Welcome to the latest newsletter covering the summer period that has, at times, been uncomfortably hot – for us and our local wildlife (certainly the birds in my garden have been bathing and drinking more often than usual). As the May issue caught up with most of our events, including the final meetings of the 2021-22 indoor season, our warbler walk and a trip to Fairburn Ings, the summer is usually a quiet time.
We have, however, been keeping relatively busy, mainly through the efforts of our Secretary, Louise Sykes, who has kept the CBC ‘flag’ flying with a few fund-raising events and a presence at the launch of a wildlife art exhibition at the Courtney Gallery in Ashbourne, which has been running throughout most of August. Looking ahead, we also plan to get our name and activities out and about among the local communities in an effort to boost membership and raise engagement levels within the club.
And now we are about to step into a busier autumn period with another club trip in early October and the start of our 2022-23 season of indoor meetings, which kicks off on 20 September. These events are highlighted below and described in more detail in an article on page three by Chris Lamb.
For our indoor meetings, we do plan to return to the Henmore Room/Annexe which is better suited for us – so long as numbers do not suddenly climb any higher than usual – and for our speakers, as much of the audio-visual equipment required is already in place. Use of the restaurant last year was quite important, with Covid still a concern, and very much appreciated – so thanks very much to New Leaf Catering – but we feel it is time for a return to our pre-Covid home.
You should have received your annual report, which was issued several weeks later than usual due to a few editorial changes and logistical challenges. I hope you nevertheless enjoyed reading (bits of) it!
Gary Atkins
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Below are the dates of upcoming events. Don’t forget that all indoor meetings are on the third Tuesday of the month in the Visitor Centre’s Henmore Room – and begin at 7.30pm:
** TUESDAY, 20 SEPTEMBER ** – Talk: A welcome return by award-winning photographer Paul Hobson, who will show us wildlife through changing seasons in a wide variety of wild locations.
** SATURDAY, 1 OCTOBER ** – Outing: our planned autumn trip is to the RSPB’s Burton Mere reserve on the Wirral, overlooking the Dee estuary, but with a mix of woodland and farmland, offering excellent variety of birdlife. Meet 10.30am in the reserve car park; light refreshments are available at the visitor centre. If you plan to attend, or have any queries, contact Chris Lamb either by phone, on 01629 820890, or by e-mail at cflamb@yahoo.co.uk.
** TUESDAY, 18 OCTOBER ** – Talk: Our annual joint meeting with DOS will feature another old favourite, Tony Davison, showing us the birds and more general wildlife of the south Atlantic and Antarctica.
** TUESDAY, 15 NOVEMBER ** – Talk: Tim Sexton brings us home to the UK with a look-back over his first year working at Rutland Water with the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.
HERON AND WADER-FEST AS WATER LEVELS DROP
It had been a while since we’d notched our last new species for the site, but when a Purple Heron flew over Stones Island for 3-4 minutes on 28 July it became the 237th species recorded during Carsington Water’s 30-year existence. This particular bird – a juvenile – was also thought to be the first of its kind in Derbyshire for 11 years, though what was probably the same bird has popped up in a few locations since, notably Willington.
In fact, the dry conditions of late summer has prompted something of a heron and wader ‘fest’ as the water receded and the open areas of mud grew – ideal for such species to probe the shallows and damp mud. Double-figure counts of Grey Herons have been common, and the site record for Little Egrets was broken three times in quick succession in August, from 15 seen on the 11th to at least 20 noted on the 21st. Great White Herons have also been in evidence, with two on 29 July, a single two days later and another on 11 August.
Moving down considerably in size, another highlight was the identification of Marsh Tits on site for the first time since 2013. The very similar Willow Tit enjoys Carsington as something of a stronghold, and an RSPB researcher was doing a survey of this species when he heard a wheezing ‘pitchoo’ call that he immediately identified as Marsh Tit. Two birds were in the area of Lane End hide, and their presence was confirmed the following day by Simon Roddis … so none of us can now assume we’re seeing Willow Tit when we see that neat little bird with a black cap and bib! Look AND listen.
Another exciting moment for Simon was spotting a juvenile Grasshopper Warbler, a scarce visitor to the site, on 20 August.
While June produced a modest total species count, July’s 110 species was the highest ever for that month at Carsington. Waders were particularly prolific in contributing to this mammoth month’s total, as 15 species were recorded including three Knot on the 21st, eight Black-tailed Godwits on the 14th, two Turnstones on three dates and up to double-figure counts of Ringed Plover and several Little Ringed Plovers in July, along with Curlew, Whimbrel, Ruff, Dunlin and Common Sandpiper.
It’s been a busy time for breeding, of course, with ducks, geese, swans and a wealth of smaller passerines all proving to have produced plentiful broods this year – including the Kingfisher that was noted with two young on 12 June.
Black-headed Gull numbers were swelled by numerous young birds, and 630 of this species were counted in mid June, when just 20 Lesser Black-backed Gulls were counted, but this species breeds on the coast and by 20 August their numbers had boomed as 4,500 entered the gull roost. The 30 Common Terns observed in late July was the third highest daily total for the site, and around the same time six Arctic and six Black Terns were also recorded.
Three Garganey ducks were first noted in the Lane End/Sheepwash area at the end of July and at least two have been seen on several days since. Other waterfowl have been steadily growing their numbers – again in part down to breeding successes – and 650 Coot, 476 Tufted Ducks, 394 Mallards, 143 Teal and 58 Gadwall were logged during the August WeBS count. Meanwhile, in June, over 1,000 Canada Geese were recorded, 28 Common Scoter were grouped together on 31 July, and Ruddy Shelduck have been noted at a few Derbyshire locations over the past several weeks – including Carsington.
Osprey sightings have been sparse over the late summer, with one in each of June, July and August, but Red Kites have continued to become a more regular sight overhead with up to five birds spotted on 24 July and 21 August. Buzzards and Kestrels are seen most days, Sparrowhawks generally on several days each month and Peregrines less often, and the seasonal Hobby has made just three appearances over the period.
Summer visitors and resident passerines have showed well all around the site, many having bred successfully. ‘Warbler corner’ on Stones Island is particularly well watched with several species – Sedge, Willow and Garden Warbler, Lesser and Common Whitethroat, Blackcap and Chiffchaff – all seen on one day. A Tree Pipit over Middle Wood early on the morning of 13 August was the first of the year.
While maximum hirundine numbers have varied: 230 Sand Martins on 25 June, 150 Swallows on 22 August but only 35 House Martins on 14 August – Pied Wagtail numbers have begun to grow again as up to 150, including plenty of young, have been counted with the odd Yellow ‘cousin’ among them.
BIRD OF THE ISSUE: PURPLE HERON
The site’s 237th species was a tantalisingly short visit, as the juvenile Purple Heron flew in from the east, moved over and around Stones Island for just three minutes or so before disappearing behind trees, heading south-east.
Purple Herons are slightly smaller than their ‘Grey’ cousins, with darker grey backs and other plumage a reddish-brown. They inhabit the same habitats and have roughly the same diet, so can easily be mistaken for Grey Herons, though its established territories are Africa, Asia and central and southern Europe.
Perhaps following the trend for heron species to edge northwards as the climate warms, however, the Purple Heron could become a more regular sight in the UK, just as Little and Great Egrets and Spoonbills have.
COME ALONG AND ENJOY OUR INDOOR MEETINGS AND AUTUMN TRIP
We aim to keep members busy over the autumn and winter period with our usual offerings of fascinating wildlife talks from some of our finest local photographers and naturalists, and we hope a reasonable number will also be attracted by our autumn trip – to a prime site on The Wirral.
Our programme of 2022-23 indoor meetings kicks off on Tuesday 20th September, when we welcome back renowned wildlife photographer Paul Hobson. Paul takes us through the changing seasons of a wild year, visiting some amazing places around the world on the way, including Yellowstone National Park, Hungary, Bulgaria and the UK.
At our next meeting on Tuesday 18th October we make the long journey down to the South Atlantic in the company of Tony Davison to hear about the birds (not just penguins!) and other wildlife of the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Antarctica. This will be our traditional annual joint meeting with members of the Derbyshire Ornithological Society (DOS), who will join us for the evening.
Returning to a location much closer to home for our November meeting, Tim Sexton tells us about his first year working for the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust at Rutland Water. It will be interesting to hear more about this very popular nature reserve, which many of us have often visited, from the point of view of someone who works there.
Perhaps fittingly for our pre-Christmas meeting in December, we head up to the Arctic Circle and experience a mixture of travel, birds, mammals and evolution presented by Dr John Reilly. John has led several bird and wildlife tours to Spitsbergen and has tracked down and photographed species which have important and interesting evolutionary stories to tell.
Our autumn trip for members will take place on Saturday 1st October, when we head over to the Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB Reserve on the Dee Estuary in Cheshire. With its mix of freshwater wetlands, farmland and woodland habitats, Burton Mere always offers a great variety of birdlife and by the time of our trip many of our winter visitors will have started to arrive.
We will meet at 10.30am at the reserve visitor centre. The address is Puddington Lane, Burton, Neston, CH64 5SF. Light refreshments and toilet facilities are available at the reserve. If you are intending to make the trip please let Chris Lamb know, either by phone on 01629 820890 or by email at cflamb@yahoo.co.uk. More information can be found on the RSPB website at:
https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/dee-estuary-burton-mere-wetlands/
