception of flocks of Goldfinches and a few Linnets. A single Stonechat and a Wheatear were good finds to add to our list and a Cetti’s Warbler was heard near the car park.
With the weather turning out to be much dryer and brighter than forecast, it was a very enjoyable day. Bird-wise it did seem to be quieter than on our previous visits, though the following total of 47 were recorded collectively, both on the reserve itself and from the approach road: Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Brent Goose, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Shelduck, Shoveler, Mallard, Gadwall, Pintail, Wigeon, Teal, Little Grebe, Moorhen, Pheasant, Avocet, Lapwing, Golden Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Snipe, Redshank, Ruff, Dunlin,Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Great White Egret, Spoonbill, Red Kite,Marsh Harrier, Kestrel, Peregrine, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Starling, Cetti’s Warbler, Stonechat, Wheatear, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Goldfinch, Linnet
Chris Lamb
REPORTS OF FUTURE RESERVOIR EXPANSION FAR FROM CERTAIN
A rather startling article appeared in the Ashbourne News Telegraph several weeks ago indicating that the capacity of Carsington Water may be increased, raising the level by several metres, which would see a major change in the topography of the area and a need to build a new visitor centre and associated facilities.
This followed a briefing by Severn Trent on its Draft Water Resources Management Plan (every water company has to have one) that sets out long-term future requirements for ensuring its customers’ water supplies. The plan lists many options, many much more straightforward – measures to reduce water loss by leakage, advising customers on minimising water usage, increasing the connectivity of water sources and expanding water treatment facilities to allow greater reusing of water supplies.
Only then would much more expensive capital schemes – such as new reservoirs or increasing the capacity of existing ones – be considered. Should Carsington figure in this latter option, nothing would happen before about 2045, and numerous surveys and assessments would have to be done … so, in essence, there will be no imminent changes in the habitat for wildlife at the reservoir; indeed, no material changes in many of our lifetimes!
CBC – PLUS ÇA CHANGE!
Some documents have recently come to light that illustrate the earliest days of the bird club and its formation following the opening of the reservoir in 1992, thus creating a major new site in the county for wildlife in general and birds in particular.
The general principles of the organisation have hardly changed since the first general meeting of Carsington Bird Club was held on 21 October 1992. Key proposals were (and remain!) to: monitor birdlife around the reservoir; maximise potential for birdlife on site; provide associated information and activities for club members, and to promote a wider interest in birds and birdwatching.
Sound familiar? It’s pretty much what we do today. And even some of the names at that first meeting and, subsequently, on the nascent CBC committee are familiar. Jonathan Bradley still visits the reservoir and helps Simon Roddis out with the monthly WeBS counts. Eddie Walker, though living in Spain for much of the year, makes sure Carsington is on his list of sites to visit when he returns to the UK for long spells to escape the continental heat.
Another name there is Paul Stanley, now sadly deceased, after whom one of the hides is named. Derek Beech, No 1 on our existing membership list, was seconding a motion at the first committee meeting, and indoor meetings began surprisingly early in the club’s life, too; the first talk being ‘Birds of California’, by Andrew Sherwin on 24 November 1992.
And the first ever monthly ‘Birds Notes’ sheet was produced in January 1993 (seen here, right – the species makes interesting reading) – a discipline still undertaken by today’s Recorder, Rob Chadwick.
Membership numbers have ebbed and flowed over the last three decades, but for the club as a whole, it’s a case of ‘plus ça change’.
