Springtime Songbird Walk – Sunday 11th May 2025

In stark contrast to the wet weather which curtailed last year’s walk, the group of 13 CBC members who joined us on Sunday 11th May for our annual Springtime Songbird walk at Carsington Water were treated to a very sunny morning. We are once again extremely grateful to Simon Roddis, one of our expert bird recorders, who led the walk.

Ironically the warm weather and clear skies kept most of the hirundines at higher altitudes, but a few Swallows were spotted soon after our arrival, along with a couple of Swifts flying away into the distance. Setting off along the causeway to Stones Island, the first singing warbler we came across was a Garden Warbler, which is often hard to see, but we did eventually get a good view of it. Sedge Warblers on the other hand are usually more visible and quite a few were noted singing on the top of bushes. The descending cadence of a Willow Warbler was soon heard, and Chiffchaffs and a pair of Blackcaps were also spotted.

Probably the star bird of the morning was not a songbird at all though. An Osprey was spotted flying over the northern end of the reservoir, initially chased by a pair of Oystercatchers before a number of Black-headed Gulls took up the pursuit. We enjoyed a good look at this very handsome bird of prey as it circled back over the water before disappearing from view.

Moving round to the Wildlife Centre, we spent a short time looking at the various ducks and geese, while taking in the cacophony of noise and activity of the Black-headed Gulls nesting on Horseshoe Island. Finishing off at Wildlife Centre Creek, Simon’s sharp ears picked out the song of a distant Redstart, but it remained elusive and could not be seen. By the end of the morning 33 species had been collectively recorded by the group.

Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Common Pochard, Pheasant, Moorhen, Coot, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Osprey, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Swift, Swallow, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Wren, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Robin, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Goldfinch, Reed Bunting.

Chris Lamb

Drakelow DWT Reserve – Sunday 18th May 2025

The Derbyshire Wildlife Trust reserve at Drakelow was the destination for our latest walk on Sunday 18th May. Most of the 10 CBC members who came along had not been there before, so it was a good experience to visit a fairly local reserve for the first time. As we met in the car park a distant Cuckoo was calling, a sound we heard again, but never near enough to try and see it.

Drakelow is well known for its breeding Cormorant colonies and from the hide nearest the car park we counted at least 65-70 on nests in the trees around the lake. Ducks and geese were far less plentiful though, and a pair of Oystercatchers were the only waders on show. Two juvenile Grey Herons were patrolling the water’s edge, later joined by an adult, and both a Great White and a Little Egret and were spotted during the morning.

Walking around the reserve we picked out the songs of many of our summer visiting warblers, with Blackcap, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff the most numerous. We enjoyed especially good views of a Garden Warbler, singing from an exposed tree branch, and a Whitethroat sat obligingly for some time on top of a nearby bush. Reed Warblers were singing from within the reedbeds, and the scolding sound of a Cetti’s Warbler was heard two or three times, but as is often the case for this species was not seen.

In total 29 species were recorded. It was perhaps mildly disappointing that there weren’t a few more on the list, particularly raptors and hirundines, and also no waders apart from Oystercatchers. You can only see what’s on offer though, and all birds are a delight at the end of the day.

Canada Goose, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Coot, Oystercatcher, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Great White Egret, Woodpigeon, Stock Dove, Cuckoo, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Whitethroat, Reed Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, Wren, Long-tailed Tit, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Dunnock, Robin, Chaffinch, Reed Bunting.

Chris Lamb

A very fine turnout of 12 CBC members made the journey to the Frampton Marsh RSPB Reserve on the Lincolnshire coast on Sunday 6^th October. This is one of our favourite destinations, which we have visited a few times before, and it always offers a good selection of wetland birds and the chance of the 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 a nearly highlight of the day. Always an exciting bird to see, Spoonbills are becoming more commonly found of course and have now successfully bred in a number of locations around the UK.

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 noted. 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 Godwit were noted, 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 counted on 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 agood collective total of 47 species was still recorded, bothon 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

A group of seven CBC members made the relatively short journey to the Attenborough Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust Reserve on Sunday 21^st January for our first outing of the year. It literally was a case of the calm before the storm, as we enjoyed a dry and bright morning before the strong winds and heavy rain of Storm Isha swept across the country later in the day.

Given the recent rainfall, it was no surprise that all the lakes were very full, though some still had ice around the edges from the cold snap of the previous week. Ducks, geese and swans were naturally seen in numbers, including Wigeon, Teal, Gadwall, Tufted Ducks and a couple of male Pochards. At least 10 Goosanders were noted during the morning, some affording very good views close to the paths, and several Goldeneyes were also seen.

Our collective gull identification skills were put to the test as we tried to pick out the adult Caspian Gull (successfully we think), which had been present on the reserve for a while. In among the large numbers of Black-headed Gulls a handful of Common Gulls were identified, and from the Tower hide, Herring Gulls, Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a Yellow-legged Gull were also found.

Waders were in short supply given the water levels, with just a handful of Lapwing present and later in the morning a single Curlew flew over the path by the river. A couple of Grey Herons were spotted in the distance on the edges of the lakes, but perhaps surprisingly no egrets were seen.

Apart from the ubiquitous Blue and Great Tits, it seemed to be a relatively quiet morning for passerines, though a pair of Reed Buntings did show well near one of the feeding tables. A couple of Redwings perched obligingly on the tree tops, and a lone Fieldfare was seen later on the cricket pitch in Attenborough village. Still in the village, a Goldcrest and a flock of Long-tailed Tits were observed in the churchyard towards the end of our walk.

By the end of the morning a good total of 45 species had been recorded by the group, namely: Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Egyptian Goose, Mallard, Gadwall, Wigeon, Teal, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Goosander, Great Crested Grebe, Moorhen, Coot, Woodpigeon, Stock Dove, Lapwing, Curlew, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Caspian Gull, Herring Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Wren, Starling, Blackbird, Redwing, Fieldfare, Robin, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, Goldcrest, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Reed Bunting