Welcome to the latest newsletter, which contains a right old mix of news and events. On the debit side we have to report the sad passing of founder member and long-time club bird recorder, Eddie Walker at the age of 79. Eddie’s funeral – at 11am at Belper Methodist Church – is on 1 December. A short reflection on his life is included later on page 3.
Also on the debit side is the news that our events co-ordinator, Chris Lamb, having moved house is leaving the committee after our AGM early next year. He has done a sterling job arranging talks, walks and trips over the past several years. His departure leaves us very exposed in terms of the committee’s workload and, though many of you will have heard the message before, we really do need some new blood on the committee!
We may need to consider how to recalibrate duties, but the simplest solution would be if someone was prepared to join the committee as a direct replacement for Chris, or at least to pick up either the ‘outside’ or ‘inside’ element of the role. He says he found the job enjoyable and rewarding, organising activities that a hard core of the membership also clearly enjoy – adding that he would be happy to give anyone interested a run-through of what the role involves. Please feel free to let any of the committee know if you’d like to play a more active role in the club, preferably before March when consolidating the club’s officials will be one of the items on the agenda of our Annual General Meeting.
Take a look at the box below that reflects some of Chris’s work – attracting speakers for the remaining programme of indoor meetings, which continues on the 18th of this month. Another event where CBC will be represented is the Ashbourne Leisure Centre Christmas Bazaar on 30 November (10am-4pm), which is raising funds for the Glitz and Glitter charity … and where our very own Louise and John Sykes will be manning a stall offering a wide range of books and puzzles for sale and lucky dip items. Do pop along if you can.
Also on the credit side, our recorders continue to provide blanket coverage across most of the year and, despite having experienced several months of severely diminished water levels, their diligence means we have still been able to report an excellent range of sightings. Indeed, more monthly records have been set (read on for the reservoir report on page 2).
JOIN US AT OUR UPCOMING INDOOR MEETINGS
Our 2025-26 programme of illustrated talks at the Visitor Centre is now well under way, and below is the list of remaining offerings for this season. Remember, all of these will take place on the third Tuesday of the month, in the Henmore Room, and mostly begin at 7.30pm except for the March meeting when a 7pm start will accommodate our Annual General Meeting:
18 November: India is Tony Davison’s focus with his talk: ‘Land of the Tiger’
30 November: Chrismas Bazaar at the Ashbourne Leisure Centre, which will incorporate a busy stall promoting CBC run by our members, Louise and John Sykes
16 December: After injury last year, David Parkin returns with ‘Birds and Islands’
20 January: We travel ‘Around the UK in 200 Birds’ with Nick Martin
17 February: Mike Vickers guests, showing us the ’Birds of Jordan’
17 March: Katie Thorpe tells us about ‘Bringing a “boom” to Middleton Lakes’
MONTHLY RECORDS GALORE – DESPITE CONTINUED LOW WATER LEVELS
Monthly species records are becoming quite regular events now at the well-watched reservoir and two more were achieved since the last issue – as the 127 species seen in September topped the previous best by three and October’s 115 species was also impressive, beating the 111 recorded in 2022.
Manx Shearwater, Cattle Egret, Glossy Ibis and Garganey were among the scarcer sightings that boosted September’s total, while Gannet, Little Owl (the first for seven years) and a delightful Firecrest (not seen on site since 2010) were the more unusual sightings in October. This in spite of the water levels remaining as low as many people can remember.
The lack of water did little to depress numbers during the September WeBS count, which included impressive duck and goose totals including a site record 970 Teal, 380 Mallards, 236 Tufted Ducks, 84 Pochard, 40 Shovelers and 16 Pintail, together with a few scarcer species like Red-crested Pochard,Common Scoter and that Garganey.
Contrarily, just a month later, most species numbers were down, the starkest example being Coot, which plummeted from a relatively normal 1,343 in September to just nine in the October WeBS count. Wigeon numbers held up quite well, though, and the first Goldeneye of the winter arrived on 20 October.
Thirty-two Whooper Swans earlier in October provided an impressive spectacle, and 455 Pink-footed geese flew over on 23 October. A single Great Egret was around on many days, and 23 Little Egrets were enjoying the sizeable expanse of mud at the end of September, though their best daily total in October reached only single figures.
Waders, too, were prolific in September when 18 species were recorded including Avocet, Curlew Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, a Wood Sandpiper that stayed four days at the start of September and Little Stint that lived up to its name with just two days on site later in the month. October saw only 15 wader species, but those included five plover species, including Golden and Grey, and a single Oystercatcher stayed over longer than usual and was seen most days touring the reservoir.
Ospreys were in evidence six times during the autumn passage period, while a Hobby was still around on 16 September. A Peregrine seems to have decided on a radical hunting method, using the north-west muddy foreshore as a ‘perch’ from which to find its prey. A Marsh Harrier was picked out on 6 October and a huge squadron of Red Kites, numbering 14, was counted on 19 October.
Gull numbers have been impressive, as over 5,000 Lesser Black-backs were counted leaving the roost in both September and October, while the top counts for Black-headed reached 4,000 and 600 Common Gulls were recorded in October, when there was a smattering of Mediterranean, Caspian, Yellow-legged, Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls, and the final tern through was a Common Tern on 3 October.
Final dates for migrants included the end of August for Spotted Flycatcher and Sedge Warbler; Whitethroat, Willow Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat left for the last time over a three-day period in early September, Sand Martins and House Martins disappeared on 18 and 22 September, respectively, while Swallows stayed on until 15 October, with the final Blackcap noted two days later. Meanwhile, Chiffchaffs were still being seen regularly and one or two may well be all-year residents, while a Cetti’s Warbler was noted on several days until the latter half of October.
There was a focus on smaller birds during a perimeter walk on 31 October, which found 104 Robins, 82 Wrens, 89 Blue, 48 Great and 40 Long-tailed Tits, 60 Blackbirds and, as is often the case, finch flocks were growing, including 169 Siskins, 97 Goldfinch, 56 Chaffinch, 17 Bullfinch, 13 Greenfinch and a single Brambling, while on other days 30 Linnets, 16 Redpoll and 12 Crossbills were noted.
Winter thrushes have been arriving in decent numbers, with maximum counts of 900 Redwings and 170 Fieldfares … but for really impressive figures, you have to look to the autumn movement of Woodpigeons, with a massive 46,000 counted on 30 October! Flocks of 1,000+ Starlings and Jackdaws were seen and a large group of Ravens numbering 36 was counted on 8 November.
… AND A SILVER LINING TO THE RESERVOIR’S LOW WATER LEVELS
Most people looking at the status of the reservoir during the second half of the year – with water levels between 40 and 50 per cent – have been disappointed that their binoculars are not powerful enough to pick out with precision what distant birdlife they are seeing. Those with ‘scopes are in a much better position … and those same better-equipped birders, like Simon Roddis, have noticed a phenomenon that can only be good for the longer-term health of the reservoir.
“Though I’ve not mentioned it in my daily round-up of highlights,” reports Simon, “I have noticed that the Caspian, Yellow-legged and, more recently, some Lesser Black-backed Gulls have been regularly catching and eating crayfish – the invasive Signal Crayfish as far as I can tell. They have clearly been helped by the low water level and seem to hunt by sight in the shallow water, sometimes very close to the shore but occasionally plunging into the water to a depth of perhaps 30 centimetres.
“Once caught, the crayfish is basically helpless and I don’t think I’ve seen a single one escape. The literature does mention crustaceans as forming part of the diet of all three species but I’ve never seen it in action before.”
Rather like the Red/Grey Squirrel story, which has seen an explosion in the population of the invasive Grey Squirrel – at the expense of its more delicate resident Red cousins – the transatlantic Signal Crayfish is believed to have had a deleterious effect on the domestic crayfish in our rivers, lakes and reservoirs.
So, the gulls’ gluttony at “low tide” is perhaps helping pause the growth of Carsington’s Signal Crayfish population – and, at the same time, supporting one of Severn Trent’s stated key strategic goals for the next few years: to minimise the arrival and effects of invasive species, whether mammals, birds, vegetation – or crustaceans.
BACK INDOORS AS WINTER APPROACHES
After enjoying a balmy summer on holiday or with family and friends, the bird club activities resumed in earnest in the autumn, with the first two indoor evening meetings of the new season – and another just around the corner – plus a club outing to the RSPB’s Burton Mere reserve on the Wirral.
The first talk of the year, in September, returnee Gary Hobson was at the controls of the projector and took us on a tour of south western Turkey, showing us the birds and other wildlife he saw there in a mixture of coastal, mountain and farmland habitats.
In October, our annual joint meeting with DOS (Derbyshire Ornithological Society), Jon Potts, the Derbyshire North representative of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) was invited along to explain the organisation’s wide range of activities. Some of the audience were BTO members and some of those are already involved in one or more of the two dozen projects the BTO runs to gather data and monitor trends across all aspects of birding at both the national and local level.
At Carsington, Simon Roddis, along with Jon Bradley, tackles the monthly WeBS (Wetland Bird Survey) counts, and at or nearby the reservoir other surveys such as Breeding Bird Surveys and Waterways Breeding Bird Surveys take place, while anyone can participate in the Garden BirdWatch.
November’s talk, scheduled for the 18th, is called ‘Land of the Tiger’ and reflects another wildlife expedition by intrepid photographer Tony Davison. More about that will be featured in the next newsletter.
The club’s visit to Burton Mere was attended by the usual fairly small band of regulars. The location was one we had been to before; as we knew the layout and routes, after a much-needed cup of coffee, we set off around the network of paths and hides.
It was probably not the best return we had at this often-prolific site on the shores of the River Dee, but fresh air, the company and a few additions to our respective year lists was a nice experience. Water birds, particularly waders were in low numbers, though we did get a good flock of Black-tailed Godwits, surrounding a sole Snipe, Marsh Harrier and Sparrowhawk and overflying Pink-footed Geese, plus the wetland regular, Cetti’s Warbler.
The full cast-list of birds seen was: Greylag Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Canada Goose, Shoveler, Mallard, Teal, Tufted Duck, Moorhen, Coot, Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwit, Snipe, Black-headed Gull, Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Marsh Harrier, Kestrel, Gt Spotted Woodpecker, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Cetti’s Warbler, Goldcrest, Nuthatch, Wren, Starling, Blackbird, Robin, Pied Wagtail, Chaffinch, Goldfinch
RIP: EDDIE WALKER
At the end of September, we heard the sad news that Eddie Walker – who was a founder member of Carsington Bird Club and Carsington Water’s first official bird recorder – had passed away at his home in Belper, surrounded by his nieces and sister Brenda. His funeral has only recently been finalised, so for those wishing to pass on their final respects, a service is due to take place on 1 December at 11am at Belper Methodist Church.
Eddie, who was 79 and had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier this year, leaves behind a considerable legacy to the bird club and to the pastime of birding in general – in Derbyshire and beyond. As one of the founder members of CBC shortly after the opening of the reservoir in 1992, his original membership number was believed to be 007, though he was no man of mystery! Eddie made his mark as part of the initial committee as the designated bird recorder, a position he held for very many years before handing over the reins to Roger Carrington after deciding to move to Spain.
A sizeable number of “firsts” on site and the detailed records over those first dozen years or so of the reservoir’s existence were largely down to Eddie and his recording team of the day. I can personally remember seeking his confirmation of a bird I saw in around 1995, soon after moving to the area and joining the club. My own knowledge of water birds was (and arguably is) rather sketchy, so when I saw what was clearly a grebe – but not Little or Great Crested – feeding in one of the quiet bays between Millfields Island and Fishtail Creek, I called Eddie and he dashed to the site and confirmed the bird was what I thought it was – the reservoir’s first ever Slavonian Grebe.
Eddie lived in Spain for around 20 years, in the small town of Rafal, a little way inland from Costa Blanca’s coastline and close to mountains, so the birding was good. He came back for extended breaks in the UK – usually to escape the extreme heat of the Spanish summer. Plenty was seen of him during those trips back ‘home’ and he kept in touch with a number of people. Usually he would contact Sandra Neep, Dorothy Evans (also now sadly no longer with us) and myself and suggest a place to go birding – and we were always grateful for his knowledge and advice, which invariably boosted the day’s bird list!
Carsington remained a cherished spot for him throughout those final 20 years, though he enjoyed going to other sites like Wyver Lane, Ogston, Willington, Old Moor and Blacktoft Sands on a regular basis. It was just several months ago that he finally sold up in Spain and moved back to England.
Gary Atkins
IN THE NEWS …
Refilling Carsington Water: In early November, various local media outlets in the Midlands carried the announcement that Severn Trent had successfully applied to the Environment Agency (EA) for a drought permit, enabling them to refill Carsington Water and Ogston reservoirs, as supply sources for areas in the East Midlands.
The permit terms allow changes to licence conditions directing when and how much water can be taken from the River Derwent to fill the reservoirs. It is not clear yet precisely when the reservoirs will see an increase over the ultra-low 45-50 per cent levels that have been experienced in recent months as drought conditions took hold over the spring and summer.
The go-ahead to refill the reservoirs will require Severn Trent to continue its commitment to reduce leaks and conserve water and to have plans in place to mitigate any impact on the environment, and the water company would need to inform the EA before using the permit and to execute monitoring of environmental conditions.
Return of Bird Flu? There seems to be some concern that incidences of Avian Flu could be on the rise again after a few recent reports of dead swans and geese. How local and how great the extent is not clear, but it is worth knowing what to do when encountering a likely case; if you do please report it via this website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/report-dead-wild-birds
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KNOW YOUR COMMITTEE – Here are the club officials and their contact details…….. |
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Committee Post |
Name |
Telephone |
Email Address
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Chairman and Publicity |
Gary Atkins |
01335 370773 |
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Treasurer / Membership |
John Follett |
01332 834778 |
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Recorder |
Rob Chadwick |
07876 338912 |
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Events co-ordinator |
Chris Lamb |
07836 368037 |
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Secretary |
Louise Sykes |
01335 348544 |
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…..and the website address is: http://www.carsingtonbirdclub.co.uk |
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Webmaster |
Richard Pittam |
n/a |
Contact Richard via the website |
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