Carsington Bird Club

*****  ATTENTION ALL MEMBERS – IT’S TIME TO PAY YOUR ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS  *****

I’ve elevated the annual reminder about renewing annual CBC membership subscriptions – apologies to all who have already remembered to do so. 

For those that have not, we like to give a gentle nudge!  Treasurer and membership secretary John Follett will be delighted to hear from anyone wanting to renew (at the long-standing rates of £7.50 for single and £10 for family membership); either send him a cheque to 8 Buckminster Close, Oakwood, Derby DE21 2EA or you can pay by bank transfer if you contact John first either by phone on 01332 834788 or e-mail at johnlfollett@virginmedia.com. 

So, come on!  Where were all those folks who loudly proclaimed in last year’s trips survey they would attend our club outings if they were a bit closer to home? ???? … We staged just such a trip last month – to the Wildlife Trust Attenborough reserve just 10 miles or so from the centre of Derby – and a grand total of seven people turned up! 

We realise the weather forecast could have been a factor, but it turned out to be a glorious morning, with 45 species seen.  You can read Chris Lamb’s report a little later in the newsletter – and find out about another pretty local trip planned for next month, to DWT Wyver Lane on the outskirts of Belper.

We are delighted to see that work is now under way on construction of the new hide at Sheepwash.  The access path has been widened to allow access and the first phase is to install a stone base – impervious to the water during periods of high levels – onto which the wooden structure will be assembled.  It could be ready for use by or before the middle of the year.  This is great news as the location of this hide has always been regarded as one of the best for observing the reservoir’s birdlife.

Please note, among the diary dates below, that our Annual General Meeting (when a new proposal for spending Club funds will be presented to the membership) will precede the March indoor meeting, so if you’ve anything else you wish to raise or comment upon, please turn up half an hour earlier – at 7am – for that opportunity. 

Something else that should be complete by the time the next newsletter comes out, in May, is the Annual Report, which several people (including me) are beavering away on presently.  As ever, it will contain a comprehensive overview and detailed record of the birding year at Carsington Water in 2023, along with club officials’ reports and some interesting articles.

Gary Atkins

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY …

20 February (7.30 pm) – talk by Nigel Slater on the wildlife of Botswana and Zimbabwe

17 March – local Club trip to the DWT’s Wyver Lane reserve, meet Bridge Foot car park in Belper (9.30am)

19 March (7pm) – talk by Andy Broadhurst on Derbyshire Swift Conservation; the earlier start is due to accommodate our AGM to which all are welcome

28 April – Spring Birdsong Walk at Carsington Water, led by Simon Roddis (meet 9am, Visitor Centre)

DIVER RETURNS – AND SITE BAGS COUNTY COMMON GULL RECORD

The annual return of the Great Northern Diver got off to a false start on 23 November, when a bird flew in but it was found to be a juvenile, and did not stay around for long.  Eventually, it was over a month later – on 28 December – when ‘our’ bird flew in; an adult that did not seem inclined to go anywhere else, and within a few weeks had lost its flight feathers so definitely was not.

Winter ducks arrived in decent numbers, particularly the diving ducks like Pochard that registered 551 individuals on 1 February and 25 Goldeneye, which was a good return, though there were fewer ‘dabblers’ around than usual with just 72 Wigeon and 51 Teal being the maximum counts.  Coot exceeded 1,000 on 17 December, when 386 Canada Geese, 232 Mallard and 138 Gadwall also boosted the waterfowl presence.  Up to four Red-crested Pochards added to the variety and Mandarins were noted on six dates in December, January and early February.

Seven Egyptian Geese on Boxing Day represented a site record, and Whooper Swans graced the reservoir in both December and January, when a group of 10 were recorded.  With high water levels, waders were at a premium and only four species were logged in December, including three Woodcock and Snipe, though numbers edged up in January when Curlew were noted on four dates, 110 Lapwings were seen and the first Oystercatcher arrived back on 26 January, growing to 12 by 11 February.

As usual, gull numbers remained healthy during the late autumn/early winter period, most particularly Common Gulls that reached an outstanding 3,250 on 10 December – a record not just for Carsington but for Derbyshire.  A Caspian Gull was seen several times each month, a Yellow-legged was found on 30 December, then three times in January and a single Great Black-backed Gull, recorded no fewer than 18 times in December must have called his friends along as seven were seen on 30 January.

Diligent recording by our regular contingent was reflected in the number of species registered in November, which at 102 was the joint second highest ever for that month, while in January 98 species equalled the previous year’s highest ever January species total for Carsington.

Raptors were unspectacular during this damp and cold period, though there were seven Red Kites aloft on 30 December.  Owls on the other hand were more evident than usual, with up to six Tawny Owls recorded on individual days and a Barn Owl noted on six dates in January and early February.

Among the smaller birds on site, the highlight had to be the Shore Lark found on 29 November, which was the first of this attractive species at Carsington for 20 years.  Winter visitors were around in fair numbers, 250 Fieldfares being seen on 16 December, and up to 200 Redwings the following two days, while a healthy 245 Siskin were around on 29 January, Lesser Redpoll were noted in twos and threes and single Bramblings were logged on 11 December and 19 January.

The decline of Tree Sparrows continues with a maximum count of just five in December.  Willow Tits are regularly seen, as is a Marsh Tit recorded on 14 dates across December and January.  A Stonechat was a good find on 16 January and, while Pied Wagtails don’t seem to be enjoying the high water levels, two Grey Wagtails were recorded on several dates.

YEAR LISTS UNDERWAY WITH TRIP TO ATTENBOROUGH

A group of seven CBC members made the relatively short journey to the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust reserve at Attenborough on Sunday 21 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 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

… AND OTHER EVENTS PLANNED ON THE HOOF

For our next walk on Sunday, 17 March we will once again be closer to home, so let’s give it a try.  We will be visiting the Wyver Lane Derbyshire Wildlife Trust reserve in Belper, lying alongside the River Derwent.  This is one of DWT’s most important wetland reserves and has a good variety of resident birds, as well as winter visitors which should still be around on the day of our visit.  We will meet in the East Mills car park, Bridge Foot, Belper at 9.30am, then walk along Wyver Lane towards the reserve.

Then, the following month, you can join us on Sunday, 28 April for our ever-popular annual Springtime Birdsong Walk at Carsington Water.  It will once again be led by one of our very experienced bird recorders, Simon Roddis, who will help us to help identify species we encounter by their songs and calls.  Most of our summer visitors will have returned to the site by this date and should be present in good numbers.  The walk will last a couple of hours or so, starting from outside the Visitor Centre at 9am.

Chris Lamb

IT’S BEEN A FULL HOUSE AT RECENT INDOOR MEETINGS

So many members and guests flocked in to our last two indoor meetings in December and January that we almost ran out of chairs – and did struggle to find enough cups during the refreshment breaks – but all agreed it was well worth it with some fabulous photos in stunning locations around the world

For our final meeting of 2023, in December, award-winning Derbyshire-based wildlife photographer Andy Parkinson described a year in his life as a well-travelled wildlife photographer.  Andy’s work appears frequently in magazines such as National Geographic and BBC Wildlife, and we were treated to some stunning photographs he had taken of birds and animals on his travels around the world.

We kicked off the new year at our January meeting with a tour of the Scottish highlands and islands in the company of professional birding and wildlife guide Craig Round.  Craig has been leading tours in Scotland on behalf of Speyside Wildlife for many years, and his talk featured the spectacular scenery and many of the specialist species only to be found in that area.

Looking forward to next week, we will travel down to warmer climes – to southern Africa for our next meeting on Tuesday, 20 February.  The rich biodiversity of this part of Africa makes it home to an incredible variety of flora and fauna and our speaker, Nigel Slater, takes us to Botswana and Zimbabwe to show us some of the amazing birds and other wildlife he has experienced there.

Our final meeting of the 2023-24 programme is on Tuesday, 19 March and has a much more local theme.  Andy Broadhurst tells us about the Derbyshire Swift Conservation project, which was formed in response to the massive decline of Swifts across Derbyshire.  These iconic scimitar-winged summer visitors are in trouble and need our help, and Andy explains how we can get involved.

As Christmas approaches and the nights draw in, the daylight available for wildlife watching slowly diminishes, and since early October it’s been a fairly bleak prospect, anyway, with the succession of Atlantic storms bringing extremes of wind and rain and damage to a number of areas of Derbyshire.  Getting out there is half the battle, but westerly ‘blows’ can bring some interesting birdlife (as, indeed, they have this year) – and Carsington Water will always be one of the best sites to see them.  So, put an extra layer on, grab your ‘bins’ and pop along.  There’s always a warming cup of coffee, or even lunch, at the end of a walk there.

A brief visit by a Glossy Ibis proved to be this year’s only brand new species so far. Over 77,000 Woodpigeons, mostly flying south, were counted on six days in early November when the recorders settled down for visual migration (vismig) watches, which had also produced a site record Stock Doves and a single-day count of over 18,000 Redwings in late October.  There were a few more surprises, too, but go to page two for our full report of bird activity at the reservoir.

Last month we also witnessed a milestone in the proposed new Sheepwash hide development, as the old one was dismantled and taken away.  The path down to that area is still sealed off, but hopefully a new hide design will soon be decided upon and work commence.  If this was promising news for the birders, good news for the birds was the resumption of bird feeding at the reservoir, following the diminished threat of Bird Flu after a lengthy period without any cases at Carsington.

Our activities away from the reservoir’s edge continued as the 2023-24 season of talks got underway, as usual in the Henmore Room.  We had, though, to change the October date by a week due to non-availability of committee support, and then that meeting was jinxed further by a spate of parking fines, which had to be investigated as theoretically they should not occur.

Our events programme was further thwarted when we heard that RSPB St Aidan’s was under a considerable amount of water following incessant rains following Storm Babet.  The forecast leading up to the Sunday in question didn’t look too clever either, so we reluctantly decided to postpone … only for it to be sunny that day!  You can’t win!  We will, though, reschedule this as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, we had some very sad news that Dorothy Evans – one of our longest-standing members and a willing soul that undertook several committee roles in the 1990s and 2000s passed away in late August.  She dedicated much of her spare time to the practical support of multiple wildlife organisations including Carsington Bird Club and, latterly, the Bird Study Group in Bakewell, where she lived and was still undertaking committee work at the time of her death.  Dorothy had many friends in CBC and a wide network beyond, and will be greatly missed by all.

Gary Atkins

JOIN US AT OUR UPCOMING INDOOR MEETINGS

Our 2023-24 series of indoor meetings is well underway, and below is the list of remaining scheduled talks, which all take place on the third Tuesday of the month, in the Henmore Room, beginning at 7.30pm except for the March meeting when we’ll hold our AGM (7pm start) …

19 December:  Andy Parkinson describes ‘A Year in the Life of a Wildlife Photographer’

16 January:  Craig Round will take us around ‘Scottish Highlands and Islands’

20 February:  Nigel Slater shows us the wildlife of ‘Botswana and Zimbabwe’

19 March:  Andy Broadhurst details the ‘Derbyshire Swift Conservation Project’

LOTS OF BIRDS ON THE MOVE … BUT A FEW RARITIES DROP IN

Over the late summer and early autumn, it’s been a case of regular species making the headlines by their huge numbers just as much as the rare birds that turned up in single figures. 

Five Spoonbills – the largest group ever at Carsington – and a site-scarce Garganey boosted August’s monthly total to 125, which was the most species ever recorded at the reservoir in that month.  The following month saw the only brand new species for the site (so far this year, at least), when a Glossy Ibis dropped in briefly on 25 September, and also a Manx Shearwater, the first since October 2019.

Then, in October, the first Hen Harrier for 17 years graced the reservoir on the 22^nd, and another site-scarce species, a Shag turned up eight days later.  By now, huge flocks of migrating birds were heading south, notably the humble Woodpigeon whose numbers swelled further still in November; the maximum day count was 32,570, but a grand total from half a dozen ‘vismig’ counts in the first half of the month was over 77,000 birds.  A site record of 89 Stock Doves were counted on 10 November, mostly flying south – except for one bird whose radar seemed off as it headed north.

Up to 1,000 Starlings were counted leaving their regular roost in the Hopton end reedbed on a number of mornings, and other arriving species did so in huge numbers, too, notably Redwings, over 18,000 of which were logged in just a few hours on 9 October.

Gulls joined the party, too, with 7,000 Lesser Black-backs counted on 27 October, along with 5,000 Black-headed and 1,000 Common Gulls.  Again, the scarcer species were of just as much interest, as the long-staying Caspian Gull remained, and up to four Yellow-legged and a few Great Black-backed Gulls were seen often, while Mediterranean Gulls were noted on two dates in August.  The tern passage was light, but Black, Arctic and Common were recorded, the latest being a single Black Tern on 10 September.

Waterfowl numbers grew, as usual, as the year progressed: there were 1,144 Coot on the reservoir in early November, along with 338 Pochard. In the previous month or so, 950 Canada Geese, 285 Tufted Ducks, over 150 Teal and Mallard, more than 80 Gadwall and smaller quantities of Shoveler, Goosander and Wigeon were recorded.  Goldeneye were proving more elusive.

The opposite happened with waders – as August proved to be a bumper month, with 17 wader species noted including Ringed, Little Ringed and Golden Plovers, Ruff, Whimbrel, Jack Snipe, Green and Common Sandpipers, Turnstone, Greenshank and Black-tailed Godwit.  Since then, not helped by the steadily increasing water levels over the late summer, there’s been something of an exodus, as only seven wader species were logged in September, and six in October, although a Woodcock was spotted at Millfields on 12 November and a very late-staying Oystercatcher was still being seen as late as 14 November.

Summer visitors hit their departure dates roughly the same as usual, leaving a small smattering of Chiffchaffs that may be considering overwintering at the reservoir.  Swifts and Pied Flycatchers were not seen after August, while Lesser Whitethroat, Garden, Willow and Sedge Warblers and Spotted Flycatchers were all last seen on various dates in September.

While Redwings and Fieldfares spearhead the winter arrivals, a few other species more often seen at this time of year have been showing up.  Six Crossbills were noted on 30 October and 11 November, a Hawfinch was logged on 10 October, and there have been a few sightings of Brambling and more regular records of flocks of Siskin and Lesser Redpoll.  Come on you Waxwings!

Apart from the Hen Harrier, two Marsh Harrier sightings and single Ospreys seen on four dates in September, it’s been an unexceptional time for raptors, although up to five Red Kites were seen on selected days in September and October, and Hobbies were seen throughout the late summer, the final one logged on 25 September.  Up to four Tawny Owls have been heard during several early-morning visits to Hopton end in recent weeks, but better still was the Barn Owl seen around the dam wall on 12 November.

TALKS REFLECT ON LOCKDOWN BIRDING … THEN ESCAPE TO BRAZIL & MALAYSIA

Our 2023-24 programme of indoor meetings got underway in September with a talk by Tony Slater describing how the Covid lockdowns gave him the chance to look much more closely at the very familiar birds we see every day.  With a multimedia combination of excellent photos and videos set to music, it proved to be an entertaining evening.

Brazil was the destination for our next meeting in October. This was our traditional annual joint meeting with members of the Derbyshire Ornithological Society (DOS), who joined us for the evening.  One of their members, Sally Oakes, gave a very interesting talk on the incredible biodiversity and birdlife found in the state of Minas Gerais in southern Brazil.

We continued our travels at the November meeting, when Chris Lamb kindly stepped into the breach at very short notice as a replacement for Louise Sykes who, along with husband John, were scheduled to speak to us about their exciting tour of prime birding sites in peninsula Malaysia.  Chris reset the compass 4,000 miles east south east to Tasmania and a discrete look at its varied and often-endemic wildlife.

For our final talk this year on Tuesday 19th December, we will welcome award-winning Derbyshire-based wildlife photographer Andy Parkinson to talk to us about a year in the life of a wildlife photographer.  Andy’s stunning work appears frequently in magazines such as National Geographic and BBC Wildlife, as well as in countless books and other publications.

Looking ahead to the new year, our indoor meetings continue with destinations as far apart as the Scottish Highlands and southern Africa, then returning closer to home with a look at the Derbyshire Swift Conservation Project at our final meeting of the season in March.

ST AIDAN’S TRIP POSTPONED BUT WILL HAPPEN SOON

One disappointment on the events front was the reluctant decision we took to postpone our planned trip to the RSPB St Aidan’s reserve in Yorkshire that had been due to take place on 29 October.  We had to take into account some feedback earlier that week from the reserve that indicated some sections and paths were impassable due to flooding caused by Storm Babet’s unremitting rainfall that had left few areas of the country unaffected.

The forecast was for more rain later in the week and, as the reserve has no hides in which to take refuge, we opted to err on the side of caution.  Ironically, and rather gallingly, the Sunday itself brought plenty of sunshine, but the reserve itself was still rather soggy in places.  We plan to monitor the weather and try again – and hope, when we get there, that things have improved and the whole reserve will be available to us.  We’ll notify members as and when a new date is decided.

Following the advice of members, we are trying shorter, sharper trips and have had one more local walk (see immediately below) and also plan to visit Wyver Lane, on the outskirts of Belper, which in recent weeks has suffered similar fortunes to St Aidan’s in being very wet.  Again, we hope to get there soon and will alert members to any date that emerges.

Another more local trip we expect to undertake in the new year will be to Attenborough.  The goal is to get our bird lists off to a healthy start good and early, so we hope to pop over into our neighbouring county as soon as possible in the new year.  Again, keep your eyes and ears open.

CHOICE OF ‘LOCAL’ WALK IS VERY CLOSE TO HOME!

We stayed quite close to home for our first outing of the autumn, with a walk at Carsington Water on Sunday, 24 September. The monthly Birdwatching for Beginners walks, which are attended on a regular basis by some of our members, traditionally follow a route around Stones Island and on to the Wildlife Centre, so we thought we would start our walk by exploring a different end of the reservoir to see what we could find there.

Setting off from the Sheepwash car park on a wet, murky morning, we followed the path along the northern edge of the reservoir.  Unsurprisingly, various species of ducks made up most of the birds we initially saw, with good numbers of Mallard, Gadwall and Tufted Duck.  A single Grey Heron was observed patrolling the shoreline surrounded by a multitude of Coots.  A colourful male Mandarin Duck was found in Brown Ale Bay by two members of the group.

Coming back to the Paul Stanley hide to shelter from the increasing drizzle, we added Great Crested and Little Grebes to our list, along with a handful of Cormorants, Mute Swans and Canada Geese.  The sizeable flock of gulls on Flat Island were mostly identified as Black-headed or Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

As we continued our walk past the Bombing Tower towards the Lane End hide, a section of trees and bushes next to the path proved particularly productive with a variety of birds flitting between the branches, including a Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Great and Blue Tits, as well as a party of Long-tailed Tits and a Goldcrest.

The Lane End hide didn’t really offer up anything new, so after a while for most of us it was time to call it a day.  Two members of the group, however, did carry on to the Wildlife Centre where they were rewarded with more birds for our collective list for the morning, including Red-crested Pochard, Lapwing, Oystercatcher and great views of a Willow Tit.

In all, the 45 species that follow were recorded by the group, which was a pretty good total considering the somewhat damp weather:  Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Mallard, Gadwall, Mandarin Duck, Teal, Tufted Duck, Common Pochard, Red-crested Pochard, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Coot, Moorhen, Cormorant, Heron, Pheasant, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Willow Tit, Swallow, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Wren, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, House Sparrow, Chaffinch and Goldfinch.

Chris Lamb