Can I first of
all apologise for the non-appearance of the November newsletter (unavoidable
because I was on a lengthy holiday ‘Down Under’ – see holiday report later in
this issue!). I had hoped to put out a
short edition in December, but I didn’t get back to the UK until the 10th
and then the long journey plus Christmas caught up with me! I do aim to issue four editions this year,
though, on a quarterly basis, but rather than wait for the usual first issue
timing, February, we have enough to catch up on right now so January it is.
Indeed, this
earlier-than-usual first issue is useful in reminding members that it’s time to
renew memberships. John Follett, our
treasurer and membership secretary will be delighted to hear from you. The fees remain (as they have for a decade or
more) at £7.50 for a single, £10 for family and £1 for junior membership. Please send cheques – together with your
address and membership number if you know it – to John at 8 Buckminster Close, Oakwood, Derby
DE21 2EA.
I should also
inform you that our Annual General Meeting, which usually coincides with our
January indoor meeting, has been postponed until February when it will precede
the indoor meeting.
At the AGM, as
well as reporting on a relatively busy year and one that has actually seen
membership edge up slightly for the first time in several years, we will be
seeking election/re-election of committee members – and one piece of bad news
is that we are losing our secretary Paul Hicking. Paul has decided to stand down after a number
of years’ sterling service.
This will leave
us thinner than ever on the ground going forward … so, in time-honoured
fashion, I need to ask the membership at large if there is anyone out there who
would like to join the committee. It
doesn’t have to be a specific role, and you can begin on a ‘see-if-I-like-it’
basis, but we do need to keep numbers up in order to have a ‘quorum’ for
actions and decision-making at committee meetings. If you want to give it a try, please contact
me or any of the existing committee (see our details at the end of the
newsletter).
Meanwhile,
looking forward, we still have three indoor meetings to go in the current
season (see ‘What’s On’) and initial plans are afoot for another club trip,
though the precise location is yet to be decided. Watch this space.
Gary
Atkins
LARGE FLOCKS OVER CARSINGTON … AND SINGLE DIVER RETURNS, AGAIN!
Detailed statistics
for 2018 are presently being compiled, but the157 species recorded across the
year is a little below average, the lowest since 2014 though only 16 less than
the highest ever. One invariable event, however, was the arrival of ‘our’ Great
Northern Diver, which booked in for its annual winter holiday in early
December.
Two
Red-throated Divers dropped in two months earlier but did not stay very long,
while visits by Great White Egrets in both September and October were also
highlights.
It’s been a
busy time for gulls, too, with up to 10,000 Black-headed counted on separate
days in November and December and, also in the roost, up to 3,800 Lesser
Black-backs and 1,800 Common Gulls. Of
more interest to the gull enthusiasts, however, were Caspian and Glaucous
Gulls, a Kittiwake, and a couple of hybrids (a Caspian type in September and a
Lesser Black-backed/Ring-billed cross in November) that really tested their
expertise.
There have also
been large flocks of our winter thrushes, as 1,210 Redwings were counted in
December and 930 Fieldfares a month earlier.
But even these impressive totals were eclipsed by the large daily movements
of Woodpigeons, which maxed at 6,450 in mid November and the 3,600 Starlings
logged on 28 October, when huge murmurations were noted nationwide.
An estimated
1,100 Jackdaws roosted below the dam wall at dusk on 2 October, and another
large flock included 710 Meadow Pipits on 26 September. Three days earlier 266 House Martins flew
through, en route to a warmer place for winter, while the last migrating
species were a Blackcap on 3 October and, two weeks later, a
Chiffchaff …
though further evidence of overwintering warblers came with two Chiffchaff
sightings in Brown Ale Bay in late December.
Other winter
visitors have included Hawfinch, viewed a few times between 23 and 27 November,
but this was not a signal for a repetition of last year’s influx as none have
been noted since. Four Waxwings – the
first sightings of this attractive species at the reservoir for six years –
flew over on 29 December. Maybe more
will follow.
Small parties of
Ruff, Redshank and Dunlin seem to have settled in for the winter, no doubt
enjoying the wide expanses of exposed mud, while Golden Plover were recorded
each month from October to December, with an impressive 72 counted circling the
site on 10 November.
A Grey
Phalarope, one of a number blown inland by westerly gales, turned up at
Carsington on 21 September and stayed for three days. Up to 500 Lapwings and 47 Snipe were maximum
counts during the last four months of the year, and a site record eight Woodcock
were roosting at Hopton End at dawn on 24 November.
Coot numbers
have hovered around the 1,000 mark throughout the autumn and early winter,
while there have also been good numbers of Teal (up to 460), Pochard, Mallard
and Gadwall, and among the winter duck arrivals have been regularly-seen
Goldeneye, Wigeon and Goosander, plus a sprinkling of Scaup, Common Scoter,
Mandarin, Shelduck and Red-crested Pochard.
It’s been a
quiet time for raptors with just September records of a Red Kite, two Hobbys
and an Osprey on several days earlier in the month, plus more regular sightings
of Peregrine, breaking the steady pattern of more common raptors – Sparrowhawk,
Buzzard and Kestrel.
The welcome
sound of a Little Owl calling at Hopton End on 17 October was the first Carsington
record for five years of this seemingly scarcer Strigiform, while records of the more common Tawny Owl were boosted
by up to six individuals calling, also at Hopton End, on two dates in
September.
BIRD OF THE ISSUE: GREAT EGRET
Ardea Alba is being seen with increasing
regularity at Carsington and other inland lakes and reservoirs, though it is more
likely to be seen at or near coastal locations.
The RSPB website states around 35 individuals spend the winter in
Britain, though that number is almost certainly on the increase. Indeed, this species is heading north rapidly
– rather like its smaller cousin, the Little Egret, which until a couple of
decades ago was considered a rarity but is now widely recorded, including most
months at Carsington.
The spread
north should not be that surprising as one or other of the four sub-species of
Great Egret (aka Great White Egret, Large Egret and Great White Heron) is found
on most continents of the world, and is a bird you’re just as likely to see in
south-east Asia, the Americas or Africa as well as Europe.
They look
rather like other family members such as the Little Egret, but are
significantly larger – about the size of a Grey Heron – have a different
‘stance’ when feeding (on fish, frogs and insects, primarily) and have black
feet (rather than the Little Egret’s yellow feet) and juveniles and
non-breeding adults have a yellow rather than dark bill.
FRAMPTON MARSH IS A HIT – WHILE BRILLIANT TALKS
TAKE US FARTHER AFIELD
The choice of
Frampton Marsh for the club’s latest trip at the end of September got a
resounding thumbs-up from the dozen members who made their way to the RSPB’s
Lincolnshire site that never seems to fail to deliver.
More than 60
species were recorded collectively by our group, the stars of the show possibly
being a Cattle Egret and a good range of waders including Little Stint, Avocet,
Golden Plover, Snipe, Ruff, Little Egret, Spotted Redshank and Greenshank,
together with a huge raft of 2,500 Black-tailed Godwits.
Other
highlights included a pair of Stonechats, a Whooper Swan, Egyptian geese and a
solitary Brent Goose out on the marsh, while a Merlin on a distant fence post
was an excellent spot by one of the group with a scope.
Another trip is
planned soon – probably in early spring – but a precise date and location are
yet to be decided … so watch this space.
Meanwhile, our
2018-19 season of indoor talks is now in full swing after the first four
offerings. Award-winner photographer
Paul Hobson got us off to a salt-laden start with a tour around coastal and
island locations, and this was followed in October by our joint meeting with
DOS, at which Chris Galvin took us around the globe with his talk Around the
World in 80 birds … though we suspect there were rather more than that number
of images!
Chris Lamb
reprised his first-ever trip to Australia, showing pictures of birds and other
wildlife, and describing how challenging it was going to a country and
attempting to identify such diverse and vibrant bird species and other wildlife.
Then, at our
pre-Christmas meeting, Andrew Parkinson demonstrated his love affair with
nature rather closer to home with his talk entitled ‘British Wildlife through
the Seasons’ which, as with all of our speakers, contained some brilliant
photographs – mostly taken at locations just a few miles from his home.
HOLIDAY REPORT: FIVE WEEKS IN NEW
ZEALAND/AUSTRALIA
I greatly
appreciated a sneak preview of Chris Lamb’s talk on Australian wildlife
(mentioned above), because it demonstrated some of the bird species I was most
likely to see in Australia, which was one of my destinations – along with New
Zealand, with stopovers in Singapore and Bangkok – when my wife and I set off
on 1 November on a five-and-a half-week adventure to mark our 40th
wedding anniversary.
Even the
highlights are too numerous to list here (I’ll include a longer article,
together with some pictures, on the CBC website) but certainly the wildlife
everywhere was truly memorable, as was the breathtaking scenery in New Zealand
and some amazing cityscapes en route – most particularly the exciting
architecture and event venues and forensically clean streets of Singapore. After 12 flights, 19 accommodations and
nearly 3,000 miles added to the clocks of three different hire cars in just 39
days, here’s a word of advice: when you get past 60, feed in some extra
relaxation time!
We used
thorough and efficient Trailfinders to organise the details of the ambitious itinerary,
which included wildlife havens such as Stewart Island, off the southern tip of
New Zealand, and Kangaroo Island and Phillip Island which sit at either end of
the Great Ocean Road between Adelaide and Melbourne.
Stewart Island
is entirely geared towards wildlife, particularly preserving some of New
Zealand’s rarer and more fragile bird species.
The only settlement on an island nearly five times the size of the Isle
of Wight is Oban, which has a permanent population of just 320 – so the
island’s population density of one person per five square kilometres speaks for
itself.
With only a couple
of dozen miles of tarmac roads, most of it is remote bush, and is gently
managed for the benefit of the local wildlife – and is perfect for someone like
me who could just wander freely and be guaranteed to see something different
every time I ventured more than a few yards from our B&B. Ulva Island, which could be reached by water
taxi, was a discrete, quiet location where most of the scarcer species such as
Weka, Saddleback, Brown Creeper and Kaka (and Yellowheads, which I dipped on) were
readily found, while a pre-booked trip a little farther afield netted the
promised Brown Kiwi.
Kangaroo
Island, 100 miles south of Adelaide in South Australia is also bigger than I
first imagined. Initially I was a little
depressed to see only dead kangaroos at the side of the road and, after seeing
more road kill in the form of a dead koala, we decided to visit a wildlife park
in the centre of the island, which was enjoyable and enabled us to get close to
some of the country’s landmark species.
Ironically, after that, we saw plenty more in the wild – wallabies,
kangaroos, koalas, emus and even an echidna shuffling down the side of the
road.
Another
highlight was being close to penguins when they came ashore at dusk on Phillip
Island. Unbeknown to us, we were allocated
two of just 10 VIP tickets for the daily ‘Penguin Parade’.
We discovered
that this meant we didn’t join the massed crowds on a viewing platform above
the main beach, but got right down and dirty onto the sand of a private beach
above which large numbers of the Little Penguins nested (along with thousands
of Short-tailed Shearwaters which whistled around our ears while we watched the
rafts of penguins waddle up the sand). It
was a true privilege to be so close to the little birds as they filed past us just
yards away.
Unsurprisingly,
with over 900 species, Australia’s birdlife was rewarding pretty much wherever
we went, even in large conurbations including Sydney (where we spent an
unscheduled day due to a cancelled flight) and Melbourne where I sought out the
green areas – and where, unlike New Zealand which we’d visited previously, four
out of each five species I managed to identify were ‘lifers’.
There were a
few species I’d never seen before in New Zealand, too, plus a handful of lifers
in Singapore and Bangkok, two cities that could not be more different …
though both could boast a number of spectacular birds.
Overall, I
logged 185 species (83 in New Zealand, 104 in Australia and 20+ in each of the
Asian cities, but allowing for duplication), of which more than 90 I was able
to add to my lifetime list.
Gary Atkins
WHAT’S
ON
After a brilliant
autumn/early winter programme of talks, we can still look forward to some
further exciting illustrated presentations in the coming months, whisking us
off to North America, Botswana and into the rarefied atmosphere of hills and
mountains. See below for details, and
remember, talks begin at the Visitor Centre’s Henmore Room at 7.30pm, and the
February meeting will be preceded (at 7pm) by our AGM:
15 January Talk by Glyn Sellors: ‘American warblers in Ohio’ – Henmore Rm, Visitor Centre (7.30pm)
19 February AGM, followed by talk from Max & Christine Maughan on ‘Brilliant Botswana’ – Henmore Room, Visitor Centre (7pm)
19 March Talk by Paul Bingham: Mountain Man’s perspective on birds’ – Henmore Rm, Visitor Centre (7.30pm)
Below are events
being staged at Carsington Water over the autumn and early winter by Severn
Trent Water or Derbyshire Wildlife Trust. Some incur a charge or require booking, so check
with the host organisation for more details (via STW on 01629 540696 or DWT on
01773 881188):
First Sunday of month Birdwatching for Beginners Meet Visitor
Centre (10am-12 noon)
First weekend of month Optics demonstrations RSPB shop, Visitor Centre (10am-4pm)
First Monday of month Nature tots (3-5 years … booking
essential) Contact DWT to book
Every Tuesday/Sunday Wildlife Centre volunteers on parade Wildlife Centre (10am-3pm)
Third Saturday monthly Family Forest School (charges apply) Contact DWT to book
Last Saturday monthly Sheepwash Spinners (wool-craft) Information at Visitor
Centre
16-24 February Love Bug Trail (collect packs from reception) Visitor Centre (10am-3pm)