Welcome to our second newsletter of the year, at a point when we seem to be heralding in some slightly more optimistic hopes for the coming months following a year of Covid misery.  The reservoir has, of course, been open for visitors even during the second lockdown earlier in the year, but in line with the government’s ‘roadmap’, more is now possible with the take-away cafe opening and the 17 May milestone likely to mean other facilities, notably the restaurant and the Wildlife Centre (and, possibly, other hides) reopening their doors.

I hope you have been able to get out and about and enjoy the sunny, dry but rather chilly spring and, with it, the steady arrival of the migrants, most of which are now being observed in reasonable numbers.  Our website ‘sightings’ page, having been ‘frozen’ for a while, is now back in regular use, so keep your eye on those records reflecting what’s around.  And the article on the next page gives a summary of the birding highlights over the previous two or three months.

Club activities have limped along with our welcome chance to join several online illustrated talks over the winter courtesy of DOS and the local RSPB group, who kindly extended their Zoom licences to CBC members.  I hope a number of you were able to view some of these interesting presentations, one of which was given by our own members, John and Louise Sykes.

We very much hope that our 2021-22 season of indoor meetings at the Visitor Centre – the majority of which are booked and due to resume in September – will be possible, so we can finally meet up with fellow members and chat over tea, coffee and biscuits during the break!  This, together with the precise venue, will depend on the situation as we follow a hopefully successful and effective roadmap.

Meanwhile, we have a trip planned – on Sunday, 30 May, to RSPB Middleton Lakes in Warwickshire – though we will still be observing the ‘rule of six’.  See the separate note below for more details about visiting this excellent location. A further trip in the autumn will be another event we intend to target, so long as conditions remain positive.

You should all now have received a copy of the 2020 Annual Report; if not, please contact me at garysatkins@aol.com (or 01335 370773) and I’ll send one on.  We are hugely grateful this year to fellow member Pat Lawless who has kindly funded the production of the report. 

This 60-page document is one of the benefits particular to members, so make sure you’ve paid your subs for 2021 in order to get the next report together with future newsletters this year.  A small handful of members are yet to renew for the current year; if you intend to renew but have yet to do so, John Follett (johnlfollett@virginmedia.com or 01332 834778) will be delighted to hear from you!

Finally, I have to relate the sad news of the passing of one of our longest standing members, Nigel Unwin.  When hale and hearty, he was a very keen birder – a regular visitor to the reservoir and to our indoor meetings.  Nigel had been poorly for a while and latterly had been living in a care home near Rocester.

Gary Atkins

 

TRIP TO MIDDLETON LAKES – 30 MAY

Middleton Lakes, our planned destination later this month, is an RSPB site and, for those who have not been before, the following link tells you where it is, the sort of site it is and the sort of species likely to be seen:  https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/middleton-lakes/

Note that parking can be tight in the RSPB car park, and we believe the car park adjacent to the courtyard with its cafe and retail units may be allocated to those visiting Middleton Hall, so we suggest an early arrival (9.30-9.45).  A toilet is available in the courtyard and take-away food from the cafe, but it may be advisable to take your own food.  With many Covid rules still applying, anyone intending to go will need to arrive by their own transport, but it would be useful if you let Chris Lamb know (call 01629 820890 or email cflamb@yahoo.co.uk ) if you’re intending to go, in order to gauge numbers. 

 

VISITORS ENJOY USUAL SPRING BONANZA AT THE RESERVOIR

As Carsington remained largely open to visitors during the second lockdown, the site continued to produce its usual array of excellent records throughout what is an exciting time of year as winter visitors depart and a host of migrants arrive and establish their breeding territories around the reservoir.

As well as ‘our’ high-profile winter favourite the Great Northern Diver, another scarce water bird, a Red-necked Grebe decided the reservoir looked a nice place to spend some time, staying for almost two months before being seen for the last time on 11 April.

A Barn Owl was seen a few times earlier in the year and another single sighting of this impressive hunter was logged on 6 April.  A female Marsh Harrier was seen a week later, while a male of this species flew through on the 21^st, and at the other end of the size spectrum only the site’s third ever Cetti’s Warbler was heard in late April, and a scarce Grasshopper Warbler was heard reeling, and seen briefly, on Stones Island on 4 and 6 May.

Back onto the water, two Avocets were seen on the 7 March, then three more were noted on 28 April, a female Red-breasted Merganser was off the Wildlife Centre on the first day of May and a single White-fronted Goose was briefly seen on the final day of March.  During a busy time for tern passage in late April, the unusual sight of over 160 Arctic Terns impressed observers on the 28^th.

As well as the Marsh Harriers, other raptors to enjoy Carsington this spring include the ever more common Red Kite which has been recorded on nine separate dates in March and April, Ospreys which were seen on 30 March and 14 April, single Hobbys viewed on consecutive days in late April, as many as 12 Buzzards aloft at any one time, plus the always impressive Peregrine recorded on 28 March then on five dates during April.

At the time of writing, we are still not sure if Fieldfares are still around as nine birds were seen at Hopton end as late as 6 May, though the final Redwing was recorded on 14 April, the last Goldeneye six days later, and a surprisingly late Brambling was noted in flight on 29 April.

Many more species were moving in the opposite direction with Sand Martins being among the first migrants to arrive: one seen on 17 March but numbers soon building to 300 on a single day in early May.  Two hundred or more Swallows were also being seen, the first having been noted in late March, and House Martins are now being seen in greater numbers after a sparse beginning.

Chiffchaffs over winter, so precise visiting numbers are difficult to assess, but during a count around the perimeter of the reservoir on the final day of April included 102 Chiffchaffs, along with 68 Blackcaps, 27 Willow Warblers, 10 Garden Warblers, seven Common and three Lesser Whitethroat, along with healthy numbers of resident species, while a few days earlier eight Sedge Warblers and three Reed Warblers were recorded.

A perimeter walk a month earlier had also found three-figure total of Chiffchaffs, but also 136 Wrens, 122 Robins, 101 Blue Tits, along with double-figure counts of Blackbird, Dunnock, Great Tit, Jay, Blackcap and Song and Mistle Thrushes, plus the arrival of the very first Redstart at Hopton end.

Yellow Wagtails and Wheatears passing through were often found early morning on the dam, up to 150 Meadow Pipits were flying north on 22 March, 750 Starlings were heading in the same direction a couople of weeks earlier, while the first Swifts of the year were seen on 26 April.

Early breeding came in the shape of two Greylag Goose broods, a pair of Oystercatchers producing a brood of four chicks on Horseshoe Island, and evidence of at least one of two pairs of Ravens raising young as an observer witnessed food being taken to the nest. 

Another regular breeding species is Black-headed Gull and there are plenty of these noisy birds at a number of locations around the reservoir.  After last year’s first ever Heron brood, three more pairs have established nests in a remote part of the site.

As many as 5,000 were Black-headeds were counted in March, but theirs and gull numbers in general were down in April, yet there were still plenty of interest for the gull enthusiasts as 13 Little Gulls were counted in late April and single-figure appearances by Kittiwakes and Mediterranean, Caspian and Glaucous Gulls were recorded.  Yellow-leg Gull sightings increased in regularity with two records in March and five in April, and Carsington seems a popular destination for Common Gulls, 175 of which were in a daytime roost on 9 March.

Healthy groups of up to 46 Curlew were counted in early March and other notable wader sightings included Bar-tailed Godwits on four dates in April, plus nine Icelandic race Black-tailed Godwits on the 21^st, the same day a single Greenshank was spotted, while single Whimbrel were recorded on consecutive days again in late April, when a single Great Egret also made an elegant appearance.

A summer plumage Grey Plover was a good record, and up to six Little Ringed Plovers have entertained observers as they flew to and from the shore and seemed to be frolicking over the water on several dates in March and April.  Still on the water, Shelducks became a regular sight in April with records of up to three birds on six dates, two male Mandarins were picked up on the 27^th and a pair of Common Scoter was among the April WeBS count.

A month earlier, the WeBS count on 14 March included 261 Canada and 39 Barnacle Geese, 136 Coot, 68 Mallard, 46 Tufted Duck and 20 Little Grebe, while Great Crested Grebe numbers seemed to increase as the month went on reaching a peak of 60 on the 24^th. 

Water Rails are noted fairly regularly at Carsington, chiefly at Hopton end, though there was a record this time from Wildlife Centre creek, too; meanwhile, as many as five Woodcock were counted flying into Hopton end in the early morning of 4 March, with the last of this elusive species recorded on the 20^th of that month.

 

‘THANKS’ TO ZOOM – BUT FINGERS NOW CROSSED FOR ‘REAL’ TALKS THIS YEAR

As a small club, without the ready ability to acquire a licence to use the Zoom online system, we remain hugely grateful to those larger local wildlife organisations – DOS and RSPB Derby – that could and offered to extend their own programmes of talks to our members over the winter and early spring.  A number of us took advantage and we certainly were treated to an enjoyable and varied selection of topics.

The first talk delivered this way (in fact our joint ‘meeting’ with DOS in October) was a real highlight as Tony Davison recounted two trips taken to Mongolia in search of Snow Leopard.  His was a dramatic and, ultimately, successful story, though not without its downside as he was quarantined for weeks in Asia at the front end of the Covid pandemic.

Places visited vicariously after that included Tanzania and Morocco in Africa, Lake Prepsa in eastern Europe and a breakneck journey down the western edge of the Americas, from Alaska to Argentina.  Other talks looked at subjects such as tropical forests, ‘magical Merlins’ and ultra-fast photography required to ‘freeze’ the fastest moving wildlife.  All, of course, had brilliant photographs in common!

So, while we give three cheers to Zoom, for our 2021-22 season we hope to be able to get back indoors with speakers on the spot at the Visitor Centre (along with tea, coffee, biscuits and ‘half-time’ chats).  With fingers firmly crossed, we hope that our first speaker – the ever-entertaining Paul Bingham – will be able to stand in front of us and tell us about the wildlife he encountered in Sri Lanka.  This meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, 21 September.

Nick Martin is then due to take us into the mysteries of the Forest of Dean in October, while Ian Newton, who we had to postpone from last season, will carry us from the shade into the sunshine with a talk about Lesvos.

Two further presentations are organised, and two more are still to be arranged, but hopefully we’ll have a full season.  Whether we can stage these in the Henmore Room is uncertain; we had negotiated with New Leaf Catering the alternative of using the much larger restaurant, which might prove to be more suitable while Covid remains a concern.  We will keep you informed precisely how and where these talks will take place.

 

KNOW YOUR COMMITTEE – Here are the club officials and their contact details……..
Committee Post	Name	Telephone		Email Address
Secretary	Vacant
Treasurer / Membership	John Follett	01332 834778		johnlfollett@virginmedia.com
Recorder	Vacant
Publications / Indoor Meetings	Gary Atkins	01335 370773		garysatkins@aol.com
Events co-ordinator	Chris Lamb			cflamb@yahoo.co.uk
Ex-officio	Roger Carrington	01629 583816		rcarrington_matlock@yahoo.co.uk
…..and the website address   –   http://www.carsingtonbirdclub.co.uk
Webmaster	Richard Pittam		n/a	Contact Richard via the website

First of all, best wishes to everyone.  I hope you’re keeping well and safe in the continuing difficult conditions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

We might reasonably have hoped that by now we would be returning to some form of ‘normality’, but from a slightly easier position mid-year, we are now once again enduring a national lockdown, though perhaps not quite as stringent as we encountered in March/April.  One silver lining around the massing clouds is that Severn Trent have decided to keep the site open – enabling people to exercise and, of course, witness the reservoir’s wildlife.

There are some important changes, however, while the month-long lockdown continues.  The Visitor Centre, together with its restaurant, cafes and shops are closed, as is the Wildlife Centre along with all other viewing hides. The car parks, paths and toilets do remain open, however, but visitors should be vigilant in maintaining social distancing and any other restrictions required.

The Covid situation has hit our planned events programme, though we did manage to link up with DOS for our annual joint ‘meeting’, which took the form of an online Zoom presentation – centring on a brilliant talk by Tony Davison on his hunt for Snow Leopard (and quite a lot of birds!) in Mongolia.  But more of that later. 

We had already recognised that the Henmore Room was not going to meet our indoor meeting needs when set against the general Covid restrictions; social distancing would have meant not being able to accommodate anything like our usual numbers.  Meanwhile, we had negotiated with New Leaf Catering to use the wide open spaces of the centre’s restaurant but the imposition of the ‘rule of six’ put paid to that idea, too.  We may be able to return to this alternative location later … and, in time, to our original home.  Developing circumstances around controlling the pandemic will dictate as and when.

As a result of all this, like September, our November meeting has been cancelled, but we are planning to join another Zoom talk by members John and Louise Sykes on 9 December (see below).

We had also hoped for an autumn club trip and had settled on a couple of potential locations – and a November date – but that is now also ruled out for the time being.  Outside exercise has generally been encouraged, so with luck we’ll be able to restore that trip to our programme soon.  Keep a watch on the club website for any upcoming trips and talks as and when the current situation changes for the better.

Unsurprisingly, news is a bit thin on the ground, but almost-daily recording has continued as strongly as ever and this newsletter contains a fulsome reservoir report.  Most months have seen high species counts, including more records, and there have been plenty of interesting birds about.  There was also an ‘all-day watch’ by a team of regular recorders and they noted 92 species in a 24-hour period.  This impressive achievement is reported below as well.

If the latest lockdown serves its purpose, there’s a chance we can enjoy Christmas with loved ones, so, with fingers firmly crossed, I wish you all the best for the festive season.  Meanwhile, please read on for our latest news …

Gary Atkins

 

WE ARE JOINING LOCAL RSPB GROUPS TO ENJOY A ‘ZOOM’ TALK ON ‘TANZANIA’ BY JOHN AND LOUISE SYKES ON WEDNESDAY, 9^TH DECEMBER … KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR E-MAIL INBOX NEARER THE TIME AS WE WILL BE SENDING YOU DETAILS OF HOW TO LINK TO THIS PRESENTATION

AUTUMN BRINGS ANOTHER MONTHLY RECORD – AND IMPRESSIVE MIGRATION FLY-BYS

Following two record months for species counts over the summer, another was achieved during the autumn as 119 were recorded in September, beating 2002’s previous record by just one.  Among birds boosting that total were three records of Great Egret (two of which were also seen in late August) and a juvenile Garganey that was sighted on several dates spreading into October.

As well as the departure of many summer visitors, the autumn as ever delivered increasing duck, geese and gull numbers and impressive migration movements overhead as well as the arrival of a few species likely to spend their winter at the reservoir – though as of mid-month the Great Northern Diver was yet to turn up!

More than 500 Canada and Greylag Geese were often counted, and Coot numbers had risen to 1,270 by the last week of September and remain at a similar level.  Teal and Wigeon both topped 350 by the second half of October, along with 300-plus Pochard and Tufted Duck, 166 Mallard and 79 Gadwall. 

Smaller numbers of Pintail, Red-crested Pochard, Goosander and, most recently, Red-breasted Merganser freshened up the wildfowl list, as did a couple of non-counters – a Black Swan that seems to have formed an attachment to the reservoir, and two Nene (Hawaiian) Geese spotted among a group of 40 Barnacles.

Gulls have predictably been massing in recent weeks, and peaked at 10,000 Black-headed and 4,000 Lesser Black-backed Gulls leaving the roost at dawn on 28 October, with 520 Common Gulls counted three days later.  Up to four Yellow-legged Gulls are regularly seen, as are three Great Black-backs including ‘One-foot’ whose deficiency doesn’t seem to affect this ability to catch a breakfast feast of crayfish.  Two Caspian Gulls were identified on 17 October, and a Kittiwake was noted a week later, while the highlight of a relatively sparse tern passage was a juvenile and three adult Sandwich Terns.

Fifteen wader species were listed during September, including a nap hand of plovers as Grey and Golden joined the Little Ringed and Ringed Plovers that have been evident over the summer, plus the sizeable groups of Lapwings seen daily. 

Knot and Little Stint were more unusual arrivals, while a Jack Snipe was identified among a group of its ‘Common’ cousins on 21 October, and early the following month 50 Common Snipe were flushed from the dam wall during foggy conditions.  Meanwhile, Water Rail was fairly regularly heard more often than seen, but was spotted in the reeds at Hopton end on 8 November.

A few Chiffchaffs and a Blackcap were still being recorded in November, so they are probably planning on a winter at Carsington, but the amazingly late Swift seen on 22 October – a full 28 days later than the previous latest ever Carsington record for this species – was very definitely getting a move on, heading south.

Among those many departing summer visitors, the final Swallow was logged on 15 October while, a little earlier, the last recorded Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Yellow Wagtail, Reed and Sedge Warblers and Lesser Whitethroat all set off to warmer climes between 10 and 23 September.

Within a few days, the first Redwings had arrived, and by early-mid October were arriving in droves, with 1,678 Redwings and 286 Fieldfares counted moving through on the 11^th.  The absolute highlight of the large autumn migration, however, must have been the phenomenal 43,200 Woodpigeons counted flying through in waves, heading south, during a three and a half hour ‘visimig’ from Stones Island in early November.

Up to 1,000 Jackdaws, 160-plus Rooks and healthy numbers of Skylarks and Meadow Pipits also filled the skies above the reservoir in October, and 30 Brambling were also noted on the wing.

But the most noteworthy passerines of late were in October, when a Yellow-browed Warbler was seen near the Wildlife Centre in poor weather conditions, and a Lapland Bunting – the first at Carsington for more than 10 years – on the 18^th.  Others included a handful of Crossbills occasionally heard and less often seen, and a Hawfinch that flew north over the site on 8 November.

Red Kites have spearheaded the raptor sightings over this period, with three on 20 August, two at the same time on 2 September, four on 17 September, two more singles in October and one in November.  A juvenile Marsh Harrier flew low over the reservoir on 7 September, while a handful of Ospreys inevitably passed through on five dates in August and two in September.  Most recent raptor highlight was a Merlin that was spotted perched on a fence post during one of the recent foggy days.

 

“ALL DAY WATCH” NETS IMPRESSIVE 92 SPECIES

Last year some of the regular Carsington birders had the bright idea of spending a whole day – well, dawn to dusk – at the site just to see what we might spot.  We did this twice: on 21 May we recorded 81 species and the same number again on 10 September.  For obvious reasons we were unable to repeat the exercise this spring but five observers – Roger Carrington, Alan Stewardson, Neil Moulden, Andy Butler and myself – did muster in September, with at least one of us present from 05:45 to 20:00hrs.

The first areas that we covered were Hopton reedbed and Brown Ale Bay, which yielded Hobby, Reed Warbler and five Tawny Owls but disappointingly few wildfowl.  At Millfields, three Yellow Wagtails were among the Pieds on the dam wall, a Kingfisher put in an appearance, while fly-over Crossbill and Siskins were useful additions. 

With the total mounting to 60, I joined Roger on Stones island, Neil arriving shortly afterwards and promptly finding a Common Scoter out on the water, while Andy had walked the dam wall and seen single Wheatear and Skylark.  The weather went a little bit downhill at this point, as low cloud and heavy drizzle descended, but the total nonetheless rose to 73.

New birds kept appearing and a pair of Shelduck spotted by Neil took us to 76, while it was the appearance of two Red Kites that took us beyond last year’s total, still with much of the day remaining.  Just after midday the probable highlight of the day, a juvenile Marsh Harrier, flew the length of the reservoir, raising the tally to 85 species.

At least one of us remained on Stones Island at all times while others checked other discrete areas of the reservoir.  Constant scanning and listening yielded Swift, a single flying Red-crested Pochard, a Willow Warbler, a surprise flock of four Lesser Redpoll that dropped into Wildlife Centre creek and then, to take us to the 90 mark, a distant Pheasant – something of an anticlimax to reach that milestone but hey, birders can’t be choosers!

It was inevitable that further additions would be slow to come, but a Common Gull appeared in the early evening, the only one of the day.  Just two of us remained to watch dusk fall and count the incoming Lesser Black-backed Gulls (2,300 in total by the time we left).  But finally, just as we were about to finish for the day, a Great White Egret flew over Stones island and headed north-east across the reservoir.  This was certainly a quality end to a very enjoyable day – and hoisted our day’s total species list to 92.

Simon Roddis

 

TOP TALK: HUNT FOR THE ‘GHOST CAT’ … AND A BRUSH WITH COVID

As mentioned earlier, it’s not been our greatest year for events, with the September and November talks cancelled (or, hopefully, only postponed) and any thoughts of an autumn trip disappearing into the distance as the second Covid lockdown bit.

We did, though, have the most amazing presentation in October – our joint ‘meeting’ with Derbyshire Ornithological Society (DOS), via Zoom – when Tony Davison told us the awesome (and at the same time tense) story of his two visits to Mongolia in search of the “ghost cat” or Snow Leopard.  Admitting his treks were something of an obsession, Tony told us of his disappointment in failing to catch up with this magnificent Asian big cat first time around, but still managed to pepper his presentation with some fantastic photos of a variety of other wildlife, notably birds such as the iconic Lammergeier.

That initial journey was in 2019, but his appetite was truly whetted by that ‘dip’ and he quickly organised a second trip to the remote regions of Mongolia with hope ever in his heart of finally getting shots of the Snow Leopard. 

He gave us an insight into the travelling and living conditions while there which were, to say the least, basic, but said he was with a very good and knowledgeable local team that eventually delivered on their promise … and the photos we all saw on our screens via Zoom were truly memorable.

That was not the end of Tony’s story, though, because while he was hunting the ghost cat, the Mongolian authorities were hunting him!  He’d nothing wrong – except on his inward flight to sit next to a Frenchman who, it turned out, had brought Covid-19 into Mongolia … and Tony was the last person on the flight they had yet to trace. 

He had been out of mobile phone range for several days because of their remote location, and it wasn’t until he hit an area with signal that he picked up the messages indicating he was well and truly wanted!  Ultimately, he had to stay an extra two or three weeks in Mongolia, much of it in isolation, until cleared to leave the country and catch virtually the last flight out of Japan home to the UK.

 

KNOW YOUR COMMITTEE – Here are the club officials and their contact details……..
Committee Post	Name	Telephone		Email Address
Secretary	Peter Fletcher	01332 383682		petefletcher1@hotmail.com
Treasurer / Membership	John Follett	01332 834778		johnlfollett@virginmedia.com
Recorder	Clive Ashton	01629 823316		cliveashton@btinternet.com
Publications / Indoor Meetings	Gary Atkins	01335 370773		garysatkins@aol.com
Events co-ordinator	Chris Lamb	01629 820890		cflamb@yahoo.co.uk
Ex-officio	Roger Carrington	01629 583816		rcarrington_matlock@yahoo.co.uk
…..and the website address   –   http://www.carsingtonbirdclub.co.uk
Webmaster	Richard Pittam		n/a	Contact Richard via the website