ANNUAL SUBS NOW DUE!!

Could those of you yet to renew your membership for 2017, please send a cheque for the requisite amount (£10 for family/joint, £7.50 single, £1 for junior) as soon as possible to John Follett at 8 Buckminster Close, Oakwood, Derby DE21 2EA. Thank you – and happy birding!

THOUGHTS ON OUR CHAIRMAN

We have traditionally included here a ‘Chairman’s Thoughts’ column, which has for the past nine years been written by Peter Gibbon. But Peter’s sad death in late December after a short illness means we now have a big hole to fill – not just in the newsletter but also in our club, which relied so heavily on his thoughtful leadership and hard work spanning nearly a decade, and the local wildlife world that Peter was devoted to for so many years.

Furthermore, the warm tributes at Peter’s funeral on 17 January in his home village of Holloway clearly demonstrated that his passing leaves a huge void in his family and network of friends – and we pass on the club’s collective condolences to wife Jacqueline, son Jamie, stepson Jake and step-daughter Lucy.

Peter was born in Manchester and remained a fervent ‘United’ fan but had spent the latter half of his life in Derbyshire. Here, he made an impression wherever he went – not least as a teacher at Anthony Gell School in Wirksworth. He actively fought against inequality and supported many worthy causes. He packed a lot into a life that lasted just 69 years.

The ‘Thoughts’ he expressed in the newsletter were, it’s fair to say, rather random, but that’s because he pondered deeply on things he’d read, heard about or seen on the TV. He liked to air his thoughts and conclusions with those he thought would be interested. So, for us, he wrote about nature, wildlife and conservation issues … or shared some of the amazing birding experiences and exciting holidays he had. It was often very much like a rather one-side chat with a pal!

This month, our thoughts should be about Peter and the multi-faceted role he played in the club. He had been Chairman for nine years, and his quiet, thoughtful and pragmatic leadership meant we maintain to this day a good solid base, with birding at our core, despite steadily falling membership.

Over the years Peter ‘inherited’ other roles, usually when we lost a committee member and could not fill the gap. Almost unnoticed, he would pick up the reins and do a fine job. For a while he took on the Treasurer’s role, until John Follett joined the committee, and then, following the sad death of Dave Edmonds, he took on the membership secretary’s duties. And all that while he’d also been organising several seasons of indoor meetings, often taking the stage himself when a speaker was unable to turn up at short notice – or, on occasion, just to save the club a fee!

Imagine then, the loss to the club of such a hard-working individual. Not just in terms of the hours spent on CBC duties, but also in the important link – through well-earned mutual respect – that he created with our hosts, Severn Trent, with the county’s birding authority DOS and as the local area WeBS organiser (as well as actually conducting the monthly WeBS surveys in tandem with Jon Bradley).

It’s a lot to lose and while we can’t replace Peter’s unique qualities, we will need help from the membership at large if we’re to find ways of operating the club at anything close to level of activity, efficiency and empathy that we managed under Peter’s leadership. Do, please, let us know if you’re able to help.

KEY COMMITTEE POSTS STILL VACANT FOLLOWING AGM

The Club’s annual general meeting was put back a month when the speaker at our January meeting had to postpone his planned talk until later in the year. When the AGM did take place a month later, those members attending learned that there are still key officer roles in the club to be filled – notably that of Chairman.

Those people who had been on the committee in 2016 were re-elected with the obvious exception of Peter Gibbon, and also that of Peter Oldfield who last year resigned as trips organiser. Gary Atkins said that he’d agreed to undertake the organisation of indoor meetings for the time being, and John Follett had agreed on a temporary basis to pick up the membership secretary’s tasks in addition to his role as treasurer. It would be preferable if permanent replacements could be found for indoor meetings and for membership administration, to lend focus to each role, and it will be important to find a new Chairman in the near future.

One member did volunteer to join the committee: Thanks go to Chris Lamb, who agreed to attend forthcoming meetings to see which tasks need particular attention before committing to a particular role. Once again, let us know if you, too, think you can help on the committee in some capacity.

CETTI’S WARBLER MAKES SITE DEBUT – AND DIVER’S RETURN IS BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!

Towards the end of November, a Cetti’s Warbler turned up on Stones Island, becoming the third new species for the reservoir during 2016 and taking the site’s definitive list since records began to 231. Though this ‘LBJ’ habitually hunkers down, mainly out of sight, it was spotted on occasion and heard more regularly during its long stay over the winter.

Another long-staying winter regular, the Great Northern Diver, gave cause for concern as it failed for the first time in years to turn up in November. An adult bird finally did arrive on 20 December, providing an early Christmas present for local birders, along with the sight of 280 Golden Plover among a flock of nearly 1,000 Lapwings.

A Ruff has been here all winter, too, and Hopton end seems to have become a popular refuge for some of the scarcer birds seen at Carsington. The developing reed bed seemed to have an almost irresistible hold on a Reed Warbler that stayed a month later than any previous record for this species, finally leaving on 20 October, and in succeeding months, Water Rail, Jack Snipe and Woodcock have been seen or heard in the area, along with up to 15 Grey Wagtails recently roosting among the reeds.

Huge flocks of several species were a notable feature of late autumn and winter: top of the flocks were 870 Starlings, several hundred Jackdaws and Fieldfares and many thousands of Woodpigeons, but the No1 daily count goes to our Scandinavian visitor, the Redwing, with 9,270 counted late last November.

Six species of goose were noted in December, when 250 Pink-feet and the regular Greylag, Canada and Barnacle Geese were joined by two White-fronteds (the second occurrence in three months) and a single dark-bellied Brent Goose, three of which turned up the following month, too.

Thirty-eight Whooper Swans swooped in on 20 January, while the previous month saw three-figure totals of Teal, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Pochard and Wigeon, plus good numbers of Little Grebe (16) and Moorhen (11) – birds that had suffered considerable declines in the past year or two. Little Grebes, in fact, had increased to 19 during February, when a very healthy 45 Great-crested Grebes were also counted.

Among the waders dropping in, most unusual was a Knot on 22 January while earlier that month a very large group of 95 Snipe were seen from the Wildlife Centre. One Oystercatcher returned in January, but by 9 February three pairs were on site and by the 20^th nine birds had assembled, so hopefully breeding is about to begin again for this species.

Gulls have not been witnessed in particularly large numbers recently, but 4,000 Black-headed were in the roost on 25 November and, three days later, 900 Lesser Black-backs were counted. In early January, an excellent total of 1,400 Common Gulls were recorded, and for the fourth time in 2016 a Kittiwake dropped in.

As well as Redwings and Fieldfares, other winter visitors have included Brambling and good numbers of Siskin and Lesser Redpoll, while in December Crossbill made a sixth appearance of 2016. By February, Skylarks were witnessed flying over several times, and birds were beginning to find their voices.

On 21 February, a count of smaller birds away from the water found 51 Blue Tits, 19 Great Tits, 13 Long-tailed Tits, 10 Coal Tits and four Willow Tits (up to nine were recorded on a different day), three of which were singing, 18 Bullfinches, eight singing Chaffinches and five Reed Buntings. The same walk, from Hopton end to Stones Island also discovered 88 Robins (62 singing), 27 Dunnocks (20 in song), 35 Wren (28 singing), 18 Song Thrush (all but three singing), 28 Blackbirds (mysteriously and in stark contrast, only one of which was singing) and seven Goldcrest (three singing).

“FUN DAY” TO CELEBRATE CARSINGTON WATER’S 25^TH ANNIVERSARY

It is very nearly a quarter of a century since Her Majesty The Queen opened Carsington Water, and a Fun Day is currently being arranged to help celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the reservoir that is not only a crucial part of the Severn Trent Water system but also an iconic honey pot for visitors from far and wide who enjoy exercise, wildlife and the big outdoors.

On Saturday, May 20, there will be a wide range of games, stalls and attractions on offer to visitors, chiefly adjacent to Visitor Centre, but locations like the Wildlife Centre are also likely to prove popular venues, too. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for brilliant weather on the day.

WONDERS AWAIT ACROSS THE ATLANTIC

Unfortunately, our January indoor meeting had to be postponed (Ken Smith, our planned speaker, will however be returning in the autumn!), but either side of that we were treated to two presentations packed with brilliant photographs, both of which involved a quick trip across the Atlantic.

In December, Tony Davison spoke about ‘winter birding in New Jersey’ and the amazing diversity of birdlife that exists in the 130 miles of heavily ‘lagooned’ coastline along this stretch of America’s eastern seaboard. Though also a prime holiday location for US citizens, the birds don’t seem to mind sharing!

Then, in February, Paul Bingham kindly stepped into the breach at short notice to speak immediately after our postponed AGM about the birdlife of Costa Rica. If New Jersey’s birdlife was exciting, then the wildlife of this small country (about the size of Wales) 3,500 kilometres south is quite simply breathtaking.

Costa Rica is well known for its exotic birds but the sheer volume of species is mind-boggling. Paul said he saw more birds there in two weeks (nearly 400 species!) than he had in 30 years birding in the UK. He slotted in some shots of other wildlife, including two- and three-toed sloths, a reptile or two and some wonderful butterflies (another astounding fact is that Costa Rica has more butterfly species than the whole of Africa). Paul’s mouth-watering talk left most of us in the audience wondering how we could pull together the funds to visit this stupendous country as soon as possible!

An eagerly-anticipated talk by Richard Pittam on 21 March will be the final event of our current indoor schedule, and planning is already underway on an interesting 2017-18 programme of talks.

WHAT’S ON

The final talk in our winter indoor meetings programme in March will see our very own webmaster Richard Pittam delighting us with an enigmatically titled presentation together with a selection of his excellent photos, and the following month the annual ‘wagtail walk’, in collaboration with Severn Trent, will go in search of the main prize, migrating Yellow Wagtails. Details as follows:

21 March                Talk by Richard Pittam: ‘What a Year this would be!’ – Henmore Rm, Visitor Centre (7.30pm)

25 April                   Wagtail walk – Visitor Centre (6pm)

A broader range of events – some regular and either arranged by Severn Trent Water or Derbyshire Wildlife Trust – are also on offer. Below are the offerings from now into spring. Some are chargeable and some are subject to booking, so it’s always worth checking for further details (call Severn Trent on 01629 540696, or Derbyshire Wildlife Trust 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)

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

6 March – Nature Tots – Owl Babies (charges apply) – Contact DWT to book

3 April – Nature Tots – Spring Flowers (charges apply) – Visitor Centre (10.30am-12noon)

9 April – Walk and cycle ride in aid of Teenage Cancer – For information call 01773 596073 /(organised by Vaillant Group UK)  07767 377968

23 April   ‘Collie chaos’ (details to be confirmed) – TBC

20 May – Carsington Water 25^th anniversary fun day               Visitor Centre (10am-4pm)

CHAIRMAN’S THOUGHTS

It’s August, with migrating birds now flying back to warmer places – and Carsington is playing host to some of these travellers. Sometimes we see birds we may not immediately recognise or get confused with others. During the July WeBS count I saw a female duck immediately in front of the Wildlife Centre Hide. After some quick thoughts I recognised it as a Garganey, which is not even a yearly record with us. Last year’s report describes it as a ’scarce passage visitor’ and it only had a single record. When recorded, it’s usually a male and in May, so this was unusual.

If you do doubt the evidence of your own eyes, you can write a note or draw a picture or even take a photo, which I tried to do with my very small and not very efficient camera. So, it’s good practice to have a notepad and pencil/pen handy or, even better, a good and appropriate camera.

The bird’s plumage might firstly alert you and, in my case, the duck I was looking at was very different from three other species of dabbling duck close by, so size and behaviour may also give you some clues. It was dwarfed by female Mallards and two female Shovelers but similar in size and quite happy beside a pair of Teal. You can also eliminate other unusual species which might be about like Mandarin if you have seen one of them before.

Another worthwhile action is to get somebody else to verify it for you … though for me, of course, there was nobody about! It wasn’t there the next day either when checked out by others and they only usually stay for a short time. What next? Well, it’s always best to have an identification guide, either in book form or as an ‘app’ on your phone, like I have. When you finally get home check it out again in books, on the computer and even see if it’s been reported by someone else or if there have been records anywhere else that day (there had actually been a report of a single Garganey in South Yorkshire).

I also turned to another source – my membership of the BTO – for more help. Their website hosts 59 short videos (each around six minutes long) on identifying certain species. They are just brilliant and you don’t have to be a member to use them. In fact, they had one on ‘Female Dabbling Ducks’!

But there were plenty more to help Carsington birdwatchers: How about the one on Winter Divers or another on Winter Grebes for anybody coming to our reservoir at that time of year. For springtime, the video on Yellow-coloured Wagtails might be useful, while the one on Little Ringed and Ringed Plovers is excellent. All are brilliant and a free-to-use resource for anyone with tricky ID problems.

This year at Carsington we have had the first records of breeding Gadwall and perhaps you have seen them but thought they were Mallard broods. Well, the above-mentioned video on female dabbling ducks is worth looking at to sort out these two species when only females are around with their broods. However, I waited for Garganey to turn up in this video and believe it or not it stated at the end that this would be on a future video in the making. The fact it wasn’t included just shows how scarce this bird is.

Peter Gibbon

BREEDING SUCCESS ON, AROUND AND AWAY FROM THE WATER

There have been pockets of breeding success around the reservoir this year, including the first ever record of Gadwall broods, as two pairs succeeded in bringing new life onto Carsington Water. By early August, 26 Mallard and 16 Tufted Duck broods were noted, four Barnacle broods were dotted among countless Canada goslings, a single Mute Swan pair had produced a brood of cygnets, while Little and Great Crested Grebes had each produced three broods.

No fewer than 183 young Black-headed Gulls have been noted at one time, the large majority on Millfields Island, which local birders have begun to dub ‘Bass Rock’! Waders have had a fair year, too, with broods for four Oystercatcher pairs and for three Redshank and Lapwing pairs.

But it wasn’t just water birds that have done well. Both Swallows and House Martins have produced young on site; one day maybe that other hirundine, the Sand Martin, will take an interest in the nest bank. Warblers and other summer visitors – including Redstart, Garden, Reed and Sedge Warblers and Common and Lesser Whitethroats – have produced numerous broods of youngsters, as have our diverse spread of residents, comprising all the tit species (including Willow), Pied Wagtail, Reed Bunting, Tree and House Sparrows, and Bullfinch among others.

A juvenile Kingfisher spotted on 2 July seemed to indicate breeding success again for this iconic species. Meanwhile, a pair of Kestrels occupying a nest-box produced four young, one of which was predated by a Buzzard, and there was a further sad note struck when a dog-walker found a dead young Tawny Owl.

Though overall numbers of species were close to the norm from June to August, as ever there have been a few highlights including Ospreys observed in each of the last three months, including two at the same time on 21 June; the latest observer on 18 August had the pleasure of seeing this expert hunter catch a fish. Red Kite was seen once again, in June, while apart from regularly seen Buzzards, Kestrels and Sparrowhawks, Hobbys have been recorded fairly often, too, once in June, three times in July and once again in August.

Little Egrets – as we’ve noted before – seem to be arriving more regularly and in greater numbers at the reservoir, and a site record six were noted on 31 July. Meanwhile, another site record was the 19 Common Sandpipers seen on 12 July. As many as six Grey Herons have been keeping their end up against the egrets, and Green Sandpiper has been logged regularly in Brownale Bay. Other notable waders have been Ruff, Greenshank, Whimbrel and Black-tailed Godwit all observed during July.

A female Garganey showed up at an unusual time of year on 25 July, and other interesting ducks included drake and female Mandarin in early June, three Red-crested Pochard on 7 July, and groups of 11, then 17 Common Scoter in late June/early July. With autumn just around the corner, Coot numbers have begun to swell, reaching 443 during the late-August WeBS count.

A group of seven Crossbills were first heard then seen above Blackwall Plantation at the end of June, and a site-scarce Yellowhammer was heard singing at Shiningford Farm on 28 June.

Finally, the 2015 annual report noted a number of species awaiting the results of formal evidential submissions to DOS (Derbyshire Ornithological Society): two of these – Black Kite and Yellow-browed Warbler – were recently accepted so in future will be appearing on our site species list without asterisks!

… AND THANKS TO THE RECORDERS

It’s worth pausing to consider that the above report would not be possible without the sterling efforts of a dedicated band of observers who visit the reservoir regularly – many almost daily at certain times of the year – and take the trouble to record what they see.

People like Clive Ashton who took over as our official Recorder last year, and his predecessor Roger Carrington who still visits the reservoir regularly and brings his expertise to bear. Then there are Peter Gibbon and Jon Bradley who spend hours scouring the site to undertake the monthly WeBS counts, whatever the weather!

Your editor (who also puts in the odd record from time to time) was amazed to discover how many species another regular birder, Simon Roddis, can see in a day. He’s logged up to 80 species in a single visit, and as recently as 18 August noted 72 including three Kingfishers, Yellow Wagtail, Hobby, Greenshank and Green Sandpiper, Little Gull, Little Egret and his first Meadow Pipit of the autumn.

Simon usually visits the main ‘hot spots’ around Millfields, the Stones Island/Wildlife Centre area, Sheepwash and Brownale Bay and the Hopton end with its developing reedbed … and, importantly, is always fastidious in adding each visit’s highlights to the ‘latest sightings’ page of the bird club website.

There are many, many more people who put in records, of course, and apologies to those I’ve not mentioned by name, but our grateful thanks go to everyone who visits Carsington Water, enjoys the excellent birding the site offers and then takes the trouble to share their enjoyment by letting others know what they’ve seen.

Our Chairman’s thoughts in this issue (see page 1) underlines the value of maintaining records, and gives a few hints as to how, even if you’re not sure what you’re seeing, you can use various sources to help identify birds.

‘NO SWIMMING’ POLICY IS COMMON SENSE – FOR WILDLIFE AND FOR PEOPLE

Anyone who has visited Carsington Water during the school summer holidays knows what a busy place the site can be – and the Severn Trent Water team of rangers are always busy looking after our visitors and keeping the facilities ticking over. An added problem for us as the temperature rises is people looking to escape the heat and have some fun with a dip in the reservoir.

We can’t argue with the fact that a swim can seem an inviting prospect; however, you only have to watch the news during the summer months to see that inexperienced swimmers attempting to swim in unsuitable or unmonitored waters can have tragic consequences.

Each summer we do our best to educate our visitors about the dangers of swimming here: the deep mud, hidden currents, the depth and temperature of the water all add to the risk and, quite simply, if you do run into trouble there may be no-one able to get to you in time.

In recent years as outdoor swimming and triathlon competitions have grown in popularity (and our Olympics success will have raised the profile of such ‘extreme’ sports even more in recent weeks), we’re also seeing more people trying to swim here early in the morning or late in the evening, presumably around their own working times and to avoid detection.

Of course these individuals may see themselves as more experienced swimmers than the youths and children who take a dip in the heat of summer, but they face the same dangers and unpredictable conditions. Furthermore, they’re often swimming at times of the day when no-one would ever see them get into trouble, let alone be able to offer help.

Safety aside, these swimmers cause big problems for our birdlife, especially during the winter months when the site is an important refuge for wildfowl and waders, and many of you may have witnessed the sad sight of hundreds of birds being flushed from the islands and designated conservation areas we manage for them.

The police are keen to help but in order to act they need evidence to help them understand who is swimming and at what times, something we can record and pass on. Therefore, if you’re out on site at any time of the day and you spot people swimming please make a note of the time, locations and any additional details and pass them to the rangers on site or in the visitor centre at the earliest opportunity. However disheartening and infuriating the disturbance to our wildlife is we’d nevertheless always ask that you avoid confrontation.

As well as working with the police we’re working towards the implementation of byelaws to help us protect our conservation areas and the birds that rely on them. We also regularly review our policy towards swimming here and at our other reservoirs to explore solutions and resolve conflict.

Whatever your view on our no swimming policy, we wouldn’t tolerate visitors practising a new sport in our terrestrial conservation areas so neither can we permit it in the water. Our aim is to operate a site that’s great for wildlife and safe for people.

John Matkin, Severn Trent Water

THE MOOR THE MERRIER!

Carsington Bird Club has joined a consortium of 11 organisations, led by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, attempting to improve the lot of wildlife living on two sizeable estates in northern Derbyshire – Hope Woodlands and Park Hall Estates. The National Trust, which owns these estates, while recently revoking the grouse-shooting licences of the tenants managing these areas, has indicated its intention to renew the shooting tenancies when the current licences expire.

The consortium is promoting a petition asking nature lovers both to praise the National Trust for revoking licences on estates not being managed appropriately, and to call on them not to renew the shooting tenancies.   This is, however, not a call for a ban on shooting. Rather it is urging the National Trust to seize a rare opportunity to create one fair-sized area within the Peak District where land and habitat management is not driven by the needs of maximising grouse production at the expense of most other wildlife – notably top predators such as Peregrine Falcons and Hen Harriers.

If you agree with this goal, and feel strongly enough about it, you can use your search engine to access the link below (which is also on our website) and either sign the petition online or, better still, print one off, and obtain as many signatures as you can before sending it off the to address provided …

http://nomoorshooting.blogspot.co.uk/

WHAT’S ON

Our winter season programme of illustrated talks, which runs through to next March is about to get under way next month with the return of an old favourite Paul Hobson as he unveils some of the more secretive and spectacular wildlife in Scotland. The full list of talks up to the end of the year is given below. Please note that the Christmas meeting is, unusually, the second Tuesday of the month – and remember that all of our talks will be held in the Visitor Centre’s Henmore Room, starting at 7.30pm:

20 September – ‘Scotland – the very best of UK wildlife, Speyside, Shetland, Mull and the Uists’ by Paul Hobson

18 October – ‘A Year of Birds at Old Moor’ by Matthew Capper (this is our joint meeting with DOS)

15 November – ‘Iceland’ by Ian Newton

13 December – ‘Winter Birding in New Jersey’ by Tony Davison

Severn Trent Water, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and RSPB also stage both regular and one-off activities on site. For STW events, it’s worth checking the Visitor Centre reception, on 01629 540696, to see if events need booking and, if they do, get your name down. The programme in the coming weeks and months is as follows:

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)

Every Tuesday/Sunday    Wildlife Centre volunteers on parade   Wildlife Centre (10am-3pm)

Third Saturday of month   Family Forest School for youngsters; chargeable   Contact DWT (01773 881188) for more information and to book

Last Saturday of month    Sheepwash Spinners   Visitor Centre (10am-3pm)

Every Monday(after 12 September) –  Nature Tots: different wildlife theme each week Contact DWT (01773 881188) to book.

24 September  – Wild Play for Adults: learn forest skills; charge applies – 10.30am-1.30pm; book with DWT.

26 October  – Wild Wednesday gets batty: learn about bats      Contact DWT to book and build your own bat boxes