Member Reports – Page 3 – Carsington Bird Club

BTO BREEDING BIRD SURVEY

The BTO’s Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) monitors the population changes of over 100 species across the UK through the efforts of volunteers who survey their randomly selected 1km square each spring. It is a great way to make your birdwatching count. The only requirement is that you are able to confidently identify the species you are likely to encounter in a given square by sight and sound.

The survey involves a recce visit to assess the habitat, and two early-morning spring visits to count all the birds that you see or hear while walking two 1km lines (transects) across the square, plus nest counts for any colonial species. You can optionally record any mammals that you come across, and visit the square later in the season to look for butterflies. Data can be entered to BBS-Online or paper copies can be returned for input by the BTO.

For BBS purposes, Derbyshire is divided into two regions, North and South. There are currently between 20 and 25 squares available in each region, covering a wide range of habitats. There is also one Waterways BBS stretch available, on the Barlow Brook south of Dronfield. You can find much more information online at https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/breeding-bird-survey.

To see what squares are available in your area, click on ‘Taking part’, look for either Derbyshire (North) or Derbyshire (South) and you will see in which 10km squares there are squares available. You can register your interest online or contact me at simonroddis@yahoo.co.uk, and we’ll try to identify a square which will work for you.

The maps below show the available squares in each part of the county as at 16 December 2022.

Derbyshire North

Derbyshire South

An article by Simon Roddis.

Carsington Bird Club CBC Newsletters Events Features Member Reports Miscellaneous News

CBC Members Trip to Frampton Marsh RSPB Reserve – 3rd October 2021

A group of 9 members made the journey to the Frampton Marsh RSPB Reserve on the Lincolnshire coast on Sunday 3rd October.

This is always a popular destination and we went with the anticipation that anything can turn up at this time of year.

On the way into the reserve a couple of our group were treated to a Tawny Owl perched on a gate post, and a single Marsh Harrier was seen from the car park by some. Continuing the birds of prey theme, 2-3 Kestrels were observed and a hunting Peregrine was an exciting addition to our list towards the end of the day.

As expected the numbers of wintering ducks and geese were starting to build up, with large counts of Wigeon and Teal, supported by smaller numbers of Shelduck, Shoveler and Gadwall. Dark-bellied Brent Geese, recently arrived from their breeding grounds in the Arctic regions of northern Scandinavia and Siberia, numbered well into the hundreds.

A variety of waders were recorded, including large numbers of Lapwing, 20-30 Black-tailed Godwits, a handful of Dunlin and Redshank and a couple of Ruff. A single Snipe put in a brief appearance before disappearing back into the reed-beds in typical fashion.

A group of 6 Spotted Redshank was a good find and this elegant wader provided us with a useful comparison of its shape and size with a nearby (Common) Redshank. Later on in the afternoon a pair of Avocets obligingly appeared in front of the visitor centre.

Common Redshank [rear], with Spotted Redshank in foreground

The weather was pretty kind to us, being mostly sunny though quite blustery, and we enjoyed a good day with a total of 40 species seen by the group:

Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Brent Goose, Mute Swan, Shelduck, Shoveler, Mallard, Gadwall, Wigeon, Teal, Moorhen, Little Grebe, Cormorant, Heron, Little Egret, Avocet, Lapwing, Dunlin, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit, Snipe, Redshank, Spotted Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Tawny Owl, Marsh Harrier, Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Starling, Skylark, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Linnet

Brent Geese selection – from a flock of 200+ birds.

Carsington Bird Club Events Member Reports News

29th September – Club Trip – RSPB Burton Mere

An intrepid group of 7 CBC members braved a very gloomy weather forecast and headed north west for our latest outing to the Burton Mere Wetlands RSPB Reserve on the Wirral on Sunday 29th September. With a welcome hot drink on arrival, we settled down in the comfort of the roomy Visitor Centre looking out over the reserve pools, which contained an expectedly large numbers of ducks, including Shoveler, Teal, Mallard and Tufted Duck. Waders were present in moderate numbers, mostly Black-tailed Godwit and Lapwing, together with a few Ruff and Dunlin that were found with some careful scanning of the mud edges. Soon we were treated to a Kingfisher flying low over the water, then a Sparrowhawk rather obligingly perched on top of a bush right in front of the Visitor Centre for several minutes.

Walking along the trail to the first of the site’s two hides, a number of common woodland birds were seen or heard, including Chiffchaff (still singing perhaps surprisingly at this time of year), Wren, Robin, Nuthatch, Great-spotted Woodpecker and Goldcrest, and at least one Cetti’s Warbler announced its presence in the reeds, but true to form remained hidden from view! Reaching the Inner Marsh Farm Hide at the far end of the reserve, the promised rain did start to fall, but this did not prevent us from enjoying more ducks and waders out over the water.

Shelduck and Gadwall were added to the list, along with 3-4 Snipe, including one which seemed to be swimming as it waded across the water! A Water Rail was briefly seen scuttling across a path between two reed beds but wasn’t seen again, and a Hobby flashed past being mobbed by 2 Lapwings. The 2 Spoonbills which had been noted earlier by the reserve staff re-appeared giving us good views and that other increasingly common sighting, a Great White Egret, was spotted in a distant field.

Moving back to the Visitor Centre towards the end of the day, our raptor species count was boosted to five as we enjoyed good views of a Marsh Harrier, Peregrine and Kestrel, accompanied of course by another warming drink! In total, 55 species were noted collectively by our group on an enjoyable day (and we didn’t get too wet, despite the dire weather forecast!).

Burton Mere Visitor Centre (l-r Rob Chadwick, Jane Chadwick, Fay Follett, Chris and Nicole Lamb, Gary Atkins, scope and John Follett)

The full list of sightings are as follows: Teal, Moorhen, Coot, Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit, Lapwing, Mute Swan, Grey Heron, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Shoveler, Mallard, Ruff, Dunlin, Kingfisher, Carrion Crow, Sparrowhawk, Pheasant, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Gt Black-backed Gull, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Little Grebe, Nuthatch, Chaffinch, Starling, Goldfinch, Wren, Chiffchaff, Gt Spotted Woodpecker, Robin, Goldcrest, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Cetti’s Warbler, Gadwall, Water Rail, Hobby, Spoonbill, Snipe, Dunnock, Swallow, Gt White Egret, Redshank, Jackdaw, Jay, Magpie, Long-tailed Tit, Black-headed Gull, Marsh Harrier, Peregrine and Kestrel.

Carsington Bird Club Educational Events Member Reports

Warbler Walk, Sunday 12th May

Around a dozen new and existing Club members joined a Warbler Walk, led by Simon Roddis, the aim being to see and hear several warbler species which can be found at Carsington in the spring. We started with a walk around Stones Island and soon located and, with a bit of perseverance, saw five species: Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Garden, Sedge and Willow Warblers. The songs of all of them are pretty distinctive, although there can be overlap between Garden Warbler and Blackcap; as it happened, all the birds that we found performed as per the text book! After being a bit secretive for a few minutes, a Sedge Warbler performed its song flight and settled in view – if a bit obscured – in a patch of bushes. Sedge Warblers seem to be having a good year at Carsington, with several singing birds on Stones and another near the Wildlife Centre. A little surprisingly, we failed to find a Common Whitethroat on Stones Island although they have been there this spring – perhaps they are just in a quiet spell.

After Stones Island we made our way towards the Wildlife Centre and to the top of the creek. We heard more Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Garden Warblers but not for the hoped-for Common and Lesser Whitethroats or Reed Warbler. Again, they have all been seen and heard in the area in the last two or three weeks, but not today. Lesser Whitethroats do go rather quiet once they are established on territory and their breeding cycle is underway, so they may well still be there. Reed Warblers are still arriving, and there are several in patches of reed in the northern half of the reservoir, so there is still time for one or two to take up residence in the reed-beds close to the Wildlife Centre. Our failure to find Common Whitethroat is less easy to explain – just one of those days.

We didn’t just look at warblers, and in total saw or heard 35 species, including a Willow Tit singing on Stones Island, Oystercatchers, Redshanks, our three breeding geese species – Canada, Barnacle and Greylag – and the Mute Swan still sitting on her nest on Horseshoe Island.

Simon Roddis